THE RETURN OF ROGER OF CONTÈ
by Robinwyn
Alanna raised her sword to strike the cowering enemy with a butterfly strike, from the left side. She swung down to strike, and suddenly, she dropped her sword and clasped her hand to her neck. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground in a faint.
When she woke, she was in a room. A room with no escape. The room had two armchairs, a fireplace, a bed, and a table. There were no windows or doors. The room had no decorations on the wall except the wall color itself, which was a sickening cream color.
Suddenly, a tall, dark figure stepped through the wall. "Hello, Alanna. I'm back!" said the figure. Alanna gasped with recognition and backed up. "What's wrong, sweetheart? Aren't you glad to see me again?" taunted the figure. Alanna backed up further.
"You--you're Duke Roger of Contè! I--I thought I already killed you twice. How can you be back?" cried a scared Alanna.
"Sorcerer's sleep, sweetheart! Couldn't you see that that blood on me last time you 'killed' me wasn't real?" said Roger.
"How many times do I have to kill you to get it through your thick skull to leave me alone!" cried a flustered Alanna. Suddenly, Raoul, Gary, Buri, and Jon showed up through the wall.
"How--how'd you get here?" asked a scared and puzzled Alanna. The others pointed to the wall. Then, something clicked in her mind. "What did you just call me?" she growled at Roger.
"Sweetheart. Why?" said Roger. Alanna just stared.
"Sw--sw--sweetheart!" she managed to croak.
"That's right. I've loved you ever since I met you. Didn't you know that? I'm about your age," said Roger. He moved to Alanna and put his arm around her shoulder. She pushed it off.
"Yeah, you're only my age 'cause you were in a sorcerer's sleep," spat Alanna. She backed up further and fell into a chair.
"So? I still love you," whispered Roger. Suddenly, a smirk crossed his face. He snapped his fingers and Alanna's four friends turned into Alex, Josiane, Delia, and Dain. Ralon and Duke Hilam, Count Jemis, Akhnan Ibn Nazzir, Lord Alan (Alanna's father), Marinie of Tasride (Alanna's mother, who Alanna never knew), and Alanna's brother, Thom appeared out of nowhere. They were all wearing swords and they drew them. They pointed them towards Alanna's throat.
Alanna's mother spoke first. "How could you kill so many people? I gave birth to you so you could marry and give us some children. Instead, you turn into a--a thing, a thing that destroys life. I thought your father taught you better. I'm really disappointed in you. I haven't seen you crochet or stitch or sew anything. Instead, you turn into this--this monster that steals lives! How could you?" she hissed. Alanna backed up.
Her father spoke next. "Yes, and you went behind my back. I thought you were at the convent all these years. Instead, your brother went to the convent and now he's a scholar. He was supposed to become a knight to hold up the honor of the land. And you had to go and do all these--these great things. You became a legend. Don't you think I wanted to be a legend? Well, miss, you can't have everything."
Next, Alanna's brother, Thom stepped up to her and said, "Why'd you get to be so famous? All I did was raise a dead person and I ended up dying a nasty death. I was so certain that the gods smiled on me. You were always good at everything, though. The gods smiled on you. They let you live. They liked you. You and your 'good ideas'. You thought my going to the convent would be good for both of us. I would get what I wanted, and you would get what you wanted. But look at what happened to me. You. You killed me. Not Roger, like you think. Roger was good to me. He gave me what I wanted. You only gave yourself what you wanted. You only think of yourself. You are a selfish little pig, just like you called Ralon. Or something like it, anyway." He pointed his sword closer to her throat.
~~~~
Meanwhile, outside of Alanna's mind, she was lying on a bed, asleep, and obviously having a nightmare. "I'm going to have to go in there," said Jonathan. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'm wearing my sword, right? Whatever I'm wearing will go into her dream as well. Just sit me on this chair, and don't move me. I'll be able to feel it if you do," he finished.
He sat down and began to recite a spell. All the people around him just stared, for he suddenly became limp and he slumped in his chair. They didn't bother moving his body, because of what he told them. He was the king, after all.
