by Billy Wong
Chapter 13
Rose blew a playful kiss to the crowd, having defeated her first opponent in the joust. The fearful young lord had fallen almost of his own accord, leaning away from her lance as the two closed to be easily pushed from his seat. She noticed then a new arrival on the field, who waved and tried to yell something at her though the crowd drowned out his voice. Dismounting, she ran to him and saw the urgency on his face. She realized it was Kenneth, one of the arcane researchers, and wondered what troubled him.
"Lady Rose," she heard to her shock, "Derrick is badly hurt, and your children are missing!"
"What?! What happened?"
"I don't know, only Derrick saw what happened and he's still unconscious. But the doctor expects him to survive, though he has a broken arm and a nasty bump on the head. It seems he was thrown out of his window."
"Take me to him," Rose said, and Kenneth brought her to the injured scholar's bedside. She held Derrick's hand and cast a weak healing spell on him, her limited study of magic paying off as he groaned and opened his eyes.
Seeing her, he was jolted to full wakefulness. "Rose! It's terrible, Joghra was here! I managed to escape out the window, but your children, are they..."
"They were kidnapped," she growled, already bitter anger rising at the Sevrian's involvement. "Do you know where he went?"
"No, not at all," he answered apologetically. "I didn't stay to chat, I just ran. He would've killed me this time, he even shot at me."
Rose put a hand to her forehead and stared despondently at nothing. "I should have killed him last time. I promise I will now. But I have to find him first."
Derrick touched her shoulder. "He'll send you a message soon, I'm sure. I don't think he'll be satisfied with taking your children—he wants nothing less than your death."
Perversely, this in fact comforted Rose, for she wanted nothing more than to tear the cruel face right off her honorless foe. "I'm sure he'll set a trap for me, but the joke's on him because he's never faced me so angry before. I don't think anyone has. I've always kept control, but I don't think I can now."
"Don't let your anger blind you," Derrick warned. "Be careful."
"I will," she assured him though she shook with rage, "just so he won't have the satisfaction of doing anything to me. I'll kill him before he gets the chance."
Just then, a vagrant walked into the tower and yelled, "A man told me to give this message to Rose Agen—'If you want what's yours, come to your husband's cave and we'll settle our score, once and for all.' Don't hurt me, he made me say it!"
Finn's cave? He knew? He must have followed Derrick, or Rose herself—what had he done?! Rose's worry grew to unbearable heights, and she ran from the center, her friends' warnings unheard while she rushed to save her family.
#
Reaching Finn's cave, Rose entered slowly, wary of traps or ambush. But none came, and she entered her husband's chamber to see him lying so very still, his form looking totally devoid of life. Crying piteously in a basket by the dragon's head were her two babies, almost as if aware of their plight. In front of them, barring her path, was her archenemy.
"What did you do to him?!" she demanded with terror filling her, knowing her life would be shattered by Finn's death.
"He's not dead, yet," Joghra said to her relief. "I'm going to beat you within an inch of your hateful life first, and make you watch as I kill your love, helpless to stop me. You know, it took me a ton of poison to render him so insensate. You ought to appreciate the work I did."
She felt close to exploding and wanted to finish this now, but demanded, "What will you do with my children?"
The Sevrian smiled wickedly, but then softened for a moment and admitted, "I'll take them home and raise them as my own, so with their mighty blood they can bring me great glory. I'm not one to waste the potential of a young life over its parentage. I didn't come here just for revenge, though I hate you most of anyone alive. I knew as long as you and Finn live, my plans of conquest are doomed to fail. So now, you die."
"I'll give you credit for that, at least," Rose said in a barely controlled voice. "But your dreams end today!" She charged and Joghra met her, her huge broadsword pitted against his giant halberd taken from the dead Fiona in a furious storm of steel. Though Rose attacked as viciously as she ever had, her enemy did not back down a step. Both scored many hits, until their armor hung in pieces off their bodies and blood stained the ground all around them.
