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THE WIZARD MENTIONED Alora because she had many good qualities. “She can concentrate,” he told the king, “which is important for a wizard. She can follow directions and is creative. She came up with her own moves without anyone’s guidance. She also has a decent memory and is a quick study. Her fear of heights is lacking, but that can be overcome with practice. And Lucah... he’s also a good choice.”
“He would make a great apprentice except that we need him for... for that other thing,” the king said, and then sipped some wine from his goblet. “What about Aednat?”
The wizard shook his head. “She’s too concerned with being in charge and is separating everyone instead of bringing them together. Check.”
“Nice move. I didn’t even see that one. And Ryanne?”
“She seems to be more concerned with boys than being a leader.”
“They all do at that age. Don’t you remember what it was like when we were young?” The king moved his castle to block the assault from the wizard’s queen.
“Of course I do, but she cares so much that she even turned her back on her friendship with Alora.”
“Really?”
“Aye, m’lord.” The wizard moved his own castle to protect his queen.
“Well, there you have it. I believe you will make the right decision. They will, after all, be your apprentice.”
“Who would you choose, m’lord?” the wizard asked, taking a sip from his own goblet.
“I would choose Alora or Silas,” he said, and then moved his dragon closer to the wizard’s queen.
“I thought you would, and I see what you’re trying to do, m’lord. It won’t work.”
“So you’ve decided then?”
“I will think on it some more. I will decide by morning.” The wizard slid his castle across the board capturing the king’s castle. “Check mate in one.”
King Remi lay down his king, surrendering to the wizard. “I’ll defeat you one of these days, old friend.”
“I’ll be waiting, m’lord.”
“Until tomorrow then?” King Remi stood and left the wizard to his wine and his decision making.
“Good night my king.” The wizard knew it would be a long night while he thought long and hard about who would be his new apprentice. He hoped he chose right... this time.
— — —
I WAITED ALONE IN THE dim embrace of the quarter moon and the candlelight from the lanterns hanging on the walls. The last few weeks flew by in a blur of soaring and weapons practice. The magic we were taught was strictly for battle and while I was delighted in the fact that I could summon my armor and weapons at will, I was disappointed that we wouldn’t be learning more.
But when the wizard announced that he would be choosing a new apprentice from the ranks of the knightlys, a new fire was lit under me. I had to become his apprentice. I had met my goal of becoming a knight, at least I felt I had, and now wanted to be able to perform greater feats of magic.
Currently, I guessed Silas, me and Lucah were the top contenders for the apprenticeship. They’re faster and stronger than me in some respects. I’ll have to outsmart them using lessons I’ve learned from Tessa and by observing the others. I have to beat them, I just have to.
The leaves on the trees have started to turn colors and the evenings have grown much cooler. The rains have started and the water falls for days before the clouds part and I can see the sun again. Today was one of those days. I enjoyed watching the sky turn green as the sun made it’s journey below the horizon.
I found myself wondering what winter would be like here. Something told me I wouldn’t have to worry about freezing to death. I waited for him as usual and was glad I wore the cloak we were given. I pulled the hood on and sat with my sleep shirt over one knee and wrapped the cloak around me.
My other leg rested sideways on the floor, my foot sliding underneath the other as if the top leg were a bridge. The fingers of my hand were interlaced in between my toes as if it was his hand I was holding.
I rested my chin on my knee and pulled it closer. Another falcon cried overhead, right on schedule, and then I heard light footsteps headed in my direction. When they stopped in front of me, I lifted my head. I could make out his violet eyes even in the dimness of night.
Silas offered his hands and I gripped his wrists. He helped me to my feet and a gust of wind blew my cloak out behind me. He took that opportunity to place his hands around my waist, inside my cloak, and pulled me closer. I threw my arms around his neck and whispered, “I thought you weren’t coming.”
“I will always show up. A knight’s word is as solid as stone,” he assured me.
He pulled me tighter against him and I could feel his solid chest and forgot who I was and where we were. I stared into his eyes, lost in time, and his lips gently brushed against mine.
I pulled away when I heard something push through the sky. It created a gust of wind so powerful that it howled. “What was that?” I mumbled, trying to remember where I was.
