A/N: Another chapter finally done. Its longer than usual, so if thats any consolation for my tardiness? Please read and review, i read everything ya'll write in and adjust depending on what ya'll say. Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 18
Edmund laughed rubbing his arm. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I thought you'd appreciate the surprise a bit more," he said his eyes glinting in the light of the slowly setting sun. "The surprise was great. I just would have liked some forewarning. Do you realize how much trouble you'll be in if Susan or Peter find out about this," Molly scolded. Edmund rolled his eyes playfully at her, "Who do you think helped arrange this?" Molly sighed, Lucy would always be a helpless romantic and Susan couldn't resist Lucy's puppy dog eyes for very long.
The pair stood in a comfortable silence, Molly securely wrapped up in Edmund's arms , until a horn blew in the distance. Molly pulled away from him slowly, as if it was the last thing she wanted to do. "I need to get back," she said her eyes focused on the cobblestone street beneath her feet. Edmund reached out, bring her eyes to meet his, "hey now, we have all day tomorrow to wander around. I'll be waiting outside the servants entrance after breakfast," Ed said placing a kiss on her cheek.
"Tomorrow we'll be normal people," he whispered disappearing back into the shadows of the stands. Molly brought a hand to her cheek delicately touching the place where Ed had kissed her, before running as fast as her shoes would allow back to the royal stand for the tournament finals. When she arrived everyone was already in their seats, even Caleb sat in a medium sized arm chair watching as she carefully made her way back to her seat.
"Where did you go for dinner Milady," he asked as Molly took her seat smoothing out her skirts, " I fear I missed your company in the royal tent." "I went out to see what other delicacies your great city had to offer. I fear that all the rich food in the royal tent would make my burst in my petticoats," Molly said simply her eyes focused on the empty field in front of her. As the sun set the area was light by a multitude of torches, the red flames enchanting the crowds to roaring hysteria.
As the final combatants entered the area the crowd screamed. It was loud enough that Molly reached to cover her ears as the sound grew louder. The little announcer man reappeared, the torch light reflecting off of the gold embellishments. "Good Evening, my fair companions! At last we have arrived at the battle you've all been waiting for." The man waited for cheers to erupt before continuing. "In the far corner, I give you, Sir Robin." The knight stepped forward, his armor more decorative than earlier, red enamel gleamed from the embossed design on his metal breast plate. Sir Robin had also taken the break to exchange the axe he was using for a much more menacing axe, with a dangerous spike along its staff at nearly ankle height, while the hammer of the blade itself curved menacingly back into a curve similar to a scythe.
The crowd roared at the sight of the knight, who was evidently the crowd favorite. "And in the other corner the mysterious stranger who calls himself D.P.R." The crowd quieted as this man made his way into the arena. It was hard to tell if it was from fear or from dislike of this stranger. Molly looked the man up and down. He was dressed simply in black from head to know, no discernible armor on him at all. The two curved blades he carried sat in a belt of some sort around his waist. What Molly found truly odd, was that the man's face was obscured by the
A boy walking along the edge of the stand passed slowly in Molly's line of sight. His small chalkboard caught her attention. "Boy," she called watching as he turned his head to face her. "Yes," he answered softly trying to prevent Caleb or King Lune from noticing him. Molly reached over the barrier handing the boy a gold coin, "put that on the masked man with the two scythes for me," she asked smiling. The boy nodded writing something on the bottom of his chalkboard before depositing the coin in a small purse at his waist. Molly smirked as she sat back feeling giddy with the prospect of winning a little money for the bazaar tomorrow.
Molly was pulled from her thoughts as the two men came forward to present themselves to King Lune before the horn sounded signaling the start of the match. The two men bowed as King Lune waved them off. The two men walked back to the center of the arena facing each other. The starting horn blew out, and the two men ran at each other, their weapons drawn and ready for impact. Robin began the melee, swing his axe at the other man's knees. Molly shook her head, the axe telegraphed the knights move allowing the other man to jump up and over the axe.
The knight, however, jerked the axe back retracing its previous trajectory allowing the curved blade to bite back, the other man jumped back just in time to avoid losing his knee caps. As he landed, the man lashed out with one of the curved blades, the blade clanging as it hit the staff of the axe. Molly edged forward in her seat, her eyes straining to make out the movements of the two men.
Clanging continued to fill the air as the two weapons continued to collide showing the air with sparks. After two minutes of constant barrage the masked man stepped backward out of the knights reach as if he needed a moment to think. The two circled each other for few minutes, the knight changing the grip on his axe, the masked man twirling his scythes. Out of nowhere, the masked man leapt forward, striking at the very center of the axe's shaft. The knight, slow to react, watched in horror as the axe split in two in his hands, the blade falling to the dirt with a resounding clang. The crowd looked on in awe as the knight attempted to pick up the remains of his weapon. Molly snickered as the knight struggled, the axe was too heavy now with only half of the staff to offset it.
