by Jamie Gandy
“Would your brother dance with her as well?” she gently inquires. I follow her gaze to where Hector and the Princess are dancing together. “Not that often. She made him learn the basics so he would not turn out like my father. Dancing together was our thing, something special that only we would enjoy with each other.”
“It must be hard…” I am not sure if she means to let the words escape, as they do, I look down into her pretty eyes, questioningly. “To say goodbye so soon in life…” she whispers softly.
Instinctively, my eyes close as the memories flood, good and bad alike. “It was a living hell watching her sickness progress. She was ill for over two years before she finally succumbed to it. She always tried to stay positive, even in her last days, but it was obvious that the pain she was in became so unbelievably cruel.” The sorrow, the heartache must become a painted canvas on my face. The sensation of her tender fingers brushing my cheek to wipe away a tear makes me blink open my eyes to stare down at her. Without meaning to I lean my face into her touch.
“I am sorry for saying anything, I did not mean to bring up something so painful,” she apologizes.
“It is okay, you did not mean anything by it.” I send her a reassuring smile. “It hurts to think about her, especially the times when she was sick, but I have so many wonderful memories of her too. Memories I should never, ever, allow myself to forget.” With each word we exchange, neither of our bodies stop moving in step together. Catherine gracefully follows my lead with elegance. My amber eyes scan the length of her stunning jade green dress, a color that truly compliments her eyes. “You truly look beautiful tonight, Lady Catherine.”
When I return my gaze to her face, I can see the bright pink coloring her cheeks. It makes my smile grow. “Thanks. You do not look half bad yourself.”
“I take that as a compliment,” I smirk.
“It was meant as one.”
I find myself slightly annoyed when the sound of the instrumental music fades. I do not want to let her go, nor for our dance to come to a sudden end. I exhale my disappointment as I take a step back and bow my head low enough to kiss the back of her hand. “Thank you for honoring me with this dance, Lady Catherine.” I release her hand as I straighten myself. Before she has a chance to respond, our eyes turn to the King as he silences the Ballroom simply by raising his scepter.
“Thank you all for coming to join us in celebrating Kage’s and Esther’s thirteenth birthday,” he begins. As he speaks both the Prince and Princess appear at his sides.
“That comb looks perfect on her,” I whisper quietly.
“It certainly does,” I hear Catherine silently agree.
Chapter Seventeen:
♔ Kage Tora: ♚
I have been standing next to several of the Noblemen for the past half of an hourglass and I can barely keep myself from yawning at their boring conversation.
“Your Highness, how were you able to capture the Unicorn that is in the stables?”
My head jerks around to the voice of a silver-haired man. I have never really taken a liking to Earl Thomas Thorn, there has always been something about him that I have never trusted.
“Luck,” I simply reply. I notice a look of disappointment flash in his dark eyes.
“I cannot say I have ever known anyone who has been that lucky,” he remarks a bit sour. “In all my years I have never seen a Unicorn. I was certain they were simply a myth.”
“That is probably why you could never see one because you did not believe in them.” I flash the Earl a grin to make my comment seem more friendly than it is intended.
“Possibly.” He returns my smile, but it is obviously as fake as mine is. “Do you think it is true that the creature’s horn has the ability to cure the sick?”
“That is a myth,” another Nobleman, Sir Roberts, answers. His smile, unlike the Earl’s, is more genuine than any of the men surrounding him.
“That is not what I have been told.” A sudden uneasiness rises inside of me at the brief dark expression that crosses the man’s face, it is so quick I even begin to doubt that I have read it correctly. His eyes burn into me as he looks from Sir Roberts back to me. “Are you not tempted to see if that cure truly exists?”
“Not at the price of destroying her,” the annoyance is so clear in my tone I can see the shocked look on his face.
“Do you…” he stops himself when he notices my mother walking over to us. The men bow in greeting to her.
“Can I borrow my son from you?” she thoughtfully questions.
“Of course, Your Majesty. Our conversation was over anyway. It is about time for me to retire to my chambers. It was a wonderful celebration.” Earl Thorn smiles at his Queen before looking once more at me. “Happy birthday, Your Highness.” For a brief moment our eyes lock before he turns away with the other Noblemen.
“You look pretty annoyed,” my mother innocently comments. “Are you okay?”
“I am now, thanks for saving me.” I smile at her as she slides an arm around my shoulders. Most boys my age would probably knock her arm away and yell at her for embarrassing them in public. However, the closeness between my mother and I is far more important to me than what others might think. Hurting her feelings is something I could never live with. “What is it that you wanted to talk about?”
“I am feeling a little dizzy, so I am going to return to my chambers. I just wanted to tell you goodnight.”
“I will walk with you,” I offer.
“There is no need…” I slide my arm between hers, interrupting her protest.
“Did you tell father you are returning to your chambers?” I inquire as we slowly walk towards a small door near the back of the room, hidden behind a large tapestry that bares Tigerkeep’s Crest.
