EDIT: Ceniro’s a lot more shy this time around, isn’t he? My friend’s making me watch Oh My Goddess for references and it’s kind of great. : D Completely rewriting the battles because frankly they’re 3/4 of the problem with this old version. I was relying too much on the game before.
Friendly reminder that Ceniro’s name is pronounced ‘kehneero’ because it’s actually Quenya. : P
Prologue: A Girl From the Plains Chapter 2: Lyndis’s Legion
Chapter 1: A Family’s Call
Lyn tried to make him take the bed that night, but he mustered up enough backbone to insist on sleeping on the floor, which wasn’t that uncomfortable with all the rugs it was made of. He didn’t know her at all, but she seemed a little distracted the rest of the day.
At breakfast the next morning, she ate quickly, stared into her tea for a few seconds, then clapped her hands together and nodded decisively. “All right!”
“Huh?” Ceniro blurted out, almost dropping food out of his mouth.
“I’ve decided. I want to come with you.”
He managed to swallow first this time. “Huh? What? I don’t understand.”
“You’re a traveler, right? I want to travel with you. There isn’t anything for me living alone on the plains here.”
Ceniro blinked, staring. “But… um… we just met yesterday. Surely… your parents…”
Lyn shook her head, her forehead wrinkling in distress. “My parents are dead. Six months ago… the Taliver bandits slaughtered almost everyone. That’s… maybe one reason I want to travel with you. I want to be stronger. Strong enough that nothing like that can happen again, that no one can defeat me. And I’m not going to earn that sitting here.”
“Well, I’m grateful you were here…” Ceniro said. “I don’t have any set destination, I just pick a direction and walk… If that doesn’t bother you, and you want to come, I-I don’t mind.”
“That’s great!” she cried, her face lighting up again, and he ducked his head, blushing. “I’m so glad! You won’t regret it, I promise.” Her smile turned cheeky. “I’ll protect you from any other bandits roaming around.”
He laughed nervously. “Um, what about the hou- ger?”
“We’ll just leave it. It will come to no harm, and maybe someone else will find it useful. I had to sell my horse for food, so we’ll be going on foot; I couldn’t take it anyway. So where should we go first?”
“I was heading for Bulgar next…”
“Bulgar sounds like a good idea.”
“Here we are,” she said a few days later. “The largest city in Sacae! But you probably knew that. You’ve probably seen bigger cities in Lycia.”
“I’m not in cities that often,” Ceniro said. “I don’t mind them, but they imply getting stuck in one place to me… I lived in Ostia for a couple years, but I’m actually from a small village.”
“I see,” Lyn said. “Well, I approve.”
He smiled foolishly.
It was getting noisy, with all the crowds bustling around them. They were only stopping long enough to get supplies from the market, but it was a weekend and everyone else had the same idea as well. They hadn’t even gotten halfway there when suddenly a brown-haired man in green armour appeared out of the crowd and seized Lyn’s hand, an intense and slightly silly smile on his face. “My lady, you are just the most dazzling vision of loveliness!” He was leading his horse by the reins, looped around his left elbow, and it was now blocking their path. “Would you not favour me with your name? Or, better yet, your company?”
Lyn frowned and tried to take a step back. “Who are you and where are you from, sir knight, to spout such gibberish at strangers?”
The odd man grinned brightly. “I thought you’d never ask! I hail from Caelin in Lycia, home to men of passion and fire!”
Lyn shook her head, rolling her eyes. “Shouldn’t that be ‘home to idiots with big mouths’?”
“Ooh, you’re even beautiful when you’re cruel.”
Lyn pulled her hand away with an annoyed jerk. “Let’s go, Ceniro.” She grabbed him by the arm – he flinched – and began trying to drag him into the crowd.
“Wait, please,” called a different voice, and Lyn paused and turned to see a red-haired knight in similar red armour struggle through the crowd to stand next to the green-armoured knight. “I’m terribly sorry. Allow me to apologize for my companion’s rudeness.”
“Ah, Kent, my brother in arms! But I wasn’t being rude, was I? You don’t have to look so severe!”
“If your manners were better, I wouldn’t have to!” The red-armoured knight shook his head in exasperation. “My lady, forgive my foolish friend. He is easily distracted and means no harm.”
“Very well, but could you move aside? We’d like to pass on to the market.”
“My apologies.” Carefully, the knights backed their horses out of the way of the crowd. Lyn thanked them and made to pass, when suddenly the red-haired knight did a double-take. “Excuse me… but I have the feeling that we’ve met before…”
“Oh, come on, Kent!” the brown-haired knight exclaimed. “You just told me that was rude!”
