My Sparkling Misfortune (The Lakeland Knight)
Page 5
I expected some kind of a fancy reception, but what I saw as we entered Traban went far beyond anything I could ever imagine. Starting at the city gate that featured a huge Welcome Lakeland Knight banner and all the way to the palace, the streets were lined up with exuberant crowds. People cheered as the carriage passed, waived their hats and handkerchiefs, clapped their hands, tossed flowers, and did all kinds of other silly stuff.
“What’s wrong with these fools?” I wondered. “Have they no work to do?”
Jarvi, who modestly kept away from the carriage window and only peeked out from afar, turned to me.
“You have conquered their hearts, Lord Arkus. Which is far better than conquering their land, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Don’t you start.”
“I’m not starting anything. Just making an observation.”
“Well, keep your smart observations to yourself. I say these people are idiots.”
“Don’t tell me you dislike being greeted like this.”
“I do!”
“You’re lying.”
Things did not get any better at the palace. As I emerged from the carriage, an orchestra saluted me with a deafening march. A richer dressed crowd of noblemen stood along the passage that led me to the king and queen; more cheering, more admiration, and more Lakeland Knight banners everywhere.
“I thought I refused knighthood,” I said to Jarvi.
“Yes, but, not knowing your name, they had to come up with something to call you.”
I took one look at the king and knew why Jarvi had said he would not stand against me: King Osmund was way too chubby to be a decent warrior. He had a good height and broad shoulders, so I could believe that he used to be one, but not anymore.
The king greeted me with a speech, which he obviously had no time to rehearse, and it was making him very nervous. He had a scribe standing closely behind, holding a scroll and prompting him as he spoke. I wasn’t supposed to see that, of course, but I did, and it made the whole thing rather amusing.
“… the whole nation of Ulkaria… our eternal gratitude… the great honor…”
I didn’t care for any of that, so I missed most of the speech, watching the scribe instead; but in the end, the king said something that instantly caught my attention.
“We have also dispatched a letter to Prince Kellemar of Dalvanna, to whom our daughter is engaged, telling him about the grave danger his bride has been delivered from. We are certain that he and his father King Ramian will not delay to express their gratitude to the fearless hero known as Lakeland Knight as well.”
Prince Kellemar?
I had no time to reflect on that. Happy to be done with the speech, the king walked up to me and shook my hand, not allowing me to bow. The music thundered again as he led me to the queen.
“Jarvi!” I hissed. “Why didn’t you tell me that the princess is Kellemar’s bride?! I would have never released her!!”
The orange rat grinned.
“Which is exactly the reason I didn’t tell you.”
And I couldn’t even attempt to whack him, with all those people watching.
I was still seething when King Osmund introduced me to the queen. I made some distracted compliment, which she nevertheless liked; not only that, I heard it immediately picked up and discussed by the courtiers, as if it was something extraordinary.
The princess, who stood right next to the queen, looked just as happy to see me as she was on the day of the unfortunate rescue, if not more. I was way too reserved in return, I’m afraid; I couldn’t even fake some polite conversation. Had I only known… I saved my worst enemy’s bride. Wicked sparkling!
“And now allow me to introduce someone who has been more impatient to meet the wonderful Lakeland Knight than all of us taken together,” I heard the king say. “His Highness Prince Philip.”
I turned to the boy who eagerly stepped up to me, and for the next several seconds I was too stunned to move. He looked exactly like… like someone I used to know. Many years ago.
“It is true,” the prince said in a fluttered voice. “From the moment I first heard how you fought and chased away hundreds of raiders, all alone… that’s all I could think about.”
Same big brown eyes. Same disarming smile. What kind of a spell was this?!
I glanced at the sparkling, but his sincerely innocent expression told me he was no part of it. It had to be just a coincidence… An unbelievable coincidence. I’d never think that two different people could look so much alike.
“…There were no hundreds, Your Highness,” I managed to say. “Maybe a couple dozen.”
“Please, call me Philip. Oh, I so wish to talk to you! About so many things! May I ask for the honor to sit next to you at the table?”
I told him that the honor would be mine, much to his delight. We proceeded to the dining hall, where I was seated between the king and his son. Jarvi positioned himself behind my chair. I soon noticed that King Osmund kept glancing in his direction with far more respect than a mere servant deserved. Oh, great. Did the rat do something to give himself away while I wasn’t looking?...
My suspicions were confirmed when the monarch leaned closer and asked in a hesitant whisper, “Please, tell me, my friend… This attendant of yours… He is a sparkling, isn’t he?”
I must have winced, because the king quickly put a hand over his mouth and hurried to assure, “I will not tell anyone if you wish to keep it secret, of course! You can trust me with this.”
“How did Your Majesty find out?”
“My daughter told me that she saw a shining sword in his hand. Well, I know what that means! I studied about spirits. So… he is a sparkling?”
There was no point to lie. And he promised to keep quiet about it.