“Yes. He is talking with Duke Ari right now, so he may be awhile before he retires for the night.” We stop when we spot Adir standing in front of the door. “My son is going to escort me.” I can sense she wants to dismiss her Knight so he can enjoy the rest of his night, but we both know he would refuse anyway. He opens the door for us and waits for us to enter the halls, though it is more like a hidden passage than a hall. It usually is not necessary for her to use this route to her room, but with the number of people in the Castle at an hour like this, it is safer for her to avoid the main halls.
“Did you have fun?” she questions softly. I glance at her and notice the way her cheeks look more ghostly white than normal.
‘How did I not notice sooner?’ I have to shake the thought away. “Yes, it was very nice. Thank you, mother.” I look past her head to Adir, who walks in stride with us, so close to my mother’s other side that their shoulders are barely an inch apart. The expression on his face is written with concern. ‘Of course, he knows she is not feeling well. He can read her like a book.’ I smile as my eyes fall on my mother’s sweet face. “Esther sure had a blast too.”
Her warm-hearted laugh graces the hallway. She looks at Adir with such affection and amusement. “Adir, you made her night, possibly even her whole year, by dancing with her. Dancing with you on that floor was all she talked about. Thank you for doing that for her.”
“Did I really have an option?” he teases. His smile, although still tinted with worry, stretches from ear to ear. “She made me promise to take her for a star-light ride tonight with Lady Catherine.”
Another laugh bubbles out from within her. “Please do be careful.”
“I was planning on going to check on Ziv, possibly see if she will let me ride her. I will go with you to the stables,” I comment. He responds by nodding his head towards me.
“Maybe tomorrow I will feel well enough to meet this remarkable Unicorn. I was told she really helped you all out.”
“She did. She came back for us, even though she did not have to.” We come to a stop in front of her chambers. She kisses me on the cheek before releasing my arm.
“Thank you both for escorting me.”
“Feel better, mother. I will see you
in the morning.”
“Goodnight.” Adir and I wait until she disappears into her room before we turn around to go back the way we had just come from. The silence lingers only a few moments before I finally decide to break it.
“She always seems to overdo herself for other people,” I remark matter-of-factly.
“She has always been like that.” Is that a hint of sorrow I hear in his tone? I glance at him and the defeat is so clear in his gray-blue eyes.
“Adir, what is wrong?” I demand.
“Hm?” His gaze meets mine before his head shakes. “Nothing. It has just been a long night; I am a little tired.”
“To me, it seems you are more than just tired. You saw how ghostly pale my mother is, you look worried, not tired,” I challenge him.
“How perceptive of you, Your Highness.” His smile returns, just not to his eyes. “Anytime Her Majesty is unwell I naturally get worried about her.” He rests his palm absently on the pommel of his weapon that is sheathed at his hip. “I can protect her against any human enemy that threatens her. However, my strength and my skill as a Knight is worthless against any illness that befalls her. There is nothing I can do if she breaks a fever or is bedridden. I cannot protect her against her own body ailments.”
“None of us can, Adir. We are all helpless. I guess I have never had to worry too much about it as you have though. She has never been one to get sick and, when she has been, Esther and I were forbidden from seeing her until she got better.”
A silence creeps into our conversation until we reach the door leading into the Ballroom. We both stop. “She will be fine, Adir. She will get a good night's sleep and wake up refreshed.” I smile at the Knight. “I am going to go ahead to the stables, once you find Esther and Catherine, I will meet you there.” With only a nodded answer from him, we leave the hidden hall and part ways. I stop at the Grand Ballroom doors as the Guard opens them for me. “If my Father asks where I am, please tell him I went to the stables.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Thanks.” I leave the room and head down the main hallways out to the courtyard. It is much livelier than usual, but the torchlight in the darkness of night is enough to disguise me.
“Get off him!” I hear a voice yell from within the stables as soon as I step inside. Near the back of the enclosure, where Ziv and the rest of the Noble steeds rest, I see the commotion. I spot three men with their backs facing me, blocking me from the sound of Hector’s voice.
“Get off my brother!”
As soon as I recognize the voice, I run the remaining distance and push past the men to see what is going on. A man, who looks like a rogue, has Hector held up off the ground by the neck of his collar. A few feet away Earl Thorn is standing over Sebastian with the heel of his boot against my friend’s throat.
“This is what you get for standing in my way, boy!” I hear the Earl snarl.
“Unhand them this instant!” I command both men. The rogue ignores me; however, the Earl lifts his boot off Sebastian’s throat to turn and face me. I can hear my friend gasp desperately for air.
“Well look who decided to join us,” he smirks.
“What is going on here?”
“Ahh, nothing really. These two would not let me see your pet Unicorn.” The sound of his laughter curls my stomach.
“He was trying to take her,” Sebastian coughs out as he struggles to sit up. “He said he was going to cut her horn off to see if it really has magical powers!”
“Did I not make myself perfectly clear earlier? Ziv is off limits, you are not allowed to lay a hand on her!” I challenge him. To this, the Earl’s eyes turn as hateful and angry as I have ever seen in anyone before. In five strides he is directly in front of me with his fingers locked like irons around my neck. I never realized just how tall he is until he yanks me off the ground to glare into my eyes. He looks like a giant.
I refuse to show any fear.
