A sudden knock at a door behind Robby made him jump. “M’lord Robby?” a boisterous female voice called. “M’lord, are you there? Well, of course you must be there. Kaliam said you would be. I suppose the better question is, may I come in? Hullo, Robby?” She knocked again.
“Uh, yeah,” Robby called, turning around. “I guess.”
The door opened, spilling light into the chamber. And in walked a very round Glimpse woman carrying a rather large tray filled with many covered dishes. She set the tray down on a desk Robby had not seen at first and then went about the room lighting candles.
“There now, much better!” she said, her back still turned as she lit the last candle in the room. “There’s some light to eat by. I am Elspeth, and Kaliam sent me to see that you are fed. A growing boy needs his victuals.” She turned to look at Robby. “Oh!” she said. “Oh, not a boy at all. A young man.”
“That’s righight,” Robby replied, feeling slightly embarrassed.
“A mite taller than most lads,” she said, looking him up and down.
“And stronger… well, all the better. Come now, have a seat and eat your fill. I have prepared my special stew for you and some biscuits, if you have a taste for them. Sir Kaliam will be here shortly, but if you have questions while you wait, I will do my best to answer them!”
Robby sat down at the desk, and Elspeth removed the cover from a large steaming bowl of stewed vegetables and meat, swimming in gravy. The smell from the bowl awoke the hunger in Robby, and he hastily picked up a spoon and began to eat. There were chunks of potatoes, carrots, and some other vegetable Robby had never seen. It was triangular with one side covered with a thin purple skin. Whatever it was, it was good. But the meat was the best part. It didn’t taste like beef. It didn’t taste like chicken. It was extremely salty and had some savor that Robby didn’t recognize, perhaps from the gravy, but absolutely delicious.
“My mama makes some great beef stew,” he said between his last few mouthfuls. “Or at least she did when we lived in Florida, but I gotta tell you, I have never had anything that tastes this good!”
Elspeth beamed and patted Robby on the back. “What a kind lad you are to say such things. My stew is a favorite around here. The Knights of the Elder Guard like it, but no one more than Sir Aelic.”
“Who’s Aelic?” Robby asked, dabbing up the last of the gravy with a biscuit.
A cloud seemed to fall over Elspeth’s jovial face for a moment. “Why, Sir Aelic was as noble a young knight as anyone could know. Sir Aidan’s Glimpse twin, you know. He was sorely wounded in the Battle on the Forest Road in Yewland. But now he seems to have just vanished from The Realm.”
“Well, that makes sense,” Robby muttered.
“What is that you say, lad?”
“Well, back in my world,” Robby explained, “I was there when Aidan entered The Realm, and a Glimpse and his twin can’t be in the same world at the same time, right?”
“Yes,” Elspeth replied. “But how did you… oh, silly me. I suppose Sir Aidan must have told you that, you being friends and all.”
Robby felt a pang of guilt. It had not been Aidan who told him about the dynamics of leaving one world for another. Count Eogan, a servant of Alleble’s greatest enemy, had taught him that… and many other things besides. Robby wondered if they knew.
“Where is Aidan?” Robby asked. “Can I see him? He’ll be real glad to see me here, I think.”
“I am sure I do not know,” Elspeth replied, dabbing the scratches on Robby’s face with a cool ointment. “If indeed he is back in The Realm, I am glad for it. For Sir Aidan is a valiant warrior. But he has not arrived in Alleble. Of that I am certain. Perhaps Sir Kaliam will know.”
“Perhaps Sir Kaliam will know what?” asked a tall Glimpse knight entering the room. He was followed by a beautiful Glimpse with long silver hair. Both of them wore armor and had swords at their sides.
Elspeth bowed. “M’lord, Sentinel!” she said. “And Lady Merewen too, though I suppose I ought not to be surprised.” Robby started to stand, but Kaliam motioned for him to stay seated.
“And just what do you mean by you ‘ought not to be surprised’?” Lady Merewen asked in mock anger.
“Oh, be kind to your servant,” Elspeth said, bowing again. “I meant no harm. Forgive the assumptions of an old busybody like me.”
Kaliam laughed and turned to Robby. “Welcome, Robby,” he said, gesturing grandly with the sweep of an arm. “Welcome to the city of Alleble and into the service of King Eliam the Everlasting.”
