Bloodless Knights (19 page)

The
pain from my arm caused me to turn away from Vivian’s body and look to the
source of the tearing agony. All I could see was a large, thorny bush dragging
me toward it. I was approaching the plant quickly; too quickly!

“Tristen!
Hold on!” Many male voices were yelling, and chaos was clearly blooming, as I
heard men scrambling from their steeds.

I
dug my gloved fingers into the hard ground, desperately trying to hold on.
There was no hope! I could not make contact with anything to grasp. Suddenly,
many strong arms grabbed my left arm and pulled me from the briar. I glanced
around to see many terrified faces staring at, what I was sure, was a shocked
face of my own. I didn’t know what had just hit me.

“Vivian!”
I yelled again and turned to the tree she was swinging from; she wasn’t there.

“Where
is she? What happened to her?” I panicked, as I stood and turned around in a
circle looking to anyone for answers of the whereabouts of my beauty.

Patrious’
sword was in hand as he moved speedily toward me. “Tristen, calm down! T’was
the woods playing a horrible trick on yourn mind. We saw naught; there is no
woman here!”

I
took a moment to ponder what he said, as I slowly descended back to reality. A
deep sadness washed over me, then a relief that Vivian wasn’t really hanging
from a tree. I sank to the cold ground and helplessly stared at Patrious. An
empathetic look swept the angry hardness from his face, as he suddenly realized
I was dearly missing a lady.

“Dear
sir, I understand the ache in yourn heart, as mine aches for three.” Patrious
feigned a smile through his beard. His face softened, and his eyes went
slightly red, before he turned away.

“Sounds
like there’s a river ahead; we can get some water.” Valen rode his white
stallion our way and stopped. He stared at me with an uncertain look on his
face. It would take a moment for me to gather my bearings. Seeing the men in
the group carrying their swords once again, I knew we were all going to remain
tense.

“What
happened just now?” I asked Valen.

Valen
stared at me as if I was a loon to ask the question. “Why sir, a huge bush just
snatched ye up and tried to eat ye! I never would have believed it if I hadn’t
watched with mine own eyes, but sure as I’m sitting atop this horse, a plant
tried to have ye for dinner! But what did ye see that caused ye to bolt from
yourn horse like a dolt?”

I
let out a long sigh, “Perchance I’ll tell ye anon but it is best if we press on
and get through this place as quickly as we can.”

Valen
pursed his lips and nodded. I went to Flash, who was calmly eating some blades
of grass that had escaped the almost-barren soil.

My
body was clearly shaken from my “near death” experience. I couldn’t grasp the
reins on my horse tightly. It took a few tries, but I finally pulled myself
atop the horse. Jadorion rode his horse toward me, and smirking, asked if I had
shite myself. I merely glared at him, wondering if, in fact, I had.

The
pack of soldiers rode together in tight formation, cautiously watching the
bushes and trees. The river roared louder as we traveled. After a short time,
the trees cleared to expose a substantial gurgling river that cut right through
the woods. I scanned the area, looking for a way to cross, and noticed that a
slight distance south the river narrowed significantly.

Patrious
observed the same thing I had, “Let’s go to the narrow part of the river and cross.
Then we will follow the river out of this crazy-tree, evil-infested forest.”

“Aye,
aye!” The soldiers agreed in powerful unison. A single line was formed as we
followed a thin path between the trees and the edge of the river. Every man’s
horse made it safely across the water. When each man was on the east side of
the river, we paused for drinking water. Much of the water in our land was
disgusting and intolerable; it would make a person sick. But all rivers flowing
to Louie Bay came from melting glaciers that were clean and refreshing.
Although the bay had clean water, many in the land were too far to access it
and lived primarily on ale and mead.

The
first man to drink was a slightly heavyset man, with long red hair braided on
both sides of his head. His face was also covered with red hair and his eyes
seemed kind. A large and bulbous nose sloped down the middle of his face.
Healthy lips turned upward as if always smiling. As he took a sip of the water,
his face twisted as he peered at his reflection.

