MagiStream

Ugh, to/too, my bane. I try to keep them straight, but I still mix them up. ><

Yes, Nuada is many things, but psychic is not one of them sadly.

Chapter 4

“Get the hell off of her!” yelled a familiar voice that pulled her back to reality.
The man stopped and looked up, right at Nuada, who had somehow managed to get in without being heard. “This isn’t any of your business, she’s staying her so she has to pay the fees,” he said.
There was a thud as he fell backwards, Nuada having kicked him square in the jaw with one foot. “It is most definitely my business, I’m charged with protecting this girl, that means keeping creeps like you from hurting her,” he said, putting himself between Sierra and the innkeeper. “I saw how you were eyeing her earlier, I thought you might try something,” he said. “But this? I’m willing to bet you do this to all of the females that come in, right? How many other women have you done this too?” he asked, grabbing him by the collar and pinning him to the wall with one hand. “How many have you taken advantage of in this place?”
Sierra looked towards the door, the loud commotion had awoken the other residents of the inn and they’d all come to investigate to see what was going on. Sierra quickly picked herself up and fixed her clothes, pulling her leggings back up, though he hadn’t gotten them very far down.
“I should drag you down to the authorities right now, let them deal with you. I’m sure they’d be interested to hear about what you tried to do to my friend,” said Nuada, narrowing his eyes. His voice was cold and harsh, something it almost never was, unless he was very angry.
“There’ll be no need,” said a voice from the crowd of onlookers. “The authorities are already here.” A tall man strode out from the crowd. He had black hair, peppered with grey hairs.
“Well, then you’ll take this man off my hands?” asked Nuada, dragging the innkeeper over to the man. “If you really are the authorities that is, how would you have gotten here so fast?”
“I’m in town on business and this happened to be the only available inn.” he said. “If you need any proof that I’m the authorities,” he pulled aside his cloak to reveal his sword, the symbol of a knight engraved along the sheath and belt. “I maybe retired, but I can still do the duties of a knight.”
Nuada tossed the man to his feet, “Good, then lock him up somewhere before I kill him.” He looked over at Sierra, “Are you alright?”
She nodded timidly, “Yes, I’m alright, I think,” she replied, rubbing her wrists, which had reddened from where he’d grabbed her.
“However, I will need you two to come down with me to give your statements,” added the knight.
“But, we paid for these rooms,” said Nuada, “We can’t just, vacate them.”
“Don’t worry, I will make sure you are reimbursed the cost of the rooms and have a better place to sleep tonight,” he said as he finished trying the man’s wrists together. “However, the young lady should get, more appropriately dressed before we head down. Parading in her flannels is not appropriate.”
Sierra blushed and quickly hid behind Nuada, having almost forgotten just how she was dressed. The knight set about disbursing the crowd so she could get changed.

Nuada waited patiently outside the door, arms folded over his chest.
“Are you sure you’re ok?” he asked. “You seem pretty shook up to me.”
“Nuada, he just tried to, force himself on me, of course I’m shook up. I panicked and couldn’t do anything, I couldn’t even defend myself. I felt so, helpless.”
“That is the point of what he was trying to do m’lady, make you feel helpless and weak. But you mustn’t let him or he’s won.”
She sighed, “I know, but, it’s hard, I mean, considering…” she trailed off, remembering something.
He knew what she was remembering, it was the reason she’d panicked so much. Many years earlier she’d been attack by a man with similar intentions, only Nuada hadn’t been able to get to her fast enough and when he did reach her, the damage had been done. She became highly distrustful of men, and wouldn’t let them touch her, at all. The only one she allowed that privilege was Nuada, who she’d known since she was very small and whom she trusted with her life.
“Alright, I’m ready to go,” she said as she emerged from the room, immediately taking hold of Nuada’s arm.
It was an odd thing for him to see, the normally unshakable and headstrong Sierra terrified and clinging to him. He could feel her fear as they walked, even though she wasn’t trembling any more. It seemed hard to believe that this was the same woman who took out people for a living.
“Hey don’t worry, they’ve got him, he can’t hurt you now,” said Nuada, patting her on the head, “Besides, you have me to protect you don’t forget.”
She gave a weak smiled, “I haven’t. I just thought, I’d be able to take care of myself if something happened, and then, I froze and couldn’t do anything. I was, scared.” She clenched her eyes shut and shivered as they walked, but not from the cold.
“Hey, fear happens to all of us, even the most unshakable of us get afraid at some point in our lives. I have,” he said.
She looked up at him, surprised; he didn’t seem to be afraid of anything. “You, scared? What of?” she asked.
“Anything terrible happening to you, being unable to protect you, possibly losing you among other things,” he said.

The nighttime air outside was chilly and Sierra shivered once they stepped outside, clinging even tighter to Nuada for warmth.

The streets were empty and silent, their footsteps almost deafening as they echoed down the roads, their feet crunching on the gravel below. They made their way through the city, the knight and the innkeeper up front and Nuada and Sierra behind them, though at a distance as Sierra wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

