"State your business, wanderer."
The surly guard before us drawled his words out slowly as if it physically pained him to interact with us. He kept his stance wide and aggressive, very clearly keeping us from entry to the castle until he was satisfied we weren't any trouble. His intense, beady eyes raked over the three of us with a degree of suspicion and disgust I found bordering offensive. He grazed over my form quickly, assessing and labeling my perceived level of threat within a few seconds, then on to the small boy beside me.
I feared this is where we would run into trouble.
I knew how to present myself to people. I wore a fresh set of traveling clothes; a tunic and cape dyed in hues of blue, with leggings thoughtfully patched by Erinn, and a reasonably clean pair of boots. My wild mass of pink curls were cleaned and scrapped back into a high fountain, my face fresh and easy to see. I stood there tall, shoulders and arms relaxed, a gentle expression on my face.
Riordan on the other hand stood with his feet wide apart, his hands behind the back of his head, yawning fiercely, drawing attention to the bits of dried oatmeal on his cheek from a breakfast he no doubt poured into his open mouth without thought. His wavy red locks partially obscured his eyes and wouldn't dry down into anything resembling a hairstyle, instead sticking up in odd places here or there, making him look utterly unkempt. The clothes Erinn found for him the other night already had stains on the chest and a small tear in one knee. He blew at an errant curly strand hanging down in front of his face as he pointedly ignored the knight, never meeting his eyes, instead looking off into the sky or across the lawn towards some kids playing tag, or to the ground as he scuffed his new shoes across the cobblestones trying to upend any loose ones. Looking anywhere but at the man in front of us, showing anything but respect.
Lanugo looked more presentable than the boy did, a silk ribbon from Patty tied in a loose flounce around his neck, he rested on top of Riordan's head, a dopey smile across his simple face – looking ever so harmless.
The guard's stare bored into the pair of them for a moment, then back to me with even more suspicion. I scowled at the two children beside me in return but neither would pay any heed to either of the adults in their midst.
I cleared my throat. Loudly.
"We are here about the sign posted in the town square, from the king?" I said, quickly smacking Riordan's arm from behind his head, nearly toppling him over.
"Argh!—Yep. That's us. Gonna shank a knight. You know, for the glory of the king and all." he quipped, barely acknowledging the soldier in front of us, eyes half lidded in annoyance.
I felt my expression wither into a scowl. "We just want to lend a hand in solving this problem." I clarified.
The soldier sneered. "You three? A mere woman, a manner-less child, and their foppish pet? I'm not sure I trust you to fetch me a sausage from the stall down the street, much less let you waste his highness' time."
Both mine and Riordan's posture changed at his remark, though I wasn't as quick with a rebuttal as my friend.
"Look, I've got manners, alright?" Riordan said, jabbing his thumb towards his chest. "Just not that many, so I'm savin' 'em for the king. I don't owe them to you." he spat.
"And I'm no 'mere woman', as you put it. I am a proud Cele—er, minstrel warrior. Poet. Warrior poet." I corrected, crossing my arms against my chest in a huff. "I may not look the part of a dashing knight, but my. . . proteges and I are more capable than we seem." I assured.
Riordan copied my stance and thumbed his nose up in an act of indignation. "Yeah! And besides, that note by your boss said anyone was welcome, and I think we at least qualify for that."
The knight groaned, slumping his shoulders in defeat. "I don't get paid enough to deal with the delusions of the people we get in this town sometimes. Fine. You two will meet with the king and hear the details, but the monster still stays out. Rules are rules."
Lanugo trilled sadly as Riordan and I shared a glance and agreed to the mans terms. After seeing our mascot safely back to the Inn to be consoled and cooed over by the adoring patrons, we returned to the gate and made our way across the bridge over the moat surrounding the castle. It was all as intricately detailed as you would expect of a place of royalty. Even the most mundane and utilitarian aspects of the structure were adorned in complicated stonework and banners. Shining silvery metal fence ran along either side of us leading up to the massive wooden entrance doors, themselves affixed with enormous golden plaques emblazoned with Stornway's crest. Even the castle itself was a thoughtful melange of differently colored stone, not put together in a miss-mash of tones and whatever the builders could get their hands on, but instead crafted in a way that spoke of a true eye for art and a sense of meticulous planning. It was so deliberate and subtle you could only really appreciate it up close, where few were allowed to go.
