Chapter 7
"What?!" Gabby asked, shocked as Dinah started to leave the room. When she had last seen Carolyn, she looked fine, and definitely not like someone who was about to go into labor. Gabby walked after her out of their quarters and into the corridors. "A baby? Now?" She hurried after the seer as her pace quickened and seemed to get more urgent. They passed many other knights as they headed off to bed, which made Gabby wonder what time it was. It was probably twilight by now, or even early in the morning a couple of hours before dawn. Just when Gabby thought she would fall over from the exhaustion of following the frantic girl across the castle, Dinah walked into a room in a darker and colder part of the castle. There were no candles or torches lit, and Gabby had an eerie feeling that all heat was sucked from the corridor into the room that Dinah had just entered.
"Barbara! I've brought some more linens, but not many-"
"It's enough for now. Why is he here?" a rough but feminine voice asked, making the seer turn to look at Gabby. It was as if the younger girl had forgotten she was there.
"Gabriel, please wait out in the corridor. I will be with you in a minute." Gabby tried to look into the room to see if Carolyn was alright. Gabby had never been present during a birth, and it alarmed her just how warm the room was. The knight couldn't see much over Dinah's shoulder.
"Is she alright? Dinah, please tell me-"
"Wait here. I promise I'll tell you everything I can later." she insisted. Gabby nodded as the door closed slowly in her face. She turned around and stood in front of the door, guarding the women as much as she could. The minutes ticked by and Gabby started to shift from one foot to the other, and she jumped when she heard a wail from within.
"Oh God, please let her be alright." Gabby prayed. Not long after the wails died down, the door opened, and Dinah came out, looking exhausted and saddened. Her face was wet with perspiration, and her hair was down and a little bit messy. If Dinah looked that way after only being in there for a few moments, Gabby's prayers for the pregnant woman grew in magnitude, for surely she must be in a worse state.
"Come. We'll talk." Dinah said. Gabby only nodded and walked slowly with the seer, letting her lean on her as they strolled through the corridors.
"Is... Is she going to be okay? I know that childbirth is very painful, but I heard her. She sounded so much worse than that." Gabby said, looking at the girl, who looked as if she fought to keep her eyes open. The seer remained silent for a while, lost in thought, and Gabby was afraid to repeat herself. Gabby and Dinah walked outside and sat in the seats in the jousting field. They stared at the stars, now brighter because their light wasn't overshadowed by the moonlight.
"Carolyn isn't doing very well." Dinah whispered. "The baby, the labor, the birth... It all wasn't due for another full moon at least. I fear for them. Those born before their time rarely survive." Dinah shook her head solemnly. "I fear even more if the baby does survive." she continued, leaning her head on Gabby's shoulder. The knight wrapped her arm around her waist and let Dinah talk. "There are people out there, Gabby. People like me. They are special, given powers by God only to be shunned for having them. Carolyn has a power... one of fire. I am not sure about the baby's father. He was home for a little while when the baby was conceived... and not long after the father was killed in the war, the baby started to hurt her. Carolyn kept going to Barbara claiming of pains within, but Barbara couldn't help her for long."
"Why would Barbara help her?" Gabby asked.
"She's a healer. Her gift from God. And Kafka, the ability to communicate with horses..." Dinah explained.
"She'd gotten worse over the time the baby grew inside her, didn't she Dinah?" Gabby asked. Dinah's eyebrows turned to a frown, then she opened her eyes.
"She claims the baby is burning her as if it's flesh itself was rising in temperature. Tonight... It got really bad. She is in constant discomfort because of this." Dinah said. "Carolyn feels that she is dying, and that the closer she gets to giving birth, the sooner her death." Dinah's voice became fainter with her exhaustion.
"And... what do you think?"
"I don't know what I think." Gabby knew she was lying, but Dinah obviously didn't want to talk about it, for whatever she'd seen for the baby and the mother, it must be to horrible to talk about. "Hey, you think you will be ready for the swordfights today?" Gabby sighed, glad that the subject was changed to better things.
"That wasn't a very subtle subject change, but I will play along because the subject is started to make me sad." Dinah smiled, looking up at Gabby for a minute and blue eyes connected with blue.
"Can't slip anything past you, Gabriel. After the things you have been through for the last 8 or so years, you must be the master of secrecy." she said.