“Alright, we’re here,” said the aging knight as they approached a large building. It was all lit up, odd considering the time of night and the fact that nothing else on the street was. He opened the door and dragged the lecherous innkeeper inside and waited for Nuada and Sierra to join him inside.
“Eric, what are you doing here this time of night?” asked a man, sitting at a table, a feather quill in his ink stained hand and rolls of parchment on the desk he was sitting at.
“Well, crime never sleeps you know.” he said. “We had an incident down at the inn owned by this man,” he indicated to the tied up man.
He raised an eyebrow, “What sort of, incident?”
“He tried to force himself on my Sierra.” said Nuada, holding her close with one arm. “He snuck into her room during the night. He’s lucky I didn’t break his face.”
He looked at Sierra, “Is this true?”
“Yes,” she said. “I locked my door before I went to bed, then I woke up with him over me,” she trembled as spoke and she tried to keep strong.
“That’s not true, besides, its my inn, it belongs to me, so I can sleep with any woman sleeping under my roof.” he said.
“You sick pig.” hissed Sierra.
“What do you know of the situation Eric?” he asked the knight, ignoring the man’s comment.
“I like many of the others staying there, heard a commotion. When I went to investigate I saw him,” he gestured to Nuada, “Holding this man to keep him away from the young lady, who was clearly terrified.”
“She was asking for it, walking and acting the way she did,” said the innkeeper with a smirk.
Sierra slid free of Nuada’s grasp and kicked him in the nether regions before Nuada managed to restrain her in his arms. “He was asking for it.” she retorted, his voice emotionless and flat.
The men in the room collectively grimaced when she kicked him, though none of them tried to help him or stop her.
“Put him in a holding cell for the night, we’ll deal with him at sun up. For now, find them somewhere to sleep,” he said, waving them off with one hand.
Eric nodded, “You two wait here while I deal with him. And please reimburse them the cost of their rooms.” he said, leading the man off down a hallway.

“Sierra, you kneed to relax, they could have charged you with assault or something,” said Nuada, releasing her only once she’d calmed down a bit.
“Hardly, I’m the victim. Besides, not one of them lifted a finger to stop me or help him,” she said.
"Your money Miss." said the knight, having left the desk to give them the money to cover the cost of what they'd spent. He returned to his desk, muttering something about paperwork.

The knight named Eric returned, now alone. “I know a place you may be able to stay for the night, a friend of mine lives near by, I’m sure they’d be happy to accommodate you two,” he said.
“As long as I don’t have to shell out any more money, I’m happy just about where ever we stay,” said Nuada.
“Good, come with me then,” he said, turning and heading out the door, his red and gold cloak sweeping behind him.

Nuada and Sierra quietly followed, slightly nervous in the presence of a knight, even if he was retired and not a threat to them. Their nervousness was only slight, allowing them to easily mask it so he wouldn’t notice.

“If your friend can accommodate us, how come you didn’t stay with them?” asked Sierra.
“I made the mistake of thinking I’d be able to find an inn in the evening with spare rooms and declined their offer,” he replied with a chuckle.

They began to move into a more, upscale, part of the city. It was cleaner here, but only marginally. The houses looked nicer and were much larger as well. The streets had been cobbled rather than been left as loose gravel.

“Your friend lives here?” gaped Sierra, “Wow, they must be really important.”
He simply chuckled, “People say that a lot about him. But don’t worry, just because he lives here doesn’t automatically make him, snobby,” he said. “He and his family are very kind, they wouldn’t mind guests for the night.”

He came to a halt out front of a large, two-story house at the end of the street and knocked on the front door. There was silence at first, followed by a grumbling sound as someone made their way to the door.
“Sorry to bother you at this hour of the night Miss Emma.” Eric apologized quickly as the door opened.
“It had better be good,” said the woman who answered it.
“It is. We, had an incident and these good people need a place to stay for the night.” He gestured to Nuada and Sierra.
“And so you thought of us, how thoughtful.” There was a slight irritation in her voice, but that could have been simply because she’d been disturbed from sleeping rather than because she hated them. “Fine, they can stay, we have a spare room on the main floor they can use.”
Eric looked about ready to say something about them needing separate rooms, but Nuada stopped him and shook his head, “I can sleep on the floor, it’s not the first time that’ll have happened,” he said and Sierra laughed slightly as it was true.
“I will come get you in the morning, till then, sleep well.” said Eric before heading down the road again.
"It's alright, you don't need to come for us." said Sierra as he turned to leave, "We were going to be leaving town soon anyways."

The woman ushered them inside before closing the door. “We don’t usually take visitors at this time of night, but if it’s an emergency, you can stay.” Candle in one hand, she lead them through the house to a small room. It looked like a bedroom, it had a bed, a closest, a dresser, and dressing table and chairs. A small nightstand sat beside the bed.
“Ya can stay here for tonight.” she said. “Now I am going back to bed.” she said, leaving them in the room.

“Like I said before, I’ll sleep on the floor,” said Nuada when Sierra looked at him.
Sierra laughed softly and gave him a hug, “Aww, thanks.” she said.
He smiled, though it couldn’t be seen, “You’re welcome. I’m just glad you’re safe and that I got to you in time.”
“How, did you even know I was in trouble?” she asked. “I never screamed.”
“No, but I could hear thumping and voices from your room, so I knew something had to be up. I’d have been there a bit sooner, but the door was sticking, whether he locked it from the inside or if it was just because it was old I don’t know.” he said, sitting down with his back against the wall.
“Well, you still got to me,” she said. “My hero.” With that, she crawled under the covers of the bed and curled up. “And, ‘my Sierra’, really?” she asked, “What was that about?”
He simply laughed, “Go to sleep Sierra.”

Despite being under the safe roof as a bunch of complete strangers, Sierra felt absolutely safe knowing that Nuada was right there to protect her should the need arise. Holding on to this small comfort she drifted off to sleep under the covers.

Nuada simply smiled, “Goodnight, and sleep well.” he thought, before closing his eyes and also falling asleep.