As we waited for the doors to be opened for us, I caught Riordan wringing his hands, picking at the side of his thumb nervously as he stared intently at the gold plaques in front of us.
"You know you'd be absolutely crushed under that if you tried to take it, right?" I jokingly warned.
"Yeah thanks, I figured." he said, shooting me an annoyed glare. "I just. . . It's been awhile since I've been around fancy folk. Do I really look alright?" he asked me, his eyes looking away from mine in embarrassment.
"Ah, so you DO actually care about how you present yourself." I mused.
His sharp features crumpled into an impressive scowl. "When I'm going to see a KING? Yeah. I sure do then."
I gestured for him to wait as I opened one of the bags at my waist and shuffled through it until I found the fine silk ribbon Patty had given us for Lanugo, and told Riordan to turn around. He did so with no small amount of trepidation, and with his back to me I gathered and scrapped back his long, rambunctious waves of red curls into a short, but neat ponytail and tied it off firmly with the dark ribbon. A few unreasonable strands fell around his face, but otherwise it made him look all the more like a young nobleman, completely suitable to be visiting someone in a castle.
"I'm going to be real angry if I catch a glimpse of myself in there and I look like a dweeb. Because I feel like a dweeb." Riordan warned, unconvinced of my praise.
I did my best to reassure him as I plucked the dried food from his face and picked at his clothes here and there to his eternal annoyance. Soon after, the doors before us rumbled open and we were able to enter the castle proper.
Even knowing it was home to a royal family, I couldn't have been prepared for the amount of everything we saw. I knew Celestrians lived a far more minimalist lifestyle than most mortals, but I was still shocked by the excess on display, the immense opulence. I heard Riordan gasp, and saw his eyes nearly glaze over at the sight of so much gold. The place was dripping with it – gold trimmed carpets dyed as red as cranberries, gold on the richly colored teal banners hung on giant white stone pillars, themselves wreathed in it. The floors were made of giant squares of orange toned slate, interspersed with stone inlays of fanciful design. The walls were gleaming white, luminous with countless delicate lanterns hung along them, each nested in gorgeous golden filigree.
We were greeted shortly after a few moments of slack-jawed wonder, and led to a tall set of stairs, its swirling railing coated in, of course, gold. On either side of it were soldiers, and beside them fountains of crystalline blue water gurgling happily in contrast to their serious dispositions. Around the structures were small flower beds of immaculately tended blooms, tiny orange and white bursts of color against a backdrop of vibrant green.
We followed our usher silently up the stairs into a smaller area above, leading to the throne. No coin was spared in this place it seemed, as even this glorified waiting-room was much the same as the grand entryway, only now adorned with impressive suits of armor filling each corner. Their intricately carved thick plates of black-blue metal, spoke more of showing off than war, though the immense war axes beside them said otherwise. Riordan and I both eyed them cautiously and I sent a silent prayer to the Almighty that they wouldn't accidentally tumble from their stands and cleave us in half, as my vivid imagination had so thoughtfully suggested.
"Are you prepared?" our usher asked, hand on the door in front of us.
I nodded, ignoring the bundle of nervousness I felt tighten up in my stomach as the doors creaked open before us.
The throne room was like nothing I had ever seen. The richly dyed red and gold carpets of the castle paled in comparison to the enormous one that lay in the center of the floor here, fully displaying a lovingly detailed version of the crest of Stornway, leading up to a small set of stairs that then opened up to the two thrones of Stornway, side by side, symbols of opulence and riches themselves. Those were both flanked on either side by gleaming candelabras taller than any human, that were as much a work of art as a piece of utility. The raised dais the seat of Stornway set upon was wrapped with a thick wall of pure gold, practicality shaming all the bits and bobbles we were so impressed by downstairs. The floors were a gleaming white, a diamond pattern of light on light, delicate in its execution while so detailed up close, much like the structure of the castle itself. Sunlight poured in the long room from floor length windows wreathed in shimmering metals, with a tuft of crimson cloth In the corner of each, pilasters and columns of that same perfect white between every one of them. The room was the very definition of regal.
