Chapter 10: Warrior Princess
HALE
I grunted as my sword clashed with the bandit's. His size was definitely an advantage for him, but I was much faster. We both leapt away at the same time, panting.
"You ain't half bad, girl," the bandit said. "But you still ain't good enough to beat me!" With a roar he charged forward. I rolled my eyes, and at the last second dove to the right and slashed his legs. He bellowed in pain and tumbled to the ground. As he was attempting to get up, I punched him in the stomach. I wasn't ready to kill yet. He passed out instantly, but there was no time to celebrate. I whirled around just in time to block an attack from another bandit. Jeez, how many were there? I lost count of how many Kay and I had already taken out, but it was definitely taking its toll on me. I could feel my movements becoming more sluggish and sloppy. I needed to finish this, and fast. Luckily, the bandits weren't exactly skilled and often their mismatched weapons failed them in the end.
With a yell I managed to push the bandit off me, and before he could react I kicked him between the legs, hard. He went down immediately. His companion came at me with a sword and I somehow managed to parry the attack. The bandit, a nasty looking fellow with an eye patch, growled and slashed at me again. I blocked the blow, then struck back. He grunted as our swords collided. Hmm, it appeared this one actually had some skill.
"So, you obviously have experience with a sword, unlike most of your companions. Where did you learn?" I asked, dodging a blow. The bandit sneered at me.
"Don' matter, do it? 'Sides, where'd a crazy woman like you learn to fight like a man?" He brought his sword around in an arc, and would have sliced off my leg had I not caught the edge of his sword on the hilt of mine. The bandit gaped, obviously not expecting me to be skilled enough to stop his attack. His hands slackened on the sword in surprise. I grinned.
"I learned from the best, and I'm not fighting like a man, I'm fighting like a woman! Which is more than I can say for you." With a quick twist of the wrist, I managed to disarm him. While he was distracted, I landed an uppercut on his jaw. He flew back a couple feet and was still. Satisfied, I straightened up with a groan and rubbed my sore shoulders. I started to walk forwards when I tripped over something on the ground. I cursed, then realized I had tripped over a scabbard. My eyes lit up as I grabbed the scabbard and buckled it around my waist.
As I was fiddling with the straps, a pained cry rent the air. I looked back to see Kay with a long slash across his chest. My heart nearly stopped. The wound didn't look deep, but it was bleeding profusely. Kay was panting hard, but somehow managed to stay on his feet. The bandit he was fighting laughed.
"Not so tough now, eh?" he grinned, swinging his bloody sword around. "What'cha gonna do, gypsy prince?" In a movement so fast I couldn't believe he was injured, Kay slashed the bandit across the shins. As the bandit's legs collapsed beneath him, Kay neatly stabbed him through the heart. I gasped, in slight shock. The bandit fell over dead instantly. I was about to start cheering when Kay wobbled and fell over. The three bandits that were left started laughing.
"You're all alone now, girly. Why don't you just give up?" One of them walked over to Kay's prone body and raised his club. As he brought the weapon down, I hurled myself at him and knocked us both over.
"You little -" he started, but he didn't get the chance to finish as I hit him over the head with the butt of my sword. I jumped up and glared at the last two bandits, who cowered away from me and started running. Sheathing my sword, I grabbed the fallen bandit's club and ran after them. They were fast, but I was faster. As they approached the tree line, I swung the club and hit them both on the head, just enough to knock them out. Panting hard, I dropped the club and jogged back to where Kay was lying barely conscious.
"You… owe me… big time," I gasped, hauling him up and looping an arm around my shoulders. Man, he was heavier than I expected.
"All right… you've gotta… stay conscious… long enough to… walk until… we find… the others," I forced out between pants. He grunted in acknowledgment, leaning heavily on me for support. Then we started off to find everyone else.
It didn't take us long to catch up to the rest of the gypsies. It turns out that they decided to wait for us. I was touched that they didn't want to abandon us, but angry that they'd stayed. What if we hadn't defeated the bandits?
"Thank goodness you two made it back!" Vivian exclaimed. The relief on her face quickly changed to horror when she saw Kay's wounds.
"Quickly! Lay him down there. Alec, fetch some bandages and rags at once. Isolde, run and get some water. There are bowls in the cart," she commanded.
