Doors soon opened in the corners of the hull, where the ship dropped huge mechanical chunks of metal, which, upon implementation, began to ignite, cough, and sputter themselves to life. Huge single pieces of wood shaped oddly and for the purpose of spinning, began to move so fast that neither the squire nor knight could keep them in their sights anymore. A powerful force came from these objects, and the wizard's guests seemed to know that their world had never seen the like of these machines before.
"What are they?" Ka-Ron asked.
"These are the heart of the Argo." the wizard explained. "They are known as engines. With these, we can pilot the ship almost anywhere."
And the wizard's word was true. No matter where Keeth pointed the ship, it would respond to his command with lightening speed.
"Do you have a course in mind, brave knight?" Pausing, Keeth gave Ka-Ron an almost knowing glance.
Ka-Ron found herself turning and directing her attentions towards Jatel. The sad squire knew that developments were making it quite easier for his master to succeed with her quest.
"The Fire Mountains, wizard." Ka-Ron ordered. "With the greatest haste!"
"The Fire Mountains it is, then."
The wizard turned the wheel three times to the right. The Argo responded with a severe arc, deepening its claim to the clouds.
Jatel turned from Ka-Ron, not wishing to let his master spot signs of disappointment.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Ka-Ron kept her eyes closed.
Jatel lay on the deck of their cabin, with his arms roughly secured around both of her thighs, while she, squirming as little as possible, had positioned herself above his generous mouth. Her squire was deeply at work, pleasuring her in the most intimate of places. Ka-Ron found herself so concentrated with the ecstasy she was experiencing, that she forgot that Jatel had needed to breathe. Several times, the careworn man had found himself gently tapping upon her stomach, silently suggesting that she back off. With a playful gasp of air, Jatel blinked his eyes several times, smiled, and continued with his pleasurable duties.
The knight found herself moaning, uncontrollably, as the squire ventured into rather female waters, exploring the mysteries that lay in the deep. She spoke intense acknowledgments, telling Jatel that he was good at his work.
Reality, such as it was, always had a way of ruining the moment.
There was a slight knock at the cabin door.
Ka-Ron opened her eyes, pulling away from her squire in a huff.
"Yes?"
"Sorry to intrude, child," it was Keeth. "But I require rest and need the services of your squire."
"So do I," Ka-Ron playfully whispered, messing up Jatel's hair. "He will be with you in a moment." The knight let out a disappointing gasp as she retreated from the cabin floor and adjusted her clothes.
Ka-Ron sat on the side of her bed, brushing her long hair.
"I am quite surprised to learn that doing this, Jatel, gives me great pleasure."
"Well, and why not?" Jatel stated, buttoning up his pants. "You are a woman, after all."
"Yes," the knight confirmed. "Still, there are a few things I am missing."
"Such as?"
The knight paused. She stopped her brushing. The squire noticed a crimson blush showing slightly upon his master's cheek.
"I miss&pissing as a man."
"What?" Jatel chuckled, joining his lover upon the bed. Absently they both started to hold hands.
"Truly," Ka-Ron confessed. "There is much work to being a woman."
Jatel gazed upon his love, for a silent moment, admiring both her beauty and bravery. He did not know if he could have survived such changes as those afflicting his master, but he was sure that Ka-Ron was capable of almost anything. He was sure that she would survive all of this, much to his own heartbreak. He softly cupped Ka-Ron's face, by the chin, causing the woman to gaze upon him with curiosity.
"You perform your tasks with great efficiency, sire."
Both kissed.
After a while, Ka-Ron pushed her squire away.
"The wizard has need of your services."
"And you?"
Ka-Ron beamed a cunning smile, "The sun is still young, squire."
Realizing that they were both the victims of duty, Jatel reluctantly agreed, rising and walking away from his master with a tired laugh. He waved without turning to see that Ka-Ron responded in kind - which she did - and left the cabin.
Ka-Ron continued with the brushing of her hair.
The knight stopped, realizing that she was alone, and stared at herself in a mirror. "You have done well, as a woman." she softly stated to herself, touching her gentle lips.
