Friends Who Became Villainesses

By Henry Cobb

Chapter Ten: Knight's Excursion

I fidgeted in the fancy dress Princess Amesombra had selected for me. "Amy, why are we meeting with Sir Harcues?"

She seemed much more relaxed in her full princess regalia as we sat in her tearoom. "Yes, I agree that he's a highly sub-optimal choice, with hardly any magical potential and nothing exceptional on his character sheet. Has any other boy proposed to you, or even said he loved you?"

"No, Your Highness."

"Then we have to give Harcues a try. The only bright spot is that any baron would jump at the chance to get their junior knight in our court, so Sir Harcues will cost me practically nothing."

"Your court?"

"Marry Sir Harcues and I'll have you two moved into a small room downstairs where you can contemplate for the rest of your days that you could have been queen if only, you'd made an honest effort with my brother." She turned to a knock at the door. "Yes, please enter."

Her maid and watchdog Synthia entered. "Sir Harcues is here to see Your Highness."

"Yes, yes, come in, please. Sir Harcues, please have a seat."

"May I ask why you have summoned me, Your Highness?"

"I will get to that in one moment, Sir Harcues. But first I must command you to be entirely truthful during this exchange for our powers grant us the ability to sense falsehoods. And by our powers, I include Miss Pureheart. Did you know that she can do this?"

"No, Your Highness, I did not."

"There appears to be a great many things about Miss Pureheart of which you are unaware. So, why did you propose to her?"

"I'm sorry if I offended Your Highness."

"We are not offended. Please answer my question."

"It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, Your Highness. For the first time in my life, somebody had made an effort to be nice to me without seeming to want something in exchange."

"And what are your feelings now?"

"I don't know how I feel, Your Highness."

"Well, that is understandable, as you hardly know Miss Pureheart. Sir Harcues, what are your plans for the summer break?"

"I am to return to Baron Thornblend's estate for the summer."

"May I impose on you the duty of escorting Miss Pureheart there and ensuring her safety until you two return for the fall semester?"

"As Your Highness requires."

"This will give you two a chance to better know each other. I am content should you choose each other or not. My objective here is the happiness of Miss Pureheart, but I shall not impose this duty on you if your heart is not for her, for I know that forced marriages are rarely happy ones."

"I am thankful for the consideration of Your Highness."

"Sir Harcues, prepare tonight as you usually would for your journey home, and in the morning return here to escort Miss Pureheart to the Thornblend estate. I will prepare a letter to Baron Thornblend detailing this mission which you are not to tell anyone about until your return here tomorrow. Am I understood on this?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

That night in her bed, I rolled over to face Amesombra. "Why are you sending me away? Has Your Highness grown tired of my company? How have I offended you?"

She wrapped her arms around me. "Oh Kitten, I will miss you terribly next month. I know it's cheesy and ridiculous, but there lies a critical moment ahead in your darkest hour where your true love shines through to save us all. If I could I would keep you by my side forever, but please blame the game and not this pitiful player. Remember that if anything feels at all off about Sir Harcues then just say no and we'll try again with somebody else until we get it right. Can you be braver than me, my Kitten, and at least make this attempt?"

"As Your Highness requires."

We fell asleep crying in each other's arms.

The next morning, I had just finished packing my bags on a mule that Yinshou had picked out when Sir Harcues arrived on his horse.

"Good morning, Your Highness, and Miss Pureheart."

"Good morning, Sir Harcues," Amesombra handed him a letter, "This is for Baron Thornblend. I'll see you again in a month when you return this ward the King has assigned to me."

"I will keep her safe, Your Highness."

I hugged the princess goodbye and waited for her to leave the stables before summoning Yinshou. I mounted him and then turned to my escort. "Shall we be off, Sir Harcues?"

"Miss Pureheart, where are the reins for your mule and uh unicorn?"

"Don't need them. This is Yinshou and the mule is Maline. Since we are to travel together then you may call me Angie if I can call you Albert."

"That would be a relief, Miss, uh Angie. My horse is Traeger."

"Please lead the way, Albert."

"Yes, of course. Angie, I had already arranged to help escort a merchant named Chiskei who will be passing by Baron Thornblend's estate before I received the summons from Her Highness."

"I don't think that will be any problem."

Chiskei rode with his wife Karean, middle daughter Benci, and youngest son Dorjan in his first wagon while his eldest son Janos drove his second wagon. We were joined by Lady Bernadett (the second daughter of the baron whose estate Chiskei was headed to) and the sons of two knights of Lady Bernadett's barony, Sir Henrik and Sir Takacs.

"Miss Pureheart, will you be riding with us?"

"Yes, Lady Bernadett, as far as Baron Thornblend's estate."

"Oh, you must ride with me."

The riding order we settled on was Lady Bernadett and me in front, followed by Sir Takacs and Maline, then the two wagons, with Sir Harcues and Sir Henrik in the rear.

During that first day's ride, Lady Bernadett quizzed me about the princess, and I tried to paint a picture of Amesombra as an ordinary shadow-aspected princess. Fortunately, her (and Sir Harcues) baronies were under Duke Barta, who did not have any children at the academy to be involved in Her Highness' isekai conspiracy.

