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Stooped over, Steiner scratched out a few quick letters on the paper in front of him and then slammed down a quick dot at the end of the line of script. He pronounced it finally finished and lifted the paper to the torchlight to read it. Here in the back halls of the castle, he could find the solitude he needed to concentrate on his writing. In a deep, serious voice, he read the poem aloud: "At the mere sight of you, my heart races. Your grace, poise, and wisdom inspire me. Just how I feel. How can lips convey such deep emotions, When I move to speak, Just how I feel. I need to tell you simply, quickly, now, I'll love you forever, Just how I feel." Steiner cleared his throat and smoothed the paper back over the table on which he'd been writing. From the staircase up above, he could hear an echoing voice too high-pitched to be his. Steiner lept to his feet and mounted the stairway, glancing up to see one of the knights of Pluto sitting there on his break. The Knight, noticing his Captain's glare, lept to his feet and stood, though sloppily, at attention. "Breireicht, how long have you been sitting there and listening?" Steiner crossed his arms tightly over his chest. The knight on the stairs above scratched his head and shrugged in embarrassment after a time. Steiner waved it away and then asked, almost a little too eagerly, "How does it sound? Do you think she'll like it?" Breireicht yawned and resumed his seat on the step. "I'm no writer," the knight admitted. "I'd ask Laudo." Steiner rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Laudo…" Yes! Laudo was that pacifist that often spent his time 'guarding' the library. Hadn't he mentioned once that he wanted to be a writer? "Excellent idea, Breireicht! You may return to whatever it was you were doing." Breireicht rumbled a snore as he, without prompting, resumed his nap. The heavy scent of the molded, musted books assaulted Steiner as he pushed through the doors to the Alexandrian Library. Several scholars milled about, pulling books, replacing them, and perusing. Steiner walked past them on such a direct route that a few of the scholars turned to watch him. In a gruff voice, Steiner summoned Laudo to attention. The young knight scrambled to his feet, spilling the book he'd been reading onto the floor. Steiner nodded once and then leaned close to expect the young man. Laudo swallowed hard and fought to keep his eyes forward. "A-all's clear here, Captain. C-can I help you?" Steiner rested a hand on Laudo's shoulder and pulled the poem out of his belt. "I want your opinion as a writer, Laudo. Read this and tell me what you think." Blinking as if stunned, Laudo fit his glasses on the end of his nose and read the poem quickly. He looked from the paper to his captain and back to the paper again. "Well," Steiner prompted sternly. Laudo coughed. He wasn't sure how he could give an honest critique to his superior, but judging by the poem, Steiner was certainly an amateur. "Sir, may I suggest a tried and true poem instead? This is terrific, but you-uh, may want to save it for something more like a wedding vow." Would that work? Laudo certainly hoped so. He huddled down in his armor, watching Steiner consider his words and expecting the giant knight to blow up at him. Instead, Steiner clapped Laudo on the back, almost launching him forward over his table. Laudo recovered and straightened his glasses. He watched Steiner hopefully and the other knight proclaimed, "You are a genius, Laudo! I'm glad to have you in our ranks." Laudo raised a finger and interjected timidly, 'I've been meaning to talk to you about that Captain. Back when-" Steiner waved his appeal away. "Later. Later. First, show me where to find these tried and true poems, so that I may win my love's heart!" Laudo seemed to deflate. The various scholars purposefully went back to their business as the large knight toured through the aisles. Steiner recited the titles on the spines of the books as he passed. Laudo led the way and after a quick 'Aha!' withdrew a book and thumbed through the pages. "Here we go," the younger knight said as he rotated the book and pointed out a poem to his Captain. Steiner mouthed the words as he read. A broad smile pulled at the corners of his mouth and he grabbed the book from Laudo's hands. "This is it! This is what will win her. Laudo! Remind me to promote you." Laudo pulled his glasses off it nose and raised them to protest, but Steiner turned and hurried toward the door while holding the book above his head like a trophy. Laudo sighed, "I should've joined the Alexandrian Tribune." The back alley near the wharf was quiet for once. Steiner walked along the broken cobblestone looking for some sign of his paramour. A stray cat wandered into his path and stopped to stare at the big knight expectantly. "Wherever could she be?" he asked. The cat seated itself and began licking a paw. Some help that feline was, Steiner thought as he frowned to himself. "Captain?" Steiner turned on his heel to see Beatrix standing with her hands on her hips. His usually goofy expression seemed guilty to her for some reason. "For whom are you searching?" she