CHAPTER 8
A NICE LITTLE TALK
Kai was alone inside the recovery room with Kitty. He had no idea what to do or what to say. It would've been better if one of the other knights could've stayed with him. Maybe even the prince. They were supposed to make sure nothing happened to him. Unfortunately he was out helping the knights. Why wasn't he here to also give Kitty some company. Kai walked over to the window, breathing in the outside air. It was becoming stuffy inside the room. Was it getting warmer or was it just Kai? Kitty gave the red knight a weird look when he turned back around to look into her emerald green eyes. They shined so bright that he could shield his eyes away if there was such a bright light in front of him.
Kai gave a goofy smile. "Does it feel hot in here to you? If it does, I could ask the physician for a fan."
"It feels fine in here to me," Kitty said, "Are you alright, sir?"
"Please call me Kai. I don't feel much like a sir."
"What do you mean?"
"I suppose you've never heard of me before. I am Kai Smith, the red knight, the symbol of fire, protector of the Southern border of Nin. I wasn't born a noble and I'm pretty sure they all know about my past. Kind of the reason why I'm not married."
"You seem a little too young to get married."
"I'm twenty-four so I'm not technically young. I should be married by now. I should have kids. But I don't." Kai looked Kitty up and down. "You look pretty young yourself."
"I'm twenty-two. How young did you think I was?"
"I'd say you look about sixteen or seventeen years old."
"Well, I do appreciate you saying that. I'm not as beautiful as you say I am. If you take one good look at me, I'm nothing but a poor crippled woman who will never be allowed to have a normal life just because she only has one working leg."
"How did it happen?"
"I was born a cripple. If you haven't notice, they are no surgeries to cure the cripple. Even if there was, I wouldn't be able to get it. It would be too expensive."
Kai felt bad for Kitty. He actually had the courage to place his hand in her uninjured one. "You're so used to it, though. Would you really want the surgery?"
Kitty sighed. "In a way, I would want it, but I wouldn't change meself in any way that I wouldn't want to. It's how I was born. It's who I am. I'm happy being me."
"So am I. Well, I'm happy to be who I am now."
"What were you before?"
Before Kai could say anything, the door opened. The doctor came inside, but Kai and Kitty unlocked their hands before he knew what was going on. The doctor smiled. "Please do not mind me. I just came in to wash my hands. I have another patient in the curtain room and I need to make sure I'm not carrying germs. Most doctors don't think about that." Once the doctor finished up, he left the room, but coming in was Prince Lloyd. The doctor bowed. "Good day, my Prince."
Lloyd sighed. "When I become king, I'm gonna ban people bowing before me. Can they see that I'm not the Great Sensei? Anyway, Sir Cole said that you needed to meet us at the inn in half an hour. Just let the doctor know to keep an eye on Kitty."
"Who will watch over her?" Kai asked.
"There's no need to worry about me," Kitty said.
"Sir Zane will come at nightfall to stand guard at the door," Lloyd said, "She'll be fine until then."
Kai sighed. He looked at Kitty. "I'll be back tomorrow morning."
"I'll be here waiting for you," Kitty said.
When the two left the physician's cabin, Lloyd smirked at Kai. "So did you two have a good time?"
"What are you talking about?" Kai asked.
"I'm pretty sure you two were talking in there. Come on. Tell me what you two were talking about?"
"Nothing. We didn't talk about anything. We weren't even talking."
"Then why were you standing by the bed side? You can't lie about that."
"She needed help sitting up a bit and as a knight, it was my duty to help."
"As the prince of Nin, I order you to tell me what happened."
"Excuse me, but if I recall, you can't order me to do anything. Only the king can and he's not here so you can't tell me to do anything."
"Well, I'm the future king. You still can't say no."
"Yes, I can."
"Okay. Keep it to yourself all you want, but I'll figure it out one way or another."
"You do that."
Lloyd rolled his eyes and followed after Kai, who was walking away without him. Kai couldn't believe how easy it was to talk to Kitty. He wouldn't tell Lloyd that, though. This was something he was definitely keeping to himself.
NEXT SCENE:
Back with Pythor, the snake was looking through the Legends of Serpentine book. He couldn't get one thought out of his mind. How did the black knight end up with the book? The book that was written by Pythor`s own grandfather. The book that was stolen years ago by a human. The book that was filled with many ways to hurt people and stop snakes. How did the black knight get it? He would figure it out. He knew that much. He had a plan to get the kingdom and stop the knights from trying to take it from him. He always had a plan.
A knock came on the door. Pythor slithered over to get it. It was someone beautiful. Someone he loved. Someone who loved him more than any other snake. Someone who was his biggest fan. Someone Pythor fell in love with and wanted to marry shortly after they met. The beautiful and lovely Scalina. An Anacondrai just like him. She was the last few females of his kind and there weren't many male Anacondrai. She chose him, though. The one and only Pythor B. Chumsworth.