~~~~
Suddenly, Jon comes strolling through the wall. Alanna looks alarmed, and stands from her chair. "Wh--where'd you come from?" she asked, clearly confused.
"Why, I used the door. Over there. Can't you see?" Jon asked. He pointed in the direction of the door and Alanna followed his finger.
"What door? There's no door there. There isn't a door in this room. There's no escape," she said, looking like she was in a trance.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" asked Jon. He pointed three fingers in her direction. She yelped and jumped back.
"Why--why are you holding those? You don't hate me too, do you?" stammered Alanna. Jon removed his fingers from her face and examined them. He clearly couldn't see anything wrong with them.
"Holding what? All I did was hold three fingers in your face," said Jon. He put his hand in his pocket.
"Holding daggers. You were holding three sharp daggers at my throat. You weren't holding fingers in my face. When I see daggers, I know they are daggers. And what you held were daggers," replied Alanna. Suddenly, there was a laugh from one corner and Roger and all Alanna's enemies came at her, swords pointed at her throat. She squeaked and jumped back, hitting the wall. Roger found this as an opportunity and closed in, surrounding her.
She grabbed for the ember at the end of her necklace, but when she clasped only air, she cried, "Who stole my necklace? Who stole it? Come on, speak up!" At that moment, Jon disappeared. "Wh--where'd he go? Jon! Come back!" she cried. Roger laughed and moved in closer. She whined and backed closer to the wall, screaming, "Get away! Get away, you filthy pig. You never deserved to be born!"
~~~~
A few moments later, Jon's body sprang to life. He stood up and said, "There's something very wrong with her. She thought I was holding daggers in her face, when I was holding three fingers in her face. She also thought someone stole her ember, but it was right there in front of her face, theoretically speaking, anyway. She also couldn't see the door. I don't know what has gotten into her."
Numair nodded and added, "While you were in her mind, she was wriggling and squirming in her bed. What was she doing?"
"She kept squeaking and whining and backing into the wall. I don't know what's going on," said Jon. "It's as if she was being attacked mentally." He went over to a basin of water and rubbed some on his face.
"Yes, and before you came back, she cried something like, 'Get away! Get away, you filthy pig. You never deserved to be born.' At that, her wrist flicked and a hidden dagger came flying out of her sleeve, hitting one of the healers and killing them.," said Duke Baird.
"Perhaps I should go back, then," said Jon. He sat back down and recited a spell. His body became limp, and once again, he was in Alanna's frightful dream.
~~~~
"Jon! Jon! You came back! But, why aren't you wearing your shirt? You know I'm married!" she cried. Jon looked puzzled.
"What! I'm wearing my shirt. Can't you see that?" Jon cried, pointing to his shirt. Alanna looked quite confused. She even tried to move towards Jon, but Roger and his friends held her back. She shrunk against the wall, whimpering and whining.
Then, Jon walked right up to her. Right through Roger and his friends. They parted and let him through. "Don't hurt him. Leave him alone," she said to Roger. He smiled and moved his blade ever closer. Alanna broke into tears and cried, "I want to wake up from this dream! I don't want to be here, I want to wake up!" She fell into Jon's arms, and suddenly he saw what she saw, no doors, no windows, a whole bunch of Alanna's old enemies and those she had killed, and no shirt on his body. He gasped in shock and disappeared again. Alanna fell to her knees, crying.
~~~~
When Jon returned the second time, he said to Numair, "She's definitely hallucinating. She broke into tears and fell into my arms. Then, I saw what I think she was seeing. She had complained I wasn't wearing a shirt, which I was, and then she fell in my arms. I saw Duke Roger, his cronies, and all the people that she killed that were her enemies. I also saw no shirt upon my body!" He looked at Alanna's frail body, and saw a trickle of blood on her neck. He looked at it closer and saw that there was a tiny poison dart in her neck. He tested it with his magic, and he felt the presence of magic. Then, he said, "Numair, there is a magicked poison dart in her neck. Can you get it out?"
"I think so, I'd have to go in her mind, though. Is that okay with you?" asked Numair. He took a seat next to Alanna's bed.
