* * *
Jamaal.
He made his way silently through the cobblestone halls of the barracks. It was midday already, and he had seen nothing of Hiram. Isidro was still in the physician’s building, waiting for his wounds to be checked again, then he would likely return to the castle.
Jamaal reached the door to a private room. Private rooms were given only to a select few, such as the King’s right hand men. Without knocking, he pushed the door open, slipping inside. He waited for his eyes to adjust a moment. Hiram was passed out on the bed.
He glanced around, making note of the objects in the room. Checking that Hiram was still asleep, he went about rearranging the room.
It took a while, as moving silently was a slow process, but eventually every piece of furniture, minus the one Hiram slept upon, had been moved. Considering that this room was his friend’s perminant headquarters, that was quite a lot of change.
He stepped back to study his work. The table was above the bed, chairs all around it, with maps covering it once again. The benches were now stacked in front of the small window, for no apparent purpose, and the armour rack had been placed in the center of the room.
The armour was strewn about, some hanging from the ceiling, and some hidden among the piles of clothing from chests he had emptied out.
He had also left several new items in the room, including a horse tooth, a woman’s apron, several child’s toys, and even a cat. Satisfied, he slipped out of the room and back out to the castle grounds. He paused and glanced around. Now what?
Luckily for him (or more likely for his next victim), the gates opened and several riders entered the grounds. One of the horses pulled a small wagon. Jamaal hurried over, recognizing the Black Knights which had accompanied Hiram to Thaddias’s hideout.
He reached them as two soldiers unloaded someone from the back of the wagon. As he neared he recognized Herschel. The young warrior was unconscious, pale, and littered with bruises. “Get him to the physician!” He ordered the men carrying him.
He turned to the knights, scanning them. There appeared to be no injuries, only exhaustion. “Go to your barracks, get some rest. Others will take care of the animals.” Jamaal instructed, taking the reigns from their hands. The warriors bowed and left.
He led the animals to the stables, handing them off to several apprentaces. He turned and headed for the castle…
* * *
Hiram.
He wasn’t sure if it was the sunlight filtering through the dark curtains, or if it was the heavy footsteps passing his room, all he knew was that he was suddenly wide awake. He stared at the underside of his table, which was about an inch from his nose.
He moved to rest on his elbows, peering at the top of the table. It was covered in maps, just as before. He sighed and rolled out of bed, crawling out from under the table. If not for how valuable the maps were, he would’ve just thrown it out of the way. Jamaal probably did it like that on purpose.
Glancing around, Hiram decided not to bother finding all his armour at the moment, as it was strewn about.
He glanced down at himself. He was wearing trousers and baggy shirt. It would have to do. He opened the door and headed out.
Once outside, he felt underdressed without his armour, as he rarely went without it, but he ignored the feeling and headed towards the castle.
Last night's events slowly began returning to him, and he began to realize that it was over. Thaddias and Damon were dead, and the barbarians were sure to disban over the next several days. If not, he and his men would drive them out.
He entered the castle and followed the smell of food, quickly locating it in the smaller dinning room. Caspian, Tamar, Jamaal, and Isidro were already there, filling their plates.
He patted Isidro’s shoulder as he passed. “I see you survived the night.” He joked, sitting down.
His friend waved him off. “Just a flesh wound.”
Tamar rolled her eyes. “Right, a three-inch-deep stab wound is just a flesh wound.” She said sarcastically. Caspian smirked but remained silent, listening to the banter.
Isidro just nodded seriously. “So was Hiram’s earlier injury, he really should’ve been up and about the next day.” He commented just as Hiram was taking a sip of his drink.
He nearly choked, and put the cup down, sputtering. “Oh yeah,” He rasped. “-sorry about that, should’ve realized it was just my flesh that got impaled.”
Isidro nodded and raised his cup, as though to toast to that, though he couldn’t cover the wince as he lowered it. Hiram opened his mouth to comment- Caspian cleared his throat, gaining their attention.
“Okay kids, before we start comparing battle scars, we need to discuss our next move.” Hiram and Isidro exchanged glares, then returned their attention to him.
“I want Isidro and Jamaal to place their attention on training the troops. I would put Hiram on it instead of Isidro, but I need an uninjured man to deal with the remaining barbarians.”
Caspian turned to him. “Hiram, I want our men sent out to drive out the barbarians. Be careful not to send them into Laotrem. We don’t want any problems with King Esteban. If they return to No-Man’s-Land, let them. We will clear that area later.”
