Curse of The Seventh Sword: The Gauntlet of Feona (2 page)

“Help.” A
soft voice called out.  It was so weak it was almost a whisper.  Yet it was strong enough to carry its way to his ears.  Davydd froze in his tracks, wondering if he had actually heard a voice or if it was a part of him hoping someone had survived the carnage he’d just seen. 

“Help… please…”
Davydd ran back to the half burnt carriage.  He mindlessly pulled away smoking ember after ember.  The adrenaline rushing through him numbed any pain he might have felt.  Finally a hand reached out from under the wooden splinters and broken pieces.  Davydd grabbed at it and soon he was helping out a beautiful woman with long dark brown hair.  Her light hazel eyes looked empty and distant as she collapsed unto him.

“Woman
, what’s your name?  What happened here?”  Davydd asked as he laid her down gently on the grass a safe distance away from the fire.  She had been burned a bit and she was bleeding from a stab wound to her abdomen.  Davydd slapped his head in self-annoyance.  Now was not the time for questions.  She needed help. 

“Don’t worry.  I’ll get you somewhere safe.  Just hold on and trust me.  You’ll be fine.”

Vannera was falling in and out of consciousness.  She was sure she had died but somehow, something inside her had willed her to live.  To whom did the strong arms that lifted her out of her cold well belong?  Who owned this voice that seemed to calm her even while her soul was in turmoil?

“Stay
alive.”  There it was again… that voice willing her to keep breathing, to keep living.

“What’s your name?”  The voice asked.

“Va… Jaynea” Vannera was slipping again.

“Va
Jaynea?” 

Somewhere deep inside,
Vannera smiled.  He was silly.  How could she tell the voice belonged to a he?  Every sound she heard echoed and reverberated in her ears.  She realized she didn’t care whom it belonged to. That voice was keeping her in this world, so she held unto it.

“
Vannera” She finally said.  “Vannera”

The fire burning
in her stomach was finally receding and a cooling sensation came over her as she fell into a deep sleep.

             
Ovar sat nervously on his chair, shifting his weight from side to side and drumming on his armrest with his fingers.  The sound bothered him, but he couldn’t stop.  His mind was racing with thoughts.  Davydd had gone hunting the previous afternoon and was to return later on in the evening.  During that period, news had reached Gor, Windhaven and other neighboring towns in the southern region of Angweleth that robbers had attacked the princess’s caravan.  Everyone had been killed, including Princess Vannera.  Her companion on that trip was apparently nowhere to be found. 
Robbers.  Please, Davydd let this not be your doing. 
Despite his worries, Ovar was pretty sure this was not Davydd’s work.  He and his gang operated within certain rules and one of them was that none of their victims was to be hurt by any member.  Another important rule was to try as best as possible to steal without the victim knowing he had been stolen from… at least for a while.  Finally, Davydd never went along with a robbery plan that was too risky and could endanger the lives of his men or himself.  Robbing the princess of Angweleth was such a risk.  Besides, all those highly trained elite soldiers were decimated.  Ovar knew Davydd was an excellent marksman but that was as far as his combat skills went.  So the question remained, who out there was capable of annihilating an entire elite soldier unit?  And was Davydd somehow caught up in this as a victim?  Ovar had to find out and to do that he would have to go into the misty forest.  There was only one problem.  Most of the towns around Gor including Gor itself had been put on a curfew since word of the princess’s death spread.  No one was allowed out of their home after the first sign of dusk.  Ovar clenched his right fist in anger and suddenly lifted his frame out of his chair.  On his face was an expression of unwavering resolve.  He had to find Davydd, curfew or no curfew.  Ovar slung a black robe over his clothes and then made his way to his room.  Beside his bed, lay a long box made of dark oak wood.  He reached down and opened it, revealing a long sword, encased in an ornamental sheath.  Its hilt was golden and carved in with intricate patterns.  Ovar stared at it for a while. 
All these years and I hoped I’d never have to wield a sword again.
  Ovar shook his head, silently chastising himself.  It was more a hopeless wish than a hope.  This day was always fated.
 
He bent down, picked up the sheathed sword and strapped it to his belt.  Finally, he put on his hat and made his way out of the house.  After making sure he wasn’t seen, he disappeared into the night.

