Won't Back Down: Won't Back Down

by Unknown

  Cal's face burned but not so hot as Taren's hand on his back. Not trusting himself to speak, Cal responded with a nod of his head and a sound of agreement. Too hyper-aware of Taren touching him, Cal didn't miss when that hand moved, stopped, and then dropped down to his lower back as Taren gently pushed Cal aside so he could lock up the practice room.

  Taren turned around and his expression was different. It wasn't open, but he wasn't as closed off and guarded as usual. It was magnetic, drawing Cal in, and before he realized it, he'd stepped forward. As he did, Taren's eyes widened just enough to be noticeable.

  He cleared his throat, hanging up his practice sword on the racks, and taking longer to arrange it that necessary. "You'd better hurry back if you want to make it to dinner," he said, and Cal had never heard his voice so rough and low. It punched him in his stomach, sent a flare of heat throughout him. Even his toes warmed and tingled.

  Swallowing, Cal licked his lips and then responded, "I'm not hungry."

  Taren glanced his way and Cal sucked in a breath. It couldn't have been his imagination. He was too close to Taren to miss how those dark eyes grew even darker and then drifted down to Cal's mouth before lifting back up. "Cal," Taren said softly.

  "Yeah?"

  "Please go to dinner."

  The words, though gentle, were a shut down, and Cal stepped back as if he'd been slapped in the face. As he watched, Taren's face closed off again, his expression too blank.

  Embarrassment and frustration warred in Cal, and both were too strong for him to remain. Without another word, he turned and almost ran back to the squires' hall. His face was hot and his hands shaking. There was no way he was going down to dinner in this condition. Instead, he flung himself onto his bed, face buried in his pillows. He didn't cry, but it was a near thing. Only a voice in his head, his own, telling him that he was twenty, an adult, and very nearly a knight of the realm steeled him enough that he didn't cry over a man like a girl passed over at a dance. It was quite a while before he realized he still hadn't told Taren what he'd overheard.

  About an hour later, once he felt less dejected, he went in search of Nahiya. He found her just getting off shift, twirling her hair into a quick braid and jamming a pin into it to hold it in place. She smiled at Cal as soon as she saw him, but the smile quickly faded at his expression.

  "What's wrong? Did you speak to Taren? What happened?"

  Cal blew his hair out of his face and crossed his arms. "No, I didn't. I didn't get a chance between practice and telling him about the duel with Helmer, and then..." He shook his head.

  "Well, what happened with Helmer?"

  Cal shrugged. "I won. Made him yield. You should have seen his pig face; you could tell how much he hated even saying the words." He didn't mention Taren's reaction to the news, but he didn't need to. Nahiya's was almost the same.

  "You dueled him? Cal, I told you that was a terrible idea!" She looked worried, almost as concerned as Taren had looked.

  Cal frowned. Taren had looked worried. He hadn't imagined that. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, well, I thought you meant with witnesses, so he couldn't try anything."

  "Without witnesses is even worse! Now it's his word against yours if he claims anything happened, and you know he will. Dragon piss in a bucket, Cal, you need to think things through!"

  "I know, all right? Taren already pointed out I'm an idiot for fighting him! I get it. I'm stupid and impulsive and—" he cut himself off and sank down to the floor.

  "Cal," Nahiya asked, her voice softening. "What happened?"

  "Nothing. Only I made a fool of myself in front of Taren, and he shut me down. I'm so stupid! I can't believe I thought that maybe he actually..." He cut himself off before he revealed too much.

  Nahiya sighed and smoothed down his hair as she crouched next to him. "Stop it. You're not stupid. You're one of the cleverest people I know. You're intuitive. Taren just throws you off because what you want is stronger than what you think. It'll turn out all right, I promise."

  Cal dropped his head into his hands, feeling even more like an idiot for acting that way—in front of Nahiya no less. She kept smoothing his hair until they heard footsteps approach.

  "Are we alone here?"

  Cal's head jerked upright, accidentally flinging Nahiya's hands off it. Atam's voice.

  "Yes, everyone should be off shift now. It's just us."

  This time it was Nahiya who gave a start. Her eyes went wide, and she turned to Cal and mouthed, "Lady Elleni."