The two children immediately ran off to do as they were told. I staggered over to where Vivian gestured and tried to lay Kay down as gently as possible. I stood up and my vision wavered as the events of the day finally came crashing down on me in a wave of exhaustion. Dimly, I heard the cries of the gypsies as I blacked out.
Something furry was tickling my cheek. I wrinkled my nose and swatted the furriness away. It squeaked indignantly before I felt a sharp sting on my ear. I yelped and sat up, sending poor Gwaine flying. Rubbing my ear, I brought my hand to my face to see blood on my fingertips.
"You bit me!" I exclaimed, pointing at the annoyed marten. "I can't believe you actually bit me!" He chittered angrily, probably upset that I'd accidentally thrown him off. I sighed.
"Okay, I'm sorry for launching you. But you bit me, so really it's your fault."
Gwaine chittered louder. I threw my hands in the air. "All right! Let's just call it even then!" Giggles erupted from my right, and I turned to see Isolde and Alec covering their mouths with their hands. That's when I realized how ridiculous I must have seemed and blushed. Who argues with a marten anyway?
"Oh good, you're awake. You've been asleep for a couple hours. How are you feeling?" Vivian knelt beside me and put a damp cloth to my forehead. I sighed happily.
"I'm feeling much better now. I think I was just exhausted from everything that happened. I'll be okay," I said with a smile.
"I wouldn't be too sure of that," a hoarse voice interjected. Kay was attempting to sit up, grimacing as the action tugged at his wounds. However, he still found the strength to smile smugly at me. "She must have hit her head awfully hard if she was arguing with a marten." I glowered at him.
"Says the idjit that nearly got himself sliced in half!" I shot back. He made a face.
He raised an eyebrow and looked at me smugly, "Speaking of which, how is it that I, the experienced warrior, came out of the battle with one hell of a scar, and you, the amnesiac nomad, came out almost entirely unscathed?" Kay asked. Now it was my turn to grin smugly.
"I'm just that good," I replied triumphantly, while wincing at the same time. Alec and Isolde were laughing the entire time we were bickering. Gwaine had climbed into Isolde's lap and I could have sworn there was an amused glint in his beady little eyes.
"Whatever you say," Kay replied with a dramatic sigh. Then his demeanor became serious. He looked away from me as he spoke, "Thank you. If it weren't for you, we would never have survived. We would probably be at the slave market by now." He looked at me gratefully. " If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask. We are forever in your debt," he said, looking directly into my eyes. I was stunned to say the least.
"Woah, woah, woah, back up a little. I was trapped too; and I never could have defeated all those bandits by myself, or freed everyone from the carts. That was all Gwaine anyway. You were quite brave as well. Give me no credit for this, you saved your own people. I merely helped," I exclaimed, waving my hands in front of me. I really didn't do anything. In fact, I wondered how I actually saved everyone. How did I have this strength and swiftness, where did that come from? I knew the answer would come in figuring out my past, and I knew that I would need the help of these gentle gypsies to figure this out.
Kay laughed in disbelief and his eyes gazed at my face with confusion, not believing that any credit could go to him and his people. After a moment, he sat up a little straighter than before, clearly proud of himself. When he realized that he was basking in his glory, he cleared his throat and looked down.
"Still, we are grateful. Bandit raids have become much more common lately, what with Cairon attacking everyone. All the strong warriors who would normally be protecting their homes are either off fighting or were killed by Cairon's men. Some even joined Cairon, whether out of fear or greed I don't know. They've left their people vulnerable, and the bandits take full advantage of that. And with Prince Arthur missing, I hear that Uther has been ordering all knights to protect the citadel. They're in complete disarray without him." I frowned. How could one person turn the entire land upside down like this?
"Who is fighting Cairon?" I asked. Kay shrugged.
"I don't think there is any organized group battling Cairon. It seems to me that it's more like pocket resistances."
My frown deepened.
"Well, that won't work. They'd need a huge army to take down a sorcerer as powerful as Cairon!" Briefly, an image of a deathly pale man blasting open a pair of double doors crossed my mind. I blinked, then shook my head. That was strange.
"By the way," I said slowly. "What happened to the king of Actica? Shouldn't he be trying to help his people rather than letting them flee?" Kay looked at me in shock, but Vivian simply looked sad.
