Bloodless Knights (8 page)

“Your
majesty! That is absolutely horrid! I cannot believe the beast got that close
to thee without killing thee. Ye, sir, are one lucky gent!” I reached to my
forehead to appraise my own wound bestowed on me by a dangerous creature of the
female kind.

Patrious
scratched his head, as if subconsciously mimicking me, “Well Tristen, that’s
when something odd, but inspiring, happened. I’ve never seen anything like it
in person but I’ve heard about the existence of the creature; a tiger. The
massive orange and black beast appeared from nowhere and attacked the dragon’s
throat right in time to save my life and allow me to escape. The shock that
overcame me as to how close I was to death nearly immobilized me, but something
in the tiger’s roar shook me to move. I ran as fast as I could into the forest
and somehow managed to find my horse and a few of my men. I am not a man to
admit when I’m afraid; but that’s one time I was terrified like never before.
Gloriously, that tiger gave me a chance to continue on. It’s maddened me,
wondering where the brute came from, but I’m so grateful it did.”

I
was really scratching my head at this point: a dragon and a tiger in the same
area, around the same time? I didn’t know if this was sorcery or just plain
evil. Surely the end of the world was nearing, just as the bible said it would.
I waited for the sky to turn a bloody red.

I
didn’t know how to respond but Patrious, who was leaning against a tall oak
tree, intervened, “Sir, what say ye? Will thou help me and my men? In turn we
will help thee. We can create a vast army and go after that disgusting
over-sized lizardous bird.”

I
thought to the recent words of my mother: “Ye must find the dragon and destroy
it before it destroys everything.” And then I thought to the lovely lady I had
waiting in my home. I worried at how the rope might be tearing at her delicate
skin. I was going to ask her to go with us and fight. Vivian was a fierce woman
who could kick anything’s arse; of that I had no doubt.

“Patrious,
I will help ye. However, there are a few things I must take care of before we
discuss a plan. Ye start rounding up fighters. I will pay everyone a bit now
then some after the beast is destroyed. Go see Marshal Phil at the stables. If
anyone can get supplies and horses together it will be Phil. I’ll meet ye at
the tavern at mid-afternoon.” I bowed at the man who I had been unsure of but
who now owned my complete devotion and respect.

He
returned my bow with one hand against the tree, “Sir Tristen, I thank thee more
than I can say. I will meet thee soon.”

#
# #

Since
I didn’t want anyone seeing me in disguise, I removed the monks robe before I
returned to the village. I walked toward the barn to find Flash. Oddly, he was
tied to a tree by the apothecary. After scanning the area and not seeing my
squire, I loosened the rope on my horse and hopped on his large back.

Although
the sun was rising, the chill on my face and hands indicated the day seemed to
be getting colder. I gave Flash a slight kick to hurry him along. Vivian was
probably livid.

Cold
wind tore at my cheeks as my horse moved forward. It didn’t take long to get
home, but the chill made the ride seem longer.

Upon
entering my spotlessly clean and refreshed house, all that welcomed me was a
bare chair with a still-tied rope piled in a heap. The tricky woman was nowhere
to be seen. Worry welt-up in my chest. Vivian had to be a witch of some kind.
There was just no way she could have escaped my snare. I had been trained for
years in the proper detainment of a prisoner and she hadn’t even loosened one
knot. Curious and unsettling.

“Hello?”
I inquired as I wandered around my modest home. The dishes had been washed and
put away. The bed was made. A large fire burned. Everything was shined and
nothing was out of place; except my house servant.

I
sauntered out to the garden, as that was where she had been upon my prior
arrival to a vacant home. Nothing.

I
checked the barn. Empty.

Then
I heard in the distance something that sounded like chopping. Vivian must have
headed into the small forest behind my home to gather firewood. I reached for
the hilt of my sword to be sure it was still with me. The warmth of the jewels
and stones that adorned the handle offered me comfort in case I should happen
upon any creature that decided to appear from my worst nightmare. Apparently,
from Patrious’ story, almost any frightening creature could come out during
these days.

