But no, his sword was out. Una steeled herself for an attack. She had no idea who this man was, but he was definitely coming right towards them.
Something stirred inside of her, a sensation of longing, of desire. It was her magic, eager to be used, to help her as it once had in Castle Silene. Ever since that day something had changed in her. Her magic had risen closer to the surface, and on more than one occasion it had threatened to break loose, to wrestle itself from her control. Now that a real threat approached, it was all Una could do to push it back and repress it. Her magic made her want to do terrible things, even if it had helped her in the past. She could not allow it to cause problems now.
“Stay behind me, Una,” said George, pulling his own sword loose and swinging himself into Pegasus’s saddle. With a soft kick, he urged his horse forward, not at a full gallop, but just enough that he drew in front of Una and rode to meet the newcomer.
But the man on the gray gelding did not seem ready to stop. He was almost on them now, and Una could see the intricate pattern on his shield, part of it molded into the metal, but part of it painted. It appeared to be the face of a woman. Though...hang on, that woman looked oddly familiar.
“What is it you want, friend?” George called out.
But in that moment, he had to duck to the side and raise his shield with the red cross that gave him his nickname, just as the newcomer swung his sword at George’s head.
3
Una started at the clang of metal against wood. This man, whoever he was, actually wanted them dead. What had they done to him? Perhaps he was another servant of Duessa, a knight come from the other side of Annwyn. Though he didn’t look like one to Una’s eyes. He looked like a normal knight, from the south perhaps. She had seen many such knights just before she’d been imprisoned in Londinium. They had gathered there for a grand tournament.
The knights from Annwyn, on the other hand, looked entirely different. For one, they didn't use as much plate, choosing instead to don lighter-weight gambeson with beads hanging from them, and a black scarf pulled over their mouths. At least, that had been the case with the knight she met, as well as the two George had fought.
After striking at George, the new knight overshot him and began turning his horse around. “Don’t worry, my lady,” he spoke as he drew closer to her. “I will avenge your honor and free you from this brigand.”
Wait, what?
“He…” Una began, but the knight had already spurred his horse forward, heading towards George again.
Once more he swung at the Red Cross knight, but this time George was ready. Their swords met and glittered in the sunlight as they clanged. George and the new knight rounded each other, striking left and right. But if there was one thing that George did not lack, it was skill in combat. He held the other off without too much effort.
Yet the newcomer still managed to hold his own. He certainly wasn’t a stranger to fighting. Even as George parried one blow after another, the man continued to strike with both his sword and shield, bringing the giant piece of metal and wood up to try and knock George off his horse.
“Stop,” Una yelled. Her magic rose inside her again, and she pushed it back down. No, she did not want to stop them that way.
The new knight turned his horse in her direction, and Una finally got the first good look at the woman painted on his shield. Una’s eyes widened. She did know that face!
Forgetting all about her own safety, she darted forward, waving her hands in the air. “Seriously stop, you’re on the same side,” she yelled as she ran.
George glanced at her, but the other had not seemed to notice. He continued to send blow after blow George’s way, so George did not let up his defensive.
“You both serve the Faerie Queen!” Una yelled even louder.
That did prompt a reaction from the other knight. Ducking a blow from George, he directed his horse away from the fight and around until he was facing Una. George did not pursue, instead moving his eyes to glance at both the other man and Una.
“What are you saying?” said the newcomer.
“That woman on your shield.” Una pointed. “That’s Gloriana, the Faerie Queen. We just met with her two weeks ago. This man,” she pointed at George, “is a member of her Order of Maidenglory.”
The knight turned to look at George in a rush, then back at Una. With a frantic voice, he said, “You mean, he didn’t try to force himself on you?”
“What? No!” Una couldn’t believe what he was saying. Where on Earth had he gotten that idea? “We’re just traveling together.”
“But there was an old man, who…” the man twisted in his saddle to look back at the trees that surrounded the river.
Una narrowed her eyes. “What old man? Describe him.”
“A man with long, graying hair, and light brown eyes. He told me you were coming, and that you,” he pointed at George, “had violated this woman.”
Una glanced at George, and they shared a knowing look. “The man you saw was called Archimago,” she said. “He is an enemy of ours and of the Faerie Queen.”
The knight stilled for a moment, then hastily he dismounted. When he was on the ground, he removed the helmet from his head. “I am dreadfully sorry. I should not have taken that man at his word.” The knight was a relatively young man, probably just a few years older than Una. His hair and beard were brown, as were his eyes, and there was something noble about his bearing. Almost too noble.
“Always take such accusations seriously,” Una said, raising a finger at him. “Just don’t go charging in without asking the woman first.”
“I am...I am so sorry,” said the man as George drew near and dismounted his horse. Stepping forward, the newcomer shook George’s hand. “I cannot believe I attacked a fellow servant of the Faerie Queen. Please forgive me.”
“All is forgiven,” said George, though he looked a little flustered as his fist bobbed up and down with the man’s shaking.
“Now tell us your name before we decide what to do with you?” said Una, folding her arms.
