by A. J. Bell
Vince came towards me when he saw my worried expression. He held my face with one hand and brushed a strand of my hair aside with the other, sweetly looking into my troubled eyes.
“What is the matter?” he asked patiently.
How could I tell him what I had discovered? I continued to look around, ignoring his gaze. Finally, he took my face in his hands again and asked once more what was wrong. I couldn’t avoid answering him any longer.
“The Ethro is gone!” I said, touching my neck. “It must have happened during the fight, because I was wearing it.”
He pulled his hands away quickly and started to look around. He then went to Valdo, and a group of men helped him in the search, but we were out of luck.
All Vince found was the torn chain on which The Ethro had been around my neck. We found one more reason to mourn.
Claire came out of the house after a couple of hours.
“Kaneethee’s ready,” she said. Valdo nodded. The men had finished digging Kaneethee’s grave next to her husband’s. She wouldn’t get a tombstone until later. In the meantime, the children gathered wild flowers to adorn her grave.
A few men went inside the house and came out with her golden coffin that also had black roses all over it. She looked so peaceful. The golden coffin had been made for her when Leon passed away; it perfectly matched the one which he had been buried in.
“She will now be reunited with my father, her only love,” said Valdo as he laid a black rose above her hands. Vince and others lined up to bid her farewell. I was the last one in line.
“Kaneethee,” I sighed, “I’m sorry.” I did not know what else to say; it had been an honor to know her, even for such a short period of time. She had saved my life when she kissed my forehead and stood by Valdo’s side against the other Gypsies who wanted me to die rather than leave with The Ethro. She gave it all for me, including her life.
What would the consequences be for losing The Ethro? I didn’t know, but I felt a change in the air. Vince was ignoring my gaze, and I felt so alone. The men covered the coffin with dirt, and then the children laid the wild flowers on top of it. The grave looked like only a little hill of dirt and flowers, instead of the resting place of Kaneethee, the Queen Mother of the Gypsies.
Chapter 7
After Kaneethee’s burial, Valdo and Vince both agreed that, for my own safety as well as their own, I needed to return to Stoneburg at once to hide as John until it was safe for Elle to come out again.
Although His Majesty the Prince had let Vince go without problem, Sir Richard wouldn’t do the same. So that Vince wouldn’t be caught, he would have to stay in the forest while I made my way back home.
We rode at nighttime to ensure our secrecy. Vince and I were on the same horse again, but he was not happy this time. For a while, I thought he was angry at me for losing The Ethro. Eventually, he confessed he wanted me to stay with him, even though he knew as well as I that I needed to be back in Stoneburg for the safety of all of us. John needed to go back!
I arrived at my parents’ house during lunch time, but as usual, nobody was there. Mother was cooking for Sir Richard while Father was at the shop. They were very predictable.
As I made my way to the manor, I tried to think of every possible question Sir Richard could bring up and how I would answer him without mentioning my encounter with Queen Umah or the Gypsies or that I was a girl. As I got closer to the castle, I smelled Mother’s delicious stew and fresh-baked bread she had made for Sir Richard to enjoy, spread with Aligretto. Mother’s face was full of tears when she saw me. She had been slicing onions prior to my arrival, but then she dumped everything on the ground and ran to hug me as she continued to shed more tears, tears of joy this time. I missed her so. I had not realized how much I did until I was in her arms again.
Sir Richard came running into the kitchen with his sword ready for battle when he heard the clattering of Mother’s kitchen utensils as they hit the ground. He put his sword back in his sheath when he saw me and stood by the door, watching my mother cling to me as if she feared I would be taken away from her again. Father arrived just in time to join the group hug. We remained like that for a few minutes. I almost felt like gasping for air when my parents embraced me, but said nothing. Sir Richard stared at us for a moment, and after my mother loosened up a bit, he also gave me a hug – a man hug, along with a pat on the back. This kind of hug said I missed you, but I will never admit it in front of any one.
“Welcome back, lad,” he said.
Sir Richard then ordered Mother to set up three more places at the formal dining table. His father was away with the King again, and he did not want to eat alone.
After eating, Mother and I had just started working on the dishes when Sir Richard came into the kitchen with a piece of parchment in his hand, which he handed over to me. I quickly dried my hands on my shirt and read it.
In honor of His Majesty Prince Victor of Lovan’s 28th birthday, all knights and their loyal squires are hereby invited to participate in “The Best Squire Ever Born Tournament.” Taking place in the Everlands Royal City; beginning at dawn on the 2nd day of September. The Champion Squire will receive a gold trophy to be displayed at his master’s household and also a purse filled with one thousand gold coins.
May the Best Squire Ever Born win!
The Royal Seal was stamped at the bottom of the page.
“It arrived the day before yesterday,” said Sir Richard. “I was really hoping that you would make it back to Stoneburg in time to prepare for the tournament since we only have a few weeks. This year, we will show everyone in the Everlands what a true squire is really made of,” he said.
Sure, a true squire is made of a woman’s bod y!
“We will start practicing at dusk, right before supper, John, so be ready.”
