Reluctant Royals
by Michael G. Crawford
Chapter Three
She turned to her young companion, the slight but well filled out young man visibily relaxing in stages. Obviously he too had sensed the dishonesty of the gatekeeper, and in his role as protector, as if she needed it...he had become nervous, on edge, and frankly bordering on the rude. But she had expected the attitude, and realized its worth. The beligerant would turn to first attack the beligerant, thus the young man's posturing was meant to deflect attack away from her. And despite his having already seen her in action, he continued to take on the role as selflessly as he had from the first day old Turluk had become injured and the spy Garland had agreed to watch him until arrangements could be made to have him taken care of.
She knew Garland was only a day or so ride behind them at each of their stops, and that gave her a sense of well being that before had been a totally different feeling...one more of a rankling dissatisfaction with her father and her "uncle" Turluk, who obviously knew of their shadow.
But as things had deterioated and done so quite quickly, it was a great relief to know that an accomplished knight such as Garland was close by should they need to retreat and regroup. And to be honest, more than once she had almost taken a day to rest and allow the man to catch up. But somehow, for some unknown reason she knew it was not her fortune to rest easy. It was not the right thing to do. She must press on and push forward. Or was it press forward and push on. She could never get these cutesy little phrases down right. The young man at her side had them all down correctly, being well trained as a squire, and only a few months from the initiation that would make him a knight, recognized by peers as a full grown man, and skilled enough to be the great protector he was pretending to be just now. That wasn't fair she decided. He wasn't pretending. Maybe fooling himself, but not pretending. A vast difference really. He was certainly capable, and ernest. That made up for a lot of other frailties.
She sighed at the thought of the fragile ego before her, and wondered if she would ever meet a man whose emotional state wouldn't be broken like a piece of delicate china from across the seas. Why couldn't young men be a little more tough and solid like she was. This brought a smile to her face... she knew full well that her ego was strong, but her other emotions flitted about so quickly from one end of the pendulum swing to the other. It was more than enough to confuse and threaten her equilibrium to ...well suffice to say she was at times giddy. Her elderly matron Neesaen had explained carefully about her transistion from girl to woman had these effects and she had soaked it all in, wishing to make that transition complete and done with as soon as possible. But the old crone had balked at telling her about the feelings...oh to hell with that train of thought, that would surely lead her off into an abyss far too dangerous to contemplate when around the exceedingly viral and emerging manhood of young Alain.
The poor man was forever trying to keep his eyes off her in the evenings, especially when they had rested at inns where the patrons were soon seen snuggling, leaving the two of them to sit alone and separate, fighting off the temptations they both knew would lead them to deriliction of duty and defense.
Not that she turned anyone's head, especially dressed as a young man herself. Granted her upper body left no doubt of her gender, still she wasn't turned out like a young lady and thus offered little to attract the attention of others. Except Alain, who, more than once, had seen her in a night shift which she knew, wickedly, left little to the imagination if the light were just right. She wondered at her motivations at times, and her brazen actions which had caused her to "be at the wrong place at the wrong time" as the old crone would have accused her. But then again, she also realized it was probably her wicked womanhood raising its evil head and she grined it away. Tough. Tough on him, and a little tantalizing for her. But in the back of her mind she also realized it wasn't fair to her protector and now took great care to keep her wits about her and prevent any more such temptations...for both of them...far away and out of mind.
She realized that Alain was waiting for her to say something, probably watching her as she, seemingly in a trance, made her abolution of her magic. The fact that he had decided she was a magicians daughter instead of the merchant story Turluk had let "slip", also intrigued her. Granted her knowlege of such things learned in the court and the two short but profitable visits by Leman was fair extensive for most common folk. But she also knew enough to know she had no real power save the ability to see past some illusions. By way of touch mostly, but through other physical means. Never mental or spirtual as others thought of magic. No hers was a contemptous understanding of things magical, that attitude well bred by her own parentage as well as the short tutoring by Leman, himself a major skeptic of things magical despite being known as one of the greatest mages of his time.
In any case, their current situation had no magical feel about it. In fact that was intriguing in of itself. She had noticed that the further they skirted the old lands, the more vibrant the feelings of impending power had become. But here the power seemed to have waned. Almost as if...
"Oh no" she half whispered out loud. "Oh Shit!" she let out without thinking what the old matron would have to say about that. "Alain, we must get out of here...now".
The startled look on the face of her protector was half of disbelief and sudden concern for their safety. Fortunately the role he had assumed forced itself in front of the disbelieve, and he took her arm. Looking behind them, he clearly did not like what he saw, but she was focusing ahead and to the left, where a clear path led around the outside of the stone barracks.
