Ariella and the Blood Curse

by Owen Crane

Another day’s riding would see them at Stonegard, just in time for the High

  Summer festival and the start of the Journey.

  The morning went by uneventfully. They passed through the Trevena

  border crossing without any issues. The border guards stood out in their bright

  red and orange clothes of the House of the Phoenix, royal house of King Tristan.

  They waved them through with a simple nod of their heads.

  They knew we were coming too, I guess that’s what Micah meant by ‘I’ve arranged

  everything as instructed.

  There were other travellers on the road. Merchants and farmers were most

  common. They passed by some travelling musicians who sprang into song

  when they saw the Palace Guards. It was a welcome break from the monotony

  of the ride. Unfortunately they soon passed them by and Ariella was left with

  the rhythm of Crispin"s hooves and trying to not to stare at Micah.

  Not long after lunch on that second day they passed through a small farming

  village. It was one of those idyllic villages that Ariella imagined when she

  pictured Trevena. The houses were wooden framed with thatched roofs. The

  gardens were neatly tended and the flowers bloomed in the sunshine. There was

  a small inn, “The Heifer’s Rest” on the village green, next to a duck pond.

  It wasn"t until the riding party had passed by the village green when a sense

  of uneasiness came over them. The Captain, still riding next to Ariella, slowed

  the pace of his horse and stood in the stirrups. Looking from left to right,

  studying the scene, the other riders moved their horses in around Ariella"s,

  blocking her on all sides. They loosened their long swords in their scabbards.

  “It"s quiet,” said the guard on Ariella"s right.

  The Captain was silent for a moment, listening.

  “Lukas” he said to the guard riding next to Micah, “Ride on, slowly, point

  position.”

  The guard turned his horse and trotted fifty yards in front of the rest, then

  slowed his horse and walked forwards. The others formed a diamond around

  Ariella and followed Lukas. The tension was thick in the air but the guards were

  calm, eyes alert.

  It was then that Ariella realised that in the change of formation, the captain

  was riding in front of her. Micah was now on her right, so close she could reach

  out and touch him.

  Will you please get a grip! He is here to guard you and they are all ready to fight for you and all you’re thinking about is how close his arm is.

  The sound of shouting, someway in the distance, interrupted her thoughts.

  Lukas held up his hand and the party stopped. He bent his head, listening, and

  then he waved them forward. The riders covered the fifty metres at speed.

  “It"s coming from the left, off the main road somewhere. Sounds like an

  argument over land, someone mentioned poison.” Lukas informed them “It"s

  getting serious, I think they want to hang someone.”

  The Captain took charge. “Okay, keep alert and let"s get through this village.

  Get ready to run if we need to. Lukas, lead on”

  “What?” Ariella questioned, staring at the captain

  “We"re leaving Your Highness.”

  “Leaving! They"re going to hang someone!”

  “So it would seem, but we don"t know who „they" are or who „someone" is”

  “So what? We need to intervene”

  “Intervene?” The captain asked, trying to keep the frustration out of his

  voice.

  “Yes!”

  “No, Your Highness”

  “No!” Ariella was stunned. Captains of the guards didn"t say “no” to her.

  “No. My orders are simple, Your Highness. We are to get you to Stonegard

  in time for High Summer.” He turned his horse away from her. The other riders

  gathered around Crispin.

  “I"m the Princess, I"m changing your orders.”

  The Captain didn"t even turn his head. “My orders come directly from the

  Queen, we are taking you to Stonegard.”

  Ariella looked at the guards. None of them were watching her. The other

  riders were bunched in around Crispin but she still had his reins. She gripped

  them tightly. The rider to her left took a slight pause as he turned his head to

  check the road behind them. It was a small gap but it was all she needed.

  “To hell with the Queen” she whispered. Kicking her heels into Crispin’s

  side, she dove through the gap towards the sounds of shouting.

  Chapter 5

  Ariella kicked Crispin into a gallop and they flew across the field in the

  direction Lukas had said. Behind her she could hear the shouts of the guards

  and the captain bellowing orders.

  He’ll get over it. I’m not letting them hang somebody without checking it out.

  There were a few scattered houses to either side of her as the grassy field

  sloped downwards. At the far end of the field was a large farmhouse with

  several out buildings. It sounded like the shouting was coming from the barn

  furthest away.

  Ariella pointed Crispin towards the barn and drove him on. She risked a

  glance over her shoulder. The guards were streaking after her and gaining

  ground. One of the guards was blowing hard on a small silver bugle.

  Yeah, like I’m going to stop because you blew your little trumpet. Good luck with

  that.

  She rounded the barn at full speed and right into a small mob of people. She

  had to pull Crispin up fast to stop her trampling over a particularly round lady

  with a fierce expression on her face. She was facing the mob and whirling a

  heavy rolling pin around her head.

  “Hang him!” She was shouting. “Hang the poisonous little imp! He’s trying to kill us all!”