"Do I look like I have any objections? I'm not married to her. And you are the most powerful mage besides Roger who's been dead for a few years. So, yeah. Go ahead. Do what you want to her," replied Jon.
Numair told everyone to stand back, and he did some magic stuff. Suddenly, his body went limp and he was inside Alanna's mind.
~~~~
Numair entered Alanna's mind. He was in a room. Alanna was backed against a wall, on her knees, sobbing. Numair did some more magic stuff and suddenly, Duke Roger of Contè and all of Alanna's enemies surrounded her, swords in their hands. There were no windows in this room, nor a door. Numair walked over to Duke Roger and said, "Roger? What are you doing in Alanna's mind with a sword? I thought you were at the University, studying. At least, that is what you were doing a week ago."
Roger turned around and said, "Numair? What are you doing here? I thought you were still on the road."
"Well, about that. I took to traveling fourteen hours a day. I got to the palace in half the time it would normally take," said Numair. "Maybe I could come over to the University for dinner. Don't forget. I got my black robe this semester. Though, I was already a black robe. I just didn't have the testing to prove it. I'll just apparate there. So, I'll see you there."
"Right," answered Roger. He moved back to point his sword in Alanna's face again, grinning. Numair disappeared.
Suddenly, Roger turned to Alanna and said, "Time to wake up, Alanna." He raised his sword and prepared to strike Alanna. He lowered his sword quickly, and then Alanna was in a different room. This one had a door and windows and an escape.
~~~~
Numair returned to his body, and Jon asked, "What's going on in there? How can we get rid of the poison?"
"Well, all I can do is remove the dart and the poison that hasn't seeped into the bloodstream yet," said Numair. He did just that and suddenly, Alanna woke up with a scream. The moment she woke up, she turned and saw Jon.
"Get away from me! Go! Get…away…from…me!" panted a tired Alanna. She stood up and flung herself at Jon. "You…filthy…pig! You tried to kill Jon, but I stopped you. You can't kill me. I'm going to kill you!"
She knocked Jon to the floor and sat on him, not letting him up. She removed a dagger from her belt and held it against Jon's throat. Just before she killed Jon, Numair and a few of the healers, including Duke Baird, literally dragged Alanna onto the bed. Then, Numair put her back to sleep. Instantly, she started writhing and squirming in the bed.
Numair decided, before he removed the poison, that he would go check Alanna's mind to make sure he hadn't missed anything. He recited a spell, and once again, he was in Alanna's mind.
~~~~
This time, Alanna was crouched against a wall, and a huge spider was teasing her. Numair drew his sword and stepped up to the spider. The spider turned around and started to "attack" Numair by waving its pincers at him.
Alanna looked relieved that the spider had turned away from her, but she looked scared for Numair. She cried out for Numair to watch out, but he was already two steps ahead. He had already killed and disposed of the spider. Alanna looked relieved yet again.
Numair went over to Alanna and lay her on the bed in the room. He told her to lay there quietly, and nothing would hurt her, not while he was watching her. She quickly fell asleep in her mind. Numair left her sleeping, and returned to his own body.
~~~~
When Numair returned to his body, he pulled out the poison dart and placed his hand on Alanna's wound. He magically drained out the visible and unused magic poison, and then left to go talk to Jon, who had been advised to leave the room, about a plan he had formed on how to get Roger.
When he arrived at Jon's room, he knocked on the door. "Come in!" answered the knock. Numair opened the door.
"Oh, it's you," said Jon. "Take a seat, then. What have you found out about Alanna's condition?"
"Well, I found that Roger is the one who is sending those evil thoughts. He is doing it from the University, and he invited me for dinner. I think that we can capture him when we go there tonight, and bring him back for Alanna to kill. Oh, Alanna's poison is fairly gone. There's no more nightmares, at least not when I left. I'd better get back to watch her. We'll be leaving in one hour. Go find Gary, Raoul, Buri, and any other knight that will stick up for Alanna. She's not coming. I'm going to have Duke Baird look after her," said Numair. He got up to leave, and Jon let him out.
"Very well, then. I think that'll be a good idea," said Jon to Numair, as Numair walked out the door.
