Knightess

8

In the morning we are crowded around the table again, this time our plates filled with breakfast foods. I sit next to Naomi again and make sure to sit as far as possible from where Cosette sits near the end of the table. The new armor they've given me rubs tightly against my skin and pinches. The polished boots cram my toes together and make me walk in a clumsy way. When I complain to Naomi of this she just shrugs and tells me I'll get used to it and the discomfort will end.

As I shovel scrambled eggs into my mouth I take a look around and notice that everyone--including me--eats with their left hand. I turn to Naomi and ask, "How come all of the Knightesses are left-handed?"

"It's not a coincidence," she explains as she studies a slightly discolored strawberry with a frown. She takes her fork and flicks it off her plate. "It is said that Uri is left-handed also and all Knightesses share that trait, no matter who they are. The first Knightess came up with the idea for a tattoo on every Knightesses' left hand so in case of an emergency other Knightesses will recognize them. Uri thought the idea as wise and gave her the Silver Sword, the only sword that magically engraves ink onto skin."

I glance down at my hand. I had taken off the bandage this morning. My skin was back to its regular color and no smoke was emitting from the tattoo. When I pressed my finger down on it I felt no pain. Strange. I continue the rest of my breakfast in silence, thoughts of gods and armor and tattoos swirling through my head. It's only when Naomi nudges me with her elbow that I realize Keva is standing from her seat and is addressing me of something. All of the Knightesses stare at me, waiting impatiently. "Yes?" I ask and this stirs up a few quiet laughs.

"I'm going over the regulations for you," she repeats.

"Oh. Well, go on, Head Knightess," I say, fighting the heat rising to my face.

Keva sighs and begins to explain the regulations. "The first regulation is to never abandon the Queen or the kingdom. This is seen as an act of betrayal. The second is to never be married or have children. This is seen as disloyal to the Queen and is considered an act of betrayal. The third is to always help an injured or dying Knightess, no matter what may happen to you. Refusing to help is seen as an act of betrayal."

She goes on for quiet a few minutes, her voice never wavering and remaining powerful. The other regulations seemed not that hard to follow, always be good to the gods and they will be good to you, always stay with the Queen in times of danger, always listen to the Head Knightess, stuff like that. It's the last one that seems the hardest to follow. "The final one is to cut off any relations with your family and friends of your old life. You may not speak, write, or make any sort of contact with them. Doing so is seen as an act of betrayal and is disloyal to the Queen."

I'm silent for a moment. "And if I break any of these?"

Now it's the Knightesses turn to go quiet. Keva finally speaks in a low voice, "What's the punishment for betrayal?"

I don't have to answer that. Nor does anyone else. Death.

There's an even longer silence after that. Everyone picks at their food or gives me curious glances and whispers to each other. Finally Keva picks up Bear's leash and orders, "To the Queen's chambers."

We pile out of the room, Keva in the lead. Sunlight streams through the windows, warming the chilly hallway. As I am admiring the view outside I catch sight of my reflection: a giant blueish-yellowish bruise on my jaw, multiple bruises all over my neck, dark purple circles under my eyes, and tendrils of blonde knots sticking out of my bun I tied at the nape of my neck. I wince at my ragged appearance.

"Aren't you a sight to behold," Cosette snaps from behind me and I hear two Knightesses laugh. I turn my head a bit and see two girls in their early twenties on either side of her. One has ashy brown hair and a giant gap between her two front teeth. She's so tall I wonder if her mother is a tree. I notice that the other hardly has any hair at all except for a reddish-gold fuzz covering her head and has burn scars across her scalp, face, and neck. She gives me an ugly glare when I look at her.

A hand grabs my arm and I turn to see Stealth. "Don't look at Scarlet. Her scars embarrass her," she says in a low voice.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

I barely hear Cosette's taunting as Stealth explains Scarlet's scars. "A few months ago we traveled with the Queen to the Eastern Villages because the Eastern Leader requested a meeting. As we were traveling we came through a village called Valor, or as most call it the Tree Village, because it's in the middle of a forest. Anyway, as we were traveling a group of villagers came up to us with torches and swords. They were protesting against Knightess Day, claiming that it's a death sentence."

They're not wrong, I think.

"One approached the Queen, waving an ax in the air threateningly. Scarlet took out her sword and ran up to them. She was able to only disarm and injure him, before another came up to her. This one had a torch. He swung it as if it were a sword and. . ." she trails off and nods sadly. "Let's just say about half of the Tree Village caught on fire."

I shudder as I imagine the pain of getting hit in the face with a torch. "Caught her hair on fire and most of her neck," Stealth whispers.

I sneak another glance at Cosette and the two women. Cosette and the other one are laughing bout something, but Scarlet stares at the ground with a frown, her arms crossed. I wonder if she heard us.