The Thief's Crusader Part 2
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of A New Crusade IF! Now first off, slight apology as I was at an Anime Con a couple weekends ago and that's kind of thrown my whole writing schedule off. I've also picked up a fourth story which I'm doing little by little so it's something extra to balance and that always takes a bit of time to figure out which is why this chapter is a bit shorter despite the time it's taken for me to get it out. That and the ending point just seemed good where it was at to me. But enough of that, we've got no review questions this week and the only other thing I've got to say is to check out my book, Plains Riders, on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. Now let's dive on in!
Unknown Medical Ward
One of the hazards of being a Crusader was that injuries were basically guaranteed to occur. It wasn't really surprising given that they were knights and soldiers, all of whom knew perfectly well that the threat of injury grew drastically upon entering enemy territory. Ulric himself had a permanent scar on his face from a female assassin's blade who he'd stopped from killing some of his superior officers. He had acquired others, of course, many of which were harder to see or had faded away and numerous more that had healed a long time ago.
He'd also blacked out and woken up in an unfamiliar setting at least a couple of times due to his injuries. It was still better than some of the Crusaders who drank excessively, in his opinion. He recalled one such incident where they'd found a fellow knight sleeping while hanging halfway out of a stable window, on the upper floor. For obvious reasons he didn't remember how he'd gotten there.
But this was the first time Ulric recalled waking up inside what he could only assume was a royal medical ward. The reason he assumed so was because the bed was surprisingly soft, the room itself was spotless and it was decorated with a few fine pieces of furniture. Some had medical instruments on them and some held vases with fine flora that he couldn't identify. Even the ceiling seemed to be made of fine wood and the windows had curtains on them which were currently drawn to let in the morning sun. At least Ulric assumed it was morning as he slowly rose from his resting position, grimacing slightly at the pain in his right arm.
'That's right,' recalled the Knight, 'I cut my arm batting away that assassin's blade and it turned out to be poisoned.' Though the amount must not have been enough or someone had gotten the antidote to him in time because he clearly wasn't dead. He was a bit sore though, no doubt also due to fighting off the assassin, Elsa Granhiert. 'Come to think of it, what happened to everyone else?'
The Crusader thought for a moment, deciding whether or not he should sit and wait for the physician to show up or simply get up now and go find whoever was in charge. 'I've felt worse than this in the past,' he decided after a moment and moved to get out of the bed, 'and I've got more than a few questions. Chief among them being what happened to Lady Felt and Emilia along with Old Man Rom?' The stone floor was surprisingly cool as he rested his feet on it, but it didn't bother him too bad as he got up and began walking towards the nearest door.
Just as he was approaching it, though, the door suddenly opened to reveal Reinhard standing on the other side. "Oh, I didn't think you'd wake up so soon," said Reinhard with his usual smile, "guess you're a pretty hardy individual after all."
"How long was I out exactly," asked Ulric while rubbing the back of his head, "and where's my chainmail and weapons?" And his under clothes for that matter. All he was wearing at the moment was a pair of cotton pants and some type of medical gown.
"You've been out all night," replied Reinhard, "Lady Emilia was fortunately able to use her healing magic to mitigate some of the damage that was being done to your system long enough for us to get you here and find a counteragent to the poison in time."
"Are Lady Emilia and the others safe?" Questioned Ulric, "I don't recall them suffering any injuries but if they did-."
"You needn't worry," assured Reinhard, "they were all checked over and none of them had any injuries of note. Lady Emilia has already departed to her mansion of residence in the Mathers domain, after a lot of assurances that you'd be alright. As for Lady Felt-." The sound of a door flinging open further up the hallway was the answer to that as said Blond Thief came stomping towards the two of them.
"Reinhard," she said in annoyance, "how much longer do we have too….Oh, he's finally awake, is he?"
"And you seem plenty healthy yourself, Lady Felt," said Ulric with a bow, "is Old Man Rom also doing well?"
"He's fine," said Felt with her hands on her hips, "it just took more work than it should have to convince the guards to let him stay. You'd think having assurance from Reinhard himself would be more than enough."