Chapter 5

Sierra stretched her arms as she sat up. As she opened her eyes, it took her a few seconds to realize where she was, and why she was there. Looking to the side, she saw Nuada still fast asleep against the wall. Ever so quietly, she slipped out of the bed and sat down in front of him.
“Hey, it’s time to get up sleepy head,” she said, giving him a gentle poke.
He slowly raised his head, and almost yelled in surprise to see her right in front of him. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” he asked, one hand against his chest once he’d regained himself.
She giggled, “No, I was just waking you up.” she said as she stood upright. “Come on, the rest of this house is probably up, and I’m hungry.” she said.
He sighed and pulled himself to his feet, “Alright, let’s go see who’s up. And remember, we’re guests here.” he said.
She smiled, “I know that. I’m not some uncultured street urchin you know. I do have manners and etiquette.”
He snorted, “Really, it never seems it.”
She punched his shoulder, “There’s a difference between knowing them and actually using them. And, doing what I do, I usually don’t need manners,” she said. “My mother raised me right.” Rolling her eyes, Sierra turned and exited the room. Outside, she could smell food being cooked, meat it smelled like, as the smell wafted through the air. “Something smells good,” she said.

The woman from the night before was up and humming to herself as she stood at the stove, cooking breakfast. She was middle aged, the same age Sierra’s mother would have been. She had dark hair and a pleasant smile on her face. She glanced and saw Sierra and Nuada and smiled warmly at them, “Good morning, I hope you slept well,” she said.
Sierra nodded, though she was a little surprised that this was the same grouchy woman they’d met the night before. “We did. Thank you for letting us stay here.”
“Oh it’s no problem. Eric is an old friend of the family, if he said it was an emergency, it probably was,” she said. “I’m sorry about last night if I seemed, grumpy. I can be a little irritable when woken up in the middle of the night like that,” she said. “And don’t worry, I told my husband about the two guests, so you won’t be a surprise to him.
“Mom, why are you talking to yourself?’ asked a young man’s voice from upstairs.
“However, I may have neglected to tell my son.” she added after hearing his voice. “Eric stopped by last night with some people who needed a place to stay for the night, so I let them have the guest bedroom.”
“Isn’t that why there’s inns?” he asked, the sound of creaking stairs following his voice as he came down the stairs.
“It was an emergency, I didn’t get all the details. If he had to bring them here there was a good reason, I’ll ask him when next I see him.” she said. “So be nice to them."
There was a silence, followed by a sigh, “Alright.” He came into the room and a long silence followed as soon as he saw Sierra, shortly followed by, “It’s you!” shouted by both of them in unison while pointing at the other.

“You, know him?” asked Nuada.
“Yeah, that’s the kid that ran into me down by the river, the one who was lost and took off running like a squirrel when I called for you,” she said.
“What are you doing in my house?” he asked.
“Your mother just said, we were sleeping here. Had an incident at the inn, couldn’t stay there the rest of the night,” she said, folding her arms over her chest. “At least you found your way out of the woods. But if you live here, why were you so far away?” she asked.
“I was training with my mentor,” he said stiffly.
“Did that include getting lost?” she asked.
His cheeks flamed red, “No, the horse, had just decided to go for a walk on its own,” he said awkwardly.
“So, it’s the horse’s fault now is it?” she asked teasingly.
He hunched his shoulders in annoyance and mumbled something under his breath. “Ok, so it got slightly spooked and trotted off the path before I could get control of it again,” he said.
Sierra just laughed, “And you ran off when I called for him,” she gestured to Nuada.
“I was under the impression at the time that he was going to beat me up,” he said.

“You two stop flirting, breakfast is ready,” said his mother. “Darren, go wake your father and tell him breakfast is ready,” she added.
The both turned beet red, “We’re not flirting,” they said, at nearly the same time. “I’m not flirting with him,” said Sierra quickly. Darren mumbled something before stalking off back up the stairs to wake his father. Sierra glared at Nuada, who was laughing, taking great pleasure in watching her squirm at this. “Sure, you think it’s funny,” she said.
“Of course, you never get embarrassed. Watching you wrestle with new emotions is always fun,” he replied with a grin. “And for the record, you two did sound like you were flirting with each other.”
“Then you must have an odd way flirting,” she said. “Because I was teasing him, not flirting.”
“Teasing, flirting, same thing in the beginning,” he said. “That’s how people flirt when they don’t want it to look that way, they tease the person they have affections for,” he said with a mocking grin.
“You’re lucky we’re in someone’s house and I’m being polite, I’d have decked you one,” she warned.
“If you could hit me that is,” he said with a grin. “You know you can’t.”
“You and your damn ninja reflexes.” she muttered, rolling her eyes.
“You know, that language doesn’t sound all that polite to me,” he said with a smirk from beneath his mask.

She glared and muttered something under her breath. Sierra might have said something even less polite to him, had Darren not returned from upstairs, his father closely behind him.