asked in the same tone with which she commanded her soliders. The knight raised his chin, somewhat indignant with her tone. She usually wasn't so formal. Maybe she was still mad at him from that last failed attempt a week ago. "I was searching for you, actually." The General's expression turned haughty. She thought as much. He'd been following her around like a puppy lately and it had become a nuisance. "So, you thought the cat would know where I'd gone?" Steiner looked around. The cat, still seated in the middle of the alley, gave him a cat-like shrug and lept away. The knight turned back to Beatrix with a ridiculous smile. "Nevermind that. I have something to tell you." Steiner surprised himself with his courage. He hadn't rehearsed the poem he was going to recite to Beatrix. He wasn't even sure how he'd follow up after the poem. Maybe this was it! Yes, it was his time to be smooth. "Well," Beatrix prompted impatiently. Steiner cleared his throat and bowed his head thoughtfully. "Your love is like the morning sun," he began in a deep, manly tone. "Cresting the valley of my heart. I wake to the warmth of your passion and to the hope you bring me…" "I don't care!" Beatrix yelled. Steiner choked and turned to face her again. Beatrix was engaged in a conversation with one of the Alexandrian guard. The leotard-clad solider stood at sharp attention while Beatrix listed off some orders. Steiner rubbed the back of his head in confusion. He'd been concentrating so hard on remembering the poem that he hadn't even heard the soldier approach. "Take five more troops and patrol the perimeter. I don't want any dragons near the city walls, do you understand, soldier?" Beatrix didn't even wait for the solider's nod. Her final word was as much a command as a dismissal, "Now!" The soldier hurried off with her orders and Beatrix turned to Steiner. "Make certain the knights are on guard. We have a rogue dragon on the west wall. I'm going to oversee their progress now. I suggest you get back to your duties." With that, the general turned and marched off to see to the aforementioned duties. Silence surrounded the armor clad knight. He just stood there, stunned again by the abrupt nature of his faliure. Snickering in the shadows grew to laughter as soon as General Beatrix was out of sight. "What? Who's there? I, Adelbert Steiner, Captain of the Knights of Pluto, demand you show yourselves now." Steiner rested his hand on his sword and despite that threat, the laughter grew stronger. Marcus stumbled out of the shadows with one arm over Cinna's shoulder. The two were practically doubled over with laughter. Cinna rubbed a tear from his stubble-roughened cheek. "Ha ha! Cresting the valley ," he snickered, "of my heart??! What a cornball!" Marcus clasped his hands under his chin and in as feminine a voice as he could manage, cooed, "Oh, Adelbert! Marry me!" With each passing moment, Steiner's frown grew deeper. His cheeks flushed with anger and he drew his sword. "Stop mocking me!" he roared as he charged the two Tantalus members. Cinna scrambled out of the way and Marcus, having fought by Steiner's side, avoided the familiar attack easily. "Hey, hey, Cap'n. Settle yourself." Marcus raised his empty hands. He could've drawn his sword to parry the blow, but honestly, he didn't mean anything by the laughter. Steiner squared off with the bandanna clad man and demanded, "Draw your sword, vagrant! I fight for my honor!" Cinna took a prudent step backwards and made himself as inobtrusive as possible. If Marcus wanted to pick a fight with the battle-hardened knight, hey, that was his business. Where was his little Garnet doll when he needed it? Marcus shook his head and dropped his hands to his sides. "Hey, look, I ain't going to fight you, honor or no. I didn't mean anything by it, Steiner, so chill." The battlerage left Steiner in one long sigh. He sheathed his sword but didn't disarm the frown. "I'll spare your life because you fought alongside me to help save my queen, but if not for that…" he left the threat open, certain that Marcus could fill out the rest. "Yeah. Well, much appreciated." Marcus rubbed a finger under his nose and stepped forward for a more intimate conversation. "Look. Cinna and I are sorry for laughing, alright? I just never thought I'd see the day when you'd be spouting corney poetry like that." Suddenly ashamed of himself, Steiner mumbled, "Poetry is a gentleman's art." Yeah, it even seemed like a lame excuse to him. Come to think of it, poetry really wasn't his style, but women loved poetry, right? How could he have failed again? Cinna stepped forward, then, hands wringing nervously. "So you've got it bad for the General, huh," he asked in his nasal voice. At Steiner's nod, Marcus clapped the man on his metal-clad shoulder. "Hey, Steiner. You're in good company. We're all guys here, right? We all love gals. It looks like you could use some advice." Steiner glanced down at Marcus hopefully. "Truly? You would help me after that misunderstanding?" Marcus and Cinna exchanged sly smiles. Author's note: Uh oh. Things always get a little more interesting when Tantalus gets involved, huh? ^_^ More to come. (Thanks for your feedback!) |
