Knight Purged

by Jason Hamilton

  “I’m afraid not,” he said. “I shirked my duties long ago and it nearly ruined me.”

  Una nodded, trying to think of some witty retort, but none came. Instead she just leaned in as George wrapped his arms around her in a final hug.

  “I take it then, you will be coming with me?” Guyon said to Una. He was watching her carefully again, clearly not forgetting what she had done to temporarily extend the life of Amavia.

  “Don’t make me regret it,” said Una, casually wiping a small tear from her eye so neither would see. She had to be strong, especially in front of Sir Guyon. She couldn’t let either of them see her distress.

  “Well then, I welcome your company,” he said, simply.

  She blinked, turning to face him. She had expected more resistance, especially after their latest experience. He didn’t even know what she could do to help find and defeat Acrasia. She wasn’t sure she knew either. But the Faerie Queen had wanted her to meet with Guyon. She knew that. And though Gloriana wasn’t omniscient, her advice was not to be ignored either. Unfortunately for Una.

  “Someone will need to take care of the baby while we travel,” Guyon continued.

  Una’s shoulders slumped. Oh, now it all made sense. She raised a finger to tell Guyon just what she thought about his assumptions, when George put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up as he said. “We should bury the bodies.”

  His statement brought soberness back to the situation. Yes, they had more important things to worry about. She couldn’t let Guyon’s misguided assumptions get in the way of the here and now. But she would make sure she brought it up later, at length.

  For now, they had work to do.

  Guyon joined them without a word as they began digging graves using two small shovels that both knights carried.

  It took them some time, but it was fulfilling work. No one complained, and no one stopped until grave large enough for two people lay in front of them.

  The baby had begun to protest, clearly in need of something, though Una did not know what. Perhaps its sheep skin was empty of milk. She made a note to check it later.

  But it did not take long before the baby was crying at the top of its lungs. They managed to lower the child’s parents into the ground, but before they could cover them with the displaced dirt, Guyon gestured at the baby. “I think there’s something wrong.”

  “You mean other than the fact that his parents are lying in these graves?” Una asked.

  “No, I think it might need changing.”

  He stared at her, expecting something.

  Realizing what he meant, she raised her hands and said, “Oh no, I don’t know anything about babies.”

  “Neither do I?” said Guyon, simply, as though that settled it.

  Una fixed her gaze on George, who shrugged. “I’m leaving soon, you should probably learn how it’s done.”

  “Seriously?” she stared at the pair of them. They would go into battle against giants and dragons, but a baby was too much for them? No, it had to be the woman’s job.

  Grumbling, she gently picked up the child and some changing rags they had found among Amavia’s things, and proceeded away towards the river. There had better be a river nearby for their entire journey, or so help her, she would make Guyon do all the work.

  She spent at least a half hour rinsing out the rags in the river, and bathing the child’s lower half. The baby wasn’t all too happy with the cold water, and its cries did not cease the entire time while Una was changing it.

  But once he had on dry changing rags again, and Una wrapped him in his original blanket, the cries began to calm down, replaced with sleepy yawns.

  Una watched him as he slowly began to fall asleep in her arms. Well, she had to admit, he was almost cute like this...when he was quiet.

  But as she returned to Guyon and George, who were just finishing replacing the dirt on the graves, she vowed that she and Guyon were going to split the responsibilities of caring for the child. Guyon was going to know how to handle a baby just as well as she was. At least until they found a home for him.

  As if reading her thoughts, George spoke as she approached. “You’ll need to find a safe place to leave him.”

  “His mother mentioned the Holy Island.” Una offered.

  “That is at least two weeks travel from here,” said George. “Maybe more if you’re traveling with a child. I would recommend finding someone else along the way.”

  “We can’t just leave him with anyone,” said Guyon. “Though I admit we have no information on where or who, exactly, cared for the child while his mother was away. However, I have actually been to the Holy Island.”

  “Although doesn’t Acrasia live on an island?” Una asked. Perhaps the child’s mother had delusionally mixed up two different places.

  “Technically, all of Anglesey is an island. The Holy Island is only part of it. There is an old Roman fort there, that’s now handled by the locals. It’s a major fishing village and serves as a point of trade between us and the Scots, when they’re willing to trade, that is.”

  “It’s still a long way to travel with a baby,” said George. “If you encounter any resistance…”

  “I expect it will be our journey afterwards that will be harder,” Guyon began putting away his shovel with his other things. Soon they would have to head back to their main camp to retrieve the horses. “Once we set out towards this Bower of Bliss, we can anticipate the resistance to grow much stronger.”

  “Yes, but Acrasia and Archimago are still near,” said Una, barely stopping herself from scanning the trees around them. “Very near.”

  “True,” said Guyon, and went silent with apparently nothing to say in dispute. “We will need to be on our guard.”

  On that ominous note, they retreated back to the camp and both Guyon and George set about preparing their horses for the journey. Una continued to hold the baby, gently rocking it back and forth as it slept. Yes, babies were definitely somewhat cute, she had to admit. Though as soon as Guyon was done with the horse, he was going to take a turn.

