Karena was lucky enough to evade the Inquisitor she so feared for a few months, leaving only rumors in her wake for him to ponder on. That is, until the Fire Festival while she was overseeing the baked goods table for Patty Eclaire…
"Look, I'm sorry but I cannot dance with you." She told a knight firmly with crossed arms. "Would you be interested in buying a baked pastry instead?"
"But that will be my fourth one!" the knight complained.
"Then I suggest you stop loitering around the table and go ask someone who is more available to dance with you." Karena suggested as politely as she could.
The knight said nothing, but frowned and turned away from the table before leaving into the crowd, shuffling his feet dejectedly.
"That will most definitely affect his work tomorrow." She heard a man say from nearby. "Why be so harsh on him?"
"Some men do not know that when a woman tells him no the first time, she really means it." Karena explained with an angered and annoyed expression on her face. "Besides, I'm doing my duty and watching this table for Ms. Eclaire. If I left to dance now, some thief might come and steal all these delicious goodies, and that would not be good for the baking business!" – she then turned her gaze to the man she was speaking with, and immediately closed up, blushing as she continued – "Oh! Inquisitor Barnham! Good evening…"
This time he wasn't wearing his helmet, which meant his tanned chiseled face was turned towards her. What really made Karena so nervous though, was that he was gazing right at her with his sharp grey colored eyes which rested underneath those seemingly permanent red furrowed brows that matched his equally red spikey hair.
"So you do know who I am. I was pondering on that for a while you see." Zacharias said, smiling with relief. "And yet I still do not know who you are. Might I have the honor of learning your name Miss?"
"My name is…Karena Edwards, S-sir…" she replied, acting bashful all of a sudden.
"Your name suits you well, Miss Edwards." The Inquisitor complemented. "As does your outfit; You look very nice this night."
And it was true, although her hair was no longer in a half updo bun, nor was she wearing her winter clothing. Instead her hair was all down and loosely curled, and a small strand had been braided and used as a sort of hairband. She wore a light blue knee length shoulderless dress, with sleeves that ended a couple inches above her elbows. To complete her outfit, she had a brown double belt around her waist, thin black ribbons tied around both of her wrists, brown boots on her feet, and a simple gold oval shaped locket on a black leather string was hanging around her neck.
"Thank you for the complements, Sir Barnham…" Karena stated in reply, catching on to what he was planning. "But if I didn't know any better, I would think that you are trying to flatter me for a dance."
"Why not then?" Zacharias suggested with no hesitation. "If we can find someone to take over for you, would you then share a dance with me?"
This question caught Karena off guard, as she thought once she had exposed his plans, she could turn him down and that would be that. But this man was persistent and cleverer than the other knights that served under him, and he was going to be tough to shake off. That is, if she could think of anything to say or do to do so, but for once she had pulled a blank.
For a few minutes, she stood, thinking silently until she thought of something to say. That's when Espella approached the table and asked her friend, "How is everything going so far, Karena?" – she then noticed Zacharias standing near the table – "Oh, good evening Inquisitor Barnham. Was I interrupting something?"
"Not at all." The Inquisitor answered politely. "I was just asking your friend if she would allow me a dance, permitting that she finds someone suitable to watch the table for her."
"I believe I can help you out with that." Espella stated, as she took her place behind the table. "Now you two may dance to your heart's desire!"
Karena turned quickly to face her friend with worry in her eyes as she said, "But Espella…"
"No buts Karena!" Espella scolded her friend gently. "I have seen you turn down too many men's affections for too long, and I am putting my foot down here! Didn't you say you wanted to find love someday?" – she paused and Karena nodded slowly in reply – "Well you cannot find it if you are acting so stubborn! Now I will watch the table, while you go dance with Inquisitor Barnham!"
She then gently shoved her friend towards Zacharias, who took her hand in his and led her to the crowd of dancing townspeople, Espella imploring them to have fun as they went.
The dance was quite a simple one really, as it repeated two steps between swapping partners. Luckily the new cycle had started just as Zacharias and Karena joined in.
It started with the male bowing, and the female curtsying, before the male came behind the female with his right hand on her waist, and the left holding her hand as they followed the pair in front of them, trotting in a large circle. Then, keeping their left hands touching, the male and female would face each other, dancing in a circle before the male and female proceeded to swap partners by going opposite ways of each other as the dance repeated itself.
All the while this was happening, Karena caught glimpses of Zacharias surprisingly having a great time. This confused her greatly, as the only side of the Inquisitor she had known this whole time was his serious "hunting" side. And yet, there he was, with quite the charming smile on his face, looking quite pleased despite his furrowed brows.
As the two met once more after a full cycle Karena chanced a glance at her dancing partner's face, and was shocked to see the way he was gazing at her. She couldn't figure what kind of gaze it was yet, but it made the blood rush to her face so quick that she became dizzy and lightheaded.
"I'm sorry…I cannot do this anymore…" Karena uttered as she quickly walked away from him.
Zacharias followed her immediately after, deeply concerned for her well-being. It didn't take him long to seek her out, as she didn't get that far before falling to her knees and holding her head as she shivered. He approached her quickly, gently placed his hands on her shoulders and asked, "Are you okay, Miss Edwards?"
"No…" Karena replied shakily. "Suddenly I do not feel so well…"
"Shall I escort you home?"
"No, Espella will…" Karena trailed off as she remembered that her friend was still busy.
