The Robber Knight's Secret

13. Honor among Enemies

The girl completely ignored him. Turning towards Gregor, she said with a kind smile: "I most sincerely apologize for what nearly happened here, Sir Knight. Rest assured that you will not be harmed in any way. I give you my word."

"Thank you, gracious lady." Gregor's voice was as raspy as a file, but he tried to make the best of it. "I owe you my deliverance. If ever you should need it, my swordarm shall be at your service."

The young lady nodded earnestly, while in the background, the red knight gave a derisive snort. The girl then proceeded to Blasius, and with the same look of kindness she had directed at Gregor, told him: "And to you, Sir, too, I offer my most heartfelt apologies. Rest assured that you will be taken down as soon as possible. Have you been harmed in any way?"

"Mmm! Mpf! Mhmmpf!"

The girl examined Sir Blaisus for a moment, than half-turned to direct a quizzical look at the red knight. "Reuben? Why has this man a rag stuffed into his mouth?

"That was the only way I could get him to shut up," the red knight growled. "Funny, actually, considering I came down here to try and make him talk."

"I cannot see anything funny about that!"

"You don't appreciate my humor, Milady? I'm hurt."

In that moment, Gregor made a decision. Watching the two of them, He had slowly been developing a hypothesis, and he thought now was the time to test it. He cleared his throat.

"Um... excuse me? Milady? Are you by any chance the Lady Ayla von Luntberg?"

The young girl turned towards him. "Oh? Didn't I introduce myself? I'm so sorry, how forgetful of me. Yes, I am Lady Ayla von Luntberg." She performed a little curtsy, then, scowling, pointed to the red knight.

"And this scoundrel over there is Sir Reuben Rachwild von Riffgarten, my vassal and commander of my forces."

Reuben performed a gesture with his hand that, Gregor was quite sure, wasn't part of courtly etiquette. Ignoring the gesture, he smiled at the girl, working from the assumption that she was his best chance to get out of this room with his head still attached and all his limbs in working order.

"God's Greetings, Lady Ayla. I am Sir Gregor von Armsheim, knight of the Holy Roman Empire. I would bow, but, as you can see..." He looked up at the chains that fixed him to the ceiling. "...I am rather inflexible at the moment."

The lady of Luntberg waved imperiously to her commander. "Reuben? Let him down."

With a sigh, the red knight went to the wall, where Gregor's chains, which were looped through an iron ring on the ceiling, were attached to another iron ring set into the stone. He detached the chains, and, none too gently, lowered Gregor to the ground. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Gregor's legs gave out under him. They felt less like legs and more like pieces of straw invaded by an army of ants. And his chest! Up there in the air, he hadn't noticed it; he had been too busy with the pain in his wrists and thoughts of impending death. But now his ribs throbbed madly from the batering they had received in his joust with the red knight. A garbled moan escaped Gregor's throat.

"Sir Knight! Sir Knight, are you all right?"

From where he lay on the flagstones, Gregor could just see the the hem of a white dress. Lady Ayla. She was hovering over him, clearly concerned. Good God, what a gentle lady! For the first time, Gregor felt a twinge of remorse.

"Of course he isn't all right," he heard the indignant voice of the red knight from a distance. "He jousted with me! He won't be all right for at least a month. How many of his ribs are broken, by the way?" Now the giant man sounded mildly curious. "I didn't have a chance to check yet."