Knight Fall (The Champion Chronicles Book 1)

by Brad Clark

  He lowered his sword and bowed his head in defeat.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Conner walked Lilly along the cliff’s edge. To his right, the waters of the Gulf of Taran pounded rocks, the spray of the water rising nearly halfway up the sheer cliff. The smell of the salt water was strong, almost pungent. He had forgotten the smell, even though it had not been too many days since he was gone. He had lost count. Maybe it was ten. Maybe twenty. They all blended into one another. Amongst the days were battles. Battles and much blood. Too much of it spilled by friends. His body was sore from riding. His mind was sore from thinking and contemplating on all that had happened. He wanted to get back quickly, but he was not ready for it, yet. He missed Elissa, but his heart was heavy from the loss of the king and he could not bear the thought of seeing her in pain.

  The mountains were far behind him. On a clear day, their outline could be discerned against a deep blue sky. But gray clouds covered the entire sky, threatening a rain that he knew would only make the end of his journey that much more miserable. Ahead of him he knew the city of South Karmon was near. But the terrain between here and there was hilly enough and filled with enough trees that it was still hidden. He trudged on, following the path. It was a two-track path that wagon trains of merchants followed when trading with the far cities of the empire. It was well worn from the dozen or so treks that the merchants made each year. Lilly walked behind him, her head low. She was as worn out as he was and would be glad to be back in her stall where the princess could spoil her once again.

  The tall spires of the towers of the castle were suddenly in view. The path bent around a large outcropping of trees and the open plain that city sat upon opened up in front of him. The castle was in clear view with the city laid out around it. Between him and the great walls of the city were scattered thatch roofed houses of the farms that tended the fields. The two-track took a nearly direct route straight for the main gate, which was just out of view. He stopped and Lilly stopped, too. She let out a little whinny, as if she knew home was nearby. Taking the opportunity, the horse started pulling on grass that grew next to path.

  His eyes scanned the city, looking for signs of war or battle. There were none. He was afraid that Lord Neffenmark would lead an army to take over the city. It was a silly thought, he knew, for even though the knights were beat pretty badly, there were still many of them and would prove to be a formidable force. His eyes caught movement in the water and that was when he noticed the tall sailing ships that were anchored in safe water, just off the coast, away from the rocks and crashing waves. There were too many to easily count. He squinted his eyes to try and see more clearly, but the ships were too far away to make out if they were occupied or not. The looked big enough to carry troops. His heart began pounding in fear.

  He mounted Lilly and tired or not, she would have to carry him quickly to the city. He had never seen Taran warships before, but he had heard them described enough to know what they were. Without any signs of fatigue, Lilly brought him quickly to the city gates.

  The main city gates were open, but there were clear signs that something was wrong. The Royal Guard, who manned the gates were too preoccupied to care who came and went through the gate. Even the people of the city seemed subdued. They walked about doing their business, but it seemed at a sluggish pace. In the center of the market, which should be the loudest and busiest part of the city, was nearly empty. No one looked at one another, but occasionally he caught someone looking at him. But as soon as he tried to make eye contact, they would look away and walk away as quickly as possible.

  Conner kept moving through the city, not stopping, but eyes wide open looking for something to happen.

  The portcullis that led into the castle courtyard was down. Two Royal Guard, dressed in their ceremonial dark blue surcoats stood guard. They each held long pikes and stood at attention.

  Conner dismounted and approached. Their eyes looked past him.

  “Hello?” Conner asked.

  One of them glanced at him, but otherwise did not move.

  “I need to speak with Lord Martin and Princess Elissa,” Conner said.

  The guardsmen on Conner’s left snapped to attention and said, “The gates are closed until the wedding ceremonies have been concluded.”

  “Wedding? What wedding?” Conner asked.

  “Princess Elissa and Lord Neffenmark are getting married,” the guardsman said.

  Conner was speechless. He tried to speak, but his mind was so confused and shocked that words would not come out. The guardsman who spoke returned to his stance. Conner took a deep breath and stepped back into Lilly, who bucked her head at him. He could not believe what was happening. There was no possibility that the princess would marry anyone like Neffenmark. He knew there was no chance that this was done voluntarily. She had to be doing this under duress. And he was her champion. Her protector. His anger was at himself more than anything. He had left her alone and now she was in trouble. It was time for him to save her.

  “Do you not recognize me?” Conner suddenly blurted out. “I am the princess’ champion. Conner. You will let me pass.”

  The guardsmen glanced at one another. The one who had spoken earlier snapped to attention and said, “There is large iron gate between us and you. It will not be lifted until the morning, after the marriage has been consummated.”

  The thought of them consummating their marriage left a sickly feeling in his mouth. He looked around, wondering how he could climb the wall.

  “The entire contingent of guardsmen are upon the wall,” the guardsman said. “I would not recommend trying to climb the walls. You will not get far.”

  Conner stepped away, his mind spinning for any way to get into the castle. He looked up and indeed, every fifteen or twenty feet, a Royal Guard in their ceremonial surcoat stood at attention. Several of them were looking down at him, fingering their longbows. He took Lilly and started following the wall through the city. He knew of one possibility that might get him into the castle.

