by Halle Dean
Joseph, the oldest of the knights, shook his head. "You weren't a knight back when he was, kid."
"You wouldn't believe how good he is, with or without a sword," Robert agreed. "There's a reason he was made Knight Captain at sixteen."
"A few of us had been around awhile longer than he had, but there was no contest," Joseph said. "Mason was the only one who even came close."
Lane tried to tune out the conversation. He already knew there was no way to succeed in their mission. He was tired of hearing about how great of a Knight Captain Warner had been. When the topic evolved into amazing anecdotes about Warner, Lane had had enough. He stood quickly and everyone quieted, looking up at him.
"Are you all forgetting what happened?" he snapped. "Whatever Munday did before, he still destroyed half of the castle and killed all those people. He is arguably the worst criminal in all of Coriander's history, if not in the whole known world."
"No one has forgotten," Patrick said calmly. "We are only keeping the mood light."
"Keep it light with something other than Munday," Lane said. "I'm sick of hearing his name."
He stormed off to retrieve his bedroll from his horse. The knights were mumbling behind him, but he ignored whatever they were saying. He knew he was terrible company at the moment, but he couldn't help it. He was failing his mission; it was extremely cold outside; and he hadn't seen Melody in three weeks. Along with that, the last time he had talked to her had been terrible.
"Will we use the speed port in Linburg then, Captain?" Patrick asked when Lane approached the circle again and began to lay out his bedroll.
"Yes," he said shortly. "We leave this spot at daybreak."
"Yes, sir," all the knights said in unison.
"Get some sleep," he ordered, lying down.
"Yes, sir," they chorused again.
Lane closed his eyes, not realizing how tired he was until sleep rolled over him.
Eighteen
Sweet Memories
Warner knelt in the throne room, feeling nervous. It had been an eventful evening. The spring banquet had been beautiful. The attack that interrupted it and the resulting injury were less than enjoyable. It was all over and everything was quiet, but Warner's day was not yet finished. What did the king and queen want from him? He had spent the majority of the night so far in the healing wing of the castle. Though the healer had used a great deal of pain relieving magic, Warner very much wished he could just lie down. But, he could not ignore a direct request for his presence.
"You may stand, Captain," King Dane said.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Warner said, getting to his feet. "Thank you, sir."
Queen Elsie spoke next. "We wish to speak with you about this evening's events."
"Yes, Your Majesty," he said again.
"How are your injuries?" she asked.
"They're recovering, ma'am," he said. "I can hardly feel them."
"That's good," King Dane said. "You did a very selfless thing tonight."
"It was not selfless, sir," Warner disagreed politely. "It is my duty to protect the royal—"
"You were not on duty," the king interrupted. "You would not have been faulted had you chosen to leave the princess on her own."
"Nothing can convince me of that, sir," Warner said. "I could not have lived with myself had she been hurt. So, contrary to what you said, sir, it was a selfish act."
A smile split the king's face and the pressure on Warner's nerves lessened somewhat.
"You were halfway across the room when the attack started, Captain." Queen Elsie looked amused. "There were hundreds in that room. There were several important people closer to you than our daughter."
"Not as important as her, ma'am."
"To you?" she asked, causing Warner's face to heat up.
"I'm… not sure what you mean by that, ma'am," he said.
"You have been in our care since you were six years old, Warner," King Dane said. Warner noted the use of his given name. "We know you very well."
"Y-yes, sir," he stammered, unsure of what to say.
"We may have taken you and your sister in, but we never truly made you our children," the king said pensively. "A decision that seems to have been wise. It would have been difficult for you and Sophie, otherwise. What with your romantic feelings."
Warner felt very hot and his mind was racing. What was going on? "Your Majesty, with all due respect, I don't think that this is an appropriate—"
"You love her, do you not?" the queen asked, eyebrows raised.
Warner's heart was beating a mile a minute. He was having a hard time putting his thoughts together coherently. Were the king and queen of Coriander actually asking him if he was in love with their daughter? What answer were they looking for? Should he tell the truth?
