Chapter 12 - Check Mate (Posted 6 April 2011)
A/N: I really can't express how grateful I am for you wonderful people. I never thought this story would become very popular at all, so it really makes me happy that you are all liking this ;D
"You're Majesty," a maid said happily, "a package has arrived for you. The guards have finished inspecting it. Would you like to see it before it's stored?"
James sighed. After being King for five years, he thought the people would grow tired of sending him gifts. But he was a surprisingly popular monarch, so he couldn't really complain. "What is it this time? More homemade bath salts? Another bronze statue?"
"Well, sir, it's actually quite unique. I've seen swords before, but never one as intricately forged as this one..."
"A sword?" James's interest was piqued.
"Yes, Your Majesty, a very fine one. According to the guards, it's of extremely high quality. Even I must admit it is beautiful, almost like a work of art."
"Have the inspectors bring it to me. Quickly."
"Yes, sir." the maid smiled politely and hurried away.
About a minute later, two members of James's personal guard appeared carrying a long package wrapped in a thick, floppy red fabric.
"Sire, this package arrived this morning. We have thoroughly looked over and believe it to be a gift from a prestigious swordsmith."
"Who sent it?" James asked, stepping toward them.
"We don't know, sir. There was no letter attached. But your name has been carved into the side of the blade. Whoever sent it must be very fond of you."
"Do you know where it was sent from?" James hastily unwrapped the fabric and awed at the weapon inside. The sheath was black with gold at the tip and around the rim. Sticking out from it was a hilt he'd recognize anywhere. It was exactly like the one he'd seen Kendall brandishing at his coronation.
"We're not sure, exactly. We were unable to identify its origin. All we could deduce is that it came from one of the eastern villages."
"The Orphan Village is in the east..." James said absently.
"Excuse me?" one of the guards asked, confused.
"Oh, nothing. I will take the sword. Thank you."
"It is our pleasure, Your Majesty." the guards bowed and walked away, leaving James holding his new sword.
Dropping the fabric, James looked at the sword more closely. He grabbed the handle and pulled the sword from the sheath. It was so sturdy, it barely even clinked as he swung it around. It fit perfectly in his hand and had such a natural feel. James was enamored by the sword. He looked at the blade, and sure enough, there was his name in tiny, precise letters. And it was so sharp and shiny, he doubted it would ever lose it's stunning luster.
"It must be from Kendall." he muttered to himself. He immediately detached his old sword from his belt sash and hooked this new acquisition in its place. It hung nicely by his side, the hilt gleaming brightly from any angle. "How could he afford this?"
"I always knew my boy would make it out there." a voice came from behind him.
"Mrs. Knight." James greeted her.
"Oh, Your Majesty, there's no need to be so formal with me. I may be an old woman, but you're the King."
"And you're the mother of my best friends. Respect goes both ways, so until you agree to simply call me James, I will call you Mrs. Knight."
"You are such a sweet young man." Mrs. Knight smiled. "Katie has been asking about you. You haven't visited her in a few weeks."
James laughed. "Are you sure it's healthy for her to be this obsessed with me?"
"What can I say? You've been like a part of our family since... since Kendall ran away. She was so young when it happened, but you help fill that hole that was created. She looks up to you. Plus, you've saved her life on more than one occasion."
"Hey, it was just luck that I happened to be walking under that window when she fell out of it. And that horse wouldn't have thrown her off if I hadn't gotten in the way in the first place."
"Still, although no one could ever replace my son, we all adore you. Having you there really eased the pain."
"You all helped me as well. It was so... painful... when he left."
"So," Mrs. Knight touched the hilt of the sword, "my baby's successful enough to send you such an exorbitant gift. I'm so proud. Though I suppose he's not a baby anymore, he'd be about 23 years old by now."
"Mrs. Knight... I have a rather personal question for you..."
"Oh, dear, nothing is personal once you reach my age."
"You're not that old."
"As I said, such a sweet young man. Go ahead, ask your question."
"Who is Kendall's father?"
"I always wondered when one of you boys would ask me that."
"You mean... no one's ever asked you?" James stared.
"No. Some of the other servants know, but none of my children ever asked. I think they were worried it would upset me."
"Does it upset you?"
