Hope (14 page)

Jakara sat down, glaring to his left toward the table where Lady Kathryn and Hal sat helmet less in silence. Hal’s face was bright red. Lanclor could tell he was barely controlling his anger. Lady Kathryn, however, had an almost serene expression upon her face. That surprised him more than anything as he expected her to be as angry as Hal.

"I’ll not deny it. I was greatly upset about her insults." Jakara gave no other excuse.

The other instructors who were available had gathered in the chairs toward the back of the room. They began to whisper among themselves, unable to believe that Jakara had actually done what he was accused. Lanclor said nothing at all, not even glancing around at the other instructors to see their reactions. He sat straight in his chair, radiating anger with his wings upraised, his fists clenched and his arms crossed.

Cycles ago, Lathus, a man who Lanclor had thought he could trust, had raped and beaten Lanclor's young sister, Sera. Lathus had hidden her in a closet for days before a servant found her. Beyond help by that time, she had died a couple of hours later, but not before telling Lanclor what had happened. Grieving and unable to control his anger, Lanclor had hunted down Lathus and beaten him senseless. The Council later executed Lathus for murder. Lanclor pictured throwing Jakara against the wall repeatedly, turning his wings to bloody pulp.

"Since you’ve admitted your guilt, by law it’s up to Lady Kathryn to propose a suitable punishment. I’ll warn you, Lady Kathryn, that I won’t allow a punishment that’s more severe than the offense," Alextor said in a diplomatic tone.

Lady Kathryn rose from her seat and walked around the table to stand directly before Alextor, her back toward Jakara. "I want him to see, Lord Alextor."

"See? I’m not sure what you mean. Please explain."

"I want him to see the Sight I had that day before the incident. See what made me act the way I did." She said all of this in a calm voice with a strange look upon her face.

"That’s a reasonable sentence, if you think that will be a suitable punishment. Jakara, will you accept this punishment?"

Jakara seemed just as surprised. "I agree. It will be interesting to see what pathetic excuse she has."

Lady Kathryn turned toward Jakara, holding her hands before her, standing a few feet from his table. Without uttering a word, images appeared upon the table, similar to Garrent’s history lessons. They all saw the knights flying toward the clump of trees with the Daemons flying up from below. They saw the Daemons kill about thirty First-cycles, Kathryn’s defensive fire and then her view of the dead upon the ground, including Jakara.

Hal’s face turned white as he saw himself impaled upon a Daemon’s spear. Lanclor saw Jakara turn away while his wings lowered. There was so much guilt and regret in his eyes, Lanclor thought he looked at a different man. Lanclor hadn’t known him well before the death of his daughter, but had heard he was an excellent instructor friendly toward everyone, men and women alike. After that fateful day, his anger and resentment had negatively affected his teaching and he became an Assessor. As Jakara placed his head in his hands, Lady Kathryn turned, saluted Alextor and strode from the room.

"Jakara, I find the punishment adequate and enlightening. You’re free to leave." Alextor nodded toward both Hal and Jakara and rose from his chair. Shocked silence filled the air as he exited the room.

Lanclor couldn’t believe that Lady Kathryn had taken mercy upon the man who had thrown her against a wall and almost caused the death of one of her friends. He also couldn’t believe that she had performed that spell without uttering the incantation. She was a complex woman. How far her complexity could take her in the Knighthood he could only imagine.

Kathryn remembered her last birthday—alone, pulled into another world, chased by Daemons, then thrown into the infirmary. Definitely not a good day. No cake, no presents, no family. Just stuck on an alien world with the man who had knocked upon her door on Christmas Eve, delivered his message and left, leaving behind a grief that had spread through her life like a disease. She had been on Av’lor for a year now and couldn’t believe how different it was from her existence on Earth.

With work and trying to get her mother’s house under control, she didn’t have the time to grieve. After the funeral, she didn’t have the drive to do much of anything. Her pantsuits, once displaying her pride in her job, degraded to jeans and collared shirts. She wasn’t sure if her sword and armor were a step below that or not. Loneliness still gnawed at her.

Her mother's death had ended the one serious relationship she had back home, but that had happened before she came to Av’lor. Greg couldn't understand her needing some space. She had always been an independent person and her shyness never allowed her to make many friends. Her chosen detachment those last months made it impossible for others to offer their sympathy, letting Kathryn avoid seeing the pity in their eyes. On Av’lor, her shyness had diminished as she worked with the other knights during drill.

Every night, she had glimpses of a violent future filled with death and destruction. Seeing her friends impaled upon Daemon spears started to take its toll. Kathryn sat on her bed, clutching her hands while she wondered what her family did back on Earth. Did they believe someone had kidnapped or murdered her? Did they think she had abandoned them? Sometimes, she felt like she was alone here. In the castle, almost all men surrounded her. The women were so busy with surviving that they had no time to speak with her, let alone be friends.

A knock sounded upon the door. It was probably Hal. She opened the door and was surprised to see Assessor Jakara.

"Lady Kathryn, I’d like to speak with you if you don’t mind."

She didn’t feel comfortable inviting this man into her room, so she stepped out into the common room and shut the door behind her. "Assessor Jakara I’m surprised by your visit. Is there something I can do for you?" Say no. Say no.

He looked uncomfortable and almost embarrassed. "I wanted to give you something." He pulled out a wrapped object from his belt and held it before him, offering it to her.