"Yes, ma'am," he said, finally.
"More than anything?" the king prompted.
"More than everything," Warner sighed, momentarily forgetting to add an honorific. "Uh... sir."
King Dane smiled again. "So your reasons for saving her were, indeed, selfish," he said. He looked at his wife. "Whatever shall we do with the reward?"
"I need no reward, sir," Warner said quickly.
"Nonsense," the queen said, waving her hand to dismiss his comment. "Approach the throne."
"Yes, ma'am," he said, stepping toward the monarchs. Queen Elsie reached into the folds of her dress and withdrew a small box. She held it out to him, but he placed his palms forward. "Your Majesty, I honestly would not feel comfortable with any sort of reward."
"This is no reward," King Dane said. "It would not go to just anyone. This is a sign of trust."
"Trust, sir?"
The queen was more insistent with her gesture, so Warner took the box. It was dark blue, like the color of all the banners in the kingdom, and had a simple lid that lifted off with ease. What was inside the box had Warner confused. It was a silver bracelet with several deep blue stones set into it. It resembled the circlet that Sophie wore on formal occasions.
"We had this crafted long ago," King Dane said. "The stones are traditional in our family."
"What do you wish for me to do with this, Your Majesty?" Warner asked, feeling lost.
The queen sighed and smiled at him. "You are hopeless, aren't you?" she said. Warner just nodded and the king and queen laughed. "It's for promising marriage, Warner."
"Yes, ma'am," he said slowly. "But why do I have it?"
"You won't for long if you hurry off to see Sophie," she said.
Warner's eyes widened in shock. "Your Majesty," he protested. "I am—I'm not anyone." The king frowned, but Warner went on. "What of the Prince of Deyinfor?"
"We have already decided to settle matters with the Deyinfians another way," King Dane said. "In any case, I'd rather die than have that pompous brat for a son-in-law."
"But, I don't think—"
"You, on the other hand, Warner Munday—" He got to his feet. "—you have fought beside me in battle. You have protected my family and my kingdom. You have proven yourself, time and again, to be trustworthy. In fact, I trust you more than any other man I've met."
Warner could not believe what he was hearing. His heart felt so light it could have floated away from him. "Th-thank you, sir," he said. "Though, I don't know that I deserve such high praise."
"Stop arguing and go find Sophie," Queen Elsie commanded.
"Yes, ma'am," he said, bowing low. "Thank you. I… I couldn't be happier."
* * *
It was only a second after Warner had knocked on the door that Sophie opened it. The sight of tears in her eyes and a distraught expression threw him off. The moment she saw him, she threw her arms around him. She was sobbing and Warner was extremely confused. Then he remembered the last time he had seen her—just before he had fallen unconscious from blood loss.
"You—You're—I'm so glad you're alive!" she cried. She gasped and pulled away from him before he even had the chance to hug her back. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "Did I p
ress on your injury? How is it? Will you recover?"
"I'm all right, Sophie," he assured her. "It doesn't even hurt. Now listen—"
"Are you sure?" she asked. "I can have them heal you further. Did they do everything correctly? Are you going to heal properly?"
"I'm all right," he said again. "I'll have a scar, but nothing more. Now calm down. I must speak with you."
"Warner, you can't be all right," she argued. "You were stabbed!"
"And then I was healed. Now, stop talking. This is important."
"Let me make sure they did it correctly," she said, lifting his shirt up to reveal his bandaged abdomen.
He yanked his shirt back down. "Why are you making this so difficult?" he asked. "I have a hard enough time expressing my feelings."
"Yes," she grumbled, still trying to examine him. "Usually, you kiss me and run away."
"I've only done so twice," he said, flustered.
"That's two times more than anyone else," she pointed out. "Wait…" she looked wary. "Why are you speaking of your feelings? You've made this difficult enough already."
