The Misadventures of Ka-Ron the Knight (2 page)

"I am off to a jousting tournament," Ka-Ron stated proudly. "The King is holding a feast in my honor, and in honor of those who fell in battle fighting the Xows."

"Then you are deserving of your time in celebration." Kym agreed, "For I have heard of your deeds, and realize that I am being judgmental and selfish with your time."

Ka-Ron, forgetting for a moment that he was playing with a woman's heart, bent down and kissed Kym with a loving and passionate wave of emotion. He hugged her and caressed her cheeks, holding her face close to his. His nostrils picked up the insanely sweet aroma of her heaving breath, which assaulted his face in nervous rhythm. Realizing what he was doing, he slowly, and quite tactfully, pulled himself away. Still, he did his noble best to allow the woman the chance to keep her romantic moment. It was hers after all, and it was not within his right to steal it away.

"You are still a wonder to me, Kym." Ka-Ron said, parting from her. "And you will be fond in my hearts until they stop beating. That, I give you my oath on."

An awkward pause filled the space between the two. Kym stared, watching almost on autopilot, as Ka-Ron turned, clamping his armor onto his body. The knight tried his best to ignore the tears starting.

"Fond?" Kym wept.

Ka-Ron eyed his sword, sheathing it. "I am quite fond of you, indeed."

"But I love you...Ka-Ron," Kym whispered. Her tears were all too painfully clear, and did not pass the attention of the brave knight. His constant irritation was beyond Kym's understanding, which appeared to add more degrees to her suffering. "I love you," she repeated.

"I am sorry," Ka-Ron said, solemnly. For he truly cared about this woman's feelings. "I am a man of war." He tried to explain. "I fight so that others may have what I plainly cannot."

"And, what is that?" Kym's words dripped with pain and sarcasm.

"For a woman such as you, by their side," Ka-Ron explained. "I make that possible. I make that a right for others to enjoy."

"And you cannot?"

Ka-Ron paused for a long time. "No."

"Why?"

Ka-Ron laughed a huff of disbelief. "Kym, would you want to bond with a man who, at any moment, could be called on by King or Priest to protect lands half-way across the globe, and who may never return?" Ka-Ron paused. "This is no way to reward love. This is not the way of a true man who loves his family. True, there are those who take the risk, but, I will have no one for whom I care pay the price. This is my mindset, dear woman. I am a knight, and a soldier of my King's will. This fact is not only my lifestyle. It is also my first and truest of loves."

Kym grabbed Ka-Ron's sword hand, her eye makeup clearly ruined by the tracks of her tears. "I would be willing to accept your risks, your dangers, and the whim of your king or priest. Love does not come with a guarantee, Ka-Ron. If you vow to protect those who seek its fruits, you of all people know that life rarely has a happy ending. All one needs is courage, and you have that in abundance!"

Ka-Ron, looking into the torn eyes of his childhood love, almost caved in. With all his heart, he wanted to sweep Kym off her feet, pledge his love, and to do nothing more than to spend the rest of his life in loving bliss, caring and providing for his lady fair. But in his hands, he held his sword - the eternal struggle of the peace-loving warrior.

"Kym, I remember the torment&the hell&my mother went through as my father lay dying in battle&"

"Your mother and father gave birth to a noble son," Kym interrupted. "Can we do any worse?"

"Kym&" Ka-Ron huffed, clamping the last of the buckles and leather strings of his armor. "I will love you&always."

Hearing these words, a dangerous hope invaded Kym's features.

"But I will do it as a man in battle," Ka-Ron continued, "hoping that one day you will find a good and honest man, who will love you in ways that I clearly cannot."

"But&"

"Enough!" Ka-Ron's voice rose in frustration. "I have said what nature of man that I am, woman. That is sufficient!"

A deadly silence filled the room, and, for a moment, Kym neither said nor did anything. Like a pale ivory statue, she just looked up at Ka-Ron. Then, as if a veil of evil had passed over her features, she started to smile. This action, more than any other, had caused Ka-Ron's mind to fill with fear.

"I will change your&views." Kym stipulated.

Ka-Ron wanted to stop - to pause just long enough to slow this bad moment down - to analyze what words he and his lifelong friend had just exchanged. He held no malice toward Kym. He wanted and valued her views. Indeed, he had promised Kym's mother to protect her daughter from all this world's dangers. And this he had done!

