Knight Fall (The Champion Chronicles Book 1) (33 page)

“No?” Neffenmark asked after watching Lord Martin squirm for some time.  “We all know that you will not take the throne.”  Neffenmark had called Lord Martin out as a coward many times and unfortunately, Lord Martin had yet to prove Neffenmark wrong.

Weakly, Lord Martin replied, “Yes.”

“Yes?  Yes as in, you will make a claim for the throne?” Neffenmark asked with a raised brows and a wide smile.

Lord Martin stood and straightened his tunic.  He looked down upon the fat man.  There was no way that he could let Neffenmark sit upon the throne.  There was only one way out of this.

In a voice as loud as he could muster, Lord Martin said, “The reign of King Thorndale has come to a close.”  He looked out across the men and women who had gathered in the chamber.  The murmuring and whispering stopped quickly.  Everyone wanted to hear what was to be said.

“Go on,” Neffenmark prodded, a smirk on his face.  It was clear to him that Lord Martin was going to attempt to place himself on the throne.  Neffenmark knew that Lord Martin did not have the support of the rest of the kingdom, so it would be a failed gamble to prevent himself from being given the crown.

“The line of King Thorndale has been unbroken for hundreds of years.  Generations upon generations of Karmon men and woman have prospered under the rule that the gods of our ancestors set in motion.  The Knights of Karmon are the greatest warriors the world has ever seen!”  Boisterous shouting and whooping followed for several minutes before it became quiet enough for Lord Martin to continue.

Once the cheering subsided, Lord Martin continued.  “It is for that reason that the line of King Thorndale continue.  Our noses have been bloodied, but we are not broken.  We will heal.  As a kingdom we will heal as well.  And the only way to do that is to keep the line unbroken.  Therefore, as the blood heir of our late King Thorndale, Princess Elissa will be given the crown of Karmon and rule as Queen Elissa Thorndale.”

Lord Martin’s voice rose in volume as he finished his speech.  But silence greeted him as his words came to an end.  The men and women, soldiers and servants, guardsmen and mercenaries were too stunned to speak.  Even Neffenmark was caught off guard.  His joyous, smiling face drained of all color.

***

Princess Elissa was still in bed, legs pulled up to her chin, wool blanket pulled tight around her.  Tear stains streaked her cheeks.  She sat quietly, staring at nothing.  Arpwin and Lord Martin stood at the foot of the bed, trying to be patient.

Marta, Princess Ellisa’s personal attendant sat next to her, stroking her long hair.  “She must be allowed to rest."  Marta was an older woman, not quite as old as Arpwin.  But not many in the kingdom were as old as Arpwin.

“Marta,” Lord Martin said softly.  “You may go now.”

“The princess has been through a lot," Marta said with a soft voice.  Then she turned to the men and snapped, "Her father is dead!  She must be allowed to grieve and mourn.  You must leave her be."

Lord Martin, feeling rejuvenated by his speech in the throne room, responded in anger.  “A lot of fathers are dead!  The time for mourning is over.  The kingdom will fall apart if we don’t keep together.  Neffenmark wants the throne.  Is that what you want?  You want that conniving bastard leading this kingdom?  We will have both Thell and Taran on our doorstep ready to attack us.”

“She is but a child,” Marta pleaded.

“Where is Conner?” the princess suddenly asked.

As it was her first words since collapsing at the gate, all three turned their attention back to the princess.

“He has not returned from battle,” Lord Martin said.

“He is dead, then,” Elissa said in a soft monotone.  It was not a question, but a statement.

“We do not have any word of him,” Lord Martin said.

A fresh tear appeared at the corner of her eyes.  She let the tear drip down her cheek without bothering to wipe it away.  It dropped off her chin and onto her blanket.

“Your highness,” Lord Martin pleaded once again.  “You must listen to me.  Your kingdom needs you.  They need you take up the crown.”

“My father is king,” she replied softly.

Lord Martin turned away, exasperated.  To Arpwin he said sharply, “There must be another answer.  There must be someone else.”

Arpwin just shook his head.  “It is her or Neffenmark.  No others would dare go against Lord Neffenmark.  He has too many spies, too many mercenaries.  Too many stories and rumors of what he has done to those who dare oppose him.  The other lords are truly afraid of him.”  For the first time he allowed private conversations the he had with the king to leave his lips.  "The king did not trust Neffenmark.  Nor do I.  And nor should you."

