Chronicles of Espiria Season 2
Episode 22 – A Learning Moment
Written by the Dude
The small Hypogean force led by the inexperienced but confident ogre commander stood at the gate of Ranhorn, only temporarily foiled by the withdrawn drawbridge. They were preparing grappling hooks to scale the walls when the archers of the royal guard, led by the Lady Gwyneth, took their places on the ramparts and notched their arrows.
"Ready arrows! Prepare to raise shields!" the ogre shouted in the Hypogean tongue.
The goblin archers readied their bows and waited for the order to fire on the defenders; to their surprise, the archers only stood at the ready, not firing on the Hypogeans. The ogre found this curious until the drawbridge was lowered, revealing Sir Hendrik standing in the gate, his two massive shields seemingly acting as a gate unto themselves. The less experienced Hypogeans were intimidated by Hendrik's bulk and the determined expression he wore, while the more battle-hardened took courage at the fact that he was entirely unarmed aside from his shields.
None of them expected Hendrik to charge forward at top speed with his shields held before him like a snowplow blade, pushing the Hypogeans on the bridge into the moat. These were picked off easily by the archers on the ramparts as they tried to emerge from the moat and rejoin the battle. Hendrik proceeded further into the hoard, stunning many Hypogeans and shattering their weapons against his shields as he carved his path through the battlefield, confident that they would wear out before he did. He was followed by a unit of Lord Lanward's mercenaries, made into a more formidable fighting force by the generous efforts of Thane and his students.
"Princess Petra, wait! It is too dangerous!"
Gwyneth was distracted by the shout behind her. She turned and saw an old servant to the king, crouching in the middle of the street as if too exhausted and out of breath to press on. Moments later, a child half Gwyneth's height appeared at the top of the ladder to the rampart, armed with a training bow and a quiver of arrows.
"Peggy, what are you doing here?!" Gwyneth asked, her normally stoic expression tinged with concern.
"I wanna help!" Peggy beamed as she held up her bow. "I brought my bow and everything! Well, it's not my bow; I got one of the practice bows since I couldn't get my own without Giles noticing. But it'll work too!"
"Peggy, you're not ready! You could get hurt up here!"
"Don't worry, I'll hide behind this wall until I'm ready to shoot! Watch!"
Peggy drew back her bow with the flawless form that Gwyneth had taught her, but loosed the arrow before she could properly aim. She and Gwyneth both winced at the cry of pain from the battlefield.
"Oooh, sorry Mr. Hendrik!"
"Peggy, get yourself someplace safe, now!"
Peggy was crestfallen as she climbed back down the ladder. Gwyneth watched her return to the exhausted servant, then returned her attention to the battle. She was impressed that Hendrik was still able to move across the battlefield with the same grace and dexterity with his injury as without.
Soon, the battle was over. Those Hypogeans not killed were in full retreat, most of their weapons shattered beyond repair. In contrast, many of the mercenaries were largely unharmed, while the rest were moved to the temple for healing. Thane's students arrived soon after to congratulate the mercenaries.
"Well done, lad." Jacob said to one of the mercenaries. "You've come a long way from the eager young recruit you came here as."
"Just looking to feed my family, sir." the mercenary replied with a complex set of emotions. He was feeling pride in his accomplishments and his victory, as well as gratitude for the time that Jacob poured into training him, but shame and embarrassment that he needed Jacob's training at all, a fact made apparent at his near defeat outside a monastery before he met Jacob.
"And they will be well cared for, my friend." Jacob said as he put an arm around the boy. "Come, you've earned a drink."
As the victors and their teachers headed for the Noble Tavern, Gwyneth made her way to the Healing Sanctuary in the temple complex in search of her father; she eventually found him face down on a cushioned table with a priest praying over him.
"Father!"
Hendrik turned his head slightly; his face beamed at the sight of his daughter.
"Gwyneth! You did well today!"
"Not well enough, it would seem." Gwyneth looked Hendrik over a second in search of the injury.
"They told me that it was a Lightbearer arrow that hit me, and I thought I saw Princess Petra next to you on the rampart."
"She was aiming for the Hypogeans, I swear!" Gwyneth said with more emotion than she meant; Peggy had an unfortunate reputation as a troublemaker among the castle staff, and she did not want her father to share the disdain that the staff harbored.
"It was still an impressive shot." Hendrik said with a smirk. "The priest said it hit me directly in the center of my left butt cheek."
"That detail I did not need, father." Gwyneth said with mild disgust.
Hendrik took a moment for a pained chuckle. "I also got the idea that her coming was entirely her idea."
"She said she wanted to help. But she's not ready for combat yet."
"My left cheek agrees." Hendrik gave a mischievous grin as Gwyneth's face wrinkled in disgust again. "But remember who you are to her. Her father is too busy managing the kingdom to give her the attention she needs, especially now in a time of war. Her tutors are more interested in teaching her etiquette than in being her friend. You, though, give her the sort of attention she craves; she sees you as a big sister, and desperately seeks to please you."
"But I cannot approve of what she did; she put herself and others in danger!"
"I know, and I'm sure you'll impress that on her when you speak with her again. You can use this as a learning experience for her; praise her for what she did right, and correct her for what she did wrong. Remember, you're the only one she really listens to; you alone have the ability to mold her into the sort of person the Celestials mean her to be."
"Like you did with me?"
Hendrik didn't expect that from her. Smiling widely, he reached his nearest arm toward her to pull her into a hug.
"I don't deserve you as a daughter."
They held the moment a bit longer, until Hendrik's wound pricked him again.
"Now you go be the big sister Peggy needs. I'll be here, having my new hole looked after."
"Father, never say that again!" Gwyneth quickly stood up before Hendrik could make any more jokes about his wound. Before she left the room, she looked over her shoulder again. "Wish me luck."
"Good luck, and may the Celestials be with you."
Gwyneth left Hendrik to his healing and made her way to the royal archery range where she and the rest of the royal guard trained, hoping that Peggy would be there. She was right; Peggy was firing arrow after arrow at a target fifteen paces from her, each arrow landing further from the target than the last, obviously distracted. Gwyneth knelt next to Peggy as she fired her last arrow into a small crack in the stonework around the range.
"You were right; I'm not very good." Peggy said as she looked at the arrow.
"Not yet. But you know, I wasn't at your age either."
Gwyneth noted an open window leading into the kitchen.
"One time, I missed a target so badly, the arrow instead went through that window and speared a chicken that your father was planning to have for dinner. The cooking staff was furious, but your father and mine have always been good friends, so Father was able to smooth it all over with his sense of humor. Such as it is."
Peggy giggled at that.
"My point, though, is that it took me years of dedicated practice before I was proficient enough to really fight; before then, I had to accept that I was not ready and continue to strive to become ready. You will be an invaluable archer one day, I promise; until then, I will always be here to help you on your way."
"Even though I shot your dad?"
"Unfortunately, he seems to be quite proud of his new scar."
Before Peggy could ask Gwyneth to expand on that statement, the angry face of an assistant chef appeared at the window to the kitchen.
"Who shot the royal dinner?!" she shouted.
"Is the chicken dead, Mrs Hershire?" Gwyneth asked.
"Well, yes, but..."
"Glad to be of service, Mrs Hershire."
Mrs Hershire just ducked back into the kitchen, shaking her head. Gwyneth and Peggy looked at each other and tried unsuccessfully to suppress a laugh.