  Why were these two meeting alone in the back halls? Cal slowly stood up, pulling Nahiya back into a crevice where they could hear and even see without being seen.

  Atam was still in his practice gear, but Cal couldn't see his face. He could see Lady Elleni's though, with her round nose, her almond, slightly upturned eyes, olive complexion, and long, silky-straight dark hair.

  "Good. I always wondered why you spent so much time with Taren. I was beginning to suspect you were fond of him."

  "Mm, a lady has her secrets, Atam. You know that well."

  "Yes. And so do knights, apparently. I've learned his."

  "Oh? Will you share that with me?"

  There was a pause and then Atam let out a soft grunt of a sound. "His birth. He wasn't born to the Verettis. They adopted him. He was some servant's whelp."

  Lady Elleni gave a little laugh. "My, my, how did you find that out?" Her laugh was like crystal, but her voice was sharp, intent.

  "Pay a whore to talk, and she'll think the world of you. She'll tell you anything and give you means to find the way to the truth."

  "Right, of course," Lady Elleni replied, her voice tinged with something Cal couldn't place.

  Nahiya squeezed forward a bit just in time for her and Cal both to see Lady Elleni set a goblet down on a ledge behind her. Atam swayed just a little on his feet. He was clearly drunk—or something else. "Come, my dear, let's get you off to bed, hmm?" She started to steer him away but not before glancing in Cal and Nahiya's direction. Frozen in place, they didn't move, hoping she hadn't seen them.

  Their voices trailed off as they left, and Cal felt like the world had dropped out from beneath him. Atam and Lady Elleni. Together. Was she plotting against him too?

  He turned to Nahiya and was stunned to find her expression as wounded and raw as he felt. "Nahiya?"

  She shook her head. "I need to go. I'm sorry!" She shoved past him, gathering her skirt and running down the hall in the opposite direction Sir Dardanos and Lady Elleni had gone.

  It took Cal only a few moments to understand. Lady Elleni. Nahiya was in love with her! No wonder she understood his situation with Taren so well. She was in one of her own, and worse, it looked like Lady Elleni was in on this terrible plan. Cursing himself for not realizing earlier—and for rarely asking Nahiya about herself instead of launching into his own trials—Cal crept over to the goblet Lady Elleni had left behind. There was a strange residue on the inside of it that made him glance after them. As far as he knew, Lady Elleni and Taren were old friends. What if she were actually on Taren's side and not Sir Atam's after all?

  He kept the goblet and hurried back to the squires' hall. There was one person he trusted to answer a question without asking too many of his own and to have the right answer.

  "Nadir? Can you identify a substance for me from what's left in a goblet of wine?"

  Nadir's brows knitted, and he pushed Baz's head off his arm. Baz, still sound asleep, didn't so much as stir. "Let me have it." Nadir frowned at the amount that was left but got to work. Cal sat down across from him, watching Baz snore lightly, and nearly drifted off himself when Nadir suddenly announced, "Sleeper's draught. I can't tell how much was consumed, but I expect it was enough to relax whoever drank it."

  "What would that do, besides make them tired?"

  Nadir tapped his chin. "If they ingested it slowly, it would make them tired enough to lose control over what they were to say. They might speak freely and then remember it all as a dre
am."

  Cal blinked, processing Nadir's words. Lady Elleni had drugged Sir Atam. Somehow, she knew about the plot and had tried to get the information out of him! He had to tell Nahiya that that meeting hadn't at all been what it looked like.

  "Thanks Nadir," Cal replied standing so quickly he woke Baz, who stared at him blearily before resting his head on Nadir's arm again.

  "One day," Nadir replied, "I'll ask you all those questions I haven't yet."

  Cal glanced at Baz's head on Nadir's shoulder. "So will I," he said pointedly.

  Nadir cleared his throat and looked away, and Cal grinned before turning and hurrying back to Nahiya's room.

  It took him a while to convince her to come out, but when she did, he explained everything in a rush of breath, noticing how red her eyes were. "So you see? Lady Elleni's on our side—Taren's side. She was using Atam for information!"

  Nahiya looked hopeful but wary, as if she were scared to latch onto a truth that might not be. "Are you sure?"

