The Rose Princess (8 page)

“They are certain to insist on accompanying me,” the princess continued. “After all,
they live solely to protect me and my stronghold. Doesn’t that sound absolutely dismal?
I’ve always been sickened by that cloying kind of love and feelings of loyalty.”

“Then why have you put up with it for so long?” D asked.

The princess let a wry smile drift to her lips as she replied, “Oh, there are any
number of reasons. Bound by the traditions of my ancestors and so on. They are my
retainers, ultimately. It wouldn’t do for me to leave them with nothing to do, would
it? After all, they haven’t a talent for anything but this work.”

“But you’d abandon them now that you’re bored?”

“Don’t make it sound so sordid. Everyone has a right to put their own happiness first,
right? I have a feeling that in that respect, humans and Nobles don’t differ in the
least.”

There was no reply.

“That’s all I had to say. If you’d be so good as to eliminate them, I’ll move on to
a different area. And the village will be free—won’t it? Everything works out nice
and neatly that way. And you can finish up here without even having to destroy me.”

“I listened to what you had to say,” D said softly.

“Now, hold it right there,” the princess said, fairly admonishing the Hunter.

The ghastly aura that’d begun to permeate the area left Elena unable to speak.

“Wait just a moment,” the princess continued. “I told you I’d be willing to leave
these lands. There’s no need for you to try and kill me, is there? Are you some kind
of homicidal maniac?”

“I’m a Hunter,” D said. Perhaps even that brief response was only out of politeness.

The flash of silver that shot out bisected the lovely princess once, slicing the table
in two as well.

“Well done,” the princess said, rising completely unscathed.

A stark light mowed through her waist.

In her white dress, she flowed to the center of the room like a fog.

“See, I knew you were pigheaded. If you are intent on fulfilling your contract to
slay me, it seems I have no recourse but to change the mind of your employer. But
first, watch this.”

The princess raised one hand. What then suddenly formed in the air was an image of
the village of Sacri as seen from a distance. The silver disc that glowed in the sky
was obscured by the fluttering of black wings.

“Bats?!” Elena exclaimed.

As if taking their cue from the biker’s cry, the countless winged mammals dove straight
for the village.

The view changed.

Elena had her eyes glued to it, for the tiny descending creatures had become roses
beyond number. Flowers in four shades billowed ornately down the streets and alleyways.
And before the eyes of the awestruck Elena, the image vanished.

“This is not a dream, I tell you. All of that actually happened. Aren’t you at all
curious what’ll become of the village I’ve blessed with my flowers?”

“What have you done? What the hell were those flowers?!” Elena cried.

“You’ll see when you get back there, little girl,” the princess replied, her lips
remaining parted for silent laughter. “I had intended to kill you here, but now you
may return to the village. However, you’ll find there are some cases where it’s more
painful to live than to die. Go ahead and find out for yourself. See exactly what
I mean.”

As the princess spun around and raced for the door on the far side of the chamber,
a stark needle pierced her back. Her laughter never abating, the figure in white was
swallowed by fog before she reached the door.

At the same time, the same door that they’d entered by opened to the rear of her two
guests. No doubt it was the princess’s way of ordering them to leave.

“Let’s go back, D,” Elena urged the Hunter.

But D walked off toward where the princess had disappeared.

“Where are you going?”

“If you won’t go home alone, come with me. Or stay right here, if you like.”

Elena’s eyes bulged in her sockets, but it only took the blink of an eye for her astonishment
to become anger.

Pointing toward the door, she said, “You saw those roses, didn’t you? Something really
awful is happening back in the village. The only thing that can save someone from
being harmed by a Noble is another Noble. And you’re half one, right?” Elena exclaimed,
but only as the words were coming out of her mouth did she realize what she was saying.

Putting her fist to her mouth, she said, “I’m so sorry.”

D had already been swallowed by the fog.

Realizing the gorgeous man and woman were truly creatures from a whole other world,
Elena was plunged into a solitude that rent her soul.