It was exciting; I had wanted to participate in such a tournament for a long time. Even though Father and Mother despised the idea, I still loved it. The training for the tournament consisted of all kinds of skills needing to be mastered, from how to light a fire and cook a good meal to how to dress your knight properly in his armor in a timely manner. Some of the tasks were just stupid, like catching a greased pig. The winner would be the squire that accumulated the most triumphs throughout the tournament.
The first night, we practiced on Rogue – saddling, cleaning, mounting, and dismounting. Then, after supper, we practiced tying knots, which could come in handy if you had to hang yourself from a cliff for some unknown reason or tie the greased pig’s feet that you had caught. Sitting by the turf fire I had skillfully started outside his castle, we talked.
“I thought Victor would send a caravan with you to ensure that you would arrive safely, as he promised me,” Sir Richard said and paused for me to give a response, but since he did not specifically ask a question, I gave none. “Robert mentioned he needed to continue to work on the armor tonight. Why didn’t you finish it?”
I told him what had happened since our departure, or most of it. Better said, I told him just what I wanted him to know. How we had been attacked by the Gypsies, who had kidnapped me, but then they had a change of heart and set me free. When I left the Gypsies, I was dressed as one myself, so I got caught by the Royal Guard and imprisoned. I told him that I was almost hanged, but Sir Daniel had recognized me and freed me. After that, I told him that His Majesty was a very busy man who kept me occupied and barely gave me any time to work on the armor. Finally, I said that I had begged His Majesty to let me go so that I could come to Stoneburg and finish his armor with my father’s help, and that I did not want to bother any of his faithful soldiers with escorting me back. “So here I am.”
He was silent, just looking at me – as if trying to analyze my words, as if he knew I was hiding something. I felt so guilty for lying to him.
“I don’t think I ever heard you talk so much in one sitting; at times, you actually sounded like a little lass who gets herself in all sorts of trouble and needs someone to rescue her,”
he joked.
If you only knew how right you are on that. The fact that I had sounded like a girl raised a little warning flag. I realized I needed to be more careful with what I said from then on. We went back to practicing knots, but after a few hours of practice, my hands were numb.
“That’s it for today,” said Sir Richard. “We will continue at dawn.”
I went home and also just told Mother and Father what I wanted them to know. Due to embarrassment, I omitted the kiss I shared with Victor and the one Vince had stolen from me. I did tell them of the Blackrose ordeal, although tears came back to my eyes when I spoke of Kaneethee to them.
Mother held me in her arms and sang a lullaby to me as she normally did before I went to bed after having a rough day. Then she brought me a glass of fresh milk with a spoonful of Aligretto. It felt so good to be back in the safety of my home.
Something inside of me had changed though, because I was not the same person who had left their house a few weeks back. I didn’t remember my past yet, but I was not going to rest until I had figured out what was hidden in my mind.
The nightmares came back as soon as I fell asleep. Mother and Father rushed to my side as soon as they heard my terrified screaming. I had been stabbed again in my dream by the same hooded figure as before. My hands covered the spot where the blade had pierced me, and I woke up as my blood started to gush out of my wound. The pain was excruciating; it felt real, even after I was awake. It was near dawn, time to get up.
“Are you alright?” my parents asked. I nodded. They knew the nightmares were back, but since I was awake, they gave me time alone.
I got up and washed myself. As I was drying off, I felt something that had not stood out before – an old scar on my abdomen, near my left side. The scar was well healed, about three inches wide like the size of a blade, a blade that had been stabbing me night after night in my dreams.
I finished getting dressed and ran to Mother who was talking to Father across the table in our small kitchen. I could not help notice them exchanging looks when I asked them how I got the scar I had just discovered. They brushed my question off by saying that it was so long ago, they could not even remember how it had happened.
Yet, the rest of the day, they were talking secretly between themselves and stopped talking abruptly whenever I would come into the room. They were hiding something, but maybe it was not yet the time to find out, or maybe I had not yet asked the correct questions.
I readied myself to practice sword fighting with a wooden sword. Squires were not allowed to joust with real swords. This angered me so because I couldn’t fight with a wooden sword; my hands needed the real thing. Fighting with a wooden stick was for children, and although Sir Richard called me lad once in a while, I was a grown-up.
I met with Sir Richard in his backyard, dreading the wooden sword fight. I was surprised to see Sir Richard holding Heaven in his hands. Father must have given it to him while I was getting dressed.
“Rules have changed,” he said. “No more wooden swords. If you are old enough to fight, then you must learn to fight with a steel blade.” He smiled, pleased. “There are many changes to this year’s competition. This is just one of them. Rumor has it that Victor himself wrote the new rules a while back because he got bored during the competitions.”
He then tossed Heaven at me. “Be always on guard!” he said, attacking me. I blocked his strikes again and again. “Patience can be the difference between victory and defeat,” he said. I started to feel my blood rushing faster and faster through my veins. He stopped abruptly, huffing and puffing, but he attacked as soon as I lowered my sword. “Never trust your opponents. Always watch for signs of weakness!” he yelled.