"Well, indeed." a voice said, invading her thoughts.
The temperature in the cabin began to change, causing Ka-Ron to see her breath. The knight studied the room from the perspective of her mirror, but could see nothing out of the ordinary. She tightly took hold of her brush, turning the pointed handle around, in case she had need of a weapon.
Ka-Ron turned to view her intruder.
Kai stood in the dark corner of the cabin, studying her victim.
***
The knight could feel the blood leaving her face. Her ability to savor, or at least, to prolong her sense of fear was more acute than a man's. Why this was, the knight could not explain. Perhaps, it was just an instinct that came with being a woman. This was not for Ka-Ron to say. She only knew that she was more terrified at that moment than she had been while in the middle of any battle. Here, when facing the Wicca Master, the knight knew that she was greatly outmatched.
The death of her daughter was starting to show on Kai. Indeed, the woman had lost weight - more than would be considered healthy or beautiful. She teetered on unstable legs which showed great fatigue.
"Any success I have had, thus far, is by your design." Ka-Ron finally stated, motioning for his guest to take a seat.
Kai noticed the knight's curious stares.
"You must forgive me, brave knight," Kai stated, as she slowly sank into the soft comforts of a nearby chair. Her condition had made the piece of furniture appear several times larger than its occupant. "I am going through the tear-walk. This is a mourning process most in my order go through, when there are sins attached with the death of a loved one."
"Sins? What sins?"
"Mine!" Kai blurted out, glaring hard at Ka-Ron. "For knowing you!"
"But you were like my mother," Ka-Ron corrected. "How can love and the raising of a child be considered a sin? You did what both fate and the law of the land required."
"My sins come from allowing you to know my daughter."
Ka-Ron's heart began to ache when she soon noticed that Kai's cheeks were marked by endless tears. She placed her brush down upon the bed and tried her best to appeal to the woman's better nature.
"Kai, end all of this."
The witch shook her head. "Your squire would object."
"I need to be able to protect my people, woman," Ka-Ron pleaded. "My squire included."
"He loves you." Kai stated, smiling. "You are aware of that, are you not?"
Ka-Ron smiled. "I am aware."
"And, I fear, you love him?"
The knight remained silent. She cast her eyes down toward the cabin's deck.
The Wicca Master's face flashed awe.
"The plot thickens, I fear."
"Again, fruits of your work."
There was a long pause between the two. Kai, it seemed, was oceans away. Her thoughts were, perhaps, going back to the burnt-out ruins of her home. Perhaps she thought about the cold earth of her daughter's tomb. Ka-Ron thought about the hopes of regaining the life she lost as both an errant-knight, and that of a man.
"Kai, please&"
The ship made a hard turn to port, causing rays of sunlight to invade the room. The effect was quite charming, and did not go unnoticed by Kai.
"You are heading toward The Fire Mountains," Kai whispered weakly. Turning from the porthole, she gazed
hard into the knight's face.
"That is my quest." Ka-Ron confirmed. She was starting to turn quite nervous. There was a level of hate growing in the Wicca Master's eyes that made the knight uneasy. Hate more vile that just that of a grieving mother.
"You do not care whom you hurt, do you, knight?"
"What?"
"I just told you that your squire loves you, and you still choose to travel halfway around the globe to find me."
"I need to be who I was," Ka-Ron confirmed, rising off the bed in a defensive stance. "I care for Jatel. That is no lie. But, Kai, I was born a man. I was born to be an errant-knight. I will have that again!"
Kai started to speak, but soon paused.
It was the pause that concerned Ka-Ron.
"You still have a lot to learn, brave knight." Kai's voice dripped with vicious sarcasm.
"Do not&" the knight had started to say.
The ship straightened her course, and the rays of the suns retreated from the cabin. All was again dark and mysterious. Ka-Ron started to feel the cold returning once more.
"It is not right that you should be having so much fun without paying the price for your endeavors." Kai stated, taking her place once more in the corner of the room.