  Soon, it became time to bid farewell. Una handed the baby off to Guyon, who took it and held it aloft as though it would attack at any moment, before joining George for their final moment together.

  “I’m sorry it has to be like this,” said George, putting both hands on her arms and pulling her in close. She leaned in, resting her head on his chest.

  “When I’m done here,” she said. “I’m coming right back to the Forest of Arden to find you.”

  “I’m not sure I will be there, to be honest,” he replied. “My bond with the Faerie Queen gives me some idea of what she wants from me next. And for now, I’m needed south.”

  “You can talk to her?”

  “Not exactly,” his eyes roamed as though he were searching for an explanation. “It’s more like my will has been more closely aligned with hers, so I know what she would want. And she’s still in my dreams from time to time.”

  “Well I will find you,” said Una, pressing herself all the more firmly into his chest. “We’ve come too far to lose each other now.”

  “And the Faerie Queen promised us time,” added George. “We will have a moment to rest. But we must contain these spawn of Annwyn before that happens.”

  Una hated to admit it, but he was right. Of course, they could just leave Britain. She’d been abroad once, accompanying her father on a voyage to Denmark. If she and George were to simply leave, could the Faerie Queen find them then? And what about Annwyn?

  Inwardly, she shook her head. No, she was deluding herself if she thought that the Otherworld would stay contained in Britain. The Faerie Queen had hinted as much. Not only was she a guardian of the Forest of Arden, but she was a guardian of the entire Earth. A bit presumptuous sounding, but likely true anyway. Idly, Una wondered what made Britain so special.

  And she was also fooling herself if she thought George would willingly leave. The man was so devoted to the Faerie Queen it almost made U
na jealous. It would have, if she didn’t also know that he was equally devoted to her. If there was one thing George had in abundance, it was devotion.

  He almost caused her to worry. How would he react if things somehow didn’t work out between them? The thought troubled her, and unexpectedly, for it was the first time she had considered not being with George. So far, she had been living in the moment, something she was good at. But now, as they were preparing to leave each other, she couldn’t help but wonder: what if this was it? What if he found someone else, or she did, or they discovered while parted that they simply weren’t good for each other?

  After all, they’d only been in a relationship for a short while. And it hadn’t even been that intense, thanks to George’s bloody honor. Mostly talking and the occasional kiss.

  She enjoyed talking though, more than she would care to admit. She didn’t usually hold lengthy conversations with anyone. But George was different.

  “Don’t worry,” said George, seeing the concern on her face. He rubbed his hand along her back. “Ours is perhaps a more complicated relationship than most, but we will see it through.”

  She looked up at him. “Do I have your word on that?”

  “You do,” he said with a curt nod.

  It was as though all her worries melted away. George’s word was enough for her, at least for now.

  Leaning upward, she kissed the man, and he kissed her back. When he went to pull away, she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in hard so that their lips pressed against each other with firm hunger.

  Then, the moment passed, and she let go.

  “I will miss you,” she said. And she meant it. Never in her life had she thought she would ever say those words to a man. But she said them now.

  “I will too.” George smiled. Turning, he retreated to his horse and mounted it in one smooth motion. “And I will see you soon,” he called as he brought the horse around so it was facing south. Then with a swift kick, the horse shot forward, taking George away down the river, eventually disappearing from view.

  “You love him?” asked Guyon. Una turned to see him still holding the baby, thankfully not at arm’s length anymore. Though he still held it under the arms and upright, and the baby’s face reflected its discomfort.

  “I don’t know if I’d call it that, just yet.” Una said, wandering over till she was standing beside the man. To his credit, he did not hand the baby back immediately, though the little boy looked like he’d rather be in someone else’s arms.

  “Love is a beautiful thing,” said Guyon, “but it can easily overwhelm our judgement. I think taking some time away from each other could be a good thing for you and the Red Cross knight.”

  Una’s lip twitched in a stab of annoyance. What did Guyon know about her relationship with George? “Here, give me that baby,” she said, taking the poor thing out of Guyon’s hands. “You don’t hold him like that, you have to cradle the head.”

  Demonstrating, she allowed the little boy to lie in her arms, making sure the head was properly supported. The little man smiled up at her, and Guyon leaned in, smiling himself.

  “We never learned his name,” he said as he stared.

  “Well we can’t keep calling him ‘it’,” said Una.

  “How about Ruddymane, the Red Hand,” said Guyon, pointing at the strange birthmark on the boy’s hand.

  “Heavens, no,” said Una. “The poor thing would be mocked from here to Orkney.”

  “Well we’ll think of something,” said Guyon. “In the meantime we must determine which way this Acrasia went. If her Bower of Bliss is on a northern island, we can head that way, but she was here just hours ago. Perhaps we could apprehend her before she gets there.”

  She’s long gone by now. Una blanched as the words entered her head unwillingly.

  Probably back in the Bower of Bliss already. Oh how we would love to go there.

