“I thought you might know what this is, considering how your knight is so…special. We found more of these at the scene of the murder, and from what we know, they don’t belong to any noble. And they certainly weren’t made by our court wizard.”
“I have no idea what these could be. Except that it seems someone else has found out how to make knights.”
“My fears exactly. You may go now.”
Getting up, she allowed herself to be taken back to her room by the guards. Along the way, though, she couldn’t help but think of Cornelius’s research and what that might have to do with these new faux knights.
Chapter 12
Anna was tired of the permanent escort of guards after the first week of it. They were constantly with her with the few exceptions of when she went to the bathroom or got dressed. Her knight seemed furious that they would suspect her of doing something like killing the king. He showed his dissatisfaction by constantly making fun of Romulus. The guards themselves didn’t seem to like the job, given that they rather liked her. Overall, no one was happy with this arrangement, though there was one thing about this that Anna enjoyed.
“Hello, Princess. Having a fine day?” Phillip asked her when his shift started.
“Why, yes, I am having a very fine day,” Anna said with an enchanting smile.
Phillip was a guard whose first ever job at the castle was to follow the princess around. He was eighteen, lean, and handsome, with soft brown hair and eyes. Anna had developed a little crush on him, and she was always happy to see him.
Unlike the other guards, who just showed up and did their job, Phillip would actually talk to her in a pleasant manner. Of course, she knew nothing would ever come of it since he was so much older than her. Plus, why would an amazing guy like him want Anna when she was so plain and unappealing? Thus, with so many things standing between them, she was left to fantasize about what could have been.
“How are you today, Phillip?” she said, holding out her hand for him to kiss.
“Oh, I’m doing well, Princess.” He reached for her hand.
Before he could grab it, though, Anna’s knight stepped in between them and put an end to her plans. Her knight couldn’t care less about the other guards but apparently disliked Phillip. The man in question backed away slowly from her knight and grabbed his halberd with both hands.
Anna smiled it off like it was nothing, but deep down she was angry at her knight for interfering. She was thirteen, and a princess, no less. Anna could flirt with whomever she wanted to. But no, her knight was acting like a middle-aged dad who’d just realized his daughter had grown up. Whatever, she thought. Anna had other plans to make this afternoon with Phillip entertaining.
“Phillip, I haven’t seen the guards training since my old servant was under their tutelage. Would you mind taking me to the training yard and showing me around?”
“Oh, uh, I don’t know, Princess,” he said, glancing over at her knight.
“No, no, look at me when you answer, not him. Would you please take me to the training yard?” she with a heart-melting smile.
Biting his gauntlet, he said, “Well, all right, if you really want to see it.”
“Thank you, Phillip, for being such a good man.”
“No problem. Um, let’s get going then, shall we?”
He went to open a door, and as he did, Anna stuck her tongue out at her knight and scampered off after Phillip. Along the way down, the princess stayed unnecessarily close to Phillip just so she could see her knight fuming behind them, making faint growling noises. They finally made it to the yard where all the guards of the castle trained. It was your typical training area with dummies and targets and weapon racks littered about. Obviously, there were guards of all ranks training here, all shirtless and sweaty. Anna really had to remember to bring Shel to see this. Then again, she probably would be more interested in seeing someone get hurt.
“It really is amazing how strong these men are that they can carry such heavy weapons,” Anna said with feigned awe.
“Humph, these are nothing. I weigh more than all their armor and weapons and can still move lightning fast,” her knight said, giving a few quick jabs.
“That’s because you don’t have muscles, you dunce.”
“Yeah, so it’s even more amazing that I can move at all.”
“That’s just magic. It’s not real physical strength. Not like a human’s, anyway.”
“You’re just jealous because you have twigs for arms and legs.”
“I do not have twig limbs,” Anna said, flexing her arm only to show no results.
“Uh huh. Just like you have a butt underneath that dress.”
Gasping, she looked at Phillip, who only looked away, “I-I do too have a butt.”
“It’s really more like a frozen lake—cold, white, and flat as can be,” her knight said, trying to get Phillip to look.
“You jerk! Why do you always have to insult me like that in front of people?”
“Because you leave yourself wide open.”
“Uh, I don’t think—” Phillip said mildly.
“Why do you have to do it, though? Why are you so mean?”
“Well, maybe if you weren’t so sensitive.”
“I don’t think you should talk to the princess like that!” Phillip said, getting everyone’s attention.
“What did you just say to me?” Her knight advanced on the young man.
“I-I said I don’t think you should insult the princess like that.”
“And what are you going to do about it?”
“I-I’ll fight you for her honor,” Phillip said, gulping audibly.
“All right, I’ll fight you.”
“Wait. What?” Phillip asked.
“I’ll fight you. And just to give myself a handicap, I’ll take on all the guards in this yard. So go get your buddies, put on your armor, grab your weapons, and we’ll fight until one side gives up or dies.”