He was a well-groomed man and taller than his son by a good head or so. His hair was honey gold with traces of brown like his son’s but with some flecks of grey and his eyes were just as brown, but had a kind look to them.
“Ah, so you two must be the guests I was told about,” he said, catching sight of Serra and Nuada. “I hope you enjoyed your stay last night.”
“We did, thank you. Sorry to have been, dropped on you so suddenly like that, it was rather unexpected,” she said.
“That’s quite alright, a great many things happen all the time that are beyond our control. Have you eaten yet?” he asked.
“I was just making breakfast, thought we could all eat together for once,” replied Darren’s mother before either of them could answer. “And now that everyone’s up and out here, why don’t we eat?”
Pulling out extra plates and chairs for Nuada and Sierra, she set about serving them once everyone was seated. In a large metal pan she’d been cooking strips of bacon and sausages, which she divvied out among them as equally as she could.
“Please excuse any, rudeness from my son, we don’t often have guests about, and when we do they are, rarely his age,” the man said. Darren hunched his shoulders and tried to hide his face in embarrassment.
“It’s all right sir,” she said.
“Please, call me Jason, sir seems, too stuffy,” he said in a relaxed, light-hearted tone.
“Oh but I couldn’t. That seems, for to, intimate to be used for someone I just met, and an adult at that,” she said.
“I get called by my last name at work all the time, if not that it’s sir. Please, Jason is quite alright with me.”
“Well, thank you, Jason.” said Nuada, “For allowing us to stay the night here, especially considering it was, very last minute.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it, this house is always open for travelers,” he said.
There was a clinking sound as Darren’s mother, Emma, tapped a glass with the edge of a spoon. “If you three keep talking your breakfast is going to get cold, and I didn’t cook this just for it to get cold,” she said.
He laughed, “Alright, let’s dispense with the chit-chat and eat the breakfast that has so lovingly been prepared for us.”
Behind his father’s back, Darren pulled a face that made Sierra laugh as it showed that he really didn’t want to listen to his parents being mushy with each other. “Yes, let’s eat,” he said quickly, as if to change the topic of conversation away from his parents and back to the food.
“I second that motion,” said Sierra, before digging into her food.
There was one thing, however, that she was curious to see, and that was how Nuada would manage to eat. The mask he wore always obstructed his face; only his eyes were ever visible as the bottom of it covered his nose and mouth. When they travelled he either had already eaten by the time she’d woken up, or took his food and ate elsewhere. She’d never gotten a reason behind why he wore it; aside from it helped him to hide in the shadows easier. As she popped a mouthful of bacon into her mouth, she glanced sideways at him, only to see that his plate was already clean.

“How, did you do that?” she gasped, almost choking on her food at the same time.
The fabric of the mask crinkled as he smirked, “Simple, I ate while you were chattering and not paying attention to me,” he replied. “Now, eat up so we can be on our way,” he said, then quickly added, “Not that we wouldn’t like to stay longer, we just need to be on our way again. I hope I didn’t sound too rude.”
Jason simply smiled, “Not at all, but may I ask, where are you headed?”
Sierra looked up, they weren’t really headed anywhere, they never had been, they simply wandered from city to city, from town to town. “Well, we don’t know yet,” said Sierra, “We sort of, travel from place to place, we don’t really have a set destination.”
“Is that so?”
She nodded, “Yes it is. We go wherever our feet take us,” she said with a smile. “It’s actually quite enjoyable, you get to see many places and meet many people.”
“Says the anti-social one,” mocked Nuada under his breath.
She swung her foot out sideways and kicked him in the leg. “You’re one to talk.”

Chapter 6

After they finished eating, Nuada and Sierra and gathered their items and set out again, thanking Darren’s family for their hospitality and kindness.

“They were certainly friendly,” said Sierra.

Nuada nodded, “They were, but there was something about that man that was familiar,” he said.

“Really?” Sierra cocked her head to one side. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I think I might have heard his name somewhere before.”

Sierra just shrugged, “Well, let’s get moving, there’s no work for me here.”

…

Darren sat on the small stonewall, admiring his sword as he waited for his mentor to come for him.

“I hope I’ll get to practice using this today,” he thought, turning it over and over, admiring it and watching as sunlight glanced off the clean, polished blade. He simply trembled with excitement; still unable to believe he had been given his own sword. As he looked along the length of the blade, he noticed it was unmarked, no runes or symbols decorated it like he’d seen on many of the knight’s swords.

“So I see you’re enjoying your new blade,” said his mentor from behind him, startling the youth.

“Sir, when did you get here?” he asked, jumping to his feet swiftly, trying to keep from falling over in surprise.

The man chuckled, “At ease Darren, at ease. I only just got here,” he said. “So, I take it you like your sword?”

“Oh yessir, very much. But, I have a question.”

Eric raised an eyebrow, “Oh, what sort of question?”

“Well, I noticed that on my father’s sword and your sword, there’s runes along the blade, but mine doesn’t have any. I was, wondering why.”

“Ah, you mean these,” he unsheathed his sword and pointed to the elegant runes that ran down one side of the blade.

“Yes, those, what are they?”

He smiled, “As you said, they are runes, in this case it reads Kinsaka, Gold-hill. Kinsaka is my sword’s name. Once you decide upon a name for your sword, yours shall have runes inscribed upon it as well, but not before then,” he resheathed the sword and turned to Darren, “Now, put that away, we have work to get done.”

“What sort of work? Are you going to teach me how to use a sword? How to fight?” asked a very eager Darren.

The knight laughed, “Not quite yet, I have a few simple tasks for you to complete first.”

“Tasks? Like what?”

…

Darren groaned heavily, a muscle in his jaw twitching as he walked. By ‘tasks’ he’d assumed something important, like helping to arrest criminals, or going on patrol in the city, instead he found himself grooming and running the other knights’ horses and other heavy, manual labour.

“I’m supposed to be a knight, not a stable hand!” he groaned as he dumped a bale of hay in the corral with the horses for them to eat, sweat soaking his brow and back.

His sword still hung around his waist, having not wanted to take it off while working. Panting heavily, he hung his shirt over the railing of the corral and splashed some of the fresh water from the horse’s trough on his face, hoping it would cool him off. One of the horses butted him from behind, nearly knocking him into the water as it pushed past to get to the trough. He stepped aside to allow the large warhorse to drink, even he wasn’t about to argue with an animal that much larger than he.

“At least you’re enjoying yourself,” he muttered, keeping one hand on the horse’s side as he moved past it so it would know where he was once he was out of sight. Once past the horse, he headed to the fence and leaned against it. He’s just finished all of his required tasks and was exhausted.

“Done already I see.”