"Yes, I AM ready for the swordfights." Gabby said, chuckling, getting her topic away from her secrets. "I hope that the men out there are only as strong as they look. With the exception of Rhyse, I reckon Thadius will be the hardest one to beat in this task, since even now I struggle to win swordfights between him and myself."
"I believe in you."
"Thank you." It was apparent that the seer was tired, so Gabby sat there with Dinah in silence as she watched the sky and the stars. Sooner than she thought, she saw the sky go from darkness to light, with dark clouds and a promise of rain within them.... It was beautiful to witness none the less. It didn't last very long, for wind had started to pick up, and Gabby wondered how long it would be before the rain started again. She could smell it in the air. When the winds blew hard enough to make the sleeping girl beside her shiver, Gabby stood up and gently picked her up, careful as to not disturb her slumber. She walked Dinah through the corridors and finally got her to their quarters.
After tucking the younger blonde in, the knight watched the girl in awe, unsure of what she was feeling at this moment. It was as if her insides had awakened with this new day, and Gabby felt scared. "How can you ever not notice the beauty you've grown into?" Gabby whispered. "You will make a young man very happy, Dinah, gifts and all." She added before picking up Diable' Blanc (her name for the rabbit, which is French for 'white devil' ), and walking out to the stables. Kafka was just getting there when Gabby had arrived. His hair was ruffled, and she watched as he groggily moved about the stables, caring for the horses.
"Couldn't sleep, Sir Gabriel?" he asked, taking the cage from her and handing her a carrot to feed to Nix.
"Had some sleep, but I was awakened by an emergency, and I had to see what was going on." Gabby said slowly. Kafka nodded, then fed the rabbit cut up pieces of the carrot while Gabby held out the one in her hand to Nix. As she watched her large friend devour the carrot, she heard the boy yawn. She turned to look at Kafka and watched him for a moment. He was a tall lanky boy with light brown hair and green eyes. He wore regular brown trousers and a white shirt which looked to be his only outfit. Gabby knew that on the outside no one would ever know the special qualities this boy had within him. Why would they, he's just a stable boy? But Gabby knew. No one would see that his heart shone more than that of any knight she'd ever met.
"I couldn't either." Kafka said, snapping Gabby out of the short inspection of him. "Sir Rhyse and a few of his men were singing sea shantees as they drank last night. I wonder why they chose to sing sea shantees when I know most of them have never even seen the ocean. They were talking rather loud by my room, though." The boy rolled his eyes and then looked over to Gabby. "Why weren't you at the celebrations? There was plenty of bards and acrobats and dancers... And there was a man there that ate his sword... He didn't look hurt, but that is like committing suicide each time he dares to do this trick. You should have seen it, though." Kafka seemed to be talking more to himself after a while, and Gabby listened as she pet Nix. "... The stories were all the same. You know, about the war and all that in which everyone's heard by now, but there was one about this ancient princess who could see the future and told stories to the children about what she saw... Flying contraptions that carried people across the seas and such, and that was my favorite."
"That sounds a little far fetched. Flying contraptions... So silly." Gabby said absently, thinking over Dinah's dream for a second and wondering if there ever would be such inventions.
"Aw, it was just a tale, but it was very entertaining. Everyone watched the bard with great interest." The knight nodded. Kafka looked at the castle and saw that people were waking up. "It is time to eat, Sir Gabriel. You might want to go into the great hall before they believe that one of their top knights got lost or something equally horrible happened." Gabby nodded and patted Nix one last time before she walked slowly inside. 'If anything, I could get a little bit to eat to keep up my strength...' the knight thought as she made her way to joined the other knights.
"Gabriel, are you alright?" Irene asked as she watched the boy in front of her. She had just found blood on some of his linens and felt a slight panic. 'I told that man to take it easy on his frail form. He isn't tough enough for all that rough housing.' the woman thought, glaring at Thadius, who was still sleeping. Gabriel Andrew, the newest addition to the Manx house hold, looked down at her sweetened morning bread, blushing lightly.
"Yes. I-I am fine." The squire seemed into her thoughts as she spoke profanities to herself. 'How could I be so stupid and forget about my monthly bleeding?!' she scolded herself.