“Phillip, you don’t have to do this,” Anna said, trying to stop the fight.
“Oh, but he does. I’m going to start beating the crap out of everyone here in five minutes whether they’re ready or not.”
“B-but do we really need to fight?”
“Time’s ticking. You might want to get a move on.”
Horrified, Phillip ran to get himself and everyone ready for the fight of their lives. Anna was stunned into silence at how her knight was acting. She knew he wasn’t the nicest of people—well, not a person, exactly, but to go this far over nothing scared her. She tried talking to him, but he just walked to the middle of the yard and stood there waiting. When the five minutes had passed, the guards gathered around him in a mishmash of armor and weaponry. Phillip stepped forward wearing his uniform and carrying his halberd, looking as if he were going to die of fright.
“W-we don’t have to fight as long as you apologize.”
“I’m not apologizing to anyone, especially not a wimp like you,” her knight growled.
The knight stepped forward an inch, and all the guards jumped back. One of the other guards, an old veteran, decided to chance it and took a swing at her knight. The metal fighter simply slapped the blade away from him and took another step toward them. The old vet took another swing and was slapped away again.
A few swings later and the same thing kept happening, until the old man said, “Why won’t you attack me?”
“When I rip your arm off, I don’t want it to be because of a pathetic attack like that. Now really fight me before I change my mind.”
Nodding, the vet said, “Men, form a circle and attack on my command.”
Gaining courage from the old man’s leadership, the guards surrounded her knight. Raising his hand, the leader waited until they were all in position, then dropped it. The men behind her knight lunged at him with spears and s
words, only for them to be caught up in his swirling cloak. Weapons were torn from their hands. He advanced on them and punched the closest one in the face, knocking him flat on his back. Grabbing the other two by their hair, he cracked their skulls together and tossed them to the ground.
While he did this, the others pushed as one and tried catching him off guard—just to have their weapons bounce off him like cheap wood. He grabbed one by the throat and threw him into two others, who were wise enough to stay on the ground. The old vet put all his power behind one thrust. Anna could only watch as her knight grabbed the sword and shattered it in his hands. Conceding defeat, the old man allowed himself to be knocked out with a head butt, leaving only Phillip.
“P-please, don’t hurt me.” Phillip fell to his knees.
“Oh, don’t worry. It’ll all be over soon enough,” the knight said, raising his hand above his head.
Having seen enough to know what he’d do to Phillip, Anna rushed forward and latched onto the back of her knight, screaming, “Stop! Stop! I’m sorry! I won’t talk to him anymore. I promise. Just don’t hurt him, please.”
Looking down at Anna, the knight brought his fist down and stared at it for a while, finally letting it unfurl. He just gave a sigh and slowly pushed Anna away from him. Then, without saying anything, he walked away.
Chapter 13
The very next day, Phillip was removed from his post. The young guard had requested a different position, and Anna didn’t blame him. Really, she would have gotten him moved to a new post anyway for his own safety. Fortunately for Anna, the mourning period for her father was finally at an end. This way she’d be able to go back to school and see her friends. Even more fortunate, she wouldn’t have the same escort of guards with her. Her brother must have thought, being in school, the teachers would keep a keen eye on her, but that didn’t really bother her. As far as her knight was concerned…
“Anna, can I speak with you privately?” Mrs. Pinkerton asked once class was done.
“Of course.”
Anna’s knight waited out in the hall, neither of them speaking to the other, while Mrs. Pinkerton stayed inside the classroom with her. The teacher’s knight was with them as well. He was short and fat with a grotesquely bulging face. His hands looked like boxing gloves, only these were meant to cause harm, not stop it. Anna wondered what sort of magic was used that this knight turned out looking like this. Like Mrs. Pinkerton had said, every knight was akin to their master, even having some kind of quirk that connected them. So, what made this her knight?
“Anna, is something wrong with your knight?”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“I’ve seen it throughout class. You two seem to be at odds,” Mrs. Pinkerton said.
Anna turned away from her and looked over the classroom. It was like all the others in that it was a tiered set of tables. What made it undeniably her teacher’s class were all the motivational posters hanging about: cats in old-fashioned wizard hats giving a thumbs-up smiled back at her. Normally, she would have thought they were cute, but now she wished she could tear them down.
“He’s horrible, and I hate him,” Anna finally said.
“You don’t mean that.”
“I do,” she said, turning back to her teacher.
Mrs. Pinkerton sighed, “You’re extremely lucky to have your knight the way he is.”
“Then you don’t know him too well.”
Anna’s teacher came over and took her hands into her own. “You remember how on the first day of school, I said that we wanted nothing from our knights but mindless obedience?”
“Yes, why would a noble need anything else?”
Giving a sad smile, she said, “We all remember when we got our knight. How it was so much bigger and stronger than our old servant. We completely forget about that leather-bound child and think only of what we now had. After a while, though, the novelty starts to fade. We expect so much from it, only to get nothing in return.”