"You cannot blame them for wanting to fulfil their duties," said Ulric, "and it's only recently that your status as a royal candidate has been discovered."
"Don't remind me about that," said Felt as she rubbed her head, "I've had people coming in for the last few hours asking questions and double-checking to make sure that stone's working right. It's pretty obvious they never expected a girl from the slums to be a royal candidate."
"The Lord God has made kings out of shepherds and beggars out of kings," stated Ulric, "if he so desires it, you will be the one to rule over this kingdom now."
"I concur," said Reinhard, "such a meeting as ours could not have been anything other than fate."
"It was a mess is what it was," said Felt, "most of us almost died and I've still got no idea why I'm this royal whatever you want to call it!"
"I thought I'd explained it before," said Reinhard, "you are the fifth and final candidate of the Royal Selection."
"Yeah I got all that," said Felt, "but how am I a royal candidate? You put a jewel in my hand and it glowed. Sure I got a divine protection from the wind deity and all but why would that count?"
"The insignia doesn't measure one's magical power," said Reinhard as he produced an exact duplicate of the one Emilia had from his pocket, "I'm full of magical power and as you can see, nothing. What it's meant to identify is a maiden's ability to contract with the great dragon, Volcanica, who's protected and provided for Lugnica for centuries."
"But how does that make me a royal candidate?" Asked Felt, "if all I've got to do is sign a contract with a dragon then let me sign it and get it over with."
"It's not quite that simple," said Reinhard as he held up one finger, "the one who contracts with the dragon is also the only one who they'll recognize as the legitimate ruler. So once you form a contract, you shall be the undisputed ruler of the land."
"Ruler of the…..?" Repeated Felt with a dumbfounded expression on her face, "but I never said I wanted to be ruler of the land!"
"I'm afraid it won't really be up to any of us," replied Reinhard, "even the council of elders does not have full say in who will be the next ruler. In the end, it will be up to the people of this kingdom to choose the next ruler."
"Ah yes," said Ulric, "Felt here is only one of five candidates, if I recall correctly. That is wise, giving the people some choice to the successor of the throne. Ordinarily it'd be a bloody transition with one noble family or another fighting for succession."
"But what about my choice?!" Exclaimed Felt while clenching her fists, "it sounds like I've got no choice in this at all!"
"What choice do any of us have when the hand of fate decides to guide our lives," declared Reinhard softly. Though this only served to anger his charge more.
"DON'T SPOUT THAT PHILOSOPHICAL GIBBERISH AT ME!" Exclaimed Felt while shaking her fists, "sure I wanted to get out of the slums and live a better life but there's no way I'm gonna be ruler of this whole kingdom!"
"Now that's no way to be," said Reinhard, "you have to have confidence in yourself. After all, you are a member of the royal family."
"Confidence has nothing to do with it!" Felt practically screamed, "I don't want to be ruler of the nation and I don't want any part in….what did you just say?"
"You have to have confidence in yourself," repeated Reinhard with a smile.
"Haha, no," said Felt in annoyance, "that part about me being a member of the royal family. What's that about?"
"It's more of a very strong suspicion than a proven fact," said Reinhard, "but there's very compelling evidence to support you being a member of the Lugnican royal family."
"What sort of evidence specifically," questioned Ulric, "there are no doubt many who would not wish for the previous royal family to reestablish their rule and would quickly point out any flaws in your reasoning."
"Undoubtedly," said Reinhard, "which is why I've checked and double-checked the records myself in the time I've had while you were sleeping and discovered something quite interesting. I even recall this particular incident as it occurred fourteen years ago."
"What incident?" Questioned Felt with a raised eyebrow which failed to hide her curiosity.
"A group of thieves broke into the castle during that time," explained Reinhard, "they abducted the daughter of the King's brother, Ford Lugnica, and managed to escape. Obviously, an exhaustive search went on in an attempt to locate her for years but they were never able to find any trace of the kidnappers. The girl was little more than a baby then but now she'd be about fifteen years old and should possess the striking features of her family such as their golden hair and crimson eyes."