As she began to move forward, her companion whispered, "Yes I believe you are right, ahead is the route to choose. Let's move."
They moved in unison, wary but firm as they trod quietly and effortlessly along the quiet alleyway. While dangerous if cut off at either end, it was never- the-less a better means of escape, since the dangers were clearly ahead and behind, unlike their former position in the square with no protection whatsoever. As they cleared the alley, they emerged into an area smaller than the square they had left, but framed by several more alleyways ahead, left, and right, all none to inviting. The back of the barracks wall looked scaleable however, and she felt it would certainly be an unexpected move on their part. The unexpected usually turned out to be a fine weapon on its own, or she had thought on several occasions. She motioned that way to Alain, who looked up took in the climb and let loose a deep breath.
Obviously it wasn't his first choice in normal circumstances, and while being perhaps a rather stupid move, he did share her like of the audacious.
They moved to the wall quickly, and he cupped his hands to get her started up the wall. She found good footholds in an archer's slit to her right, and then a brief respite probably cut into the wall later to aid a rope and tackle for pulling in bales from a high loading wagon. She found a rather solid bump at just the right distance, and her semi-hard foot coverings formed around it admirably. With a grunt she stretched to what should be the perch prior to reaching the top, and she chanced a look down. She wasn't afraid of heights, but knew well that looking down chanced a sudden fit of vertigo, but she also knew she wasn't about to leave Alain on the ground. But he was right behind her. In fact, her sudden stop caught the young man unawares and he promptly buried his face between her legs, an uncomfortable position for her, and perhaps unpleasant for him.
"If you don't mind, Alain, I'd rather not be sniffed like a dog right now."
"Hmmph. Sorry Lady Terrik. You might signal next time."
"Would you like a shout perhaps, young scout?"
"No lady, a hsst might do, or a quiet cough if you wish to be more ladylike."
"Oh, I'll remember that one I will" she answered sourly, if not a little quieter as she realized where they had chosen to stop and insult each other.
"Well I should hope so. You make a fine rank whiff after 10 miles of walking and while the pleasure should be mine, me thinks a pass is out of the question, fair apprentice."
"Hmmph" she answered herself, as she carefully levered her way up a tad to remove the offending anatomy from his vicinity. Peering up over the wall ever so slowly, feeling completely exposed to those within despite her caution, she was able to see the barracks had a roof to it, and the wall was not just a facade like many of the courtyards she was familiar with. That was not good news. People trodding about a roof would certainly raise the alarm. Especially one as feeble and as poorly maintained as this one.
"No joy master scout. A poor excuse for a roof is here and I'd rather fall into the street than into the realms inside this fine portico."
"For once we agree. Should we shift down and try a different approach or shift to one side?" he whispered to her.
"It looks better over to the left, Alain. There is a small fountain in a tiny courtyard, if I see it correctly. Almost like a priest's quarrel I'd reckon. So its down and up again."
"Aye" was the only answer she received and suddenly she was alone on the high wall, feeling her way slowly back the way she had come, this time quite a bit slower. Down was always harder...you were blind, and your tired limbs were full of betrayal.
But finally she was down and saw that he was waiting impatiently at the far left side of the barracks rear.
"Remember to hsst at me" he cautioned as she mounted the wall once again. Climbing up, she moved a little faster than before, the handholds exceedingly handy at this side, and she looked down before stopping and tapped his head with her shoe to stop him. He looked up at her, and smiled, creating an awkward moment for her. Her heart went out to the poor guy, trying so hard to be chivalrous despite the sometimes crude and teasing manner of the lady he protected. She felt guilty now for her past teasing, especially that in inappropriate garb. To be so unfair to such a good heart. If not evil, it was certainly mean spirited and she vowed again to take pity on the poor fellow, his own transistions surely creating a rash of problems she had only excacerbated with her teasing.
She stared into his eyes peering up and felt compelled to say something in her own defense, but was left speechless, as a brief exchange of energy seemed to flow between them for a moment. It was a kindred spirit perhaps, that companionable bonding of two facing danger. Perhaps a little more, but then disguised by the other innocent feelings. Well it should be hidden, as a sudden burst of womanly desire sprang up, threatening to make her knees shake and her hands dislodge themselves. It must have appeared to him like she had suddenly grown dizzy, for his eyes reacted and he reached up, straddled her perch and pushed against the wall. Little did he realize this only made matters worse, his rigid body and tight muscles only crushing the breath out of her already suddenly breathless body.
"Fool" she hissed, "I can't breath".
"Better than a fall at this point, me lady. Tell me when you have recovered, so we can continue."
