From Darkness Won Part 17

His face went slack. "None. But if I leave my master..."

"I can a.s.sure you, if we make it to Armonguard, you will be safe. Achan will not continue to imprison strays."

"Then I'll come," Noam said. "Though I'm too scrawny to be much help, I'll do my best to look forbidding."

The song ended. Gren returned arm in arm with the redheaded man. The band segued into another song.

Noam chuckled. "Ah, the new favorite of Sitna Manor. Have you heard this one, Lady Averella? I bet you'd like it."

Vrell winced and hoped the music had drowned out Noam's use of her real name.

He grew up here in Sitna Town, The hand his life was dealt.

He milked the goats and fetched the wood Or Poril gave him the belt.

The p.a.w.n our king, sing merry, merry, merry.

The p.a.w.n our servant king.

For he was once the lowest of all strays And now claims to be king.

Then the Great Whitewolf took him up, Taught him to use a sword.

He fought quite well, his blade struck true, And blood from Esek poured.

Remember us, sing merry, merry, merry.

Remember us, O king.

For you were once the lowest of all strays And now you'll be our king.

Vrell smiled at the lyrics. Achan had become a legend in Sitna. What would he say if he heard this song?

The band continued to play. But the minstrel jumped off the cart and broke up a dancing couple. He twirled around twice with the maiden, then left her standing and interrupted another couple. Men from the crowd roared with laughter, as if such rudeness was hysterically clever. Two men from the crowd ran into the mob and copied the minstrel, breaking up couples and dancing with the ladies.

Cap suddenly appeared before Vrell and dragged her back into a dance. He spun so quickly her head tingled. She pulled back, trying to slow them down. Their connection broke. Vrell stumbled. Someone caught her and threw her into a jig. She squealed and held on for fear she might fall.

Yet another man ripped her arm away from her partner. The minstrel! He spun Vrell round and round and round before releasing her. She staggered a few steps and fell to her knees, her surroundings whirling around her.

The minstrel's voice sang out again.

For he and we were all deceived, By our own Lord Nathak.

And now the p.a.w.n King marches south To take Armonguard back.

O rescue us, sing merry, merry, merry.

O rescue us, O king.

For you were once the lowest of all strays Save us, our precious king.

Vrell still sat on her knees. Couples twirled around her as if she were not there.

"Brazen animals!" a voice said to her left. "Don't know how father abides them. Look how they treat their women."

Vrell scanned the crowd for this critical onlooker who was bold enough to judge but unwilling to a.s.sist a lady in need. He stood with two much taller men. He was young, not yet a man, and horribly familiar.

Reggio Levy's gaze locked onto Vrell the moment she recognized him. She pushed herself to her feet and ran.

"Stop that woman!" Reggio screamed, like a boy throwing a temper fit.

Vrell darted past dancing couples, toward Gren and Noam, then thought better of it. For Lord Nathak might try and capture Gren too. Then what would become of her child?

Vrell veered left around a cottage and collided with a soldier, who clapped his arms around her like irons.

"Let me go!" She kicked the unyielding oak of a man.

"Not on yer life, missy." He dragged Vrell back to the Corner. The music stopped. Everyone stood staring.

Reggio strutted across the clearing, a nasty smirk upon his face. "Why, Lady Averella. What brings you to Sitna? Or do you go by Vrell Sparrow these days?" Reggio yelled "Vrell Sparrow," as if he were hoping the minstrel might make a song of him catching the infamous lady-turned-stray.

Vrell straightened her posture in the guard's grip. "Good evening, Master Levy. I hear Sitna has the best blacksmith in Carm Duchy. I am in need of a new sword."

He snorted. "You expect me to believe you came to Sitna for a sword? There's a price on your head, in case you were unaware. One my father will be pleased to accept."

"I hear your father has been demoted to Lord of Sitna Manor. My, how well evil men are rewarded. When I get my new sword, Master Levy, I shall test its sharpness on you."

Reggio's cheeks pinked, but he chuckled as if she had made a joke. "You, my lady, are going to the dungeon. There will be no swords for you to wield there."

9.

The overwhelming smell of tobacco woke Achan. A lantern hung on a hook at the foot of his bed, blinding him to anything beyond the canopy. His stinging eyes led him to believe it was still night. But he had stayed up far too late the past few nights, seeking a way around Sparrow's s.h.i.+elds. Maybe it was nearly morning. Or perhaps a dream?

He sensed excitement. Another lesson from the d.u.c.h.ess?

"Achan Cham," a man said.

Achan jolted and rolled over. With the lantern at his back, he could see better. Sir Gavin, Sir Eagan, Sir Caleb, and Shung stood in a line beside his bed, dressed for battle.

Achan sat up so fast his head spun. "Another attack?"

The men simply stared past him. Achan turned to see what they were looking at, but saw nothing strange but Matthias's empty pallet. Where had the lad gone?

Sir Gavin's voice pulled Achan's gaze back to the men. "As a male Er'Retian past sixteen years, you are a man. You received no manhood ceremony to commemorate such a momentous occasion. Tonight we will rectify that."

Achan's head tingled. Manhood ceremony?

Sir Gavin peered down upon Achan. "Do you wish to become a man?"

Achan looked from face to face, the night air cool inside his gaping mouth. All four men now fixed their gazes on him. He felt underdressed-he was wearing only his trousers. The beating in his chest drew his eyes back to Sir Gavin's. "Aye, sir."

"Stand then, Achan Cham."

Achan crawled out of bed and stood, facing the knights.

"As to your achievements," Sir Gavin said, "these past months I watched you train harder and withstand more pressure than any man of any age."

