Cearbhail:

So, how are you guys enjoying this story so far? I don't hear a lot so I have no idea how this story is being received. But, since the story is only what...18 chapters in...I don't think I've fully gotten to where this story will become good at all. The Chronicles of Lydia didn't start becoming good until the 21st chapter. That's when I really knew what I wanted to do with it. And even though I know what I want to do, there are still character interactions and personalities that I'm still figuring out. Although, I think this chapter took care of a lot of them. Oh...and a new ship is sailing. OK, enjoy.

[Zorro]

My dearest mother and younger sister,

Do not worry, I am healthy. I have found myself in England in the town of Nottingham where I have met some of the craziest freedom fighters in the need of my aid. I will stay here until I am no longer needed, or until I am needed at home. Do not hesitate to write to me. My current address box is Diego Vega, box 113, Naughty Rd, Nottingham, England.

So, what to tell you of my new life? Well, it started when I interrupted a man transporting a witch that was tied up to a slave runner heading to France by ship. I intervened and tried to free the woman, but she told me that she was going undercover to get her coven freed from the slave ship. I assisted her which led to a ship battle that not only crashed the ship into a harbor, but destroyed half the port town in the process. There were innocent causalities to my error. But I met a beautiful woman on that ship. You'd like her, mother. She has quite the spirit and beautiful eyes of a true goddess. Her name is Laila. She's one of the freedom fighters trying to save this town from the corrupt replacement king.

So, I joined up with their cause and am sneaking into their royal knights to spy on the king's doings. Hopefully I am successful in my attempt. In order to do so, I first must win a tournament. But I have also been given quite an honor. I'm heading up to the castle to speak to the King. I fear he knows of my doings and wants to punish me. In case you don't hear from me in a month or so, you should consider me dead and make a grave for me. Tell my sister I love her.

With much love,

Diego Vega, your son.

…

The courtyard was bigger than I had expected it to be. Rich green grass with rounded trees that were obviously cared for by gardeners. Maids patrolled around the ground making sure it looked clean at all times. Knights stood at attention near all the entrances dressed in their shiny metal carapace-like armor. Some city guards wearing the traditional Templar white chainmail robes patrolled the town, but these were real knights; the kind you find in fairy tales. They were dressed for war. And I was trying to meet them in combat during the tournament. With their heavier armor, they were better protected. I just hoped I could hit them with my saber and still win my matches.

Wolfe, the previous slave ship owner walked in front of me in silence. He found me standing outside the pub, where I waited for Laila to finish presenting her new dress design to the tailor. She was trying to get a job as a stylist and thought that if she made a new style of dress that she'd get a job at the tailor's store. Before I could see her come out, Wolfe approached me and said that the King wanted to see me. This was a golden opportunity, so I accepted. I was a little afraid, though. My heart started racing as Wolfe led me along. He didn't tell me what the King wanted to talk about, but he seemed angry about it. Wolfe knew that I was on his ship fighting his men. He knew that I helped crash the ship into the port. I wonder what I could say to get out of this. Or maybe it had nothing to do about it.

So, I followed behind Wolfe as he led me through the castle interior. All along the way, maids froze as I walked past them. Wolfe started talking about just how the Kings of the past lined the walls with their portraits. "And here you have King…"

Just then a maid walked into my side, hugging me close. "You smell like exoticness." She whispered to me, pulling me in for a kiss." We started making out for a few minutes while Wolfe continued to talk about King La-dee-dah and how he did this…and that. I was trying to listen, but it's hard to hear when all you can hear is someone else's lips on yours. When we finally pulled away, she was breathless. "Come back soon." She whispered to me before running off.

Wolfe turned to look at me. "And there you have it. That's the history of the first Crusade."

I nodded to him while straightening my shirt. I took a deep breath and smiled. "Fascinating, truly."

He didn't smile in return but did address my body with some confusion. "Why are you breathing so heavily? And weren't you wearing a belt earlier?"

I looked down seeing that I forgot to put my belt back on. "Ah…yes. About that…" I started to say to him.

"Wolfe is that you I hear?" I heard a loud booming voice call out.

Wolfe threw his head back, screaming, "Yes, milord. I have the Spanish wanderer you requested." Wolfe nodded to me. "Come with me, Vega." He waved me to follow him as he continued into a large room adorned with rich paintings, statues, chandeliers, and stained glass that created a beautiful hue of coordinated symmetrical colors along the floor. Across the long floor was a group of several thrones. In front of those thrones was a bigger, more extravagant, throne. And in it sat the King. He waited patiently for us as we walked up to him. I glanced around the giant room. Two very long tables that could easily sit 20 or more people lined near the walls. I'm guessing people dine in here during formal meetings with the King. It would make sense. Wolfe finally stopped several feet away from the King, dipping to his knee in a bow. "Sire, I have brought Diego Vega as you have requested."

