by Brad Clark
The old knight turned to look at Conner. He squinted, trying to figure out who was calling his name. Conner walked forward until he was just a few feet away. “Squire Conner? Is that you?”
“Yes, Sir Kal, it is,” Conner replied.
“Looking for a horse for another ride through the forest?” Sir Kal asked with a toothless smile.
“As a matter of fact, I am," Conner said.
Sir Kal shook his head. “Sorry, young man. But there are none that are left. They are all gone.”
Conner looked around. He counted five that he could see. “But there are still some left. Over there are two of them. And three against that far wall.”
Sir Kal cleared his throat. “Those are for the royal messengers. They are not to be used but by the messenger who must travel to the field of battle.”
The words caught Conner off guard. “Field of battle? What are you talking about?”
“The battle field," Sir Kal replied. "The war.”
Conner stood with his mouth agape. “War? What war? And where are all the other horses? The knight’s war horses?”
“They have all mustered for battle,” Sir Kal replied. His words were so matter-of-fact it was as if going to war was a daily occurrence.
“Sir Kal, you are not making any sense. What battle are you talking about?”
“Were you not called to arms this morning?" Sir Kal asked. "All the squires and knights were called. They are being fitted for weapons and armor. Many are leaving this afternoon to scout the way north. Those who are left are to scour the city to gather all the men and prepare them for war.” He shook his head, as if he were talking to a crazy man, and walked off with his armful of hay.
Conner’s head spun. War? And against whom? Were they finally going to invade Thell? Or did Thell decide to invade us? The thought of war was both exciting and horrible at the same time. Everything he did for the past few months had really been about this moment. They didn’t train for peace, they trained for war. A strange feeling of dread started in the pit of his stomach. He really couldn’t comprehend what war meant. He had heard about it. There were stories of glory and honor about it. But the last real war that Karmon was in happened way before he was born. He really had no idea what going to war truly went.
Conner looked at the closest riding horse. It was in a stall about fifteen feet from where he stood. It was a light tan color with a black mane and tail. It was currently rummaging through the hay at its feet, being picky about what it decided to eat. Conner could have it saddled and ready to ride in two minutes. No one would know. No one would catch him. And certainly now, with the squires and knights called to battle, no one would surely chase after him. But the thought of war really scared him. Not because he was afraid of combat, but because he was afraid of what it meant for the kingdom and for Princess Elissa. His hesitation told him what he should do. Now was not the time to run away.
He returned to the squire barracks to put back his bags and supplies. Oddly, he found Arpwin, the king’s personal assistant wandering the halls of the barracks. Conner was about to walk right past him, but Arpwin, raised a hand and smiled at him.
“Ah!" Arpwin said in greeting. "It seems that your services are being requested by the king himself.” He motioned down the hall towards the castle. “Shall we?”
"What is going on," Conner asked without moving.
"It is war," Arpwin replied. "Have you not heard?"
"Yes, but who? Why?"
"The knights are marching to the north to battle Thell,” Arpwin said. "As to why, King Thorndale believes that peace can never happen through diplomacy. He believes it is now time for a military solution.”
“Then I should prepare as well. Where are the knights meeting?” Conner turned to leave, but Arpwin put a gentle hand on his arm.
“It is not the battle field where you are needed,” Arpwin said softly. “The king wishes you to attend to your duty.”
“I am not going to sit back and babysit some snot nosed princess!” Conner shouted. “I am a soldier, and I am going to battle.”
Arpwin lifted his hand off Conner’ arm. “I am but the messenger, but I think your promise to the king and to the princess should not be overlooked.”
“The princess has plenty of guards," Conner said. "The king’s guard are not going to war, are they? They will still need to be around to guard the city gates and the castle.”
“That is true,” Arpwin replied. He started to say more, but then stopped himself. He scratched his beard and looked from Conner, to the ground, and then back to Conner. “Conner,” he finally said. “I have been the king’s attendant for many years. So many years I have lost count. I am no soldier or trained in any way to fight in a battle. I serve the king and do what he asks. We talk some, but mostly he talks and I listen. I am not one to give advice. I do not have the blessing of the gods like the king does. But I have seen and heard much in my many years. It has been a very long time since we have been at war. There have been battles and skirmishes here and there. But not a war. Not like what is happening now. The line of King Thorndale is long and historic. He is a direct ancestor of the first king of Karmon. That needs to stay in place in order for the kingdom to survive. I hope you understand that. That means the princess must survive. In whatever way is necessary. You did it once, and you may have to do it again. I don’t think that the king really trusts anyone else other than you right now.”
“Really?” Conner asked.
Arpwin nodded his head and put a hand on Conner’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “Come with me. For the princess and for the king. It is true that there are still a number of royal guard in the city and in the castle to protect the princess, but it would mean more to both of them if you would stay and fulfill your promise. Whether you like it or not, you are Princess Elissa’s Champion. There are plenty of knights to fight upon the battlefield, but there is only you to stand at her side and protect her.”