~~~~
At the University, Numair, Jon, Raoul, Gary, Buri and the knights Jon had gotten together walked down the long hallway to Roger's quarters. Numair and Jon and his friends had their swords in hand and were creeping quietly towards the room.
They had left Duke Baird back at the palace with a still sweating and dreaming Alanna. The last time Numair had checked, Alanna was still writhing and squirming in her bed, and he had checked her dream. It wasn't as bad as the ones before; she was trying to escape the room, this time.
As the group crept closer to Roger's room, the tension was getting tighter and the group was holding their breath. When the group got to Roger's door, Numair blasted it open and the others stood behind him, swords in their hands, legs planted on the floor, evil grins on their face. Numair said, "Okay, Roger. Game's up! Tell us why you are doing this."
Then, a voice much different from Roger's said, "I'm why he's doing this." The body belonging to the voice stepped into the light. Numair shed a mini ball of mage light around the room.
He caught a glimpse of a man tied to the wall, and quickly returned to it after scanning the rest of the room. The man had dark hair, and shiny blue eyes. This man looked ragged and worn, as if he was at the last string of life.
The next thing Numair caught sight of was a copper-haired man. The man was wearing a silver robe, unlike any rank of mage Numair had ever seen. Could it be a higher rank? He doubted it. If it was, one of his professors would have told him about it. He decided to venture a question of inquiry as to where this mage came from.
"How did you get that robe? Black is the highest rank, and there is no silver below it," asked Numair. The man only smiled and walked closer.
"I said, how did you get that robe?" questioned Numair.
"Well, I guess you are just going to have to figure that out for yourself. I suppose I'll tell you later. You could say, it's for me to know and you to find out," sneered the man.
"Well, will you at least tell me who you are?" asked Numair.
"No," was the simple reply that answered that question. The figure pointed a finger at the man tied to the wall, and a bolt of silver magic flowed out, shocking the man for an instant.
Numair pointed a finger at the silver robed mage, and a string of magic tried to bind the silver robed mage up. The mage quickly put up his shield of magic, but the magic tendrils from Numair's magic broke the shield and bound the man, yanking him to the floor, helpless.
Jon and the others picked up the man and carried him off. Numair went over to the man tied to the wall, and untied him. It was only then that
Numair got a good glimpse of the man. The man was Duke Roger of Contè.
"Roger? What are you doing bound to the wall? And who was that man in the silver robe?" asked Numair, who was surprised at what he saw.
"Yes, it's me, Roger. That man was Liam. He bound me to the wall and magically made me do all that I did. He even made me construct the Coronation Battle and carry it out. He was trying to get the throne, not me. He only acted through me. He figured that since I was the next heir, that I would try to get the throne. So, he took control of my magic and made it look like I was trying to kill the king. I was to kill the king and his son and the people surrounding the throne. Then, he would take the throne and make me his Royal assistant for eternity," said Roger. He shuddered and stood up.
They left the room to go find the others. They finally found them in a closet nearby. There, Numair recited an apparating spell and they soon arrived in the room Alanna was staying in. She was awake and sitting up in her bed.
"Jon?" asked Alanna, hazily. She was still out of it, but almost fully recovered. She had no more of her "outbursts".
"Alanna, yes, it's me. I'm afraid I have some bad news," replied Jon. He pushed the mage bound in magic towards Alanna.
"Liam!" cried Alanna. "Why are you here? Didn't you die in the Coronation Battle? And why is Roger here?"
"Liam is a silver robe mage. He was acting through Roger. You'd better be careful around Liam. He's a sly fox," said Jon.
Liam sneered and gave a short chuckle. "Hello, my Kitten," he said, in a drawn out and deep voice. He tried to reach for her, but the magical restraint kept him back. "Miss me?" he asked in the same mysterious voice.
"Ew! No! How could you lie to me?" cried Alanna.
Liam signaled that he wanted to be left alone with Alanna, and so Numair said, "We'll be watching you. We are going to keep the restraint on you, but we will be watching you. Any wrong move and you are going to die." Jon, Numair, Raoul, Gary, Buri, and the other knights left the room.
Jon led the way to a secret passage to keep and eye on Liam. They watched his every move, and he was loyal to his word.
