Legend of the Stone

by Jenee Robinson

  Sword Of Ages

  Legend Of The Stone

  Jenée Robinson

  Sword of Ages:

  Legend of the Stone

  Copyright 2019 Jenee Robinson

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover design by: 2nd Life Designs

  Editing by: Ms. Correct All’s Editing and Proofreading Services

  Formatting by: Dream Crusher Formatting

  No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without express written permission from the author. Any unauthorized use of this material is prohibited.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales are completely coincidental.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Nightmare Come True

  Lost Princess

  Lies untold

  Lance

  Trip To DeGore Farm

  Training

  A New Home

  Percy

  Uneasy Feelings

  Meeting the Family

  Farm Time

  Grey

  Heal Him

  Also by Jenee Robinson

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Untitled

  Prologue

  With Merlin’s last breath he whispers to Lancelot.

  Face of an angel,

  Blood of a royal,

  Heart of a knight

  who is just and loyal

  With a mighty tug

  Sword from stone will break,

  A new heir to be named,

  Renouncing all as evil and fake.

  Nightmare Come True

  Alexa

  Fifteen years ago. . .

  I wake with a start, unsure if it’s from the terrible nightmare I was having or the loud banging on our door. Surveying our humble one room house, I can see the shadows of my mother and father huddling in the corner. Their whispers are barely audible; I can only make out words like fight, run, and protect.

  My mother turns to face me, her ten-year-old only child, but the smile I thought I’d see isn’t visible. Instead her eyes are wide with fear. She rushes to my side, barely leaning on the wooden bed frame. “Alexa, I need you to climb out the window and run. Do not look back and do not stop. Know that your father and I love you,” she says as she removes her necklace.

  I peer at her curiously, watching as she places the necklace around my neck.

  “Never take this off, always keep it tucked under your shirt,” she kisses my forehead and hands me a purse full of coins. “Now go.”

  The timbers of the door finally give way from their frame as I follow her instructions. I do just as she told me—I climb out the window and run, not looking back once.

  My skinny legs carry me until dawn, the sun just starting to peek above the horizon. As I glance around, I realize I am deeper in the forest than I have ever been allowed. My pace slows and I take in my surroundings. This place is really beautiful; I wonder why my parents never permitted me to play here. The tall trees make a canopy of green overhead, while the floor is decorated with colorful bushes and flowers. I cannot think of these things now, as I do not know if I am still being chased or what has befallen my parents. Fighting the urge to turn around and head back to my home, my feet propel me forward.

  As I navigate my way through the forest, my nightgown snags on fallen tree limbs slowing my pace once again. Instead of stopping to untangle it, I pull on it and the fabric rips free. Trying to get as much distance between myself and where I am now.

  I glance over my shoulder, and when I don’t notice anyone close I take a moment to regain my bearings. A branch snaps behind me, and my heart starts to pound again as I run. I stumble over a tree root that is growing up out of the ground, landing flat on my face. As I go to stand, in my sight to my left is a redheaded girl around my age. She is shaking her head in a no. Using her hands she motions for me to crawl to her.

  The minutes tick by as I try to decide what I should do. Unsure as to if I should trust her, I take a chance and do it anyway. I stay as low to the forest floor as I can and make it over to her right as footsteps thunder past where I had fallen.

  The redhead pulls me to her, hugging me next to a tree to block me from view. Once the sound of the feet are no longer audible she lets me loose.

  When I go to thank her, she raises a finger to her lips. “Shh,” she hisses.

  Grabbing my hand, she steers me in a different direction than where the pounding feet have disappeared. The girl navigates the forest as if it is her second home, and I follow each of her steps as lightly as I can. I stumble along behind her as we race and dodge trees and bushes. We run for what feels like miles; my legs ache and my lungs are on fire. I want to tell her that I need a rest, but knowing I’m running for my life spurs me to push harder.

  Just when I don’t think I can run another step, there is a break in the trees and the outlines of houses pop into view. My savior drops my hand, hugs me, and skips back into the forest.

  Lost and alone again, I make my way around town, listening to the whispers that are already traveling amongst the people. The local blacksmith and his wife were murdered, and their daughter is now missing.

  Knowing my parents’ fate does not deter me; I am on the run for my life. Sadness threatens to overwhelm me, until the scent of food reminds my stomach I have not eaten today and drags me out of my melancholy mood.

  Following my nose, I am led to a loaf of warm bread sitting on the window sill of the bakers. Once I pay for a few loaves, I politely ask where I can find meats.

  The baker heaves a sigh of annoyance and pauses his work to point out where I need to go, all without leaving the bakery.

  A thank you is thrown over my shoulder as I hurry from the bakery to the butcher. I knock on the door and a sweet lady answers the door with a smile, motioning for me to enter.

  “Yes, dear, can I help you?”