“Are there no decent men among Lycia’s knights?” Lyn cried, and stormed off, dragging Ceniro behind her.
From behind them, he heard a cry of “Wait, what? Our mission?” from the green knight, but Lyn was not stopping for anything.
“What was that all about?” Lyn growled to herself as she purchased bread and jerky with irritation.
Ceniro said nothing. He’d never seen the knights before, and they weren’t as bad as some he had met, but he figured it would do no good to say so. So instead he trailed after Lyn as they left through the east gate of the city.
They had traveled for maybe an hour when Ceniro decided to leave the road and strike out across the open country. “I see more interesting things that way,” he said shyly, and Lyn agreed easily. Their path led into a lightly wooded area, and he could see a river in the distance. Well, all rivers could be forded at some point.
But they had only walked maybe ten minutes when he stopped, looking around.
“Bandits?” Lyn asked, moving to a ready position with her hand on her sword.
“I think so,” Ceniro said. “A lot, too. How many can you take?”
“Not more than two at a time.”
“There’s at least… six up ahead, maybe seven.” He grimaced. “Not good. But we have more cover here. I’ll have to be clever…”
“You didn’t say ‘run for it’,” Lyn said, with a smile. “I like that.” Even though it was definitely not the time, he blushed.
“Well, I don’t know if we can run for it without getting caught again. We’re already a long way from town. But we will be retreating before they can surround us…”
“Oi! You there, missy! Is your name Lyndis?”
The colour drained from Lyn’s face. “What- how-”
“You’re a pretty one, aren’t you? That pretty head is going to earn us a lot of gold. Attack, boys!”
“Hold on!” came a shout from behind them, accompanied by the rumble of hoof-beats, and the two knights who had bothered them in town rode up behind them. The bandits stopped their charge, confused.
“You again!?” Lyn cried, her sword definitely in her hand now.
“Whew, finally caught up,” said the green one. “Such numbers against two? Cowards, every one! We’ll explain later, but for now-”
“May we assist you against these ruffians?” asked the red one.
“This is my fight!” Lyn cried. “We don’t need your help.”
“But I can’t just sit here and do nothing…” said the green one.
“Lyn… we could use their help,” Ceniro said.
Lyn huffed. “Fine. I’ll give them a chance.”
Ceniro bowed gratefully to the two knights. “Thank you so much. My name is Ceniro, and this is Lyn. I’m a tactician, and I can’t really fight, so…”
“No problem,” said the green knight. “I am Sain, and this is my partner Kent. Please, order me to charge so I can impress Lady Lyn!”
“Is that really all right?” Ceniro asked.
“Sir Ceniro,” Kent said, “if Lady Lyndis trusts you, we shall as well. Please direct us as you would anyone.”
“All right,” Ceniro said, turning back to look at the bandits, who had clustered to discuss things. “While they’re busy, here’s what we’ll do…”
“Clever,” Sain said a moment later. “I like it.”
“Is that all right?” Lyn asked. “It puts you in a lot of danger…”
“You’re trusting me to come up with a strategy to defeat the enemy,” Ceniro said. “The least I can do is trust you to fight your best. Ready? Go!”
It was four against six, and the trees would make things difficult for the horses, but Lyn and Ceniro ran in opposite directions, taunting the bandits to split up and follow them. Ceniro’s heart was pounding again, but he felt more control than he had in the first battle with only Lyn. Now he had something to work with. He had noted that the bandits had no archers, which would make his job easier.
He glanced back over his shoulder and saw that two bandits had come after him. He could dodge two. “Lyn! Circle!” He distantly heard her acknowledgement, and heard the drumming of the knights’ horses as they charged her pursuers. She turned the instant they passed her, and counterattacked, using the same grace and deadly accuracy that she had used the other day.
Ceniro couldn’t spend much time evaluating her combat. The two bandits were still after him, and they were gaining on him – they were taller and, frankly, more fit. His body was currently built for endurance, for walking all day, not maintaining a sprint, even if it meant his life. Sooner or later he would have to turn and defend himself.
“Clear!” he heard Kent call.
“I need some help, then!” he shouted with the last of his breath, dodging around a tree. One bandit followed him, one went the other way to meet him as he doubled back to meet the others. He yelped with an embarrassingly high pitch and ducked by sheer instinct under the bandit’s axe, almost slipping on the dry grass and soil. He caught himself and bolted towards the safety of the knights and Lyn.