"The e was blood on your linens, Gabriel. If you were wounded yesterday, you should have come to see me." She said firmly, but not in a scolding manner, just in a way to let the squire know that there needn't be any awkwardness when coming to talk to her. "I don't care about your pride, Gabe. If you are hurt, I will care for you."
"Thank you. I-I guess I thought it wasn't as bad yesterday, and it must have... re.... opened... and bled." Gabby trailed off, knowing she sounded like a fool, but she looked up to see that Irene was watching her with a face filled with concern.
"I will give Thadius a talking to about that rough housing. I will tell him to slow it down."
"NO!" Irene stared at her, shocked at Gabby's almost desperate tone. "I-I mean... Telling him... That will just... He..."
"Gabriel?"
"He gave me one shot at this, and if he thinks he's too rough with me right now as it is... Irene, I have seen him fight those other knights... Even a squire half my age should be able to fight him at the strength of his rough housing. If he thinks I am weak then he will have no use for me as a squire. I just need to toughen up, is all, honest." Gabby felt stupid. She really did, but Irene saw the determination in the squire's eyes as well as something that resembled fear, so she nodded her head in understanding.
"Just... be careful, okay?" Gabby nodded. "Okay, eat up, or you will never have the strength to beat Thadius in a swordfight." She teased, pushing the bread closer to the squire. Gabby smiled, then did as she was told.
Gabby and 15 other men stood in front of the king in a line in the jousting field. They were all wearing a shirt made of chainmail to cover their chests, but there was a painted circle on the chests over the heart. When Gabby was given her chainmail shirt, she was confused by this marking as was everyone else. Things were definitely going to be a little bit different from the other swordfights she'd witnessed. Like all of the men, Gabby was holding onto her sword as a lifeline, and she knew that her knuckles had gone white around it. The blonde knight looked down the row and made eye contact with Sir Rhyse briefly before turning away in disgust. She then looked in the crowd to find that Dinah wasn't there, which had disappointed her somewhat. She knew and understood her reasoning of course, but it would have made this task easier just knowing the seer was there. She hoped in her mind and heart that things were going well for the girl. As she thought of the girl, her insides seemed to liven up some like it had earlier that morning as she saw the girl sleep. 'Is this supposed to happen? Can my heart crumble and leap for joy at the same time?' she asked herself. King Bruce announced the first pair of knights who were supposed to fight first . Gabby sighed a breath of relief when her name wasn't called. "Sir Paul Smith vs. Sir Rhyse Hawk." Gabby and the rest of the men besides the two called walked to the shelter provided that was out of the way, which was just as well, considering it was to rain at any moment. Sir Rhyse was carefree as he stood in front of his opponent, waiting for orders and the permission to start. "The rules to this task are simple, as they all are. See the blue paint over the chest of your shirts?" Both men nodded. "The man who can get past their opponent's sword and can tap or even touch that paint on the armoured shirts wins that fight. Get ready!" The man, Ketterly, watched as the men got into their stances and waited for the signal to go.
"GO!" He called, watching them both closely. After watching Sir Rhyse in his fight with Sir Paul, Gabby had confirmed her thoughts on the knight, knowing for sure that she almost hated the man. He was a bully, he was too sure of himself, and well, after that first task and what he did, Gabby was sure he wasn't a true knight with such behaviour. He liked to use intimidation as a key tool to his success in these fights, and it worked, and it threw poor Sir Paul off of his game. Gabby was sorry to see the man win, as mean as those thoughts were. She truthfully didn't want to have to go up against him in this tournament. "Sir Thadius Manx Vs. Sir Cashius!" Ketterly yelled to the audience. The two knights looked at each other with a raised eyebrow.
"I wish you the best, brother." Of course they weren't really brothers, but their bond ran through them thicker than blood. Thadius nodded to his friend.
"Nothing but." he replied. Gabby smiled as she watched the men face each other. There were footsteps, and she saw Brian, whom was eliminated from the first task, but was sticking around to watch his father and his twin (both there to win some prize money) in action.
"Hey Charles, I bet you 10 coins that Thadius loses this match." he whispered to his brother, who was standing next to Gabby. The other twin grinned.
"I bet you 20 coins that he goes down in less than 100 strokes."
"And what if he wins?" Gabby asked. She knew she shouldn't be butting into this, but Gabby was a gambling man at heart and couldn't resist a good wager now and then, and she was good at it, knowing her limit and when she should back down.