  "How well do you know Lady Elleni? Do you think she'd do that to Taren?"

  Nahiya shook her head. "No. Never."

  "Me either. So that's that. Now you can sleep well. She's still the same person you know." He couldn't quite say the same about Taren, but he'd have to deal with that tomorrow. It had been one very long, very confusing, very convoluted day, and he just wanted it to be over.

  *~*~*

  The next morning, Cal's curtains were yanked open by Griff. "You'd best get up. Helmer's demanding to speak with you."

  Cal rolled over and managed a sleepy glare at Griff. "And you're now his messenger instead of lapdog? Why's he not here asking himself?"

  Griff grinned. "Because when you accuse a squire, especially a rising knight, of dishonor against another, it requires an audience. Better get dressed."

  Cal's eyes widened. Everything Taren and Nahiya had said yesterday came flooding back. They were right. Helmer was using their duel as a means to an end. Cal just wasn't certain what that end was. He dressed quickly and headed down to the main hall, stunned to find not only a ring of squires there but a handful of knights, including Sir Dardanos. "What is this?"

  Helmer stepped forward. "This is an accusation, Cal Caison. I accuse you of dishonoring the time-honored tradition of the duel to launch a sneak attack on me, a squire you couldn't possibly best in proper combat. I declare this here and now in front of witnesses. Griff?"

  Griff cleared his throat. "I attest that I was there to see this craven attack upon Helmer."

  Cal's mouth dropped open. "That's a lie! Griff wasn't there!" He shut his mouth too late as he heard murmurs and whispers. He'd practically admitted to Helmer's accusation simply because he'd spoken without thinking.

  Dardanos laid a hand on Helmer's shoulder. "This is a very serious accusation you make, squire."

  "Yes. It is, and so is the fact that you made such an accusation to a squire with only one of the knights responsible for them in attendance," came a cold, angry voice. Taren stood in the doorway, his arms crossed and his expression cloudy. "One would almost think, Atam, that you did not want me to know."

  Helmer had the decency to look chastised, but Atam merely smiled. "I'd sent a page to you. Did he not arrive? Ah well, no matter, you're here now. Are you prepared to defend the honor of your squire?"

  "I am. Are you?"

  Cal jabbed Nadir in the side to get his attention. "What in hells is going on?"

  Nadir frowned. "You really ought to pay more attention during lessons, Cal. Helmer's challenged your honor. That means he's challenged your knight's instruction. Sir Dardanos and Sir Veretti must now duel to prove which of them is honorable, and by extension, the same of you and Helmer."

  Cal swung his gaze over to Helmer, who looked satisfied as a cat with cream. Cal's hands tightened into fists. Whatever this was, it wasn't a simple duel. This was part of their plot. He had to talk to Taren, now. But that wasn't possible. There were arrangements to make, the queen to be informed, a time and place to be set, and Taren was swept away with Dardanos in a flurry of commotion.

  A few of the other squires came over, all those who were likewise not fond of Helmer, and patted Cal on the back. "It'll be fine Cal, just watch. Sir Veretti's the best of her Majesty's knight's. He'll win."

  "He'll have to if Cal wants to keep his standing as a squire and continue to train with him. If Sir Veretti loses, he stands the risk of having his knighthood stripped," Nadir said quietly.

  "He what?"

  This time Nadir didn't chide Cal for not paying attention. "Knighthood relies on honor, Cal. If that honor is called into question, or a knight loses honor, he may lose his knighthood. That's why this duel is so serious. Your knight must win."

  *~*~*

  "I don't understand why Dardanos is so certain of his impending victory that he's willing to put his knighthood on the line. He's dueled Taren before. They're very well-matched. Either could win." Cal paced back and forth as Nahiya frowned in thought.

  "That's just it, Cal. He's certain of his victory. When you play cards, how do you absolutely guarantee that you'll win?"

  Cal stopped and turned to stare. "Me? I'm never sure enough to win, but Baz ... well, Baz cheats. That's it!" Cal's eyes widened as the realization hit him. "But how? What's he going to do? We have to figure it out, Nahiya, or—"

  "I know, Cal. That's why I'm going to go talk to Lady Elleni and find out what she knows. I'll meet you later, all right?"