"A description which fits our young heir here," agreed Ulric, "and I believe you mentioned once, Felt, that you didn't really remember your parents."
"No, I don't," she said with her eyes looking slightly downcast, "Old Man Rom has been the only family I've ever had growing up. He said he found me but never did go into a lot of detail about it."
"It's quite possible he simply didn't know," suggested Reinhard, "and while I'll admit that it's curious that the kidnappers never made a ransom demand it doesn't really matter at this point. A true heir to the Lugnican royal throne has emerged and with her, hope for the future." The Red-haired knight took a knee then and laid his sword down on his left side.
"Now what are you doing?" Groaned Felt, more than a little tired of being out of the loop on everything that was going on.
"Something you'd best listen to," urged Ulric as the Lugnican Knight began to speak.
"From this day forward," said Reinhard as he knelt with his hand over his heart, "I, Reinhard Van Astrea, do solemnly vow to serve as your sword and your shield. I will be at your side to defend you from your enemies or wherever you direct my blade to fall. I vow to answer your will above even that of the council of elders, for you are my one and only ruler, and I am your knight."
"K-Knight?!" Said a surprised Felt, "I've spent my whole life running away from knights ever since I became a thief, why would I want one now?!"
"Because you are a thief no longer," replied Reinhard as he stood back up, "you are a candidate for the throne of Lugnica and its rightful heir. Never shall you have the need to steal ever again for we shall provide for all of your needs."
"'All of my needs'," repeated Felt, "you mean…..I get to sleep in a castle and have food brought to me?"
"Anything you require," assured Reinhard, "and worry not, I'll have teachers inform you about all of your responsibilities as both a candidate and royalty."
"What about…..Old Man Rom, and him," asked Felt as she pointed to Ulric.
"If you so desire it, they shall be taken care of as well," assured the Red-haired Swordsman, "or if they no longer suit your fancy, we can always throw them out."
"WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD I DO THAT?!" Exclaimed Felt with her hands in the air, "Rom's my family and he," she pointed to Ulric while trying to think of something to say, "I guess he did risk his life to help me and the old man so I at least owe him something."
"I might have a solution for such an issue," said Ulric before turning to Reinhard, "not including you, how many supporters would you say Lady Felt has at the moment?"
"Given that she's just now been discovered and I've yet to announce my findings to the council of elders," replied the Lugnican Knight, "practically none."
"Wait, so it's just us against the whole entire kingdom?!" Said Felt in disbelief.
"I wouldn't say that exactly," replied Reinhard with a surprisingly cheery smile, "you're sure to gain plenty of supporters when word gets around that a true heir to the throne has been found. The other candidates might have greater numbers in terms of servants and fighters at the moment, but that too is an issue which shouldn't be too difficult to address."
"And are you including me when you say 'us'," questioned Ulric, genuinely curious.
"I mean, if I'm being honest," said Felt while averting her gaze slightly, "Reinhard told me everything he knew about you while you were sleeping. He said that you're lost and alone and, well, broke. And even though you know and remember your parents, you've got no idea where they are or where your home is. In a lot of ways, your kind of like me."
"I can see the similarities," admitted Ulric, "but it shouldn't prove too enormous of an issue once I get my bearings. So don't feel obligated to take me in out of pity."
"It's not pity," said Felt, "if I'm taking you in it's going to be because of gratitude. Yeah you messed up my moneymaking scheme but if you hadn't I'd probably be dead and you even took a poisoned cut to protect everyone. You're a knight through and through like Reinhard here and if what he just said is true then we're going to need all the help we can get."
"Does that mean you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Questioned the Crusader.
"Damn right," said Felt as she pointed at him, "I am officially inviting you to join my camp as another knight. Like he just said the other candidates are supposed to have some pretty good fighters and while Reinhard's definitely one of the best he can't do all the fighting. So what do you say, Sir Ulric, wanna give a girl a hand?"
