The Protector of Esparia (The Annals of Esparia Book 1)

by Lisa M. Wilson

  They rode in silence, one strictly behind another. Ophir led, picking the way northward to Ramadine. Varnack was next, followed by Jessica, Anton, the Elitet and Reese. Jessica was exceedingly grateful for the two soldiers who accompanied them. Her ability to be alert and watch for possible traps was lost in the fog of pain that she drifted into. It was all she could do to hang onto her horse. Mercifully, while the long hours passed, the pain let up. It never fully went away, but decreased to a tolerable level.

  Late in the afternoon, Ophir ordered a brief rest to drink, eat, and allow the horses to nibble at the grasses growing on the forest floor. Jessica found that as long as she did not move too much, nor breathe too deeply, the pain in her side would not escalate, so she remained in her saddle.

  Giving Web free rein to wander in search of food, she gazed up through the thin, feathery canopy at the sky, to the planet Ragus, forever hovering in the north. Web stopped moving and little snorts of contentment came from him as he gnawed at the plants around them.

  “Find something good, boy?” Jessica patted his neck. To her delight, just to the left of where Web was tearing at a tender green shoot, she spotted a large, purple fern, just like the one she had used to heal Varnack’s leg.

  “Uncle Anton,” she called. “Look what I found.”

  He pulled his horse over. A smile spread across his face when he dismounted. Using the point of his dagger, he carefully sliced the plant at its base and handed it to Jessica.

  “This will help your shoulder, won’t it?”

  “Yeah. This aids in the healin’ of any open wound. It works so fast, some think it’s magic.”

  “Then turn around and I’ll redress you shoulder.” She untied the bandage and carefully inspected the hole. “It’s a good thing I’m not squeamish.” She broke a piece of the fern and let the white liquid sap drip into the wound. She placed the rest of the piece over the hole and retied the bandage.

  “Feels better already,” Anton said flexing his shoulder. “The liquid has a way of stoppin’ pain.”

  Taking some of the fern from Jessica, Anton went to Varnack and attended to the great hound while Jessica rode over to Reese to redress his arm. She noted they were about the same height, but he seemed a few years older.

  “There,” she said with satisfaction, “your arm should be as good as new in a few days.”

  “Thank you,” he responded. “I wish I had some of that plant a few weeks ago.”

  “Here,” she held out the rest of it to him. “The past cannot be changed, but maybe this will help in the future.”

  “Thanks.” He took the precious fern and carefully placed it in his saddlebag.

  When they stopped for the night, Anton dismounted next to Jessica. Before she could move, he tenderly lifted her off of her horse. “Too bad that fern can’t be used on broken bones,” he tried to say quietly in her ear. However, he made her ear ring for several minutes.

  “You know!” She was shocked. “I was trying so hard not to let on. But they’re not broken, only cracked, I think. Right now, everything’s gone numb, so I’m doing okay.” She walked over to a fallen log and gingerly sat down. Varnack limped over to sit at her side. She affectionately stroked his big head and back.

  That evening the decision was made to forge a straight march to Ramadine. “It’s time we let the world know Jessi’s in Esparia,” Anton said. “Daenon knows she’s here, ‘n if there are more teams of Elitet out there, our best defense will be crowd safety. We’ll announce Jessi’s arrival and let the people see her. They’ll help protect her. The news’ll go ahead of us to Ramadine that we’re safe. I’m sure her dad’s especially worried. I know I would be.”

  “If we’re going to go somewhere public, then I need a bath,” Jessica announced. The two soldiers stared at her in surprise.

  “That may not be wise” Ophir cautioned.

  “I understand,” Jessica countered, “but, just the same, I can’t be seen like this.” She gestured to her entire body with both hands. “I can’t…I just can’t.” She looked for help to her uncle. “Uncle Anton, please.”

  He heaved a deep sigh and nodded. “I guess it’s a girl thing.”

  *

  Morning came too soon for Jessica. She was sore and dirty. She had never considered herself a girly girl, but she would have given anything for a toothbrush.

  “Just for you Jessi, we’re headed to a small stream this mornin’,” Anton said. “Not much water there, but hopefully enough for ya to wash up some.”

  “Really?” Jessica was elated.