On any other occasion, Darren would have jumped in surprise at his mentor’s arrival, but he was far too tired to do anything other than simply respond. “Yes, I’m finished. You know, when you said you had tasks for me, I thought it would be something more dignified than this,” he said, his voice tired and heavy. “I didn’t think you meant dealing with the horses.”

“You have to work from the ground up, you can’t just become a knight like that,” laughed the older knight, snapping his fingers. “You have to earn it.” He looked at Darren and sighed, “You did good, go take a break and I’ll get you later. Go get yourself something to eat, some dry clothes and take a walk. You’ve earned it.”

Darren blinked, caught off guard by what had just been said. “I can, take a break?”

Eric nodded, “Yes, a break. What’s wrong did your ears stop working boy?”

Darren shook his head, “No, I just, never expected you to say that. Thank you sir, thank you very much.”
He grabbed his sweat soaked tunic and ran into the barn to leave and to grab a change of clothes. He was glad for the break; he was never given breaks, ever, so he was going to make the best of it.

Once changed into clean clothes he grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed off for a short walk through the edge of the woods.
It wasn’t something he did often, as he didn’t have the time, but when he needed to clear his head, Darren would go for a walk through the edge of the woods. It was shaded and cool, hidden from the sun and peacefully quiet. It was away from the city, so the noise, sight and smells from it didn’t bother him, but it was close enough that he could run back if anything happened, though nothing ever had.
He exhaled heavily as he walked, the light cool breeze that blew through the trees a welcoming touch to his hot skin.
The only sounds to be heard were the animals and birds as they flitted about the woods. Then another sound reached his ears, voices, human voices. Now, normally he would have turned and left, but his curiosity got the better of him and he decided to investigate, but he would do it quietly so he wouldn’t get caught.
Moving silently, as if he were tracking an animal on a hunt with his father, he followed the voices deeper into the woods.

“You’re so paranoid,” said a female voice in an almost annoyed tone.

Darren stopped, the voice sounded familiar, he was sure he’d heard it before. He shook his head and kept walking, if he could see the speaker, he might know who it was.

“I’m not that dumb you know. I haven’t gotten caught,” said the woman again.

Now a male spoke in response, “Not yet, what happens if you do?”

Darren stopped, he clearly recognized the male voice, it belonged to the man that had been staying in their house that night, Nuada was his name? Carefully, he peered through the bushes at them having now realized the voices belonged to Nuada and Sierra, their houseguests that morning.
The man, Nuada, was still masked as always and was leaning against a tree, listening to Sierra as she spoke. Sierra was pacing back and forth as they talked, a long stemmed rose in her hand. He did a double take, the rose’s petals were black as ink, a black rose! He had to cover his mouth to keep from making any noise as he listened to them talk.

“I can’t have you being caught Sierra. You know I’m supposed to keep you safe, I can’t do that with you always sneaking off in the middle of the night,” said Nuada sternly.

“I’m not going to be caught, you know that,” she said, twisting the rose around. “Besides, you know that they’re looking for a man. They don’t think a woman is capable of doing this sort of thing,” she said with a smirk.

“Why did you even do it? Of all the choices of a job, why did you choose to be an assassin anyways?” he asked.

Darren had to bite his tongue, was this girl, Sierra, the Black Rose killed that everyone was looking for? That couldn’t be, there was no way a woman could kill all these people. Quietly he began to move away, he had to tell someone, but how would he prove it, they’ just think he was spewing nonsense and call him crazy. But, considering who he was related to, one of the most respected knights in the community, they might actually listen to him, might, that was the key word.
Carefully and quietly he began to move away from them, not wishing to alert them to his presence. Then, he stepped on a branch, the snapping sound of which was deafeningly loud compared to the silence of the voices.

“What was that? Is someone there?” called Sierra, having heard it.

“Shit.” He hissed under his breath and took off running, hoping that wouldn’t catch him.

“I think we’ve been found out,” said Nuada. “Shall I catch them?”

“Yes.”

Chapter 7

Suddenly, Darren heard someone behind him and knew that he was in trouble and tried to speed up, but a root caught his foot and he tripped and fell on his face. “Got-ya you little spy,” said Nuada as his hand curled around the youth’s collar, rolling him onto his back.

Sierra came trotting after him, hoping to see whom he’d caught. “Hey, you’re that Darren kid!” she exclaimed.

“I’m not a kid,” he said defiantly, “I’m 20.”

“That’s a kid to me,” said Nuada, hauling him to his feet. “What should we do m’lady?” he asked, turning to Sierra.

“Killing him’s too risky, they’ll come looking for him if he doesn’t come back.” she said. “Besides, I don’t kill someone unless I have a real reason to. So, unless he’s wronged someone, I won’t do it.”

“You’re going to be arrested you know. I know who you are, you’re the Black Rose,” he said, trying to squirm free of Nuada’s grasp and failing to do so.

She put a hand on her hip, “All those jack-asses deserved what they got,” she said. “They were extortionists, abusers, philanderers, thieves, all kinds of scum. I’m not a murderer, I just clean up the low-life scum that the law won’t,” she said.

“It’s still murder,” he said. “So, what are you going to do to me?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” said Sierra, “Since I can’t kill you I could always just tie you up and leave you here to be found while I run away,” she said. “That would be fun, only I don’t have any rope. I could have Nuada knock you out instead.”

Darren gulped, “You’re cruel,” he said, shaking nervously.

She laughed, “And you’re gullible. You really think I would do that?” She waved her hand at Nuada, “Let him go, he won’t tell.”

“What makes you so sure of that?” he asked as he stood up, having fallen when Nuada let him go.