—

II

—

Elena couldn’t even remember how she’d gotten out of the manor. The next thing she
knew, the rose garden spread before her like something out of a dream, and a knight
sat before her on a black horse. The moonlight informed her that the armor encasing
him was the same hue as his mount.

As the girl froze in her tracks, the Black Knight indicated the back of his horse
and told her, “Get on.”

Elena was at a loss for words.

“There’s nothing to fear. The princess’s orders were that I deliver you safely back
to the village. But only in the event that you came out without the Hunter.”

“Why?” she asked. Although she’d tried to put some force behind it, her voice quavered.

“She bade me to let you see the village, come what may. And some very dangerous things
come out at night in these parts.”

“Sounds like not everything’s under her control. Are human beings the only thing she
can’t set free?”

The Black Knight smiled without saying a word.

Noticing that his was not an unsettling grin, Elena pulled herself together once more.
Swallowing her saliva, she said, “I’ll go back on my own ride. Out of the way.”

“In that case, you’ll find it right there,” the Black Knight said, tossing his chin
to the right and ignoring the rude manner in which she’d declined his offer.

Glistening in the moonlight, her motorcycle looked like it was brand new.

“I gave it a tune-up while you were inside,” the knight told her. “That was also on
instructions from the princess. But even if you’re riding back, I’ll escort you.”

“Do whatever you like,” Elena said absentmindedly as she walked over to her bike.
It was like a completely different vehicle. The responsiveness of the accelerator
and brake, the feel of the spring suspension, the purr of the engine—they’d all been
raised to a new level. Elena restrained her own curiosity about how he’d managed so
many improvements in such a short time.

But the question that weighed most heavily on Elena’s mind was whether this man or
his compatriots in the quartet—one of whom had yet to show himself—had any idea of
the change that’d come over their proud liege. The princess was certainly a capricious
character, but did she actually think the biker wouldn’t tell the knights what she
knew?

“What a fine mistress you have,” the girl said sarcastically once they’d finished
coming down the hill. Suddenly, she stood transfixed by a fierce gaze evident even
through the dark of night and held her tongue. In a heartbeat, she’d lost all urge
to divulge the secret.

Quickly facing forward again, the Black Knight said in a rusty voice, “Never mention
the princess again.”

Elena thought he was going to follow up with a threat of some sort, but the knight
continued to advance on his steed without saying another word.

“You and your friends will be finished soon,” the incorrigible Elena sneered, even
though she realized it was a reckless thing to do. “I’m sure he’s gonna kill you all.
You could all come at him at once and it still wouldn’t make any difference.”

“You’re probably right.”

The knight conceded so easily, it threw Elena into a strange mood. Her bike was creeping
forward at a speed of about two miles per hour. To be honest, the reason she didn’t
just take off was because she was scared. Although this knight in black was the most
human of the four in his emotions, she was still chilled to the marrow just knowing
he was there by her side. And it wasn’t horror that chilled her, but rather a physical
coldness from the supernatural aura given off by all those in league with the Nobility.

“Then why don’t you all take off out of here as fast as you can? And take your mistress
with you.”

“I believe I just told you I wouldn’t allow any further discussion of the princess,”
the Black Knight said in a tone that froze Elena’s blood. “Do you hate us that much?”
he asked, his voice carrying a puff of laughter.

“Of course. How many people do you think have been put on the stakes over the years?”

“That’s always been done to make an example of those who would harm the princess.
It’s unavoidable.”

Anger caught hold of Elena.

“Unavoidable?!” she snapped. “Try putting yourself in the shoes of those you killed.
Of course, the whole lot of you are half dead already, so you probably wouldn’t mind,
would you?”

The Black Knight seemed to chuckle softly. “Very good. You’re exactly right.”

As for the next question, even Elena herself didn’t know why she asked it. Nevertheless,
she said, “Were you guys human once?”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t know—that’s why I’m asking.”

“If you happen to be around when I die, take my helmet off. Then you’ll know.”