  Ophir chuckled. “I have little understanding of women, Lady Jessica, but I can appreciate the need for cleanliness. The stream is not far from here.”

  “Thank you. Thank you. And by the way, my name’s Jessica. The ‘lady’ thing is too strange for me. Please, just call me Jessica and I’ll call you Mister Ophir. That goes for you too, Reese,” she called to him, “call me Jessica.”

  Reese gave her a nod and mounted his horse.

  Ophir finished adjusting a strap that held Varnack’s sling in place between two of the extra horses. “All right, Jessica it is, but only in private. In public, you will always be referred to as Lady Jessica. That is the title of a Protector.” He swung up onto his horse. “And my name is simply Ophir.”

  Anton went to Varnack and stroked the animal’s head. “Doin’ okay?”

  Varnack licked his friend’s hand.

  “Well, ya look a lot better this mornin’.” He gave Varnack one more pat, then went to Jin, the beautiful stallion who carried the big man with ease.

  They rode in single file again through the soft needled forest. Jessica scanned the ground for more purple ferns, but was disappointed to reach the small stream without finding one.

  Anton helped her dismount, then took Web’s reins. “We’ll be right over there if ya need us,” he said gesturing to a spot beyond her line of vision. Ophir had already disappeared behind the row of trees and Reese was right after him.

  “Thanks. I won’t be long,” she said. She felt foolish to make the men go out of their way for her, but the dried blood in her hair mixed with the dirt of camping out for over a week, and her filthy clothes were almost more than she could bear.

  Jessica waded into the shallow brook where the deepest point came to just above her knees. Sitting down, she washed as best as she could in the refreshingly cool liquid. Her face felt sore and tender from the blow she had received and her ribs hurt with the effort of sitting, but she was clean. Closing her eyes, she lay down in the water, letting the gentle current sweep the grime and blood away.

  The peaceful moment did not last long. Nausea flooded into her stomach while adrenaline pumped into her bloodstream. Jessica scrambled to her feet. The tall firs and dense underbrush were undisturbed; nothing seemed out of sorts, but her intuition was unmistakable.

  Her friends were to her right, just beyond the first row of trees, yet something cautioned her to keep silent. If arrows were pointed her way, her call could mean their instant deaths. Sensing, rather than seeing her attackers, Jessica paused for one brief electric moment, then dove into the two and half-foot deep water and swam for her life, the meager current helping push her downstream. Twigs snapped behind her.

  Jessica did not travel very far in the water, when the stream became shallower. She would have to make a run for it. Grabbing a fist sized rock from the stream bed she scurried out and dashed into the forest, adrenaline overcoming any pain from her ribs. She let out a piercing scream, hoping Varnack would hear it.

  She could hear her pursuers closing in while she dodged trees and plowed through bushes. Her efforts to avoid capture were short lived, for two Elitet on horseback easily caught up with her. She dropped to the ground, just when they reached out to grab her, eluding them for the moment.

  Pivoting around, she headed back upstream to where she hoped her uncle and the others would be. Again, she did not run very far, for one of the horsemen quickly turned his mount. He laun
ched himself from his saddle, striking like a missile into her side, and throwing her to the ground with a crushing force. She heard the sickening crackle when three of her ribs broke.

  With adrenaline’s magical strength running through her veins, she slammed the rock, still in her hand, into the man’s face. The force pushed him backward and Jessica kicked him off, but the second horseman rode up and the three other members of the deadly team crashed through the bushes toward her. Still on the ground, she found herself completely surrounded.

  For a moment no one moved. The men stared at her, their eyes flashing daggers of hate. She knew if their orders were not so strict to bring her in alive, they would have torn her apart. Jessica’s chest throbbed; she could not fight anymore. Suddenly, the distinct impression to lie down and duck flowed into her mind. Varnack! She curled up in a ball, with both arms protecting her head. She closed her eyes tightly. There was a menacing growl, the zing of flying arrows, the thud of falling bodies, and the clash of a single sword fight.

  Jessica did not move and she did not want to look. She had seen and smelled enough of death these last two days. Someone gently picked her up.

  “Uncle Anton, the ribs are definitely broken now,” she whispered. “I heard them snap.”