Conner dropped his head, resigned to a fate that he did not want. Now that the knights and army has been called to arms, he knew that his duty should be to the kingdom. He should be taking up arms and fighting for his kingdom. And once the fighting is over, he would go find Master Goshin and continue his training. But he had made the vow. And as much as he didn’t want to stay back, he knew now it was the right choice. With a slight nod of his head, he let Arpwin lead him back up from the dark halls of the barracks to the waiting king.
***
King Thorndale was dressed in a simple grey nightshirt when Conner was let in. There were dark stains under the armpits and down the front of the shirt. The king’s hair was matted and unkempt, but he wore a wide smile.
"Conner!" the king shouted. "You must excuse my appearance. I have been spending some time reacquainting myself with my sword. It seems that at some point the past few years, the swords have gotten heavier!" He laughed at his own joke, but his laughter faded when Conner didn’t join in.
Conner stood stiffly, still quite uncomfortable in the presence of the king.
An attendant handed the king a goblet of wine and he gulped it down. "Wine?" the king asked.
"No, your majesty," Conner replied.
"You do not seem quite yourself," the king asked.
Conner didn’t know how much he should really say, so he paused a moment to consider his words carefully. "Your majesty. I know I have made a vow to be Princess Elissa’s champion. But I have trained very hard and I feel..."
"Enough," the king said softly. "I know you have trained hard. I know that Master Goshin has taught you well, trained you well. But you are not trained for battle. You have not trained atop a horse. Fighting from a horse is more than just being able to swing a blade. You have to know your horse, know how it moves and reacts to both swordsmen and pikemen. Defeating a pikeman with a ten foot pole is not an easy task. Trust me, I know. In my youth I did fight in battles against ranks of pikemen. Man on man, a knight is dominant, but a good pikeman balances out the battle. Unle
ss of course, you have trained to defeat them. Your training has been to defend the princess, not the kingdom."
"I know, but..."
The king approached and put an arm around Conner. "I know how you feel. The men and boys you have been training with are going to war and you are not. When I was young, the same thing happened to me. My father took arms against a rogue Lord and I had to stay at the castle. Being the next in line for the throne, my life was even more important than my father’s. I had trained even more than you. I had trained as a knight, trained to fight from a horse. And I was left with the women in the castle. It is a humbling thing. But we all have our roles to play. Mine is to lead this war to finally rid us of the threat of Thell. Yours is to stay and protect my daughter. She is the last link to the next generation of Thorndale’s, and the lineage must not be broken."
Conner nodded his head. He still did not like having to stay back, but it was the right thing to do.
"Now that we have that settled," the king said with a hearty slap on Conner’s back. "There is a lovely young woman wandering the battlements atop the castle alone. I think she could use some company."
***
Conner found her standing in the space between two sections of the battlements that lined the top of the castle. Down below them the knights and squires were preparing for war. Armor needed to be tended to. Swords needed to be sharpened. Tents, blankets, and all sorts of supplies needed to supply a force of knights marching to war needed to be loaded onto wagons. It was a business that seemed chaotic, but a careful eye revealed that that everyone was doing something with purpose.
The sun had climbed high above, casting the full heat of the summer upon them. There would be no more cool days for several months. The nights would still be pleasant, but the mid-day heat would get even more oppressive. Princess Elissa was dressed for warm weather in a light and thin gown. Her hair was tied behind her head, which she rarely did. It hung in one thick strand down the middle of her back.
Conner stepped forward from the shade of the stairwell and she turned to him. No smile, but no angered look, either.
“Princess,” Conner said with a slight bow.
“You look well,” she said approvingly.
He had finally found some clothes that fit him. They weren’t the silky bright colors that the other courtiers like to wear, but they also weren’t the rough scratchy wool tunics and leggings that the squires were provided. His tunic was soft and comfortable, loose fitting, but not baggy. It made him feel… normal.
“What are you doing?” He wasn’t sure how to start the conversation. He was nervous and his palms were sweaty.
“Are we really going to war?” she asked.
“Yes," he answered. "Well, not everyone. But most.”
“The Guard, too?”
“Some. Most of the Royal Guard will stay here. And some of the older knights as well to help train the army. And then they will march north with them. But the rest of the knights, they will be riding out in a few days.”
After a moment, she asked, “You?”
Conner turned away from her and leaned over the chest-high battlements so he could avoid looking at her. “No. Not me.”
“You sound sad,” Elissa said. "As if you want to go war."
“Those that I have trained with over the past few months are going to war," Conner replied with an irritated tone. "And I am staying back. I should be with them.”
“I’m glad you’re staying,” she said. She turned to him, and he turned to look at her. She smiled at him, and he gave her a weak smile back. “Walk with me,” she said.