That evening when we set camp, I took the saddle off of Yinshou and the packs off of Maline, brushed them down, gave them some oats and water then let them graze for the night.

"Miss Pureheart, why do you not tie your animals up?"

"Lady Bernadett, I trust that Yinshou will bring Maline back in the morning."

"Where did you get that unicorn anyway?"

"I found him near the Feuchemie estate, and he followed me home. He says that since losing his mother fifty years ago he hasn't seen another unicorn."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Your unicorn talks?"

"It's not in words. It's a White Magic thing where he shows up in my dreams and shares his memories. Then I need to piece together these images and feelings."

"Wow. It makes my water magic seem useless."

"I've seen Lady Yeuxpera do very impressive things with her water magic."

Lady Bernadett invited me to share the tent her knights had set up for her. As we settled in, I shared a wisp light so she could write in her diary as I reread the sections in The Companions of The Saint that spoke of spells that she had not mentioned in her diary.

"Please excuse, Your Ladyship."

"Yes Miss Benci, and this is your brother?"

"Yes, Dorjan wanted to ask a question of Miss Pureheart."

"Go ahead, Dorjan." I put down the book.

"Miss, are you The Saint?"

"No, I'm just fifteen years old, not a thousand."

"But you ride a unicorn and make light magics."

"While very very uncommon neither of these is unique to The Saint of legend. Miss Benci?"

She glanced at me and then continued to stare at the wisp light. "This light is so odd. Can I touch it please?"

"Go ahead and try, but your hand will pass right through it as it has no physical substance."

"But it seems so real in a way I've never seen before." The twelve-year-old girl reached out. As she touched the wisp light, I felt a slight tug on it and released it from the fixed position. She pulled it into her cupped hands in front of her.

"Miss Benci, we need to talk to your parents immediately. If you will excuse me, Lady Bernadett." I summoned another wisp light fixed inside the tent and followed Benci as she walked along holding my first light.

"Benci, what are you doing?"

"Mrs. Chiskei, I need to talk to you and your husband, if you have time."

"Miss Pureheart, what is the meaning of this?"

I waited for her husband to walk over then continued. "You have a light-aspected daughter. Her magic potential isn't huge, but she should be able to cast a few spells, with the proper training."

"I do?" Benci looked up at me.

"She created this light?" Her father asked.

"No, I have created and continue to maintain this light. That she can move it at all shows that she shares in my magical aspect."

"How much will this training cost?" He asked.

"I can impose on Baron Thornblend to provide board for the next month. Beyond that is up to the whims of our princess. I think that Her Highness will see that having a second White Magic caster for me to train with as a benefit from yourself to herself."

The next morning Benci rode in front of me on Yinshou and practiced holding my wisp light.

Lady Bernadett rode alongside us for two hours in awed silence before asking, "How long can you maintain this light, Miss Pureheart?"

"This is no strain for me, but I think that Miss Benci is at her limit."

"I can keep going."

"No. Rest for now, and we'll try again after lunch."

Two days later Benci said goodbye to her family, and I tied her small bag of possessions on top of mine on Maline as we made our way to deliver the letter to Baron Thornblend.

"This letter makes no mention of the second girl."

"Miss Benci can stay in whatever room is assigned to me, and I think that would be best in any case. If this is too much trouble, we can return to Mursol now and trouble Your Lordship no further."

"Gods forbid that I deny a request from Her Highness, Miss Pureheart. It's just that I am a cautious man. Her Highness specifies that in addition to the unicorn, the second form of proof I must demand is some demonstration of White Magic. I am not asking this for my sake but am simply following her directive in this."

"And that is no trouble at all, Your Lordship." I dropped a wisp light into Benci's left hand, and she pulled this around behind her neck, switched it over to her right hand, and placed it on the table in front of Baron Thornblend.

The baron ran his fingers through the light a few times then looked back up at me. "Yes, Miss Pureheart, that is quite satisfactory. Your friend here also knows the White Magic?"

"That is about all she can do, Your Lordship, but I am training Miss Benci Chiskei in the art."

"Boy," The baron elbowed his twelve-year-old son, "Show these two misses around the estate while I see that a proper room is provided for them."

"Yes, Dad."

"That's Your Lordship when we have company, Boy."

The boy nodded and then attempted to pick up the light after his father left to no effect. "Wow. All I can make is a spark big enough to light dry tinder, but Father, I mean His Lordship, says that's enough for me to inherit the barony. What do you want to see first, Miss Pureheart?"

"I need to see to my animals first if you don't mind, Sir Thornblend."

"You can just call me Gaspar. Dad says to make commoners respect titles, but you two are the most uncommon commoners I've seen."

"Then you may call me Angie whenever it won't annoy His Lordship."

"Um, Angie, where are the reins for your animals?"

"Don't need them. Just show me where to stable the mule and where Yinshou can graze, leave his droppings, and so on."

"Your unicorn understands you?"

"Yes, he's very smart. But don't bother talking to him when I'm not around."

"He only knows a strange language?"

"No, he's just aloof."

Yinshou snorted at this.