“Okay. I’m looking forward to it.”

The biker was just congratulating herself on her cheeky reply when the Black Knight
rode past her on one side.

After he’d gone about fifteen feet ahead of her, he asked, “Can you speed up?”

“I only need a half second, and then I’m good to go!”

The two of them were approaching the road that ran straight into the village. To either
side, black tree trunks stretched up to the sky. But one of the trees in the stand
seemed to be sort of twisted out of shape, and it made Elena blink. Come to think
of it, she’d taken this road hundreds of times. There’d never been a tree like that
before.

Elena was bracing herself to say something when another tree shot across her field
of view. It hadn’t fallen. It’d leaned over, and was going right for the Black Knight’s
head.

The girl saw a band of light. It flowed up from the Black Knight’s back to wind around
the monstrous tree bearing down on him like an avalanche, and then the bizarre creature
fell to the ground, sliced in half where the band of light had touched it.

“Go!” the Black Knight bellowed.

Above his head loomed another tree, and this time it had split open from the tip to
reveal stark white fangs as it attacked.

It took half a second for her to hit forty miles per hour. A full second later she
hit sixty—and Elena and her bike were both propelled forward by a roar. The very instant
she passed the Black Knight, Elena caught the band of light once more out of the corner
of her eye, but she sped off without so much as a backward glance. And while she didn’t
look back, she did wonder about the outcome all the way to the village.

The village gates were still open when they greeted Elena. But it was long past the
hour when they should’ve been shut. Something was wrong here.

Fighting the chill against her skin, Elena rode her bike into the
village.

In areas where the Nobility remained, people holed up in their houses as soon as the
sun went down. While it was natural that there was no one on the streets, the scent
of roses filling the night air made Elena tense. Before she knew it, her left hand
was massaging the opposite breast in an attempt to ease her apprehension.

Elena peered into the guardhouse to one side of the gate. There was no sign of anyone.
The gatekeeper wouldn’t go right home after closing the gates–after all, travelers
were known to show up suddenly, and express messengers came from the Capital on occasion.
The absence of the gatekeeper was fairly strong evidence something wasn’t right.

Elena turned forward again. Someone else’s face was right in front of her.

Choking back a scream, Elena said, “Miksin?”

That was the name of the one of her gang members. He wore a dazed expression she’d
never seen on him before, and it made him look like a specter.

“What the hell happened? And where’s Stahl?”

“Don’t . . . know . . . ,” the stocky little man mumbled, saliva spilling out with
the words as he swung his head from side to side. “Oh, that’s right . . . He helped
. . . bury everyone. Right now, he’s digging . . . a hole . . .”

“A hole? What are you talking about?! Snap out of it!”

Grabbing the man by his powerful shoulders, Elena shook him. The head on top of his
bull neck snapped back and forth easily, but Miksin didn’t offer any resistance. The
girl’s left hand slipped off Miksin’s shoulder and slid right down his back. Elena
knew immediately what the soft sensation traveling from her fingers had to be. She
spun Miksin around with all her might.

“What in the world . . . ,” she muttered.

On the man’s broad back—directly above the seventh thoracic vertebra—a symbol of the
world of night was blooming in all its crimson glory. The girl tried to yank it out,
but only the petals were left in her hand, while the stem remained rooted in the middle
of his back.

“Where is everyone, Miksin? Tell me!” she shouted, but just then the sound of hoof
beats reached her ears. “D?!” she said, her assessment all too natural under the circumstances.

“I see you made it back safely,” the Black Knight said from outside the gates. His
armor had a white luster to it—the work of the moonlight.

“You of all people must know something about what’s happened here, right?” Elena asked
in a low voice as she pulled her hands away from Miksin. “Tell me. What do we have
to do to save everyone? How are we supposed to get these flowers out of them? Tell
me, damn you!”

The girl sounded like she was spitting up blood as she beseeched him, but the Black
Knight sat there listening like a lump of cold steel.