Warner knew his face was very red. He would have to ignore all of his inhibitions to get through the speech he had come up with on the way to her room. He took a deep breath and looked down at Sophie.
"I never thought I would have to worry about speaking of… romantic feelings," he said. "Since I have only ever had them for you." He couldn't help but smile as her face flushed. "You're the princess. So, of course, I believed that it could never happen. I would have to be happy with your friendship and the occasional stolen kiss."
"Warner—"
"Shh, don't interrupt or I'll never be able to do this," he said. "Where was I? Oh, yes. Just now, the king and queen summoned me to speak with me alone. I'm not entirely sure if they are in their right minds, but they gave me this." He held up the bracelet and Sophie's eyes widened.
"Is that—"
"Yes," he said. "I know that this is all rather sudden—"
"Warner—"
"Stop interrupting me," he said. "I'm nearly finished." He paused, gathering his courage. "Sophie, I wish to always be with you." He scratched the back of his head, getting more nervous by the second. "I know that I've said so before, but it was never more than wishful thinking. Now I have the opportunity to say it seriously." He knelt before her and took her hands in his. "I love you, Sophie. Will you allow me your hand in marriage?"
"Warner, wake up." He felt someone shaking him as the image of Sophie started to fade. "Please, wake up."
"Nooo," he groaned. "That is not fair."
"What's not fair?" Sophie asked. Warner opened his eyes. Sophie was hovering over him, looking anxious.
"Why am I always woken up in the middle of the good dreams?" he murmured.
"You are feverish and there are plants attacking you," she explained frantically. "Get up."
"I'm sorry, what? Plants?"
"Tufty vines," she said, pointing to his legs.
He looked down to see green vines wrapped around one of his legs. Little gray tufts spotted the vines periodically. It took Warner a moment to wake up completely and realize what was going on. He pulled his sword from The Void and slashed through the vines. They fell to the ground and he stood up. He took hold of Sophie's arm and dragging her away from the plant.
"Sweet Memories," he recalled. "A very dangerous, magical vine that slowly devours you while you sleep. It keeps you asleep by making you relive your favorite memories. I should have been paying more attention. It could have killed you."
"Warner, it was attacking you, not me," she said. "Speaking of which, are you all right?"
"I should be," he said, looking down to see that his pant leg was tattered. "It wraps you up almost entirely before it starts to eat you. At first, it only constricts you. My leg is a bit bruised." He tried to take a step forward, but pain shot through his shin. "Ow, I see. And perhaps a bit broken."
"What?!" she exclaimed. "Let me see."
"Why?" he asked.
"Sit down," she commanded. "I'll heal you."
"You don't have to do that."
"How do you expect to walk?" she asked.
"I've lived with broken bones before," he said.
"Sit down," she said again. He sighed and sat down, after checking the ground for more dangerous plants. "Put your leg out straight," she ordered. He complied, holding back a wince as she placed her hands on his injured leg. "It's definitely broken," she said. "How did you not wake up?"
"How can you tell that it's broken?" he asked. "Is that part of your healing magic?"
She nodded, but shushed him. "I need to concentrate," she said.
"Is it difficult?"
"Not if you don't distract me," she said.
"Oh," he said. He waited a moment. "Are you done?"
"No, I'm still checking the break," she said. "I haven't even started the healing process yet."
"Oh," he said again. "So… when does that start?"
"Warner!" she protested.
"Sorry. Continue."
"I'm going to start now," she said. "It may sting a bit." He nodded and braced himself. Green light emitted from her fingertips and he did feel a slight twinge as the magic permeated his leg. The discomfort eased after a moment, as did the pain. "There," she said. "That should do it."
"Wow," he said, getting to his feet and feeling no pain. "That is amazing!"
"It uses a lot of my magic energy," she said. "So, please don't get hurt again."
"I'll try," he said, scratching the back of his head. "We should keep moving. Those vines can hide easily in the brush like this."
She nodded. "The sun will be up soon anyway," she said. "I think we'll see the castle once we are over this last hill."
