Goldest and the Kingdom of Thorns (20 page)

The Queen broke the uncomfortable silence in the room. “We must all remember, dear, Goldest is a Queen now. She has other responsibilities.”

You are a wise Queen, my Lady, and speak wise words of wisdom
, thought Ushi to himself.

The King was not fazed by the Queen’s remark and replied bluntly, “A frog ruling over a kingdom!” He then chuckled at the thought.

Carlos and Esbri chuckled with the King. Frangelico and Savagio put more bread on their plates and ignored the remark. Ushi bit his tongue and set his indignation with the King aside. He took a deep breath as he controlled his displeasure at the King.
Then he stated, “It has been a long, hostile day. Let us all eat in solace and peace.”

Soon, everyone was eating and forgot the talk about Goldest, quite forgetting her, as hungry and fatigued as they all were from the day’s fighting.

The evening had grown late, with some light patter of thunder and nimble golden lightning disturbing the still of the night. The piles of orange and copper fires from the burning of the Thorn Warriors had died down. The Monks prepared to mount up and take their leave. The Willow Warriors stood guard at a distance, making sure that they left peacefully and took what was theirs back with them. Goldest, too, stood watch over them from behind the bushes, making sure that they left that night. She wanted them out of her kingdom – the sooner the better!

“I will get even with those creepy Monks at a later date,” she told herself with tartness. The time had come for her to say her acrimonious farewell to the creepy crew. Goldest boldly hopped up to Theo, Onion, Pentangle, Ebrix, and Xnug. They looked down at the gold piece coming towards them. Her coat of gold seemed to glitter and gleam into the night.

Goldest looked up at them. “I hope this teaches you creepy Shamans to stop cultivating the unusual and grow something wholesome for the many kingdoms here in the Domain. I did not appreciate you coming here, trying to overtake and gain control over my kingdom, which I have tried so painstakingly to restore, again. I will venture to say thank you for not taking your fighting inside the castle or its grounds, which you would have totally destroyed by your ignorance.”

Theo was already beyond normal subconsciousness, and her brash words antagonized him and fueled his malicious anger even more. An evil impulse seized him.

Theo’s enraged passion whispered something into Pentangle’s ear. Pentangle strolled over to one of the supply horses and carefully took out a small thorn net. He made sure the Willow Warriors did not see what he pulled out of the wrapping. He was careful not to cut himself. He discreetly walked over to Goldest, scooped her up before she could hop away and slipped her inside the thorn net. The Monks had continued to mount up, not wanting to attract the attention of the Willow Warriors. The Willow Warriors could not see what was taking place because they were not close enough to the Monks to have seen or heard Goldest speaking to them. In their eyes, they saw the Monks mounting up, with a few hesitating – probably due to them discussing which long route they would take back, the Willow Warriors surmised.

Goldest struggled and tried to escape her thorn net prison, but it was too painful.

“
Ouch
!
Let me go
!” she cried out. She tried to make herself disappear in a puff of gold dust smoke, but could not. “What is happening here! Where is my power?” she croaked hysterically.

Theo felt exhilarated. “That net holds powerful, evil magic. It will restrain you – make you powerless against it. Your magic is nada as of now. You are our prisoner, Goldest!”

Pentangle tightly tied the thorn net to the back of his horse. A dismal Octagon watched what was taking place and started to walk over to Pentangle to intervene.
A fearful Imbecile put his arm out to prevent him from doing so. He feared for Octagon at the present time, knowing Theo was not happy and most displeased with him right now. Theo’s disfavor and mistrust against Octagon might cause harm to his compassionate Brother. Imbecile whispered to Octagon, “Y-y-you know there is n-n-nothing you c-c-can do. Especially if y-y-you are h-h-harmed.”

Earlier, when Octagon and Imbecile were packing up their tent and belongings, Imbecile had confided in Octagon that they, as Monks and Shamans, had been fooled themselves. The both of them were downcast and weary. The essence of their souls spiritless – their hearts joyless. Octagon looked at Imbecile in silence and then went on towards Theo. “Theo! Let her go! She is the Queen here! What use could you possible make of her now? Haven’t we lost our honor and spelled ourselves enough in the eyes of the other kingdoms?” Octagon shouted to Theo with pleading in his voice.