“Because you aren’t that sort of person, you won’t tell, not when the most infamous serial killer in the realm knows where you sleep,” she said with a smirk and a wink. “Now, run along home and keep quiet about what you saw and heard, or this,” she brushed the black rose along his face, “May find its way to your room.”

Darren walked backwards, trying to keep from tripping over his feet before he turned and ran back to the town.

“Are you sure this is a good idea Lady Sierra?” asked Nuada, looking from Darren to her.

“He won’t tell, you and I scared him shitless, he thinks we’re going to attack him in the night,” she said with a laugh, “I’m quite certain we’ll be fine.”


Darren kept running, as fast as his legs would carry him and without looking back once. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell anyone now, not since this girl knew where he lived. He wasn’t sure if she would kill him in his sleep, but she might rough him up, or kidnap him and leave the rose to make people think he was dead. He couldn’t help but to smile, he wouldn’t mind being kidnapped by her, after all, she was pretty good looking. He shook his head, she was a serial killer and he was a knight, it was his duty to turn her in to the guard, though perhaps he could wait a little.
He slowed as he neared the city, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. He grasped a tree and held it for support, chest heaving and knees shaking. He’d never run so fast before, especially not while wearing a sword.

“So much for a peaceful walk. I suppose I should be getting back,” he thought, leaning against the tree.
He winced and pulled a hand back, during the scuffled they’d became scratched and bleeding. “Man, he really pushed me into the ground hard,” he muttered. He wiped the blood off on his tunic to try and keep the stinging to a minimum.

After resting under the tree for a few minutes he started back to town to go meet his mentor, his break was most assuredly over by now. He jogged back to the stables, where they’d promised to meet.

“Sorry I’m late I lost track of time.” he said, panting as he jogged into the stables.

“It’s alright, you aren’t that late.” said Eric, who was sitting on a bale of hay and waiting for him. “Now, let’s get back to work. You’ve done good with the horses today boy.” He picked up a broom from where it was leaning against the barn wall and took off the head. Then, he tossed the handle to Darren before grabbing a second broom and doing the same thing. “Now, come at me.” he said.

Darren blinked, “What?”

“You heard me,” he said, beckoning him, “Come at me, attack me.” he said.

Darren shrugged, “Alright, you asked for it,” he said. Raising the makeshift staff he charged at the knight.
A loud clatter rang out as Eric raised his own, easily blocking the boy’s attack. With a swift motion he pushed aside Darren’s attack, causing him to stumble. Darren lashed out again, aiming at his side with the staff. Again he was blocked, seemingly with ease.

“Oh come on, actually try,” said Eric with a smug grin.

“I am,” he protested.

“Really, it doesn’t look like it,” the knight mocked as he blocked attack after attack from the boy. A resounding crack echoed in the air with each hit, Darren unable to land a single blow on his mentor. Then, Eric got in behind him, hit Darren in the back of the legs and knocked him to the ground, the end of the staff pointing at his face as he looked up at him. “Looks like I win.”

“Hardly fair, you’re a trained knight,” said Darren. “I’m not.”

He shook his head and helped the boy to his feet, “Shouldn’t matter, that was sloppy. Your stance was off, you technique needs work and your reflexes are slow.” He shook his head, “You need lots of practice.”

Darren frowned, “Isn’t that your job?”

“Yes, partially. But you need to work on your own as well. Get your father to help you, I know he will.” He ruffled the boy’s hair with one hand. “You’re lucky I didn’t hit you and that I took the defensive.”

“You wouldn’t dare hit me,” he said.

“Oh don’t tempt me,” he warned, “Or next time I won’t go so easy on you.”

“That was easy!?” Exclaimed Darren. “Oh man, am I ever doomed.”

Eric laughed, “Why don’t you go home, I think I’ve humiliated you enough for one day,” he said. “Go on, we can continue tomorrow.”

Darren gave a half bow, “Thank you sir.” With that, he headed back through the stables to leave, Eric still in the corral with the horses as he put the brooms back together and put them away. He hadn’t been gone long when several guardsmen strode into the corral, dressed in their armour.

“Sir Eric,” they bowed to him.

“What can I do for you today?” he asked, turning to face them as he affixed a broom head back on the handle.

“Is your young student around anywhere?” asked one of them.

“Actually you just missed him. His concentration was off so I sent him on home.” he said. “You should still be able to catch him though.”

“Ah, thank you, thank you for that. We will be on our way then,” said the head guardsmen. With that, they turned and left, leaving Eric slightly confused as to what they wanted with his student.

Darren on the other hand was brushing dirt from his tunic as he walked, having gotten dirty while sparring against Eric. “That was him going easy?” He shook his head; Eric was stronger than he’d thought.

“Excuse, Darren, Darren Brightheart?” A deep voice boomed from behind him.

Darren turned, “Yes, that’s me. Who wants to know?” he asked.

“Please, come with us, we need to talk to you,” said one of them.

Darren frowned, “What about?”

“Just, please come with us. It, hopefully shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.” The guard placed his hand on his shoulder, guiding him to follow him.

“Alright,” he said with a nod. He was a little curious as to what they wanted, but he wasn't to worried, it wasn't like he'd broken any laws.

Escorted by the guards, who stayed around him, Darren made his way through the city to the station. They were exceedingly quiet, which was unusual for them, unusual in that they only acted that way if they were taking a suspect into custody rather than escorting a young knight-to-be.

“What is this, all about?” he asked as they led him into the station.

“Sit down please.” said the head guard, “We just need to ask you some questions. Don’t worry, as I said, it should only take a few seconds.”

Darren sighed and sat down. “Alright.” he said.

“Good, now, where were you today?”

Darren blinked, “Today, I spent that with Sir Eric, cleaning the horses and running them, you can ask him yourself.”

