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The farther we rode down the path, the more paranoid I got. I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching us. I was almost sure the noise I’d heard earlier hadn’t been because of an animal.
“I have a question,” I said to Randall. “Do you have anything here that isn’t in the Flip Side?”
“Such as?”
“Animals.”
“No,” he said immediately. “Our animals are the same as yours. Why?”
I looked at the trees overhead. “Just...a feeling. A noise. Something doesn’t seem right.”
“A feeling and a noise,” Charlene mocked. “That’s certainly a cause for terror and suspicion.”
I didn’t reply to that, but the nagging feeling remained. “How much longer are we going to be in this forest?”
“Another hour at least,” Randall said, alert. “Something we should be watching for?”
“A noise is not cause to bring out the cavalry,” Charlene said scornfully. “A noise could mean anything.”
I glared icily, finally losing my temper. “Exactly. It could mean anything. It could be nothing, or it could be danger. Either way, I didn’t ask your opinion on the matter.”
Her face tinged red in anger. “Your paranoia is worrying everyone needlessly.”
“My paranoia kept you and everyone else alive during your war with Lendia,” I snapped back. “So why don’t you just shut up and mind your own business?”
“Should we tell Martin?” Liam asked as Charlene huffed.
I shook my head. “Just...watch, in case it’s more than just paranoia.”
We stopped again, a very long hour later. Charlene was repaying my lapse in control with biting remarks and barely veiled insults. I didn’t respond to any of them, but the moment everyone halted, I was off my horse and into the brush of the woods.
Not wanting to dull my knife any more than it already was, I settled for climbing a tree. When I was halfway up, I stopped and sat on the branch and stared at the tangle of trees while trying to calm myself enough to keep control over my temper for another few hours. My fingers rested on the rough bark, the scent of a fresh rain in the air.
Behind me, I heard a rustle of leaves, felt my knife move, and reacted.
*
MARTIN HEARD A SHOUT, a thump, and grabbed his sword out of its sheath. “Guards!” he roared. “Weapons ready! Get on the outside of the caravan, now! Your Highnesses, take cover!”
There was a rustle of branches and leaves and everyone tensed.
“Don’t shoot me,” came Joan’s biting voice. She appeared, looking angry, dragging someone beside her, holding one arm twisted so he walked awkwardly, unable to free himself. She shoved the person forward. “Meet my paranoia. He says he’s a wizard.”
“You don’t think I am?” the man asked, turning to face Joan as he gained his balance. He was over six foot tall, light brown hair, dressed in clothes that would help him blend in, and had muscle definition on his arms and legs. He was recently shaven, his clothes were in good shape, and his shoes were new, which meant that he was living somewhere and he wasn’t a beggar. Martin studied harder. This man looked familiar.
Joan crossed her arms. “Since I haven’t been turned into dust, I’m assuming that either you aren’t a wizard or you want something. Who are you and why have you been spying on us?”
The man started to step forward and Joan pulled her knife out. “Not another step,” she said flatly.
He held up his hands. “Whoa there, you’re a little touchy. I would like to make a correction if I may. I didn’t say I was a wizard; I said I was called the Wizard.”
“The Wizard? As in Quinn Haskall?” Now Martin recognized him. “The warrior of Linson?” He’d heard, but since Quinn had become the Champion of Linson four years ago, during the war, Martin hadn’t had the chance of meeting him.
He bowed. “And you would be Captain Martin Gonhiad of Valeria.” He bowed again to the king and queen. “Your Highnesses.”
King Alan spoke. “And why, may we ask, do we have the pleasure of meeting you so soon?”
Quinn bowed again. “I was sent to escort you from the edge of the forest, but thought I would see if I could learn about you and your entourage by spying beforehand. However, I was discovered.” He turned and gave a bow to Joan, who had sheathed her knife, but still looked suspicious. “Miss Joan Ilion, it is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Is it?”
He smiled. “It is. I was simply unaware that you were aware of my presence.” He turned back to the king and queen. “I will, of course, join your company now if you wish, but I would rather go ahead to meet you.”
“Will you be spying this time?” Joan asked dryly.
Quinn winked. “No, my lady, not this time. I’d hate to have you find me again.”
“We will meet you at the end of the forest,” King Alan said in dismissal.