"Kai, by the name of my order, I beg you&"
"It is rare that a knight of Idoshia begs," Kai mused, "Even more rare is the mention of his order. I am honored to have caused you, of all, such distress."
"Kai!"
The Wicca Master put up a hand, causing the knight to crawl onto the bed and lie perfectly still. Ka-Ron tried to struggle, but, again, her body refused to follow her commands. Several times, the knight gasped in pain as she attempted to force herself off the mattress.
"It is time to start paying the toll." Kai waved her fingers about, causing the wind to etch out a spider web-like construction, aiming all of her powers at Ka-Ron. The sight was beyond the knight's understanding - she had never encountered the like before. "What is a woman's, is now all yours."
A dark blanket enveloped the knight, stifling out a terrified scream.
Kai disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The cabin was filled with her laughter.
Ka-Ron's body started to react.
The knight started to feel extremely warm. Her body started to shiver.
Then, there was the pain.
The knight felt an incredibly building heat, centering around the area of her sex. A dull pain, stabbing, almost throbbing, with its own rhythm and ebb. The pulse of pain cascaded through her entire body. Upon moving from the bed, she felt a sensation one could only confirm as liquid. A feeling of blood flowing, sticky, and not wholesome.
With a shaky hand, Ka-Ron looked down at her womanhood, seeing that she was now lying in a pool of blood. She was feverish. She felt cold. Anger slowly grew inside; cursing the moment she had ever met Kai.
"You bitch!" the knight cursed.
Ka-Ron was going through her first woman's cycle.
CHAPTER TWENTY
"Wha?"
Ka-Ron awakened quite suddenly, owing to feeling a series of soft slaps upon her face. She had been asleep for several cycles - of that, the knight was certain. The suns had gone down, and there was the look and feel of a calm night.
"Ka-Ron," Jatel said, his voice signifying panic. The squire's hands were going everywhere, messing up his master's clothes. "Ka-Ron, you're bleeding!"
"What?" she repeated, her throat scratchy and dry.
"Where's the wound, sire?"
The knight looked down, slowly rising. She was pleased to discover that she could now move from the bed. She had forgotten about the pool of blood, and became, at first, just as horrified and surprised as her lover. Keeth soon entered the room, holding a goblet of water. The wizard's face held just as much panic as Jatel's. Ka-Ron got the impression that both men did not understand what was happening to her, and had thought the worst.
Ka-Ron was genuinely moved.
"Jatel&Keeth&there is nothing to concern yourself about."
"Sire, you are bleeding."
Ka-Ron took hold of Jatel's hands, freezing him in his frantic search. Keeth continued his trek, giving the knight her water.
"This is all by Kai's design," Ka-Ron explained, drinking the water.
"Kai!" Jatel repeated. "She has caused you more pain."
"Yes," Ka-Ron stated, making a tired and painful face. "A pain that will go away, and return, I fear."
Both men looked confused.
Ka-Ron showed her bloodied palms, explaining. "She has given me a woman's cycle. I have just had my first."
It took a moment for the news to sink in.
"Eeewww!" both men said, almost in unison.
Ka-Ron rolled her eyes. "My heroes."
"Why would she do such a thing now?" Jatel asked, helping his master out of bed. He gently brushed the bangs out of Ka-Ron's eyes and kissed her.
"The curse has reached its next level, I fear," Jatel stated, gently rubbing his master's cheek.
"Perhaps&" was all Ka-Ron could bring herself to say.
Keeth had retreated from the cabin, only to return with a pair of unusual glasses. Kneeling down facing the bed, he placed the glasses upon his face. Instantly, telescopic lenses popped outward, allowing the wizard to investigate the large pool of dried blood.
"Yes!" the wizard proclaimed, his excitement clearly heard. "No doubt about it. This is indeed blood from a woman's cycle. Fascinating! Cycle blood from a woman who had once been a man. Interesting! To say the least."
Ka-Ron and Jatel said nothing.
Both, only smiled, rolling their eyes.