Upon the dais were two figures, one obviously being the king of Stornway himself, the other a young woman. The king was not an especially tall man, but had the sort of presence and sense of authority you would expect of a ruler. Though he was heavier set in what was probably the later half of his life, his frame belied a natural warrior, his bejeweled hands rough with wear, his dark eyes sharp and calculating. He was sun damaged and tan, telling of a life spent outdoors. His shiny blonde hair curled over his ears and a thick beard and mustache covered the bottom half of his face, with a set of bushy brows framing his eyes. He wore a long, deeply dyed green tunic, verdant with gold trim, and a belt so fancy and intricate it was a work of art unto itself. A large gold clasp held his furred red cape on, and a crown of red and gold set atop of head.
And he was angry.
"Och, Simona! How many more times do I have to tell you? You're not to go and see him!" he shouted, far louder than necessary to reach the ears of the girl standing across from him.
"And how many times do I have to tell you, father? The Wight Knight keeps coming to town because he's looking for me!" she insisted, her soft lilting voice simmering. "Don't you see? If I go to him, then everyone in Stornway can go about their lives in peace again."
Princess Simona was about as lovely as a girl her age could be. Young and sheltered enough to be without mark of human age, but not so young she hadn't grown into her natural charms as a woman. And while I held firm belief any girl could be beautiful given the opportunity to make herself so, Simona was a princess and had every convenience and opportunity to be so. Arguably it was part of her job.
She was fair skinned with distinctive teal eyes, her lashes darkly painted and curled upward, with little makeup otherwise. It gave her the look of a small animal, or fine porcelain doll. Innocent and harmless. Her hair was of an absurd length, coiffed up high in a ponytail that fell into a waterfall of gleaming copper. Undone it would have easily reached the floor. Her heart shaped face was framed by fluffy bangs and perfect curled ringlets on either side. She was a tall girl for her age, slim, but not waifish, though certainly not a warrior like her father.
Her extravagant gown was rendered in a triplicate of greens, none of which quite matched her fathers, instead complemented them. They were cool toned and peaceful, the silvery green of the fields under a full moon, or the pale ferns trapped beneath the high branches of trees with little light of their own. It was adorned with finely dyed purple bows, and while not as dazzlingly decked as her father, there was enough jewelry on her to feed a small town like Angel falls for a generation or more. Her delicate gold and emerald tiara alone was probably worth more gold than I could properly imagine. It was a silly thought, especially knowing what a waste such opulence was, but I couldn't help but wonder how Erinn or myself would look in such regalia, how it would feel to be enrobed in such earthly worth.
"You're being ridiculous, lassie!" the kings voice boomed, echoing across the large room and knocking me out of my brief reverie. "Do I look like the kind of man who'd sacrifice his daughter to that nefarious knight?" he asked, his face mere inches from his daughters.
"Father. . ." The princess replied weakly.
Riordan and I stood there awkwardly until the guard by our side lifted his spear then dropped it back down to knock against the hard, polished floors in a short rhythm, bringing the attention of the royal family to us.
"Wheesht! We have a visitor. No more of your blathering!" he replied to his daughter rather harshly as he sat back onto his throne and gestured towards us. "You there, approach the throne!"
I stiffly made my way towards the throne, stopping short of the small set of stairs that lead to the raised dais the royal family stood upon, and bowed. I chanced a peek at Riordan to be sure he followed suit. It was a quick, jittery, little motion he seemed unaccustomed to, and his wide blue eyes never left Princess Simona for a second.
Her highness smiled ever so slightly at us in apology. "You shouldn't have had to see that. I'm Princess Simona." she clarified with a generous curtsy. "Are you travelers? I don't suppose you're here because of this Wight Knight business, are you?" she asked nervously.
"Simona." The king said sternly, turning his gaze on her for a slight moment before addressing us. "I am King Schott, master of this castle, and monarch of Stornway. Now, did you come here because of the sign down in the town there?" he asked.
I nodded, swallowing away the dryness in my throat as best I could before speaking up. "Yes indeed, we would be honored to aide the people of Stornway if we could, your majesty. Even taking up arms if necessary."
