Knight Fall (The Champion Chronicles Book 1) (35 page)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Conner looked down at the waves that crashed upon the rocks far below.  Over and over, the water broke upon the large boulders in a rhythmic dance of sheer force.  Eventually, in thousands of years, those large boulders would be worn down to nothing.  But he would not be witness to it.  He would be long gone.  The world would be changed, too.  He wondered if the castle walls would still be standing.  Would the empire finally notice the little kingdom to the east and bring its full might and power upon them?  Would there just be a pile of rubble leftover where the walls were.  Would the houses last?  Would the people?

He looked out into the gulf to see the sailing ships of the empire still moored out in full sight of the castle.  It was an impractical place for them to anchor as there was no place nearby to land even their small tenders.  The Tyre River dumped into the Gulf of Taran more than a mile to the south.  That was the closest place to land.  Keeping the naval vessels in full sight of the castle was all for show.  It might have been for Lord Martin and the other lords who held some sway over Elissa, or for Lord Neffenmark to remind him how he attained his throne.  Maybe it was for the people of Karmon to see that the empire still existed and could be a threat.

Conner wondered how long it would take to swim to one of them.  He knew he could jump from the cliff and survive, but would he still have the energy to swim that far?  And would they even take him aboard?  He glanced to the north at the distant peaks of the White Mountains.  He would likely have to take the long way if he ever wanted to see Taran.

The sound of trumpets startled him.  There were five long blasts from twenty trumpeters that lined the topmost battlements.  He turned back towards the castle and noticed Marik walking towards him.  The knight was walking slowly, his shoulders hunched.

Conner turned back to the crashing waves of the gulf.

A moment later, Marik slid in next to him and said with a heavy sigh, “The trumpeting declared the sharing of vows.  It is done.”

“I still do not believe it,” Conner said.  “I don’t know how this could have happened, and so quickly.”

“It is not over, either,” Marik said.  “Neffenmark…”  He shook his head and smiled at Conner.  “I don’t think I can stomach calling him King.  Neffenmark is just getting started.  He has always been power hungry and I fear for this kingdom.  He will tear it apart.  The lords from Tyre are already talking amongst themselves.  If it were not for the fear of the Tarans, I do not think Tyre would stand for Neffenmark being king.  But they fear the empire more.  So they will talk among themselves and gripe and grumble, but they will not do anything.”

“What about the knights?” Conner asked.

“Those of us that are left will have to swear our fealty to him.  We have no choice.”

“Do you really not have a choice?”

Marik opened his mouth to reply, but new thoughts were in his head.  After a moment of reflection, he said, “What you ask is treason.  Punishable by death.  We are Knights of Karmon and we took an oath to protect the kingdom.  The moment we stood up to the king, he would send every soldier at us.  We would be arrested, tried, and executed before the sun rose.  The kingdom is bigger than any one king.  Our honor needs to outlast any man.  We have to stay firm to those beliefs, even if we don’t believe in the man who wears the crown.  So tomorrow, in a ceremony of honor and respect, the Knights of Karmon will dress up in our polished armor and kneel before the king and swear our loyalty to him.”

“I will do no such thing,” Conner said.

“And I do not blame you,” Marik said.  “You have been relieved of your duty.”

Conner looked away and shook his head. “No.  I will always be her champion.”

“She has a husband, now.  She has no need of a champion.”

“No,” Conner said.  “I think she needs me more now more than ever.  She was forced into this marriage under the pretense of protecting the kingdom.”

Marik put a firm hand on his shoulder.  “Conner, you must release yourself from her.  It will not go well for you.  Neffenmark is evil.  As pure as it comes.”

“Then we must fight him!” Conner said loudly.

Marik glanced around and up to the battlements were Royal Guard were patrolling.  He was sure they heard Conner, but they kept their eyes averted from them.  Softly, the ranger whispered, “You cannot say such stuff.  Not now.  Even if you believe it, you cannot let anyone overhear you.  If word got back to Neffenmark, he could have you imprisoned.  You cannot do any good shackled to a dungeon wall.”

“They will not take me without a fight!” Conner said.

“And you cannot do the Princess…I mean Queen Elissa, any good dead, either,” Marik said with a firm, but quiet voice.

“But I have to do something.  I cannot just sit around and do nothing.  Watch them be married, watch him be on the throne.”  He turned to the White Mountains and continue.  “I think it is time for me to go.  Master Goshin could probably use some help with whatever it is that he is looking for.  I can go find him.”

“I know it would be tough for you to hear, but I think it would be good for you to be here.  And I think it would be good for Queen Elissa, too.  She will need as many friends around her as she can have.  As difficult as it is for you, just imagine what it must be like to be her.  She is the one who is really stuck in the middle of this.  She is the one who lost her father and her life turned upside down.  She went from a princess with no responsibilities to the queen of the kingdom.  Plus, a marriage to a man that she surely does not, and probably could never, love.  She may not need a champion, but she does need good friends.”

Marik waited for a reply.  After a few moments, he added, “At least give it some time.  Just don’t abandon her right now.”

Conner gave a slight nod and said.  “Very well.  What about you?  What are you going to do?”

“The battle with Thell hurt us bad.  But it was the loss of squires and young knights that hurt the worst.  It will take some time for us to get our numbers back up to where we can protect the kingdom fully.  And when I say some time, I mean years, not months.  We could have easily absorbed some loss.  But we lost about a quarter of the knights in service and almost half of the squires.  And since it takes a good ten years to train a young boy up to be a knight, it could be a long time before we have the numbers again.  So I, and all the other knights, will be spending our days training young boys to become knights. “

“You know,” Conner said.  “It only took me a few months.”

