The Call of Fate

Chapter V - The Fort

                Natalia, Gabriel and Raeder made their way to the southernmost edge of the Kairos Kingdom boundary, and landed in a grove of trees not too far from their target location. The famed assassin had made his home on a rocky outcropping that was surrounded by thick, forbidding walls. Black flags were raised high in the air atop the towers where archers patrolled on an hourly basis. The only entrance that they could see from their telescope was the Iron Gate that was watched by five soldiers all armed with spears.

“How do we get inside that fort?” Natalia asked, incredulous.

                Gabriel frowned, not knowing the answer. He turned to Raeder, who had curled up on the ground and was getting much needed rest after the miles and miles of flight without stopping except once. Before they had taken cover in the grove, they took the risk of banking slightly to the east of the fort to drink at a large water hole, and refill their flasks.

                “Raeder,” Gabriel whispered as he laid a hand on the dragon, “What should we do?” The dragon opened one eye tentatively and snorted. The soldier sighed, and was about to walk away when the dragon interrupted his thoughts with a single line. “We take them by surprise.”

Natalia must have heard it too, for she dropped the fruit she was busy eating. “Take them by surprise?” she repeated. “You mean we assault them? Charge the entire guard with a soldier, a girl, and a dragon?”

Raeder did not move, but growled deeply. “We charge their entire guard with a Superior of the Phalanx Guard, a formidable Dragon, and you- the Prophesied One.”He shifted his weight, tucked his head in the crook of his arm, and went to sleep, blocking all thought projections from the two humans.

                “What do you think, Gabriel?” Natalia asked as she unrolled her sleeping mat and positioned her sword where she would be able to reach it should they be ambushed. Instead of answering her though, Gabriel cocked his head to the left, a boyish grin spreading on his face. “What?” Natalia shot at him, raising an eyebrow. The soldier laughed and pointed to the sword, “You don’t know how to use that do you?” Heat flooded Natalia’s face and she grabbed the sword from its scabbard and stood up in one move, pointing the tip at Gabriel in a threatening way. This just made Gabriel laugh even harder, and only when Natalia had pounced on him, holding the sword dangerously close to his throat did he stop and put his hands up in the air.

                “Lesson number one, soldier,” Natalia breathed in a mocking tone, “Never underestimate your opponent.” She did not understand where her strength and speed had come from, and was just as surprised as Gabriel with how she had reacted. The sword in her hand seemed to be emanating a strange force that coursed through her veins. It was as if the sword had picked up on Natalia’s feelings and gave her access to the strength she never knew she had. She backpedalled, let him go, and sheathed her sword, before making her way back to her sleeping mat.

There was a flash of movement, and before she knew, Gabriel had his arm around her neck, and his dagger pointed at her pulse. “Lesson number two, Prophesied One,” he said, mimicking the tone she had used on him earlier, “Never turn your back on an enemy.” And with that, he let her go.

                “I can see now why the King and Queen have so much faith in you,” he continued, when he lay down once more on his mat. “The Mage foretold your coming, the Dragon knows of you, and now the fabled Sword of the Fallen Warrior responds to you.”

“And yet I know nothing of myself- where I came from or who I am,” she replied in a bitterly.

Gabriel’s voice softened when he heard her answer. “If you are the one meant to bring back His Majesty’s Pearl, then you have nothing to worry about. You will have your memory back as soon as this whole crazed plot is over.”

“What if I’m not the one? What if I don’t succeed?”

The soldier turned to face her, and said very gently, “Then I suppose you’ll have to start making new memories to cherish.”

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