《Smart And Brave...Also》 Smart and Brave...Also: Prized Possessions The soft, warm, and inviting sounds of the crackling fire painted the polished stone in front of the fireplace in orange hues. Besides the fire, the only other sound in the room was that of a woman reading to her child on a bed and the child¡¯s precious giggles and inquiries. The woman was adorned in a green silk nightgown, and on her head was a crown made of little-entwined roses. The leaves of the rose were small chips of emeralds, and the petals of the flowers were rubies. The crown had small Dragon Claws wrapped around the rose stems with flakes of black amethyst making up the talons. Her eyes were a fierce blue, a rarity seldom seen. Her husband often referred to her eyes as ¡°sea opals,¡± a vibrant blue and valuable gem stone brought by the merchants from the trading islands in the middle of the seas. She was exquisitely beautiful, the perfect picture of how a queen should appear in both physicality and noble demeanor. She is the Dragon¡¯s Rose, Queen Sarinah Erin Loudas, and wife to King Danyais. Queen Sarinah¡¯s strawberry blonde hair was being tended to fondly by the child standing in the bed behind her. The child she was reading to, her daughter, Crown Princess Arinah. They were in Arinah¡¯s room, and the princess¡¯s bed was big enough for two people to sleep in. Her bed was a canopy bed, draped in sheer pastel green and pink fabrics, and scattered throughout the room were miniature furnishings designed in regards to the princess¡¯ height. A small dark purple chaise lounge with a matching larger one sat along a wall. There was a small table accompanied by chairs off in another corner, and thick rugs with ornamental designs covered most of the floor. Tapestries designed with floral patterns, animals, or depictions of Arinah¡¯s favorite stories hung on the walls. Flanking her bed on both sides were ornamental nightstands with several large candles burning on polished silver platters. The fireplace was built into the wall across from Arinah¡¯s bed. To the left and right of the fireplace hung two banners with her family¡¯s crest on them, the Crystal Dragon clutching a rose. Arinah¡¯s favorite thing about the room, by far, was the ceiling. Her father, King Danyais, told her the ceiling was enchanted by some magus a long time ago when it was his room. It was gifted as a sign of gratitude for a favor to her grandfather King Ledan for lending the magus assistance on some task involving a dragon. If Arinah did not gaze into the ceiling every night when she slept, then she would not have believed her father about the dragon since dragons have not been seen in the world for hundreds of years. When her room was dark and the sun gave way to the night outside, the ceiling would light up with the stars and moons. The magical ceiling would become an exact copy of the skies above Castle Rose Claw. Arinah already knew all the constellations due to laying countless nights under this wondrous ceiling, and her parents told her about the stories behind them. The story of the constellation Little Girl Soma, standing on the fence waiting for her father to come home, was her favorite, since her father was always busy. She could relate to Soma. While staring at the ceiling, sometimes Arinah would see white streaks falling faster than she could blink. Her mother told her they were falling stars, bringing the wishes and answers to prayers the Gods have decided to grant back to Gawraith. With all the pastel colors, decorative plush furniture, and toys lying about, her room was fit for a princess, except for one thing. There was a collection of wooden practice swords resting on a stand in the corner of her room. The swords were definitely not the usual things one would expect to find in the room of a princess. These swords are Arinah¡¯s most prized possessions. Her practice swords were all custom-made for her, just like the miniature furnishings adorning her room. The petite wooden swords allowed Arinah to get used to the size and weight as she practiced with them. Going from left to right on the stand, the swords were smaller, becoming larger, a direct reflection of how she would progress from sword to sword as she would grow into larger swords. Arinah¡¯s father learned woodworking just to make them for her since Arinah¡¯s mother issued an unofficial decree to the woodcraftsmen in Rose Claw, forbidding them from making practice swords in a losing attempt to try and discourage her husband from teaching their daughter the sword. Arinah wanted to be like her father ever since she saw her father fight at the Rose games. She even kept the broken swords and the earlier disastrous prototypes her father made in a chest under her bed as keepsakes. Her grandmother, Baroness Zarinah, and her mother were against the notion of her taking up swordplay at first, but Sarinah, like Arinah¡¯s father, did not have the will to deny their daughter¡¯s persistent requests. Often when they read fairy tales together, Arinah switched the genders or roles of the princes and the princesses so she could imagine she was rescuing the gentleman in distress. Arinah¡¯s grandmother, Baroness Zarinah, complained about how rough her granddaughter¡¯s hands have become from all the practice and extra practice Arinah snuck in. Arinah counted the brush strokes as her mother read, ¡°99, 100,¡± Arinah paused. ¡°Mother, what comes after 100?¡± the Princess asked of her mother. ¡°My dearest, that is quite simple. Since you already know how to count to a hundred. It is one hundred and one, Ari,¡± Sarinah said, smiling at her daughter using the nickname they all called Arinah. Like the sword and Ari¡¯s rough hands, it was also her husband¡¯s fault Arinah would be doomed to just being known as Ari. The Queen¡¯s mother, Baroness Zarinah, harped about Arinah¡¯s nickname just as much as her swordplay and refused to call her Ari out of stubbornness. Sarinah took the brush from Ari¡¯s tiny hands. ¡°It¡¯s your turn to read,¡± handing her the book. Ari jumped to the floor, her small feet barely making any sounds other than when they clapped on the bare areas with no rugs. Ari pushed a small stool, and it made wooden scraping sounds on the stone floor until Ari had it over the rugs. She guided the stool, placing it in front of her bed. Sarinah put one leg on each side of the stool, and Ari nestled herself between her mother¡¯s legs. Her mother started to brush Ari¡¯s bright red hair. Little Ari began to read, sounding out the words as she went along, and getting help from her mother by raising the book above her head for help from her mother when the words were too big or complicated for her. ¡°Mother, was father like the prince in this story when you met him,¡± Ari asked, tilting her head back. Her mother appeared upside down in her vision.