“Yes.”
“My, oh my!” The king could hardly sit still. “I can’t believe I am witnessing this! Only the greatest of heroes are honored to have a sparkling assigned to help them… And I am receiving one here, in my palace!”
Wonderful. Now I wasn’t just a hero, I was one of the greatest.
“Please, Your Majesty…”
“Oh, I know, I know! I will not breathe a word to anyone!... Only to my family, if you allow me. Please? They suspect it, because they know about the sword, and I’m afraid they will ask me about it after the dinner. Please?”
What could I do??
“Well, if Your Majesty promises to never embarrass me by calling me a hero again…”
“I promise! It will be hard, but I do understand, and I promise to do by best.”
It felt very nice to grant a reluctant permission to a king.
“Very well. You may tell them.”
The dinner continued, with dancers, musicians, and jugglers entertaining us for several hours. I must say everything was very good, except the long and sappy Lakeland Knight ballad. It annoyed me immensely. Just how did they manage to compose that piece of pestilence in just one day??
Prince Philip watched me more than the performances and used every break to exchange a few words. Every time I happened to glance in his direction, I’d meet his eyes, bright with excitement, and the happiest smile would immediately blossom on his face. Not knowing it, he was making me feel as if I’d stepped back in time… I even caught myself smiling it return.
When the dinner was over, Philip asked whether he could show me his horse, a recent gift from the king. I couldn’t refuse him. We went to the stable; it was an excellent horse, all black, strong and vigorous.
“A marvelous steed worthy of a prince, Your Highness,” I commented.
The boy blushed.
“Thank you. I wish the prince was worthy of the steed as well.” He sighed. “I will admit something shameful: I fear to ride him. He is too hot tempered, and he can bite.”
“There is nothing shameful about it. You are young, you are still learning to ride and control horses. He probably needs some time to accept you as his master as well. You will tame this beast. He will fol
low you like a puppy.”
The prince brightened up. “You think so?”
“I’m sure.”
“Are there any tips you can give me?”
“Well, one, never let him sense that you are uneasy around him. Two, always come with a treat. But I’m sure you already know all this.”
He knew about treats. As he proceeded to give the horse a piece of sugar he’d brought, Jarvi stepped closer to me.
“There is more to it than they are aware of,” the sparkling whispered. “The stallion is developing an inflamed joint, he is in pain, that’s what makes him irritable. We have a miracle left… I could heal him.”
“Do it.” I don’t know what came over me, but, yes, that’s what I said.
The king couldn’t thank me enough for “being so exceptionally kind to his boy,” as he put it. He walked me all the way to the carriage, and it seemed that something weighed on his mind, despite all the happiness of the day.
“I have another request to make,” he admitted at last, “but I don’t even know how to say it.”
I liked the way he’d been treating me, and I was willing to be nice in return—within reason, of course.
“What is it, Your Majesty?”
“My family and all my subjects would be honored and happy beyond any measure if you agreed to take residence in our land. What happened to the princess has shaken everyone. Nothing like that has taken place for years! If we could hope for the protection of Lakeland Knight…”
“Of course. You can count on me if there is any trouble.”
“I knew you would say that, and I am very grateful. But you are at the very border. Wouldn’t you consider moving a bit closer? There is a neat little castle five miles away, unoccupied. I have no need for it at the moment.” He paused, looking at me with such hope as if his whole world depended on my response. “I know you live in a modest house, so if the thought of maintaining a castle is daunting, please do not worry: I will take care of it.”
I couldn’t believe he was serious.
“Your Majesty, this is too generous of an offer.”
“Not at all, not at all! It is but a small compensation for making you move and forsaking the solitude you obviously value. Will you please accept it?”
Hey, it was a free castle. I took it.
I remained silent most of the way home, deep in thought and in memories. At first Jarvi was quiet as well, but after a while he had to start pestering me.
“That was a very good dinner, wasn’t it, Lord Arkus?”
“It was all right.”
“I think you enjoyed it far more than you are willing to admit.”
“Shut up. What? What are you snickering about?”
“I have noticed that when you say ‘shut up,’ it means I am right.”
“No, it means that you are annoying me.”
“Because I am right.”
I felt too tired to search for something to throw at him or even to argue.
“You may think whatever you wish, I don’t care.”
“Oh, so I’ve got your permission? In that case, I think you liked Prince Philip, and I think I know why, too.”
“You know nothing.”
“Well, let us check. The prince reminds you of someone… Probably of the person you named me after.”
“Shut—… Leave me alone!!”
The sparkling grinned, but did not push the subject.
***
Chapter 6
I woke up in an unusually bright mood that morning, probably because everything was ready to move into the new castle. I went to see it the day before, and, while it was nothing compared to what I had in Arkusville, I did like it. Not large, consisting only of three towers connected with a stout wall, the place was well built and stylish. It was called Castle Fezar.