The king looked surprised, his bushy eyebrows shooting up to the edge of his crown. "You did? So you're going to help us defeat that no-good Wight Knight character?" he asked again.
I began to sweat. "Yes, I-I know we do not look the traditional part of brave warriors but I assure you that is our intention." I said, hoping to assuage his credulity as Riordan nodded his head stiffly in agreement, eyes glued to the princess.
Simona's expression fell once more, the small, practiced smile she had worn for us falling away. "Oh dear. Now I have to worry about innocent travelers coming to harm as well, and all because of me!" she exclaimed as she squeezed her eyes shut, forcibly composing herself. "I appreciate your offer of help, but I must beg you to continue with your journey. Our affairs are no concern of yours." she said as firmly as I imagine she could muster. I suspected the princess wasn't used to wielding her authority the same as her father did.
"Crivvens Simona!" The king admonished. "Ignore her. You two really want to take up the challenge to defeat the Wight Knight? Tell me your names!" he demanded.
Riordan's voice stuck in his throat as he let out a small chrip in response, looking utterly terrified.
"Er. . . Altairis, your highness." I replied with another bow. "And this is my protege, Riordan." I offered, steadying the young boy, placing a hand on his thin shoulder.
The king didn't look at us with nearly the same amount of scrutiny as the guard before had, he simply held my gaze, leaned back on his throne and spoke. "Well then, Altairis, you'd better listen to what I have to say. Obviously I have good reason for asking a couple of passer-through to defeat this no-good knight."
The king gestured to his daughter, the princess, who stood there still frowning, slender hands held together, clearly distraught. "You see, that puddock only came and infiltrated my castle to try and snatch away my daughter!" the king exclaimed. "He's had the nerve to demand that she be delivered to him at Loch Storn by a certain time. I'm convinced that it's come kind of fiendish trap. I reckon he's trying to weaken my castle's defenses by having me send my soldiers to the loch with her. Then he'll attack! That's why I wanted to employ a likely lass such as your good self instead." he concluded with a magnanimous smile.
Before I had a chance to ask any questions I had, Simona rounded on the king. "Och, Father! You can't possibly ask a stranger who's just passing through the place to do such a thing!" she demanded, far less controlled than before.
"Wheesht! I will not let that ruffian get the better of me!" the king roared, his fist pounding against the velvet arm of his throne.
Princess Simona's dignified posture slumped, her clasped hands falling limply to her sides as she spoke, her voice hardly above a whisper. "It's very sad, father. . . very sad that you won't even slightly consider my feelings on this."
Her hands shot to her face as a small sob escaped her mouth. With nary a glance our way, she rushed past us, the rustle of her enormous skirts drowning out the sound of her tear choked breathing as she ran out of the room the way we had come. I had to forcibly turn Riordan back towards the king and away from the empty space behind us the princess had just been.
". . .Ahem. Sorry about that." the king said with a conspicuous clearing of his throat. "My lass likes to do the right thing, and she seems to think the right thing is to go up there and meet him. Anyway, Altairis, I'd be much obliged if you could away to Loch Storn and make sure he's not up to any trickery." he said, a bit quieter now than before.
I nodded. "Of course, your majesty. We only need know the way."
"If you cross the bridge north of town and keep heading north, you'll find yourself at the loch before too long." the king replied with a disdainful wave of his hand. "Be sure to give him a good thrashing If you find him, won't you? Just pummel the fiend into the ground!" the king then slammed one gnarled fist into the palm of his other hand. "Naturally there'll be a braw reward waiting for you when you get back. I'm putting all my hope on you, fair travelers!" King Schott then relaxed thoroughly onto his throne and cast his gaze away from us, very clearly dismissing us from his presence.
The guard beside us swiftly led us back through the door we came, and returned to his post without so much as a word.
I let out a long breath as I forced the built up tension out of my body, gave my back and arms a quick stretch, then headed for the stairs. "Alright, I guess we better hit the market and start making tracks."
Riordan put himself between me and my destination, a grave look on his face. "Altairis." he said, his eyes locked onto mine.
"Y-yes. . .?"
"We HAVE to destroy this jerk knight guy. Utterly wreck him." Riordan replied, his voice quietly serious.