“That is not of your concern anymore, Octagon. You are confined to your room when we get back. I will deal with you and your insolence later!” an irritated and offended Theo told Octagon as he urged his mount up to him.

The Willow Warriors looked over at the shouting, but could see nothing wrong. They surmised that the Monks were now fighting amongst themselves over the outcome.

Even though I am awkward and clumsy – an inept Monk, as Theo would call me – I must keep a close watch over Octagon and do what I must to protect him from Theo
,
thought a concerned Imbecile towards the generous and upright Octagon.

They spurred their horses onward, with the other Monks harboring a mixture of feelings consisting of hollowness, skepticism, impurity, dispiritedness, gloominess, disheartenment, ignominy and hidden enmity. Theo’s feelings consisted only of hostility and hatred, which took root in the core of his cold-blooded heart. He was now an unapproachable Monk, which was not good for the Kingdom of Thorns. Some of the other Monks thought Theo was now heedless and unworthy, something they would have to deal with when they got back to their own kingdom.

Octagon walked back to Imbecile and they mounted up and rode off, too.

As they rode, Octagon said to Imbecile, “They will find the frog missing and Ushi will know and come after her. It is not over yet. Some warrior will have to end this once and for all. Let it be him.”

Imbecile nodded in agreement. He, too, knew that a warrior would come after her.
That is fate
, thought Imbecile.

As they were journeying, Carlos and Esbri, with bellies filled with food and wine, walked out of the Ladybug Castle with a small band of the Gypsy Warriors. Their horses were made ready earlier and waited for the long ride back to their own kingdom. Some of the other Gypsy Warriors were going to stay on for a while with Captain Frangelico, while Carlos and Esbri went back with some of the gypsies to watch over their own kingdom. They mounted up and rode fast out of the castle gates, as they saw the Monks leaving.

Goldest, facing backwards inside the thorn net, saw with her keen eyesight Esbri and some of the other Gypsy Warriors leaving the castle. From the back of the horse she was tied to, she cried out to Esbri, “Esbri! Esbri! Come save me! Croak! Croak!”

Esbri stood up in his stirrups and looked around him as they rode forward. He listened, trying to figure out where the voice was calling out to him from. “That voice is familiar to me,” Esbri whispered to himself.

“Esbri! Don’t leave me!” Goldest cried in desperation.

Carlos looked at Esbri’s strange, inquisitive face. “Is there something wrong, Esbri?”

“I swear by my gypsy blood that I can hear Goldest crying out for help.”

Carlos burst into laughter. “That frog, again! Come now, Esbri! You are either imagining it, or just hot for her!” Carlos bellowed at Esbri.

Esbri watched the Monks riding off on their horses, and a strange, creeping sensation crawled up his spine. Carlos nudged his horse closer to Esbri’s mount and punched him in the shoulder in jest. “You would think a spell was put upon you, Esbri!”

The Gypsy Warriors rode far behind the Monks, keeping a good distance between them, for the Gypsy Warriors were deathly superstitious of them. Some feared their ancient wisdom, divination and ancient ways with magic – especially diabolical magic. The gypsies themselves were born with intuitive perception. But their talents were put to honorable use and not injurious or harmful use to anyone.

The thorns inside the thorn net held an ancient
toxic substance, and soon Goldest was lulled into a deep sleep. After some time, she awoke inside a cold room in an upper floor of the Thorn Castle. She was lying on a bed with the thorn net still wrapped tightly around her. She felt drugged and sick, and she wept for Esbri. “Esbri, come save me. Help me, Esbri, help me!”

Even though Ushi and her were the best of friends, with him being her favorite warrior above all, her heart belonged to Esbri, and would always belong to him. It was only natural that she cried out to him – with no disrespect for Ushi.

Deep within the woods, Esbri heard her, again, crying out to him. He reined in his horse and looked around. The other Gypsy Warriors rode past him. The Monks had pulled away from them a long, long time ago, and rode into their own kingdom as the Gypsy Warriors rode on to theirs. An impatient Carlos reined in his horse next to Esbri’s.

“What is wrong with you, Esbri? You haven’t been the same since we left that accursed castle!” an exasperated Carlos told him.

“I can hear Goldest calling to me. It is eerie. Something is not right,” a restless Esbri whispered to Carlos, as he turned his horse around, making tight circles.