The man nodded, “Alright, so, you spent, the whole day with him?”

“Yes, no. No he did give me a break after I finished with the horses.” he said.

“A break? When was that and, what did you do during that time?”

“I think it was a little after noon-high. I went for a walk along the edge of the woods to clear my head. It helps me to think,” he replied. “Why are you asking me this?”

The man, who had been writing as Darren spoke looked up and smiled, “We just needed to know, it’s alright. So, you cleaned the stables, then you went for a walk alone is that right?”

Darren nodded, “That’s about right. After my walk I went back to the stables to meet up with him again like he instructed,” he explained.

“So, the blood and dirt on your hands, where did it come from?” asked the man.

Darren looked at his hands, they were indeed dirty and blood had dried on them. “I, tripped over a log, my hands broke the fall but I landed on some rocks, scraped my hands up.” Sparring with Eric hadn’t helped the cuts any as it had reopened the healing wounds, causing them to bleed once again.

“Interesting.” The man mused under his breath as he continued working. “Tell me, have you ever been into the antiquities shoppe?”

“You mean the one run by Mr. Iantaur? Yeah I’ve been there before, he’s a kind fellow,” he said with a nod. “Why is that of any importance?”

The man just waved his hand, “It’s nothing. Run along home, sorry to take up your time.”

“Um, well, alright, I’ll be on my way then.” said Darren, as he stood up from the chair, still unable to figure out what that had been all about. He’d almost felt, like he was being interrogated. He shrugged it off though and left the station, hoping his father wouldn’t notice he was a bit late in getting home. “That was weird, even for them.” he thought as he walked down the street. “Whatever, it couldn’t be anything important.”


“Sorry I’m late dad, I got held up by some of the guards,” he said as he walked in the front door. “I’m not late am I?”

“No later than I’d have expected from a boy your age,” he said.

“What is that supposed to mean dad?” he asked.

The knight just chuckled, “Nothing, nothing at all.” he replied with a smirk. “So, how was your day?”

Darren groaned “Cleaning horse stalls is NOT what I had in mind when I decided to train to be a knight. How much longer do I have to do these menial tasks?” he asked.

“I think that all depends on your mentor. Mine had me working like that for weeks before the formal training began.” he said, “Eric could be the same, or he could make you work longer.”

Darren groaned as he sat down, “Aw man, I want to start my training now, mucking out stalls is squire’s work.”

“Which you are till you become a knight. So, just do as he asks, I assure you, knowing how to take care of your horse is useful, you may not always have a squire to do so.” He smiled, “I’ve met some knights who didn’t know how to care for their horses or armour because they thought it was ‘squire’s work’ and couldn’t be bothered to do the work or learn it. Wouldn’t get their hands dirty.”

“Sounds like a bunch of snobs to me,” said Darren.

Jason laughed, “Yes, they were. They only got to be knights because of their connections and families, hardly because of their training.” He patted his son’s shoulder, “Anyways, you should wash up before supper. You smell like horses and dirt.”

Darren lifted an arm and sniffed his sleeve, “Ugh, you’re right. I do need a change and a bath.” he said, standing up and heading upstairs. “I stink.”
He headed upstairs to his room, where he pulled out a clean tunic and vest and trousers, which he laid on his bed before he washed up, hoping to get the stink of horse off his body before supper.

I really like this story, please continue writing!
The only advice I can give to you has already been delievered. You just need to watch your commas and your use of 'to' and 'too'. Other than that it looks good to me.

It's short one this time :p

Chapter 8

Half way through supper, a loud knock on the door interrupted them.
“Who on earth could that be?” asked Jason, standing up from the table. “What could someone want at this time of the night?” There was another knock on the door as he made his way over. Opening the door he was surprised to see the guardsmen standing there. “What a surprise, how may I be of service to you gentlemen?” he asked.

“Is your son Darren, home?” asked one of them.

“Yes, but he’s eating dinner, can it wait?” He was suddenly pushed aside as half a dozen knights entered his house.

One of them grabbed Darren from his seat and pulled him to his feet, “Darren Brightheart, you are under arrest for the robbery and murder of one Mr. Tiberius Iantaur.”

Darren gaped, “What are you talking about? you must have the wrong person, I didn’t do it,” he said, struggling against them as they pulled his hands behind his back and bound them, his stomach pressed into the edge of the table.

“What are you doing? That is my son you are arresting,” protested his father. “Let him go immediately.”

“I am afraid we cannot do that sir. However, if you wish, you may take it up with the higher ups. We are simply following orders,” he said as he escorted the struggling boy from the house.

“Don’t worry Darren, I’ll sort this out.” said his father with a nod, “Just sit tight.”

“Like I’m going anywhere.” he thought as he walked, flanked by the guardsmen on either side of him. “I guess this was what the questioning was about earlier.”
He sighed heavily and walked, why on earth would they think he’d murdered Mr. Iantaur? He liked the guy, when he was little he remembered being allowed to explore the man’s shop of stuff so long as he was careful not to break anything. The shop sold antiquities, old objects, as well as many strange things that always interested the boy. He would sit and listen as the man told him the tales behind the various objects, whether they were actually true or not. He was an old friend of the family, almost like a doting grandfather to Darren. He was also a retired knight, having had to hang up his sword after a nasty leg wound left him unable to walk properly. He had no reason at all to want to kill him. In fact, he hadn’t even known he was dead till just now.
“You’ve got the wrong person!” he protested, only to be shoved roughly from behind by one of the guards.

“Don’t think we’re going to be soft just because you’re tha’ son of a retired knight,” growled the man who’d pushed him. “Naw keep movin’.”

He flinched, “Yeah, yeah, I’m moving ya great brute.” he retorted, annoyed.