"So, my Kitten. Any questions? I know you missed me and probably want to know where I was," said Liam in that taunting voice of his. His eyes turned to that aqua color he reserved just for her.
She replied, "As a matter of fact, yes. Why did you ever treat me like you did if you were really a conceited old wizard? I mean, what was up with that, 'Oh, you have magic, but because it's you, I'll make and exception' crap? Why didn't you just kill me and get it over with?"
"Well, I wanted you to see how hard I had to work, to feel sorry for me, and then you would be on my side to help me kill the king. I wanted you to see what I had to go through to get to where I wanted to be. Instead, if I had known you were a stubborn person willing to put up with whatever your goal throws in your way, I would've just killed you. It was that simple. I'm surprised you never figured that out. What with all your brains and all," teased the Dragon/mage. He tried to get up, but the restraint wasn't showing any sign of breaking. He swore under his breath.
"Why did you treat me like a very special person and treat me with love and respect?" asked a mad Alanna.
"I just told you," said Liam. "I wanted to make sure you were on my side before I had you help me kill the king." He sneered and gave an evil laugh, throwing his head back to emphasize it.
Alanna just stared. "Why? How could you do such a dirty thing? Who are you anyway?" she asked, full of rage.
"I, my beautiful Kitten, am the late King Roald's older brother," said Liam. He chuckled at that thought.
"You? But wouldn't that make you the king?" asked Alanna.
"That it would, my Kitten. But, you see, my parents stripped me of my titles and banned me from ever returning to the castle because I wanted to go off with the Shang Bear to learn Shang. That was when I was four. I went off to learn, and when I learned that Roald had taken the throne, I became mad.
"That was when I started trying to get the throne. Since I was the only one in the group the Bear took with him left after we were faced with many fights, the Bear traveled with me to the University. I had the Gift, but he didn't like it. So, after I was tested in Shang, and they gave me a title, the Dragon, the Bear left me.
"After the Bear left me to my studies, I decided to train my magic further. I had already taken control over it, and I had been taught in secret how to use my Gift. So, I wanted to learn more. I went to the classes on Gift, and I gradually worked my way up to Black robe. Then, one day, when I was in the mage library, I came across a very old and difficult to master spell. I took it to my room and tried it. Eventually, I mastered it, and then I decided to find other spells that were hard to master. I found a few others and mastered them. My teachers decided that I deserved a higher rank than Black robe. That was when I became a Silver robe.
"Unfortunately, I decided to use my powers to get revenge on my father and brother. My magic turned evil and that is what got me in trouble. My teachers vowed to destroy the books I found and never give anyone the rank I have. You must realize, I could've used magic anytime I wanted, but I didn't. I'd rather follow Shang ways. I found out, when I was trying to get the throne, that I had a nephew, who would be the heir to the throne after the king's son, Jonathan. I contacted Roger, and I used my magic to take over him. I took over, and commanded him to do things for me.
"However, you, my Kitten, found out his secret, and henceforth tried to kill him and rid him of his evil ways. I was mad at you for that, but you never knew. When you fought him the first time, I put him under a sorcerer's sleep. A few years later, I woke him, though your brother, of course. I had run into him at the University a few times, but we never formally met.
"Before Roger woke the second time, I happened upon you in that tavern. I decided to have you help me take the throne. I had to get you on my side, though, as I have already told you. Unfortunately, you were willing to do whatever I threw at you. From that time I dueled with you, I had made it my job to become your enemy. However, when I 'died', you felt sorry for me. As you may have guessed already, I had no feeling for you.
"So, I stayed at the University. I had someone put a magicked poison dart in you, and I had Roger tease your mind. I was eventually going to make an appearance, but I got caught before that. I wanted to make you go mentally crazy, so you'd eventually kill yourself. Then I would be happy," said Liam. He took a breath of air and slumped against the wall.
Alanna just stared and then burst out laughing. "You! A Contè? Yeah right! I seriously doubt it!"
"No! Really! I'm telling the truth. You've got to believe me!" cried Liam. He stood up.