The Three nodded in agreement, returning their attention to their food, minds figuring out the details of their assignments…
* * *
Tamar.
She couldn’t help but study The Three as they finished their meal and stood to leave. It was the first time she was seeing them all without their armour, aside from the past times they’d been injured, and it felt as though she was getting a glimpse of them before they were Royal Knights. Before their duty became their only concern.
Hiram was large, as usual, but Isidro was suprisingly thin without the armor (though he was still well built). Jamaal and Isidro were nearly the same build, though Jamaal was a bit shorter than the other two. Isidro and Hiram were the same hight.
When they were gone she turned to Caspian. “What are your plans for the day?” She asked, planning to use his response to decide on her own day.
“I think it would be wise if I joined the men for some training excersizes. What were you thinking?” He inquired, studying her carefully.
She thought a moment. “Perhaps I will come along and watch.” She decided. It would be good for the men assigned to protect her, to actually see her taking interest in their work.
He nodded again, seeming to have figured out her purposes. “I suggest you bring your sword. You may want it.” He said, standing.
She slowly nodded, though she hoped she wouldn’t feel the need to use it. The idea of practicing her inferior skills in front of the men who had been training for most of their lives… Her stomach knotted at the thought. She hurried out of the room, determined not to slow him down.
By the time she had reached the entrance, Caspian was already there, adjusting the last few pieces of his armour. She couldn’t help but glance down at her dress. She had put on a shorter one, to make movement easier. When she looked up she found him smiling down at her.
“You’re fine. No one expects you to participate, let alone need armour.” He reasured, offering an elbow. She accepted, letting him lead her out and towards the area where the men were training.
There were several fenced in arenas where the men took turns sparring. Others raced through obsticle courses. Caspian led her to one of the arenas, finding a spot where they could easily observe the matches and stay out of the way.
She noticed knights trying not to stare, but ignored their gazes, watching the swordfight in front of her. Cheers filled the air as one knight narrowly avoided a heavy blow to the head. She noticed Isidro standing on the other side of the arena, near the match.
Isidro spotted them and made his way over to them, saying something into Caspian’s ear. She strained to hear over the shouting all around, but couldn’t.
Caspian nodded once and turned to her, lowering his mouth near her ear so she could hear him. “Isidro is going to keep you company while I go get warmed up, okay?”
She just nodded, not bothering to try raising her voice above that of the crowd. He studied her an extra moment, trying to make sure she was okay with it, then turned and made his way through the crowd towards the obsticle courses. She lost sight of him and returned her gaze to the match in front of her.
* * *
Caspian.
It took two runs through the course to get back into the swing of things, then he decided to do one more run. The crowd watching was gathering larger and larger as word spread about his presence. The men wanted to see their King in action.
He approached the starting line again, waiting as the man in front of him finished his run. The pressure felt intense as he felt many eyes watching him. He crouched slightly and closed his eyes a moment, letting his mind take him back to the days when he was just another knight. A time when the only pressure was that of the men wanting him to succeed.
He opened his eyes and nodded to the man keeping track of the times, telling him he was ready. The man raised the flag and Caspian dug his feet in, waiting. The flag dropped and he took off, leaping over logs rapidly. He reached the rope and leapt, grabbing on and grappling his way up the fifteen feet of it and onto the platform above.
He grabbed the bow and arrows off the small table there, raising the bow and taking careful aim at the target across from him. He was dimly aware of the man keeping track of the time, but tuned him out. He released his breath and the arrow simultaniously, nailing the target perfectly.
He began to run, jumping down the various decks, each about three feet down from the last. As he ran, he continued firing arrows at targets, hitting each one on the way down. He reached the last deck and leapt, rolling onto one knee and firing the last shot. It hit its mark. He’d finished.
Now he became aware of the cheering all around, and rose to his feet, turning to the timekeeper. Fourty seconds. He was just three seconds more than the current record.
Hiram approached him, challenge in his eyes, though a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Looks like I need to defend my title.”
Caspian nodded. “Lets head for the ring.” He agreed. The pair made their way through the throng of bodies, followed by the crowd. Everyone was eager to watch their commander battle the King.
_______
Author note;
I know I've been gone a while, but I wanted to give y'all some new material now in case I don't have time before my trip.
So, Caspian and Hiram are going to battle, who's going to win? Thoughts? \_/