After a few more blows, I attacked him back, catching him by surprise. “Become one with the blade,” I told him. “If your arm moves, so does your sword.” I continued striking with force. “Keep your footwork always in mind; a sloppy step can make you fall.” I spun around, and my blade’s last blow sent his flying to the ground at the same time that he fell backwards. “A fallen warrior is a dead warrior!” I said.
He was astonished. “Where did you learn that? You never turned your back to your opponent! Who else have you been training with?” he asked, shaking his head in bewilderment.
“What do you mean, My Lord? I have had no other teachers.” I helped him to his feet.
“It seems to me that practicing with the sword is no longer needed. This afternoon, we will work on your riding skills,” he said with wounded pride. “In a real battle, that trick could have gotten you killed.” He left me without allowing me to make clear that our practice was real and that trick had defeated him. I wanted to tell him that a lesson on riding wouldn’t be necessary either, but I decided to keep quiet. After his defeat, he did not look very pleased with me.
Trying to cool down my temperament, I went into Father’s shop to help with the Prince’s armor, and noticed he avoided looking at me when he talked. His words were also very vague, as if he did not want me there.
“Father, what is bothering you? Are you not happy I have come back? Seems like you and Mother are hiding something from me?” I asked.
He hugged me tight. “Patience… I know you have questions, but your mother and I don’t know all the answers yet. Patience… that’s all we ask of you.” He kissed me on the forehead, as he always had.
I decided to put the questions aside and get to work on the Prince’s armor. We took our time to make the engravings on it. Father decided to take a little break, but I continued nonstop as if I was being pushed by some external force to finish my design. When I was done, I lifted it up to the light to admire my craftsmanship better. I saw my masterpiece – the symbol of the House of Lovan, a lion ready to pounce; but unlike the Royal Seal in which the lion seemed to roar, this lion held a rose in his snout, a black rose.
I trained for the next two weeks on my battle skills, survival skills, cooking, hunting, and so on. The last tasks that I needed to master before leaving for the palace were related to the services of a squire to a Royal Knight, such as caring for his weapons and armor, assisting in a joust, etc.
In a way, I was glad to have the training sessions. I was not only mastering new skills, but it also kept my mind from wandering to Kaneethee’s lifeless face, Queen Umah’s warning, or the enticing lips of my Everlander and Gypsy Princes during the day. My life would be so much more peaceful if my nightmares went away as well. Even the Aligretto and the milk that my mother brought to me every night did not help to soothe my anxiety.
The armor for His Majesty was ready a few days before our journey had to start. Father and I then worked on the wheels of the wagon that my parents would ride in. We also loaded all the tents and supplies into the back of it. As part of the tradition for the tournament, the families of the squires participating in the challenges have special seats assigned to them during the matches. However, Father and Mother wouldn’t be going alone. Rosie, the maid servant in love with John, was coming too. I protested this decision, but according to Sir Richard, she was coming to help my mother. I didn’t believe it. I knew Sir Richard was trying to play matchmaker between Rosie and myself, but I didn’t plan to ever be alone with her. Yet, Rosie tried to take advantage of the situation, with the help of Sir Richard, of course, even before we started our journey.
“Will you help me carry my things? Please do help me get into the wagon. This is so exciting. I am very happy you chose me to accompany you.” Those were the things she said the first few minutes into our journey. Every single one of her comments made Sir Richard chuckle, but I was beyond uncomfortable. My attitude worried my parents, who were afraid that I might snap and reveal my true self to the others so that they would leave me alone. The warning looks I got from them said it all.
When we started our journey to the Royal City, we followed the trail we had taken while traveling with His Majesty the Prince. Our journey was slower since we had the wagon and the women with us, who needed to res
t once in a while. There was no sign of Gypsies lurking around; yet, Sir Richard and I were riding on each side of the wagon. The woods at the side of the road of Gether were shimmering with sunlight. Once in a while, Sir Richard would withdraw his sword at the movement of branches swept by the constant winds.
Our first night camping, Rosie crawled into my tent in the middle of the night. She went back to hers, struck by disappointment, when she realized I was doing the watch with my father. She needed to stay away from me!
We arrived at the Royal City the day before the Opening Ball. We set up camp on the east side, against the farthest wall of the palace but still close to the main gate, upon my mother’s request.
Sir Richard reported to the palace as soon as we arrived, while I stayed behind with the others helping with the tents. It was not too long after Sir Richard had left that Sir Daniel showed up in our tent.
“Good evening,” he said.
A royal messenger accompanied him. The short man cleared his throat loudly before speaking. “Hear ye, hear ye!” He then read the parchment piece he had unfolded. “All squires and their families are hereby invited to participate in a special banquet tomorrow night in their honor; such a feast will take place in the Great Hall. Everyone must attend. Long live the Royal Family!” The short man turned around and moved on to the next tent, but Sir Daniel remained behind.
“May I have a word alone with John?” he asked. He kept silent until we were alone. “The Prince wants to see you.”
“No! He wants to see Elle, and she’s forbidden to speak to His Majesty, as you well remember,” I said. For a moment, I felt again the Queen’s foot crushing the back of my neck.