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Your father, when I first met him,¡± Sarinah chuckled, ¡°he was more like an ogre,¡± the Queen told her daughter. ¡°An ogre?¡± Ari asked, her head tilting to the side as she imagined her father as an ogre. ¡°He was green and ugly? Did you kiss him and make him better?¡± Ari asked, being serious with her inquiry. Her mother laughed. Relishing in Ari¡¯s innocence, Sarinah scooped her into her arms, pulling her back up onto her bed. ¡°Oh, my sweet little Ari. I love you,¡± Sarinah said aloud with pure joy, nuzzling her nose against Ari¡¯s soft cheek, causing the little princes to squeal in delight. The two nuzzled with each other, Ari¡¯s tiny hands touching her mother¡¯s smooth cheeks. ¡°Mother, I can¡¯t wait for you to have my brother,¡± Ari said from out of nowhere, her tiny arms squeezing hard around Sarinah¡¯s waist. The Queen took her daughter by the shoulders, pushing her at arm¡¯s length, looking into Ari¡¯s eyes. Only a few knew of the Queen¡¯s pregnancy. Those who knew only learned of it a few days ago, along with Sarinah. ¡°Brother? Did someone tell you that you would be getting a brother?¡± Sarinah asked her daughter, confused about how even Ari would know when only a few trusted people knew. The possibility of a new royal child being born was always kept as a guarded secret until the pregnancy would present itself. Sarinah had even heard tales of some monarchs in the past condemning their wives privately for putting on too much weight, and staged arguments by the spouses to conceal the pregnancy. Not even the king knew of this yet since he was out traveling with his men, and she wanted to wait for Danyais¡¯ return to surprise him with the news. ¡°Yes, it was Grandfather. He told me in my dream,¡± Ari said, sliding back down the bed and sitting on the stool, picking up the book and waiting for her mother to resume brushing her red hair. ¡°What did you say?¡± Sarinah questioned earnestly. Ari was still a babe and not even walking when her grandfather, King Ledan, died. She could not even talk at that point of time in her life, and there was no way she could remember King Danyais¡¯ father. ¡°How do you know the man in your dream was your grandfather?¡± but before Ari could answer, a scream for help was heard outside of Ari¡¯s room in the hall. What was that? Queen Sarinah thought fearfully. The door to Ari¡¯s room was flung open, startling both mother and child. Cina, her mother¡¯s personal handmaiden and best friend, darted into the room, slamming the door behind her, sending a muffled boom echoing down the stone corridor outside. She latched the door lock, and Cina picked up a thick plank of wood from behind the dresser off just to the right of the door, placing it over the door between the two iron bars embedded into the stone wall to reinforce the door. ¡°Cina, what is going on?!¡± Sarinah asked hurriedly. ¡°My Queen, there are intruders in the castle!¡± Cina told the Queen, fear was in her voice. ¡°There are intruders in the castle?!¡± Sarinah repeated back, stunned at what she was hearing. We are being attacked! The thought sounded ludicrous to her, but yet she was watching her most trusted friend struggle to push the dresser next to the door in front of it. ¡°Yes, I did not see how many. There was a man in a robe, and behind him, I saw at least ten men. Some of their faces were painted to help stay hidden in the shadows; I saw swords on their hips,¡± Cina explained further in-depth. This section of the castle didn¡¯t allow swords unless you were a member of the King¡¯s guard. Sarinah did not believe Cina would mistake the King¡¯s Guard for anything other than what they were. The Queen looked at Ari¡¯s eyes, seeing the fear tangible on her face. Sarinah touched her stomach and then Ari¡¯s precious cheeks. She moved decisively to the banner hanging to the left of the fireplace and pulled it from the wall. Behind the banner was a glass window. Sarinah picked up a candlestick sitting on top of the fireplace mantle with her right hand, ignoring the momentary discomfort from spilling hot wax on her hand. She smashed the glass with the candlestick to access the recess behind it, clearing the jagged glass with it, and tossed it to the floor. The recess built into the stone wall contained a crossbow and a sword, but it was the rope within she sought. Sarinah wrapped her hand around the rope, pulling it out of the recess, twirling it around her right forearm. She placed her right foot on the wall and pulled on the rope. At first, the rope seemed as if it didn¡¯t want to move, offering resistance, but gradually Sarinah could feel the rope beginning to move freely until a bell began to ring loudly, alerting the castle¡¯s guard there was danger in the royal quarters. Sarinah continued to pull until she felt someone tugging at the other end of the rope, and then she stopped. The ringing of the bell became more frantic at this point, and soon other warning bells throughout Dragon Crest echoed each other as the entire city was being warned of danger. It was a small comfort for her to know the bell tower guardsman was there. Sarinah stopped pulling on the warning bell rope, letting the guardsman on the other end continue to sound the warning bell in the northern battlement. The guardsmen will come for us soon. Cina walked over to the queen, not taking her eye from the door, and then someone knocked on the door. Shouts of ¡°For the king!¡± ¡°The Dragon forward!¡± ¡°The Blood is in danger!