| Prologue There they were again. Sneaking around in my forest. So what if there was a war? It has nothing to do with me and they need to keep out of my forest. I followed along in the trees, slinking expertly from branch to branch without giving away my presence. As they neared the edge, I lunged out ahead of the leader and swung my sword as I landed. He yelped in surprise, barely dodging my wildly swinging blade. I had forgotten about the rest of the men with him and they surged around him, taking stabs at me. I could do nothing but turn and flee; my attack had been poorly planned and I couldn�t take chances. I�d have to regroup and try again the next time. I�d get them eventually. ~)(~ He hadn�t gotten a very good look at her, but she had obviously been trying to protect something. � Sir Lavitz? Are you injured?� He realized that he�d sat down in his relief at not being hit by the girl�s wild sword-flinging. And of that . . . She either didn�t know how to use one or was just more scared of him than he�d thought. � No, I�m fine. Just surprised.� He got up and continued toward home, musing thoughtfully about the girl. He didn�t even know he was home until he heard the voices of the citizens of Bale. He went straight to the castle to report, but couldn�t get his mind off that girl. He found it odd that she intrigued him so; usually the danger she had proposed would convince him to steer clear of the forest altogether, but instead he was more curious than ever. Once he had made his report and been allowed the next few days to rest, he borrowed a horse from the stable and rode back to the forest. Stopping and listening every so often, he neither heard nor saw anything more than forest life. He was prepared to turn back when he heard battle cries. Following them to a clearing, he hopped off his horse and wrapped its reins around an old tree branch. Moving closer, he peeked through the weeds and saw the girl fighting a huge congregation of vampire kiwis. She was grossly outnumbered and it seemed that whenever she turned her back on one, two more leapt up to bring her down. She was badly injured. Blood covered her, though the small pile of dead kiwis proved that it wasn�t all hers. Despite her injuries, she still moved with lightning speed. But it wasn�t enough. The kiwis all jumped on her at once and began to tear at her skin with violent twisting and clawing. He lunged from his hiding spot, spear ready, and began slicing the kiwis open, killing them instantly. They fell into a pile at her feet and she ripped the last one off her face and threw it into a tree, where its beak got it stuck there, six feet off the ground. She turned and gasped, stumbling away from him, sword raised in defense, and showing him the reason for the kiwis� attack. An arrow protruded from the left side of her knee, spilling just enough blood to draw the parasites out. He held up his hands to prove that he wouldn�t hurt her, but as she fell back again, he realized that he still held his spear. He jammed it into the ground and looked up in time to see her disappear into the trees. He gave chase, knowing that if she didn�t treat her wounds they would draw more kiwis. He didn�t mean to tackle her, but she had stopped so abruptly that even though he tried to stop, he still knocked her down and fell on her. She struggled viciously and he had a hard time keeping her down. However, her wounds took their toll and she gave in, panting harshly. He removed her sword and placed it out of her reach, then carefully picked her up, aware of her pained hissing. Retrieving her sword, he carried her back to the clearing with the kiwis, grabbed his spear, then went to his horse. She watched him, no small amount of distrust in her eyes, as they rode back to Bale. Her breathing had eased and he knew it was only a matter of time before she�d start fighting him again. Hopefully he could get home before then and get her wounds dressed. Luckily, the stableman wasn�t there to question him at the hour he arrived. He left the horse to be properly cared for after supper and rushed home. He set the girl down on the floor, prayed she wouldn�t try to run, and went upstairs to place her sword in his room. He found a medical kit and took it back downstairs to where she was . . . should have been. He hurriedly checked out the door, but she wasn�t there. As he tried to figure out where she might�ve gone, he heard a crash from the storage room. He ran to the room and peered in to find that several old vases and a bunch of baskets had collapsed. Suspicious, since he had stacked those himself and knew that they wouldn�t fall unless provoked, he dug through them until a loud yowl made him jump back to a safe distance. A cat scrambled from one of the baskets and dashed from the room. He sighed and turned to leave, but stopped when one of the baskets was jostled. He dug again and, to his relief, found the girl there. He pushed the vases off her and picked her up. � Are you all right?� She nodded meekly, laying quietly in his arms until he sat her on the floor. � Let me see your arm.� For the next half-hour he cleansed and dressed her wounds, taking the time to examine her armor as well. It was what he would consider odd for a female warrior; the regular body armor that you would find on a man--only altered slightly to accommodate breasts--with both arms equally and, he thought, heavily armored. The shoulder guard hung down in three progressively smaller segments, obviously to allow more movement. From under the guard extended a normal arm guard with a reenforced joint at the elbow. It continued down to a hand guard, which was also segmented for freer movement and ended at the knuckles. From under the hand guard protruded four small spikes, one per knuckle. The rest of her hands wore a deep purple fingerless glove that was just slightly darker than the royal purple of her armor. Her boots were the same purple as the armor and went all the way up to provide a front guard for her knee. All of this was over a black body suit. And the finishing touch was a belt so large it wrapped around her waist twice. Attached to it was the snap-lock for her sword. He was glad that she wore so much armor, that way he didn�t have to clean up anything more than her neck and face. This saved them both from a very awkward situation. Glancing at the clock, he saw how late it was and decided that it was time to get some rest. He picked her up and carried her to his room, setting her on her feet by his bed. � You stay here for tonight. I�ll be downstairs if you need anything.