The Misadventures of Ka-Ron the Knight (49 page)

The Captain stood before both of his prisoners, bowing.

"I am Rolmore," he said as he silently ordered all his men to lower their weapons. "I offer greetings and apologies for the actions I have just taken upon you and your vessel. Are you the commander?"

"I am," Keeth acknowledged.

"Ahh!" Rolmore forced at smile. "I admire your ship. It is quite efficient for being so small."

"It's been my experience, captain, that good things always are in small packages."

"Quite."

Rolmore paused, gritting his teeth. He appeared to be a man both under fire and tasked for time. He started to pace, studying each man before him. The elf had a habit of trying to clear his throat.

"There is a criminal of the elfin people on board, and we will have him." the captain finally blurted out. A great flash of relief hit him, letting go of the burden of his task. "I am authorized with letters of marque, which empower me to search your ship."

"Captain, please!" the wizard insisted. "We are all law-respecting on this ship. You need not act this way. By all means, we will corporate."

Rolmore smiled, nodding his head, "Duly noted."

The elf captain faced his men. With a simple twitch of his forefinger, he made his officers respond to his will.

The elves attacked the decks of the
Argo
with efficient speed.

It did not take too long for the sailors to notice that the galley doors were locked.

* * *

Both elf and dwarf had changed positions. Rohan was now on top.

Dorian moaned with delight as the elf dove deeper and deeper into her universe. He had never felt so alive, or so complete. Rohan had intuitively become aware of why the dwarfs treasured and hid their women. While as one, they both shared the same thoughts, the same desires, and experienced pleasure and sex as one. There were no words in elfish thought that could compare with the glory. They were actually sharing souls.

Dorian giggled.

Rohan could feel her muscles tightening.

There was a flash before their eyes, and then pure nirvana.

The elf collapsed from sheer exhaustion upon the woman's ample breasts.

Like any man, he buried his features between her velveteen globes.

"That was&" Dorian tried to comment.

Rohan shook his head, mumbling something. Instead, he ended up kissing her, gently, upon her breastbone.

All was right with the universe.

That was until the galley doors were kicked in.

Dorian reverted back instantly. It was pure instinct.

The elves just paused.

"Do as I have ordered you to&" the Elf Captain joined his men.

Rolmore was beyond words.

Sprawled out upon the galley floor, it appeared that Rohan and Dorian, two males, were discovered, quite uninvited, to be performing oral sex on each other. Some of the elves were so appalled at what they saw that they vomited upon the deck. Embarrassed, both Rohan and Dorian grabbed for their clothes.

"You changed," Rohan whispered.

"Of course! What would you expect?" Dorian started to cry, covering up the act with a fake wave of coughing.

The Elf Captain pointed at Rohan, his fingers shaking with rage.

"Get that elf out upon this deck," he ordered. "Now!

Rohan's world turned a bitter and painful shade of black.

Rohan fought the pain he felt. Barely able to see out of his left eye, his right was mashed up and bleeding through his swollen eyelid. He coughed up some blood as he was thrown to the main deck.

"Dwarf-loving scum!" one of the elf sailors shouted.

"Don't knock it," Rohan stated defiantly.

A circle of elves tried to change his mind by kicking the elf strongly in the back, stomach, and crotch area.

"That will be enough of that!"

The sailors snapped to attention as their captain marched passed them. Each elf stood with conviction, having realized the seriousness of his actions. It was not the elf way to execute hostile intent upon a prisoner of conscience. But, when they had all seen a kinsman in the arms of a dwarf performing things best left to those in private places, rage took the place of logic.

Rohan had broken a scared and ancient law: no elf shall ever love a dwarf.

While fighting with his pain, this was one of many thoughts that went through Rohan's mind. It was a stupid law. Or, at least, that is what he used to think. The dwarves did not have any females in their race. At least, that is what Rohan had believed before he met Dorian, and before the dwarf had had the chance to show him the greatest mystery upon the planet.