All around her, she could hear the sound of the forest.  It was as though it had two souls and when the forest’s daytime soul departed with the last ray of daylight, the soul of the night and its sounds slowly but surely took over.  Owls hooted intermittently, crickets chirped incessantly and every now and then, she could hear the hiss of a snake, as it tasted the night air hoping to catch the scent of a nearby prey.  She opened her eyes and saw the figure of a tall man seating next to her.  They were lying on an intermeshed hammock he had probably built.  She stared at him for a while.  He was a well-built man but not overly muscular.  He had long straight but unkempt brown hair that fell to shoulder length.  He wore a dark blue tunic and brown pants with black leather boots.  His eyes seemed like they missed nothing as he stared into the blackness that was the misty forest at night.  His facial features were strong and she found him strikingly handsome.  He turned to look at her.  She suddenly found herself short of breath and it slightly annoyed her. 

“You are finally awake
, I see.”  He said leaning forward towards her.  Vannera panicked and began frantically trying to crawl away.  As she turned to flee, she felt his hand grab her by her upper arm. 

“No sudden moveme
nts.  If you destroy the hammock, we’ll be taking a nasty fall.  Besides, you don’t want to worsen the wound on your stomach, you know.”  Vannera looked down to see that the hammock was a bit up high and connected at its ends to four tree trunks.  When she turned back, the man had drawn nearer and as she turned, he placed his hand on her forehead. 

“Your fever is almost gone.”  He smiled.  “That’s good… Va
Jaynea.”  He chuckled as he sat back on his side of the hammock.  Vannera looked perplexed for a while but then she remembered.  It was mostly a blur to her but she couldn’t help but smile a bit.  The smile soon vanished as an overwhelming emptiness and sadness engulfed her. As the tears fell down her cheeks, she covered her mouth to keep from wailing loudly.  She looked over at the man and could see the look of concern written all over his face.  She pulled her knees close to her chest and buried her head in them as she tried to gather her thoughts.  What could she do now?  Her own father had tried to assassinate her and the only person she could trust was dead. 
Oh Jaynea, you fool!  I can’t do this without you. 

“You must be hungry.”
The man sitting across from her said. 

“I cooked some tortoise meat while you were
unconscious.  Would you like some?”

“Tortoise?”  Asked
Vannera visibly troubled by the thought of eating tortoise for a late night dinner.  The man shrugged.

“I know
it’s not your every day meal, but it’s really not that bad.”

“I’m really not that hungry…
thank you.”  Vannera’s stomach groaned.  She glanced over at the man and quickly back down.  The man smiled and handed her a sizeable morsel of tortoise meat on a clean wooden plate. 

“Eat.”  He scooted back and began to look into the darkness again. 
Vannera watched him for a while and once she thought he wasn’t looking, she grabbed for the plate and began biting into the meat like her life depended on it.  Right now, anything edible was good enough for her.

“Good?”  The man asked
.  Vannera nodded a yes while still biting into the surprisingly delicious meat.  After she was done, the man handed her a small leather container of water with a cap on it. 

“I thought you’d be thirsty.”  He said smiling. 
Vannera took it and drank till it was almost empty.  She felt like a little kid being pampered by her parents.  The analogy made her sad again.

“Father…” She stopped herself, realizing she had spoken out loud.

“What was that?”  The man sat up as he asked the question.

“Nothing.”  Vannera looked a
way.

“Did your father die in that fire?  Or was he killed by your attackers?”

“No… just a good friend of mine… all good friends of mine.”

“Then you must have people looking for you.”

Vannera nodded.  “Yes…”

“That settles it then.  Tomorrow I’ll take you to the
Gor outpost.  I haven’t seen you around Gor but I’m sure they’ll be able to take you back to wherever…” The man stopped as Vannera held his hand while shaking her head. 

“No no.  I cannot go back pleas
e… don’t take me back.”

“Relax.  Everything will be fine.  Once you are at
the outpost, and on your way, you’ll be safe.”

“No!  You don’t understand!  I won’t be…
nowhere is safe for me in Angweleth!”  Vannera burst into tears once more. 

“What could you
possibly have to fear so much so that you cannot feel safety anywhere?”  The man reached out and wiped her tears.  His touch was gentle and cautious.  His caution was probably for fear of scaring her, but the truth was that she wasn’t.  He was wrong about her not feeling safe.  Right now the hammock they sat on was probably the safest place for her in all of Angweleth.  But it wasn’t just the hammock.  He made her feel safe and she had only just met him.  Yet he had already saved her life, nursed her back to health and fed her.  Despite probably having a life to get back to, he had stayed with her and was even trying to get her back to where he believed was her home.  She did owe him the truth but she couldn’t risk it.

“Thank you.”  She finally said.  “Thank
you for everything.”

“No need.  Look, let us sleep and then at dawn
you can decide what is best for you.”

“Yes… I agree.”  She nodded.