  The northern wall of the castle went all the way to the edge of the cliff, but the city stopped about a few hundred feet before the cliff wall. Mostly used for ceremonies or fairs, the land was barren and unkempt. He walked all the way to the edge of the cliff. A small stone wall, about waist high had been built from the castle wall all the way to the northern city wall. It wouldn’t do much to hold someone from falling over the cliff, but it did mark where the cliff was.

  He glanced up at the top of the castle wall to see if any of the guardsmen were watching him. Maybe they were, but he couldn’t tell. He would have to hope that they did not know about the cave entrance. After checking the guardsman, he peeked over the cliff, searching for where the cave entrance was. It was hard to see, nearly impossible unless you knew exactly where it was. It took a few moments, but he finally spotted where it was. The entrance was not visible, but he recognized the rock formation that indicated where it was.

  He climbed up onto the small wall as he heard shouts from the top of the castle wall. He took in a deep breath and jumped as far out as he could. As he fell, he could see arrows flying above his head. He closed his eyes and tensed up just as he was about the hit the water. His only thought was of hitting a rock and dying instantly or even breaking his neck, but somehow surviving. Then he would die a painful and slow death from drowning.

  The force of the water striking him was sudden and shocking. It hurt a lot more than he thought it would. Holding his breath, he tried not to panic as he sank towards the bottom of the gulf. All he could think about was that he was still alive. But now, he needed air and he had to get up to the surface soon. Just as he was about to panic because he wasn’t sure what to do, his feet hit the rocky bottom. Pushing off as hard as he could, he turned himself into an arrow by clasping his hands above his head. He flailed his legs, trying to propel him faster and just as he was about to give in and breath the water, his head broke through the surface. He took a deep breath and then a wave cra
shed over his head, knocking him back under. He kicked and paddled, trying to get his head back above the waves. The moment he did, he sucked in as much air as he could before he was knocked back under. Kicking his legs as hard as he could, he found that he could keep himself afloat just enough to keep from sinking.

  Then an arrow struck the water near him. Conner looked up to see a guardsman knocking another arrow and aiming it right at him. Doing his best to swim, he kicked and paddled to the rocky shore as arrows began raining down on him. As soon as his feet touched the bottom, he started running through the water as fast as he could. Breathing heavily from the exertion of swimming, he jumped out of the last few feet of water and sprinted for the small cave opening. A few more arrows rattled on the rocks behind him, but he was safe. And alive. He actually smiled as his chest heaved, trying to take in as much air as he could.

  He splashed through a small pool of water at the cave entrance and up a small embankment to the flat area where he had spent so much time training. He paused for a moment as he took in the memory of his time with Master Goshin. He missed the old man and hoped that he was finding what he was looking for. After a sentimental moment, he remembered what he was doing and why he was doing it. He raced through the cave and up to the lower level of the castle. He had spent so much time in these levels that he didn’t need to even think about getting lost. The only problem was that he had no idea where he was going.

  The most likely place was the princess’ apartment. The royal chambers were set in a wing separate from the rest of the castle’s rooms. It was also only reached through a single hallway. One that could be easily defended in case of attack. Or easily blocked to keep a crazed and wet man away. He didn’t care. He would fight his way into her room if need be. He adjusted his path to head directly for the hall that led to her room.

  The castle was busy with activity. There was much to do and very few servants around to do it. Many of them had taken up arms with the king and quite a few had not returned. This meant that everyone was too busy to take note of Conner running through the castle halls. His face was known to everyone, so his appearance was not unusual. No one would dare raise alarm with the princess’ champion in the castle. It was only when he turned into the hall that led to the royal chambers that he came upon his first problem.

  There were four of them. They weren’t in chainmail and weren’t wearing the deep blue surcoats of the Royal Guard. They were wearing the plain white tunics that knights wore. As soon as he stepped into the hallway, he came to a sliding stop and all four drew their swords at once. Conner followed suit and reached for his swords. But they weren’t there. They were still strapped to Lilly. He crouched into a defensive stance, hands up and ready. Maybe he wouldn’t need the swords if he were fast enough.

  The largest of them stepped forward with a wide grin on his face. “Hello, Conner,” Hollin said. The other three knights, all recently promoted to knighthood fell in behind their leader. Swords raised and ready.

  “Hollin,” Conner said. “I need to see the princess.”

  “That is a problem because I am between you and her. And there are four of us in the small hallway. And we have swords.”

  “He was in the valley,” one of the knight’s behind Hollin said.

  “Sure he was,” Hollin growled. “I was there, in front, about ready to march into Thell when we were attacked from behind.”

  The knight who had spoken lowered his sword. “And I was in the middle. With the king. I was there when Conner came. He saved our lives.”

  “Sir Jardonne!” Hollin called out. “You will raise your sword and defend your princess.”

  “I am here to save her,” Conner said.