Quinn bowed yet again, winked at Joan again, and disappeared into the trees within seconds. Martin cast his eyes back on Joan and saw she was wearing a faint smile, watching in the direction Quinn had left. Her smile turned into a grimace as Charlene’s voice cut through the noise, demanding to know if it was safe.
“It’s safe,” Liam said, leading Joan’s horse over to her. “The Wizard would have made sure of that.” He grinned at Joan. “You caught the Wizard.”
“He had hold of my knife,” Joan responded, swinging herself on her horse. “I didn’t appreciate it.”
“We guessed that.” Liam sounded amused.
Joan smiled, and Martin noticed with a pang that she hadn’t looked at him once. He wanted to ask if she was hurt at all, but instead he gave the order to move out and wished again that things were as they’d been last year.
*
CHARLENE WAS QUIETER now, glancing nervously around and flinching at every sound. I was much relieved, as it meant that she wasn’t making more catty remarks. Cathy quickly became fed up with Charlene’s gasps of fear and moved next to me. Mari, however, had to suffer the entire hour and a half until we reached the edge of the forest, and by then it was clear she was bored with Charlene. I caught her rolling her eyes more than once when I looked back to check on her.
However, once we saw the end of the woods, Mari’s annoyance was forgotten, and my own, at the company of soldiers there. There were at least a hundred of them. In the front, sitting on two horses, were two men. One I recognized as Quinn. Quinn had changed already and was dressed in a gray uniform with green trim, sitting next to a man whose outfit was similar to Martin’s. Since no one had said that Quinn was the Captain of Linson’s army, I assumed that the man was the captain.
Both Quinn and the captain dismounted as we all stopped. They bowed as King Alan and Queen Florinda approached. I stayed in place as Martin went forward with the king and queen.
“King Alan, Queen Florinda, my Captain, Samson Venu, is here to escort you to the castle where King Olean and Queen Brenda are waiting, if you would permit it,” Quinn said graciously.
“We are happy to accept this courtesy of friendship and hospitality by Linson,” Queen Florinda said graciously in return. “We thank you.”
Both the men bowed again and signaled. The soldiers with them fanned out and lined up on either side of us and we started moving again. Before we’d gotten far, Quinn came riding back and moved beside Randall. “I don’t suppose I could speak with your friend there?” he asked cheerily.
Randall glanced at me for my nod, then moved ahead so Quinn could fall in next to me.
“Seeing that you haven’t pulled your knife on me yet, does that mean you’re no longer suspicious of me?” Quinn asked, grey eyes twinkling under brown hair and dark eyebrows.
I smiled. “Suspicious, no, but if you grab my knife again, I won’t appreciate it.”
He chuckled. “I’ve heard of your skill with a knife. I only wanted to make sure you weren’t going to stab me when I appeared to talk to you.” He rubbed his back ruefully. “It’s been a while since I took a fall like that.”
I laughed. “Would it help if I said I was sort of sorry now?”
He considered it. “Only if it’s backed up by a solemn vow to never tell anyone. It would hurt my reputation if everyone knew you’d gotten the best of the Wizard in his territory.”
“Why are you called the Wizard?”
Liam, on the other side of me, grinned. “He appears out of nowhere and disappears just as easily. You don’t hear him and you don’t see him until he wants you to.”
“I see. You are rather sneaky.”
“Clearly not enough if you knew I was there.” Quinn pulled a stone out of his pocket. “I think you might want this back.” It was my whetting stone.
“How long were you watching us?” I asked, not taking the stone.
“Since you entered the forest.” He still offered it to me. “Things change, but they can change again, Miss Ilion,” he said softly. “And perhaps your prince can change again. There’s no telling if the prince escaped the spell before or after the evil witch was eaten by the dragon.”
I sent a sour glance to Cathy, but I took the stone, giving Quinn a half-smile. “So you heard it all, then.”
“Only what my lady wishes me to have heard,” he said cheerfully.
One of the guards was looking around in vain for something. “What’s he doing?” I asked Quinn as I tucked the stone back in my pocket.
“Let’s ask. Guardsman Bean, what are you looking for?”
“The Champion of Valeria, sir,” the guardsman said. “I cannot find her.”
“Champion?” I questioned.
“Each country has a champion,” Remy explained. “Someone to be a symbol of the country and to defend Valeria when Their Highnesses call.”