  With Varnack limping along beside them, Anton carried Jessica back to their horses, leaving the grizzly clean up to Ophir and Reese. Setting her down on a fallen log, he walked over to the bound Elitet and ripped off what was left of his black shirt. With the garment completely stripped off, the tattoo of a snake’s head was revealed on the Elitet’s right forearm. The man’s eyes were full of the same hate Jessica saw only a short time before from his compatriots. Once again, she felt grateful he was gagged.

  Anton used the torn shirt to tightly wrap his niece’s torso. Rummaging through her knapsack, he took the horse brush from it and gently brushed out her damp hair. By the time Ophir and Reese returned to the makeshift camp with the Elitet’s horses, supplies and weapons, Jessica’s hair was detangled, shining and tied into a pony tail with a piece of black cloth.

  “I wanna get out of this forest,” Anton said. “As soon as possible.”

  “I heartily agree,” Ophir nodded. “Two Elitet units in barely two days are too much.”

  Though pale and weak, Jessica insisted on riding her own horse. The men protested, but she held her ground. “In Vorgen Hoffle, the people asked me who I was. I told them I didn’t know. Well, I didn’t then, but I do now.”

  Anton raised his eyebrows, Ophir smiled slightly, and Reese looked at her expectantly. “I am Jessica Ernshaw, Graesion and Gayleena’s granddaughter, the last living blood-heir to the House of Saylon. In my veins runs the blood of Esparian heritage. Daenon thinks me a person of such import he sent at least three teams of Elitet to find me. I am a Protector of Esparia.”

  Ophir’s smile grew, his eyes shone. Anton nodded, pride on his face. Reese bowed at the waist. “I will ride my horse, my head held high. How can I be any sort of Protector to these people if I crumble at the first injury I get? Esparians need to see their Protector, not some wimpy girl.”

  Anton remained close to Jessica’s side while they rode. After an hour of slow, silent travel he said in the quietest voice Jessica had heard him use yet, “Impressive display back there. Do you really know who you are?”

  “Yes, I do. While you brushed my hair, I went over everything that’s happened since I arrived here. The people of Vorgen Hoffle, Older Tarin, Karree, Chana, the children…I came to respect them, admire them, even feel affection for them in those few days I spent there.” She shook her head. “I just thought about everything, Anton, and something deep inside says I belong here. I don’t understand the strange powers I feel, they scare me, but they are real. I had them on Earth, though not nearly this strong.”

  “Larone can help ya understand the expanse of Gonta. The sooner we get to Ramadine, the better.”

  It took another day before they reached a heavily traveled highway cutting through the northern tip of Feather Forest. Buggies, carriages, wagons, horses and people on foot journeyed in both directions. When the rag-tag party of two heavily armed soldiers, one huge man, a tightly bound and gagged Elitet, a limping, golden Trigal hound, and a white faced, brightly red-haired girl emerged from the forest, traffic came to a standstill. People stared in wonder. They made quite a sight, but it was to Jessica most of the stares were directed.

  She met the onlookers with calm assurance. Yes, she finally knew who she was, though she had no thoughts of greatness. She would never rule, she didn’t want to. However, she was a symbol for authority. In her, the protector line continued and this could inspire the people. But would they accept her? That remained to be seen.

  An elderly woman, using a walking stick for support, threaded her way to the forefront of the gathering crowd. She used her cane to bully those in her pathway aside.

  “Uncle Anton, look.” Jessica gestured toward the old woman.

  “Ophir, do ya know this lady?” Anton asked.

  Silence fell on the crowd when the woman advanced to Jessica’s side. She looked Jessica up and down then pursed her lips. “Finally,” she said, “You’re too young to be Shallenon, but you definitely belong to Lady Gayleena.”

  “I’m her granddaughter, Jessica. My mother was Shallenon.”

  Ophir peered closely at the old woman. “Radlia,” he said. She turned at her name, her eyes brightening in recognition of him.

  “Ophir, my boy!” she exclaimed warmly. “How good you look.”

  “Lady Gayleena has come home,” he told her, a blush in his cheeks.

  “Yes, I’ve heard, but this child is unexpected!”