"Princes are raised knowing that someday they may take the crown," Lord Martin said.  "It is a part of their life.  They are tutored in etiquette and procedures.  They learn how to lead in battle.  And how to lead a kingdom.  Girls, however, are not raised thinking they will ever wear the crown, unless it is as the wife of the king.  She has never been trained or taught any skill that a ruler needs."

"But she can be taught," Arpwin countered.  "And if we keep good advisors around her, she can rule effectively.  But we must keep the line of Thorndale intact.”

There was a knock on the door.  Glaring at the arguing men who didn’t budge to answer the door, Marta stood and walked quickly to open it.  Words were quietly exchanged and then she finally pulled the door open to reveal the large form of Lord Neffenmark.

A deep anger burned within Lord Martin, but he did his best to hide it.  Neffenmark ambled in dressed in a freshly clean purple silk tunic.  He tipped his head in greeting.

“Lord Neffenmark,” Lord Martin said coldly.

“I believe we are at an impasse, are we not?” Neffenmark asked, ignoring any pleasantries.  “The kingdom is up in arms at the thought of the princess taking the crown on her own.”

"Getting right to the point, huh, Neffenmark?" Lord Martin growled.  "The princess taking the crown is the only option."

Neffenmark smiled and said, “It seems that you have grown a sharp tongue and some courage, Lord Martin.”

“From the fear of you wearing the crown,” Lord Martin replied.  "You are not fit to rule.  You are an embarrassment to good men everywhere."

“You know,” Neffenmark warned with a sharp look.  “I have plenty of friends around.  Killing you would be an easy chore.  I would suggest that you keep your bitter tongue to yourself from now on.”

“Are you threatening me?” Lord Martin asked.

“Why, yes, yes I am.” Neffenmark replied.  “But I did not come here to trade barbs with you.  There will be plenty of time to deal with the likes of you in the coming months.  I have come to offer the solution.”

“As long as it doesn’t involve you wearing the crown,” Lord Martin said.

“Your attempt at circumventing the laws of our kingdom by putting a girl on the throne is an insult to every king who ever placed a crown upon his head,” Neffenmark said.

“There is no law preventing Princess Elissa from taking the crown,” Arpwin interrupted.

Neffenmark turned to Arpwin and glared at him for a long moment, as if he were taking in his presence for the first time.  “And who are you? The king’s handmaiden?  The one who wipes his behind when he is too old to do it himself?”

The insult angered Arpwin into silence.  He knew his place and it was not in arguing with the potential ruler of the kingdom.  He held his anger in check, accepting the fact that he was beneath both the lords.  That was one reason why he had loved the king so much.  The king always spoke to him as an equal.  He knew his place, but when they were alone, it didn’t matter.

Neffenmark turned back to Lord Martin and said, “The law may not be written anywhere, but it is what the people think it is.  And what the lords of the realm believe it is.  I do not care about laws, but I do care about this kingdom.”

Lord Martin laughed.  “Other than yourself, there is nothing about this kingdom that you care about.  You care about yourself and power.  That is it.  And it is the law of the land that has kept this kingdom together while the empire stretches its boundaries each year.  We are safe from them because of our strength and part of that strength comes from adherence to the laws of the kingdom, not in ignoring them for your own personal gain.”

Neffenmark chuckled.  “That hurts me.  Deeply.  I care very much about this kingdom!  And because I care so much about this kingdom, I offer a plan that will prevent civil war.  And I do believe my answer will fit into your so called law."  He took a moment to make sure that he had everyone’s full attention.  "I shall offer myself as the husband of the princess.  This will allow us to follow your law.  The princess will be queen.  I shall be king only and until our firstborn male is of age.  And then I will cede my power to him.  And the line shall continue.”

“And so for the next fifteen, twenty years, you are the ruler of our realm,” Lord Martin.  “Thinking about that just makes me ill.”

Neffenmark’s smile grew.  “Your words continue to hurt me so deeply.  I see no other way.”

From behind them all, a new voice shouted, “And how about if I just kill you where you stand!”

They all turned to see Marik, sword in hand, standing in the doorway.  Dried blood still stained his face and clothes.  His eyes glistened with anger.  “This traitor has been plotting for this moment for years!  He will not cede his kingship.  He craves power too much.  His only goal was to gain the throne.  And once he has it, he will never let it go.”

“I hope you have some solid evidence for your accusations, or you may just find yourself headless,” Neffenmark said with a deep growl. 

Marik did not move, but he kept his sword up and ready.  Neffenmark spread his hands wide and waddled to the window.  He pushed open the shutter to let in the cool morning air.  The strong scent of the ocean filled the room.  The crashing of waves hit their ears.