"Yeah. Really! Now I believe you. Really, you've got to come up with better excuses! I barely believe your ridiculous tale!" Alanna said. Just then, Jon and co. came in the room.
"Is he behaving for you?" Jon asked.
"Hardly," was the reply.
"Well, that's to be expected. Liam is a son of a bitch, you know. Besides. It was all in our big plan." said Gary.
"What plan?" Alanna questioned. Gary and Raoul just smiled.
"Oh, no plan in particular," replied Gary.
"Just this one," said Raoul.
"WHAT plan!" cried Alanna.
Jon broke the binding on Liam and Liam came over to Alanna.
"The truth is, I'm not a Contè. I was lying," said Liam. He reached a hand around Alanna's shoulders and she pushed it off.
"Don't you touch me!" she cried.
"And, my Kitten, I am no royalty, either," he said. "We were just lying to you. We wanted to have fun and trick you. Roger is still the mean one, but he was willing to get in on our plan. I never had any magic. The magic I appeared to have was only Roger, using his magic to make it look like it wasn't him. The part about my simulacra being the one that got 'killed' during the Coronation Battle was true. I agreed to have Numair make one for me. Roger was still alive, you didn't kill him. Again, a simulacra was what was killed. I don't rightly remember how I got in on this plan, but it sure was fun to carry out."
"You what!" cried Jon, who was not part of the plan. He scratched his head and said, filling in for Alanna, "How could you! You ruin the mind of a knight and then you make up a fake story to tell her. That's not right. You also destroyed my mind, and Numair's."
"First of all," said Numair, walking into the room. "I was part of the plan. I just faked my surprise and took you to the University. Gary, Raoul, and Buri were also in on the plan, and so was your husband, George. He agreed to let Roger into your mind and tease you."
"Happy April First!" called Buri, Raoul, Gary, Numair, Liam, and George, who had just walked in.
"Aaaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhhhh!" was the only reply from Alanna. She grabbed her sword from its sheath and pointed it towards the group. "Who's going to be first?" she asked. The others backed off.
"Easy there, Kitten," said Liam, getting into a fighting stance.
"You be quiet. I've had enough of your talk for a while," said a mad Alanna, which was not something anyone wanted to see right now.
"I should have known she'd be like this when I came up with this joke," said Gary to Raoul. He nodded.
"Gary! How would you like to face me in the fencing courts in one hour? Good! I'll see you there," said Alanna.
"What did I get myself into?" muttered Gary.
~~~~
One hour later, Gary and Alanna and the rest of her friends were in the fencing court. Alanna and Gary were in opposite corners, stretching.
When they finished stretching, Alanna took the "guard" position and Gary struck first. He struck high and fast, but Alanna was faster. She had her sword up in time to block Gary's blow. She was still feeling out of it, so Gary took it easy while he was fighting.
He still fought well, and in the middle of the fight, Alanna called, "You don't have to go easy on me just because I was out of it for a while. Give me all you've got, you filthy piece of dirt!"
Gary knew not to take any insults seriously, so he just continued fighting, but put a bit more force behind each blow.
A little while later, neither were winning, but then Alanna made a strike that turned the tables around. She struck high and slow and Gary came up to block her "easy" strike. Just then, she whipped her sword in an arc towards Gary's side. He wasn't fast enough, so Alanna's sword nipped his side.
He cried out and Alanna took the advantage to knock his sword out of his hand and kiss his throat with hers. He cried out "I yield!" and Alanna lowered her sword. "I should've never brought my sword up. I should have known you would use that trick on me. It's sort of your trademark. You use it in almost every fencing bout you have."
A bit later, after Gary had his wound tended to, he and Alanna were sitting in the mess hall, eating. Alanna grinned and excused herself.
A few minutes later, she came back with a fancy platter with a dome lid. She put it in front of Gary. "Here's a special bit of the meal I had cooked up especially for you," she said.
Gary opened the platter and what he saw grossed him out. On the platter was a bowl full of wriggling worms.
"Happy April First!" she cried. "Don't worry, they're only candy worms. They're edible." She picked one up and ate it. "Yum," she said.
"Ew!" was all that Gary replied…
TO BE CONTINUED…