Silas was looking up at the sky, still holding me tightly. “I don’t know.”
I scanned the sky trying to see what had caused the sound. A shadow passed over the moon. I thought it was the daily falcon, but it had already started its journey west. I noticed the shadow coming closer and closer to the castle. Its outline grew clearer and its shadow grew larger, when a stream of fire exploded from the darkness.
“Dragon!” Silas shouted.
“That’s not possible. No one’s seen one in ages.”
“Armor!” He pointed to my turret and then ran off towards his. I bolted up the winding stairs and burst through the door.
“What are you doing?” Tessa asked, groggy from her slumber.
“Dragon!” I shouted. I grabbed my second skin and ripped off my sleep shirt, tossing it to the floor. I slid into my skin as fast as I could, but I lost my footing and fell to the floor in my haste. I slid my feet through the holes — while still on the floor — and finished getting it on. “Apta magnitudine!” I said while reaching for my boots. I pulled my sword out of its sheath and took off towards the stairs.
When I reached the balcony, I made a split second decision not to go down the other steps, but to soar off the balcony instead. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. I ran right into the balcony. The railing thrust into my stomach and the impact caused me to release my sword—it fell to the courtyard below. No magic.
The potion had ran out for the day. I gasped, trying to find the air that had been knocked out of me. After taking a moment to catch my breath, I bolted for the stairs down to the main level. In the courtyard, I scooped up my sword and sprinted out the gate and into the castle city.
The two knights that normally guarded the gate were gone and the merchants square was ablaze. Flames lit up the night and acted as a substitute for the sun.
There was no one around. The dragon wasn’t in site either. I looked up at the sky trying to get a glimpse of his shadowy silhouette and tightly squeezed the handle of my sword.
Silas appeared wearing his second skin. “Where is he?”
“I don’t see him. Maybe he’s gone.”
Tessa, Aednat, Ryanne and Davina all appeared. “Where’s the dragon?” Aednat asked.
“Keep an eye out,” I told her.
“Who put you in charge?” Aednat sneered.
“No one.”
“Then don’t tell me what to do.”
I ignored her.
Led by Thomas, the rest of the knightlys appeared. “We don’t have any armor or weapons besides our swords. How can we fight a dragon?” he asked.
“Teamwork,” I said.
With a loud boom, the dragon touched down in the center of the square. His eyes looked like glowing balls of fire. His scales were red and when he lifted his wings, he inhaled deeply before exhaling a stream of fire in our direction.
“Take cover!” I shouted.
When I peeked over the empty boxes I had ducked behind, the dragon was breathing fire in the direction of the other knightlys. They were all running towards the main gate to get away from him.
Where was the king’s guard? And where were the other knights?
“Pssst... Pssst...” I looked left and Silas was crawling along the floor towards me. “I saw a shadow over there?” He pointed towards where the baker normally set up his cart. Something was moving. I squinted and tried to see what it was. The fire flickered and it was a child. She couldn’t have been any older than seven seasons.
“We’ve got to help her,” I said over the crackle of the flames.
“What’s the plan?” Silas asked, pointing his sword in the direction of the dragon who was nearly on top of the girl.
I don’t know what I was thinking, but I bolted straight for her. When I did, the dragon blew a trail of fire where I had been hiding, causing Silas to make a run for it in the opposite direction. I reached the girl and when we were going to make a run for it, she screamed.
The dragon stomped his foot and the ground shook. I turned to face him. I shoved the girl behind me, shielding her with my body, and held up my sword. It shook as I gripped it as tight as I could. The dragon inhaled deeply and when he exhaled I shut my eyes. I felt blazing heat surround me and it felt like I was the main dish at the evening meal.
When I mustered up the courage to open my eyes, I saw why me and the girl weren’t incinerated. The wizard stood in front of us with an outstretched hand. The flame was split in two, flowing around either side of us. When the dragon finally paused to take a breath, the wizard lowered his hand and then, I could’ve sworn, jerked his head to the side twice.
The dragon spread his wings and lifted off; creating swirling, gusts of wind that extinguished any flames that still burned.