  Jessica sat taller in her saddle and took a deep breath. “I am Jessica Ernshaw, Granddaughter of Lord Graesion Saylon, High Protector of Esparia.”

  “Granddaughter? Graesion? A protector? Her hair!” A buzz of excitement swept through the crowd.

  Turning to Radlia Jessica asked, “How do you know my family?”

  “I attended to Lady Gayleena at the Dorsett and I loved your grandmother. I’ve missed her these many years. I’m traveling to Ramadine to see her.” Tears welled up in the woman’s old eyes. “When I heard about Protector Haesom’s death, I cried. Such tragedy. Then the news of Lady Gayleena’s return reached my tiern and my mourning turned to joy. But seeing you…a grandchild of Lord Graesion’s, my joy turns to hope.” Her joyous voice rang out loud and clear. “A Saylon lives!” Many bystanders echoed her words.

  A lump rose in Jessica’s throat. Maybe, just maybe, her coming here would be useful after all.

  Anton urged the horses forward and the crowd parted. Many bowed when they rode past while others still gaped at the young Protectoress. Traffic on the congested highway inched along. By the time the group reached the first hoffle, people lined the streets by the hundreds to look at the beaten and battered group.

  When Gaylee traveled to Ramadine, the throngs of people cheered her. Where ever Jessica traveled, the throngs of people saluted her in respectful silence. At the first tiern they came to, Anton made one short, eloquent speech in the city square. “I am Anton, son of Paulus, of House Liedia. My companions are Varnack, the Trigal hound, Ophir, Commander of the Esparian Defense Academy at Ider Hoffle, Reese, grandson of General Gammet, and Protectoress Jessica Ernshaw, granddaughter of Protector Graesion of House Saylon, blood niece to Protector Haesom of House Saylon. She has come from far away to lead our people to victory against he who would destroy us all, Daenon of the Demarian Deserts.”

  Jessica did not realize at the time what impact this speech had on the people. Just the fact these famous warriors traveled in the same party was news to send hundreds of birds flying. By the time Jessica reached Ramadine, everyone in the country knew about her.

  *

  A little over a week after first coming to Ramadine, John was working out on the military training ground when he spotted Larone running full speed toward him. Out of breath, his silver hair
in need of combing, he came panting up to John and Cordon. Every activity ceased on the field. All eyes turned to the stately gentleman, who at that moment looked exceedingly unstately.

  “I knew…you would want to hear…the news…and I have looked everywhere…for you. Jessica is going to be all right. She is on her way here…with Anton, Varnack, Ophir and Reese…they have a prisoner, an Elitet Shield.”

  “A Shield!” Cordon exclaimed before John could say anything. “How did they capture a Shield?”

  “I do not know. My news is limited, but they are on their way.”

  “Finally,” John said with relief, but then, “wait a minute, what do you mean, ‘Jessica is going to be all right’? What’s wrong with her?”

  “As I said, my information is not complete. Jessica is noticeably weak and hurt, but rides without assistance. Varnack limps at her side.”

  “I need to go to her.”

  “No, my friend.” Larone placed his hand on John’s arm. “Everywhere she goes the people salute her because of her courage and her bearing. Do not take that away from her. If anything were life threatening Anton would waste no time in seeking medical attention. They have not done so, and stop only to eat a little and sleep before continuing their journey here. Wait, and receive her with the others when they come. They are hailed as heroes. Let it be so.”

  Reluctantly, John agreed. “How long will it take them to reach Ramadine?”

  “I estimate four, perhaps five days.”

  To fill those days, John threw himself into studies and training, however, that dedication was interrupted after three days when the great bell in Ramadine’s Central Hall rang out. It only rang on special occasions. Out on the training field with Lyrista, they heard the clear tones. Soldiers and students left what they were doing and ran to the main square. John and Lyrista joined Larone and Gaylee in front of the lime-green Administration Building. A troop of soldiers, dressed in Esparian deep blue and silver, rode through the gateway. The silent onlookers bowed their heads when the group passed. Halting in front of the Great Healer, the leader dismounted, took a long, thin wrapped package from his horse and walked toward Larone. The soldier bowed, then turned to Gaylee and saluted her. Falling to one knee, he took the package in both hands and offered it up.