“Is she croaking?” Carlos laughed at his remark to Esbri. Esbri retaliated by giving Carlos a damning look.

“But she is only a frog, Esbri! Now come, the hour is late. We must ride back to our own kingdom before the first scarlet rays of the sun touch the earth,” Carlos said as he turned his horse around towards the direction of the other Gypsy Warriors.

“Think what you wish! I’m riding to the Thorn Castle. The Monks took what is not rightfully theirs,” Esbri remarked in a bitter tone of voice.

Now, Carlos was maddened by all this. “What makes you think the Monks have her?”

“I don’t know. Call it a gypsy feeling. I go now to my fate. Do whatever, Carlos!”

Esbri spurred his horse in the direction of the Thorn Castle, giving Carlos no time to respond. Carlos gave Esbri’s back a look of rage and his face reddened. “That damn frog! She will be the death of us, yet!”

Carlos went and collected the Gypsy Warriors who waited for Esbri and him to join them. Carlos had disgust written all over his face.
I am tired
, he thought to himself, and mumbled, “Mistakes are made when you are tired. But those words of – ‘I go now to my fate’ – mean something to a gypsy, and it could be or lead to an unpleasant or disastrous situation.”

“Where’s Esbri?” a Gypsy Warrior asked as they watered their horses in a brook.

“We ride to the Thorn Castle,” Carlos stated bluntly as he watered his horse, also.

“But why is that, Carlos? We saw the Monks turning off towards their own castle…”

“You don’t really want to know. Esbri is riding there, and I fear for his safety. That is the only real reason,” Carlos told the other Gypsy Warriors.

The superstitious gypsies drew back, but they knew that they were bound by blood, so they relented and gave in.

“We must stay together, fight together, and lay our
superstitions to rest. Or we would not be gypsies!” another Gypsy Warrior informed them.

“We must break the unrighteous spell that has been cast upon Esbri,” Carlos quietly told them.

They all agreed, and turned their fatigued mounts in the direction of the Thorn Castle.

“This is going to be another long, insane night,” Carlos bellowed out to all.

Carlos and the other worn-down Gypsy Warriors caught up to Esbri only because they rode like madmen as the moonbeams shone on their backs and pushed them onward. As they rode into the Kingdom of Thorns, the serene wind picked up and howled at them. Irate, pounding thunder followed the wind towards the unwelcome intruders, as the crackling lightning, which had taken on a waxy complexion, antagonized them. They approached the Thorn Castle. They all dismounted in haste and unsheathed their swords.

“There be an unsettling strangeness here,” a Gypsy Warrior remarked, as his keen eyes panned the frightful area. They all felt like they were the hunted, even though they were the ones doing the hunting.

The gypsies were disturbed with a worrying nervousness – something that they had never felt before, brave as they were. Even Carlos felt uneasy. Carlos and Esbri both noticed that no Monks were posted as guards.

“Strange, there being no Monks to guard the castle at night,” Esbri remarked.

“Let me remind you, Esbri, they have had a long night and day, just as we have had. They probably
expect no trouble from any warriors until tomorrow, or maybe not even until a few more days are past. They want to rest –just like all of us here do,” Carlos stated with a mocking attitude brought on by his fatigue.

“I’m sure they have all retired for what is left of the night. We should be safe enough. We are stronger because we are warriors,” a gypsy remarked.

“We may be stronger, but crazed magic we do not practice. We are flesh. Remember that,” another Gypsy Warrior warned.

“They are probably conjuring up something more evil in their sleep tonight – haunting nightmares shall be their dreams tonight!” another tired gypsy mumbled.

“I’m going in to look for her. You and the others can keep the Monks at bay if they make any type of appearance,” Esbri informed Carlos.

“This is ridiculous, Esbri! Let’s go home. The men are spent – and truthfully, so am I,” an irritated Carlos whispered loudly.

Esbri ignored him and climbed up the stone steps leading into the Thorn Castle. He opened the unbolted door and went inside.
Strange, this door being open like this
, thought Esbri, with an uncanny chill mounting inside of him.
Someone must be waiting up for me…
With this one thought in mind, a suspicious Esbri made sure that he was more than just careful.

Carlos and the Gypsy Warriors watched Esbri go inside.

“Dare I ask, who or what does Esbri look for?” a curious Gypsy Warrior asked Carlos.