  “Yes ma’am, I’m needing some dried meat for my parents and me. We are just traveling through.”

  “Do you normally travel shoeless and in your nightgown?”

  I start for the door, but she blocks my exit using her tiny frame.

  There is a pounding on the door, shortly followed by a demanding voice. “Open in the name of the king.”

  I glance wildly at the woman and she smiles. She then grabs my hand and guides me to the back of her shop, into her corridors. It is a small space, and she pulls me to the tub in the corner.

  “This water is freezing, but I think it is best you climb in. The guards will insist on searching in here too. So for you to look as though you belong, get in.”

  I just nod and slip the nightgown over my head; I fold it neatly and place it next to the tub. Taking a finger, I test the water. She was right it is freezing, but I climb in anyway.

  A voice in the other room reaches my ears. “We are searching for a runaway. Her parents were traitors to the crown. They have paid for their crimes, and so will their daughter.”

  “The king would condemn a child for her parents’ actions?” my host asks, words packed with incredulity.

  “That is none of your concern. Has she been here? She is about ten years of age, with blonde hair and blue eyes.”

  “She was here; I took one right look at her and shooed her away. A child in only a nightgown, that there is trouble," my host replies.

  “You understand, we will search all of your shop. Do not lie to me when I ask, is there anyone else here with you?”

  In a serious tone, she responds, “It is only my niece and myself. I am a widow. My brother
and his wife sent my niece here to apprentice with me seeing that my trade is a useful one.”

  “Pfft, women butchers. Who has ever heard of such a thing?” the male voice scoffs and moves closer to the curtain.

  The drape that separates the shop from the corridors is jerked back with such brutal force it almost falls.

  As soon as a head pokes in, I let out a shriek and scramble for a towel. Lucky for me, there was a thin one right next to the tub.

  “Excuse me, sir,” I say not looking away, hate radiating in my eyes.

  “I’m so sorry miss, I am just doing my duty and looking for a runaway,” he apologizes.

  “I can assure you that I am the only one in this tub,” I say, trying to keep my teeth from chattering.

  He turns around and hollers to his men that could be heard tearing up the front of the shop, knocking tables over and such. “All clear men, let’s move on.”

  I stay in the tub until the butcher comes back to get me. My teeth are chattering and my body is shaking.

  “Come girl, you need to get warmed up now,” she says as she pulls a blanket from her humble straw bed.

  “Than-tha-nk you,” I stutter as she wraps the blanket around me.

  She heads back through drape, with me on her heels, and starts to clean up the mess the king’s men made.

  “Why did they do this?” I ask.

  “The king’s guard believe they are gods. Disobey them and they can have you beheaded. All they have to do is tell the King that you were plotting against him, and he takes their word for it,” she explains.

  I raise an eyebrow at her. “Why are you helping me?”

  Her lips tip up into a smile. “I saw your pendant; you never know when you need a friend.”

  With both of us working together, it took no time for us to get her shop back in order. All the tables are righted and what needs fixing sits in a pile.

  “Thank you for your help,” my host says. “Stay here, I’ll be right back. Lock the door behind me. I will knock three times to let you know it is me.”

  “No, don’t leave me. What if the guards come back?”

  “You trusted me once already today, please do it for me now. I will not be gone long, I promise.”

  I nod as she exits the front door and I latch it behind her. The minutes tick by and my heartbeat rises in anticipation of her return. My mind is so focused on her coming back, that when there is a knock on the door, I nearly jump out of my skin. I wait. That wasn’t the right number. I listen intently and eagerly for two more. When they don’t happen, I slowly back away from the door, not knowing what is waiting for me. Once I bump into the back wall, I hold my breath, hoping whoever is out there will go away. As the shadows of their feet move away, I can breathe again.

  Finally comes the sound I am waiting for, three knocks land on the door. I rush to unlatch it just as a fourth one hits.

  This time I race to the back of the shop and into the room where the tub is. Not knowing where to hide, I find the darkest corner. I should’ve left when I had a chance; I can’t let the guards catch me.

  Lost in my thoughts, I almost miss the three knocks. Instead of racing to the entrance, I wait a few moments to see if any more follow it. When they don’t, I get up from my hiding place and carefully make my way to let her in. The latch slides smoothly in my hand as I unhook it. Carefully, I open the door but hide behind it.

  My host’s voice is little more than a whisper. “Where are you hiding? It’s only me.”

  Stepping out from behind the door, she smiles sweetly at me, then throws a package at me.

  In an urgent tone she tells me, “Quickly, dress. The guards are still scouring the town in search of you. I know a place where you will be safe.”

  Doing as I’m told, I unwrap the package to find two sets of clothes and a pair of shoes. I quickly change and place the extra set back into the package. Nodding, she pokes her head out the door, making sure the guards aren’t around to see us exit.