  Cal nodded and watched her go.

  Just as she said, Nahiya found him later, worry etched all over her face as she ran to join him. "We were right," she began without preamble. "He's planning to cheat. Lady Elleni admitted she slipped him sleeper's draught to get him to talk. We weren't the only ones who suspected he was up to something. Anyway, he's putting burs under Sir Taren's saddle, using a reinforced sword and a non-standard shield ... he's got a half dozen different plans in place! At least that's what he told her. She said she got him plenty drunk, and he spilled his secrets like a sailor in a whorehouse. I know we can switch back the sword and shield, remove the burs, and maybe stop all the rest of his cheating plans too, but that's not the worst of it!"

  Cal stared at her in shock. "How are six different ways of cheating to win a duel that could remove Taren's knighthood somehow not the worst of it?"

  "Because he told Lady Elleni he's now finally got proof of Taren's secret, and he's making sure that the queen knows. But he never said any more about that. That's the one thing he was completely mum on!"

  "Son of a— how in hells can we stop this?"

  Nahiya shook her head. "You have to find Taren. You have to tell him everything you know. If he knows what Sir Dardanos is planning, maybe he can do something we can't."

  Cal nodded in agreement. "I should have told him sooner. I have to find him."

  Nahiya gathered her skirts up again in preparation to run. "Yes, go! And make sure you tell me what's happening!" She took off at a run back towards her own room.

  Cal went to the knights' hall. He knew by now which room was Taren's, not that he'd ever been inside. The knights had a great deal more privacy than the squires. Not only did they have their own rooms, but they were far enough apart that Cal could knock loud enough to wake the dead and the knights in the nearest rooms would hear nothing. It was a blessing because after pounding on Taren's door hard enough to nearly bruise his hand, there was nothing but silence on the other side. Wherever Taren was, it wasn't there. Nor was he in any of his other haunts, and Cal knew those well after six years. Where in the blazes was he?

  The time for the duel was fast approaching. Somehow he'd have to find a way to talk to Taren before the duel. Until then, he had to try to stop Dardanos from cheating.

  Cal headed out to the stables. His instincts and timing were just right. Helmer was sneaking out of the stables, where he'd probably just sabotaged Taren's saddle. Determined to undo the damage, Cal tiptoed in. He knew Taren's saddle, Taren's horse, and all of his
tack and gear better than Helmer did, so it was easy to find what Helmer had done. Cal cleared out the burrs and replaced the saddle strap, which Helmer had carefully cut to make it look like it had simply frayed and then snapped during the duel.

  He was just checking to make sure nothing had been slipped into the horse's food or water when he heard a voice behind him. "See here now, what's that you're doing?"

  Cal spun around, his heart thudding in his chest. Behind him stood the chief groom, eyeing him with suspicion. "S-sorry. My knight, he has a duel today, and I was just checking to make sure everything was in order."

  The groom's eyebrow rose. "That's my job, squire. I've already done it."

  "I'm sure you have, and I reckon it was a job well done too. Problem is someone was just here who went and undone it." Cal's accent slipped again, back into common tongue.

  It was the right thing to say and the right way to say it, even if it was by accident. The groom relaxed, and he looked at Cal again as if he was seeing him for the first time. "You're that squire that's not a noble, ain't ya?" Cal nodded but said nothing else. The groom pursed his lips and then said, "All right, you go ahead and tell me what's been done then and who done it."

  Cal spilled out the story, glossing over many of the details and couching it as straightforward as he could. He was liberal with his use of low-class turns of phrase. By the end of it, he knew he had the groom on his side. The number of times the man spit at Helmer or Dardanos' name was evidence enough.

  "All right. Git on with ye then," the groom ushered him out. "You done a good job fixing things up, and I'll stand over here till the fight so's no one else can mess things up." He turned toward the back of the stable. "Boy!" A small page, one who looked like the groom in miniature, emerged from the shadows. "Yessir?"

  "I'll need you to take down a message."

  *~*~*

  The stands were full, every available seat taken as word spread like wildfire about the circumstances behind the duel. Only one seat remained empty, and it was why, despite it being half past midday, the duel hadn't begun. Queen Selvia had yet to arrive.