“And that’s what you are?” I asked Quinn.
He nodded once in modesty.
“I thought I heard warrior.”
“You did. Warrior can be used, but it’s rather old-fashioned.”
I choked back the laugh. “And the nicknames? Does that go with being a Champion?”
“Yes. All Champions have nicknames. It’s part of the official title.”
“So, Simon Bearran would be the Champion for Lendia.”
Quinn nodded once again. “And the Captain of the Guard for Lendia. Sometimes it happens that way, but most often there are two different people for those positions.”
“And the Champion for Valeria would be...”
“The girl from the Flip Side,” Guardsman Bean answered immediately, still looking around. “She wears a black outfit to fight in and always carries a green knife by her side.”
I decided to play along. “And what is her nickname?”
“There isn’t one,” the man admitted. “Not an official one, anyway. I’ve heard the Butterfly, the Green Huntress, the Tracker, the Fearless, although the last one isn’t really a good nickname since it doesn’t represent anything.”
“And I assume it has to represent something.”
“Yes.” He looked eager. “Do you know what she looks like? I know she’s here, but she’s not wearing her fighting outfit.”
“Of course not,” I said politely. “She is here with a peace delegation.”
“Yes, but you know her, right? You know what she looks like?” He looked around again and spotted Mari and Cathy. “That’s her sister! So, she...”
He saw the resemblance and looked back at me, startled, as Martin called, “Guardswoman Ilion! Bring Princess Mari and Catherine Ilion forward!”
Quinn laughed and I smiled. “Mari, Cathy, with me.” To the man, as I passed him, I said, “A pleasure meeting you, Guardsman Bean.”
There were murmurs as I moved to the front of the group, Mari and Cathy with me, Charlene staying behind to our relief. Many of the Linson guards stared as we passed, recognizing me as the girl who had stopped the war between the Lendia and Valeria. Quinn followed behind, settling next to me again as I moved into position next to Martin, Cathy and Mari between us. We were directly behind the king and queen and Captain Venu. At a motion from his captain, Quinn sighed. “I will speak to you later, my lady. I must attend my duties now.” Then he winked again and moved forward.
He spoke briefly to Captain Venu, then took Captain Venu’s position while the captain dropped back, next to me. “You’re Joan Ilion then,” the captain said, offering his hand. “It’s an honor to meet you.”
“Thank you, Captain,” I said, shaking his hand firmly. He was about my height, I judged, with black hair and a moustache that was leaning towards grey, making him in his fifties or late forties. His hands were striped with calluses and he had a dark tan on his face and arms. There were a couple lighter streaks from a few scars that I figured he’d gotten working his way up to Captain.
“Please, call me Samson,” he said. “And this is your sister?”
“Yes, this is my sister, Catherine Ilion.”
“I like to be called Cathy,” my sister said, waving since she was too far away for a handshake.
He smiled. “A pleasure meeting you, Cathy. And welcome back, Your Highness,” he said to Mari. Then he turned his attention back to me. “Quinn tells me that you discovered he was following you.”
“Something like that,” I said. “Out of curiosity, was that under your orders, or was that his idea?”
“His idea. It’s why I’m the Captain and he’s not. He’s too wild. It takes all I have to keep him in line.”
Quinn made a face before facing front again. I giggled. “I think we’re a lot alike, actually.”
“I heard about that. When you went to rescue Princess Mari, correct?”
“Yes. That would be one example.”
“But now you’re a hero, to many people.” He gestured to the green knife. “And a legend among others.”
I shook my head slowly. “Not for that. I’m a legend because I’m somehow different from everyone else. I’m just more interesting because I can fight and I somehow ended up surviving.”
“I have not seen you fight, but I would like to, sometime.”
“It’s something to see,” Martin said, finally speaking.
I was too taken back to answer right away, and Quinn spoke up. “It’s something to feel, too.”
“You were trying to steal my knife.”
“I was trying to not get stabbed by your knife. You shoved me out of the tree.”
“You fell! You couldn’t stay steady on a tree limb, not my fault.”
“It is if you punched me in the side!”
“Well, that might have had something to do with it too.” I flashed him a smile, noticing that Martin stayed silent even as he kept his eyes on me. His eyes said enough though; enough to show the jealousy. I looked away and tried not to feel guilty for causing that. But despite how hard I fought, his pain cut me too.