Then Sir Eagan spoke, "I witnessed your mercy as you pardoned prisoners. Your tenacity as you sought out a traitor."

"You felled Esek." Shung stomped one foot on the floor. "Killed the great cham bear." Another stomp.

"You surrendered to Arman," Sir Caleb said, "accepted Caan's sacrifice and plan for your life. I say you are a man."

Achan's chest tightened.

"As to your character," Sir Gavin said. "You are smart, the quickest study I've ever seen. And I find your perseverance under trial inspiring."

"You are good-natured and moral," Sir Caleb said.

"Brave and honorable." Shung stomped again.

"You have a high regard for all people, no matter their social status, circ.u.mstance, or past errors," Sir Eagan said. "I say you are a man."

"As to our advice for this journey through manhood," Sir Gavin said. "Always be teachable, willing to learn."

"Remember that every man is a slave to something," Sir Eagan said. "Let no one or thing master you but Arman."

"Set goals and boundaries to protect yourself. Resist the hosts of temptations that await you," Sir Caleb said.

"Always carry weapon." Shung banged a fist on his chest. "And Shung says the little cham is a man."

Achan trembled through a silent laugh.

Sir Gavin lifted a diamond-shaped s.h.i.+eld off Sir Eagan's back and hoisted it before Achan as if he were going to use it. "We had this made for you."

Blood tingled to Achan's fingertips as he inspected the s.h.i.+eld. Slightly pointed at the top, the bottom edges tapered like a stemless arrowhead. The wood was covered in dark brown leather edged with a band of thick gold plating. Two more strips of gold crossed over one another, dividing the s.h.i.+eld into four sections. A gold symbol was mounted in each section: a castle, a tree, a crown, and a cham. A two-headed hawk covered where the strips crossed in the center.

"It's identical to the s.h.i.+eld your father carried in battle but for one difference," Sir Gavin said. "We put a cham bear on this s.h.i.+eld in honor of the life that made you who you are. A cham stands for ferocity and protection. Its presence on your s.h.i.+eld should remind you always to be courageous."

"The crown stands for authority," Sir Caleb said. "You are responsible for leading Er'Rets."

"Fortress means stability," Shung said. "Unshakable."

"The tree will remind you to remember your creator," Sir Eagan said. "Always be reverent."

"The two-headed hawk is the symbol of the Hadar name," Sir Gavin said. "The Hadars, the line of kings, are men of action, not idleness. While one head looks to the kingdom, the other looks to Arman, always on guard, always vigilant. As you walk through life, be courageous, responsible, steadfast, reverent, and vigilant. No longer will we treat you like a boy. We say you are a man." He pa.s.sed the s.h.i.+eld to Achan.

Achan took the weight into his arms with a fierce pride.

"Because of my continual concern for your safety, you feel I don't respect you," Sir Caleb said. "Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm proud of who you are and what you've accomplished. From this day forward I shall strive to respect your wishes, whether I agree or not."

The words lightened Achan, lifting a yoke he hadn't realized hung so heavily over his shoulders. "Thank you."

"If ever you have need, come to any of us," Sir Gavin said. "For we have lived many years."

"Some of us more than others, Gavin," Sir Eagan said.

Achan laughed and examined his s.h.i.+eld, enthralled by its beauty, its significance, its weight-the amount of gold. "How was my father's s.h.i.+eld different?"

"King Axel's s.h.i.+eld bore a stag instead of a cham," Sir Gavin said, "for the stag and the name Axel stand for peace. But your s.h.i.+eld, had your father given it to you as Gidon, would have born a lion, which represents a warrior."

Achan's chest swelled. His father had named him warrior. "What now? Is that the end?"

Sir Gavin clapped him on the back. "By no means. Now you must hear three old men-and one young one-tell of our greatest triumphs and follies."

Sir Eagan and Shung dragged chairs over from the wall and sat in a half circle around the side of Achan's bed.

"Do not judge us too harshly, Your Highness," Sir Eagan said, sitting on his chair, "for some of us have had much greater and many more follies than we have had triumphs."

"First," Sir Gavin said, digging something out of his pants pocket, "take this. Since your father cannot be here."

Achan accepted a smooth gold coin. He had never held money in his life. He examined the coin and saw the two headed hawk on one side. He flipped it and gasped, for what looked like his own profile was molded onto the other side.

"You and your father look a lot alike, but someday your own profile will mark Er'Retian coins," Sir Gavin said.

Achan laughed. "I never even thought of such a thing as my face on a coin."

"Yes, well, now that King Axel has arrived," Sir Caleb said with a glance at the coin, "we can get on with it."

Each man took a turn sharing personal stories about their own journeys to manhood. Sir Gavin's proudest moment had been when King Paxton knighted him and appointed him Prince Axel's s.h.i.+eld. His biggest failure had been King Axel and Queen Dara's deaths and losing Achan.

Sir Eagan's intense blue eyes focused on Achan. "I have had many failures, Your Highness. Too many to confess in one night. Some I have already shared with you. The differences with my father. Losing King Axel on my watch." Pain flashed across his face. "But none has plagued me as much as dallying with a young woman days before her wedding."

Stunned, Achan averted his eyes to the floor. Sir Eagan didn't seem capable of something so low.

"I don't doubt the young woman was partially to blame," Sir Gavin said.

Sir Eagan growled like an irritated cat. "Whether or not she was willing, it is a man's duty to protect a lady's honor. In that I failed. And though I regret my actions, I would not change them if I were able to live through it again."

This admission caused Achan to look up. "Why?"

Sir Eagan's expression lightened. "My failures, no matter how painful, brought wisdom. And Arman, by his infinite grace and mercy, bestowed blessings through my failures that, over time, made the pain bearable."