“Master Goshin did a fine job training you to fight with a sword,” Marik said.  “But he did not teach you to ride a horse, or to take care of a horse, or to fight from a horse.  He did not teach you how to forge a blade or how to fight with other weapons.  Or to make a weapon foraged from the forests.  He did not teach you how to lead an army or other men.  He did not teach you how to act in court, or to dance.”

“Well, no…”

“There is more to being a knight than being able to swing a sword.  That is what makes a Knight of Karmon so great, so powerful.  We are not just soldiers, we are trained in many ways.  If the kingdom just needs soldiers, we can do that.  We can teach anyone to swing a blade or to use a pike or halberd in a couple of weeks.  Knights are smart and disciplined.  And that’s what makes us great.  We just also happen to be pretty good with a blade, and that makes us dangerous.”

Marik squeezed Conner’s shoulder.  “And that’s what makes you most dangerous of all.  Because I have never seen anyone else better with the blade.  Now, it is time to stop sulking and come back to the castle.  We’re going to have to figure out something for you to do.”

***

“This will be your post,” the guardsman told Conner.  He pointed to the wall next to a flight of stairs that went up.

“Here?” Conner asked.  He looked around at the empty corridor and then up the flight of stairs that took a turn to the right after five steps.  “Where are we?”

“The back entrance to the royal apartments is up those stairs.  Or at least they will be their apartments for a while,” the guardsman said.  “King Thorndale’s chambers are being redone to meet the needs of King Neffenmark.  Until the construction is done, they will be sharing the apartments up there.”

“This isn’t really what I expected when I offered my services,” Conner said.  He put a foot on the first step, but the guardsman placed a hand on his shoulder.

“No,” the man said.  “We are only to enter the apartments if the king and queen are in dire need of our help.  Until then, we are to stand watch.”

“I just wanted to see if they are okay,” Conner explained.

The guardsman shook his head.  “Only if they need us.”

“So, we just stand here?”

“Yes.”

“All night?”

“Yes.”

“And we do nothing else?”

“No.”

Conner let out a long sigh.  “Definitely not what I meant when I said I would help in any way.”

“This is the most important job in all the kingdom,” the guardsman said proudly.  “It is our duty to put life and limb on the line for the preservation of the king and queen.  We are the last line of defense.”

Conner turned away and glanced up the stairs.  He had hoped that at least he would be able to see Queen Elissa.  She was just up those stairs.  Close, but so far away.  And he would never know if she came or went.  His only duty was to keep anyone from sneaking into the apartments through the back entrance.  It was going to be a long and boring night.

“What’s your name?” Conner asked.

The guardsman was standing at stiff attention and only moved his eyes to look at Conner.  He kept his head still.  “Shh,” the guardsman said softly.  “We are on duty.”

Conner wasn’t going to stand for an entire night.  He put his back against the far wall and slid down until he was sitting on the cold stone floor.  He looked up at the guardsman, who glanced back down at him.  The idea of helping out Queen Elissa by serving as a guard to her chambers had initially been an appealing one.  He had thought that he would have an opportunity to interact with her, or at the very least, to see her.  It was not his intentions to be stuck down a back hall, waiting for something to happen.  The castle grounds were secure.  No one was going to sneak in and assault the king or the queen in their own chambers.  Their only job would be to direct a lost servant away from the doors.

Several silent minutes had passed when the guardsman said, “Narimar.”

Conner’s mind had drifted and the man’s voice caught him by surprise.  He looked up at the guardsman, who was looking down at him.  “Huh?” Conner asked.

“Narimar,” the guardsman repeated.  “My name is Narimar.”

Conner stood up.  “I’m Conner.”

“I know who you are,” Narimar said.  “Everyone knows who you are.  Or who you were.  You were the Princess’ Champion.”

“I was,” Conner said softly.

“What was it like?” Narimar asked.  “To train with the knights.  To be with them?”

Conner looked up at the guardsman.  He wasn’t sure how old Narimar was.  Maybe five or at most ten years older than him.  He had a worn and tired look about him, as if he had lived a harsh life.  There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin sagged on his thin face.  But his eyes were wide and bright, full of anticipation.

“It was nothing special,” Conner said.  “They were just like you and me.”

“No really,” Narimar asked.  “What were they like?  To be next to such great men day after day?”

“They weren’t any greater than you or me,” Conner said.  “They might have had noble blood in their bodies, but it did not make them special.  It did not make them stronger, or faster, or braver.  I fought next to them and they died just like everyone else dies.  They were just men.”

“Just men!” Narimar burst out.  “They were the Knights of Karmon!  The greatest warriors that have ever walked the earth!  Couldn’t you just feel their great presence?  Weren’t you awed by them?”

Conner shook his head.  “No.  They were just men.”  He could not get the thought of Sir Brace Hawkden out of his mind.  To hold him while he died had really touched him.  There was a sadness to how he died.  It was an honorable death, but only after so many bad decisions.  He had been a good man, but his own ego and pride had done him in.  Conner was glad that Brace had figured out in the end and made some amends for what he had done.  It was a shame that his legacy will be that of a fallen knight.  He just hoped that history would be kind to him.

The sound of something falling from the king and queen’s chamber caused Conner to stand up.  Instinctively, he placed a hand on the pommel of his sword.

“What was that?” Conner asked.

“You never know and it’s none of our business,” Narimar said.  Then his eyes twinkled and he added, “It could be just a little foreplay.”

“What?” Conner snapped angrily.

“You know, what comes right before they consummate their marriage.”

Conner opened his mouth to spit back an angry retort, but the innocent look on Narimar’s face held his tongue.  There was no way that he could know about his feelings for Elissa.  And they weren’t really his feelings to have, anyway.  He was a nothing peasant, and she was now queen.  She had every right to consummate her marriage.  Even though just the thought of it made his stomach turn.