“Ayden?
Is that ye…” He paused and squinted his eyes into the river, “Oh, no my son!
Papa will save ye!”

I
seemed to be the only one paying attention to the man so I yelled, “Grab him!
Don’t let him go!”

All
the men looked at me to see who I was looking at. Nobody was close enough to
reach for him, and the rotund man hurled himself into the water. “Papa’s
coming, Ayden!”

Three
brave men, closest to him, jumped in the water as well. The red haired man
could not be seen. Then suddenly his head popped out of the water as he gasped
for air. “Help me! It’s pulling me in!” He disappeared again.

The
men swam to where he came up, and then also disappeared. Every man on the bank
breathlessly watched the scene unfold. The only sound was peaceful water.
Suddenly, four heads exploded from the deep water, as three men dragged the
panicked man from the abyss.

The
red haired man charged out of the water and shouted, “My son! My son is down
there!” It took all three of the wet men to hold him back from the water.

“No,
Odo,” one of the men said. “Ye swam into a black hole, remember?”

Realization
crossed his face, “My son was drowning in that river. I swam out to him but he
wasn’t there. Instead, I saw a black hole that looked like it had teeth and a
light coming from its “throat”. I’ve never been so terrified in all my life!”
He looked at his rescuers, “Grammarcy for saving me from that thing!”

The
men nodded somberly as they all shivered. Blankets were offered from travel
packs, and the men tried to warm up - as best they could.

Patrious’s
voice bellowed through the air, “Do
not
drink this water! Like the rest
of this place, it appears cursed!”

In
agreement, all men returned to the backs of their horses. We proceeded down the
river in silence. Patrious led the way, with me in second place, and Valen
creeping close behind. As much as Patrious felt safe with Valen, I felt unrest
when he looked at me. Maybe it was because his physique led me to believe he
could crush me with his bare hands.

I
looked back for Jadorion; he rode behind Valen, wearing the most concerned look
on his face that I had seen yet. I worried about him as we rode forward.

The
snow streamed over us in little balls of ice. The sky was white, but turning
dark, as nightfall approached. I couldn’t feel my hands or feet anymore, and my
face was long past moving. I felt if I opened my mouth to speak, my whole
countenance would shatter.

As
we rode onward through the bone-chilling cold, the trees seemed further from
the river and the men rode closer together for warmth. Jadorion had moved next
to me, Valen stayed at my side and Patrious led the pack like a true and proper
king. The snow clung to the ground and our horses moved too slowly. It was a
painful ride.

The
quiet air was abruptly cut by a yelling Patrious, “Oh no ye don’t, Mistrust! Ye
will
not
get the best of me!” He pulled his blade from the sheath and
charged forward. At first I couldn’t see a thing that would cause his alarm,
but his horse veered slightly left and just beyond his blade I saw three
females huddled near some trees.

“Stop
him!” I screamed at the men. “No Patrious! No! Stop! There are women there!
Stop!” I kicked Flash and raced toward the king.

Patrious
didn’t hear me, or chose not to listen. He kept riding forward. Three confused,
frightened, and ill-appearing women started yelling as well.

“Stop,
your majesty!” The men in our group all yelled at King Patrious. Something in
him allowed him to listen, and he finally stopped his horse. Patrious stared
straight at the women, apparently pondering whether or not to believe his own
eyes. Flash delivered me next to the king. I told him there were honest,
true-living women before us.

Patrious
fell from his horse onto the snow, timidly approaching the women. As we were
close enough to make-out features now, I could see that one woman was years
older than the other two. She was a stunning, golden haired woman who seemed
tired. Her face was red and swollen. She wore a silken, maroon dress that had
probably once been lovely, but was now shredded in places and torn in others.
Even with streaks of dirt lining her thin cheeks, I could see from her vibrant
blue eyes that, under the muck, she was a gorgeous creature.