� And he turned and marched out, closing the door behind himself, knowing she wouldn�t say anything. He then realized that he�d have to sleep in the living room and groaned in disgust. ~)(~ Why was he being so kind to me? He must want something. I looked back at the bed. Well, can�t let something good go to waste. I pulled my armor and boots off and snuggled in under the covers. I�d only slept in beds in inns, but this bed was definitely much more comfortable. My eyes drifted shut and I slept. When I woke, I found a note that had been placed under my hand. Since I had to clean my armor today anyway, I cleaned yours as well. I hope you don�t mind. And if you wish to bathe, just go downstairs and past the room you made a mess of. You can�t miss it. Some clean clothes are on the chair by the door; as soon as my mother found out you were here she insisted that you get into more comfortable clothes. I argued for you, but she insisted. She�ll wash your suit for you. And don�t worry about the bandages; they should be changed anyhow. So I got up, grabbed the clothes, and went down to the bathroom. I drew a tub of scalding hot water, stripped, and settled into it with only slight hesitation. I let the water relax my muscles and slowly slid under the surface. I heard the door open and then shut, but didn�t pay it any mind. The warm water took its toll and I stuck my head out, laying it against the edge of the basin, just before my eyes closed and I slept again. ~)(~ � She�s been in there an awful long time.� � I�m sure she�s fine, Mom. She couldn�t have drowned already.� His mother wrung her hands. � Oh . . . I just want to make sure she�s all right.� She looked down at the breakfast she was cooking and sighed defeatedly. � Look, I�ll check on her real quick.� He left the kitchen and went down the hall. He listened at the door, heard nothing, and eased it open. A blast of humid air hit him and he blinked. Was the girl trying to burn her skin off? She was laying in the water, submerged up to her neck. Her eyes were closed--she was obviously asleep. The wounds that he could see seemed to be doing well already; they would be little more than scars in two or three more days. He closed the door quietly and stopped by the kitchen before going to get the medical kit. � She�s fine. She just fell asleep.� ~)(~ The water was still plenty warm when I woke, so I decided to finish bathing and get out. Once dressed (I would�ve rather traded the skirt for pants), I slunk through the house, trying to avoid everyone to get back to �my� room. I managed to do so until I actually entered the room. That man was there, going through something in the bureau. He turned as I came in and gestured at the bed. � Go ahead and sit down.� I obeyed and he soon sat beside me and began redressing the wounds the vampire kiwis had given me. � I want to apologize for the skirt. I didn�t think you�d like it, but my mother is the traditional type. She thinks all women should be in skirts all the time, no matter their occupation.� He smiled ruefully. � I suppose it�s a blessing that she still doesn�t believe women can�t be warriors or she probably would�ve thrown you out in the street when my back was turned.� I humphed. He was amusing, this man. He finished and made sure each bandage was firmly in place, then got up and stuck his head out the door, taking several sniffs at the air. � Smells like breakfast�s ready. Come on.� I took some experimental sniffs at the door, but it just smelled like breakfast cooking to me, not completed breakfast. Oh well. Must be a male thing. Down in the kitchen, his mother and I saw each other for the first time. I curtsied slightly and she smiled. � Hello. I�m Lydia, Lavitz�s mother.� I could have guessed such, since they looked quite similar, but was glad for the verification. � I am Kysia, ma�am.� She chuckled. � Just Lydia, dear. Or you can call me Mom. I�ll respond to either one.� She began to gather several things and I noticed, in the corner of my eye, Lavitz crossing his arms. I looked at him and he snorted. � I take care of you and you don�t say a word to me. But you meet her and you�re Miss Sweetness.� I snorted delicately in answer. � You haven�t said anything that warranted a response. But before I fall back into my usual reticence, allow me to thank you for your aid, though I could�ve done just fine without it.� � Those kiwis would�ve eaten you alive.� � And no one would�ve known I existed,� I concluded. � The perfect existence. If no one knows you, you cannot mar the earth�s beauty.� Lydia�s entrance with breakfast cut our conversation off. We ate with only a little silence; she usually had something to ask me every other mouthful. Lavitz sat in his seat, just listening to us converse. Afterward, I praised Lydia�s cooking, for it was indeed delicious, and accepted Lavitz�s offer to tour Bale because I was curious to see more of the city. Indels Castle was probably the most interesting part of the whole thing. It wasn�t a huge, show-offy type of castle; just secure and solid stone with a slight framework of wood. And as Lavitz began giving more detailed information, I realized that he must do something that was considerably important here to know everything about everything. � Exactly what do you do here?� He mock-gasped. � You spoke to me!� I snorted lightly and he showed me the training room. � I�m the First Knight.� I made my eyes big and innocent. � Ever?� He laughed. � All right, fine. I�m the First Knight of the First Knighthood. Is that better?� I shrugged. � Sounds okay to me. Why? Don�t you like it?� <--Back Part 2--> |