  Once the coast is clear, she motions for me to come to her. I comply, and she wraps her arms over my shoulder like a mother would her daughter. She steers me to the edge of town and back into the forest I was running in last night.

  The sun tries to peek through the canopy of trees, its rays warming me as I walk into them. I try and memorize my way back to town, but the path she has us on has twists and turns ever so often. I’ve lost my way.

  I look up to see she’s led me to the house I passed earlier, and the redhead girl from earlier is sitting out front, as if she is expecting us.

  We are almost to the house when a brunette exits the door to greet us.

  “Hello, Madeline. Thank you for ensuring that Alexa was safe and for bringing her to us. Please don’t be a stranger. We would love your company for dinner from time to time.”

  My host, who I learned is named Madeline, smiles. “That would be lovely, Gabrielle. I look forward to it.”

  She then turns to me. “Alexa, I know we are strangers, but if you are in need of a friend my door is always open.”

  I turn to watch her leave, and once she is out of sight, I spin to face my new hostess.

  The mother, Gabrielle, smiles at me. “Hello Alexa, welcome to our home and family. This is Merina, my daughter. Now come inside, I have a lot to explain before we eat lunch.”

  Hesitating before I follow them in, I see Gabrielle turn back.

  “You are safe here, no harm will come to you,” she tries to reassure me.

  I study the pair as we enter their home. They have a lot of the same facial features, and their jade green eyes stand out. Gabrielle has long beautiful brunette hair, where as Merina's locks are a fiery red. They have the same chin and cheekbones; even their clothing is a mirror of each other’s, simple brown dresses that are a plain pattern and not flattering. Once they reach the table, they both take a seat then look at me expectantly and then the chair on the end.

  I pull out the hand-crafted chair that matches the perfectly fabricated table. I trace the edge with a finger when Gabrielle speaks.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it? My husband constructed the table himself.”

  I look up at her smiling face, wondering if it’s one I can trust. My gut tells me I am safe, but my brain is urging me to run. Why didn’t my parents tell me about the danger before now? I am only a ten year old girl, but now I am an orphan and on the run from the royal guards. Has my whole life been a lie?

  “So, I bet you have a lot of questions. Let me tell you a story.”

  I settle back in my chair, hands folded in my lap.

  “One hundred years ago, our land was ruled by a fair and just King. He was called Arthur. There was peace and justice in the land, as his knights were not only his to command but they were also his equals. He was their leader and friend, and the kingdom was peaceful and prosperous. He married the love of his life and they had a son. Unrest rose up in his kingdom, so his loyal and magical friend Merlin aided the king as much as he could. There are some things that magic can’t fix, and Arthur passed from a mortal wound. With his dying breath, he told Merlin to return his sword to the stone and only the true heir would be able to remove it. Merlin did just as Arthur asked and enchanted the sword in the stone, and to this day no one has been able to remove it.”

  Merina and Gabrielle look at me as I drop my gaze to stare at my folded hands. “What does this have to do with me?”

  “Well my dear, that pendant around your neck happens to have the Pendragon family crest on it. That is why Madeline brought you here. We have a small group that is faithful to that family and will do all in their power to protect the heir. Madeline and I were friends of your parents, they were great people. I’m sorry for your loss. You are welcome to stay here with us, unless your safety is in jeopardy, and then you will have to be moved.”

  This was too much for my ten year old brain to take in. I didn’t have any more family, my parents never told me what became of them. It was always just the three of us. We kept to
ourselves, and I was beginning to understand why. I didn’t have anywhere I could go. Home was not an option and the woods were crawling with guards set on capturing me. I really just wanted to wake up and be in my mother’s arms once more, not this nightmare come true.

  Lost Princess

  Alexa

  Fifteen years later…

  The thundering of the horses' hooves echo in my ears. I am never one to back down from a fight, unless I am out numbered and the odds are against me. This being the case right now. Six against one, that isn’t a very fair fight. I am weaponless, having lost my sword somewhere in the chase from the tavern into the woods.

  The wind whips through my long blonde locks as the horse races forward. I am grateful I wore trousers and not a dress today. In my twenty five years, this is only the second time I have been caught in a chase and not been one step ahead of my pursuers.

  I urge my mare to increase her speed, but I fear I’ve already pushed her to the brink. Patting her side, my hand feels the pounding of her thumping heart as she tries to keep up this fast pace.

  “Steady girl, just a little farther, we’ve almost lost them,” I reassure her.

  We delve deeper into the trees, hoping that the brush will help mask our trail and appearance.

  Usually I can shake off someone trailing me but these guys must have had training. Why they are after me? As soon as someone at the tavern mentioned the royal guard was there looking for a girl, I bolted.

  I wasn’t going to stay and find out more. I was known to raise a little hell for the crown but not enough to be wanted. I couldn’t take the chance that I am the girl they are after.