“Look beyond the cliffs and to the horizon,” Neffenmark said.  He stepped aside so that Lord Martin and Arpwin could see.  Marik did not move, for he had already seen them.  Lord Martin walked slowly to the window, his mouth open in disbelief.  Sure enough, on the far horizon he could clearly see the sails of vessels heading their way.

"Now more than ever we need someone who can lead us," Marik said.  "We cannot stand against the might of Taran without the kingdom being together."

Neffenmark smiled and said, "I couldn’t have said it better myself, Sir Marik"

"I was not talking about you," Marik growled.

“As you can see, coming across the ocean are vessels from Taran.  They will make landfall later today.  There is also a contingent of centurions coming down from the north.  They will arrive in the morning, I fear.”

Marik took a threatening step forward, but he did not advance.  "Our eyes were to Thell while Taran slipped around our flank."

"You knew about this?" Lord Martin asked Neffenmark.

“They have come for peace,” Neffenmark replied without directly answering the question.  “But with me.  And only with me.  If I do not hold the crown then there will be war.  The reach of the empire will touch us and swat us off the world.”  He turned to Marik and said, “So, Sir Marik.  I shall ask you, which would you rather have?  Me upon the throne, or shall you strike me down and we will have a war like you have never seen before?”

Marik turned his eyes from Neffenmark and looked at the princess, still huddled on the bed, her eyes wide with fear.  He could not imagine what it must be like for her, to have her entire world come crashing around her.  He had trained for this.  He was a warrior.  He knew that his sole purpose in life was to die for his kingdom.  To serve it for as long and as well as he could, but ultimately, he knew he had to be willing to give his life so that future generations of Karmon’s could survive in peace.  But for Princess Elissa, all she knew was living a comfortable life in the castle.  And now she was thrust in the middle of a war not only between nations, but between men.  He had no qualms with rushing forward and driving his sword into the fat man’s chest.  Even if he were killed in the process, it would be worth it because he would rid the kingdom of its worst evil.  But a pact had been made with the devil and he could not risk the kingdom for his own personal hatred.

He lowered his sword and bowed his head in defeat.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Conner walked Lilly along the cliff’s edge.  To his right, the waters of the Gulf of Taran pounded rocks, the spray of the water rising nearly halfway up the sheer cliff.  The smell of the salt water was strong, almost pungent.  He had forgotten the smell, even though it had not been too many days since he was gone.  He had lost count.  Maybe it was ten.  Maybe twenty.  They all blended into one another.  Amongst the days were battles.  Battles and much blood.  Too much of it spilled by friends.  His body was sore from riding.  His mind was sore from thinking and contemplating on all that had happened.  He wanted to get back quickly, but he was not ready for it, yet.  He missed Elissa, but his heart was heavy from the loss of the king and he could not bear the thought of seeing her in pain.

The mountains were far behind him.  On a clear day, their outline could be discerned against a deep blue sky.  But gray clouds covered the entire sky, threatening a rain that he knew would only make the end of his journey that much more miserable.  Ahead of him he knew the city of South Karmon was near.  But the terrain between here and there was hilly enough and filled with enough trees that it was still hidden.  He trudged on, following the path.  It was a two-track path that wagon trains of merchants followed when trading with the far cities of the empire.  It was well worn from the dozen or so treks that the merchants made each year.  Lilly walked behind him, her head low.  She was as worn out as he was and would be glad to be back in her stall where the princess could spoil her once again.

The tall spires of the towers of the castle were suddenly in view.  The path bent around a large outcropping of trees and the open plain that city sat upon opened up in front of him.  The castle was in clear view with the city laid out around it.  Between him and the great walls of the city were scattered thatch roofed houses of the farms that tended the fields.  The two-track took a nearly direct route straight for the main gate, which was just out of view.  He stopped and Lilly stopped, too.  She let out a little whinny, as if she knew home was nearby.  Taking the opportunity, the horse started pulling on grass that grew next to path.

His eyes scanned the city, looking for signs of war or battle.  There were none.  He was afraid that Lord Neffenmark would lead an army to take over the city.  It was a silly thought, he knew, for even though the knights were beat pretty badly, there were still many of them and would prove to be a formidable force.  His eyes caught movement in the water and that was when he noticed the tall sailing ships that were anchored in safe water, just off the coast, away from the rocks and crashing waves.  There were too many to easily count.  He squinted his eyes to try and see more clearly, but the ships were too far away to make out if they were occupied or not.  The looked big enough to carry troops.  His heart began pounding in fear.

