Anniya
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" Ouch!"
Anniya whimpered as she stepped on a sharp rock. It burst the bottom of her foot, and a drop of blood burst from her skin. She switched to limping on her right foot. Having lost her shoes in the river, she and Robert were trying to find the Knights again, Anniya barefoot. Robert had offered her his boots, but they were much too big for her feet. Fairy feet, people would of called them. Anniya smiled, thinking on how once someone had came up to her and demanded a potful of KJ's. No, the last thing Anniya was, was a fairy. Conversation between her and Robert was still silence. Not that it really bothered Anniya. If he did talk, it would probably be all about court news, or himself, or some other equally boring topic. It wasn't until sunset when Anniya felt something.
" Something's wrong." she said suddenly. Robert glanced up at her.
" Of course something's wrong! We're lost in the bloody woods without food, water, or transportation!"
" Besides the obvious." she sniffed the air. Smoke. The bad feeling exploded, and she knew what was wrong. Without waiting for Robert to protest, she shot off to the right, running as fast as she could. Oh please, not again. Don't let it happen again! She pleaded. Anniya finally stopped when she reached the camp. Robert, an arm's length behind her, stopped as well.
" Why in the" he stopped abruptly. Burnt tents, supplies, clothes, and bones lay in wreckage around the clearing. Smoke still rising from the land, all the horses were gone, all the Knights were dead, and everything else was burnt. Ogres. Breathless, Anniya surveyed the place with fright. That was why Night had so abruptly ran off. He had known that something was coming. A shudder ran through her, and for the first moment both she and Robert were silent.
" Do you think that Sir Rector died?" she asked quietly, dumb struck. Robert nodded numbly.
" They're all dead. The piles of bones." Anniya just stared. It wasn't sadness that struck her. She had hardly known these men, who many had called her a greenie and just as many other disrespectful names. It was more terror-- of how she had been so close to almost having the fate of being eaten alive, again. A million questions swirled in her head. But above them all, there was one emotion that stayed in her: terror. The camp was still smoking. The Ogres could be anywhere near here.
" Don't just stand there! We have to get out of here! They might come back!" Anniya shouted frantically, pulling his arm. Robert didn't say anything.
" Robert! They'll come back! We have to get out of here!" He looked at the smoking ruins. Anniya made a noise of exasperation. The stupid horse had been easier to handle then he was! She didn't care to remember her reaction when the same thing had happened to her so long ago. "Come on!" she yanked on his arm. Robert, startled, finally seemed to realize what Anniya was saying." Where should we go?" she asked him. He thought for a moment. Just when Anniya thought he would never speak, he said,
" Frell's castle is closest. We'll head there and contact my Father from there." Shaking his head, they walked away from the camp.
For a few days, Robert didn't say anything. In a way, it sort of annoyed Anniya. It was like going back to living by herself again. But there was another question that gnawed at her. Why hadn't the Knights realized that the Ogres were coming? They were professionals----- they had done that for a living. It just didn't make sense. And why had the Ogres burnt the camp? They usually didn't do that, unless. Unless their looking for something, Anniya realized. With a shudder, she continued walking in silence with Robert.
By the time they found a town, Robert had began talking again, in which a way Anniya was relieved. It was too weird to not hear his sarcastic, boorish opinions. They spotted the village after wandering around in the great forest for about a week.
" Thank god. Real food at last!" Robert grumbled. Anniya, on the other hand, was well fed and happy. They had been living off the berries and other fruits and vegetables that Anniya had found. The town was a small one, but a town none the less. Curiously, Anniya walked up into it. Children were playing on the streets, a few coaches, but most were walking to their destination or riding horses. She turned to Robert.
"We need money. Do you have any?" He reached in his pocket.
" 3 sold gold KJ's. The rest was back at the camp." Anniya quickly calculated the sum of horses plus supplies.
" We need at least one more gold KJ. Can't you just tell everyone you're the Prince of Kellia? Surely they'll let you pay them back." Robert snorted.
" Look at me. Do I look like a Prince?" He had a point. Anniya had seen Pig boys that looked better then him at the current moment.
" Ok, clothing too. We definetely need that extra KJ now." She scanned the crowds, trying to think of some way they could possibly earn the extra KJ. She didn't want to pocket any of these people's money. None of them looked all that rich.
" Oh, come on! Does everyone mean to tell me that no one can out shoot Dvaid?"Anniya's ears perked. The man had just translated what he had said into Elfin, apparently. She remembered how close Robert had been to hitting the unicorn. He would of hit it both times except forwell, her.
" Yes! We do have someone!" she shouted. Grabbing Robert by his collar, she shoved him up to the platform. The man, Dvaid, looked surprised that someone had dared challenged him.
" Anniya, what in the..." Robert began as she handed him his bow. The other man who had been talking to the audience boomed a welcome.
" Place your bets now, miladies and milords! Who will you choose---- the five time champion, Dvaid of Kienn, or-- him!" the man announced. He proceeded to translate into Ayorthrian and several other languages. Robert carefully loaded his bow, as did the same of the other man.