“Of course,” he said. “I am Sir Guyon. I am, like you, a servant of the Faerie Queen.”
George shot Una a glance, but she ignored it. She knew what he meant by it. Maybe this man was the knight they had come to seek.
“You are also a member of the Order of Maidenglory?” she asked. He certainly didn’t look a lot like the other knights she’d met before.
Sir Guyon hesitated. “Well, I suppose technically, not yet. I have been tasked with finding and serving her.”
“So you’ve seen her?” said Una, waving a hand at his shield where Gloriana’s face resided. Una could only hope no one ever put her face on any shield.
He hesitated again. “Well, not recently. A little man spoke to me in a vision.”
This time Una did meet George’s eyes. That sounded a lot like Tom Thumb.
“We’ve met him,” she said. “And if he’s spoken to you, that must mean you truly do work for the Faerie Queen.”
“You mean such a little man actually exists?” said Guyon, his face aghast. “I thought it was merely a vision.”
“He exists,” said George, simply. He was still watching Una, so she chose to ignore him.
“And this Archimago,” continued Guyon. “What has he to do with all of this? Why encourage me to fight you?”
Una stared off in the direction Sir Guyon had come, out where she knew the magician, even now, was probably hurrying away. “He knew it was unlikely that you would cause permanent damage. Chances are he was just playing a game with us, letting us know that he’s still out there.”
“Then I must return and apprehend the villain.”
Una glanced back at Guyon. She wasn’t sure if it was just her perception of him, but the man sure seemed a bit too formal in his speech. “I doubt you would find him,” she explained. “He’s skilled in magic, especially magic of illusion. He almost fooled me on two occasions.”
“I see,” Guyon looked at
the ground as though unsure of what to do.
Suddenly George spoke, “I’ve been tasked with escorting Una to this region.” Una looked at him. He said it so formally she might have forgotten the relationship they had enjoyed over the last two weeks. Please not now. They could sort this out later.
“A mission from the Faerie Queen?” asked Sir Guyon, meeting George’s eyes.
George nodded. “I believe we may have been meant to find you.”
Una closed her eyes. Why couldn’t he have waited?
“Indeed,” said Guyon. “I admit it is a strange fate to see us coming together as we have. Perhaps it is more than luck.”
Yes, the man definitely spoke too formally. “We don’t know for certain,” Una interjected. “I suggest we make camp and discuss it further before we make any rash decisions.” She looked at George as she said this, and he met her gaze. She would do whatever she could to have even one more hour with the man, even if it meant keeping Guyon around as well.
Secretly, she agreed with George. It was too much of a coincidence to run into a fellow knight of the Faerie Queen, even if he wasn’t officially a member of the Order of Maidenglory. And if Archimago had pitted them against each other, that was further indication that they needed to stop and assess the situation.
Though she did not understand where they had to go after this. Even if Guyon was the knight they were promised to meet, even he did not seem to have a clear idea of where he was going, other than to ‘find the Faerie Queen.’ Well Una wasn’t about to turn around and march back to the Forest of Arden. She had had enough of that place to last a lifetime. If she were to ride with Guyon, it would have to be for another purpose.
“Might I suggest we retreat back to the river,” Guyon waved a hand behind him. “You can water your horse and we can discuss what chance brought us together.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” said George. They both glanced at Una.
“Sure, let’s go,” said Una, dejectedly. At least she wasn’t splitting up with George just yet.
Guyon led them forward, over the next couple of hills until they entered the treeline that ran alongside the Severn river. Eventually they came to a grassy knoll, perfect for setting up camp.
“This is the place where I encountered the old man,” said Guyon, swiveling his head this way and that to look for Archimago. But there was no one in sight.
“I told you, you won’t find him again,” said Una as she began pulling some of their provisions out of the saddlebags. George set to work using his flint and steel to make a fire.
Guyon turned his attention to helping with the preparations, and soon the three of them sat around the flickering warmth of a fireplace. It wasn’t late, but they could all use the rest and the food. As recompense for his earlier attack, Guyon graciously offered to cook three conies he had previously caught and carried. He also seasoned them with some extra salt he had bought in Worcester.
When Una bit into the cooked rabbit, it was surprisingly good, neither over or under cooked. And George had run out of salt long ago, and she’d forgotten how good it was to have seasoned meat.
“So,” Guyon picked some of the meat off his teeth with a small bone. “You say you were meant to find me. What makes you say that?”
George looked at Una, waiting for her to talk. Una grimaced but answered anyway. “The Faerie Queen told me to look for other knights to help her. There are...threats, unique threats, that she is having trouble holding back. She is looking for all the help she can get.”
Then, together with George, she began relating everything that had happened to them since leaving Londinium. Guyon leaned in with fascination as they told him about the threats from Annwyn, the Otherworld, and of Duessa who led them. They told him about the City of Pride, and the unexpected help from Arthur.
“I have heard of this man,” said Guyon with a nod. “The king who would not be king. I admire him for his lack of greed, but these houses need a ruler. They squabble to extremes among themselves.”