"Yes, we'll be there by tomorrow," he said. "Then we must figure out where Melody is being kept."
"And then what?" Sophie asked.
"Ideally, we take her and run," Warner said. "Though, I'm sure Edric will have some sort of plan to stop that."
"I will distract him while you find Melody," Sophie said. "Then you save me before he kills me."
"I don't much care for that plan," Warner grumbled. "How will you distract him? He knows more magic than you do. Even if he didn't, he knows how to suppress magic."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" she asked, crossing her arms.
He shrugged helplessly. "I'm not quite sure," he said. "We'll have to see how things unfold."
Nineteen
First Name Basis
The sight of the castle made Sophie's stomach twist uncomfortably. She had not turned back to look when she had fled with Ella, nearly a month previously. The dark blue flags emblazoned with the Cameron family crest had been replaced. Under Edric's command, everything was red and black. Instead of the silver crest there was a large, black letter 'E'.
"It looks terrible." Warner was examining one of the banners hanging outside the castle gates. His hood had been up so people in the town wouldn't recognize him, but he pulled it back when they reached the castle. "Why wouldn't he just leave the old ones?"
"He wishes for everyone to know that he's the one in command," Sophie said from under her own hood. She didn't lower hers, feeling safer with a little cover, as if she could still hide. "He wants to be sure the people know that things are not the same."
"I hope you've realized"—Warner looked down at her—"we will have to kill him. You must rule in order to fix things, but I doubt we can convince him to step down."
"You are right to doubt that," Edric's cold voice agreed from across the courtyard. Warner immediately stepped in front of Sophie, but Edric only laughed. "I don't know what you think you're doing," he said. "You do remember why you brought her to me, do you not?"
"I want assurance that Melody is alive," Warner demanded. "I've not felt her magic here."
"It is suppressed," Edric said nonchalantly. "I keep her in the lower dungeon."
"There isn't such a thing," Warner argued.
"There is now." Edric shrugged. "It's on the rebuilt side of the castle. Not so easily accessible as the normal dungeon. It's for the more dangerous offenders."
"Melody is not dangerous," Sophie said.
"You would be surprised," Edric said. "Not that it matters now. Now that Sophie has returned, I have no use for Miss Munday. I've only been practicing on her." He smiled cruelly. "I am sure you recall how unpracticed slicing magic feels, don't you, Sophie?" Sophie shuddered and stepped back, away from Warner. "I'm far more skilled than Sir Warner was back then. Do you wish for a display?"
Warner waved his hand and his sword materialized in front of him. He caught it and changed to a fighting stance, glaring at Edric.
"Stay away from her," he growled.
"Have you changed your mind?" Edric asked, eyebrows raised. "You don't wish for me to free your sister? Or did you decide you want to kill my niece yourself after all?" Edric waved his arm, but nothing seemed to happen.
"Sophie," Warner murmured. "He's suppressed magic here. Go find Melody."
"What about you?" she asked in a whisper.
"I'll hold Edric back," he told her. "Don't worry. I won't let him get to you or Melody."
"But—"
"Go!" Warner leapt and shoved Edric to the ground, his sword at his throat. Before he could strike, Edric kicked him back. Sophie watched as they both got to their feet. Warner glanced over at her, giving Edric the chance to draw his own sword. "Sophie, go!" Warner ordered as he blocked Edric's attack.
"Be careful!" she called, wrenching her gaze from the fight.
She ran from the courtyard, in the direction of the rebuilt side of the castle. The layout was completely different than it had been when she was young, so she had no clue where she was going. She hoped she would find Melody quickly, but the castle was huge. It wasn't long before she came across some knights. She held back a gasp and hid in an alcove.
"He said he had someone to deal with and didn't need me there." Alex was speaking as he, Mason, and Patrick passed by Sophie's hiding spot. "I wasn't going to argue. Firstly, I'd rather not witness most of his dealings. Second, I don't particularly care to protect him. I'm sure we'd be better off without him."