She took the item and unwrapped it, expecting some type of cursed object from the man who had despised her for so long. Instead, she saw a beautiful dagger of blue steel with a unicorn carved upon the hilt. There were runes upon the blade that she didn’t understand. "Assessor Jakara, this is beautiful, but I don’t understand why you’re giving it to me. It’s...unexpected."

He looked down to the floor, then up to her with sad eyes. "It was my daughter, Nlei’s, favorite. I had it made for her the day she joined the Knighthood. I was so proud of her. She died some cycles ago and I blamed the Earth woman instructor who had thought her ready enough to fight. Armored Daemons ambushed them and wiped out the entire squad. It wasn’t until that day you showed me your Sight that I realized I not only blamed the instructor, but I blamed myself for encouraging Nlei to join the Knighthood." He looked down and sighed.

"You know, it was Nlei’s choice and neither I nor the instructor would have discouraged her from doing her duty." He met her eyes. "I think it’s time I focused on the present instead of on the past. I used to look at that dagger every night before bed and torture myself. It’s time to move on. I’d like you to have it."

"I’d be honored." She felt sad that he had to endure the loss of his daughter. It was amazing how the events of people’s lives shaped how they looked at the world. Even bad events could help to move a person in a better direction. "What do the runes mean?"

"They mean light and strength, for that’s what she was to me. I can teach you how to use it, if you’d like. I’m an expert with a dagger and I used to teach her a lot about fighting opponents larger than herself."

She realized he was looking for redemption. "I’d be happy to learn, since pretty much everyone around here is bigger than I am." Perhaps he wasn’t the only one who needed it.

"Well, Lady Kathryn, I believe the proper thing to do is to wish you a happy Nameday. I must be going now. Be safe." He nodded and headed down the hall.

He passed Hal coming from the other direction. Hal gestured behind him and asked, "What did
he
want?"

"He wanted to give me this." She showed him the dagger and he whistled with appreciation. "It was his daughter’s. I think he wants a truce. He offered me lessons on how to use it as well. It seems like he’s changed. He seems a little sadder and I don’t sense any more bitterness or arrogance from him."

"I got the same feeling when I talked to him in the market. I told him it was your birthday by the way. Sorry." He looked down in embarrassment. "I got you this." She hadn’t noticed the bundle behind his back.

It was heavy and her eyes widened in surprise and delight when she unwrapped a gorgeous statue of a knight on horseback. The piece stood about a foot high and was made of a beautiful white stone, similar to marble. "Oh my, Hal. This is beautiful. I’ve never seen a carving so detailed!"

He removed his helmet, a huge smile upon his face. "I saw it and knew you’d love it immediately. I tried to find you some candy or something as well, but I didn’t know where to look."

He was so much like her brother, Donny.
"It’s perfect. Let me put this stuff in my room, then we can go down for dinner." He nodded and she went back into her room carrying her new gifts with a sense of joy. Feeling so depressed a little while ago, now she felt good. Someone hadn't forgotten her and she had actually made a difference on this world. After placing the dagger and the statue next to her books upon the shelf over the desk, she spent the rest of the evening in a better mood than on her last birthday.

"Sir Lanclor, that horse is possessed. None of the grooms will go near her and when someone is stupid enough to try to ride her, she throws him." The frustrated stable master wasn’t going to leave Lanclor alone until he did something about the horse. "I don’t even remember where we got her. Probably from a Daemon somewhere. If she weren’t the most beautiful horse I’d ever seen, I would’ve gotten rid of her months ago. She has the muscle for a knight, if not the temperament. I figure I’d let you take a look at her before I finally dispose of her."

Before he could continue, Lanclor cut in, "Maybe if you showed her to me, Master Junten, I could judge for myself."

The stable master winced. "Yes, Sir Lanclor. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that myself."

Lanclor didn't understand why people cowered every time he addressed them. Maybe his black armor reminded them of a Daemon. If only the title of Destructor were an honorable one and not one known for treachery. He couldn’t change who he was, or whom he Bore.

The stable master broke into his self-pitying thoughts. "We had to put her back here away from the other horses some time ago. It’s quieter back here and the grooms seem to work a lot better without her around."

The stalls around the one in the back of the stable were empty. He beheld a mare that he would consider beautiful and well-bred if she were clean and not standing in muck. "How long have you had her in this filth?"

Master Junten hung his head. "She’s only been like this for the past few weeks. We had her in the stall near the other horses for over five months. About a month ago, she suddenly became violent. She attacked most of the grooms, only the men, when they tried to clean her stall. Only little Larna could do anything with her. Her mood seemed to spread to the other horses and they started to act a little more aggressive as well. I had Larna move her to this stall a few weeks ago, then Larna died in that attack on the North Village while visiting her mother." The stable master shook his head.

"After that, the other grooms, both men and women, thought her cursed and wouldn’t go near her. I’ve been feeding her all this time, but I’ve had to time it just right so she wouldn’t bite me. It’s impossible to get into her stall to clean it, much less groom her. Word travels fast and no groom in the area will touch her. You’re pretty much her last hope."

He'd misjudged the stable master. "I understand why she’s like this. I’ll give you two gold crowns for her."

The stable master's eyes bulged, but he quickly recovered and accepted Lanclor's insane offer. An ill-tempered horse wasn’t worth one gold crown, let alone two. Still, the mare was remarkable and of obviously high breeding and Lanclor wanted to apologize for the insult.