I was stuck for a second, but seeing Wolfe bow, I quickly threw myself to my knee, dipping my head as he did. The King chuckled at my display and shifted in his seat. "Vega. I have heard that you have befriended the witches. And you helped them crash Wolfe's ship." Ah…so it was about that.

I nodded. "Yes, milord. I am afraid that I cannot sit by while fair maidens suffer." I looked up at him. "I intentionally brought a witch on board with the mind that she was going to free her friends and then they'd leave. Getting stuck out at sea wasn't part of the plan. Crashing the ship was also not part of the plan." I turned to look at Wolfe. "When the ship started sinking, the witches weren't the ones that started bringing it back to port. The witches only tried to raise the water level so that we'd do as least amount of damage as possible." I turned to look at the King. "I was the one that crashed the ship into the shoreline."

The King's eyes perked. "You admit to that? Why?"

I swallowed pretty hard. "I understand you're on a witch hunt and I cannot stand by while fair maidens that haven't done anything wrong suffer. I can't sit by while any person who hasn't done anything wrong suffers."

The King nodded to that. "You speak with honest words, Vega." He turned to Wolfe, nodding to him. "And he shall be punished accordingly." He looked back at me. "While you seem an honorable sort of man, you did cause the death of over 20 civilians…people who did nothing wrong, in your speech. As your punishment, you will join the tournament, as you have requested. If you lose, you will be put to death. If you win, you will work in service to my orders as a knight. You will redeem yourself either way."

I cleared my throat and closed my eyes. So, it was either win and become what I needed to become to help my Master, or die in the process. Well, it wasn't like I could refuse at this point. This was a direct order from the King. I bowed my head in respect of the King. "I understand and will comply."

The King nodded. "And to make sure you don't run, you will be placed in our dungeon cells until the tournament five days from now." The King snapped his fingers and waved down at me. "Take him to his dungeon cell." Two metal-clasped hands closed down around my hands, pulling me up to my feet. Two armored knights stood around me, pulling me back. They started pulling me away. "Treat him like a royal guest, however. No gruel for him. And only the finest of mattresses we have." I couldn't help but actually admire this King. I don't know what people hated so much about him.

I was dragged along by the knights into the under-castle. It was colder, darker, and grimier than I would have imagined it could have been. Several barred rooms were filled with grimy looking people who looked starved and socially depleted. One of the barred rooms was made up of a fully steel door with a small slit-open window. It was guarded by two knights that just stood there in complete silence. I wondered what was behind this steel door. It had to be someone so vile, so unbelievably twisted that the King had no choice but keep them looked behind such an elaborate door with guards posted at all times of the day. I was suddenly pulled to a stop in front of the door. Was…was this my door?

The guards turned me around to one of the barred doors. One of the knights pulled it open and gently ushered me in. He nodded to me, saying, "We'll be back shortly with your new decorations for your cell. If you are hungry just ask pull the cord near the window overlooking the banquet outdoors hall. It pulls on a bell in the dining hall. A maid will come by for your order." He closed the door behind me, locking it. He nodded to me before leaving.

I sat down on my disgusting bed. I couldn't wait until my new bed came in. The giant steel-door room was right in front of me. I wondered what was back there. I didn't hear anything at all. Maybe it was empty? But if that was true, why were there guards stationed there? They were armed to the teeth, literally. They had a knife on every inch of their body, which was covered with the darkest, most sinister armor I've ever seen. Even their faces were covered with plates with razor-sharp teeth plates. Like I said…armed to the teeth. With such sinister guards and such an armored door…what could possibly be back there so vile that these procedures were needed?

I continued to watch as a maid walked up with a cart filled with plates of food. They didn't look like the gruel like I had ever seen. It looked like plates of variously acquired vegetables and some beef. It looked like good balanced meals. She turned to the guards and nodded to them. One of the guards opened a slip on the door big enough for a plate to go through and the maid called out to the prisoner inside. "Ok, guys." Guys? There must be more than one in there. "Here is your food. Hope you enjoy." She called into the visor before sliding in the first plate. Someone dressed in blue walked up to the visor and grabbed the plate of food. She kept handing more and more plates in until all seven of them were gone. She closed the visor and nodded to the guards again before turning to face me. It was the same maid I had made out with earlier. "Well, hello handsome. Do you need anything?"

I shook my head. "I'll give you a ring if I need anything."