As the masked man approached the knight looked around for any sort of weapon. He stopped the other half of the staff with that spike in it. The knight lashed out as the masked man bring the spike up over his head aiming for the masked man's head. The masked man rolled to avoid the spike on its downward track lashing out at the knight's knees as he went. The knight went down screaming in pain as he gripped his knees, blood seeping from the gaps in the knight's armor. The masked man placed one of his scythes at the knights neck.
The masked man was the winner. The crowd was unsure if they should have cheered or booed this strange man. "Congratulations my good man," King Lune boomed from the royal box, "That was quite the display of chivalry and ingenuity. In accordance with the rules of the tournament you have the right as winner to join my knights at Anvard and a bag of 100 gold coins to spend as you please." The man stood there, his eyes pondering the offer. "I want nothing to do with your knights, if this tournament is any indication of the quality of your knights, I feel I must decline your offer of knight hood," the man said, his deep voice booming in the stadium. Whispers and chatter erupted throughout the stadium filling the stadium with sound.
As the man turned to leave Molly stood and called to him "Stay but a moment longer sir." Those around her grew quite staring at her. The man stopped and turned again to the royal box. "Why," he asked, his voice quieting those who were still whispering. "You've declined the offer of Archenland to join their knighthood, but I feel that you could do well as a knight. I would like to offer you the knighthood of Narnia, on the condition that you meet the standards of Kings Edmund and Peter," Molly said watching the man's body language carefully. From what she could tell, he was interested, but it was unclear if he'd accept the offer.
"Who are you to make such an offer," he asked, his eyes hard. "Sir Fitzroy of Narnia, advisor to the kings and queens," she said. The man tensed, "if you are a knight of Narnia, why are you here in Avalon?" "I was sent here on a diplomatic endeavor, an ambassador of sorts," she said hoping it would convince him to join Narnia. They needed more inventive people in their army. "I accept your offer, but I have a request if that it alright," he asked. Molly nodded sitting back down watching as the mysterious man left the arena making a note to herself, to introduce the new knight to Edmund before he left for Calormen.
King Lune leaned over to Molly smirking. "Bold move you made," he whispered to her. "I wasn't going to let talent like that go to waste," she said quietly. He nodded standing up to leave. Molly stood as well yawning as she did. "Lady Molly," a voice said from the arena. Molly looked down to see the boy from earlier. He handed her a small burlap bag, "your winnings," he said before bouncing off. Molly turned her back to stands as she hid the bag in her pocket, hoping that she could use it as spending money tomorrow.
"Miss, may I escort you back to your room," a young man's voice asked. Molly turned to see a young man no older her standing beside her in a purple tunic and brown pants that denoted a palace servant. "I don't see why not," Molly said taking the young man's arm ignoring Caleb's stares as she and her escort made their way back to the castle.
"Were you serious about offer that man a place in Narnia?" the young man asked as they walked down a fairly empty road. Molly knew it was the servant's path to the castle and was happy to oblige the much needed privacy. "Yes, that man was skilled and adept. He figured out the Sir Robin's weakness and exploited it, that is something any good ruler wants in their knights," Molly said looking the boy over. He was definitely the right height and build, but his voice seemed different than the mysterious fighter. "Really," the young man asked. "Yes, Edmund and Peter encourage knights improvise, it keeps them on their toes," Molly answered.
"So it wouldn't matter if the man who fought tonight was a servant," the boy asked looking Molly dead in the eye. Molly stopped walking to face the boy totally. "No, it doesn't matter that you aren't of noble blood. Narnia accepts all willing and able bodied men into its army and the best are capable of becoming knights," Molly said taking the boys hand in hers, "Is that what you wished to talk about."
The boy shook his head. "I know you are in Avalon unaccompanied, I was wondering if you needed a personal guard for the remainder of your stay?" Molly thought the request over for a moment. "Normally I would refuse protection, as a knight myself I am perfectly capable of defending myself, however a guard couldn't hurt seeing as I'm confined to these wretched skirts all day. But I would like you to continue wearing the mask until we leave Avalon. The last think we need is Sir Robin attempting to take revenge for his knees," Molly said as she started to walk again.
"Good," the boy said walking with her, "My name is Murphy, by the way." Molly smiled at him, "welcome to the fold Sir Murphy."
When Molly returned to her room she found Marta already waiting for her. "An interesting day at the festival," she asked as she loosened Molly's corset. "One could say that Marta," Molly said as she heaved in a breath allowing her rib cage to expand back to its proper size. "Oh, Marta," Molly said turning around diving into her night shift. "Yes dear," Marta answered moving through the rooms picking up clothing as Molly removed her opal necklace stowing it in its box at the bottom of her trunk. "Tomorrow a young man is going to come by wearing a mask. If you'd station him outside the door for me, I'd be very appreciative." "Of course ma'am," Marta said walking towards the door, "goodnight!"