"Kym, I must leave for my honorary feast." Ka-Ron said, pointing helplessly towards Kym's main door.

"Then go," Kym suggested coldly.

"We will talk of this?" Ka-Ron asked, curious regarding Kym's state of mind.

"We&will."

Ka-Ron controlled his breathing. A warrior's most valuable asset was his ability not to panic and also not to run from a confrontation. He needed those skills at the moment, for he was dealing with a woman's love. In a normal man-woman situation, Ka-Ron believed that love was for those he was sworn to protect. However, this was different. This was home. This&was family.

"Kym&?" Ka-Ron whispered. His hand instinctively reached for his sword.

"Go!" Kym's eyes filled with both tears and disgust. Her hands angrilydirected Ka-Ron to the door.

The knight had no other choice but to go.

Ka-Ron accepted the situation for what it was. Repairs could, and would, be made later.

"For what is it worth," Ka-Ron stated, backing toward the main door, "I would like to thank you for your simple, if not learned, pleasures."

Kym's eyes turned cold.

Ka-Ron knew that what he had said, was a mistake.

The damage was done.

"I bid you a good day."

Ka-Ron had rarely known fear, but he felt it, greatly as he passed beyond the door, out into the hot Idoshian suns. To the knight's surprise, he found that his hands were shaking. To the gods! Ka-Ron's hands never shook. Not once in the horrors of battle!

Inside the hut, he heard the unmistakable sound of Kym's weeping.

The knight's brow began to shrink, turning dark, lonely, and shameful.

A gentle if not forceful tap knocked Ka-Ron aside, bringing his concentration back to the world of reality. Blinking his eyes open, Ka-Ron saw his faithful horse Echoheart looking at him with soft dark eyes.

"What is that you say, my dear friend?"

< You are running late! >

Echoheart was a proud, if not noble steed, from the Farm of the Eleven Winds. From his stable, known throughout Idoshia, came the fastest, most faithful, and bravest of steeds. Echoheart was the fiftieth descendant of Theyoka, the First Mount of the First King. Ka-Ron's horse was almost as famous as he was.

"You are right in your request that I boldly continue," Ka-Ron huffed, doing his best to pay attention. "Today, I have acted the fool. And, I have no logical retreat from what I have done."

< Did you and the woman couple? >

Ka-Ron glared at his horse with surprise. Amusement once more returned to his strong face.

"What do you know of human coupling, Echoheart?"

The horse shook his head up and down. He was impatient and wanted a nice purple apple.

< There was a woman at our stables who confessed stories
&
>

"In what manner did she speak?"

< She told of her loves, wanting to be one with
&
nature. >

Echoheart's head bowed. His eyes held a great sadness.

"Oh," Ka-Ron was solemn. "I have heard of such women. They are indeed kind, but they are tragic souls. Worthy of your knowing, dear friend."

Ka-Ron approached his horse, patting him along the side of his right ear, where he loved to be caressed. There was stiffness in his stance that the knight soon became aware of.

Echoheart turned his head, and seemed to be studying his master's eyes. The act caught Ka-Ron by surprise.

"I have dishonored this house, Echoheart." Ka-Ron's voice was almost a whisper. "My need for a woman's counsel has caused me to break her hearts. I did not wish for that to happen."

< You are a noble Man. I know this, for I have ridden with you in battle. I cannot believe that you could have created the acts of which you speak. Perhaps, there was a misunderstanding of the level of coupling involved? >

Ka-Ron had to laugh.

< What humors you so? >

"That I, Ka-Ron, seek love advice from a horse!"

The knight turned his eyes back toward Kym's hut, and studied what he saw.

It was a quiet, simple home built of gopher wood and containing two levels. Shutters were made from pine tin and decorated with seven windows of various sizes. It was said that Kym's mother requested that none of the windows be the same size. A porch made the front of the home an inviting place in which to relax from the harshness of the home as a whole. Many nights, as a boy, Ka-Ron had played on that porch, with Kym. "Bugs," an Idoshian version of combat in game form, had been their favorite pastime. Everything about this house was why he had become a knight. Since he did not have a family, this had been his home.

< Again, I say, we are running late. >

"We are leaving, my friend."