¡± and other things they could not hear clearly from the room erupted outside the door. Sarinah and Cina positioned themselves in the middle of the room. Cina grabbed Sarinah¡¯s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Sarinah moved quickly to her daughter¡¯s bed and took her daughter in her arms, kissing Ari¡¯s cheeks, and pulling up the runner around Ari¡¯s bed. She knelt down, placing her child under the bed, reaching back up on Ari¡¯s bed. Sarinah grabbed almost all of her stuffed animals and pushed them under the bed with her. Ari¡¯s eyes were as wide as the sky, with tears leaking out, her lips quivering. ¡°Here my brave little dragon,¡± Cina said, rushing over, kneeling, and sliding one of her wooden practice swords under the bed. The act seemed to calm Ari as she wrapped her hands around the wooden hilt, her knuckles turning white. Cina quickly took Ari¡¯s tiny hand and kissed it before moving to recess in the wall to collect the weapons hidden within. ¡°Baby, this is just a game, you have to stay quiet, and under the bed. It is how you win,¡± Sarinah said, letting go of the runner fabric. It draped back down around the sides of the bed, concealing Ari. Fear wanted to drive Sarinah to tears as she watched her daughter¡¯s fearfully, tearful stained face vanished behind the fabric. But her motherly instinct, that furious protective rage no loving parent should ever have to feel. It wanted to burn the rock walls of her child¡¯s room to molten lava. Sarinah stood up, turned around, and Cina was standing holding the crossbow with a bolt already loaded. The sword from the hidden recess was already fastened around her waist. The sword and belt looked out of place on Cina, who was dressed in her maid uniform, a plain blue dress with an apron marked with the Crystal Dragon of House Loudas emblem. ¡°Take this, my Queen,¡± Cina said, offering the crossbow to Sarinah. Queen Sarinah Erin Loudas¡¯ face became like steel as she fiercely walked over to her friend. She drew the sword from Cina¡¯s waist instead with dreadful determination. The sword and a mother¡¯s resolve made its lethal intent known with the rasping of the metal made mingling with the scabbard. *** Into the woods A company of twenty men rode single file on horseback on the remnants of a road in a wooded forest. Even though the overgrowth had swallowed the road with bushes, grasses, and even some rooting trees. One could still see the outline of the former road, well now more path than a road. The pathway was used primarily as a game trail now by the wild animals in this forest. It was still a better, but much slower, way to navigate the forest. The birds chirped their warning calls, and the sounds seemed to echo endlessly throughout the forest as other birds took up the warning calls, notifying the rest of the inhabitants of their forest that there was a twenty-man incursion into their wooded domain. The men wore armored black steel; all were uniform in their appearance, with swords and shields holstered onto their backs or sides of their saddles. Each of their shields was painted with a Crystal Dragon clutching a rose. However, among these twenty men, one man was not armored as the others; his armor was polished steel, gilded in gold trim. On his head sat a war crown, a metal steel cap with a thin golden dragon curling around the outside, and underneath the crown was a chain mail coif concealing his dirty blond hair. The eyes of the dragon were green to match the king¡¯s dark green eyes. His chest armor had an engraved image of a dragon clutching a rose, the standard of his house, and his kingdom. The man was High King Danyais Hathat Loudas, master of Castle Rose Claw, protector of Dragon Crest, and the ruler of all Loudas, one of the four great kingdoms in Gawraith. His family¡¯s castle was centralized in Loudas for well over 600 years, giving rise to the largest city in his kingdom, Dragon Crest. The forest they traveled through was called the Nagian, named after the Brobdingnagian Flower Pines. The flower pines in Nagian, where the king of all trees in Gawraith, larger than any other species of trees and the only trees allowed to grow in this forest as if they themselves declared it by royal decree themselves. Growing at the top of the enormous trees were giant translucent flowers that would expand out during rain or snowfall. The forest was ancient, smelling of rotted and humid vegetation. Giant blue and red pinecones ranging from the size of cats to as big as a man lay scattered around. Limbs fallen from the trees were the size of trees at least a hundred years old in other places and dried crusty sap droplets the size of a horse hugged the bark of several of the trees. Since entering the forest, they had come across some of the sap flows that made it down to the forest floor from the behemoth trees. They saw smaller animals such as birds and rodents ensnared or encased in the amber tar-like sap. To their surprise, they even found larger game animals entombed in the hardened amber, perfectly preserved. If Danyais had the means, he would have ordered them to be cut from the amber and sent back to Dragon Crest to put on display. Regrettably, time was something they did not possess, and the idea of having an exhibition of the many perfectly preserved animals had to be filed away for a later date. The Brobdingnagian pines stood taller than any castle Danyais had ever seen, including his own. The massive gates of Dragon Crest¡¯s walls were made from these titans of trees, due to the difficulty of the wood to catch on fire. A lot of the older nobles¡¯ homes and the old inner city of Dragon Crest were constructed from these trees. No one knew why the wood was so resistant to fires, but the lack of fires in the Nagian forest would explain why these trees have been able to grow to gargantuan sizes. In contrast, other forests would have to contend with natural fires that would have burned and claimed their larger trees over the course of time. This forest was once a prized commodity for his kingdom, but a dragon made the Nagian its roost hundreds of years ago. The Dragon, with his harem of dragonesses, forcefully annexed the forest from Loudas. The clutch of dragons protected the forest fiercely, even burning and killing the population outside of the woods. Driving the people away, even venturing further out till one of Danyais¡¯ ancestors treated with the dragons and promised to never let another tree be harvested from their forest ever again. Even after the dragons vanished and with the proclamation lifted, no one dared to venture into the woods. Their greed was kept at bay by the fear of the forest