“The lad from Antoinette’s picture,” Lady Merewen thought aloud. “Perhaps Antoinette completed her task, after all.”
“Who is Antoinette?” Robby asked.
“I wonder Sir Aidan did not tell you,” Kaliam said. “Lady Antoinette is a friend of Aidan’s from the Mirror Realm-a place Aidan called Colorado.”
“Oh,” Robby replied. “Aidan moved there. Colorado is far from where I live.”
Kaliam nodded. “Lady Antoinette is a skilled swordmaiden. But alas, she has been captured by the enemy.”
“Is that my mission?” Robby asked. “Am I supposed to rescue her?”
“Nay, lad,” Kaliam replied sadly. “Though every hour that passes while Lady Antoinette is still in captivity scratches at my heart, we are in no position to invade Paragory.”
He put his hand on Lady Merewen’s arm. She smiled bravely, but she wondered privately if Antoinette would ever leave Paragory alive.
“Where is Sir Aidan now?” Elspeth asked. “Robby says that Sir Aidan has entered The Realm.”
“He has?” Kaliam replied with a sideways glance at Lady Merewen. “I find that news somewhat heartening, but Sir Aidan is not in Alleble. Perhaps it is just the difference in the reckoning of time between our worlds. I know that Aidan would not stray from the narrow path unless King Eliam led him to do so-not after what happened the first time he entered The Realm.” Kaliam laughed quietly to himself.
Robby looked from Kaliam to Lady Merewen and back. “Why am I here?” he asked.
“To train to be a knight, and if you pass your training, you will be the Twelfth Knight,” Kaliam said.
“Twelfth Knight?” Robby asked.
“Yes,” Kaliam explained. “Often on special missions, we send forth warriors in teams of twelve. The twelfth knight chosen has special honor. Aidan was a Twelfth Knight. So was Lady Antoinette.”
Eagerly, Robby asked, “What is my mission?”
“Impatient to strap on a sword and be off, are you?” Kaliam asked. “I am beginning to wonder if all the beings in the Mirror Realm lack patience. You will discover the nature of your mission tomorrow. But before that happens, you will have much to do… training not the least of which.”
“Shall I rouse the lad at sunup, then?” Elspeth asked.
Kaliam glanced at Lady Merewen, and the mischievous grin reappeared. “Nay, Lady Elspeth, not at dawn. Say rather, wake him at second bell.”
“What?” Robby objected. “I’m going to bed? I just got here.”
Kaliam patted Robby on the shoulder. “You have arrived in Alleble in the middle of the night. Rest now, as much as you can. For there is no promise of such comforts as sleep in the future.” Elspeth nodded, bowed, and left the chamber. Kaliam followed, but Lady Merewen lingered a moment.
“Should you meet Lady Antoinette one day,” Lady Merewen whispered to Robby as she stood under the arch by the chamber door, “you owe her a debt of gratitude.”
Robby was shocked. “I don’t understand,” he said. “I don’t even know Antoinette.”
“Ah, but Sir Aidan did,” Lady Merewen replied. “And Aidan asked Antoinette to seek your Glimpse twin, Kearn, in The Realm-it was in seeking him she was captured.”
“Kearn?” Robby replied absently.
Lady Merewen nodded. “Kearn was a powerful captain in Paragor’s service,” she said with a knowing smile.
Robby felt as if Lady Merewen could suddenly see right throu
gh him. “So…,” he said, looking at his feet, “you know about me, then?”
“Yes, Robby, I know about you. Antoinette told me some, but Kaliam knew much more than she. But even if they had not told me, I still would have known that you once served the enemy.”
Robby blinked back tears.
“In spite of your size and apparent strength,” Lady Merewen explained, “there is a fragility about you. At moments you look ashamed, as if you really do not belong here in Alleble. Like you might suddenly be discovered for what you are and be dragged from this city and taken to a much darker place.” Tears streamed freely down Robby’s cheeks.
“Nay, Robby, I see all too clearly the shrouds that Paragor continues to cast over you in the hopes of reclaiming your allegiance. I see it, because I too wore such shrouds. But let your tears become tears of joy as mine did! I cast off the enemy’s feeble webs, and I am confident that here you will find such hope too!”