I
walked for a while in the cold of the day. I could hardly feel my fingers at
that point. The noise I thought sounded like chopping was different now, but it
was definitely getting louder. I approached a ravine that I couldn’t see into
but I heard the sound coming from it. I found a tree and hid behind it. As I
grabbed it to peer around, my hand stuck in tree sap. I groaned silently; I
absolutely hated impossibly-sticky tree sap.

What
I saw in the ravine puzzled me. There, wearing a pair of britches, a linen
undershirt, tall riding boots (that I noticed were mine), and her hair pulled
back with a tie, was the sweatiest woman I had ever seen.

Miss
Vivian was heaving large boulders over her head, pressing them up and down a
few times, then throwing them with all her might at large tree trunks. The
sound they made was similar to an axe splitting wood.

The
woman’s arms displayed cut muscles that made me, as a man, feel awkwardly
ashamed. Vivian had power in her body that I had never seen in a woman. I
couldn’t help but stare at her as she broke rocks. Then right before my eyes,
she ran to a thin tree and climbed it so gracefully and effortlessly. I stood
in awe. She hung from one of the branches then proceeded to raise and lower
herself many times. She dropped and before I could breathe, ran toward me.

I
realized, too late, that I had wandered from the cover of the tree. Vivian was
in such a mental zone and running so speedily that she did not notice me until
she almost flattened me, running up the side of the chasm.

“Oh!”
She stopped, stared at me for a moment - as if waking from a dream - then
became alarmed. “Tristen!  Thou art back so soon!”

I
couldn’t say anything. I was utterly stunned.

Vivian’s
eyes held a bit of fear, laced with a touch of curiosity, as she studied my
face. Her little fingers pressed sweat from her eyebrows to her hairline; she
wiped her hands on the lap of her shirt.

I
took a moment to stutter out, “Who…or should I say…
what
art thou?”

Vivian
pelted out a great laugh that echoed through the small canyon as she avoided
yet another question I asked her, and walked away from me toward my home. “What
say ye, Sir? Thou hast gone quite mad, now, haven’t ye?”

I
grabbed her sweat-soaked arm and turned her abruptly my way. My face was mere
inches from hers, “Do not walk away from me, Miss! I asked thee a question and
ye
will
answer it!”

A
snarl came from the back of her throat as her green eyes seemed to see right to
the back of my head, but she calmly demanded, “Drop my arm. Now Tristen, do it
now!”

A
torrid flame appeared to redden the retinas of her eye. Something that I can
never describe changed in her face. It terrified me so deeply I almost threw
her arm at her. Vivian didn’t move at all, she simply appraised me coyly and hummed
softly. I froze, not knowing where we were going from here. I wanted to run
away from her but the song kept me calm and wanting to be near her, like it
always did. The woman closed her lovely eyes for a short time then grabbed my
rough hand with her soft, refined fingertips and walked. She continued humming.
I followed her in blind silence.

We
walked across the cold grassy field, passing many trees with frozen flower buds
on them. I noticed through all my travels of the day, there didn’t seem to be a
bird in the sky - or any other animals around, for that matter. The ground
seemed to be freezing again and the grass appeared to be covered with a light
mist of dew even though it was mid-day.

Vivian
stopped humming, “In answer to thy question, Tristen, I am a woman who misses
her home. I’m neither a witch nor the devil; I’m merely a lady who likes to
compete in tournaments under disguise as not to alarm others. As for what I was
doing in the woods, I was conditioning. A lady cannot pose as a man if she can’t
imitate him in some way. I came to this great city to claim a prize that I did
not receive because of crazy circumstances,” She paused, then glancing over my
face again, she whispered…“I want to go home now.”

We
came near my property, which should have raised my spirits, but Vivian’s words
tore through my heart like a long-sword and rendered me stricken. I dropped her
hand and stopped walking.

“Well,
that makes perfect sense Vivian. I understand, but would ye allow me to tell
thee what happened today?” I gazed over her face that was now pleasant, like it
should have stayed all the time.