being protected by spirits or the prospect of dragons returning one day. Danyais scanned the forest with his eyes, looking for a possible attack behind any shrub big enough for a man to hide behind. He knew he did not have to observe such things since the men with him, even though they appeared in a relaxed manner and joking amongst themselves, each scoured the forest with fierce scrutiny. They were his king¡¯s guard and not just his normal king¡¯s guard; some of these men Danyais would consider his family, trusted beyond even some of his advisors in his court, though they were forbidden to speak on political matters unless the matters would impact the throne severely. While others with him now were chosen for their deadly proficiency in weapons and the zealot like-way they would protect the throne of Loudas. Danyais looked at one of the falling limbs; it was clearly as big as the largest tree he had ever seen until he came here to this forest. ¡°If a limb falls in a forest, would it make a sound,¡± Yadu, one of his men, joked, and Danyais chuckled along with the rest of them. ¡°We know your mother makes all sorts of sounds,¡± Mansa said, and this time Danyais had to stifle his laughter at the crude but funny joke. Danyais had his hand over his face, trying to hide his smile as the men were in a fierce battle of words of one-up-manship. Feeling the facial stubble on his face with his ungloved hand, he found being unshaven for twelve days uncomfortable and irritating. He even formed a habit of plucking at the stubble with his fingers lately. I wonder what my girls would think of it, rubbing the stubble with his hand not wearing a glove. The missing glove was tucked into one of the saddle side pockets. Danyais spotted another of the giant limbs that had fallen not too far from the path, the giant needles of the limb still retaining their dark green color. It must of happen recently, raising his hand and pulling the rest of the men behind him to a stop. Several of the men quickly pulled alongside their king with shields raised, forming a protective pocket. ¡°Be at ease. I just want to collect some of the wood from that limb to make Ari some practice swords with,¡± Danyais said, leaning back in his saddle and pointing behind one of the men shielding him. A tall man rode up, and the guards around Danyais parted to let him through. The man was Zander, Danyais¡¯ closest friend, and most trusted advisor. Zander was considered a scoundrel according to the nobility in his court, and the king couldn¡¯t even deny it since he knew how his friend was, but when it came to Zander¡¯s loyalty to Danyais, there was no one higher in Danyais¡¯ heart other than his wife and daughter.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Growing up, Zander was skinny and ungainly. In fact, he looked out of place in the armor he now wore. His hair was sandy brown, and his eyes matched. Zander¡¯s entire existence in Danyais¡¯ world seemed out of place to the nobles of his court. Zander was not born a noble. He was the son of a cook serving in the King¡¯s kitchen, and on his cheek were three tattooed lines. The lines were the mark of a servant bonded to a noble house. The firstborn of every generation was born to servitude. A line would be added for each generation until after seven lines amassed, and then their families would be granted their freedom. When Danyais was young, he was not fully aware of social standings, and he did not understand the cultural doctrines or any of the complicated rights and wrongs of their world. To him, Zander was a friend who took the blame and a beating for stolen sweet pies from the kitchen. Even though Danyais and another one of his friends, Elhanan, were the true culprits. Looking back on the entire thing and knowing how the castle and peerage work, Danyais knew if he had spoken up and assumed responsibility for the sweet thievery, he would not have suffered much for it. However, from Zander suffering in their place, that sweet act of cruelty, a friendship was born. The three of them ran rampant throughout the castle, getting into all sorts of trouble. When they got caught, Zander was punished, and they were not due to their nobility. It was during these times when King Danyais learned of the class system, and his friend Zander was a slave. None of it mattered to Danyais, even though it was a concern of Zander¡¯s when they got caught in some new scheme. Danyais went to his father, King Ledan, and expressed his concerns about the way Zander was treated and how he did not like it, or the whole concept of servitude in general. Being a doting father and to placate his son from such dangerous thoughts, King Ledan issued a creed throughout the castle of Rose Claw. If Zander was with the prince when mischief struck, he was to be pardoned along with Danyais. With his newfound immunity, Zander, Elhanan, and Danyais set out on a reign of terror. It did not end until Zander¡¯s mom, Zumi, much like the head executioner, showed no mercy to his friend. Zumi, in her judicial righteousness, punished the entire castle by not making anything sweet for a whole month. Not even his father had the nerve to invade the kitchens when he found out the Queen and his mother-in-law sided with Zumi. It became known as the ¡°Sweets Rebellion¡± incident. King Ledan seeing how the trio of women outmaneuvered him, began to monitor Zander¡¯s upbringing along with the entire castle. Danyais¡¯ father even made sure Zander was tutored and educated alongside his son in every aspect expected of the prince, although the lessons on mannerism and courtly conduct never seemed to stick. The rambunctious Zander still got into trouble well into his youth, and even now, Zander found ways to cause mischief for King Danyais. Later in their friendship, Zander proved to be brave when he stepped between Danyais and a poisonous assassin¡¯s blade. For weeks after the failed attack, Zander was sick and on the brink of death. The attempt left a long scar on his right arm. Zander exploited in more ways than one. ¡®I just tripped trying to get out of the way,¡¯ Zander often told the story as such. When he found himself in a dispute with Zander, his friend would often nonchalantly rub the area around the scar on his arm, guiltily reminding Danyais of what Zander did for him to secure a better