"If there's one thing I can say for sure since arriving here," replied Ulric, "it's that God clearly has a place for me. And for me to end up here with the last known remaining heir to the throne of Lugnica, that can't be a simple coincidence." He took a knee then with his hand over his heart, trying to ignore the fact that he didn't have his sword or armor. "So from this day forward I, Sir Ulric Arkwright, pledge my sword and my life to your service, Lady Felt, to defend you against all who would threaten you and to vanquish all in your way. May your reign be a long and blessed one."
"You might be getting a little ahead on that," said Felt as she signaled for Ulric to stand, "but I accept you as a member of my camp. Now, what are we supposed to do next?"
"Oh there is plenty to do," said Reinhard as he pulled a scroll from his belt and unfurled it. Felt's eyes widened when she saw it reached nearly to the floor, "now where to begin?"
A Week Later: The Astrea Manor
The sound of wood clashing against wood filled the air around the training yard as two figures darted around one of the sparring rings. The taller one was definitely more experienced in combat and had more assured foot and sword work while his opponent was more on the wild side. Despite being shorter she was much more agile and tried using spins and flips while changing her position over and over again to strike at any weak spots or vulnerabilities she saw. She used a wooden dagger in place of a wooden sword, a decision she may or may not have been starting to regret.
The reason being was that while her acrobatic style had caused her opponent trouble at their first few training sessions, he'd quickly learned to use the longer reach of his blade and the more refined skill of his stances to strike whenever he saw a moment to disrupt her flow. It was like a game of cat and mouse but the mouse could hit back really hard. 'I'm not used to drawn out fights,' Felt thought to herself, not for the first time, 'I'm used to scaring off other slum dwellers with a few good swings or fighting long enough to find a moment to escape.' But there would be no escaping from this session, her instructor wouldn't allow it.
So she kept on attacking, hoping to find a chink in her mobile opponent's defense or knock him off balance long enough to get a hit in. Her moment came when he took a step back and his foot slid just the slightest bit too far, slowing his recovery. The blond girl could feel the grin on her face as she lunged right for his chest, and hit empty air. 'Huh,' she thought realizing her error too late.
Her opponent had slid his other foot around, moving his body out of the way of her attack. This caused her to overextend her reach and she couldn't jump back in time as she felt the painful blow of a wooden pommel hit her in the head. "OW!" Exclaimed Felt as she collapsed to the ground and started rolling around in pain, "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"
"You needn't be so dramatic about it, Lady Felt," said the Winner of the bout, "I didn't hit you quite that hard."
"It still hurts, Ulric!" Exclaimed Felt as she got up to glare at him, "have you never taken a wooden sword to the head before?!"
"I've taken many blows to the head, with and without a helmet on," replied the Crusader, "in time the pain became less intense, especially when I got better at avoiding such blows. Besides, I thought Rom would've struck you harder than that on occasion."
"Only if I really had it coming," said Felt while rubbing the sore spot on her head, "and I thought you said you weren't familiar with the fighting styles of this world. You seem pretty comfortable fighting an acrobat like me."
"I am now," Ulric pointed out, "with some practice and a bit of advice from Reinhard I knew what to look for. You'd do well to take some advice from him more often when it comes to the art of war instead of just running the obstacle course over and over again."
"I'm actually good at the obstacle course," said Felt, "but all of these fancy forms and precise stances just make me feel so stiff. It's amazing you're able to use them the way you do."
"Both Ulric and I have practiced until it became second nature for our bodies to move in such a way," said Reinhard who'd been standing off to the side, "it may be hard to believe but even with all of the talent I possessed I still wasn't able to complete my training overnight. For most people, mastering the art of combat in any form takes at least a few years. In your case, though, you could master a fair bit in a shorter time since your body has already been conditioned to a fair degree."
"You say that and yet I'm losing to a regular knight who's just started his magic training," Felt pointed out.
"I never said the same didn't apply to Ulric," replied the Sword Saint, "he's definitely seen three years of warfare and that experience is what's keeping him ahead of you right now. Once you both get a better grasp of your magic, though, the fights will look far different."
"I hope so," said Felt, "I've never liked losing at anything, especially fights."