It seemed Joghra shared Rose's plan for today—if he could not kill her now, he'd die trying. But though she might have admired his determination in another circumstance, this time it only further raised her ire. Soon she began to overpower him in spite of his resolve, and finally shattered the head of his halberd with repeated chopping blows as he tired and his ability to ward off her attacks diminished.
Rose wondered what weapon he'd pull out next. But instead he simply thrust the butt of the halberd at her face and though she blocked the blow, an unknown liquid sprayed from the shaft. She turned away to keep it from her eyes, though its touch burned her cheek. Joghra changed his grip on the pole and swung it like a club, the remnants of its head seeking her neck.
Though she ducked forward and avoided the sundered blade, the shaft slammed into her temple with enormous force. The impact spun her around to fall hard, and Joghra raised his weapon to pin her like a mounted fly to the ground. But even as the jagged metal began to pierce the armor over her midsection, she sliced up, forcing him to jump back to avoid being gutted. The sliver of head still attached to the shaft broke off with his movement, having only shallowly pierced her flesh but held in place by her armor.
Joghra threw the pole away in frustration. He caught Rose with a perfectly placed kick when she tried to rise, driving the stuck metal shard deep into her abdomen. Smiling at the blood dripping from her mouth as she gasped on her hands and knees, he kicked her in the face with his steel boot and knocked her onto her back. But when he attempted to stomp and crush her bleeding face, she caught his foot and twisted, tripping him to the ground. Still lying down, she turned towards the Sevrian and punched him back down as he tried to rise.
He retaliated with his own strong fist and they both stood again, pummeling each other's wound-covered bodies with vicious blows. Doubling Rose over with three consecutive right hooks to a gaping gash on her side, Joghra smashed a powerful elbow into the base of her skull and drove her to one knee. She shook off the blow and came back up with a tremendous uppercut which knocked the giant flat on his back. Rose picked up her sword and raised it into the air, signaling her enemy's doom.
Finally the desperate Sevrian resorted to his old tricks, shooting both gauntlet crossbows and the dart-thrower in his mask one after another. Anticipating the attack, Rose dove aside and rolled, avoiding all the poisoned projectiles. But wounded as she was, she proved slow to recover. Joghra threw himself onto her back while she tried to stand, wrapping his huge arm around her neck.
To his dismay, she did not fall beneath his weight but remained on her feet, bent forward with Joghra's great bulk suspended on her back. Grabbing Joghra's arm, she slammed him down in front of her. Before he had time to recover, Rose wrapped both legs around his skull from behind, attempting to crush it between her massive thighs. She might well have succeeded if he hadn't pulled out a dirk and made to stab her leg, which prompted her to release her hold and instead slam a knee into the side of his head.
She scrambled to her feet and slashed, but he snatched the shaft of his halberd back up and blocked. Again and again Rose struck, first breaking the pole, then knocking each half from his hands. He backpedaled, but she followed and chopped halfway through his thigh. Now Joghra had no answer for her descending weapon save to attempt to stop it with his forearm, only to have the heavy blade shear right through armor, flesh, and bone, cleaving it in the middle. Looking at the dark blood spraying from his mangled thigh and severed arm, she knew him mortally wounded, dying. But her rage wasn't quite spent. Raisin
g her sword high Rose chopped down at his skull and cut fully through his body, bisecting him vertically when the blade exited his groin.
#
The anger drained away with that last blow and Rose shuddered, repulsed by her own brutality. Tearing her eyes away, she went to her children, fighting off the weakness that assailed her as she realized she'd been hurt worse than she thought. She took Jacob and Amber in her arms and wept joyfully, heedless of herself bleeding all over them. To her surprise, they stopped crying. She turned to her husband, pleading that he wake up, but he remained still. Knowing her children needed to be checked for injuries, she left Finn behind and took them home. After making sure they were unharmed, she hastily treated her own wounds and returned to the cave. She fell asleep while waiting at Finn's side, and awakened to find him fawning over her.
"You're awake!" she said with a wide grin. "I'm so glad..."
