D-Nine: Protectors of the Crown

Chapter 03

"I bring bad news, Sarabeth." Queen Annabeth spoke in a grave voice. "I need you to move to the Norhedin Fort."
"May I know the reason, Your Majesty?"
Annabeth leaned forward, placing her elbows onto the table, hands clasped. There was no one around, but Queen Annabeth still hesitated. "It is hard for you to understand, as you have not recovered your memories. All I can say is that there is danger lurking around. It may be safer for you to be in the stronghold with our loyal retainers."
Indeed, I could not understand, but if there was going to be another murder, I didn't want to stick around. "Will you be coming along?"
"No, I can't," Queen Annabeth replied, with a tinge of bitterness in her tone. "I am the Queen."
"When do I leave?"
"Tonight." She paused before standing up and giving me a hug. "You must remember your past soon. I may not be able to protect you much longer." A wetness glinted at the corner of her eyes. "Go now."

***

The carriage was waiting in the courtyard. Around twenty armed guards on horses lined both sides of the carriage. The Queen wore a simple white gown, yet she stood out from the crowd. She was beautiful beyond words. Too bad I was not still a man, or I would have certainly been the first to court her.
The Queen stepped forward and gave me a reassuring hug. It had a warm, homely feeling which made me miss her. Letting go, she turned towards her entourage and gave a hand signal. A girl in leather armour stepped forward, holding a real rapier. It was an elegant weapon, with a black hilt ending with a big orange gem.
Queen Annabeth took the sword and placed it into my hands. "This is yours. I don't think you can remember it, but keep it safe. One day you will remember and it will help you. Lady Gwenilin will be accompanying you. She will be your guardian; listen to her for advice. She will be an invaluable asset on your way to Norhedin Fort."
The Queen hugged me tightly as my tears flowed uncontrollably. I never knew that leaving a stranger could be so heart wrenching.
"Time to go," Lady Gwenilin reminded me softly.
I stepped into the carriage with a heavy heart. The door closed behind me. As I stuck my head out of the window, a sudden wave of emotion overwhelmed me. I shouted, "I will be back to see you soon!" I waved until the palace was out of sight.
The carriage passed through the north gate and continued to rattle forward. The sounds and sway of the rocking carriage made a good lullaby and soon dreams ensued.

***

I knew that the Queen and her world had to be a dream. My innate tendency to let my imagination escape its confines and conjure up ridiculous fantasies had clearly got the better of me.
Interestingly, the menacing headache was gone. As I sat in front of my desk, the computer screen flickered. My fingers danced across the keyboard as I frantically documented the memory of this dream in my online diary, afraid to leave any part out.
"I might be able to script an award-winning movie based on these imaginative dreams," I said, and chuckled.
As I stretched my hands, my aching muscles sighed with relief. Glancing down at my watch, I saw it was eleven past midnight. Time to sleep; it would certainly be a long day tomorrow.
As I stood up, the ground began to shake. Earthquake? My hand stretched out to the chair for support, but it was too late. I felt the floor move towards me.

***

My body landed hard. My eyes flew open with a start as I readjusted to the vision of the moving carriage. It was rocking violently. Lady Gwenilin was on high alert, her sword drawn.
"What's wrong?" I tried to get back up into the chair.
"Assassins."
"Huh? Why are they after me?" Fear saturated my voice.
"You are the next in line to the throne." Gwenilin eyes darted around. "Duck!"
My head was shoved forward. An arrow whizzed past my ear, impaling the cushion where my head had been resting.
I began to tremble as adrenalin pumped through my blood. I was scared stiff and my mind drew a blank. Gwenilin shouted orders over the chaos and some riders broke off to engage the enemy head on.
Crong! The carriage lifted off the ground as it struck something and landed hard with a loud crack. It began to veer uncontrollably to the right.
"The wheel must have broken. We need to get off! Now!" Gwenilin stood and gave orders to the driver. The carriage came to an abrupt stop, causing my head to bash against the door. Blood streaked down my face and the thought of death crept into my mind.
Gwenilin grabbed and dragged my shaken and stiff body out of the carriage and pushed me up onto one of the carriage horses. "Ride and ride hard. Follow the road and when you reach the town, find help from Count Jarhima." She secured the rapier to the harness and gave the horse's rear a resounding slap.
"Who again! What?" I had question marks floating around my head but no answers came. My mind returned to fact that I was on a horse. "I have never ridden a horse before!" My feeble shout was drowned out by the fierce fighting behind.
My last farewell glance saw Lady Gwenilin standing in the middle of the road, killing any enemies who tried to break through. The galloping horse caused severe motion sickness that made me retch. I closed my eyes, wrapped my weakened hands around the beast's neck, and trusted it with my destiny as it raced forward.
We finally came to a halt. I was greeted with a deafening silence. I could only hear the massive panting of the exhausted horse, along with its pounding heart. Summoning all my courage, I opened my eyes-although my hands remained doggedly around its neck. We were by the bank of a shallow, glittering stream. I didn't see the main road nor anywhere that was familiar to me. Cursing silently, I gingerly dismounted. I landed heavily on my behind as I lost my balance.
After making simple prayers for Lady Gwenilin and the rest of the guards, it was time to move on. I left the horse behind as I wasn't sure I could get back on without help, and walked, armed with the rapier and some dry rations found in the luggage on the back of the horse. The second leg of my journey into the unknown began.

***

After hours of trudging down the path, the muscles of my lower limbs began to scream in defiance. My breathing was also getting heavier. In the distance, a faint glow marked the coming of dawn. The faint light that the new dawn brought revealed a town at the foot of the hill. Unwilling to delay my arrival even by a few heartbeats, I embarked on a shortcut instead of taking the conventional dirt route.
The dew of morning caused the slopes of the hill to be extremely slippery. With the much-needed support of the trees that dotted the trail, I descended. Taking this shortcut was certainly a big mistake. Before I knew it, I had lost my footing and gone rolling down the slope, giving myself another bump on the head. Fresh blood streaked down over the dried blood on my face. My vision blurred and darkness replaced the gleam of the rising dawn.

*****