Paronix backed away from the knight, her eyes widening as he quickly stood. He held his hands up cautiously, but his attempt to ease her nerves was futile. She stared intensely at the knight.
The man looked to Gwyneth and then to Paronix again. “Ms. Ilo, give me a moment to explain, I beg you.”
“Why would I do such a thing?” Paronix asked deliberately.
The man stared at her for a moment as he sorted his next words carefully. “Because you are all alone in the world right now. Unfortunately, you don’t have much of a choice except to trust me at least for a few minutes.”
She clenched her jaw. He was right and accepting that reality sooner was for the best. If she really wanted to, she knew she could make it on her own. It would be difficult, and as much as she liked being on her own, the struggle was not worth it. Severing the tempting option of denying the man, she nodded. “Alright.”
He gestured towards the table, where the two of them sat as he began to explain. “My name is Abaddon. I am a loyal knight to Petrichor, but I would rather follow my moral compass than the rules. We come from similar backgrounds, from what I have heard about you. Also, from what I’ve heard, you can be loyal to the point where it would kill you.”
“You’ve heard about me?” She interrupted.
“At one point yes, though I didn’t know it was you at the time. Just that a gifted young soldier had been asked by the King to guard his own daughter, Illithya.”
The name tugged at Paronix’s heart a bit. “I see.”
“I have worked as a knight for over ten years now, and I know for a fact that the King himself would not ask just any knight to guard the princess. And the fact that you’ve kept the job for, what, two and a half years now?” He awaited a nod from Paronix before continuing. “I’ve heard officials offhandedly mention the loyalty of our princess’s bodyguard. So, when I arrived at the castle the see havoc arisen because of the ‘traitorous bodyguard’ I wondered if something was amiss.”
Paronix had crossed her arms to listen to his perspective and raised her eyebrows expectantly when he paused.
Abaddon took a slow breath in. “Now that you’ve heard my thoughts, I’d like to hear what really happened in the castle yesterday.”
She uncrossed her arms and folded her hands, ignoring the shakiness in her fingers as she contemplated her words. “I was heading past Illithya’s room to the armory to spend time training. As I passed, I saw the door was open only a crack, which is unusual. Normally the princess leaves her door wide open.”
As she recounted exactly what had happened to the best of her recollection, Abaddon leaned his face on his hand, listening intently. His expression shifted when she reached the eventful parts, and he seemed impressed when he heard about her ability to flee despite an injury.
Paronix drew her story to a close and tapped her fingers on the table, trying to think and make sure she did not miss anything. “That’s everything, I believe.”
Abaddon stood up and wandered to the window, where he stared out at the dense deciduous forest that sat at the edge of the unkempt yard.
Paronix wondered what he could possibly want from staring at the forest, the grass, or the rotting fenceposts that stood overgrown with grass and plants. Before she could ask him any questions, he spoke.
“So Faingard is a traitor, hmm? Figures. He was always a slacker when it came to chores around the base. So cocky about making the cadets do his dirty work, too.” He turned back to Paronix and sighed. “I am sorry this happened to you. I’m not sure you deserve it, but nonetheless, we cannot just do nothing.”
“Sir?” Paronix questioned, allowing Abaddon to guess what she was asking.
He nodded. “I have another knight joining us soon. He went into the woods to find food but should be back any minute now. His name is Hewet. After that, you’ll need some time to recover, and then we can leave.”
She stared hesitantly at him. “Leave? We?”
“Yes,” He smiled, “To find the Princess.”
Paronix raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to come with me? You and another knight?”
He threw his head back as he laughed. “I see, no matter whether I offered my help or not, you were going to go after her. I was right about you being loyal to a fault. Can I ask what your plan was before I said I’d join you?”
“To go after Illithya.”
“That’s not a plan, that’s a goal.”
She shrugged. “It can be both. The details are unimportant.”
He stared at her and thought. “Alright, I will come get you when Hewet comes. For now, you must gather your strength so we can leave as soon possible. I will begin gathering supplies.”
“Hold on,” Paronix tilted her head and glared at him. “Who put you in charge? You are tagging along on my quest. To be clear, I make the calls. Gather everything we need now, we leave at dusk.”
Gwyneth, who had previously been happily stirring her soup, made it clear when she dropped her ladle that she had been eavesdropping the entire time. “Dusk!” She questioned as if she was personally offended by the suggestion.
Paronix nodded. “Yes, who knows how far Her Majesty’s kidnappers will be by the time my wound heals. It would be absurd to let something that fickle get in the way of saving the princess’s life.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Ms. Ilo,” Abaddon seemed concerned. “I understand the rush, but it will do us no good to have you wiped out after a day of travel when we are in the middle of the woods. It would be better to rest here while we can.”
“And what happens if I recover now, and then I become injured on the road? What then? I can fight, move, and work just fine with a bit of an injury.”
Abaddon’s voice raised as he argued. “If I had not found you in the woods, you would be dead right now! You would have bled out and died there, and no one would even bat an eye because they see you as a horrible traitor! You are lucky it was me and not someone who would turn you in!”
Paronix tilted her head, taken aback by his words but otherwise unbothered.
“I’m sorry,” He sighed and furrowed his brows. “I am good about controlling my temper normally, I don’t know what has gotten into me. I understand your goals here, so it’s right that you’re in charge. I just would ask you to reconsider such immediate action.”
“Thank you. Your concern doesn’t go unnoticed. But whether I am suffering is unimportant when it comes to finding Her Majesty.” She looked at him with respect, despite the agreement. She could see the upbringings and mannerisms that many Petrichoran knights carried.
He nodded with acceptance. “Alright. But, if we’re leaving at dusk we need to know where we are going. As much as I’d like to just pick a direction and call it a day, there’s no reward in that.”
