Dark Knight

Chapter 4

 Once Nicole thought they were out of distance, she cast a spell to lock her room. Quickly she began to do as Rayne advised, pack up and leave. Nicole wasn’t safe in the palace anymore. She knew she couldn’t pack a big bag. It’ll be too heavy for her to carry. She dressed in her practice clothing: trousers and a shirt. She grabbed a dress just in case to complete her wardrobe. She tied her hair back and stuffed it under a cap. She figured she needed money, took her jewelries, placed them in a small bag, and tied it around her waist to secure it. She would sell them if she had to. She wore her riding boots, and placed her flats in her pack. She placed a smaller dagger in her boots for safety. To finish her packing, she took a comb, the two mystery books, a map, and a small mirror. She grabbed her cloak, threw it over her, blew out the candle, and left the room.

         She cast a shadow over her to cover her from view. She walked quickly and quietly to the kitchen. No one was in. She snuck in, grabbed and stuffed food in her pack. She grabbed a canteen filled with water and left the kitchen. She hoped the cooks wouldn’t mind her raiding in the morning.

         She went over to the stable to fetch her horse. Before she reached the stable, she came across the practice field. She quickly thought of taking a sword or not. Not taking the chance of protection lightly, she silently grabbed a sword she knew no one would touch. It use to be her father’s. Now it was her’s. She carried it with her to the stables.

         While going there, her pack was making too much noise from bouncing up and down. It caught the attention of one guard. She stopped in her tracks, and waited for the guard to go back to his post before resuming her journey. She cast a silent spell on her pack to rid of the noise it made, plus her bag of jewelries.          

         She went to her mare who she had received on her 15th birthday. It was a black mare with a white patch of fur that was diamond shaped on the middle of the forehead. She settled her mare and took her outside. The other horses were beginning to make loud noises so she calmed them with a soothing wind. It worked on them.

         She took her mare outside and carefully concealed them from the guards. Once she neared the woods she rode her horse and into the darkness they rode. 

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         Nicole didn’t dare take any risks stopping to takes rests. She and her mare traveled through the night under the moonlight. She wasn’t taking any chances with any light other than what the moonlight gave. She and her mare came across a trail in the woods. They followed the trail, but stayed on the sides. Dawn was approaching and Nicole was tired from her journey. She had not any rest, and she was sure her mare was also as tired as she was. The trail led them out the woods, and into open fields of the suburbs just outside the town near the palace. She continued to travel as the sun rose higher above her. People began to come out of their houses and go through their daily lives.

         She arrived at a hill, and was thankful that there was an inn in view. In need of sleep and energy, she headed to the inn. As she arrived, she gave the reins of her mare to a stable boy, who took the mare and placed it in the stables. She entered the inn ready for the comfort of a bed and shelter, but was disappointed by the sight of the inn. Every eye was on her as she walked into the inn. The inn was full of big, muscular built men that looked ready to knock her head off. They gave her one look, and turned back to what they were doing.

         “Welcome,” a man said to her, “Need something?”

         “I’ll like a room please,” Nicole replied.

         The man looked at the front door and said, “Where's your father son?”

         “What?” Nicole asked confused.

         "What? You run away from home again?”

         “No sir. Please, I just need a room,” Nicole pleaded.

         The man shrugged, “That’s 50 gin.”

         “I don’t have any gin with me, but-”

         “If you don’t have any money, you might as well get the heck outta here,” the man complained.

         “BUT,” Nicole continued and reached into her bag filled with her jewelries and pulled out something random, and placed it in front of the man, “how much would this be worth?”

         The man stared down at the silver bracelet she took out. He held it in his hands as if measuring it to make sure it was real. He looked back at Nicole and said, “This, if I had to approximate, it would be about 5000 gin. Boy, how did you get your hands on this? WAIT…” He handed back the bracelet back to Nicole. “You must be a thief. Oh-no! I don’t take in thieves. Leave immediately.”

         “What?” Nicole said in shock, “I’m not a thief! I just want a room!”

         “No,” the man said again shaking his head and pointing to the door.

         “He’s with me,” a voice said behind Nicole and placed some gin on the table in front of the man. “He’s not a thief, either.”

         Nicole turned around to see who saved her. It was a young man in a suit of black armor with armed weapons, possibly around his twenties. His long dark hair was tied into a ponytail that rested on his shoulder. His height along with his armor made his aura around him seem extremely dangerous. His extraordinary blue eyes were hidden behind long bangs, but were still visible. Nicole saw a muscle twitch on his handsome face as she studied him.

         “Here,” the man laid a key on the table in exchange with the gin, “Up the stairs, fourth room on the right.”

         The armored dude pushed Nicole towards the stair when she didn’t move. Nicole shot a glare behind her back, then started up the stairs and into the room. Once in front of the room, Nicole turned around and faced the young man who helped her.

         “Thank you, whoever you are,” Nicole said grimly.

         He looked at her with an annoyed look on his face and handed her the key. “No need,” he said as his deep voice was let out.

         Nicole took the key from him and asked, “Why’d you do that?”

         He simply just shrugged his shoulders

         “Thank you,” Nicole said again and opened her room. The room was small, but a room was better than nothing. The bed was small too. Everything in the room was small, even the door. Nicole walked over to the bed and placed her pack on the bed. She turned around to continue to talk the armor man, but he was gone. She hadn’t heard him leave, but she was thankful for what he did. She looked in the hall, but no sign of him. She figured if he wanted to continue to talk, he’ll knock or something.

         She closed and locked her door, before lying on the bed. How good it felt to lie on a bed. It wasn’t soft like her own bed, but it better than the ground. As she lied on the bed, she thought what happened just last night. She couldn’t believe she had made her journey from the palace to the inn in one night. It felt like, a whole month. Thinking about her sister was heart breaking, so she recited the theory of momentum instead to sleep. Sleep came and she really needed it.