Now, swallowing his own blood, tasting the bitter taste of nickel on his tongue, Rohan argued with his logic while fighting the pain. Did his fellow kinsman hate him for breaking the sacred law? Or did they despise him because Dorian allowed them all to perceive him as a male? Whatever the answer was, he knew it to be below the principle of his race.

This could not be allowed!

"I plead to you, good elves, do not hurt him so," Dorian cried, himself now strapped in chains. The tiny dwarf had his fair share of cuts and bruises as well. Despite his height and weight, the dwarf did not go down without a fight. There were two huge elves who could contest to the fierceness of Dorian's will. Each heralded deep and dark "purple eyes."

"Do not harm the prisoners!" Rolmore repeated, walking up to and challenging one of his men. The captain glowered at his officer, silently warning the aggressive young elf that if he continued with his madness, his future would be in question. Bowing, quite against his will - forcing the movement - the sailor stepped back, leaving the prisoners alone.

The crewmembers of the
Argo
confronted their own preconceptions. They had seen Rohan and Dorian performing their acts upon the galley floor. Some were flabbergasted, while others saw it as unique. Keeth seemed to be the least surprised of the group, Ka-Ron, the most understanding. Who would better know the agony of love than one caught between the sexes?

All were called out for questioning once Rohan had been found.

"Captain, may I have a word with you?"

Rolmore looked up from the dwarf and noticed the wizard.

"Please, captain," the elf stated, motioning the wizard to join him.

"I am not a captain, sir." Keeth huffed. "There is no chain of command on my vessel."

"I meant no disrespect, sir." Rolmore bowed. "I still offer my apologies."

"Apologies, indeed!" Keeth roared, angry. "What manner of crime allows your subordinates to beat their prisoners? And, most importantly, what has Rohan done that requires such force?"

"Rohan is what you might call an outsider," the elf captain explained. "He does not stay close to the earth. He is not one with nature."

"And this is?" The wizard's voice started to carry. "So he walks to a different step. So what? Some of our greatest thinkers were ostracized by the powers that be."

"His mind is up in the stars," Rolmore stated, quite amused by the concept. "He refuses to serve his people, thereby breaking the law. He will be taken back to the Weedwoods, where he will face our king, his father, and The Council of the Twelve."

"Do you mean to say that his own father has issued the warrant?"

"Yes, wizard. I am sure that I have been plain about this." Rolmore's features turned hard. "And after what I have witnessed in your ship's galley, he will pay for his crimes."

"How a person loves is no one's business, except those they choose to share it with," Keeth protested.

"Do you stand against me, captain?" Rolmore asked in a challenging manner.

"I protest any idiot who thinks he can change things by imperial edict."

The elf captain tightened his grip, stressing the endurance of his leather gloves. A mental tug of war raged within Rolmore's skull, and the clues he broadcasted did not fail to grab at the wizard's perceptions.

Rolmore took on a cautionary breath, pointing a finger at Keeth, silently warning him.

"I will question these two on the deck of your vessel. I inform you of this out of respect, and recognizing that it is the law of the seas." Rolmore paused, "I warn you, do not interrupt."

Keeth grumbled, but remained silent.

Rolmore approached the prisoner.

The reaction the elf captain received surprised all of Rohan's friends.

"Rolmore!" Rohan cried, honestly happy to see the elf captain.

Struggling to get to his feet, Rohan outstretched his arms, wanting to accept the officer as an equal.

Rolmore, upon getting within arm's reach, backhanded Rohan, causing the elf to stumble to the floor.

"Do not talk to me, traitor!" Rolmore shouted, his voice curt and vindictive.

Rohan retreated inside his pain, and rested in a fetal position.

Rolmore, turning momentarily to gaze upon the crew of the
Argo,
flashed genuine embarrassment at others, not elfin, witnessing his outrage. He bowed to them all, hoping for an apology of some sort. One that did not come.

"I will allow all of you to walk freely on board your ship. You will follow
The Willows' Breath
as we start sailing back towards home. If anyone of you try to stop us, I shall offer you the same kindness I have showed the prisoners."

"Try it!" En-Don challenged, his hand reaching for his sword's hilt.