Echoheart remained remarkably quiet during the ride through the dark woods as they proceeded towards the center of town. Ka-Ron used to joke with his field officers - his horse was the most talkative one on the planet. The only time his mouth stayed quiet was when his rider was atop him in battle. Ka-Ron found himself, sometimes, in direct competition with his horse's battle cries, as he himself shouted curses to the fallen.

"Echoheart, I must ask you&"

Before Ka-Ron could finish his thought, a couple of bandits attacked his mount, knocking the knight to the ground. His horse, knowing what was soon to come, left the battlefield.

This was not turning out to be a good morning.

< Xows! >

Ka-Ron fought back the pain that was gathering inside his ribs. Blinking his eyes, trying to see past the mist of surprise, he noticed a tree branch rocking in the wind above him, about seven sticks in height. His having been knocked out of his saddle by a simple highwayman's gadget was an ungodly thought. The humility of the whole affair was enough to enrage any warrior.

The Xows were not a handsome people. Those who usually require the labor of others never are. From what Ka-Ron could surmise, there were two. Both were male, and reeked of never taking the time to bathe.

"We caught us a juicy one, Tak!" one of the Xows said, fighting back a sickly cough. Spitting out vile phlegm, he watched the sticky blue substance splash to the ground, smoking. To the gods! It stank of death.

"Shut up and get his horse."

Ka-Ron thought it militarily sound to play dead.

"He looks unwell."

"Bak, go get the horse," The one named Tak ordered. He seemed to be the leader.

Ka-Ron immediately started taking in the ground around him. He was on the incline. This meant that he held the high ground, which was about the only thing going his way today. The two Xows appeared to be unhealthy and underweight, which meant that Ka-Ron had the attack advantage, as well.

"It is a lovely horse, Tak. Should be several good cooks and stews from this one, I wager."

< Ka-Ron? >

The knight had to hide his face, or the Xows would have caught him laughing. The level of disgust in Echoheart's voice was hysterical.

"He is a fat one!" Tak responded.

The Xow Leader turned his back towards Ka-Ron.

That was his last mistake.

Ka-Ron's face turned serious - all humor was gone.

To the gods! This is just too easy.

Ka-Ron placed one hand on his sword, and the other he directed towards Echoheart. He motioned towards the horse, using a hand language he had once learned years ago, while in battle. The knight was instructing Echoheart to trample the Xowapproaching him.

Echoheart shook his head up and down, digging his right front foot into the mud below. This was the horse's signal that he understood what Ka-Ron had wanted from him.

Quite stealthily, Ka-Ron rose to his feet.

"Once we are done with the horse, I want carnal pleasure from the man," Bak said, coughing up another morsel of phlegm.

"Impossible," Ka-Ron barked. "I play hard to get."

"Not with me!" Tak yelled in defiance.

The Xow Leader turned to face Ka-Ron, and unsheathed his sword. Reaching into his muddied vest, Tak pulled out something the knight was surprised to see - a Ronin battle-ax!

"Oh! You brought some toys," Ka-Ron chuckled. "Tell me, where did you Xows ever come across a Ronin Warrior?"

"He was my pup for three summers," Tak bragged. The Xow started waving the ax through the air, and he did it with great skill and accomplishment. "You have already been claimed by Bak, or I would focus my pleasure on you. You would be good for at least five summers before you would be meat for the eating."

Ka-Ron swallowed hard, studying his target. Ronin Warriors were a hard-disciplined lot who made Idoshians seem decadent by comparison. In battle, Ka-Ron had known the Ronin. They were not ones to be taken prisoner lightly.

< I'm going to pound this asshole's brains into pudding! >

Again, Echoheart's comments made Ka-Ron smile.

The Xow Leader took the innocent expression as a personal insult.

"Damn Idoshian scum!"

Bak, having heard his leader cry out in rage, turned his back toward Echoheart, focusing all his attention on Tak. By Xow standards, these two seemed quite attached and loyal to the other - if ever a Xow could be loyal, that is.

"I'm going to cut off your head and use it as a chamber pot!" Tak cursed.

"Honey, hush." Ka-Ron whispered, winking at the Xow.

Ka-Ron momentarily looked toward Echoheart. The horse was ready, paying close attention to his master. The knight shook his head in confirmation, ordering the horse to attack.