He mounted Lilly and tired or not, she would have to carry him quickly to the city.  He had never seen Taran warships before, but he had heard them described enough to know what they were.  Without any signs of fatigue, Lilly brought him quickly to the city gates.

The main city gates were open, but there were clear signs that something was wrong.  The Royal Guard, who manned the gates were too preoccupied to care who came and went through the gate.  Even the people of the city seemed subdued.  They walked about doing their business, but it seemed at a sluggish pace.  In the center of the market, which should be the loudest and busiest part of the city, was nearly empty.  No one looked at one another, but occasionally he caught someone looking at him.  But as soon as he tried to make eye contact, they would look away and walk away as quickly as possible.

Conner kept moving through the city, not stopping, but eyes wide open looking for something to happen.

The portcullis that led into the castle courtyard was down.  Two Royal Guard, dressed in their ceremonial dark blue surcoats stood guard.  They each held long pikes and stood at attention.

Conner dismounted and approached.  Their eyes looked past him.

“Hello?” Conner asked.

One of them glanced at him, but otherwise did not move.

“I need to speak with Lord Martin and Princess Elissa,” Conner said.

The guardsmen on Conner’s left snapped to attention and said, “The gates are closed until the wedding ceremonies have been concluded.”

“Wedding?  What wedding?” Conner asked.

“Princess Elissa and Lord Neffenmark are getting married,” the guardsman said.

Conner was speechless.  He tried to speak, but his mind was so confused and shocked that words would not come out.  The guardsman who spoke returned to his stance.  Conner took a deep breath and stepped back into Lilly, who bucked her head at him.  He could not believe what was happening.  There was no possibility that the princess would marry anyone like Neffenmark.  He knew there was no chance that this was done voluntarily.  She had to be doing this under duress.  And he was her champion.  Her protector.  His anger was at himself more than anything.  He had left her alone and now she was in trouble.  It was time for him to save her.

“Do you not recognize me?” Conner suddenly blurted out.  “I am the princess’ champion.  Conner.  You will let me pass.”

The guardsmen glanced at one another.  The one who had spoken earlier snapped to attention and said, “There is large iron gate between us and you.  It will not be lifted until the morning, after the marriage has been consummated.”

The thought of them consummating their marriage left a sickly feeling in his mouth.  He looked around, wondering how he could climb the wall.

“The entire contingent of guardsmen are upon the wall,” the guardsman said.  “I would not recommend trying to climb the walls.  You will not get far.”

Conner stepped away, his mind spinning for any way to get into the castle.  He looked up and indeed, every fifteen or twenty feet, a Royal Guard in their ceremonial surcoat stood at attention.  Several of them were looking down at him, fingering their longbows.  He took Lilly and started following the wall through the city.  He knew of one possibility that might get him into the castle.

The northern wall of the castle went all the way to the edge of the cliff, but the city stopped about a few hundred feet before the cliff wall.  Mostly used for ceremonies or fairs, the land was barren and unkempt.  He walked all the way to the edge of the cliff.  A small stone wall, about waist high had been built from the castle wall all the way to the northern city wall.  It wouldn’t do much to hold someone from falling over the cliff, but it did mark where the cliff was.

He glanced up at the top of the castle wall to see if any of the guardsmen were watching him.  Maybe they were, but he couldn’t tell.  He would have to hope that they did not know about the cave entrance.  After checking the guardsman, he peeked over the cliff, searching for where the cave entrance was.  It was hard to see, nearly impossible unless you knew exactly where it was.  It took a few moments, but he finally spotted where it was.  The entrance was not visible, but he recognized the rock formation that indicated where it was.

He climbed up onto the small wall as he heard shouts from the top of the castle wall.  He took in a deep breath and jumped as far out as he could.  As he fell, he could see arrows flying above his head.  He closed his eyes and tensed up just as he was about the hit the water.  His only thought was of hitting a rock and dying instantly or even breaking his neck, but somehow surviving.  Then he would die a painful and slow death from drowning.

The force of the water striking him was sudden and shocking.  It hurt a lot more than he thought it would.  Holding his breath, he tried not to panic as he sank towards the bottom of the gulf.  All he could think about was that he was still alive.  But now, he needed air and he had to get up to the surface soon.  Just as he was about to panic because he wasn’t sure what to do, his feet hit the rocky bottom.  Pushing off as hard as he could, he turned himself into an arrow by clasping his hands above his head.  He flailed his legs, trying to propel him faster and just as he was about to give in and breath the water, his head broke through the surface.  He took a deep breath and then a wave crashed over his head, knocking him back under.  He kicked and paddled, trying to get his head back above the waves.  The moment he did, he sucked in as much air as he could before he was knocked back under.  Kicking his legs as hard as he could, he found that he could keep himself afloat just enough to keep from sinking.