  She was still whirling the rolling pin when she noticed Ariella. In all the

  noise and attempted hanging no one had heard her riding up.

  “Here’s another one!” She screeched pointing the rolling pin at Ariella.

  “They’ve come to kill us and our children.”

  The mob went quiet for a moment as they tried to take in this new arrival. It

  appeared they weren’t used to fifteen year old girls galloping around their

  village on horseback.

  A beast of a man with a barrel chest and hands the size of loaves of bread,

  stepped forward.

  “And who exactly do you think you are?” He asked slowly, threateningly.

  He was just about to take another step around the corner when Ariella’s,

  particularly unhappy, escort charged around the corner of the barn, swords

  drawn.

  Chaos erupted.

  The guards tried to surround Ariella but she was barging them out of the

  way with her horse. The Captain was yelling orders at his men while

  threatening the man with the barrel chest and keeping a wary eye on the woman

  swinging the rolling pin. The barrel chested man was shouting abuse at the

  captain and the rest of the guards. The rolling pin woman was advancing on the

  Captain, convinced that she could take on the swords. All the while one of the

  guards was blowing incessantly on his bugle.

  Ariella finally lost it.

  “Will you all shut up!” she yelled, standing high in her stirrups.

  The effect was instantaneous. Everyone fell silent, much to her surprise.

  Even the bugle player stopped mid blow, lips still arou
nd the end of the small

  horn.

  “Right, let"s sort this mess out. First of all, Captain, if that man plays one

  more note on that bugle I am going to personally trample it into the mud, is that

  clear?” The bugle player hastily stored it in his pack and shifted nervously in his

  saddle. “Now you and your men put away your swords.”

  “Your Highness, I am sworn to protect you and you are in danger”

  “From a rolling pin Captain, are you quite sure?

  The Captain looked sheepish at that comment and motioned for his men to

  put away their swords.

  “Excellent” Ariella carried on. “Now madam, if you would be so kind to

  lower your rolling pin that would make the captain here much more relaxed.”

  Unused to being addressed in such a polite manner, the woman, rather

  against her will, found herself lowering the rolling pin and taking a step

  backwards.

  The barrel chested man was still standing in front of Ariella and was still

  glaring.

  “Now good sir, I am Princess Ariella of Lightharbour, House of the Eagle.

  Would you please let me know your name?”

  Flustered, the man tried an awkward bow. Evidently bowing was not

  something they did a lot in the village. Nor was meeting a Princess and their

  guards.

  “Your, er, ladyness, I am Robert of er…this farm and er…that house over

  there.”

  “Excellent” smiled Ariella, trying to reassure the man and keep the situation

  calm. “My escort and I were just passing through your village on the way to

  Stonegard. We noticed that you were upset about something. Is that right?”

  “Damn right!” bellowed the rolling pin lady, finding her voice again. “This

  sewer rat,” she waved her rolling pin towards somewhere near the back of the

  crowd, but Ariella couldn"t make anyone out, “has been poisoning our fields and

  our river. If we hadn"t caught him in time he would"ve poisoned the lot of us.

  We"re going to hang him and there"s nothing you can do about it!” She said

  swinging her rolling pin again and staring at the Captain.

  “My good lady…” began Ariella

  “Don"t you „good lady" me! I"m no la de da lady and this isn"t Lightharbour,

  it"s Trevena, so why don"t you and you little soldiers sod off!” She took a step

  forward pointing the rolling pin at Ariella.

  The Palace Guards simultaneously drew their swords again, an automatic

  response when someone is threatening their Princess.

  “Put them away!” said Ariella exasperatedly “She"s got a rolling pin not a

  battle axe. Madam, we mean you no harm, we are only small in number and, as I

  said, on our way to Stonegard when…”

  Ariella"s voice dropped off as she heard a growing rumble coming from

  behind the barn. The noise grew louder and louder until, bursting around the

  side of the barn came fifty heavily armed Palace Guards, their banners

  displaying the House of the Eagle.

  “What?” Ariella was spluttering. “What are you doing here?”

  The lead rider ignored her, took a speedy assessment of the situation and

  gave a series of hand movements. Immediately, the fifty new guards

  surrounded the mob, spears lowered, creating a wall of steel with no way out.

  “Help!” someone shouted

  “We"re being invaded,” yelled another.

  “We"re all going to die!” came a high pitched voice.

  “Captain, would you like to tell me, exactly, what is going on?” Ariella was

  trying to remain calm but she could feel the anger building.

  “We"re protecting you from the imminent threat Your Highness.”

  “Imminent threat is that what you’re calling it? A threat from an unarmed

  farmer named Robert and a militant milkmaid with a rolling pin! Have they got

  you and your men terrified Captain?”

  “She was threatening you, Your Highness.”

  “With a rolling pin! This was what that bloody trumpet was about wasn"t it?

  You were signalling them?” She glared back at the bugle player who seemed to

  shrink even further into his saddle.