"Now you oaf. It was but a shudder at the height" she lied and levered her way up and out of his clutches despite the sudden yearning to just stay and feel his presence. Gods she was such a bitch. Here she was doing it again and of all places. Damn and damn.
They made short rift of the remaining few feet, and after ensuring no one was within sight of the cut stone windows, they dropped soundlessly into the garden area, to find a dusty dry fountain, long ago abandoned by maintenance.
Now that they had entered the confines of the walls, she felt the presence of power. Alain felt it too, and she shivered. This was more what she should have felt long before, back when they had entered the little village. This clearly martial structure was housing some rather fine energy levels, not only of men at arms but something more. Far more. Something frightening. And while any exploration was surely to be dangerous, coming in through the baited trap at the front was surely a larger mistake in any scenario they could imagine. With a firm nod, Alain took the lead as he quietly cat walked, low and steady to the large wooden door ahead. Upon reaching it, they were faced with the first real challenge. The door was solid with iron bands extending from the hinges, and was clearly meant to keep out the uninivited, indicating the architects knew the fountain was not only a place of beauty but a security risk as well.
She moved close to Alain now, her senses extending to him and the door, and with a soft glow she realized they were in tune in this bit of arcane judgement, their sixth senses melding to peer beyond the door into the passageway beyond. An empty passageway they decided together. The glow didn't stop for a few moments, and she felt her protector's energy flow across the slight gap between them. His arms beckoned and she lightly touched them with her hands, a small spark of energy flowing to her as she met flesh.
"Mi lady. I think we need to discuss this later, and in a better spot?"
She held her finger to her lips and then moved it his own lips, enjoying the glow a little longer.
"This is good for us, my protector. I think we will need to use this energy inside. I don't know how I know, I just know. We need to be close in this. Hold me for a moment."
And as he did, she felt the flow strengthen. She also noticed his manhood responding to the emotional charge, but was able to ignore it, gathering in the exchange and knitting of the two energy frames. With a rise in her own libido, she realized that the bond was more than two warriors or mages, and relished the thought before shoving it away in the back of her mind. She gripped his arms tighter and touched her forehead to his, preventing herself, with a modicum of will power, from making the gesture a kiss.
With increasing energy, she pushed the area of sense beyond the door and along the passageway beyond it until reaching yet another door, similar to this one. Good, the passage was secure. If they could gain entry quietly, they had a good chance of moving further inward without detection.
"Another door beyond, good security. I think it is worth a try. But can we open it?"
"I think so" he replied, his husky voice betraying his own rising emotions. "Let me explore here..." he murmured as his hands left her arms, leaving a trail of visible energy that amused her. Leman would scoff if she told him, but there was clearly a trail of blue fire. She didn't have time to ponder the meaning of it all at this point, but stored the information away in a deep recess, hoping to explore it later. She watched as Alain probed the door frame with a lock pick, probably ensuring there were no traps set on the door.
"I don't sense anything unusual..." she began.
He gestured to his arm, where she knew a long scar decorated it in manly fashion, "...yes and neither did I when I was awarded this trophy for my trouble. So we'll do this one my way."
She nodded despite the fact he wasn't looking at her. He sensed her agreement however and continued his careful probing. Or perhaps he was just ignoring her again, obviously a safe policy given the recent exchanges of ardor. And especially when she was feeling so "randy" as the crone would complain. "How interesting for a virgin" she thought to herself and then almost kicked herself for her wickedness. Virgins who bemoaned their virginity were not virgins for long. Not that she gave a damn, but she had vowed to keep her wits about her to keep an unspoken promise to both matron and her father.
Now Alain was situating himself at the door as if to pick the lock, and she drew her long but narrow Gimshire blade, the weapon that had made it clear to Alain she was no mindless lady high born. When she had bested him 3 of 4 turns with the wooden training sword, and then tapped him repeatly alongside the ear, he had, to her wonderment, grinned at her and accepted her skill. She had wondered then if her protector hadn't let her best him to gain confidence. He had the confidence himself of one who could provide lessons if she cared to accept them, and from that point forward her confidence in them as a team had reached to the tips of the highest trees.
Now as he fussed with the lock, she prepared herself for the unexpected, her sixth sense in low gear and not sensing alarm. A perfect circumstance for ambush as Alain had hinted at, and her respect for Alain's skills climbed another notch. She wondered for the tenth time where a man of his short years had acquired such useful experience, but was brought out of her reverie by the quiet click as Alain's work paid off.
The door moved ever so slightly and she jumped. But it was just a result of hinges set to open outward, and Alain was slowly moving the door now to prevent a creak or groan. Soon they would be into that hallway, a hallway that didn't feel of danger, a situation incongrous with the circumstances that faced them, and therefore worrisome.