Once at the jailhouse, he was thrown into a cell, alone, his hands chained together. “Dammit, I told you, I haven’t done anything!” he screamed, rushing to the side of the cell as the door slammed shut. “I’m innocent.”

“Yeah, you and everyone else.” said the guard. “Everyone’s ‘innocent’ when they’re in here. So stop screaming, it’ll do nothing.”

Darren growled, but stepped away from the bars. “My father will get me out of here,” he said. “I didn’t kill that man.”

“I don’t care, now shut up.” The door at the end of the hall slammed shut loudly, the sound echoing in the silence of the jail.
Darren sighed and leaned against the wall of the cell, the chains tight around his wrists. How the hell had this happened? How could they think he had killed him?


“My son is innocent, I demand you let him go.” The knight’s voice boomed as he argued with the guardsmen.

“I am sorry sir, but we have our orders, we have to hold him,” said one of the guards. “We cannot release him.”

“Then prove he is innocent and let him go,” he said. “My son is not a killer.”

“Unfortunately sir all the evidence says otherwise. There is nothing we can do.” The man shook his head, “I am sorry.”

“May I, at least see him then?” he asked.

The guard stood up, “Very well, you have five minutes. Follow me.” He led the knight down the hall to the cells. He stopped in front of one of the cells, “Here you go, I’ll be back in five.” He said, before turning and heading down the hall.

“Dad, what’s going on?” asked Darren, “Why do they think I’m a murderer?”

He shook his head, “I don’t know son. I’ve tried talking to them, but they won’t listen to me. There doesn’t seem to be much I can do right now.” He said. “But I’ll try, I won’t let them keep you in for a crime you didn’t commit.”

…

“Was letting him loose really a wise idea?” asked Nuada, the man leaning against a tree. “What if he tells someone?”

Sierra rolled her eyes, “Considering how badly we scared him, I doubt he’ll be telling anyone. Besides, even if he did, do you really think anyone will believe him if he tells them that he knows the identify of a wanted serial killer?” She shook her head and laughed, “You worry far too much.”

“Isn’t that my job, when I’m not chasing after you, to worry about everything since you won’t?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She laughed and punched her guard playfully in the shoulder, “Come on, let’s get something to eat, I’m starving.”

He sighed and let his arms drop to his side as he stood away from the tree, “And we just left with the intention of not coming back. You never seem to make up your mind.”

Silently, he followed her back to the town they’d just left in order to get something to eat. Sierra seemed completely unbothered about returning, while Nuada was.

“Come on, this place looks good,” she said, grabbing him the arm and dragging him into a bar. The dusty, faded sign that hug outside the door read ‘Mockingbird Tavern’ and depicted a bird holding a mug in its wing.

“You would pick this sort of place wouldn’t you?” he asked, rolling his eyes.

“What is that supposed to mean exactly?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him as they went inside. “Come on, we won’t be that long.”

He just sighed and followed her in before she decided to start dragging him in any more than she already was.
The inside was cramped, dusty, and smelling strongly of ale and tobacco.

“What can I get fer ya?” asked a large barmaid, leaning across the bar table to Nuada and Sierra when they came in.

They ordered their drinks and quickly found a seat so they could drink and rest and get something to eat.

“Honestly, I think you’re just paranoid sometimes,” she said, taking a sing of her drink. “Really, really paranoid.”

“I am not paranoid. Just cautious,” he said.

“Same thing as far as I’m concerned.”

He just shrugged his shoulders and took a drink from his mug, having actually lowered his mask for once.

“Did ya hear about what happened?”
“You mean that Darren kid? I know, what a shock. Who’d have thought?” Sierra listened intently at the snippets of conversation, trying to make out what they were talking about, though the noise of the tavern made it hard to hear the entire thing.
“You know they guy was a former captain right?”
“What, really?”
“No way!”

“I'm sorry, I couldn’t help but to overhear you, did you say someone was murdered?” she asked, leaning over to talk to them. She’d heard Darren’s name, and now she was interested.

“That’s right miss. Tiberius Iantaur, he owned the little curio shop downtown. His assistant came back and found’im dead an’ the place had been robbed,” said one of the men.

She raised an eyebrow, “Robbed and murdered?” she gave a whistle of amazement. “That seems like overkill. Do you know what was stolen?”

The men shook their heads, “No, no one’s saying. It must be important or dangerous though for them to be so hushed about it though.” said one of them.

She nodded, “Interesting. And, they think that boy did it?”

“You know him?”

She shook her head; “We met briefly the other day. But that’s it,” she said. “Other than that, no.”

“Ah well, he’s a good kid, training to be a knight like his father. It’s almost surprising to think he could do something like that though.” They returned back to their conversation as Sierra moved back to sit with Nuada.

“So, what do you plan on doing?” he asked quietly.

“I dunno, drop him a visit perhaps? He didn’t seem like the sort of fellow who would kill someone though.”

Nuada nodded, the boy did not look like a killer, in-fact he doubted the boy had ever killed anyone before. “However, I don’t think we’ll have much luck seeing him if we go in through the front doors,” he said.

She grinned, “So, we’re breaking in are we?”

A month since you last posted for whys?! I like this story!

FireIceEarthSky wrote:A month since you last posted for whys?! I like this story!

Sorry, school got in the way and all that crap. I'll try and get the next chapter up sometime(hopefully soon)

BBkat wrote:

FireIceEarthSky wrote:A month since you last posted for whys?! I like this story!

Sorry, school got in the way and all that crap. I'll try and get the next chapter up sometime(hopefully soon)

ahh, school the ruiner of fictional worlds that are found in books. I understand lol. Okies