"My mom, I mean Her Ladyship, has a painting of a woman riding a unicorn without reins. Say, are you The Saint?"

"Do I look like I'm a thousand years old?"

Gaspar had two of the men who worked in the stables carry my bags to the room assigned to us in the estate, while Benci insisted on carrying her own bag.

He then introduced us to his mother, who had an infant daughter in her arms and a four-year-old daughter following her around. She agreed that Gaspar could just follow me around for the rest of the day.

As we walked back to the room that had been assigned us, I asked. "Gaspar, your mother seems to be very young."

"This is my second mother. The first died when I was born."

"I am sorry to hear that. Benci, here is The Dairy of The Saint. For today just read out the incantations for light spells. In a year or two you can start on healing spells and maybe someday help prevent deaths in childbirth."

"How do two commoner girls know how to read?"

"Her Highness taught me, and Benci is a merchant's daughter."

"That doesn't sound like our princess of shadows."

"She moves in mysterious ways as befits her whims. Should you ever meet her I advise being extra respectful."

"Yeah. Don't want to be cursed. But if you aren't The Saint, then why do you have a copy of her diary?"

"If I were The Saint then what would I learn from reading a book I myself had written?"

"Yeah, that makes sense."

I looked up at the boy my age who now stood by the open door. "Yes, Albert?"

"If your, I mean Miss Pureheart, could you come to see my mother, please?"

"Benci, would you like to continue your studies, or follow me?"

"This can wait." She put the book down and we all followed Sir Harcues to one of the modest huts on the estate grounds.

Inside there was a woman in her thirties who sat up in her bed with obvious effort when we entered. "Albert, is this the girl you spoke of?" Then she bent over coughing.

"Dame Harcues, I am Miss Angelica Pureheart. May I see to your ailment?"

"Oh, I'm just another old woman. I'm not worth your trouble."

"This is exactly the sort of responsibility I have been sent to see to. Will you please allow me to respect the wishes of Her Highness?"

"Very well then. Can't be helped, I suppose."

"I need you to lie back down and for everybody to be very quiet please."

I pulled up a chair and sat holding Dame Harcues' hand.

"The sickness is in her hand?" Benci asked.

"No, I don't think so. If Her Highness was here, then she could kill the sickness and all I'd need to do would be to heal the damage Her Highness had done to the person with her attack. Working alone like this I need to strengthen Dame Harcues to help her fight off the sickness. Hence, I must first carefully distinguish her strength from that of the sickness. Porridge, is that all you can eat?"

"Can't afford much." Dame Harcues replied.

"Her Highness has said that proper nutrition is the best way to stay healthy. Sir Harcues, go with Sir Thornblend and fetch a bowl of stew from the estate kitchen, along with a piece of fresh fruit."

Dame Harcues watched them go then asked me, "How can a commoner order the baron's heir around like that?"

"As I said, I am acting on the orders of Her Highness. Now please lie quietly for a bit."

When the boys returned Dame Harcues was able to sit and eat under her own strength, then lay back and seemed to sleep peacefully.

I then motioned for the three of them to follow me out of the hut and took Albert five yards away from the two twelve-year-olds to speak with him privately. "Albert, is your mother the reason why you proposed to me?"

"Yes, Your Holiness. I know it was wrong of me, but I promise to be the most faithful husband ever, and I wouldn't dream of touching The Saint."

"I am not The Saint. While I am just a slum orphan beneath your modest rank, I must decline your proposal for your sake."

"Yeah, I'm sorry."

"No, it is I who must apologize. Her Highness has emphasized that the one who stands by my side must follow me through hells I cannot at the present imagine. Your motives are insufficient for this, so you must stand aside, for your sake, mine, and every man, woman, and child in the kingdom. Be certain to fetch me every day over the next month so that I can strengthen your mother at bedtime. With luck, this will prove sufficient to see her to a full recovery."

"You would do that after I had you dragged out here?"

"I do not believe that I have accomplished all that Her Highness saw that I would, even after picking up Benci. I will wait here for the month Her Highness has specified then I shall return to her."

"Her Highness is a Black Magic woman with the sight?"

"What I require from you is your silence on her matters, and mine. Any breath you might waste telling others about us would be better spent training every day for the fight ahead. Sweat enough now and you might, just might, live to see the dawn after the coming darkness."

"You have The Saint's sight?"

"No, I'm just well informed."

Baron Thornblend did not seem displeased about the initial trickle and then steady flow of his subjects who traveled to his estate to see me and by the last week of my stay his great hall was reserved for this with his serfs waiting on the benches to be seen by me, while Benci learned how to summon her own wisp light to assist.

The baron would show up and chat with his waiting subjects to ask them about their harvest, flocks, and other matters. When they seemed reluctant to respond he would nod towards me and their tongues would loosen.

On those days when I finished my queue early, we would go and watch the two boys train. Gaspar seemed especially interested in showing off his abilities to Benci, but when he did Albert would remind him to focus and work harder.

When we finally said goodbye to the estate even Dame Harcues was there to see us off and walked up to kiss her son on the forehead before he mounted his horse. Then we set off with the returned Chiskei family, who had sold the goods from the capital and loaded up their two wagons with local products for the return trip.