Vivian
nodded then added, “As long as we can go inside. I’m cooling down rather
quickly. The smoke billowing from the chimney reminds me that I need a
ferocious fire to thaw my bones.”

The
beauty reached for my hand again. This time when our fingers touched I felt
myself get a bit warmer. I surrounded her fingers with mine and a sharp
protective feeling filled my body; I decided at this moment that I could not
let Vivian go. Ever.

When
we approached the door, Vivian hurried into the room, helped herself to a large
glass of wine, then wrapped herself in the patch-quilt from my bed. She sat in
a small rocking chair by the fire and gave me a delightful smile as she slowly
rocked. Her eyes viewed the chair and ropes she had left in a heap, causing her
smile to fall.

“Oh,
now I knowest why ye asked me that rude question. Ye wonder how I escaped thy
little knots? Well, Tristen, when tying up a person ye must be sure to go
tight, as they may be all ‘puffed up’. Then when ye leave they ‘shrink’ out of
the loops. If that makes sense; if not, go mull it over for a bit.” She turned
her attention to the fire and seemed to go into her secret place in the tunnels
of her mind.

I
poured myself a cup of tea that was still warm over the fire. I stood next to
Vivian as she continued rocking the chair. “I saw my mum. They say she has the
cholera, but I do not believe it. I’ve seen men with that plague and she didn’t
seem the same. It’s definitely evil, whatever it is.”

Vivian
raised her eyes up to watch me. At least I had her attention so I continued,
“She told me I had to go slay the dragon and no matter what I must stay alive.
It was an unpleasant conversation that I didn’t ever want to have with her, but
at least I got to speak with her once more.”

Vivian
nodded agreement. I told her about Patrious and that she had been correct about
his status as a king. She simply nodded again without even a slight change in
her expression. Then I told her the details of his story and watched her face
alight with interest. She perked up when I told her he wanted to gather an army
to slay the dragon; her face fell when I told her he wanted me at his side. She
closed her eyes, as if blinking would wash away what I had just said.

“I
want thee to go with us, Vivian. Ye are a skilled warrior and I believe ye have
what it takes to help us.” I placed the tea cup on a large stone at the
fireplace. I knelt next to the chair then touched the lady’s cheek but the
sadness that lined the corners of her eyes and lips told me that she would
refuse.

Tears
welled-up in her eyes. I felt my face crinkle and my brow furrow in debate over
what the tears meant. I wiped my hand over my face from my chin to my forehead.
She grabbed my hand from my face with one hand and held it in both hands to her
blanketed chest.

“Tristen,
I have much to take care of at home. I cannot be chasing around a monster. I
need
to go home and if ye care for me at all, ye will let me.” Tiny crystal-like
beads slid from her perfect green eyes.

The
pain on Vivian’s face and the tears spoke volumes. She was doing what I wanted
her to do while suffering deeply. I felt like a most selfish fool for keeping
her away from her home. I knew nothing of this woman, nothing of Mr. Hat and
what she needed to do for him. I didn’t even know where she was from or what
she did there. Oddly, I really did not know a thing about the woman who I
believed I would die for, a woman who I was not going to let go.

“Vivian.
Go home. However, I’m going with thee.” I stood up, wrung my hands together and
added, “I’m not letting thee go alone.”

Vivian
silently jumped from the chair. She threw her arms around me. She leaned back
slightly while still holding me and looked directly at me, “That really is the
nicest thing anyone has offered for me, Tristen, but I can’t let ye do that. Ye
must help Patrious. I can manage on my own.”

I
wasn’t concentrating on Vivian’s words because it felt so nice to hold her in
my arms, but I tried to piece together what she said. I gave her a nice squeeze
then pushed her away from me and dropped my arms, “My mind is made up, Vivian.
I will go help Patrious organize an army and then I’m leaving with thee. I told
him I would meet him about mid-afternoon which is closing in. I will meet ye at
dusk at the pined clearing by the Lists where we staged our fight. Once I get
thee safely home, I will go help Patrious fight his battle.”