As the knights charged towards him, he heard his two attackers slow and come to a halt. “Stupid knights, always meddling in other people’s business,” said one, and then Kent passed on Ceniro’s left, Sain on his right, and he didn’t dare look back to see what happened to the bandits.
He came to a halt as Lyn jogged up to him, her sword bloody. He bent over and put his hands on his knees, sucking in air. “Are you all right?” she asked him.
“I’ll be all right,” he said, panting. His legs felt heavy, but that would pass. He looked around. There was one man left, over by the river, and he looked like he was strongly reconsidering several life choices.
“All right, there’s only the leader left,” Ceniro said, straightening up. “Lyn, I’m sure you have questions for him; go for it. We’ll watch your back.” She took off running. The bandit tried to flee, but she caught up to him before he could go far and pressed her sword against his back.
“How did you know my name?” she demanded of him.
The bandit looked at her with fear. “If I tell you, will you let me go?”
Lyn considered, her shoulders hunched in anger. “I hate bandits. All bandits, brigands, pirates, those who murder and destroy without a second thought. I can satisfy my curiosity another way.” She raised her sword.
“Wait!” The bandit threw himself at her feet. “I surrender! It’s not worth it! Even if I kill you, your friends will get me! The person who hired me works for Lord Lundgren of Caelin! Please, let me live!”
Lyn gritted her teeth as the bandit shivered in fear at her feet. Then she wiped her katana and sheathed it with a sharp click. “I cannot kill someone who has surrendered. Leave your weapon here and begone! And if I ever see you again-”
“You won’t, you won’t!” The bandit turned and ran headlong, leaving his axe behind.
Lyn turned to the three men with her. “Who’s Lord Lundgren?”
“He must mean…” Sain began.
Kent raised a hand. “I think, to explain properly, we must begin at the beginning. May we have your permission?”
“Go ahead,” Lyn said.
“Lord Hausen is Marquess of Caelin,” Kent began, leading his horse to the river to drink. “He had a daughter, but she eloped nineteen years ago with the chieftain of a Sacaean tribe. Lord Hausen was heartbroken that his only daughter would leave him, and for many years swore that he had no daughter.”
“But about half a year ago,” Sain continued, “he received a letter from his daughter. It said that she had been happily living on the plains with her husband and daughter, and that she hoped he would forgive her for eloping and allow her to visit someday. I have never seen him so happy as to learn that his daughter was alive, and that he was a grandfather.”
“Thus, we were dispatched as messengers to Lady Madelyn, to tell her that her father would welcome her and her family with open arms,” Kent said. “But we had not been in Sacae long when we learned that shortly after sending her letter, Lady Madelyn and her family were attacked by bandits. But we have not failed entirely, because I know you, Lady Lyndis, are Lady Madelyn’s daughter.”
Lyn stepped back with wide eyes. “My mother was indeed named Madelyn… from Lycia, from Caelin… she told me about it sometimes… How did you know it was me?”
“Your eyes,” Kent said, a little awkwardly. “We never knew your mother… we were too young to have met her when she left. But you look exactly like her portrait in the castle, except with green hair. And Lyndis was the name of Lady Madelyn’s mother, the late wife of Marquess Caelin, your grandmother.”
“I see,” Lyn said, and thought for a long minute. The knights waited patiently. “Wait! You forgot about this Lundgren person.”
“He is your grandfather’s younger brother,” Kent said.
“He was all set to inherit since Lady Madelyn left, but now that you’ve been discovered… Let’s just say I wouldn’t put it past him to try to remove all the competition,” Sain said.
“That’s absurd,” Lyn objected. “I have no interest in inheriting anything.”
“Unfortunately, Lundgren is not a man to believe that, and I think the attempts on your life will probably continue.”
Lyn looked at the knights. “And what would you advise me to do?”
“Come with us to Caelin!” Sain invited her. “We’ll protect you from assassins. And it’s what your grandfather would want.”
“What if I decide not to go to Caelin?” Lyn asked.
“You may do as you wish, of course,” Kent said. “We will accompany you, or not, as you choose.”
Lyn put her hands on her hips, looking off into the distance as she thought. “I suppose I really have little choice. I think it might be best if I go with you.” She looked at Ceniro. “What will you do? Would it be too much to ask for you to come with me?”
He had been a stranger to her a couple days ago, but these knights were newer strangers. “I never had any real plans. If you want me to come with you, I’d be happy to.” He smiled. “It does sound important.”
“Your help would be invaluable,” Kent said. “I can’t imagine that we won’t be attacked again in all the way to Caelin.”
“And then you’ll get some proper experience,” Lyn said, nodding. “Right, it’s decided, then! To Caelin, and to family!”