outcome, which as of lately did not work on anything of importance but it still did not stop Zander from trying. Even long before the assassination attempt, Danyais made his mind up never to treat Zander as a servant. Zander¡¯s heroic act gave Danyais all the precedent he needed to set his family free and raise them to the peerage. Zander¡¯s mom, Zumi, stayed in the kitchens even though she now had the status of a noble lady, and for months the staff grappled with calling her Lady Zumi or Zumi like they all were used to, before she eventually just made them all settle on Zumi. But all knew better than to mess with her. Danyais was afraid that he may have started a precedent with all future head chiefs in the kitchen would be nobles. The entire concept was weird at best, and King Danyais still did not give up on the notion Lady Zumi would one day retire to the village and lands he rewarded Zander with. If such a day came, then Danyais would make many visits to the village for her sweet pies. Zander did not know who his father was, and his mother never spoke on the subject to anyone. It was no doubt a noble who took advantage of Zumi. Danyais¡¯ daughter, Ari, called him uncle and loved to hear the stories of their youth, but often scowled in disbelief at how her father ¡°got¡± her beloved Uncle Zander in trouble all the time. ¡°What is going on? Why are we stopped? Dany, I should¡¯ve never talked you into letting me come to this place,¡± Zander said, guiding his horse to a stop near Danyais. ¡°As I recalled, I didn¡¯t have to do much convincing. Something about my wife trying to set you up with a certain young lady.¡± Danyais retorted, causing several of the surrounding men to laugh. ¡°Really, in front of the men,¡± Zander said, raising his hands in disbelief. ¡°What?¡± Danyais asked, his eyebrows arching. ¡°You know this lot can¡¯t keep my secrets. They are going to go back to Crest, and someone is going to let it slip that I am engaged,¡± Zander said. As if realizing what he said aloud, he stood up in his saddle, looked over his shoulder, and announced loudly, ¡°I am not engaged!¡± Laughter picked up in the ranks as others asked to be filled in on what was going on before adding their own mirth to the situation. ¡°I know you are not engaged, Zander,¡± Danyais said, pausing for a brief moment before adding ¡°Yet!¡± loudly enough to be heard by most people. ¡°Really!¡± Zander said, turning his horse around now to face all those behind him. Standing up in his stirrups, ¡°Alright, I want you all to repeat after me. ¡®Zander isn¡¯t engaged, betroth, promised, married, or in love with anyone.¡¯¡± The men were laughing at the absurdity of his demand. ¡°Wait! Hold off on that love part because that can mess me up just as badly. Come on, repeat it now!¡± By now, several of the men were outright laughing. Yadu, a loyal and portly King¡¯s Guard, was even crying about how his one abdominal muscle hurt and was begging for someone to stab him, to put him out of his misery, causing even more laughter. ¡°I want to make sure you all know that I am not engaged. Yet or otherwise,¡± Zander miserably pleaded his cause. ¡°I-I-I am sure they heard you,¡± Danyais said, barely able to complete his statement before turning his face away from Zander, his cheeks clearly raised in the hilarity of Zander¡¯s words. Zander glared at his friend and kicked Danyais¡¯ foot in the stirrup, forcing the king to look back at him. ¡°I can use your help here,¡± Zander said, nonchalantly rubbing his right arm where his scar was. The act of it almost made Danyais want to declare that his abs were about to hurt as well. ¡°All right, I will ask,¡± Danyais said, turning his horse around to face his men. He waited for the men to regain some of their composure. With all their laughter, the men were still intently glancing around at their surroundings to make sure they were secure. ¡°Repeat what Lord Zander said.¡± The King was not prepared for what followed; it was a hodgepodge of wrong and right responses said aloud. He heard some say that Zander was not engaged. A couple declared he was, others said he had a secret betrothal, and one even said there was a secret marriage because of a love child. But what really threw the whole lot of them into uncontrollable laughter was when Mansa announced to the group, they needed to help get Yadu up from off the ground. He passed out from laughing and fell from his horse. Threatening Him With Love ¡°Go get your stupid wood,¡± Zander said with his head hung low. Danyais thought he heard Zander mumbling about his decision to step in front of a stupid assassin as he gently kicked his horse. Moving the powerful animal towards the fallen limb, Danyais wanted to collect wood from for Ari¡¯s new practices swords. Maybe this wood will fare better than the others. Dismounting and grabbing the small hand axe he had attached to his saddle. He inspected the tree while several of the men who recovered from the hilarity fanned out in front of him, forming a protective barrier several meters away from him. Danyais spotted several smaller limbs that were about the right size needed for practice swords, and hacked away at them. With each swing, chunks of wood flew into the air until he had several logs that could be whittled down later. Danyais handed several of the logs over to one of his guardsmen to stow away on the pack animals. A muffled sound of thunder reverberated throughout the forest. Danyais almost forgotten there was a storm approaching earlier over the horizon when they first entered the Nagian. He looked up at the canopy of the forest. The flower portion of the giant trees extended out, almost blanketing the entire forest with their translucent petals. The areas where the large petals did not overlap or where they pushed against each other, forcing gaps in the canopy, allowed the rain to sneak in. From the amount of rain seen in those breaks in the canopy, it was a torrential downpour. The massive trees barely swayed in the onslaught of the storm. If it was not for the flashes of lightning and muffled thunder, then any inside the forest would have been oblivious to the chaos outside. Danyais refasten his small hand ax to his horse, mounted the animal, and guiding it back over to the rest of his men, those who were guarding him while he retrieved the wood were returning to their horses in the column. Zander stared neutrally at Danyais and knew his friend was plotting a counterattack on him for not supporting his claims of being a single man anymore. But, what was Danyais supposed to do, everyone in Dragon Crest knew Zander was fickle when it comes to any romantic relationship, except his poor mother. ¡°My ¡®King,¡¯ did you get your stupid wood?