  Ariella turned her attention to the scene in front of her. The villagers had

  quickly turned from a baying mob to a quivering mass. All except the rolling pin

  lady. She was still swinging the pin and threatening soldiers.

  “Everyone put away your weapons!” She shouted.

  The guards hesitated, looking back and forth between the crowd, the Captain

  and the Princess.

  “Now!” She yelled

  Reluctantly, the guards put away their weapons but they kept their horses

  surrounding the villagers.

  “Now, everyone back away, slowly.” Ariella stared down any of the guards

  that dared to look at her until they had all moved several paces away from the

  villagers.

  “Okay Captain, why don"t you explain to me why there are now another

  fifty Palace Guards standing with us in this field?”

  “Queen"s orders, Your Highness.” the Captain replied stiffly; he clearly

  didn"t appreciate the tone Ariella was using.

  “Queen"s orders? That was what you meant by „finalising some details"

  when we back at the Palace was it? They"ve been following us since then haven"t

  they? I thought you said that you wanted an escort of twenty. Why are there

  fifty of them?”

  “Queen"s orders. She didn"t think twenty was enough.”

  “This is ridiculous, what did she expect to happen to me?”

  “If I may be so bold, Your Highness, I believe she foresaw a situation like

  this.”

  Ariella spun around, wondering who had spoken. She blinked hard, her

  mouth dry. It was Micah, his deep, brown eyes locked with hers. There was no

  hint of a smile, he was being serious.

  “That"s what you think is it?” She demanded.

  Damn, he’s gorgeous; I could stare into those eyes all day.

  What? Get a grip Ari!

  “Okay let"s see if we can sort this mess out then. Captain withdraw your

  men to the other side of the barn.”

  “I would like to oblige Your Highness but I cannot leave you unguarded.”

  “No, of course not, after all she does have a rolling pin.” The Captain began

  to protest but Ariella cut him off. “Leave one of your men behind.” She paused,

  trying not to smile, “That one will do.” She was pointing at Micah.

  Subtle Ari…so subtle.

  “Micah, stay with the Princess. Do not leave her side, the rest of you, with

  me.” The captain turned his horse and trotted to the other side of the barn, thirty

  yards away but out of sight.

  Micah moved his horse so it was almost touching Ariella"s. His eyes were

  fixed on the rolling pin wielding lady at the front of the crowd. She had regained

  some of her voice now the guards had backed off.

  Ariella was suddenly extremely conscious that her hair must be a mess after

  the gallop across the field. She tried to run her hands through it, and flick it

  across her shoulder away from Micah, revealing her better side. At least that"s

  what she hoped she was doing. She was concentrating so hard on making

  herself look good that she missed the hush that fell on the group.

  She tried to several more times to get her hair to do what she wanted when,

  at last, sh
e noticed the silence. She jolted her hand back to her side and looked

  around. Everyone was staring at her with a bemused look on their faces.

  She coughed loudly. “Right,” she said, far too loudly. “Shall we get

  started?” She cast a sideways look at Micah who had gone back to watching the

  rolling pin lady.

  Well, that was about as embarrassing as it could get. Top job Ari…really fine work.

  She turned her attention to the villagers in front of her and found Robert, the

  barrel chested farmer.

  “Robert, would you be so kind and tell me what"s been going on?”

  “Well, your ladyness, it"s been a bit of a long tale, you see.” He cleared his

  throat loudly and then launched into his story. “The fields have been looking

  weak this year, not just my fields, but all of them. Trevor down the lane, Old

  Paddy on the other side of the river, all them, looking weak they have been. No

  one knew why, sun"s been shining, rain"s been pouring, soil is good, and we’re

  all a bit clueless. Then yesterday morning, little Daniel was fishing in the river

  when he saw the fish your ladyness.” He paused, upset.

  “Go on,” Ariella urged.

  “They"re dead, your ladyness, all of them. Just lying there in the river, belly

  up, dead, completely dead. I checked them. With a stick, they were all dead.”

  “She gets the picture Robert, get on with it so we can hang him,” rolling pin

  lady snapped, tapping her pin against her open hand.

  Ariella ignored her “Keep going Robert.”

  “The river was dark, the water I mean, it looked dark. It was creepy with all

  them fish lying belly up an’ all. Well, then it got really bad. Old Paddy was out

  in his field this morning checking on his wheat and that’s when he saw it.” His

  face turned white and he hesitated. A solemn silence hung heavily on the crowd.

  Even the rolling pin lady stopped still.

  “It’s like they’re, well, bleeding.”

  “Bleeding? What’s bleeding?”

  “The wheat, your ladyness, the roots of wheat was bleeding. It was thick,

  sticky blood, so dark it was almost black. It was the freakiest thing I"ve ever seen

  in my life. When Old Paddy found it he came screaming across the fields like

  he"d seen a ghost. Then we all started pulling up the plants in our fields. It’s the

  same everywhere in the village. Wheat, barley, turnips, spuds, even the roots of