“I agree,” said George. “But that is another discussion. He is still a good man, and one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen. Were it not for him and Una, I would still be rotting in that cell.”
“Commendable,” Guyon acknowledged Una with a nod. “Then what happened with the dragon?”
Una and George continued their recount of the story up until the destruction of the dragon, and the death of Una’s father. Though Una carefully skirted around that subject, making it seem as though the death of her father had been what sealed the growing breach, rather than Una’s own magic. It would be best if he didn’t know about that part of her for now. George met her eyes as she changed the story, but said nothing. He would respect her enough to keep her secrets hidden.
Thinking of her magic brought back a lingering stress from the back of her mind. Something still felt different about her relationship with her powers. Even now she could feel it there, in the back of her mind, like a great cat about to pounce. It waited for her to let it loose, to slip.
“That is an incredible journey,” Guyon’s voice brought her back to reality. “And to think such an imbalance in the world has been, at last, righted. I had heard of Castle Silene, but never thought much of it. Yet now you tell me it was far more important than any of us knew.”
Una nodded, “Unfortunately, it was only the beginning. There will be more breaches, more doorways to and from the Otherworld, and more threats from within. I...I’m supposed to find people to help.”
“You don’t seem all that pleased about it?” Guyon cocked his head at Una.
“I’m not,” Una replied. “I have...reasons not to trust the Faerie Queen completely. And there’s nothing I’d like to do more than to leave all these cares behind. But something has to be done about it.”
“Running from one’s fears is a sign of imbalance,” said Guyon. “But if we can face our fears, we will be yet one step closer to achieving our greatest potential.” He sounded like he was quoting somebody, but Una was not sure he was.
She glanced back the way they had come, where somewhere in the distance, the Faerie Queen was surely going about her business. Even now, she wondered why she had picked Una. Surely she would do better to get away from all this. Both Duessa and the dragon had identified her as being part of the ‘old blood.’ And though she still didn’t know what that meant, she knew it had something to do with her magic, and she knew it made her dangerous. Which made the Faerie Queen’s mandate all the more confusing.
“Now we just have to decide what you have to do with all of this,” said George, voicing the question that had been on all of their minds for the past few hours.
“Yes, indeed,” said Guyon. “I admit I meant only to travel to the Faerie Queen herself, to join her ranks directly at the Forest of Arden.”
“If it were that easy, she wouldn’t have sent us here,” Una said, and it was unfortunately true. Guyon already appeared committed to the Faerie Queen, which meant Una’s purpose in meeting the man was not to recruit him, but for something else.
“Have you heard anything strange around these parts?” George prompted. “The City of Pride was emptied before my rescue, there may be threats in every corner of Britain by now.”
Guyon shook his head. “I have heard nothing, though unease continues to grow, but that is mostly due to the Saxons. They have pushed farther south than ever before. Almost within striking distance of Londinium.
“The Romans won’t like that,” said George.
“Indeed, but no, I have heard no rumors of any supernatural threats, not around here anyway.”
Una glanced at the sun. The afternoon was waning, but they still had plenty of daylight. “Perhaps we can go to Worcester and ask around. I’m sure we can find someone who…”
A piercing scream echoed across the river and through the trees. In an instant, all three were on their feet, and both George and Guyon had their swords out at the ready.
4
T
he scream came again, a woman’s scream, but fainter than her first.
“Someone is in trouble,” Guyon dashed forward, into a shallower portion of the river. George was right behind him. Una watched them go, shaking her head, but soon she followed after.
The river was not terribly deep here, reaching only up to her knees. Still that was enough to cause her to lag behind as the taller knights pushed through with relative ease. Soon, they were on the other side, dashing towards the source of the scream, somewhere among the trees and up the river a small distance.
When Una finally made it across the river, she hobbled ahead forward, her wet boots squelching as she hurried. She could see the gleam of Guyon’s armor through the brush, and it didn’t take her long to catch up. The pair had stopped running.
Hastily, she rounded the two knights and stared down to see what they were looking at.
A pair of bodies lay among the trees, a man who was clearly a knight with his shiny steel armor, and a woman with a dagger through her chest. Beside them lay a small basket containing a child, still alive, and suckling some kind of milk or juice out of a sheep skin. The scream must have come from the woman, though they were obviously too late now.
“What happened here?” asked Guyon, his voice mortified. “What evil could do this to a knight and his lady?”
Una glanced at the couple. But though the dagger clearly explained how the woman had died, the man showed no signs of what caused his death, though he did have a canteen in one hand.
“Could this be the work of Archimago?” asked George, looking at Una.
“Maybe,” said Una, creeping forward to get a better look. “But even this seems a bit beyond him. He works in deception, not outright attack. And why leave the baby?”
She took three steps forward and knelt beside the child. It was a boy, and he had a curious birthmark on one hand, several red lines across the back of his palm extending onto his fingers. If she hadn’t been close enough to see, she might have thought the birthmark was actually blood.
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