"You know Thadius can't win against our old man." Charlie boasted, obviously proud to share blood with the man he spoke so fondly of.
"True that is, but it has been almost a year since they had last had a match together. Don't you think Thadius has gotten better since then?" 'Training himself so he can keep me on my toes.' Gabby thought with a smile.
"Fine. What if he wins?" Brian asked.
"I will wager that he wins this match, and if he loses -and you are indeed right- then I will give you 40 gold coins." The boys slapped palms in their excitement. "EACH." She stressed. She had the money locked away from when she'd won 200 coins in a swordfight a month before the war had broke out. The boys looked shocked at first, for that was quite a lot to wager on a simple bet, and they only did so between themselves because they ended up buying each other drinks and betting it back and forth between them all the time. This was different, but they still seemed sure of their father, so they nodded.
"You're on, and 80 coins poorer, my friend." Charles said with a cocky grin.
"We'll see who's satchel gets heavier. Until then, I suggest watching the match before your flapping gums jinxes it for you both." Gabby said. The boys laughed, and Gabby joined in before she turned and watched the field, waiting for the match to begin.
"GO!!" Ketterly yelled suddenly. The strokes were like clasps of thunder as metal hit metal with amazing force. This was how most of the men's swordfights were, but they were both putting everything into this fight as well as keeping in mind that it was just like any other they had between them. Gabby had no fears for a sore loser in this match. People in the audience were heard cheering for the knights, and it seemed just as she had always pictured her and Johnny Boy as a knightly team, playing around in front of a crowd at the same time they put their everything onto it as well. "I know. And the crowd would be screaming our names because they aren't sure which knight would win, but they wouldn't care either way because they'd be promised a good match no matter what." Gabby smiled at the memory of her friend, wondering where he'd gone, and hoped he didn't have to go to war. A loud clunk took Gabby from her thoughts as she saw that Thadius's sword tip was on the blue paint on Cashius' armoured shirt. Gabby heard the boys groan in the roaring of the crowd. Thadius looked up at the sky and so did Cashius. From the darkening specks of dirt on the ground, Gabby guessed that it was starting to rain as she had predicted.
"We'll get you your money to you after the task." Charles whispered to Gabby, who couldn't help but smile in a manner that clearly said 'I told you so'. "Yeah yeah." Charles said, waving her off before she could gloat and rub things in. Thadius and Cashius looked winded but excited at the same time. They were both grinning from ear to ear.
"You have gotten better, Thadius, no sense in denying that." Cashius said to his long time friend. He then went to his sons who helped him out of his shirt and they walked away to go put it away.
"That was the best match I have ever seen, Thadius!" Gabby said in the manliest way possible, punching his shoulder and forgetting about the chainmail. She hissed in pain and Thadius roared in laughter. Gabby tried not to pout at her now throbbing hand. 'Ass.' she called herself.
"No that wasn't, and you know it." He said, watching Gabby closely. He knew after a minute what was wrong with his young friend, and why she was acting a little over excited about the last match. Gabby had this look of great victory on her face (although a guilty one), and the older knight knew exactly what it was that had caused it. "You bet on me again, didn't you?" Gabby knew she was caught.
"Yes," she said sheepishly, "but only because they were betting on how quickly you would lose. I had to put in a wager for if you won, it was too tempting." Gabby said, fully intent on defending herself. Thadius studied the younger knight.
"How much this time?"
"Eighty gold coins." The look on Thadius' face was priceless, and Gabby would have given up half of her life just to see it again. She laughed at the shock seen on his features.
"Good God! Gabriel, that is more than the price of that ruddy horse of yours! You might as well have bet HIM." Gabby snorted, then watched as Thadius set his sword down then sat down next to it. He was a little tired, and he needed to rest his feet.
"That was how I got him, if you remember. That knight didn't want to back down from the bet at such a high stake, so he bet his horse." Gabby said. "Best bet I ever made." She then looked at Thadius. "I would have bet him, but your pride just isn't worth the risk, old man, even if I was almost certain that you would come out the victor of that match." Thadius glared at Gabby, which would have normally intimidated the younger knight if he hadn't grinned almost instantly afterwards.
"I get half." he said as usual.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Gabby said, making the burly man chuckle. She sat down next to him and he patted her shoulder so hard that she would have probably fallen over had she still been standing.