Jarvi, who normally waited for me to wake up with my breakfast ready, was not around. I figured he was busy packing, so I got dressed and went to the kitchen.
I thought I heard voices as I approached. I halted at the closed door and listened. Yes, someone was talking in there; someone whose voice I did not recognize.
“I do not like it, Tulip. At all. Nothing good will come out of it.”
“I don’t know why you have to be so pessimistic.” That was Jarvi speaking. “I told you, everything is going well.”
“You call it well? He only keeps you because of the monster and free food, do you realize that?”
So my servant was talking to someone who knew him as Tulip, and they were talking about me. How interesting.
“Right now, yes.”
“And what makes you think it will ever change? He has no idea of your true worth or station, he yells at you, calls you names, hits you —”
“He’s never hit me.”
“Only because you duck and dodge and find it all funny!”
Jarvi chuckled.
“It is funny.”
“No, it’s not! A mighty spirit like you so humiliated, there is nothing amusing about that! I could perhaps understand putting up with such a circus for a worthy cause, but this?? Your kindness is wasted here.”
“Don’t be so hard on him. Give him time.”
“Time for what? To plot more kidnappings or invasions?”
“He will not do that. He will not invade Ulkaria.”
“What about Dalvanna and Prince Kellemar?”
I heard Jarvi sigh.
“That, unfortunately, is a different story. I do not know why, but he hates that prince.”
“You still haven’t looked it up?”
“No, and I will not. I only want to hear it from him, if he chooses to tell me.”
“Don’t make me laugh, Tulip. It’s not going to happen. He does not trust you, and he never will. You are a captured enemy to him, nothing more.”
“I hope you are wrong.”
“Sorry, but I am not. I did look things up, so I know much more about him than you do. Shall I tell you?”
“No. I said I want no information from our realm, unless Faradin himself thinks I should know something.”
As you have probably guessed, nothing was left of my unusually bright mood by that time, and I was quickly reaching the boiling point, standing there behind the door. Whoever this unknown speaker was, he was rather presumptuous, to put it mildly, and now he wanted to share things that were nobody’s business but mine?!
I kicked the door open. Jarvi was sitting on a stool, cleaning vegetables. Before him stood a glowing green sparkling.
“Jarvi! What’s going on here?!” I demanded.
He rose.
“Nothing, I’ve just got an old friend visiting.”
“Oh?” I stepped closer, looking the green fellow over. “And what would be his name? Daisy? Or perhaps Dandelion?”
The green one threw up his right hand, in which a sword instantly flashed.
“Watch out, insolent human: I am not bound by any promises, and I will not tolerate mockery. The name is Ellar. You’d better start treating spirits with respect, or I will have to teach you a lesson.”
I crossed my arms.
“Go ahead. Jarvi here will fight and defend me.”
My sparkling looked pained.
“Please, Lord Arkus, stop…”
The green one turned to him.
“Just out of curiosity, Tulip, would you indeed fight me to defend him?”
“Of course he would,” I cut in. “He must. Tell him, Jarvi.”
Jarvi’s fist clenched, squashing the potato he held.
“Stop it! Both of you!”
Ellar smirked and made the sword disappear.
“This proves my point perfectly. You see what he is like and how much he regards you. I think I’d better leave now. Farewell.”
He vanished.
Jarvi stood silent, not looking at me.
“I don’t like your friend, Jarvi. I forbid you to ever receive him in my house again. Now, hurry up with my breakfast.”
***
I didn’t admit it, of course, and in a few days things began to happen that quickly restored Jarvi’s spirits, just as quickly darkening mine.
The first two visitors were rather amusing: a pair of shepherds from a nearby village, big yet incredibly shy fellows, who stammered that they wished to serve in my army. I laughed and told them I wasn’t hiring, naively thinking that would be the end of it. The third one, a fully armed warrior, stated that he needed no pay and would serve the fearless Lakeland Knight just for honor. He wouldn’t leave, so I told Jarvi to find him a room in the castle and some kind of work. When four more came, I realized I had a problem.
The problem kept growing, and locking the castle gate didn’t help. Nor did suggesting all these volunteers go serve King Osmund. Before I knew it, they’d built a whole village next to my castle.
How do you like the cruel irony of it? I wanted an army, and now I was getting one—exactly the opposite kind than what I needed!
“Jarvi, what have you gotten me into?!” I raged. “Look at these idiots, they keep coming, and they won’t listen to reason! What am I supposed to do with them?!”
As if that wasn’t bad enough, soon another sort of visitor began showing up—those asking for help. Whether it was a collapsed bridge, burning barn, runaway horse, or a lost child, the great Lakeland Knight was supposed to deal with everything. Jarvi came up with an innocent suggestion to let my unwanted army take care of the requests—the men didn’t have much to do, anyway. It seemed to help, and I was relieved… until I learned that all the credit was still going to me, and every noble deed of Lakeland Knight increased my glory and brought even more people to the castle. It was snowballing.