¡± Zander formally addressed Danyais, emphasizing the king part in a sarcastic tone. ¡°Yes, Lord Zander,¡± King Danyais replied to Zander in just as an antagonizing tone as well. He knew his friend only address him formally when pomp and circumstance required it, but never in front of just the guards or his wife and daughter. Some of the King¡¯s Guards around snickered and smiled at Danyais and Zander. They all knew the bond these two shared with each other, so the guards accepted the informal way Zander would treat Danyais while any other person would consider it a miracle to escape with all their limbs or even head intact with the antics Zander employed sometimes. ¡°We should get a move on it if we are ever going to find him,¡± Zander said, giving up on whatever verbal sparring he intended. ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s get moving, guys!¡± Danyais said, nudging his horse to move forward on the path again. His men following behind, still gazing at the forest for any possible threats. ¡°Are you sure he is here?¡± Zander asked, pushing a branch from out the way of his face with his hands. ¡°Yes, my father granted this entire forest to him,¡± Danyais assured his friend. ¡°The stories of this place. This forest. It is cursed, they say,¡± Zander whisper, as if saying the word cursed any louder would bring a mysterious demise on them. ¡°Cursed? I have seen no bones other than animals. How would anyone know? No one has lived or ventured in this forest in our lifetime because of blind faith in some stupid rumor,¡± Danyais said. ¡°See, you admit there is something wrong with this place. If no one has made it out of here in our lifetime, then what are the odds he is still alive? Maybe the curse got him too? There is a reason why no one has ventured into the Nagian in hundreds of years,¡± Zander said, wearily eying his surroundings. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t believe in the notion of superstitions,¡± Danyais retorted. ¡°I don¡¯t, but come on, we are literally the only ones to venture into this forest since one of your great grans lifted the ban, and here we are searching for some fabled man who has probably been farting dust for a long time now. Are we even sure he can help us?¡± Zander replied.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Danyais thought he heard Zander mutter something about poison under his breath, causing Danyais to smile inwardly. Zander often joked when times were stressful, if the assassin¡¯s poison was more lethal or if he did not ¡®trip,¡¯ he would have peace. ¡°Yes, he is very real. My father told me about him before he died. Besides, do you remember the ceiling in my old room?¡± Danyais said, referring to the starry ceiling enchanted by a magus as a thank you for a deed Danyais¡¯ father assisted him with. ¡°That ceiling was a different person altogether,¡± Zander curtly stated. ¡°No offense, but your father was how old when he died, and he wasn¡¯t in his right mind, either. Though his story does explain the strange attraction, you have for poisons.¡± ¡°Sixty was how old my father was, and he told me many times that you were at fault for his nerves,¡± King Danyais said. ¡°Besides, previous guardsmen verified the story he told and some of their sons who are with us right now,¡± Danyais answered his friend back, wondering where this line of questioning was going. ¡°Are you sure their fathers¡¯ minds worked¡­¡± Zander said. He was interrupted when someone blurted out, ¡°Married!¡± ¡°What was the kid¡¯s name again?!¡± and others chimed in with ¡°Engaged!¡± ¡°Mercy guys, my one ab can¡¯t take much more!¡± Yadu said, setting off another round of laughter. Zander looked over his shoulder, scowling at the men behind him. ¡°Even if they all were sound of mind. How old would that make this so-called magus, then? Are we even looking for someone alive? We are just as likely to find a skeleton with a gray beard as a senile old man,¡± Zander concluded his argument. They continued to ride deeper into the forest. Their small talk filtering between the trees between occasional bouts of laughter. Hours later a man at the front of the formation raised his hand in a fist, and each man behind him copied the motion, bringing their horses and conversations to a stop. The horses were well trained by the war stables and became quiet at the signal of the fist in the air. King Danyais kicked his horse in the side and traveled to the front of the column, with Zander trailing behind. When they arrived, they found Wendell, the man who issued the stop order, looking up a hill intently. Wendell was the highest-ranking guardsmen Danyais brought with him. He should have been higher in rank than he was now, maybe even Vice Commander of the King¡¯s guard, but Wendell did not seek promotion choosing to instead to stay by Danyais side when he was Prince to oversee his education in physical combat and field training. Wendell would often drag Zander, but take Elhanan and Danyais on educational excursions to the forests outside of Dragon Crest to teach them bushcraft and survival skills. When the trio became older and seasoned veterans of the woods, Wendell would abandon them altogether, letting them fend for themselves for extended amounts of time. All the while remaining just close enough in secret in case he was needed. ¡°My king,¡± Wendell said, pointing to a giant tree near the top of a hill. The tree was bigger than any of the surrounding trees, easily twice as thick, making even the giant trees they have seen so far appear to be saplings next to it. Danyais looked at the tree and was puzzled. Besides the tree¡¯s humongous size, he did not see why Wendell stopped them. He was about to ask Wendell what he wanted him to see. ¡°Look closely at the base of the tree towards the middle,¡± Wendell instructed Danyais. The wind moved a plant at the base of the tree, and through the wind stirred branches, Danyais saw a glimmer of light appear at the bottom of the tree. ¡°It¡¯s a door!