  “There is nothing to save,” Hollin countered. “She has committed herself to preserving the kingdom. This wedding will do that.”

  “And you believe that?”

  “I am a Knight of Karmon,” Hollin cried out. “My duty is to the kingdom first and foremost. This wedding will preserve the kingdom for years to come.”

  “Neffenmark is a liar and a traitor. His only goal in life is to gain power at the expense of anyone and everyone else. He does not care about the kingdom or the princess.”

  A door opened behind the four knights. All eyes turned on the man who walked through.

  “Sir Marik!” Conner shouted out.

  Face grim and dark, he commanded his knights with a sharp voice, “Sir Hollin. Let Conner pass. And sheath your swords. All of you!”

  The four knights sheathed their swords at once.

  "Conner," Marik said with a softer tone. "You will come with me."

  Hollin let out a low growl and stepped aside to allow Conner to pass.

  Warily passing the four knights, Conner followed Marik through the doors at the end of the hallway. Marik closed the doors behind them.

  They were in an antechamber that had two sets of doors leading out of the room. Conner knew that one of the doors led to the princess’ chamber up a flight of stairs. The other door led to the royal apartments reserved for the king and queen. The antechamber was warm and friendly with bright tapestries hanging from the walls and a shaggy rug covering the center of the room. But Marik’s demeanor brought the brightness of the room down.

  “You should not have come,” Marik said.

  “The princess needs me,” Conner said.

  “She is to be married. Once married, there will be no use for a champion. The reason that you were around was to serve as her protector when she needed. To stand in for her when attacked. But with a husband, you won’t be needed.”

  The realization stunned Conner. “What will I do?”

  Marik put a hand on his shoulder and the friendly smile came back. “I can get you assigned to the Royal Guard. Or you can return to your home.”

  Conner shook his head. “I don’t want to go back home.” He looked at the closed doors that lead to her chamber. “There is nothing for me there. Only here.”

  “Conner,” Marik said with a sigh. “I know how you feel about her, but you need to understand that she must move on. The kingdom needs this. Without it, the alliance with Taran will fall apart.”

  “Alliance?”

  “It seems that among the things that Neffenmark did, he brokered an alliance with Taran. And it is only in place if Neffenmark has the crown.”

  “What are we going to do?” Conner asked.

  “We are going to do nothing,” Marik said. “There isn’t anything we can do. Until Sir Brace can return to bring the knights together…” Conner’s eyes dropped and Marik picked up the meaning and simply nodded his head. “He won’t be coming back.”

  “No.”

  “Okay,” Marik said. “But we will figure something out. But not today. Not tomorrow. Soon. We need to gather our strength before we can figure out how to get Neffenmark off the throne.”

  “Can I see her?” Conner asked.

  Marik looked at the doors and let a long sigh out. “If anyone finds out, it could be my head. You were supposed to be detained on sight. If Neffenmark gets word…I could be in serious trouble.”

  Conner smiled. “I’ll be quiet.”

  Marik nodded to the doors. “Her chamber. Her attendants are there. They won’t tell anyone. Just be quick about it.”

  Conner sprinted through the doors and took the stairs three at a time. It was farther up than he thought imaginable. By the time he reached the top landing, he was out of breath. Without thinking, he burst into the room.

  Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him in shock and fear. Princess Elissa, surrounded by a number of attendants, was in the process of having her dress fastened. Her face, framed by her golden hair was all he could see. To him, there was nothing else in the room. Her eyes, frozen open, went from surprise, to fear, to joy, to tears. The attendants, used to surprises happening around the royal family, quickly went back to work trying to finish getting the princess’ dress on. Instead, she shooed them away. She stepped forward in her d
ress, only partially fastened.

  Conner was speechless. In all the time that he had running up the stairs, he did not think about this moment. He did not think about what he might say. He was only focused on seeing the princess. And now that he was here, he did not know what to do.

  The princess took another step forward, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. “Conner. You are alive. I feared…” Her voice cracked and she could say no more.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Conner said.

  She took a deep breath and said, “You do not need to say anything. I am to be queen. The kingdom will be safe.” She said the words as if she were trying to convince herself of their truth.

  “I am sorry,” Conner said, trying to stifle his emotions.

  “For what?” she asked.

  “I could not save your father,” He answered. “I am sorry.”

  The tears began to flow, but her voice did not waver this time. “I know. I heard. Sir Marik told me all about it. You are my hero, Conner. I don’t know how to thank you. But it is me that is sorry. I am sorry because I cannot be there for you. You have always been there for me, but I cannot be there for you. I have a duty to this kingdom. To my people. I have to make sure they not only survive this, but thrive. My father started a legacy of peace and prosperity. I have to continue to do that. And it can’t be done if Lord Neffenmark is alone in charge. Or if the Tarans invade us. I have to be ready to do anything for this kingdom, and this … this wedding is it.”

  Conner shook his head. “I cannot let this happen. Neffenmark is evil. He is a traitor.”

  “I know,” Elissa said, her eyes dropping to the floor. “Sir Marik has told me everything. About Sir Brace. About my father. About you.”