“So you’re telling me that every noble secretly wants their knight to be more like mine?”
She shook her head and said, “It’s hard to explain, but know that you’ve gotten a chance at something no one thought was possible. Please don’t throw it away.”
Anna nodded and went for the door, but not before asking one final thing. “What quirk does your knight have?”
“He loves to learn things. I know it wouldn’t appear like that to other people but…never mind. It’s just me expecting more than he can offer.”
Anna nodded and went for her next class. Despite what Mrs. Pinkerton had said, she still refused to talk to her knight. The next classes passed by and lunch rolled into view. Ham, mashed potatoes, and sweet yams were what she had to eat. Even if they were delicious, though, she didn’t have much of an appetite. All she really did was listen to Shel and Bart have their usual banter. After a while, they stopped talking, having noticed what was going on with her themselves.
“Hey, Anna, are you okay?” Bart asked.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“I said I’m fine,” she said, louder than necessary.
“Who stuck a stick up your butt?” her knight muttered.
“Shut up!” Anna said as she slammed her hands on the table.
“Anna…” Bart tried to calm her down.
“No. He’s always like this. He’s mean and rude and nasty to everyone. Then he tries to act all kind and warm, but he’s not. He’s nothing but a cold, unfeeling hunk of metal!”
Anna was gripping the table so hard her nails had dug in. She was trembling and beginning to tear up. The only reason she wasn’t crying was because she wanted to spite her knight. She wasn’t going to be able to keep it up for long though. Anna stormed away from the huge scene she had created and went to anywhere, anywhere her knight wasn’t. The princess knew very well he was right behind her, and she didn’t care. The young princess kept walking until, finally, she was stopped by a passerby.
“Princess, what are you doing away from lunch?” the headmaster asked her.
“I’m trying to get away from that thing.” She pointed back at her knight.
“He’ll follow you anywhere, but I do know of one place that might keep him out.”
The headmaster led her back to his office. The moment they entered, he shut the door in her knight’s face. While he screamed and pounded on the magically reinforced door, the headmaster chuckled and went to sit in his chair. Anna sat down in the same chair as before and finally got a good look at the place. It was actually quite small, but nonetheless very organized.
“I know what you’re thinking. Why would the headmaster have such a small office?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.”
“No, it’s quite all right. I actually did have an office fit for my position, but I, uh…had a little accident.”
Suddenly, a knight appeared in the room next her. It was tall, so much so that it reached the ceiling. It was also lean, enough that it looked like a brisk breeze would snap its limbs. It moved in a disjointed series of jerks and twists. It ended up behind the desk with the headmaster. She couldn’t see any weapons on it. Plus, it was so awkward, she couldn’t imagine it being any good in a fight. There was how it just appeared in the room to consider, though.
“This is my knight. I know he’s a little scary, but he’s actually quite gentle.”
“How…”
“Did he get in here? Well, unlike most other knights, who have physical attacks in mind, he knows a good bit of magic.”
While every knight was unique, they did have some similarities. Anna had heard about the headmaster and his knight, though. They were peculiar in some way that made them almost as powerful as the king. It had been ages since anyone had seen them fight, almost half a century. The more disturbing reason no one knew any
thing about them was because everyone they fought ended up dead. Brutal duels with other nobles were how he had risen to the top.
“Does anyone else know about this?”
“No.” Then with a secretive smile, he said, “Let’s keep it that way, shall we?”
“Well, thank you for allowing me some time away from my knight, but I must be going.”
Just as she touched the doorknob, the headmaster said, “It’ll pass.”
“What will, sir?”
“This hatred for him. I had it for my knight as well, but I got past it.”
“It’s not so simple for me to just get past it.”
“It may seem like it, like he’s the most awful thing. It’ll be like he’s sticking a knife in your heart. Trust me when I say this, though: you’ll learn to accept him the way he is.”
“You say that like it’s so easy, as if I can just forget what a terrible person he’s been. Well, I can’t, and I’m sorry for it, but that’s how I feel.”
“My knight is the only one who knows my name.”
“Your name? Others have to know that. I mean, it’s such a common thing to tell people.”
“I tried, but they all called me by the titles I had earned over the years. Headmaster is just the latest in a long line. Isn’t it, old friend?” he said, patting his knight on the leg.
“You mean he actually calls you by your name, like he can talk?”
Leaning forward in his chair, the headmaster said, “There’s a lot you don’t know. Just remember: finding the answer isn’t always a good thing.”
Anna nodded and took her leave. Anna ignored her knight, and he her, as she went back to class. What the headmaster said bothered her. All throughout class, she thought about it. The whole time he was talking, it was like he was just another old man. During that last part, though, his eyes had been different. They’d been as dark and empty as his own knight’s bottomless holes.
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