I felt my brows creep upwards. "That. . . is the idea I suppose. Although I'm a little surprised you're not upset with me?" I admitted.
This took him off guard. "Wait, what? Why would I be mad?" he said with a confused blink.
I shrugged. "You were talking about helping cats down from trees and here I've got you out here hunting a wanted man. In fact, it might be asking a bit much. . . " I said, beginning to consider finding the boy some simpler tasks to see to.
"Never! You're the one who insisted I help people in order to save my poor criminal soul and stuff!" Riordan exploded.
"Well I didn't say that exac-"
"-And who better to help than the people's very own Princess!? We HAVE to keep her safe! For everyone's sake!" Riordan insisted, eyes suddenly gleaming, no doubt lost in images of himself and Simona together.
I fought back a silly grin as I thought of what to say to the moony young boy in front of me. "Didn't you listen to a thing the king said? It's not really the princess this knight is after, rather he's trying to use her as a ploy to attack again." I tried to reiterate.
Riordan's face scrunched up bitterly at the mention of the king. "Hmph! One guys opinion! Anyone with a lick of sense would find it obvious what a treasure she is! But he doesn't seem to appreciate her at all." he spat.
The guard at the door behind us cleared his throat and politely asked us to take our conversation outside the castle walls. With an apologetic smile or two we excused ourselves and quickly made our way back to the town. As I did, the familiar weight of my fairy companion eased from my head and appeared before me with an exaggerated stretch, placing a small, glamorously embellished hand on her hip as she spoke to me.
"This Wight Knight character's causing everyone a bit of grief, isn't he? Could be our chance to get in a bit of good-deeding, indeed!" she said with a self-satisfied smirk, surveying the town laid out before us. "The Almighty will be chuffed to pieces if we manage to make this lot thankful and get ourselves plenty of benevolessence."
"That was my exact thought when I saw the banner posted on board in the city square. Now it's just a matter of getting it done." I mused.
Stella clasped her hands in front of her face, grinning. "Everything's starting to fall into its place! So let's go and put that Wight Knight in his!" she exclaimed.
"Oh, will you actually be lending a hand somehow? Or is prattling inside my brain making me a better fighter somehow?" I asked with a laugh.
Stella's face dropped into a pout as she flashed back into my mind, a small but unmistakable weight I was starting to get accustomed to; though I was sure I would never feel that way about her attitude.
I caught Riordan out of the corner of my eye, his expression disturbed.
"What's the matter now?" I asked, exasperated.
The boy opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He closed it, squinted his eyes for a moment, then found his voice. "You're a bit off, aren't you? I had kind of figured that from the jump but, it's a little more. . . yeeesh, than I thought." he replied, unhelpfully.
"What on earth are you talking about?"
He rolled his eyes. "What do you think? Did you have some sort of stroke? Or is having conversations with yourself aloud normal where you come from?" he quipped.
I froze. I hadn't even considered what it would look like, replying to Stella the way I had. We had been so on top of things, forcing her to say within my mind to avoid such possible blunders, but I should have known slip ups were bound to happen. I could hear a soft snickering in the far recesses of my mind, my humiliation a constant amusement to my unseen companion.
I could feel my teeth grinding against one another.
"Uh. . . are you alright?" Riordan asked, taking a step back from me. "You uh, aren't gonna have some kind of freak out, right?"
I smacked my hands onto my checks and groaned. "No, I'm fine. I fully admit to being a bit of an eccentric, sorry to worry you."
He frowned at me, but reclaimed a step forward and let the obvious weirdness slide. "Suuuure, it's cool. Uh, now that I'm thinking about it, how exactly are we gonna fight this guy? He broke into the castle, right?"
"That he did, but I don't think you need to be too intimidated over such a feat." I replied, happy to change the subject. "The soldiers here haven't seen a proper battle in ages. This is an area with a long history of peace, even the monsters are a mild sort." I explained.
"So basically you're saying these guys are lame so we shouldn't feel too worried they got trounced by the guy we're after." Riordan replied, an elegant finger placed under his pointed chin, his expression thoughtful.
"That's. . . one way of looking at it." I admitted. "What I meant was, they were ill prepared for such an aggressive play and were taken off guard. I doubt our quarry could repeat such a thing again now that the soldiers know what sort of threat they're up against. That's why the king thinks he's trying to draw them out for his next attack." I clarified.