The dragon tenderly rubbed his snout against her. Rose, what happened? Did you do that to him? The destroyed carcass still lay there, swarming with flies, for Rose hadn't wanted to touch it.
She shivered a bit at her bloody work. "Yes, I finally killed him. He kidnapped our children, Finn, and it brought out rage in me that I never even knew was there. It was still tough, but he was so reckless... I think maybe our previous encounters flustered him, to the point he became determined to prove to himself he could beat me at my own game. I'm just so relieved you're alive. If I'd lost you after all that, I..."
But you didn't. It's okay, Rose. It's all over. Joghra is dead, and I'll take care of the corpse. You can cry all you want now.
"I already cried for hours over having our kids back." But she began to weep again nonetheless, this time in gratitude for her husband's safety.
Then she started to laugh, and Finn asked, What's so funny?
"Nothing's funny. I'm just happy!"
You sure you're not laughing at me for having to be rescued by you even as a dragon?
Rose thought about that and laughed harder, to the point where she curled up around her belly rocking with merriment. "How the hell did he get you, anyway?"
He tossed a whole sack's worth of sleeping poison in my mouth, and I couldn't spit it all back out. Icily, he added, Pretty clever trick, huh?
She wondered about his annoyed tone, then remembered, "Oh right, he stole that one from me, when I killed the Spelldrinker!"
Finn nodded his scaly head. Indeed. He took a drug to make himself not feel pain, too. I remember him gloating about that when I was close to passing out, saying it would help even things up between you. I felt pretty worried about you then, but I guess you pulled through.
"I'm just glad we all did. The kids are fine, by the way."
I already knew that from your demeanor. By the way, aren't you supposed to be at a tournament right now?
She had forgotten all about it. "How'd you find out about that?"
He confirmed her suspicions. Derrick told me, of course. He also says you have a new protege, and seem somewhat reluctant to dissuade her from being a warrior though he wishes you would.
"Julie isn't Derrick's slave. She's her own person, and if she wants me to teach her, I'll do it unless she gives me a reason not to." Rose smiled. "Besides, I think the world needs more female warriors."
If they're anything like you, I'd back you on that one.
Rose shrugged. "Well, I am training her, and will certainly try to instill some of my values in her. I'd like it if you could help me, too. It's nice to train with different styles, and you're the best mace man I've ever seen. When will you be human again?"
Don't worry about it, I'm almost finished. I'll have my gift to the world ready soon, and will be presenting it as a man, thank you. Now, are you going to get back to the fairgrounds or what?
"You really want me to go back to the tourney? I wanted to stay with you for the rest of the week, after all that's happened."
Knowing her so well, he replied, You'll probably regret it later if you don't go, and I want you to bring those trophies back to decorate our home. It'd make me very proud. Also, you don't want to disappoint Julie, do you?
It felt slightly to pursue fun this soon after such a serious situation, but Rose supposed it couldn't hurt to put Joghra behind her as quick as possible. She chuckled and hugged his neck hard. "Okay, I'll go. I won't disappoint you or Julie! Count Brandon's reign is over! I'll come right back after I win, I promise."
#
Finn was too weak from being poisoned to heal Rose with magic, so she would just have to tough it out. She returned to the fairgrounds to find the joust was of course over. To her surprise Brandon had declined to participate in her absence, allowing Prince Victor to pick up the victory. Only the melee still lay ahead. Julie had left, understandable considering the girl might not expect Rose to come back. But she was going to miss something good! She hurried into the city, and finding her pupil dragged her excitedly back to the field, to Julie's surprised delight.
With minutes left before the start of the melee, she met Count Brandon. "That was a nice gesture, not doing the joust. So we're tied for first place wins now, huh? How about we put it all on the line? Whichever one of us wins the next event is the grand champion, and the other will acknowledge it."
He shrugged. "What if neither of us wins?"
"Then we'll just pretend like this bet never happened."
