Knight of Kandor

Lena- Shopping

I stare at the back of Kal's door. How could I man I had known for two days almost pull my biggest secret from me? His honesty had wormed into me and it was scary. I enter my rooms to find Jessica in my bed. Well, our bed. We had shared one since we were children. Today was the first day of her moon-blood and the pain was always so intense that she never left the bed. I change quickly and hear her stir from her fitful sleep.

"Lena?" comes a drowsy voice in the dim light of the dying fire. 

"Yes, it's me, Jess. Do you need anything?" 

"Just hold me. That always helps the cramps." 

I crawl into the bed next to the poor girl and wrap my arms around her. Jessica relaxes a little and falls back to sleep. I stare off into the embers of the fire as the memory resurfaces in my sleep. My earliest memory. 

The heat of the flames scorch my face. Strong arms pull me backward. My scream mingles with the others trapped in the small burning hut. 

"Mama!' I  cry, somehow I know she is in there. 

I want to run to her but the man in cold metal pulls me away. I am then wrapped tightly in a blanket and thrown in the back of a cart. Cold seeps in as the cart jerks away from the burning building. The blanket is so tight I cannot wiggle free. Tears lull me to sleep with the rocking of the wheels. In an hour I stand in front of the tall women as she examines me. I hold tightly to the blanket that still smells like smoke. 

"Yes, this is the one. Our future Queen." 

Jessica wakes me as usual in the morning. Pastries and hot tea sit a the small table next to the stoked fire. Jessica begins the long process of readying me for the day. Today we were not holding court, I wanted to venture into the town. Spending the crown's coin on local shops helped give back the money they paid in taxes. Also seeing the royal family among them inspired trust and loyalty. 

When Jessica is done fussing over me she dresses herself. We exit my chambers to see a boy handing a sword to Kal and taking the one he had apparently strapped on this morning. The boy grins at the small coin pressed to his hand and hurries off.

"New sword?" I ask as he adjusts the baldric on his shoulder. I see him almost unconsciously lift the hilt and let it settle back in. 

"Old sword, just repaired by your Master Armorer." I nod and head down the hallway. 

Kal looks confused when I take a different turn to go to the courtyard instead. I had sent for the horses to be saddled and waiting earlier. Kal does not say a word but follows like an ever-present shadow. When we emerge into the sunlight the horses stand in the center of the courtyard with two stable hands. Two of the horses are the deep chestnut brown of the royal stock. The third is a barrel-chested white warhorse that I had never seen before. Kal's face lights up with more emotion than I thought was possible for him. He practically runs down the steps. The horse recognizes him and whinnies happily. It breaks free of the stable hands meets Kal at the bottom of the staircase. He nuzzles into Kal's chest and almost knocks him backward. 

"I assume you know this horse?" I ask as Jessica and I descend at a more elegant pace. 

"Comet and I have been together since I found him as a colt in a raided enemy camp. He had been abandoned and has been by my side ever since. This is the longest we have been apart." My joy at his apparent happiness was dampened by the last comment. Kal was man taken from everything he knew in order to protect me.

"Well, we will have to make sure you get more time with him. For now, we are headed to town."

"What for, my lady?"