"I never finished telling you Cairon's story, did I?" she asked. I thought about it, then realized that the bandits had attacked before she could finish. She sighed and said, "In the middle of the festivities I told you about, Cairon and some of his men attacked the castle. Almost everyone at the celebration was killed, including the king and his two sons. The princess, however, went missing. I heard she ended up in Camelot, but then disappeared along with Prince Arthur and some of the knights…"
The rest of her words were drowned out in a white hot burst of pain. I clutched my head as images and sounds flooded my mind with the force of the spring storms. A white and scarlet dress. Butterflies. A sneering king. A sparkling crown. Screams, so many screams. Two young princes, both face down in a pool of their own blood. A dying man garbed in the robes of a king. And finally, a man that looked like Death himself standing victoriously in the midst of a bloody hall.
I couldn't stop panting, and soon all the air in my lungs dissipated and I retched. In a rush air filled my lungs, but was soon gone as I screamed, nearly tearing my hair out in my futile attempt to stop the pain the flow of images was causing me. I vaguely saw Kay and Vivian attempting to calm me down while Alec, Isolde, and Gwaine looked on in fright. I thrashed around, whimpering.
After what seemed like ages, the memories - if that's what they were - stopped assaulting me. I lay limp, gasping for breath and sweating profusely. The worried faces of my friends peered down at me. To my utter dismay, I started to sob, and all I could think was, I do not cry!
"Ainia? Are you alright?" Vivian asked. Ainia? Oh right, that's what Vivian named me. Slowly, I nodded.
"What happened? You just started screaming to 'make it stop' all of a sudden," Kay said, worry written all over his face. I shuddered.
"I-I'm not sure. I just had these visions, these horrible visions of a battle. A massacre. Everyone was dead. The guests, the princes, the king, all of them!" The more I talked, the wider Vivian and Kay's eyes became. Vivian suddenly turned to Alec and Isolde.
"Children, go back to the others. And not a word of this to anyone, do you understand?" The two nodded and raced off with Gwaine. Meanwhile, Kay was patting my back as I tried to get myself under control. Vivian settled in front of me and put her warm, rugged hands on my face. She looked at Kay with worry.
"Well, she doesn't have a fever."
"What? What are you talking about?" I slurred my words, as I started to feel a throbbing in my head.
Kay shuffled to my other side. His angelic face started to become blurry. Angelic face? Oh what is wrong with me? I asked myself, suddenly realizing that my thoughts no longer made any sense.
"What is happening to her?" Kay asked.
Vivian shook her head. "I don't know child. There are many things at work here. Touch her skin." She took Kay's hand and rested it on my chest. I could feel the sweat running down my body as his soft fingers contacted my skin. I looked away, slightly ashamed that I was letting a man touch me. Kay's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, and he looked at Vivian startled.
"She's sweating profusely, but there's no fever."
"Exactly! But press down on her skin a little more."
Kay obeyed Vivian, and pressed his hand down. His hands were strong, and I started to panic. What were they doing to me? I tried to get up, but I was weak and Vivian pushed me down against the floor effortlessly.
"Do not move! Just close your eyes. You needn't worry."
What choice did I have? Kay and Vivian would be too strong for me now as I felt the energy in my body slowly leave me. But I didn't close my eyes.
For a couple minutes, Kay pushed his hand down on my body. Once in a while his fingers would trace small circles sending my heart into wild flutters. When I looked at him to see why he was doing such things, I could see in his eyes that he was far away.
Suddenly he gasped and pulled his hand away. He looked at Vivian with wide eyes. She heaved a deep sigh.
"What…. was that?!" Kay exclaimed, as he panted.
"It's as I suspected. I thought perhaps maybe the bandits had poisoned you, and that you were merely hallucinating."
I'm so tired, is all I could think. I just need to rest my eyes…
"It's magic isn't it?"
What was going on? I couldn't hear anything, I could only see the fear in their faces. Vivian shot up and started to speak to Kay frantically. As he looked up, fury started to distort his face, and he argued with her. She pointed to where the others were waiting and he pointed at me.
Then came the waves of darkness. I was in and out of slumber and consciousness. Perhaps I did this for hours, and each time I came to Vivian and Kay were still fighting.
What was happening? Did they find out that I possessed magic? Oh no. Surely they would kill me now. Then I blacked out again, this time for longer.
Soon the sound of chirping winter birds and the lapse of water onto shore filled my ears. My head moved up and down slightly, and before I could even open my eyes I thought, I am going to slip back to nothing again. But I didn't.