"Espella is still at the table alone, as Ms. Eclaire has not yet returned." Zacharias told her after glancing over to where her friend was. "I shall escort you home, Miss Edwards. It is the least I can do. Can you stand?"
Karena hesitated for a moment before she nodded slowly. She then rose to her feet, with Zacharias helping the whole time, keeping her stable so she wouldn't fall and hurt herself. He then guided her to her friend, so they could let her know that Karena was going home.
"Oh no! I will drop by when I can to check on you later Karena." Espella said in response after hearing what had happened. "Oh, but what about your horse cart? I would transport it myself, but it is too heavy for me to pull alone. I just don't want anyone to steal it…"
"Then I shall pull it along," Zacharias offered gallantly. "While Miss Edwards takes her rest in the bench seat."
"Are you sure you can handle that, Inquisitor Barnham?!" Espella asked with surprise.
"Anything to get Miss Edwards home safely and keep her cart from being thieved." The Inquisitor answered seriously before turning his attention to the woman he was escorting. "Would you care to point me in the direction of your cart?"
Karena did so, and the two of them headed in that direction after saying their goodbyes to Espella. They then found Karena's cart near the north side of the square and Zacharias proceeded to help her up into the seat.
"What happened to your horse to cause you to pull your cart?" he asked curiously once she had been seated.
"I actually did not pull it all the way here myself. I got as far as the edge of my property before a couple of knights who were passing by offered to help." Karena replied willingly, knowing that she had no choice but to exchange words with the Inquisitor to prevent an awkward silence from happening. "And the whole reason is that my horse…is afraid of fire. Knowing that, I decided to leave him home and bring the fruit into town myself."
"That is understandable. You must care greatly for your horse to make that decision. Are you ready to leave?" Zacharias asked, as Karena then nodded in reply. "Where do you reside then?"
"Just south of here." Karena answered. "Though you must travel through the West Shopping Area and Town Centre, then take a right just before you get to Main Street. My estate is at the end of that path through the trees."
"Hmm. I did not know anyone lived out there." The Inquisitor commented with interest while he started to walk that way. "So what do you do for a living?"
"Oh, I don't really work. I mostly keep to myself, really."
"Who provides for you then?"
"Espella usually does. She buys bread and protein on my coin. I grow the rest in my garden."
"You seem really close to Espella."
"I have known her all of my life. Her and Sir Belduke. The two of them have been by my side every step of the way, bringing me back to full health."
"When we first met, you told me you were bedridden with an illness. You do not have to answer, but what is this illness that you had?"
Karena hesitated for a moment before she answered. "I was…too weak to even leave my bed. Some moments I couldn't even move parts of my body. I'm just glad that the treatments and medicines that Sir Belduke has administered worked and I can move around freely now." She then winced a little and lay down on the bench seat, making it creak a little.
Zacharias heard this and stopped a moment before he looked back and asked, "Are you still not feeling well, Miss Edwards?"
"My head suddenly started spinning." She replied with closed eyes. "I just need to lie down and rest in silence for a while."
"Very well then," the Inquisitor agreed. "I shall let you know when we get to the edge of your estate."
He then continued the trek silently, until he had just passed the tree line at the end of the path. Zacharias announced that they had arrived at their destination as he took in his surroundings.
Beyond the wall of trees he saw a wide open space, with many trees evenly spaced and a simple two floor house that stood at the far end of the area. To the left of the house was a small square footage of land, with various vegetables growing in the rows of dirt. On the other side was a stable for one horse, and a place to park the horse cart.
"Home sweet home." Karena stated with a soft smile.
"What types of trees are planted here?" Zacharias asked as he made his way to the house.
"A variety of fruit trees." She replied simply. "Apple, cherry, peach. I even have a few berry bushes."
"What do you do with the fruit that you pick?"
"I usually give baskets of them to those who have helped me and my friends. I do have quite a lot left over though, even after using some of them myself."
"Why not sell them?" Zacharias offered out of the blue. "You could make a deal with the man who handles the produce at the Market. I believe he could be happier if he had a deal with someone closer to here."
"You know and care a lot about this village Sir Barnham."
"Of course. What kind of knight would I be if I did not have any clue who or what I was defending?"
"Good point…"
Karena then instructed him to park the cart over by the stable, which was closed for the night. After that, she was helped down by Zacharias and led to her front door.
"Will you be okay, here by yourself?" he asked, still showing signs of concern for her.
"I'm here alone all of the time." Karena replied with a smile, causing him to become more worried. "I'll be okay. Espella will check on me later like she said she would, so there is no need to worry."
She was then about to go inside and say goodbye for the evening, when Zacharias suddenly uttered, "Wait!...Will I…see you again soon?"
"I…do not know…" Karena answered truthfully. "Sometime though for sure. Now that I can move and walk about, I will be venturing out in the town more." – a heavy silence fell between them, and she felt it was time say farewell to the knight – "Goodbye then, Sir Barnham, and thank you for escorting me home."
"Goodbye…Miss Edwards…" she heard him say in response as she entered through the door to her home.
Leaning up against the door, she let out a small sigh of relief before placing her head in her hands. 'Why did I ever share my whole life story with him?' she thought. 'I'm supposed to be afraid of the man…am I not?' – she dropped her hands and slid down until she was sitting on the floor – 'Oh, I am so confused. I do not know what to think of him now…'