22. The 'Battle'
Ninety-eight. Ninetey-nine. One hundred.
"Finally!" she said as she jumped to her feet.
She had just finished counting to one hundred ten times. At first she had just started to count until one thousand, but lost track somewhere around four hundred and thirty. And so she had had to start over, which annoyed her to no end. Counting to one hundred ten times kept the confusion of losing count to a minimum.
"How dare they leave me behind and go off by themselves. After I had actually led them here too." she said with a scowl.
::Indeed, how dare they.:: her staff said to her dryly. ::Mayhap you should go find them and smack them for their impertinence.::
She laughed. ::That would take too long anyway.::
As she neared the site, she heard voices speaking but couldn't make out what they were saying. Which was strange. Didn't men usually roar and stumble around each other like clumsy oxen when they were in the midst of a battle? Since when did a battle consist of cordial conversation?
She decided to climb up a tree to spy on the battle and try to figure out what was going on.
What she saw made her nearly fall out of the tree in surprise.
There was a group of a couple dozen people sitting together in a cluster on the dirt floor. Riders, she guessed from their uniforms. And surrounding the cluster of Riders in a full circle were arrows. Arrows that hovered dangerously in the air…by themselves. As if waiting for a command to fly forward and stab a Rider who happened to be in the way.
What in the world???
She blinked, wondering if perhaps she was just seeing things. Since when did arrows hover in the air as if held by an invisible string?
But the arrows didn't go away, not matter how many times she blinked.
On one side of the Riders, with still a good several feet between the two, where the company of knights and Riders that Thorn had ridden with. There were also floating arrows suspended in the air in front of them, sometimes wandering too close, as if teasing them.
And on the other side of the captive riders, stood the bandits, weapons out and ready. Torhte and Asianna stood in the front, with a bandit mage that she recognized next to them. Perhaps he was the one controlling the arrows? Which was strange, because she had never known him to have a gift like that before.
"Hold the arrows steady." Torhte commanded to the mage.
Thorn then realized that there were more piles of wooden arrows laying around beside the bandits. So if the ones that they were using now, were destroyed, they had more.
A squirrel suddenly squeaked at her, angry that she had disturbed its nest.
Thorn let out a surprised gasp, and lost her grip and balance, tumbling out of the tree and right into the midst of the… battle.
Uh-oh, she thought to herself as she scrambled to her feet, one hand firmly around her staff. Why did I have to become a klutz at a moment like this?
She could have sworn she heard her staff sigh. ::Oh, Thorn.::
She glanced up to see Torhte glancing at her in surprise. Then he gave a sudden, rough laugh. "Thorn." If he had been a woman, she would have said he was purring. "How nice of you to drop in." He laughed again.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny." She grumbled as she wiped dirt off her hands. It was a good thing that the tree hadn't been extraordinarily tall, elsewise she would have been real hurt by the fall.
"Taj." Torhte made a sudden movement to the mage.
In the next moment, Thorn found herself looking into the sharp point of an arrow.
"Make one move, Thorn, and you and your…companions will be used for target practice." Asianna said in a cheerful tone.
"Really?" She ignored the hurt that her words caused and glanced around. There were about twenty arrows floating around the captive arrows, another twenty in front of the just arrived company, and one in front of her. "You need that much target practice?"
Torhte raised a smug eyebrow. "Would you like a demonstration?"
Lady Alanna immediately protested. "No. There's no need for anymore demonstrations."
Thorn glanced at Alanna, slightly confused. Alanna sounded so…worried.
Torhte shrugged. "Very well. Let it suffice to say that one of these arrows," the mage made a motion with a hand and an arrow that was laying unused in a pile steadily floated into the air, "can rip through three men's bodies before finally slowing down and actually landing in the fourth."
Was a thing like that even possible? Could arrows move that fast? She stiffened with fear, glaring at the arrow that floated in front of her.
She glanced to the company of knights and Riders, wondering what they were going to do. Everyone had grim, somber looks on their faces. Even Alanna looked slightly overwhelmed by the situation. She glanced at Evin and wondered what he was thinking about. Evin had an expressionless face, but behind the expression, she was able to sense a stubborn determination.
She gave the smallest of smiles, filled with a little determination of her own, now that she had seen his. And yet, at the same time, she was filled with fear.
Evin. Please be careful.
If she ever got out of this situation alive, she swore…
She had been surprised on the trip through the forest to learn that Evin was the second-in-command to Buri, head commander of the Riders. She had never really thought of him with a title like that. But looking at him right now, she saw that the title made perfect sense. He was a great leader; he had charisma, a sense of humor, and an undying loyalty to those he cared for. All the Riders who worked under his command loved and respected him. Including Miri…
As if feeling her gaze on him, Evin turned to gaze at her with his bright blue eyes. She saw his lips quirk into his roguish smile, and then he shook his head at her.
You should have stayed behind, she saw him mouth to her.
Her gaze narrowed and she glared at him, shaking her head.
She saw him sigh.
She turned back to Torhte, who had just finished talking to Asianna. "Lady Knight?" he called.
"Yes." Alanna answered coldly.
"We have some terms for you. We will release some of you to go back to your king to report them. And then…"
Thorn's attention was pulled from Torhte's words to her staff.
::Well?:: it demanded.
::…Well, what?::
The leaves on the rose stem shook themselves at her. ::Aren't you going to do something?::
::Do something?:: she said in disbelief. ::Something like what?::
::Use your gift. You have it for a reason, you know.::
She stared at her staff, perplexed. ::You want me to grow some flowers and make the scenery prettier? Perhaps give us a nice background to look at before we die?::
The leaves shook at her again, harder this time. A captive rider who had been sitting nearest to her saw the movement and frowned.
::How is my gift going to help this situation? I can only grow plants. I can't move objects like those arrows! Moving things through the air is not within my power!:: she protested.
::Think of something. Like that rose wall that you used to hold back the nobles while you ran.::
::Even if I used the rose wall now, there would still be enough time for the mage to set those arrows free. They'll hurt somebody.::
::I didn't say to use the idea. I said to think of one like it. Come on, Thorn. Use your brain! Think seriously!::
::I am!:: she protested. ::My gift just isn't effective in this type of situation!::
She was able to feel the staff's frustration. Or perhaps it was just her own. There was just no way that Thorn could use her gift offensively while at the same time, keep the arrows from hurting anyone…was there? They were floating arrows, for gods-sake! What was it like, she wondered briefly, to have the power to force arrows to move around as you liked? Poor mage, she glanced at Taj, the bandits' mage. He's nothing but a weapon.
What are we going to do…
A.N.: I went to the bookstore the other day and was able to skim through the ending of Lady Knight. Yes *sigh* I am the type of person who likes to cheat and figure out the ending before I get there. And I sigh how Evin was promoted by Buri. So just in case there were any questions, I'll say this right now: this story does not take place after Lady Knight. If anything, it takes place a four/five years after The Realm of the Gods. I mean, how old is Evin at the end of Lady Knight?
~Krizsta