" Who will make the bull's-eye? Who will win?" the man boomed. It turned out that the Dvaid man was good. Very good. Out of three shots, all of them had gone onto the bull's-eye. Robert, sweating, Anniya could tell, aimed carefully. He released the arrow. Anniya held her breath. It went onto the bulls eye. He loaded the next one, and released it. And to Anniya's amazement, it split the first arrow. She stared at him. The entire crowd stared at him. Who was he? Robert, sweating obviously now, loaded the last arrow, and shot it. It split the second arrow. The announcer recovered from his shock, and began announcing the winner in Kyrrian. Anniya paid no attention, and tried to push her way to Robert. Until she heard a groan. Turning her head slightly, she searched for the sound.
" May Kunn." someone whispered in Elfin. Their accent was unmistakably Kellian.
" Sir Rector?" she asked incredously. Rushing to the figure lying in the shadowy alley, he groaned, his eyes wide. Anniya's eyes traveled down to his legs. To her horror, one had been completely pulled off, with maggots embedded in it, just like the knight's centaur leg.
" Is his....majesty.....safe...as well......?" he asked weakly. Anniya nodded numbly.
" I'll get him! Stay right there, don't move!" she told him, leaping up to go get Robert.
" No....wait....I don't know....if I'll still be here.......Listen to me......the Ogres......they knew...you were there......they were....looking for you......I think....something about a.....blonde elf girl......" the man said.
" Sir Rector, you stay right there. I'm going to go get help." Anniya got up again.
" No! Just tell....his majesty......that we died.......honorably.....and that......to tell the him.....honor Kellia......" She could tell she was losing him.
" But why were the Ogres looking for me? Why?" Anniya demanded. His eyes closed, and his breath stopped. Anniya stopped talking. She took his sword, and a medal he had with him. She'd give them to Robert. Maybe he could find Sir Rector's family. Walking out, she decided that she wouldn't tell Robert. He didn't need to know that Sir Rector had been lying in an alley, on the verge of death. Walking out, she put on the bravest smile she could muster, and went to find Robert.
" For the last time, where are we going?" Anniya asked Robert.
He sighed. He was beginning to wish that she had just stayed silent.
" A Tavern. Some of my old friends should be around there. They usually make their rounds around this time of year. You can wait outside if you want." Anniya said nothing, not trusting him. Wattil( sly) is the word, she thought to herself. The tavern, one of the only ones in town, was crowded, noisy, and small. Never the less, it seemed like the most popular place in town.
" I still don't see why we have to see a couple of your friends. How are they going to help us?" " You'll see." Anniya made a noise of frustration, but kept quiet as she followed Robert to a table near the back. There were two men sitting there, looking about a couple of years older then Anniya herself. One looked like the Prince, with the same color of golden hair, only his eyes were green, reflecting Anniya's. The other man looked a few years older then Robert, and had black hair with light brown eyes. He gave her a curt smile as Anniya and Robert sat down. The three of them immediately began talking at a rapid pace in another language, Kellian, Anniya thought. They ordered drinks, and kept talking. To the few Kellian words knew from listening to the Knights, Anniya was able to pick out a couple of things. One being that these men were professional thieves, if Feiht's, was the right word. Another thing was that Robert was trying to arrange a deal with them.
" Robert, do you realize that your selling us out to professional murderers? Either or that, or I'll wake up pregnant! Come on, they probably don't know how write out a contract." Anniya told Robert violently in Elfin.
" My Lady, you shock me! Would I ever commit a crime?" She looked up in surprise as the golden haired man smiled at her, replying in Elfin sarcastically . Anniya blushed. He said something to Robert, and Robert laughed.
" Anniya, this is West." gestured to the golden haired man. Robert continued,
" He's my cousin on the non royal side of my family. He speaks Elfin fluently. This," he pointed to the dark haired man.
" This is John. Speaks Elfin fluently too, so you can communicate freely. John, do you want to explain?" The dark haired man nodded, and pulled out a map.
" This is where we are now, correct?" Anniya nodded.
" Just a couple of miles away from here is the Fens, home of the Ogres. You need to get past this with reliable help if you want to get to Frell quickly, and Robert has told me that you do want to get there quickly." West cut in.
" One thing. You need to learn Kyrrian too." John nodded.
" We're going to cross the border with some rather stolen goods I guess you could say. We help you get to the palace, you do a bit of acting to get us across the border." Anniya shook her head. " I don't understand. What are you transporting that needs me to act?" John opened his mouth, but West cut in, smiling.
" That is something I'll have to show you. What'd you say your name was?"
" Anniya."
" Just Anniya?"
" That's what I said, did I not?" He laughed.
" You're a sarcastic little thing." Really, Anniya thought dryly. She twirled the chain that held her precious Emerald necklace. It couldn't be that bad. Just a couple of days to get across the border. It wasn't like they were going to get caught.
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La,la,la,la. Have I destroyed the plot yet? Hope not. Please review!!!!