“Alora,” I heard someone call in the distance as I watched the dragon fly away. Was that how my mother felt on her last day? Like she was being cooked? “Alora.” There it was again. Someone was calling me. “Alora!” The ground shook violently.
I finally realized it wasn’t someone far away calling me. It was the wizard, right in front of me. He shook me until I snapped out of it and straightened up. “Aye, Wizard.”
“Were you afraid?” he asked.
What a stupid question. Of course I was afraid. It was a dragon. I answered him. “Aye.”
He held my shoulders square and leaned in closer. “And yet you stayed to protect that child?”
“I couldn’t leave her.” I turned around to check on her, but she was gone.
The other knightlys began to come out of hiding and joined us.
“Well knightlys. Good to see all of you still alive. I need three volunteers to clean up this mess.”
No one stepped forward.
“You, you and you.” The wizard pointed to Aednat, Ryanne, and... Lucah. They moaned in agony at the thought of cleaning up the dragon’s mess. “Everyone else, back to bed.” The wizard left them to work and headed in the direction of the palace. Silas took hold of my hand and led me back to the guard’s wing. I doubted I was going to fall asleep after that adrenaline rush.
The next morning, we stood single file in front of the courtyard stage. The wizard paced back and forth. “I have narrowed down the choices for my apprentice to two knightlys.”
“Who do you think it will be?” Ryanne whispered.
“Probably Alora,” Aednat answered, “she’s the wizard’s pet.”
“The first is Alora.”
“Told you.”
“The second will be Lucah—”
“Wizard!” The king called from the balcony. The princess waved to me and I nodded.
“Ah, yes. The king has requested a demonstration. I almost forgot. Alora and Lucah will show that they are ready to become my apprentice and represent the king and his guard at my side. Form a circle. Ser Hector... Alora... to the center.”
It seemed like I was being chosen to go first a lot lately. I hadn’t even noticed Ser Hector was around, but like the wizard himself would usually do, he appeared out of nowhere.
“On guard!” Ser Hector yelled, a split second after I returned his salute.
Our swords clashed and he forced me to the ground. I rushed to my feet and sliced at his torso. He jerked his body back and my sword missed him entirely. He took the opportunity to try and sever my arm, but I was too quick. I summoned a second sword and blocked his attack. Dispersing the sword as quickly as it had appeared, I slid my fingers into his chest armor plate, and pulling towards me, punched him in the face with my sword hand.
When I released him, he turned his head to the side and spit—staining the dirt with his blood. “Well done,” he said, and then circled around me with his sword aimed in my direction. I could see him targeting me, trying to gain the advantage. He paused, squatted slightly and then lunged forward. I summoned and then threw my shield at his legs, causing him to trip. I stepped to the side and he landed on his face. A knight wielding two swords is much more dangerous than one, he told me once. I’m sure he was regretting those words now.
I summoned my second sword and swung it. Ser Hector deflected it from the ground. I thrust my other sword into that small space between his helmet and his chest plate. I didn’t want to hurt him, but even though I pressed lightly, I could see a small stream of red dripping to the ground.
“I yield!” he shouted.
I removed my sword from his neck, dispersed the other one and held my hand out. He gripped my wrist and regained his footing.
“Well done, Alora.” He dusted himself off. “But it’s never a good idea to get rid of your shield. What if another knight attacks from behind?”
“Maybe I would’ve had time to pick it up after running my sword through his neck.”
“Perhaps, but hold onto it next time just in case.”
“Aye, Ser Hector.” We saluted each other.
“Lucah, you’re next,” Ser Hector said, waving his sword in a come hither motion.
I took my place in the circle and watched as Lucah prepared to take him on. I hadn’t said a word to him since the day he left me waiting on the balcony, but I’ve watched him practice—he wasn’t any better than me. I would say we had equal abilities. I practiced and practiced to make sure of it, but somewhere in the back of my mind a voice whispered... and it asked... What if he is better than you?