"Oh, who am I kidding, of course one of us will win. And I'm more than game for your challenge. Hell, I'll even raise the stakes. Whoever wins between us, gets the trophies from the two events we tied in."
She grinned, loving every bit of this. "That's a great idea! This way, they won't have to figure out how to split the prizes. And, my house will be well adorned after today!"
"I don't think so."
Rose knew this man was among the best fighters in Kayland, perhaps only after herself and Finn, and she tired and wounded, but still... "We'll see. There won't be any controversy after this, who's the true champion of Kayland!" Those who heard them cheered at their little game, and Rose left to prepare with a smile. However, a sudden pain shot through her and she clutched her abdomen.
Julie turned to her frowning with concern. "Are you okay? You're wounded."
"It's fine," Rose assured her. "I'm used to this kind of thing. Besides, it's just a game. I'm not really risking my life much. Some pain, yes, but it'll be worth it if I win—and losing won't get me too many new scars!"
"I don't like this," Julie murmured. "It's crazy..."
"Yeah, it kind of is isn't it?" She chuckled. "My husband told me to keep at it, so maybe you could blame him. But I do want to see if I can do this. I know there's nothing on the line, really, and to most it would seem like there's little more to be won but bragging rights. But it's also a chance to show the world what a peasant girl can do, and I can't not find out if I could actually outdo Count Brandon. It'll leave too much unsettled in my mind if I quit now!"
"Besides, this isn't that bad. I've fought hurt worse in real combat."
"You've gone to face enemies trying to kill you more badly injured than this?" Julie asked in a small voice. "That's scary... I mean, I've heard the stories, but..."
Rose looked unhappily at her student. "Don't tell me you're getting scared of me over this!" If she'd seen Rose fight Joghra, then she would've been right to be scared.
"I'm worried for you. You're so careless of your health, and it's terrifying to behold. Are... other warriors as bad as you?"
"Worse!" the aggravated Rose said. "I've seen men drop dead from fighting wounded—at least when I do it I know I can probably handle it. And fighting wounded's not nearly the worst thing warriors do. To think you're afraid over me fighting in a tourney... I mean, a tourney is light stuff. I kill people on a regular basis!" Hearing her own words, Rose realized that in her annoyance, she hadn't exactly been reassuring.
"I don't think I want to be a warrior anymore," Julie said, and Rose wondered if Derrick would be breathing a huge sigh of re
lief if he could somehow hear her. "I couldn't even imagine getting hit with a pick, let alone walking around with one stuck in me like they say you did. I'd drop dead."
"So would most warriors—I'm just a freak. But if you don't think you're cut out for this, I'm not going to try and force you. You're free to quit anytime. Just do me a favor and watch me in the melee, will you? I don't need you to hand me weapons anymore. But this is what you came here for, to see me improvise, right?"
"Sure, I'll stay. It's not lethal combat after all; I'd have to be a total wimp to run away. Besides, the knights have nice costumes. And Rose, I still want to train with you. Even if I'm not going to take up fighting professionally, I'd like to know how to protect myself, and you're fun to talk to. I'm sorry about calling you crazy and scary."
Rose couldn't have hoped for a better compromise and shrugged happily. "No big deal. My husband and best friends call me crazy, and nearly everyone I fight would call me scary. Watch carefully, you're going to get your best lesson yet!"
The melee began, and at first Rose faced mainly single opponents who came one at a time. She took every opportunity to show off the merits of adaptation, improvising creative counters to her foes' attacks even when such was hardly necessary. Meanwhile, her primary rival simply beat down his rivals with overwhelming force, constantly screaming and roaring while he played to the crowd's image of him as an unstoppable beast. Then warriors started to gang up on both of them. Though Rose and Brandon each continued to hold their own well enough, to her surprise he fought his way to her side and made a proposal.
"How about we team up and get rid of all these amateurs first?"
She wouldn't call them amateurs, but she grinned and nodded nonetheless. They put their backs to one another and battled on, easily defeating most who engaged them now. Finally they stood alone, and Brandon turned to face her.