I woke up to the sound of a heartbeat. I was laying on something soft, which I wasn't expecting. I looked to my left to see what I was resting my head on, and was shocked to find Kay there fast asleep. I quickly shot up and jumped away from him. I put my hand on my head and groaned. I could hear the crackling of a fire, so I guessed that it was evening. How long was I out for?
I looked at Kay. He was shirtless, but otherwise fully clothed, and I could see the bandages around his torso. He was sleeping with his hands behind his head, and some drool slipped out of his mouth. Oh, what a wonderful sight that was! Still, I was utterly outraged. He slept beside me while I was unconscious. Some women would think that sweet, but not me.
I scooted closer to him. "When you wake up, I am going to kill you."
One of his eyes opened and stared right at me, and I glared back. He blinked and slowly awoke. Just as he was fully alert, I slapped him.
He grunted. "Damn it! What was that for?" I just looked at him, as if that was explanation enough. He smirked and chuckled.
"Why are you being so arrogant?"
"You think I'm being arrogant?" He shook his head and moved closer to me. I stared at him seriously, he'd better not try anything on me.
He sighed heavily, and relaxed a bit. "You've been unconscious for days. Your breathing was irregular. Vivian got worried and she left to find you a cure. I thought that it was my duty to make sure you were okay."
For days? Those weird images left me comatose for days? I should have said thank you, but somehow I couldn't get the words out.
"Huh, well aren't you charming," was all that I could muster. I didn't feel exhausted anymore, but my mind felt fuzzy.
Kay just looked away for a moment. And then I remembered the bits and pieces before I blacked out.
"What were you and Vivian arguing about?" I asked. Just as I said that, Vivian swept into view. I didn't even get time to ask her where she had gone or what she did because she was already questioning me.
"Ainia? I know this was traumatic for you, but could you tell us what you saw?"
"What I saw?" I repeated. "Why?" I really didn't want to remember.
"It could help us figure out who you are. And before you say anything," she added, noticing I was about to protest. "That was not nothing. No one has visions that vivid unless they are gifted with the power of foresight or are reliving memories. Not to mention they caused you to sleep for days! I have never seen anything like that." I grimaced, but retold everything I'd seen. Vivian looked very grim by the time I'd finished.
"It must be magic!" she exclaimed.
"That's what I said at first, but you are just an ignorant old woman who has ears for only her own voice. " Kay responded harshly to Vivian. She gave him a deadly look, but he didn't seemed frightened by her. She ignored him and concentrated on me.
"I think someone may have cast a spell on you. Maybe to forget who you really are?"
Before I could say anything, Kay interjected, "And I wonder how you came up with that? Have you been meditating on a mountain for these past few days? I could have told you that!"
"Hush boy!" She returned her gaze to me.
"Why do you think that is?" She knelt down and came closer to me, "Why would they want you to forget who you are?"
There was a wondrous sparkle in her eyes. I didn't respond, mostly because I knew she was just talking to herself.
She continued, "I know you may find this hard to believe Ainia, but is it possible that you could be the lost princess of Actica?"
The empty silence that hung in the air was eerie. Me? A princess? I was tempted to dismiss the idea immediately, but something about that statement felt familiar. If I truly was the princess, then the scene I just experienced would make complete sense. The image of the two dead brothers and king had hit me especially hard. Coupled with Vivian's story, her theory seemed more probable than I wanted to admit. But then what had I been doing to lose my memory? I was so frustrated. It seemed like maybe I'd finally started remembering who I was, but this little episode only brought up more confusion and questions. Sensing my distress, Kay spoke up.
"Why don't we call it a night? Perhaps things will be clearer after we've all rested. These last few days have been overwhelming. I wanted to argue that I'd already been out for a while, but chose to keep quiet. I laid back down and tried to make myself comfortable on the cold hard ground. I turned on my side so that I was facing the blank canvas of the tent. Vivian left, but Kay stayed behind. I could feel his calm eyes on my back. Suddenly, I broke out into horrible shivers, which unfortunately did not go unnoticed by Kay. He slowly crawled over to me and put his hand on my arm to turn me over.
"Are you cold? If you need me to keep you warm I will."
Little Gwaine came running in from outside and nestled under my chin. I looked at Kay and shook my head, then closed my eyes in an attempt to forget everything for a while. But no matter how hard I tried, the image of that man laughing at the carnage around him continued to haunt me.