Rolmore did not say a word. He only stared at the brave young man, pointing a warning finger towards him.

Rolmore walked off the
Argo's
deck, back to his ship.

"Who is that guy?" En-Don asked, his gaze turning back to his parents.

"He is Rolmore," Rohan offered. "He is my brother."

As a formality, Rolmore thought it best to hold a "witnessing" before they reached elfin waters. A "witnessing" was an ancient ritual, which openly questioned an elf being tried for treason, so that an independent third party may know why he and his crew had acted in the way that they did.

It was a logical jurisprudence.

No one should have to make up false stories about the ways of the elf.

"What is going on here?" Ka-Ron whispered to Keeth.

"I think it's what my father used to call a comedy of errors." The wizard's voice sounded sad. "Only heartache will come of this."

Dorian sat in a small corner, bordered by two barrels. His hands were freed, and he was allowed the proper food and drink. After all tempers had been calm, both prisoners were treated with a tolerable amount of respect.

Rohan's eye had improved, and all were happy to see that his wounds were almost healed.

"Do you deny the charges the Imperial See have cast against you, Rohan?"

"How can I protest that which you have already perceived as a crime?" Rohan asked.

The elf captain raised his hands in a gesture of acceptance. If he could, for the record, get Rohan to admit he was held for crimes against the elfish state that was victory for half his battle.

There was still one "sensitive" area to cover.

Rolmore pointed to Dorian.

"Do you, Rohan, love that&thing?"

Dorian, bored, for he knew this was all a farce, started to comb out the matted knots in his beard. Upon hearing the elf captain refer to him as a "thing," the dwarf looked over at Rohan, blowing him a kiss.

The action did not cause a positive reaction among the elves.

Rohan, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and did all that he could to keep from laughing.

Rolmore was not so accepting.

"You, my brother, are nothing but an embarrassment and abomination to the elfin people, and I will see you hang."

There was a long pause, which only seemed to be magnified by the surrounding sounds of the sea.

"What has happened to you?" Rohan asked, mystified. "What has happened to father, to make him hate a son who loves the stars?"

"You are a traitor."

"I love my lands and people," Rohan shouted, rising to his feet.

"You are nothing but an embarrassment; and I will see you destroyed." Rolmore turned to look at Dorian, who was no longer taking this as a comedy. "You are&a&freak."

This last hurt Rohan more than the back slap from before.

Family blood was always the coldest when angered.

"Rohan."

All eyes turned to the dwarf.

Dorian stood, his hands fidgeting.

"Tell them," was all the dwarf could bring himself to say.

"I will not betray you in order to save myself."

Dorian softly smiled. His eyes teared.

"Tell them, my love."

Keeth leaned over and whispered into Ka-Ron's ear.

"Here comes the truth, I wager."

Ka-Ron's face turned hard. "You have not been withholding information, have you, wizard?"

The old man tried to change the subject. He wanted to watch what was happening. Ka-Ron, worriedly, allowed the wizard his entertainment.

Rolmore placed himself between both Dorian and Rohan. His temper was starting to boil again, made evident by his hands repeatedly flexing into fists.

"If there is a secret here, I demand to know it," the elf captain ordered, pointing back towards the dwarf. "Or, do you wish for him to be included in your sentencing?"

Waves of agony passed over Rohan's features. This was all wrong. He should not have to break a covenant of ages just to help save his own life. If he did this - if he crossed that line - neither he nor the dwarfish race could ever again re-cross it. How could he ever live something like that down?

Rolmore pulled out his sword, and pointed it at Dorian.

"I will know this secret, or your friend here dies."

Rohan turned all of his soul over to his love. Dorian stood defiant and ready to die. The elf was sure that his friend would face death with uncommon bravery. With a twinkle in his eye, and faith in his stance, Dorian bowed his head, giving Rohan a solemn nod.

TELL HIM.

"Dorian is, in fact, a woman." Rohan closed his eyes, shamefully.

"I knew it!" Keeth shouted, pointing a happy finger at Dorian. "I knew it!"

Ka-Ron looked at the excited wizard with surprise.