She smiled at me and bit her lip. "Feel free to give me a ring anytime you want." She pressed up to the bars of my cell, looking at me like she really wanted me. "Don't hesitate to pull that rope." She whispered to me and turned to leave. She nodded to me, her face blushing over, and she left. I chuckled as I lied down on the disgusting bed. So there was a group of people behind that door. Could they really be that dangerous if they all shared a room together? I doubt it.

Just as I was thinking that, another cart was being wheeled up to the door. I looked up from my bed, seeing the cart filled with various herbs, metals, and powders. A local smith dressed in his work apron was pushing the cart up to the door. "King's orders. He wants more explosive bolts created." The guards stood more at attention now as the guard near the door handle started unlocking the door. When the door cracked open I got a good look inside. Several men and women who looked frail and sleep-deprived were sitting at a giant table. They were dressed in some blue dressy prison attire. The women were wearing just dingy blue dresses that reached their ankles with wide sleeves. The men wore regular blue tunics. They all looked pale, disease-ridden, and on the verge of death. The entire room looked like a giant metal prison with very small windows letting light inside the room. Blood-stained walls covered in weird symbols told me exactly were behind that door.

The smith wheeled the cart into the room and the guards closed the door behind him. The guard nearest the door locked it back down and went back to standing at attention. I knew what they were guarding. They were guarding witches. I've seen those symbols before. Red and her coven-mates wrote those symbols before they did any of their magical studies. So…that's why the King needed all the extra protection. He feared they might escape. And he was using them to create exploding bolts. I remember seeing those in action before. If I'm not mistaken, one of them was used to blow up the wall to the city. And the King had access to people who could not only create them…but who knows what else? I found myself swallowing hard. I was beginning to learn to fear this King. His resources were great, his temper patient, and his methods deadly. I better win this tournament; otherwise Red will never know what happened to the rest of her coven.

…

[Malik]

I looked over my shoulder to make certain we were not followed. I gestured to my sister and started walking into the pub. My sister followed in behind me. I closed the door behind us and looked at her. She was covered in soot from head-to-toe. She was a mess. She clutched a ruined white dress in her hands like it was her pride and joy. It was also covered in soot.

She looked down at the dress, sighing. "I worked on this thing for three days!" She tossed it to the ground, crossing her arms. "Figures. I finally get to a place that values fashion and when I present some of our fashions from back home…not only is it called disgusting and outlandish but I destroy it with the rest of the shop."

Laila always wanted to be a stylist back home. She didn't want to be an Assassin but someone who designed clothes and make-ups. When she heard that Red was working at a bakery she wanted to get a job as a stylist for this town. She thought she would help it by making them all happily clothed in bright colorful clothes instead of the 'mud brown' that was commonly worn around here. Even so, I guess the tailor didn't think colorful dresses and tunics were in fashion at the moment. She was way ahead of her time, I think.

"So, brother. What did you wish to talk about?" She asked as she looked at me.

That was right. I had forgotten that I called her in here so that I could tell her about the whole situation going on in the King's court. So, I started telling her about what I had discovered with the artifacts and the Templars. Of course she knew what a Templar was. Our Master back home never shut up about them, and how evil they were. They wanted to control the world and be its sole rulers. We Assassins existed to keep the freedom in place. In a way, it made since that the current King of England wanted to control the world as its sole ruler. And when I told her about the artifacts and how they would be used to control the world, she only nodded in understanding. When I told her about one of the Templars coming here with one of the artifacts, she rubbed her chin.

"Ok, so…we're going to go intercept this artifact?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yes. We must keep it away from King John as long as we can. If we destroy it, he'll never control the world."

She gestured to her clothes. "Do I have time to bathe first? And change out of these clothes?"

I shrugged. "Sure, but meanwhile, I'll be getting Locksley ready to leave as well." As I started thinking about the others, I started thinking about Brian. Last I saw him he was being dragged away by Mother Goose. I wondered how he was doing. So, I walked around the room. Laila was walking away to get her bath. If I were a twelve-year old girl with a crush on a boy and wanted to 'heal' him, where would I go? It's too cold outside; no way would she go out there. And the pub was where the guys were staying. If she wanted to be discreet about it, I think she'd go to the attic with Brian. It'd be quiet up there and no one would bother her.

So, I walked up to the staircase leading up to the almost destroyed second floor. And indeed, Mother Goose was sitting leaning on top of the unconscious Brian as she tended to his very bruised body. I had no idea he had suffered that badly in his fight. I should have stepped in and helped. I don't even know how his ribs had been bruised. I didn't see him get kicked there. And his knees were covered in blood where skin had been worked away. Mother Goose looked at Brian intensively as she ran her golden-energy covered hands over his exhausted body.

I tapped on the wall beside me to let her know I was up here. She glanced over at me for a second before turning her attention back on Brian. "Yes, Assassin?" She mumbled to me.