"Yes, but not for the reasons you would think." Mrs. Knight reminisced. "I was so young. My parents had arranged for my marriage before I was even born, so I grew up knowing I was engaged to this boy a few huts away from ours. He was nice enough, cute and always polite, but there was this other boy... many other villagers saw him as a bit of a miscreant. But he was a lovely boy. My heart belonged to him. And I told my fiance this, and he confided in me that he was also in love with someone else. So we agreed to find a way out of the engagement."
"Were your parents angry?"
"I don't even think they realized what was happening at first. You see... in my village... a prearranged marriage is voided if the man impregnates another woman... or the woman becomes pregnant by another man."
"So..."
"Yes, Kendall was my escape plan. I got pregnant with him so I would be allowed to marry Ben."
"Did you marry him?"
"We were about to marry... when he was drafted into the Combat Force. He was a strapping lad, but his hot head brought him to an early death."
"That's so horrible..."
"It is. But I don't regret it. I got out of an unwanted marriage, I got to spend time with my first love, and I had my precious son. The only thing I feel bad about is putting Kendall through all of this. Being raised without a father... it's scandalous. He was always treated badly, but thankfully his unusual charm got him out of a lot of bad situations. And I think having Logan and Carlos to protect him really helped... but there was still that stigma on him... to people that knew."
"I find it hard to believe that anyone disliked Kendall."
"I would too if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."
"I really miss him."
"I know you do. We all do. It hasn't gotten any easier."
James frowned. "I never expected it to."
"James... I know you've grown up... and I know you're a kindhearted and caring person. You love everyone. But you... you love Kendall the most, right?"
"Um..."
"It's okay, you know. I can see that he really meant something to you. And... I know that wherever he is... he obviously misses you."
"Do you think he'll ever come back?"
"I can't be sure. He was my son, but I don't think I ever fully understood him. He seemed to always just have this need to do whatever he wanted, and there was no pattern to it other than he always went all out. I just considered myself lucky that his strong will didn't corrupt him."
"I have a feeling he's going to come back soon."
"For your sake, I hope he does."
"What about you? And the rest of your family?"
"We miss him terribly. And I'm sure he thinks of us. But if he comes back for anyone, it would be you."
"I..." James stuttered. "I'm sorry..."
"Oh, no need to be sorry. It's obvious, with how quickly you two became so close... well..."
"I'm... not sure I know where you're going with this..."
"You'll figure it out. You were the one who helped him escape, after all."
James's jaw dropped. How does she know that? "You know?"
"I'm his mom. I know everything."
"But... all these years... you never..."
"I didn't want you to think I blamed my sadness on you. If anything, I'm grateful for what you did. Kendall wouldn't have been happy as a servant. And you'd be surprised, but most of us are very proud to be able to serve you, James. But Kendall... he wanted to make himself into his own man. And if you hadn't gotten him out of the castle... I just wanted to thank you for putting some meaning into my son's life."
"It was my pleasure." James assured her. "He put meaning into mine as well. And for that reason, I just feel like I know he'll return."
X
Since seeing Kendall at his coronation, James's interest in swords and the art of sword fighting grew tremendously. He would often arrange for simple battles to be held in his court between members of the guard. It was strictly for fun, no one was to be badly injured or killed, but he liked to pay close attention to each individual's technique.
As the King, James was of course trained in combat. But he was taught to use brutal force to bring down the enemy. Sword fighting was about so much more than that. It was about honor and sportsmanship. He could see why Kendall would take up an interest in it.
He even had an ongoing invitation for passing swordsmen to challenge a member of James's personal guard to a duel at any time of the day. It was a blast to watch the strangers. He knew all the moves of his soldiers, so watching outsiders duel was a nice change.
But on today of all days, about two weeks since he received Kendall's gift, two traveling swordsmen showed up at the castle requesting a duel.
James was astounded. Two swordsmen! Two fighters he's never seen before. What a thrill!
He permitted the duel right away, of course. He was sitting on his throne, eagerly awaiting for the two men to make their way into the court.
They both came out wearing similar outfits. Both of them had light armor lining their chests and shoulders, and they both wore metal cuffs on their wrists and ankles. They were barefoot. They both had short sparring robes on with black tights underneath, and a banal scabbard hanging from their sashes.
The only difference between them was the color of their robes and the masks they wore to cover their faces. One wore a red robe while the other wore green. The one in green had a mask that covered only the bottom half of his face, so his bright red hair and black eyes were clearly visible. The one in the red, however, wore a thin mask over his face that covered everything but his mouth. It must have been made from extremely diligently woven fabric for the wearer to be able to see through it, for even his eyes were covered. His dirty, black hair stuck out over the top of the mask just a little bit.