He did as he was asked. She led him down the steep stairs within the tower, across the courtyard that was filled with wagons, and through the castle gates. Conner had not spent much time in the city. With training both as a squire and with Master Goshin, there was little time for sightseeing. Stopping just past the gate, he looked out at the city and for the first time took in what he saw. From atop the tallest tower, the entire city could be seen. But even though the castle was on the highest ground above the city, from where they stood, they still could only see a smart part of the city. They city had evolved over time. The buildings and houses closest to the castle were the oldest. They were smaller and tended to continually be on the verge of falling down. The stone that made the walls were crumbling and always in a constant state of repair. As one walked away from the castle, and towards the city walls, the buildings became taller and more elaborate. Many of the larger buildings were constructed from stone blocks carved from a quarry upstream of the Tyre River. The stone masons had taken their time with those buildings, adding art to the architecture. But like all cities, there were good parts and bad parts. Even some of the newer parts of the city were not good places to walk after dark.
Elissa started to walk away, but Conner was not following. He seemed to be frozen, stuck in a place that he was not familiar with. Finally, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along. He didn’t bother trying to release his hand from hers, nor did she try and let go. They walked for some time through the streets of South Karmon, hand in hand.
Their first stop was one of the many open air markets. It seemed to be filled with as many vendors as there were patrons. Conner felt a bit claustrophobic in the crush of people, but Princess Elissa kept his hand in hers with a tight grip. She led him straight to an old woman selling fruit. They chatted briefly about the weather, then about the woman’s sick husband. The princess ended up buying a small sack of apples.
“Do you not fear being here, alone?” Conner asked.
“But I am not alone,” the princess said. She nodded in greeting to several passers-by. “I am here with you. And what would I have to be afraid of?”
“Well, it was just a few months ago that you were kidnapped, almost killed…”
She squeezed his hand and let out a childish giggle. “My silly champion. The festival is fresh in the minds of these people. They saw you. They saw what you did. They should be afraid of you.”
“I am nothing,” Conner said. "A peasant boy."
Elissa playfully squeezed his upper arm and then patted him on the chest. “You are hard, full of muscle. You are no boy.”
Conner let her lead them through the city. At first he thought she was giving him a tour of the city. Partly because her path seemed to have no reason to it and partly because she spent most of the time talking about the city. They passed several more markets, one with fresh fish that seemed to have been sitting out in the sun a bit too long. They quickly moved past and tried to stay as up-wind from the fish market as they could. But their seemingly random path suddenly came to a stop near the northwestern wall. The homes of this part of the city could hardly be called houses. They were built from scraps and leftovers. Many did not have any doors and some were lacking a solid roof. He had never realized that there were homes like this in the city. He had always thought everyone in the city was wealthy and had a good home to live in. Some of the homes around his village fell apart after time. Sometimes it was after a big storm. Sometimes just because the house was old and the wood rotted. But when that happened, there was always a neighbor or someone to help rebuild the house. Conner realized it was probably easier to rebuild a house in the woods than in the middle of a city.
“Come,” Elissa said, standing in the doorway of a nearby shack. There was no door, only a tattered blanket to act as one.
The house had a single room and smelled of sweaty and dirty bodies. There was little in the room other than a table with two chairs, one of them had only three legs. A pile of blankets was tossed into a corner of the room. She moved towards the blankets and as she neared, the blankets started to move. A small ashen-white face appeared from underneath the blankets.
Elissa leaned down and whispered to the small girl. “Mary? How are you feeling?”
The young girl’s eyes lit up when she recognized who was talking to her. “Elissa!” the young girl said excitedly.
Elissa rubbed the
girls face, pushing the matted hair off her forehead. “You look tired.”
“I was outside yesterday,” the little girl replied.
“Mary!” Elissa said in a sweet, but scolding tone.
“It was the festival. I had to see," Mary explained.
“See? See what?" Elissa asked.
“I wanted to see you in your dress that you were telling me about. The one that you had made for the ball. Did you dance with him? Is that him?” The girl looked up at Conner and smiled.
“Hello,” Conner said.
“Did she dance with you? Are you Conner? You look like him. Big and strong. Just like she described.”
Elissa’s face turned red. Conner gave her a wide smile. “Princess Elissa talked about me?” he asked.
“She says I can call her Elissa because we are friends. Are you really Conner?” the little girl asked.
“Yes I am,” Conner replied.
“She talks about you all the time,” Mary said with a giggle.
Conner glanced at Elissa with a raised eyebrow. Then he asked the little girl, “What does she say about me?”
“Okay,” Elissa said, interrupted. “That’s about enough! Mary, you ask too many questions! Are you hungry?”
The girl shook her head. “Momma made me porridge for lunch. It was good.”
Elissa rubbed the side of the girls face again. “You are tired. You should rest.”
Mary rolled over onto her side and pulled the blankets up tight. “Okay,” she said in a near whisper. “Will you sing to me?”
"Of course," Elissa said. She closed her eyes and began to sing. Conner sat on the ground and watched Elissa. Her eyes were closed, and her soft, red lips brought magic to their ears. For several minutes the princess went through the song, until the breathing of the little girl settled down and she was fast asleep. Letting the song fade, Elissa carefully bent over Mary and touched her lips to the little girl's forehead. With a last glance, she backed out of the house.