  Una felt a moment of panic well up inside her. There were two voices in her head, not just one. Just what had happened to her when she used her magic to seal the breach her father had created?

  We would not want to go there, said a more timid voice.

  Yes we would.

  No we wouldn’t.

  “Una?”

  The voice startled her back into reality, jumping slightly as she saw Guyon had inched his way closer to her.

  “Are you alright?” His face had that wary look about it again. He did not look concerned for her, as George would have been. Instead, he looked more suspicious.

  “It’s nothing,” she said.

  Oh how I would love to get that sweet thing under my…

  “Acrasia is long gone,” Una blurted out, frantically working her mind to suppress whatever the voice in her head was about to say next. “She’s...she’s heading back to the Bower of Bliss.”

  His eyes narrowed. “How do you know this?”

  “I just do.”

  He paused, considering her. “Well then, I guess our initial goal was to reach Anglesey anyway. I suppose we had better set off.”

  Grateful that he had not interrogated her further, Una merely nodded and hurried to lead the way forward, not even upset that she was carrying the baby for the time being.

  What are you? She said to herself.

  But there was no response, though she was sure she could almost hear low laughter in the back of her mind.

  Was she going insane? Honestly, she wasn’t certain anymore. Having magic was one thing, even magic that rebelled against her and seemed to have a will of its own. But it was another thing entirely to have multiple personalities somehow linked to that magic. It was as though the personas she adopted when trying to manipulate others had somehow manifested themselves, literally, in her mind.

  And she had no idea what to do.

  6

  They walked in silence for much of the way, pausing frequently to feed or change the baby. As predicted, Guyon was none too happy when Una insisted he take equal part in the care of the lad, but Una held firm, despite his protests. But if he was to battle people like Acrasia and any others from Annwyn, then he could handle something as simple as caring for a baby.

  Thankfully, after several days of travel, he seemed to grow closer to the babe, even talking to him while he cared for the child.

  “Children really are remarkable,” he said to her after their fourth day of travel. “Yes, they cannot look after themselves, but they are also innocent in a way no other being can be.”

  Oddly, that thought did nothing but depress Una. She stared at the little boy in Guyon’s arms, idly wondering what he would grow into. Yes, he was innocent now, but would he remain that way? After all, even the basest villain was once an adorable baby too.

  All men grow up to be villains, the voice inside her head returned, and Una sat up straighter. It was the first time she’d heard it, or them, speak since she had set off with Guyon.

  What are you? She asked it, ignoring Guyon for the time being.

  Not all men, said the more timid voice.

  Yes, all men. Every one puts their own needs first and their own pleasures above all else.

  A cough brought Una back to reality, and she looked up to see Guyon watching her. “Is something wrong?”

  “No,” said Una, pushing the voices back down again. “I was just thinking.”

  He nodded, though he didn’t look all that satisfied. “We will need to talk about it, you know.”

  “About what?” But Una already knew.

  “You have magic,” he said, simply. “You used it to save Amavia, and then you somehow knew where Acrasia was heading.”

  “We already knew where her home base is located,” explained Una. “It isn’t that difficult to figure out…”

  “You know it was more than that.” Guyon set down the baby into the bundle of cloths they’d taken from the mother and were now using as the little man’s bed.

  Una took a deep breath. “I don’t know much about it, honestly. I only just discov
ered that I have magic.”

  “Tell me.” He leaned forward, his face earnest.

  Reluctantly, she started again from the beginning, skimming over the story she and George had already related, but adding the bits about her magic, including the lion she had tamed and the final encounter with her father at Castle Silene. She told him about the breach and how she had somehow turned its power in on itself to seal it.

  “And the Faerie Queen said you shouldn't use it?” Guyon asked.

  “No, she said she would forbid me if it would do any good,” Una clarified. “But I think she expects me to use it, to learn from it somehow. I just don’t know how I can do that if it keeps…”

  But she stopped talking, cursing herself for saying too much. She had not mentioned that the magic seemed to have a will of its own or said anything about the voices.

  “Keeps what?”

  She closed her eyes. Stupid. “When I temporarily healed the woman, it...kind of just happened.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, it all came out of me whether I wanted it or not. The magic took control.”

  Guyon’s eyes darkened. “Control is paramount. That sounds like it could be dangerous.”

  “It might be,” she confirmed. “But I managed to get it back.”

  “And what can your magic do, exactly?”

  It persuades.

  “It persuades,” Una said, but then paused. That hadn’t been her thought. The truth was, she didn’t actually know how her magic worked. Perhaps the voices in her head knew more than she.

  “Persuades,” said Guyon, running a hand along his beard. “Interesting.”

  Una wasn’t sure she liked the tone that he used. There was something wary about it, like he was sizing her up as a possible threat. Which, now that she thought about it, she might very well be.

  “But, what about you?” she asked, searching for a welcome change of subject. “I don’t even know where you are from? Are you from one of the houses? You don’t look like a Roman.”

  “No, I do not ally myself with the Romans,” he said. “Nor with any of the houses. I am a free knight, and I work for myself.”