Robby swallowed and nodded, his square jaw still trembling.
“We shall talk again, you and I,” Lady Merewen said. “But for now, sleep. Sleep in such comfort and peace as you have never had before. For, Robby, you are home now.”
24
TESTED AND PROVED
I t appeared to be a glorious spring day in Alleble. The sun was climbing, and a gentle breeze stirred the great banners hung outside the main gatehouse of the castle. Still, Kaliam felt uneasy that the dragon riders had not returned from their mission in the Blue Mountains, especially now that Robby was in Alleble.
Kindle, the armory keeper, had procured fitting armor for Robby, and Kaliam helped Robby put it on. “So Aidan really defeated an army all by himself?” Robby asked as Kaliam slid the breastplate harness over Robby’s head. Kaliam nodded.
“Not exactly by himself,” Kindle said with a wink. “Or are you forgetting how Sir Aidan managed to navigate Lady Gwenne and the others through the stampede without getting stomped?”
Kaliam frowned with mock anger. “Yes, well, of course King Eliam was with Aidan in that battle.”
“I should say!” Kindle exclaimed with a laugh that made his ample belly shake. He turned back to Robby. “So, why do you ask, lad?”
“I dunno,” Robby replied, running his fingers over his new gleaming silver armor. “I guess it’s just that things are so different now. Back in my world, when Aidan and I first met, well… Aidan wasn’t good at much.”
“Ah! I see now,” said Kindle. “You used to be top knight, eh? And you are worried that Sir Aidan has passed you by? Is that it?”
Robby shrugged. Kindle went on to say more, but Kaliam held up his hand. “To serve in The Realm of Alleble,” Kaliam said, “you must put aside all such jealousies.”
Each busy with his own thoughts, Kaliam and Robby left the armory en route to the training yards behind the main keep. Kaliam wondered why he had such a nagging uneasy feeling about Robby; Robby wondered if Kaliam held something against him.
The few citizens of Alleble who were out on the avenues nodded respectfully to their Sentinel and his companion. But some of them did more than nod. Three elderly Glimpse women walked by, staring and whispering. Robby heard one of them say, “Is he one of them?” But then the other two ladies shushed her and whisked her away.
“What was that all about?” Robby asked.
“Oh, well… they do not often see beings from the Mirror Realm,” Kaliam replied. “Especially one so handsome and knightly as yourself.” Robby laughed, but he wondered if that was all there was to it.
After many winding passages and several flights of stairs, they turned a corner and Robby gasped. “I have never seen anything like that before!” he said, staring up at the great white stone faces of mountains.
“Pennath Ador!” Kaliam exclaimed. “The Mountains of Glory! It is said that when the first rays of the dawn sun shine between those snowy peaks that great glory will be won by those who are pure of heart!”
“Righ-ight,” was Robby’s only response. The mountains were dizzying in their immense grandeur, and somewhere in the back of Robby’s heart he wondered what it might be like to find some winding path and attempt to scale them.
“Here we are!” Kaliam announced. Robby beheld a network of wooden fences, several archery ranges, and a large field and pavilion that reminded him of a racetrack.
“These are the private training yards of the Elder Guard, the most highly skilled warriors in all of Alleble. Most of them,” Kaliam said, glancing northward, “are on a very important mission in the Blue Mountain Provinces. So we ought to have the yard pretty much to ourselves.”
“Will you tell me what my mission is now?” Robby asked.
“In time,” Kaliam said as they entered a fenced-in ring. “I would test you first on the training urchin, but alas, it is under repair. So we will just have to give it a go the old-fashioned way. King Eliam told me that you have considerable skill with a blade. Is this so?”
“I guess I’m pretty good,” Robby replied. “But I don’t really know how I compare to the other Knights of Alleble. I was trained-”
“By your father,” Kaliam finished the sentence. “He is the human twin of Lord Rucifel, Paragor’s right hand. Yes, I know. Rucifel’s swordcraft is lethal, but we shall see.”
Robby twisted and leaned to test the limits of his armor. “My father said I was a little better than a beginner, but Count Eogan said that I am a gifted swordsman. I think he was just tryin’ to flatter me.”
“Did you say Eogan?” Kaliam asked.
Robby nodded. “Did you know him?” Robby asked, looking afraid. “He said he was a former ambassador from Alleble.”