"Oooh, so he's not like, bursting-through-castle-walls-tough or anything, his enemies just didn't know what he would do and couldn't react to it properly?" he asked.
"Exactly!" I said with a smile.
Riordan did not follow suit. "So, do we know what he can do?" he asked.
We both stood there in an awkward silence. I decided to keep the fact that I had never actually fought a human before to myself and instead swept the question aside in favor of having him show me the way to the weapon shop. I had the purse of coins Patty had given me earlier and I was going to make as sure as I could that we were armed and ready for whatever I had gotten us into.
It was no surprise that all of the shops here were much bigger than that of Angel Falls, and much better stocked. Swords, spears, knives, anything you could think of that held an edge was available for purchase. It was a well maintained shop too; elegant cloth pieces covered the counters, and the hewn stone floor transitioned into a polished dark wood on the other side of the building away from the entrance. There, some people waited for assistance while others used the space to work on their weapons, every tool for maintenance at their disposal.
The man behind the counter was large and congenial, greeting us with enthusiasm as we stepped inside. He was a striking figure, enrobed in a brightly dyed purple tunic, fitted close to his body with a fine leather belt. His yellow vest was an almost blindingly gaudy contrast against the color of his clothes, but something about the overwhelming hues of his attire suited him. Grinning at us with an overly large smile, he walked young Riordan through a number of weapons, commenting on their ease of use, and what might work best for someone of his build.
I let the two of them work together as I browsed through what I could reasonably afford for myself. I was tempted to invest in a spear, it was of interest to me in my training, and I had always preferred thrusting attacks over more wide ones. But swords were where I was most comfortable, and as I glanced at the young boy across from me, clumsily swinging a pole to and fro with an awkward laugh before trading it in for the next thing, I knew I didn't have the luxury of taking chances right now.
To my contentment, I found a rapier. With permission I took a few test swings, then a lunge forward, the thin blade cutting through the air in front of me with an impressive whistle. It felt good.
"Aha! Looks to me you know what yer doin' with that lass." the salesmen said. "I don't suppose you need to look at much else."
I sheathed the sword with a small smile and confirmed my purchase.
"Oh thank the Almighty's beard." Riordan exclaimed with a heavy sigh. "You really DO know how to fight, don't you? That's a load off." he said, visibly relieved.
I planted my hands on my hips in irritation. "What would be a real load off is knowing you weren't going to be dead weight yourself. Did you find something?" I prodded.
"That we did!" The salesman cut in. "In fact the young man here seems to have a decent handle on a right few things, it's a bit impressive, really." he said, eliciting an embarrassed mumble from my beet-faced companion. "But I think this is where most young men should start, regardless of what they see themselves with in the future." the man said as he pulled a well polished knife of bronze out from behind the counter. "It's a basic essential really. I'm surprised he doesn't already have one. So this is on the house." he said tapping his finger on the counter beside the knife. "You come back later when you've figured your way around that and I'll gladly take your money then, young man."
The boy slowly walked over to the counter and grasped the knife firmly, staring at it intensely for a short moment before nimbly twirling it around his fingers, then tossing it from hand to hand. After he played around with it, he gave the man behind the counter a gentle, sincere smile and meekly thanked him as the salesmen handed him a simple leather sheathe.
As we were leaving, I elbowed Riordan enthusiastically, "Hey, how about that? He gave you that for free."
He swatted back at me in annoyance. "Uh, yeah, I was there, I noticed. I said thank you!"
I grinned so hard my cheeks began to hurt. "Haha, yeah. You could almost say it was. . . a steal."
Riordan groaned and dropped his head into his hands, muttering something or another about being stuck with a crazy broad. This went on for some time as we made a few more stops, procuring herbs and other items that might help in a pinch. I asked Riordan to run to the inn and let the others know we would be out for awhile, but not to tell them what we were doing. I knew if I was face to face with Erinn's pleading, worried expression I would spill everything and have her worrying about us all day. Luckily the boy had a much better poker face, and was in and out in a flash.
Prepared as we could possibly be, we left Stornway and headed north for Loch Storn.