“Good.” The man lay back down.

“What is your name?”

“Davydd.”

“
Davydd… Goodnight.”  She lay back down thinking about the name and the man who went by it.  Davydd suited him.  Somehow she couldn’t imagine him being named anything else. 
…At dawn you can decide…
The truth was she had already made a decision.  At least she had gotten the chance to express gratitude.  She closed her eyes.  It was time to rest; after all she would need all the strength she could use.

Davydd opened his eyes.  He had been asleep for a while but he could tell from the light purple color of the early morning sky, that day was almost breaking.  He thought it odd, that he would wake up now for he usually didn’t until the rays of the sun hit him.  It was almost as odd as the girl’s life he had saved. 
Vannera. 
Somehow, the name just didn’t suit her.  She was beautiful but for some reason he wouldn’t have picked Vannera.  Her looks did not compliment her personality.  If he didn’t know better he would have thought she was a soul living in another person’s body.  He peered over to watch her sleeping and then almost turned white in terror.  No one was there.  She was gone!  Davydd sprang into action, gripping unto the hardened branches of creepers and winders that had used their host tree’s strong trunks as a way of reaching the sun.  They made for excellent natural ladders and Davydd used them to good effect, as he made his way down to the forest ground.  They hadn’t been that high up so even if she fell she would have survived, though she might have sustained some injuries.  However, there was no bleeding unconscious body awaiting him when he got to the ground.  What if she had moved while hurt?  There were no signs of blood around the area.  Davydd concluded that she must have run away.  He was relieved that she wasn’t hurt but at the same time he was annoyed.  A part of him wanted to forget what had happened and leave her be.  However his conscience wouldn’t let him do that, especially if what she had told him was true. 
Very
bright Vannera. 
Davydd stooped down on one knee and examined the soil.  As expected, he could see foot tracks on the soil and grass.  Judging by how depressed the ground was, he could tell she hadn’t left too long ago.  This meant she couldn’t have gone far and he could catch up with her before she was in any real danger.  Davydd broke into a run hurrying along the path Vannera had taken.  He weaved in between tall tree trunks, ducking under low hanging branches and jumping over exposed root trunks effortlessly.  The tracks were getting fresher, which meant he was getting closer to Vannera.  She was running.  He could tell from the spacing between each foot track she left.  He caught a glimpse of her as she ran past a tree.

“
Vannera!”  Davydd picked up his pace as he tried to close the distance between them.  She was surprisingly quick.  He hadn’t expected that, but he was gaining on her.

“
Vannera, stop! Plea…” Davydd stopped just as a metal blade flashed by his face.  The blade stopped right in front of his eyes, vibrating in a low hum from being re-directed quickly towards him.  Davydd ducked just as the blade threatened to cleave off his head.  He fell into a roll and came back up just in time to side step another swipe.  He caught a glimpse of his attacker.  It was an Angwelethean soldier. 

“Why do you attack me?”  The soldi
er did not respond.  Instead he launched a thrusting attack aimed at Davydd’s heart.  Davydd tried to step back but soon discovered he had backed into a tree trunk.  Davydd closed his eyes and prepared for the worst.  It was then he heard the clang of metal on metal.  When he opened his eyes he saw another sword horizontally across his chest, blocking the sharp menacing tip of the soldier’s sword.  Davydd looked to see its wielder and was filled with shock and happiness at the same time.  The man in the black robe tipped his hat at Davydd.

“Son
?”

“Father?”

“It seems like I found you in time my boy.”  Said Ovar, smiling.  The soldier spoke for the first time. 

“You tw
o have violated the recent curfew imposed by King Sidion and as such, shall be apprehend.”

“Apprehended?”  Ovar
asked, chuckling sarcastically.  “You weren’t going to apprehend him; you were going to kill him.  Davydd. Go after her.”

“But father! You…”

“Go now!  I’ll be fine.”

“Once I find her, I’ll come back for you father.”

Davydd hesitated for a moment and then bolted after Vannera.  Ovar waited till Davydd was out of site. 
That woman looked like Jaynea.  Yet Davydd called her Vannera.  If this means what I think it means, then it might be time Matilom. 
Ovar turned back to the Angwelethean soldier and spoke.

“Actually, you were trying to kill the both of them weren’t you?”

Ovar blocked as the soldier moved in with a downward thrust.  He sidestepped, allowing the soldier’s forward momentum to throw him off balance.  As the soldier stumbled, Ovar moved in behind him and thrust forward, but the soldier caught himself and placed the blade of his sword behind his back, blocking Ovar’s thrust.