The Ivory Knight

Chapter 10

"What's the difference between an ordinary broadsword and a Claymore?"

Damien immediately launched into a long sermon on the subtle differences between his sword and the broadswords that some knights preferred to wield.

"It's got a wheel pommel, see?" He showed her the round, wheel-like circle that formed the end of the hilt. "This beauty boasts of a fourty-one inch blade. By the gods, it's heavy, but it's a formidable weapon!"

Adeleina stared, fascinated, at the broadsword. She'd never been much impressed by their bulky weight and bumbling blades, but Damien had made this one sound like a weapon fit for the god of war.

Damien withdrew the glinting blade and sheathed the sword, letting it slide in with a zip.

"Why are you up so early?" He asked, kicking a bit of straw off his boots.

Adeleina fidgeted uncomfortably where she stood. He did not know of her father's impulsive and rash decision yet, and Adeleina did not want to be the one to break the news to him.

"Why are you up so early?" Adeleina deflected his question clumsily. One of Damien's eyebrows went up, but he replied nonetheless.

"I'm always up this early. I don't like sleeping when there's daylight," he admitted.

Adeleina opened her mouth to reply, desperate to keep the conversation away from her, when scuffling footsteps scampered their way. An exerted boy, red in the face, burst around the corner and approached Damien and Adeleina.

"Sir," he bowed deeply. "My lady." He repeated the greeting to Adeleina, whose heart sank until it rested in the lowest pits of her stomach. "His Majesty requests your presences in the Great Hall."

"Umm...alright, then," Damien said, looking a bit taken aback. He turned to Adeleina, a bemused expression. "What's this? Am I in trouble?"

Adeleina struggled to not look terrified and furious at the same time.

"No, I don't think so," she told him, panicking slightly. "Listen, Damien--"

But he was already trailing after the eager little squire, and Adeleina had no choice but to follow him back into the castle.

♘♞♘

Adeleina hurried to catch up to the pair in front of her. She marvelled slightly at the boy's ability to trot along, quick as a filly. Her own legs scrambled faster to match his pattering pace and Damien's long strides.

They reached the entrance to the Great Hall. Adeleina grimaced at the solid doors she'd fled from mere minutes ago. The sounds of the councilmen's chattering had died away; she assumed they had concluded the meeting and were now sitting behind those doors, awaiting her and Damien's arrival.

She was right. As the doors swung open, Adeleina caught a glimpse of the councilmen, still sitting along the Great Hall. Her father sat on a large chair with a looming back. It wasn't his throne, Adeleina knew, for his throne was seldom used and usually sat in it's own room. Next to her father was King Dale, who sat on a slightly less lavish chair of his own. His face was bright red, and an elated smile stretched across his ample cheeks.

"Adeleina!" he shouted. The echos bounced off the polish stone floor and reverberated against the walls. "Damien!" he cried.

A bewildered expression fixated on Damien's face.

"What?" he asked, though it didn't seem as if he expected an answer. Adeleina pressed her lips together into a tight line. She should have told him about her father's decision the moment she'd seen him. Now, it was too late. Her father avoided her gaze awkwardly, shifting his eyes towards Damien. Adeleina scowled at him, though she was careful not to let Damien catch her agitated glare.