Pythor pulled her closer, happy to be seeing his beautiful bride. "My dear Scalina. I'm so happy to see you. This day has been such a drag."
"Well you did conjure up a powerful earthquake," Scalina said, "Things do tend to get depressing after such a catastrophe."
"Yes, but you know how to brighten up a snake's day." Pythor kissed his wife fully on the lips. "What say you and I go out for an evening stroll?"
Scalina sighed. "I'm tired of walking around the village. I'd rather be walking around the halls and gardens of a castle. When will we get it all?"
"Soon, my darling. Be patient now. Once we take down the knights and get rid of the king, it will be all ours."
"You've been saying that for ages." Scalina slithered away from Pythor. "What's taking so long? Why haven't you found anything? You've been begging yourself to find that book and you have it. It shouldn't take that long to take over Nin."
"Patience, my darling. I promise that the kingdom will all ours. I already know what's in the book. I have it all planned out. I just need you to trust me."
"I do trust you, Pythor, but you're making all these promises to me and your not keeping them. The longer I wait, the more impatient I become."
"That's one of the things I love about you." Pythor wraps his arms around his wife and kisses her passionately. "I promise you this, though. The entire kingdom will be ours. The knights will be out of our scales, the king will be dead, and the Serpentine will reign Nin and control all the humans. They will be our slaves, our servants, whatever you want them to be. I'll even let you set up the orphanage that you've always wanted."
"It's all I've ever wanted." Scalina kisses her husband on the cheek. "Do you still wanna go on that walk around the village?"
"I have something even better in mind. What say you and I slither to our very private corners and spend some alone time together. Just the two of us. With nobody else to bother us."
"What about the plan to take over Nin?"
"Tomorrow is a new day, my dear wife. The plan can wait a little longer. You are more important."
"I love you, Pythor B. Chumsworth."
"And I, you, Scalina C. Slithers. And I, you."
They disappeared into their private corners, which was their bedroom. They were about to have a very pleasant night.
NEXT SCENE:
A few days passed by since the knights rescued Kitty from Ronin. The heroes of the kingdom remained with Kitty until she was fully recovered. They wanted to make sure that she was fully healed before she was released from the medical house. The doctor helped their supply storage by giving them first aid medical supplies. The knights paid the doctor for Kitty's stay since she didn't have any money to pay him herself.
Sir Cole place some money in a cloth sack and handed it to Kitty. "This should be enough to help you get through until you get home. Take this horse with you." He gave Kitty a beautiful tan horse with a light blonde mane. "The farmer in the village gave her to us for no charge. It should be safer for you on horseback. We wish you safe travels."
Kitty curtsied to the knights. "I do thank you for everything you've done for me, dear knights. Unfortunately I will be wandering with me new horse. I have no home to return to. I've spent me days wandering around the kingdom. I would like to ask permission to come along with you to wherever you're going."
"Madam, we are actually on a dangerous quest. A person in your condition shouldn't be doing anything risky. We have plans to face the evil Serpentine snake known as Pythor."
Kitty's eyes widened. "You said Pythor?"
"Yes. Do you know him?"
"He's the reason I'm wandering around. He burnt down me home and I've been homeless ever since. I've had it hard since then. If there's one thing I want more in this world, it's to get revenge on that blasted hunk of scales."
Sir Kai saw real determination in Kitty's eyes. She had some beef with Pythor and wanted revenge for what he did to her. Kai walked up to Cole. "I think she should come with us."
"Why do you say that?" Cole asked.
"I don't think I've ever seen a crippled woman with so much determination in her."
"Is that the only reason she should come with us?"
"I can think of a thousand more."
Cole looked at the other three. "What do the rest of you think?"
"I don't see why not," Prince Lloyd said.
"Fine with me," Sir Jay said.
"I do feel a bit uncomfortable about her coming with us, but if she is determined, I will not say no," Sir Zane said.
Cole nodded. "Alright, we'll let her come. On one condition, Kai. You'll be in charge of watching over her."
"Sir Cole, that won't be necessary," Kitty said.
"It's just for precautions," Cole said.
Kai nodded. "I agree to that."
"Alright then. Let's move out, men."
The knights continued on their way. Kai helped Kitty on her horse and started making their way out of the village, continuing on the trail. Nothing would stop them from defeating Pythor. Nothing at all.
SO PYTHOR IS MARRIED? THIS MAKES THINGS INTERESTING. KITTY WANTS TO JOIN THE KNIGHTS ON THEIR QUEST. EVEN MORE INTERESTING. THINGS, AS YOU CAN SAY, ARE GETTING VERY INTERESTING.
WELL MORE WILL BE COMING YOUR WAY.
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