Then an arrow struck the water near him.  Conner looked up to see a guardsman knocking another arrow and aiming it right at him.  Doing his best to swim, he kicked and paddled to the rocky shore as arrows began raining down on him.  As soon as his feet touched the bottom, he started running through the water as fast as he could.  Breathing heavily from the exertion of swimming, he jumped out of the last few feet of water and sprinted for the small cave opening.  A few more arrows rattled on the rocks behind him, but he was safe.  And alive.  He actually smiled as his chest heaved, trying to take in as much air as he could.

He splashed through a small pool of water at the cave entrance and up a small embankment to the flat area where he had spent so much time training.  He paused for a moment as he took in the memory of his time with Master Goshin.  He missed the old man and hoped that he was finding what he was looking for.  After a sentimental moment, he remembered what he was doing and why he was doing it.  He raced through the cave and up to the lower level of the castle.  He had spent so much time in these levels that he didn’t need to even think about getting lost.  The only problem was that he had no idea where he was going.

The most likely place was the princess’ apartment.  The royal chambers were set in a wing separate from the rest of the castle’s rooms.  It was also only reached through a single hallway.  One that could be easily defended in case of attack.  Or easily blocked to keep a crazed and wet man away.  He didn’t care.  He would fight his way into her room if need be.  He adjusted his path to head directly for the hall that led to her room.

The castle was busy with activity.  There was much to do and very few servants around to do it.  Many of them had taken up arms with the king and quite a few had not returned.  This meant that everyone was too busy to take note of Conner running through the castle halls.  His face was known to everyone, so his appearance was not unusual.  No one would dare raise alarm with the princess’ champion in the castle.  It was only when he turned into the hall that led to the royal chambers that he came upon his first problem.

There were four of them.  They weren’t in chainmail and weren’t wearing the deep blue surcoats of the Royal Guard.  They were wearing the plain white tunics that knights wore.  As soon as he stepped into the hallway, he came to a sliding stop and all four drew their swords at once.  Conner followed suit and reached for his swords.  But they weren’t there.  They were still strapped to Lilly.  He crouched into a defensive stance, hands up and ready.  Maybe he wouldn’t need the swords if he were fast enough.

The largest of them stepped forward with a wide grin on his face.  “Hello, Conner,” Hollin said.  The other three knights, all recently promoted to knighthood fell in behind their leader.  Swords raised and ready.

“Hollin,” Conner said.  “I need to see the princess.”

“That is a problem because I am between you and her.  And there are four of us in the small hallway.  And we have swords.”

“He was in the valley,” one of the knight’s behind Hollin said.

“Sure he was,” Hollin growled.  “I was there, in front, about ready to march into Thell when we were attacked from behind.”

The knight who had spoken lowered his sword.  “And I was in the middle.  With the king.  I was there when Conner came.  He saved our lives.”

“Sir Jardonne!” Hollin called out.  “You will raise your sword and defend your princess.”

“I am here to save her,” Conner said.

“There is nothing to save,” Hollin countered.  “She has committed herself to preserving the kingdom.  This wedding will do that.”

“And you believe that?”

“I am a Knight of Karmon,” Hollin cried out.  “My duty is to the kingdom first and foremost.  This wedding will preserve the kingdom for years to come.”

“Neffenmark is a liar and a traitor.  His only goal in life is to gain power at the expense of anyone and everyone else.  He does not care about the kingdom or the princess.”

A door opened behind the four knights.  All eyes turned on the man who walked through.

“Sir Marik!” Conner shouted out.

Face grim and dark, he commanded his knights with a sharp voice, “Sir Hollin.  Let Conner pass.  And sheath your swords.  All of you!”

The four knights sheathed their swords at once. 

"Conner," Marik said with a softer tone.  "You will come with me."

Hollin let out a low growl and stepped aside to allow Conner to pass.

Warily passing the four knights, Conner followed Marik through the doors at the end of the hallway.  Marik closed the doors behind them.

They were in an antechamber that had two sets of doors leading out of the room.  Conner knew that one of the doors led to the princess’ chamber up a flight of stairs.  The other door led to the royal apartments reserved for the king and queen.  The antechamber was warm and friendly with bright tapestries hanging from the walls and a shaggy rug covering the center of the room.  But Marik’s demeanor brought the brightness of the room down.