“I do not care if you approve or not! If this beast can cure my wife’s disease, I will drain every drop of blood from its body to see if it works!” he snarls.
Anger flares inside of me, so much that I do not even try to stop myself from throwing the punch that connects with his jaw. He stumbles back a couple of steps but does not release his grip on me. Blood now spots the skin my knuckles impacted.
“You little…”
“Earl Thorn you should probably refrain yourself. Do not forget he is the Prince of Kallai, the King will destroy you if you do anything to him,” one of the three men nervously tries to reason with him.
“Shut up!” the Earl silences his comrade. “You listen here boy, that beast is coming with me no matter the price I must pay!” His fingers tighten so much around my throat I can barely gasp in a breath of air. “My wife deserves to live more than that thing!”
“Ov...over… my… de…” out of the corner of my eye I see Sebastian rising, a fire already starting to spark along his fingertips.
“Unhand the Prince, and the Duke’s sons right now.” The sound of authority in Adir’s voice pierces the stables. Quieting even the bickering and frightened horses. The Earl ignores the command. However, his rogue companion drops Hector only to withdraw his sword.
“I do not take orders from the likes of you, you lowly Knight.”
I notice the brief look Adir sends Sebastian’s way as if silently encouraging him to contain his ability. Adir’s Tiger-Arched sword is already withdrawn, accepting the challenge from the taller man in front of him. Based on looks alone the rogue would appear as if he would easily win in a fight against the Knight. He stands a couple of inches taller than Adir, with muscles that look twice the size of his.
“Step down,” Adir warns the other man, who ignores him.
Sebastian moves to his brother’s side and helps him up before they both turn their attention to the Earl, who is focused on Adir and the rogue man.
“This is going to be quick,” the rouge mocks just as he lunges forward, clashing his sword with Adir’s. It is a blur of motion, that I am barely able to keep track of, but without warning, Earl Thorn’s grip is released from around my neck. I crash to the ground and gasp to feed my lungs with air. Once my vision clears, I look up at the Earl to see a large grin stretched along his lips. “This is perfect,” I hear him mutter with obvious amusement.
I eventually pull myself up to a sitting position to get a better view of the dual going on in the stables. I notice the three Noblemen that had been standing as witnesses are now nowhere to be seen.
My eyes return to Adir and the other man as their fight escalates. The horses neigh, snort and even knock their hooves against their stall doors as if encouraging the battle. I am taken by surprise when Adir misjudges his opponent’s next attack and cannot correct himself quick enough to block the rogue’s blow with the sword. Leaving his head open long enough for the rogue to swing his sword down, aiming to cut my Knight’s head clean off. A flash of rope flies past me and loops around the sword and jerks the weapon out of the man’s hand. Making it land several feet away from him. I have to turn my head to see Sebastian with the other end of the lasso in his grip. This gives Adir the leverage to press his Tiger-Arched sword to his opponent's throat.
“Hector, hurry and notify the guards to take these men to the dungeons,” Adir orders. Without words, Hector runs out of the stables.
“This is ridiculous, what right do you have to make my wife suffer when she could be healed from her disease?” Earl Thorn's hateful gaze becomes mournful as he turns his attention to me. He falls to his knees in front of me, pleading. “I beg you, Your Highness, help me save her!”
‘What right do I have?’ I question myself before shaking my head a couple of times to get rid of the thought.
“I will not kill the beast. I can get a blacksmith to cut her horn off to ensure it does not perish!”
At this moment the guards rush into the stables and first bind the rogue before taking hold of the Earl and forcing him to his feet. His
eyes refuse to leave me. “Please, save her….”
“Take them away,” I simply command in answer to him. I watch as the guards guide the way out of the stables before I walk past Adir, and along two of the stalls until I am standing in front of Ziv’s stall door. Her eyes are large with fright. “I am sorry if they frightened you. You no longer have to worry now, you are safe.” Nervously she moves towards me with her long muzzle and touches her cold nose against the palm of my hand.
“Is she okay?” Sebastian inquires as he appears at my side, the rope he had been holding is now gone. He gently strokes his hand along her long neck. “Thankfully we came in when we did. Earl Thorn and his men were just in the midst of unlatching her stall when we got here.”
“She seems fine, aside from being a little frightened,” I reassure him. My eyes connect with Ziv’s. “You really do not belong here,” I whisper quietly to her.
“You are right, she belongs back in the Forest of the Peryton. A magical creature such as her can bring out the absolute worst in people,” Adir’s words are not harsh, just strictly to the point.
“Are you blaming her for Earl Thorn’s actions?” I challenge. I whirl around to level my gaze at my Knight. “She is not to blame!”
His head shakes from side to side, the look of sorrow in his eyes when he meets my gaze calms my anger, at least a little. “Of course I am not blaming her. I do not condone his actions. However, I cannot say his reasons for doing it are flawed,” when my confused expression questions him, he continues. “Earl Thorn’s wife has been sick for quite a while, the physicians have not given her much longer to live. If you were in his shoes, would you not at least try to find a cure, even if it was a heartless one like this?”
“Of course not!” I comment boldly.