¡± King Danyais said in awe. Danyais scrutinized the tree now and could see what he thought was the profile of the door. The door was constructed to look like it was part of the tree itself. Bark and moss covered it. The door would have been entirely hidden if not for the little sliver of light giving it away. ¡°Guess that is why you are the scout, Wendell. I would have no one besides you be my eyes, Wendell,¡± he said while touching the man¡¯s shoulder. Wendell¡¯s face beamed with pride. Danyais pulled on the reins of his horse, turning to face his companions. ¡°So, there is a light,¡± Zander said. ¡°Looks like your curse theory is out the door,¡± Danyais said. ¡°Want to make a wager on if he is old and senile then?¡± Zander asked. ¡°Even if he is old and senile, we still need his help. From here on, I will go alone,¡± Danyais announced. The men whisper their protest vigorously, with hands waving and heads shaking. They did not want to alert anyone they were there. ¡°Well, if you do not come back, I will tell Ari about how you met her mom. The real story,¡± Zander threatened him. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t!¡± Danyais said in an unkinglike voice, his eyes widening as he imagined the fury of his beloved wife. ¡°Guess I best come back then. I could not have the Queen kill my best friend now, could I,¡± Danyais smiled, spurring the horse forward. ¡°She might just dig your corpse up after all and murder you all over again, along with me. It is supposedly only you that knows the story. I have kept my mouth shut,¡± Zander said, checkmating him with his last comment. Danyais just smiled and kicked his horse, moving up the hill. He heard Wendell issuing orders to the men. The men fanned out and secured the hill. About halfway towards the giant tree, the ground became exceedingly muddy. Danyais glanced up and saw a massive hole in the canopy, a perfect oval shape as if someone carved it out. Danyais¡¯ horse¡¯s hooves sank into the mud, and the stead struggled for proper traction on the slippery slope. Not wanting to endanger his horse or have it roll over on him, Danyais unmounted, tying the horse to a bush nearby. Dig Your Corpse up ¡°Go get your stupid wood,¡± Zander said with his head hung low. Danyais thought he heard Zander mumbling about his decision to step in front of a stupid assassin as he gently kicked his horse. Moving the powerful animal towards the fallen limb, Danyais wanted to collect wood from for Ari¡¯s new practices swords. Maybe this wood will fare better than the others. Dismounting and grabbing the small hand axe he had attached to his saddle. He inspected the tree while several of the men who recovered from the hilarity fanned out in front of him, forming a protective barrier several meters away from him. Danyais spotted several smaller limbs that were about the right size needed for practice swords, and hacked away at them. With each swing, chunks of wood flew into the air until he had several logs that could be whittled down later. Danyais handed several of the logs over to one of his guardsmen to stow away on the pack animals. A muffled sound of thunder reverberated throughout the forest. Danyais almost forgotten there was a storm approaching earlier over the horizon when they first entered the Nagian. He looked up at the canopy of the forest. The flower portion of the giant trees extended out, almost blanketing the entire forest with their translucent petals. The areas where the large petals did not overlap or where they pushed against each other, forcing gaps in the canopy, allowed the rain to sneak in. From the amount of rain seen in those breaks in the canopy, it was a torrential downpour. The massive trees barely swayed in the onslaught of the storm. If it was not for the flashes of lightning and muffled thunder, then any inside the forest would have been oblivious to the chaos outside. Danyais refasten his small hand ax to his horse, mounted the animal, and guiding it back over to the rest of his men, those who were guarding him while he retrieved the wood were returning to their horses in the column. Zander stared neutrally at Danyais and knew his friend was plotting a counterattack on him for not supporting his claims of being a single man anymore. But, what was Danyais supposed to do, everyone in Dragon Crest knew Zander was fickle when it comes to any romantic relationship, except his poor mother. ¡°My ¡®King,¡¯ did you get your stupid wood?¡± Zander formally addressed Danyais, emphasizing the king part in a sarcastic tone. ¡°Yes, Lord Zander,¡± King Danyais replied to Zander in just as an antagonizing tone as well. He knew his friend only address him formally when pomp and circumstance required it, but never in front of just the guards or his wife and daughter. Some of the King¡¯s Guards around snickered and smiled at Danyais and Zander. They all knew the bond these two shared with each other, so the guards accepted the informal way Zander would treat Danyais while any other person would consider it a miracle to escape with all their limbs or even head intact with the antics Zander employed sometimes. ¡°We should get a move on it if we are ever going to find him,¡± Zander said, giving up on whatever verbal sparring he intended. ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s get moving, guys!¡± Danyais said, nudging his horse to move forward on the path again. His men following behind, still gazing at the forest for any possible threats. ¡°Are you sure he is here?¡± Zander asked, pushing a branch from out the way of his face with his hands. ¡°Yes, my father granted this entire forest to him,¡± Danyais assured his friend. ¡°The stories of this place. This forest. It is cursed, they say,¡± Zander whisper, as if saying the word cursed any louder would bring a mysterious demise on them. ¡°Cursed? I have seen no bones other than animals. How would anyone know? No one has lived or ventured in this forest in our lifetime because of blind faith in some stupid rumor,¡± Danyais said. ¡°See, you admit there is something wrong with this place. If no one has made it out of here in our lifetime, then what are the odds he is still alive? Maybe the curse got him too? There is a reason why no one has ventured into the Nagian in hundreds of years,¡± Zander said, wearily eying his surroundings. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t believe in the notion of superstitions,¡± Danyais retorted. ¡°I don¡¯t, but come on, we are literally the only ones to venture into this forest since one of your great grans lifted the ban, and here we are searching for some fabled man who has probably been farting dust for a long time now. Are we even sure he can help us?¡± Zander replied.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Danyais thought he heard Zander mutter something about poison under his breath, causing Danyais to smile inwardly. Zander often joked when times were stressful, if the assassin¡¯s poison was more lethal or if he did not ¡®trip,¡¯ he would have peace. ¡°Yes, he is very real. My father told me about him before he died. Besides, do you remember the ceiling in my old room?¡± Danyais said, referring to the starry ceiling enchanted by a magus as a thank you for a deed Danyais¡¯ father assisted him with. ¡°That ceiling was a different person altogether,¡± Zander curtly stated. ¡°No offense, but your father was how old when he died, and he wasn¡¯t in his right mind, either. Though his story does explain the strange attraction, you have for poisons.¡± ¡°Sixty was how old my father was, and he told me many times that you were at fault for his nerves,¡± King Danyais said. ¡°Besides, previous guardsmen verified the story he told and some of their sons who are with us right now,¡± Danyais answered his friend back, wondering where this line of questioning was going. ¡°Are you sure their fathers¡¯ minds worked¡­¡± Zander said. He was interrupted when someone blurted out, ¡°Married!¡± ¡°What was the kid¡¯s name again?!¡± and others chimed in with ¡°Engaged!¡± ¡°Mercy guys, my one ab can¡¯t take much more!¡± Yadu said, setting off another round of laughter. Zander looked over his shoulder, scowling at the men behind him. ¡°Even if they all were sound of mind. How old would that make this so-called magus, then? Are we even looking for someone alive? We are just as likely to find a skeleton with a gray beard as a senile old man,¡± Zander concluded his argument. They continued to ride deeper into the forest. Their small talk filtering between the trees between occasional bouts of laughter. Hours later a man at the front of the formation raised his hand in a fist, and each man behind him copied the motion, bringing their horses and conversations to a stop. The horses were well trained by the war stables and became quiet at the signal of the fist in the air. King Danyais kicked his horse in the side and traveled to the front of the column, with Zander trailing behind. When they arrived, they found Wendell, the man who issued the stop order, looking up a hill intently. Wendell was the highest-ranking guardsmen Danyais brought with him. He should have been higher in rank than he was now, maybe even Vice Commander of the King¡¯s guard, but Wendell did not seek promotion choosing to instead to stay by Danyais side when he was Prince to oversee his education in physical combat and field training. Wendell would often drag Zander, but take Elhanan and Danyais on educational excursions to the forests outside of Dragon Crest to teach them bushcraft and survival skills. When the trio became older and seasoned veterans of the woods, Wendell would abandon them altogether, letting them fend for themselves for extended amounts of time. All the while remaining just close enough in secret in case he was needed. ¡°My king,¡± Wendell said, pointing to a giant tree near the top of a hill. The tree was bigger than any of the surrounding trees, easily twice as thick, making even the giant trees they have seen so far appear to be saplings next to it. Danyais looked at the tree and was puzzled. Besides the tree¡¯s humongous size, he did not see why Wendell stopped them. He was about to ask Wendell what he wanted him to see. ¡°Look closely at the base of the tree towards the middle,¡± Wendell instructed Danyais. The wind moved a plant at the base of the tree, and through the wind stirred branches, Danyais saw a glimmer of light appear at the bottom of the tree. ¡°It¡¯s a door!¡± King Danyais said in awe. Danyais scrutinized the tree now and could see what he thought was the profile of the door. The door was constructed to look like it was part of the tree itself. Bark and moss covered it. The door would have been entirely hidden if not for the little sliver of light giving it away. ¡°Guess that is why you are the scout, Wendell. I would have no one besides you be my eyes, Wendell,¡± he said while touching the man¡¯s shoulder. Wendell¡¯s face beamed with pride. Danyais pulled on the reins of his horse, turning to face his companions. ¡°So, there is a light,¡± Zander said. ¡°Looks like your curse theory is out the door,¡± Danyais said. ¡°Want to make a wager on if he is old and senile then?¡± Zander asked. ¡°Even if he is old and senile, we still need his help. From here on, I will go alone,¡± Danyais announced. The men whisper their protest vigorously, with hands waving and heads shaking. They did not want to alert anyone they were there. ¡°Well, if you do not come back, I will tell Ari about how you met her mom. The real story,¡± Zander threatened him. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t!¡± Danyais said in an unkinglike voice, his eyes widening as he imagined the fury of his beloved wife. ¡°Guess I best come back then. I could not have the Queen kill my best friend now, could I,¡± Danyais smiled, spurring the horse forward. ¡°She might just dig your corpse up after all and murder you all over again, along with me. It is supposedly only you that knows the story. I have kept my mouth shut,¡± Zander said, checkmating him with his last comment. Danyais just smiled and kicked his horse, moving up the hill. He heard Wendell issuing orders to the men. The men fanned out and secured the hill. About halfway towards the giant tree, the ground became exceedingly muddy. Danyais glanced up and saw a massive hole in the canopy, a perfect oval shape, as if someone carved it out. Danyais¡¯ horse¡¯s hooves sank into the mud, and the stead struggled for proper traction on the slippery slope. Not wanting to endanger his horse or have it roll over on him, Danyais unmounted, tying the horse to a bush nearby.