Molly awoke early the next morning before Marta arrived with her breakfast. She dressed herself in clothes Marta had provided for her trips to the town, nothing fancy just a tan dress and undergarments. There was also a pair of flat cloth shoes for Molly to wear as she'd had little room for non-formal footwear. "One last thing," Molly told herself reaching for a deep blue scarf to wrap her flaming locks in. After stowing her bag of coins in her skit Molly made her way to the door of her rooms cracking it just enough to stick her head out. Luckily the hall was deserted.
Molly tiptoed out into the hallway closing the door slowly behind her. Once the door was closed Molly navigated the servants' passages to the kitchen. The kitchens were already busy with a multitude of servants trying to eat their breakfasts while amassing their lord/lady's breakfast. As Molly suspected Marta was already gone making it easy for her to snag a few pieces of sausage and two apples and sneak out without ever being seen.
She sat on the worn stone steps of the servants' entrance and waited, watching the sun being to rise. As Molly started in on the second apple, Edmund appeared not long after sunrise a small pack on his back. "Good morning," Molly called out to him. He smiled back, "good morning." Molly stood up walking towards Edmund. As they reached each other, the pair embraced. As they pulled back, Molly placed a kiss on Edmund's cheek. She snickered as his cheeks turned a faint pink.
As they started down the road Edmund reaching his hand out to snag hers, allowing their fingers to lace together. "What did you bring with you," Molly asked as they made their way down the quite street. "Nothing much: letters from everyone, money for today, a dagger, and a letter of introduction," Edmund said glancing over at Molly.
"You know I almost didn't recognize you with that scarf on," he added. "I'm the only red head in Avalon," Molly said looking back at Edmund smiling. He nodded understanding the desire to be anonymous. "Are you coming to the ball tonight?" Molly asked breaking the silence that had fallen between them. Edmund nodded, "I'll be there in an official diplomatic capacity, coming to check on my diplomat." Molly smirked, "you little sneak, no wonder you managed to arrange all of this so easily."
As they neared the edge of town the road became more crowded, thus ending any talk about. They started on the edge of the bazaar making a pact to venture up and down every corridor in an effort to at least glance at every stall.
The corridors were longer than either of them expected. The bazaar filled the entire city of Avalon and then some, and had little to no organization. Molly laughed as they walked past a tannery booth situated next to a booth selling fresh milk and cheese. "I wonder how the spots are decided," she quipped as they walked stopping to examine a small stall selling old books. "Its first come first serve dear," the elderly stall owner said appearing from behind a neat pile of books. "Ah, so you had to get her early to claim a good spot," she stated. The man nodded, "is it your first time at the bazaar?" Edmund and Molly nodded as their eyes flicked through the titles, one in particular catching their eyes.
Molly reached out for a red book the gold letters on its spine peaking her curiosity. "Grimm's Fairy Tales," she said softly running her fingers over the letters. Edmund's head shot to look at her, "why does that sound so familiar?" Molly shrugged turning to the old man that ran the stall, "how much?" The old man laughed heartily. "I've been trying to sell that book for 25 years. You can have it free of charge, as a first bazaar gift." Molly thanked the man stowing the book in Edmund's bag for later, but not before slipping a silver coin in the old man's coffers while his back was turned.
As they continued Molly and Edmund stopped at whatever caught their eye, and a lot did. The bazaar had everything from tanners to buy your leather from to men selling passage across the great desert, or fine jewelers. It seems like the whole of Archenland had mysteriously appeared in order to sell their wares.
As noon near, Molly and Edmund stopped at a small food stand selling pasties. While they waited for their food they looked at the stall next to it, a small jeweler. Molly stared wide eyed at the wide assortment of rings, necklaces, and bracelets made with a wide arrange of stones and precious metals. One ring in particular caught her eye, a beautiful silver band with a sapphire where one would expect a diamond. "Would you like to try it on miss," the old woman running the stall asked. Molly nodded eager to try the beautiful ring on. It fit perfectly on Molly's finger, much to her chagrin.
"Do you like it," Edmund whispered in her ear. Molly nodded sighing, "I love it, but its too much." Edmund agreed allowing his arms to wrap around her waist staring at the ring there on her hand as his mind worked. The worker at the food stall next store called their order and Molly reluctantly returned the ring to get their food. As soon as her back was turned Edmund had picked up the ring examining it. "Tis a pretty ring sir," the woman said, "not a very traditional ring I must say, but a pretty one."
Edmund nodded, "if I wanted a ring like this made with a few minor adjustments, could you do it?" The woman nodded, "would you be picking it up sir?" Edmund shook his head. When Molly returned with their pies Edmund was writing something down for the woman. "Edmund?" she asked handing him his food, "what are you up to?" "Nothing dear," he said in a sing song voice before taking a bite of his pie.
As the pair walked away the old woman smiled at the couple wishing them good fortune in the days to come