“Yes, you’re right,” Paronix thought for a moment. “What about Parrin city?”
“Parrin city?” Abaddon raised an eyebrow.
She nodded. “It’s very populated, but that could be used to our advantage by blending in with the crowds. We could visit my family there and stay for a while until we have more information on Illithya. It’s near the port closest to Banagor as well, so if we come to find Illithya has been taken by them, we can hunt her down there.”
Abaddon tried desperately to search for errors in the plan, less out of stubbornness and more out of not wanting issues to arise later on. He nodded. “That would work. It’s around a four-week journey, three if we’re lucky.”
“Great. We’ll do that then.”
“At least get some rest while I gather supplies?” He asked worriedly.
Despite the frustration the request brought to Paronix’s face, she retreated to the room she had woken in and sat down on the bed. She stared around the room, not looking at anything in particular or noticing. Somehow, she was thinking about everything and nothing all at once. She had nearly reached the point of laying down on the bed when the door creaked open, and Gwyneth entered.
“Sorry to bother you, though I’m sure you weren’t sleeping.” Her lovely old face wrinkling around her eyes when she smiled.
Paronix shook her head. “You’re not intruding. It’s your home after all.”
Gwyneth reached into one of the aged wooden cabinets and pulled out a long object wrapped in cloth and leather bindings. Before Paronix could ask what the object was, Gwyneth held it in front of her and began to unwrap the cloth. “This is something I am sending you with. It was my late husband’s when he was in the army.”
“You’re sure you can give me such a thing? Is it not precious to you?” Paronix asked.
A sigh escaped Gwyneth and she paused for a moment. “It is special to me, but I’m sure it would be more special being used for its purpose. That way it can carry my husband’s memory through more than this dusty old house.” At that moment she revealed one of the most incredible broadswords Paronix had ever seen.
The blade was a darker, almost shadowy color, with no imperfections as far as Paronix could tell. A lenticular blade, with a large but shallow fuller imprinted on the center to strengthen and lighten it. The hilt was leatherbound, and each part of the handle had intricately carved designs on it that reminded Paronix greatly of some of the judicial buildings at the Capitol. She inspected the blade carefully, admiring the craftsmanship.
“Your husband’s blade? Did he ever mention who made it? As far as I can see there is no mark left by the maker.” She noted.
Gwyneth smiled proudly. “My husband made it himself. It was his dream but became reduced to a hobby when he enlisted during the war.”
Paronix slid the sword back into its sheath and handed it back to Gwyneth, her face falling at the mention of the war. “I see.”
“No, I’m giving this to you.” Gwyneth pressed it back towards Paronix.
“Ma’am, your husband made this sword, I- I can’t.”
“Of course you can. And you will. I want it to see the world.”
Paronix raised her eyebrows, accepting this was one fight she could not win. “Thank you. It is an honor. I’m sure your husband brought much progress to the fight against Banagor.”
Gwyneth smiled gave a little wave as she left the room, abandoning Paronix with her thoughts and the sword once more.
~
Paronix woke up forgetting how she had even fallen asleep. She shifted around on top of the quilt before sitting up and wincing. The wound still hurt quite a lot, but if they were going to have any chance of retrieving Illithya, they couldn’t afford to wait.
She stood up and wandered back into the kitchen, where Abaddon, Gwyneth, and what she assumed to be Hewet sat at the table chatting.
As soon as Abaddon and Gwyneth looked at Paronix, Hewet turned and stood up, reaching his arm out. Paronix hesitated and then shook his hand.
“Hewet Greyson,” He smiled toothily. “Pleased to meet you.”
Paronix nodded and watched as he went to sit down. “You as well.” She said quietly.
Abaddon leaned back in his chair. “Whenever you’re ready to go, we have everything together. Hewet even managed to buy three horses at a fairly cheap price.”
“Great.” Paronix was about to look for her shoes, but Gwyneth pulled her to the dusty couch and grabbed a bowl of what looked like medical supplies.
“Lift your shirt,” Gwyneth gestured and Paronix hesitantly did so.
The bandages that Gwyneth had used earlier had been mostly saturated with blood right where the wound was, but the blood was dark and dry now. She sat up straight so that the old woman could peel away the rags.
Abaddon and Hewet continued with their conversation, but Paronix felt their eyes staring at her wound as Gwyneth began to apply a salve. Out of the corner of her eye, she was sure she saw both knights grimace, and she did her best to not show how badly it stung.
A few minutes later Gwyneth had finished tightly re-wrapping Paronix’s torso and packed away her supplies. Paronix wondered if Abaddon had thought to grab anything, but didn’t care to mention it.
“I’m hoping I brought enough first aid,” he said as if reading her mind. “But if something unexpected happens which it likely will, I don’t know what we’ll do.”
“We can improvise I’m sure.” Paronix added.
Hewet glanced at Abaddon with a curious look on his face. Apparently whatever he was thinking didn’t matter very much because he turned to Gwyneth. “Is that everything you wanted to take care of? Are we good to leave?”
Gwyneth frowned in Paronix’s general direction. “Yes, I suppose.”
Paronix gave Gwyneth a stiff bow, her hand subtly jumping to press down on the wound. “Thank you for everything. I have significant debts to you now.”
“Absolutely not, I did what I thought was right. It has been a pleasure to have some young people around for once.” She smiled.
As they loaded up the horses and got their last bites of soup down, Paronix made sure to strap Gwyneth’s sword to her horse. When she mounted, she made sure it was reachable and slid it out of the sheath before putting it back.
Abaddon and Hewet mounted, and they left the comforting safety of Gwyneth’s cozy home in the clearing to enter the darkness of the woods, with no clue where they were going or what they were doing. The empty lost feeling in each of them was only consoled by the fact that the three of them shared it.