The
other two women were not women at all, but young ladies. The girls’ light-brown
hair was long and matted. They also wore silken dresses; the elder’s was green,
and the younger’s was blue. The eldest girl stared at me. She had wide brown
eyes and a perfect nose. Her face was angelic. I knew immediately the older
woman was related to her.

The
youngest girl appeared in delicate health. She coughed and her bones were
easily seen under her dark red skin. She was wrapped in shawls that seemed not
to hold any cold away from her frail body. As frightful as her face now
appeared, I predicted that in the past she had also been a stunning and vibrant
child.

The
females were not healthy at all. It was apparent they had been outdoors for a
long while. I knew from Patrious’ behavior that we had found his lost family.

“Just
take me, durn forest! Take us all! We don’t want to play anymore!” Patrious’
wife hoarsely yelled at him. “Just finish us! I’m ready to die!”

“No!
Elizabeth, it’s me! It’s thy husband!” Patrious ran to his family exclaiming,
“My girls! My girls! Grammarcy, God!”

When
he reached them, he threw his arms around them.

“Pop-pop,
is that really thee?” The eldest daughter inquired.

“Aye
my beautiful Elena, it is truly me!” Tears streamed down Patrious’ face and
froze like tiny crystals.

I
turned from the family. The other men did the same, as we gave them some room
to reunite. Jadorion, however, reached into his sack and pulled out a thick fur
blanket. He delivered it to the women, who wrapped it around the youngest lady,
and he returned to his horse. He would be a great knight someday.

Valen
whispered to me, “We’re going to have to make camp. It’s getting dark and the
ladies are in no condition to move forward, especially the little Elexandria.
She looks in no shape for travel right now.”

I
also felt tired and although I dreaded spending the night in the horrible
forest, I nodded at him.

“Prepare
to camp!” I demanded of the men. Their tired faces conveyed to me that they
were happy to hear it. Men moved quickly; tents were raised faster than I had
ever seen.

#
# #

Patrious
carried his youngest daughter to the camp. He asked if anyone knew medicine.
One man named Gervase, cautiously stepped forward. “I helped the town healer in
Terric, but I wouldn’t say I knoweth much.”

“Any
is better than none. Will ye please exam my little Elex and see if she will be
ok?” Patrious took Elex into a tent and Gervase followed.

Elizabeth
and Elena had followed Patrious to camp. The chef, Elias, offered them a bowl
of broth that he had added dried fish to. They eagerly reached for the bowls.

“Quite
sorry I cannot warm the food, m’lady. We don’t want anyone seeing a fire,
should they be after us.” Elias bowed at the queen as he returned to his duty.

Elizabeth
smiled feebly and nodded. One sleeve of the queen’s dress was torn to shreds and
her arms were covered in long, thin scratches. I assumed she had a run-in with
a briar that was likely similar to mine. The ladies had probably been through
hell.

Elena
saw me staring at her mother’s arm. “She had a battle with a bush. I had to
pull her away from it. It wasn’t a very nice thing to deal with. I’m Elena.”
She held out her tiny hand, which I grasped, and politely kissed.

“I
am Lord Tristen Dow. The pleasure is mine to make to thy acquaintance. I fought
with a bush myself; it lost.” I stepped away from her, focusing on her face.
Her brown eyes drew me in, and I couldn’t look away.

Elena
seemed to blush in the cold. I looked away, but she grabbed my cheek and turned
my head back to hers, “So thou art a knight! How wonderful! I’m sure ye have many
interesting stories to tell a princess.”

I
grabbed her hand from my cheek and returned it to her side, “Aye, my dear, I’m
sure they would bore a royal lady as thyself.” I walked away from her to get my
own food.

Jadorion
appeared from the king’s tent and asked for soup for the people inside. I
walked toward him. “Jadorion, how is the young lady doing?”

“She’s
a beauty.” Jadorion’s eyes gave him away. He fancied the girl already. I raised
my eyes and felt the corners of my lips follow them toward heaven. Jadorion set
eyes on me, blushing as he turned away. There was too much blushing going
round.