"Just wanted to see how the two of you were doing?" I called out to her.

She shrugged. "I'm sure you're really worried, but I have it handled." She paused and pulled her hands away, stretching and yawning. "Seriously, it's like I spend more of my energy healing him than anything else." She pushed herself up onto her feet, brushing off her dress. "That's all I can do right now." She yawned as she walked up to me. Then she stopped and looked over at me, crossing her arms. "You're not here just to check up on him…are you?" She glared into my eyes and nodded. "Indeed, I am correct. What do you want, Assassin?"

Why was I up here? I honestly didn't know. I thought I was just checking up on Brian, but I guessed there was another reason. When I couldn't think of it, I looked away from her over to Brian. "I…" I started to say. "I don't know." Then I looked up at her. She looked like death. She was barely even still standing on her feet. "How are you feeling?"

She looked down at me. "I knew it." She nodded to herself. "You were worried about me." She sighed as she sat back down, tucking her dress underneath her. "So, you noticed, then?" Noticed what? Noticed how exhausted she was; how very close to collapsing she was? How she was breathing heavily just sitting on the floor? How could someone not notice that? When she saw that I finally figured it out, she nodded. "During the fight…" She looked away from me. "I undid a brick, tossed a boy around, and wiped the memories of everyone involved, excluding Brian." She looked back at him. "I could barely even stand up after doing all that." She looked over at me. "But you were watching, Assassin. I couldn't let you know how close I was to collapsing."

I kept my mouth closed as she talked to me. I don't know what I could say to her. She was just a little girl but she acted so much older than that. I thought she'd be responsible but I guess a child is still just a child. "You need to be careful."

"I know what I need to be!" She whispered/screamed to me. "Don't lecture me on what my responsibilities are, Assassin!" She pointed back to Brian. "Here we have a stupid little boy…"

"Who is older than you." I said back to her.

She blushed over and coiled her finger. When she found her voice again, it was filled with venom. "Who gets himself involved in dangerous fights…over and over and over again." She looked over to him for a few seconds before glaring over at me. "And then he decides to go fight a bully that wants him dead. I purposely bruised him to keep him from going but he left anyway. Knowing that there was no way he'd survive, I followed behind him, using some amount of illusion magic to keep my presence hidden. And just like I thought, the bully brought his friends and this idiot" She looked over at Brian again. "gets his butt handed to him." She looked over at me. "You think I need to be careful? You think I need to control my powers better? If I didn't do what I did…blow up the brick, throw the bully around, wipe his mind…and heal Brian not only one time, but several…he would be dead right now. And I wouldn't be in any better condition." She crossed her arms, wobbling in her spot. Her eyes snapped shut and she fell over.

I reached out, rushed up the stairs, but I didn't reach her in time to keep her from hitting the floor. It was a light impact so I didn't expect her to be hurt. But she was exhausted. I never imagined using her magic would exhaust her so much. So much for using her to wipe the minds of everyone in town of what happened. I couldn't use her powers like that knowing that she'd only suffer for it. But, it had to take large amounts of concentration to pull all that off. I never thought of it like that. These people were teaching me so much about what it meant to be responsible. First the Coven Mother when she taught me about how my failures led to destruction, and now Mother Goose who was teaching me about responsibility of caring for others, while giving myself to the cause.

I walked up the stairs to her. I picked her up and started carrying her over to Brian's mat. There was enough room for the two of them to sleep next to each other. So, I rested her next to Brian and covered her with a separate blanket. Before I got up to leave, Mother Goose wrapped her arm around Brian and pulled him close. Brian opened up his eyes groggily and looked up at me. I nodded a welcome to him and he looked over at Mother Goose. He looked over at me, tears starting to flow down his eyes. "She's right… I'm so stupid…" He said to me and his eyes started shutting. "I'll become stronger…so she won't ever need to suffer like this again." He mumbled to himself as he fell back asleep.

I rolled my eyes as I stood up. Jeez…did I just pair these two up to become romantically involved later in life? Oh great, just what we need…teenage drama later on. Oh well, I had to find a mystical artifact that could very well dominate everyone's existence and beliefs to a single ruling empire.

Cearbhail:

So, how did you like that chapter? did anyone guess that the King had his own personal coven locked up in the dungeons? You should have, i mentioned it earlier, and really exploding bolts that the witches understood as basic alchemy should have tipped you off. Oh and...let me know if you have any suggestions. Not that I'll change my story if you suggest it, but I have always used them to improve my story when I could incorporate something into it. Much like Olin. Not my idea, but he's in the story now. I know I haven't been showing him lately, but rest assured, he's still a main character.