"There is a danger now, my child." Keeth stated, taking off his glasses.
"And what is that, wizard?" the squire inquired.
"There is now the threat of&well&motherhood."
Both Ka-Ron and Jatel separated.
"Do you mean I could have a child?" Ka-Ron asked as her face filled with both shock and amazement. "But I was once a man! Is that possible?"
"Dear, you're fully capable, from what I can see here." The wizard absently pointed back towards the bloodied sheets.
"Damn that evil woman!" the knight shouted.
"Yes," Keeth agreed.
Not knowing what else to do, Ka-Ron started to weep.
The wizard, awkwardly, decided it was time for him to leave. "I shall provide clean bedding and shall leave the two of you to your&rethinking of the situation."
Jatel silently nodded to the man, accepting his kindness in both his and his master's name.
"Master, all will soon be well."
Ka-Ron turned from Jatel, wiping away her tears. "I have cried more in these few suns, than I have my entire life. I hate the feeling, Jatel. I want it no more."
The squire did not know what to do. How could he even remotely know what his master was going through? What would it be like to have your whole identity suddenly reversed? To have your way of life, which all take for granted, changed and become alien? All Jatel knew, for sure, was that he loved his "woman" and wanted to comfort her in any way possible.
"Master, I am so sorry," the squire stated, walking up from behind and wrapping his arms around her waist.
Ka-Ron responded. She laid her head on one of Jatel's arms, cupping them at the elbows with her warm hands. She hummed a soothing tone, as she accepted his embrace. Both rocked slowly back and forth.
Before either knew what he was doing, they had landed upon the bed.
***
Staring at herself, Ka-Ron brushing her long hair and studied her reflection in the mirror. Her mind was filled with puzzlement. She did not know down what path her life was taking her. She had always prided herself upon being able to plan clearly where and when she would be, not ever having to care, or think, about the why. For the first time in her life, there was no focus.
This was to be expected, she had told herself. After all, normalcy would not be hers again, until she was turned back into a man.
Into a man&
She played with those words, never taking her eyes off her reflection, enjoying the soft and soothing strokes of her brush. She mulled the words Kai had offered, about breaking her squire's hearts with the successful completion of her quest. As if on cue, Jatel grunted a few times and turned upon his stomach. The knight could only smile. Lately, everything the man did seemed greatly to amuse her - even his common tasks. The way he grumbled when forced to do a chore he hated, the way he laughed, and, most importantly, the way Jatel gazed at her, when the squire thought she wasn't looking.
Her life was becoming quite complex.
"You have done well as a woman," Ka-Ron repeated, only lip-syncing. There were no sounds coming from her mouth. She did not wish to wake her squire.
A thought entered the knight's mind - the first time she had ever considered it - that she was indeed a beautiful woman. She took great comfort in those thoughts, and found it surprising, given that she never turned back. Could she live her entire life as a female? It wasn't really that bad. She admired the attention. She appreciated the curiosity. And she enjoyed the love-making. What was there to even consider?
Duty.
That simple word kept coming back to haunt her. Her king relied upon her courage and her skills in battle. Without her to lead Idoshia's armies, what would become of the stability of Teal? She could not live with herself if the village of her fathers fell into the hands of the Xows.
"I must proceed," Ka-Ron whispered. "My nation needs me."
For now, however, the brave knight needed her rest.
Ka-Ron turned to her bed, realizing that the excitement of the day had taken its toll upon her.
There was a tightness about her stomach, which suggested that her body was still reacting to the final stages of Kai's spell. She found herself laughing, when she realized that her breasts and grown a little, causing the buttons of her nightshirt to pop open a little.
"Big breasts do nothing to me but hurt my back, Kai," the knight whispered, getting between the sheets with her squire.
It did not take long for Ka-Ron to fall asleep.
What the knight of Idoshia failed to realize, was the nature of Kai's final spell. It completed the cycle of her curse upon Ka-Ron, who she accused of causing her daughter's untimely death.
The Misadventures of Ka-Ron the Knight Page 18