“I did not know him,” Kaliam said. “We have had dealings with Count Eogan, and he certainly was no ambassador of ours. Masquerading as one of us, Eogan stirred up quite a bit of trouble with our allies. If only I could get my hands on that scoundrel.”
Robby looked downward. “You won’t see him again.”
“How can you be so sure?” Kaliam asked.
“I… I killed him.”
“Why?” Kaliam asked.
“He tried to stop Aidan from entering The Realm. I had no choice. He would have killed Aidan.”
“Oh,” Kaliam replied. “Well, I am glad Eogan’s treachery has come to an end, but I am sorry for the ordeal you have been through. Just remember, we are at war with Paragor and his allies. What you did was just.”
“I know,” Robby said, and he turned back to his Sentinel. “But I don’t like to kill.”
“Neither do I, Robby, neither do I,” said Kaliam.
“Sir Kaliam, don’t you get used to killing?” Robby asked.
“No. No true servant of Alleble does. We fight to defend our land and our allies. We slay when we have no other choice,” Kaliam said.
Robby stared at the mountains. Kaliam’s uneasy feeling around Robby had strengthened. Can I really trust a former servant of the enemy? The thought just imposed itself in Kaliam’s mind. But he immediately shook it away. After all, he mused, I did propose marriage to a former servant of the enemy! And Robby had shown no signs of duplicity or hidden evil-just the opposite, actually. Still, I will feel much better when Robby has made the good confession.
At last, Kaliam dragged a barrel out of the center of the ring. “These are not the finest swords in the land,” he said to Robby with a wink. “But they are far better than the first weapon Aidan ever used. Now, choose a blade.”
Robby went to the barrel and sorted through the weapons. He took out several-all broadswords-but one at a time he put them back. Growing frustrated, he finally settled on one. He carved a swift two-fisted C-shape in the air and frowned. “Don’t you have anything heavier?”
“Heavier than that?” Kaliam asked. “That is a claymore!”
Robby smiled apologetically. “I like the length,” he said. “But it just doesn’t seem like it’ll pack the punch I’m used to.”
“What is wrong with the sword?” came a gruff voice from behind
the fence, and presently Kindle, the armory keeper, and Lady Merewen appeared.
“The lad has a claymore,” Kaliam replied. “And he says it is not heavy enough for him.”
“Really?” Kindle whistled. “You must be a mighty lad to wield a heavier weapon than that.”
“M’lord,” Lady Merewen said, “why not let Robby try your sword? It should be heavy enough.”
“It would indeed!” Kindle hacked a laugh. “Last time I tried to handle that, I thought my shoulders would pop from their sockets!”
Reluctantly, Kaliam drew his grand broadsword. He presented it to Robby grip-first and said, “If it is too heavy for you, I will search the other barrels in the yard. I am sure we can find-”
“No, this is great!” Robby said, and he turned and whipped Kaliam’s blade toward the fence, stopping within an inch of striking it. “I like this, Sir Kaliam!”
“Yes, I see,” muttered the Sentinel. Lady Merewen stifled a laugh, and she and Kindle left the ring, choosing to watch from the safer side of the fence.
Still grumbling, Kaliam chose the claymore and moved to the opposite side of the ring. “Stand you ready?” Kaliam asked.
“I guess so,” Robby replied.
The word “Begin!” was barely out of Kaliam’s mouth when Robby bolted toward him. He slammed a high stroke against Kaliam’s claymore, so hard that the sound made both combatants’ ears ring. But with their blades locked at eye level, Robby shoved with all his might and Kaliam lost his balance. He stumbled backward, and when he looked up, he found the tip of his own broadsword level with his throat. Lady Merewen and Kindle were speechless.
“You cannot fight like that,” Kaliam protested. “A knight with a lighter blade would cut you to ribbons!”
Robby considered Kaliam’s point. “I guess he could try,” Robby replied.
Kaliam gestured and Robby returned to his spot. “Again!” Kaliam yelled.
And again Robby bull-rushed. This time Kaliam was ready. He absorbed Robby’s first blow and used it to spin around. The next thing Robby knew, Kaliam had the claymore suspended three inches from the back of Robby’s neck. “That was cool!” Robby said. “Can you teach me that?”
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