"Then train hard," said the Red-haired Knight, "and remember to study. You never know when something new you learn might come in handy. And try not to sneak out on the teacher again, or you'll get Flam and Grassis on your trail."
"It still amazes me what those two are capable of," said Ulric, "are you sure they're actually twelve years old?"
"I can assure you I have not forgotten their ages," said Reinhard with a smile, "combat training just comes early for a member of the Astrea family along with the study of magic, even if they might not share the last name. When you're able to match them in combat you'll be well on your way to being formidable fighters."
"Any idea how long that'll take?" Questioned Felt with a raised eyebrow.
"If you take your studies seriously enough, not as long as you might think," said Reinhard with a smile which only made Felt groan in annoyance. Even if it had only been a week his constant reminder about keeping up her studies was really grating on her nerves. Just how much was she supposed to learn as a royal candidate, anyway?
"Speaking of time," said Ulric, "now that you've informed the council of elders about the accomplishment of your mission, how long do we have until the start of the Royal Selection?"
"I actually just gave them a positive progress report," said Reinhard as he scratched his cheek in mild embarrassment, "I thought it best to give Lady Felt some time to adjust to her new life first before taking on the responsibilities of a Royal Candidate. Even Lady Emilia, the least educated of all the candidates, has a better head start than her when it comes to studying."
"That's something I've been meaning to ask," said Felt as her expression grew unsure, "I've already said I don't want to do the Royal Selection, but you keep treating it like I've said yes. And it's not that I'm ungrateful or anything but I don't plan on changing my mind anytime soon. So if we do go through this whole thing and I don't wind up as the next ruler of Lugnica or whatever the title is, what are you going to do?"
"I'm not sure what you mean," said Reinhard, "I've yet to doubt your ability to win the Royal Selection so the idea of what I'd do if you lost hasn't even entered my mind."
"Don't give me a cheery answer like that!" Snapped Felt as she pointed at the Sword Saint, "what I'm asking is whether or not you intend to abandon me and Rom back on the streets if I don't happen to win this stupid selection?!" Reinhard didn't seem at all surprised by this question as he shook his head in amusement.
"Do not take a Knight's oath so lightly," he began, "I swore to protect and honor you as my lady. Whether you win or lose the Royal Selection you are still undeniable royalty yourself and a princess needs her knight. Or in this case two of them. I will always be by your side unless you yourself order me away." Felt seemed to accept this answer, albeit hesitantly, before turning to Ulric.
"And what about you, Crusader Guy," she asked, "you don't really have a stake in any of this. We're not in your kingdom or your homeland and none of us fly the colors you rode under. If something goes wrong here it's not really your problem because you don't know anyone here, so you can up and leave whenever."
"But I do know people here," corrected Ulric, "I know you and Rom and Reinhard and I'm quickly getting to know the rest of the Astrea family. And while I might come from another land entirely my honor as a knight shall always ride with me like the blessings of God. Like Reinhard I took an oath and I intend to uphold it. You are my lady now and I shall stand and defend you until my last breath if it proves necessary. Even should I discover a way back to my homeland I would only depart for it on your word."
"Jeez, your attitudes are going to be a real problem," said Felt with a sigh, "all this apparent devotion for me makes me feel like I need to really step up. Alright then, I'm still not certain about this whole Royal Selection thing yet but I'm at least gonna work a little harder. Consider it my way of saying thanks for wanting to stick by me."
"Of course, Lady Felt," said Reinhard with a smile, "now we'd best get back to work. I won't be able to hold off the start of the Royal Selection for much longer and once it starts, the true test begins for all of us."
And so our heroes are now all set up at the Astrea manor with the Royal Selection set to begin at any time, will it be enough to prepare? And while I know this chapter was a bit short it seemed like a good place to leave off right here. It's just my thinking on the matter but I feel like it'll be slightly less awkward introducing more of the Astrea family after Felt and Ulric have had more time to interact with them. But let me know what you think about that and as always feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters or stories. Be sure to stop in next time as the meeting of the other royal candidates commences. And do give my book, Plains Riders, a look on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. 'Til then.