He could tell the one in the green robe was a teenager, his shaky yet confident stance gave it away. He appeared to either still be in training or freshly graduated from it. But the other, the one in the red robe was so sure of himself, he must have been a serious warrior.
The duel started and the two fighters pulled their swords out. They began thrusting at each other and blocking the other's attacks. The red one was clearly stronger, but the green one was faring surprisingly well.
The ultimate victor was the red-robed one. He knocked the younger boy's sword away with one giant swoop and pinned him on the ground.
The green-robed fighter was not happy. He jumped up, refusing the hand his opponent offered, and retrieved his sword. He then did something totally unexpected.
He lunged right at James. Luckily his guards were standing around him, so they were able to hold him back.
Unfortunately, they were so distracted by the one in green, none of them noticed the one in red sneak up on James. He held his sword up, pointing it right at his jaw. James glared at him. If he wanted to kill him, why didn't he just do it already? And why weren't his guards helping? Oh, they're still fighting the loser of the duel.
Then the red-robed warrior smirked. He reached forward with his free hand and pulled James's sword from its sheath. He pointed both swords at James.
Finally, the guards realized what was happening and some of them rushed to help James.
"Wait!" He held his hand up, signaling his guards not to attack.
The warrior's smirk grew wider as he tossed James's sword in the air. It twirled a few times and then the masked stranger caught it by the blade and held it out to James. James reached forward to grab it.
"Sir!" one of the guards called out. "This fighter is extremely dangerous! We must protect you!"
"No! I said wait!" James yelled again and grabbed his sword back. Only an experienced swordsman would be able to catch such a sharp sword by the blade and remain unscathed. He looked at his own sword and then peered at the one the warrior held. They matched. "There is only one person in this world who would threaten me and then wait for my reaction."
"But sir!" another guard yelled.
"I can handle this." he told his faithful soldiers. James looked at the person in front of him. Though his muscles were larger and his hair appeared to be a different color, he recognized him. He knew what the appropriate response was. He pointed his sword back at the offender and glared at him. "I wondered when you'd show up."
"You said I never would." the fighter answered, lowering his sword.
"I knew you would want to prove me wrong." James sheathed his sword and watched, waiting for the stranger to remove his mask.
"How is it you can understand me so easily?"
"Because I know you, Kendall. It may have been fifteen years since we last spoke, but time hasn't tainted my memory of you."
Kendall's smirk turned into a bright smile as he pulled the mask off, revealing his glowing green eyes. "How long have you known it was me?"
"Since you grabbed my sword. You have the same one."
Kendall nodded. "I'm happy to see you accepted my gift."
"Guards," James addressed the men surrounding him. "you are dismissed for the evening."
"But, Your Highness... this man is..."
"He is not a dangerous man. Not to me. I can assure you I will be safe with him. Now please, report to your standard posts."
"Yes, sir!" a chorus of macho voices rang out and the troops dispersed.
"Are you sure you want to be alone with me?" Kendall asked. "I am quite dangerous."
"I'm not afraid. Even if you were a hired assassin, you wouldn't hurt me." James said confidently.
Kendall continued to smile, showing that he agreed with James's statement, but he had to ask. "How can you be so sure?"
"How quickly you forget. I know you."
"A lot can happen in fifteen years."
"You've changed so much." James eyed Kendall up and down. "But you're still the Kendall I treasured back then."
"True. My appearance is much different, but my personality is still the same." Kendall relented.
"Are you going to stay?"
"Do you want me to?"
"What a stupid question..."
Kendall laughed, recalling a similar conversation from long ago. "Just answer it."
"Yes, I do."
"Then of course I'll stay." Kendall walked forward. "On one condition."
"And that is?"
"Hug me?" Kendall stretched his arms out and looked deep into James's eyes.
"I was wondering when you'd get around to asking that." James stepped forward until he was touching Kendall. They closed their arms around each other and fought off the voices in their head that told them it wasn't really happening.
"It's so good to see you again." Kendall said, not loosening his grip. "I'm sorry I waited this long, but I couldn't decide if you would want me to return or not."
"Why would I not want you to return?"
"Because we both know what happens when I step foot in your castle."
"I assume you're talking about the Mark?"
"You guessed it." Kendall said with a dark chuckle. "You put your Mark on me, James. And now you have to take it off."