Lucah started off on the defensive, merely blocking and avoiding Ser Hector’s assault, but with every attack Lucah became aggressive and much more enraged. He didn’t hold back, and when he summoned his battle axe, wielded it like he was bent on destroying Ser Hector. Their swift movements kicked up the dirt and a dust cloud formed around them. Lucah swung low and Ser Hector jumped to the side just before the battle axe made contact with his leg, diminishing some of the impact. It was a good thing too, otherwise he would’ve lost that leg.
Lucah didn’t stop. With Ser Hector on the ground, Lucah brought the axe down onto Ser Hector’s chest with such force I thought he was going to split his armor in half. He swung it overhead once more and Ser Hector cried out, “I yield,” but Lucah brought it down again. The wizard yelled for him to stop, but it appeared he was in a daze or chose not to listen.
Ser Hector rolled over at the last second and Lucah missed. He prepared to swing the axe again. “Father!” the princess cried. The king commanded Lucah to halt. He didn’t. When the axe came down again, just before it was to make contact, it vanished, along with Lucah’s armor. His chest heaved as he studied his empty hands.
The wizard jumped off the balcony and landed in the courtyard, his eyes still glowing with a fury I hadn’t seen before. “Alora, tend to Ser Hector. Ser Erwin escort Lucah to the king’s court. Wait for me there.” Ser Erwin nodded and before Lucah left, he turned and met my gaze. He held it for a moment and then looked at the ground in front of him.
I rushed over to Ser Hector. “Ser Hector are you hurt?”
He sat up. “My pride more so than my leg.”
With his arm around my shoulder, I acted as a support and helped him onto his feet. He thanked me and balanced on his good leg.
The wizard came to his aid and placed Ser Hector’s arm around his shoulders. “Ser Hector, are you ready?”
“Aye, Wizard.”
The wizard turned and scanned us. “Knightlys... free time.”
“Aye, Wizard,” I and the others said.
“Lucah must’ve lost his mind. What was he thinking going after Ser Hector like that,” Ryanne said to Aednat.
“I wonder what’s going to happen to him,” Tessa said, standing at my side.
“I have no idea,” I lied. I knew what was going to happen to him. The same thing that happened to any knight that didn’t follow orders. I heard what Ser Hector said to the wizard as they walked out of the guard’s wing and into the city. “Maybe we shouldn’t have had them sharpen their weapons just yet.”
And the wizard responded with one word. “Aye.”
After a bit of practice and eating my midday meal, the rain had let up so Silas thought it would be a good idea if he escorted me around the castle city. Each time we passed another merchant in the square, they offered us some of their wares. First it was the fruit merchant, offering us her apples and berries. Next, it was the baker. “Fresh bread,” he offered. I shook my head and smiled.
Silas led us past the square and back behind the baker’s home. Since he was in the square, his home stood empty as usual. Behind his house was a quiet area where Silas liked to take me so that we could be alone.
We dispersed our armor, removed our sword harnesses and he laid his cloak on the damp ground so that we could sit with our backs up against the city walls. Taking my hand in his he asked, “Are you sad about Lucah?”
“Nay,” I said, avoiding his gaze.
He turned my chin so that I was facing him. “It’s fine, I know he’s your friend.”
“I was his, but he didn’t seem to want to be mine.”
“His loss.” Silas touched his lips to mine.
I pulled away when I heard her voice. “Have you heard?” Tessa asked, pausing to catch her breath.
Why did I ever tell her about this spot? “Heard what?”
“The king has dismissed Lucah. He’s being sent home in a carriage right now.”
I snatched my sword and sprinted at top speed towards the city gate. “Out of the way!” I yelled speeding past the city folk. I stopped at the stables to catch my breath and looked around. He wasn’t there. I scrambled past the castle’s main gate and onto the bridge landing.
“Lucah!” I called out to him. He was sitting in an open air carriage, the driver making his way onto his seat. Lucah turned, met my eyes and then turned away. The carriage lurched forward and disappeared past the bridge gate. He was gone.
Silas and Tessa arrived on the landing. Silas bent over and placed his hands on his knees, inhaling rapidly. Tessa didn’t stop and continued running towards the bridge gate. My sadness turned to bitterness and then turned to rage. Why had he been so stupid? Why did he attack Ser Hector so unmercifully? And why did he leave without saying goodbye?