The Apathetic Knight

Chapter 5.1 - Kynareth

Chapter 5 – Kynareth

Sometime in the night, my dreams took a turn for the worst; I had a dream that the Crowned Prince was forcing himself on me, despite my begging and pleading to be let go.

My heart was racing, and it wasn't until I felt my body shaking and heard my name breaking through, shining into the dream like a beacon of light, that I awoke with a startle.

I gasped for air, choking and sputtering into the cool night air of my room, Seryn by my side, his hands on my shoulders.

He took a deep breath of relief when I came to.

"Are you alright, my lady?" He asked me, patting my shoulder.

I shook my head. "That...I had nightmares," I whispered. "And I think...I think these nightmares will end up coming true..." I said, glancing toward the window of my chambers.

He seemed to understand what I meant, and pulled me into a light embrace before he held a glass of water out for me.

I drank greedily, before I went to lay back down. He went to stand, and I reached out, grabbing the sleeve of his shirt, stopping him.

He glanced down at me, waiting, and I hesitated.

"Could...could you...?" I asked, clenching my eyes closed. "Could you...stay with me?" I asked.

He wordlessly made my hand let go of his sleeve, before he walked around my bed, sliding in beside of me on top of the blankets, and I sighed as I curled into his side.

*

November, 313 A.R.

It was the annual hunt, when all of the noble families would gather together on a large property, to go hunting. It was to celebrate the upcoming feast of thanksgiving, and it was also an opportunity for Knights and other nobles to gain favor among noble ladies who they had their eyes on.

For example, though my personal knight was obligated to offer all of his prey to me, another Knight could ask me for their favor and offer their prey to me as well. If he did so, it meant that he fancied me, and if things didn't work out with my engagement, then he would be on the list of candidates to take that position for himself.

It was, in simple terms, a way for men to parade around peacocking in front of the noble ladies, while also earning brownie-points for their hunting ability.

Of course, the game varied from small creatures, to large, dangerous beasts. A man would get a certain number of points for each kill, based on the animal and its size.

At the end of the hunt, the woman who had the largest number of offerings would be deemed the Diamond of the Hunt, and her positive reputation in society would skyrocket dramatically.

It was a great honor that every woman looked forward to, because if she earned the title, she would begin receiving invitations to all sorts of parties, she would be sent gifts, and in general she would be highly sought after.

That morning, my knight awoke me at dawn, sending for the maid and letting her know that I was awake and ready to get prepared, as the hunt would be starting later that morning and we had a great deal to prepare.

The hunt would last for twenty-four hours, and so we would be staying out in tents overnight, thus we truly did have a lot to prepare for.

Children under the age of thirteen were not allowed to participate, so this was both mine and my brother's first hunt, and we were both very excited.

When Seryn left the room to go and help get my things loaded into the wagon, I brought Alice to the side quickly.

"Has it been prepared to my specifications?" I asked, and she nodded enthusiastically, pulling on the summoning rope three times, and within a couple of minutes, two strapping man-servants came in, bringing a heavy-looking chest, and another servant came in, carrying a wrapped weapon. I smiled, unwrapping the sword quickly to make sure it was how I had asked for, and it was. "Good, good!" I said, before re-wrapping it and then looking inside the chest. "Perfect. Everything is as I had asked for." I took a deep breath of relief. "Aright, you may go," I told the other servants.

Alice beamed a smile at me. "These are also ready, my lady," she said, holding up a small box filled with embroidered ribbons.

When a man asked for a lady's favor, if she chose to accept his favor, she would present him a ribbon to be tied to the hilt of his sword.

At the end of the hunt, the woman who received the most impressive beast as an offering would present the man who had given her that offering with a handmade tassel, which I had spent quite some time making after many lessons. Each lady made one, just in case, but earning the tassel was an extraordinary honor, that let everyone know that the hunter who had earned it was the supreme hunter of that year's hunt. It was a special way to honor that hunter.

My ribbons were a light, sky blue color, with golden embroidery, and the tassel that I had made was gold and silver thread braided together, with blue beads braided into the knotwork.

I had done quite a fine job, if I said so myself.

As I was getting dressed in my gown for the hunt ceremony, a beautiful sky-blue gown with silver and gold embroidery and trim and lace accents, there was a knock on my door.

Alice went and peeked out the door, and smiled, letting Seryn know that I wasn't decent quite yet, and he waited outside the door for another moment as she finished getting my gown situated into place and tying it.

Then, she got my hair fixed into a high pony-tail with braids in it, before she went and opened the door for him.

"She's ready now, sir Seryn," she said.

Seryn stepped in, and stopped as soon as he saw me, before he kneeled. "You look lovely, Lady Kynareth."

I blushed, smiling at him. "Thank you, Seryn."

He stood, coming over to me when I waved him closer. "What is it, my lady?"

I gestured to the chest with the weapon laying on top of it. "It is a bit over-due, but I had wanted to wait for today to present it to you..." I said, and he glanced at me in surprise, before he went to the chest, lifting the sword off of it first, unwrapping it.

The sheath was silver, with black accents, onyx and sapphire stones embedded into the sheath. He pulled the sword out of the sheath, and startled at the beautiful black blade with its silver hilt. At the very base of the blade, there was a sapphire embedded into the blade, much like a broach, and silver bladework down the blade in fantastic designs, shining along the blade.

"This sword," he breathed, running his fingers along the blade. "It is such a high quality...the finest-quality blade I have ever had the privilege to hold," he said, looking at it with awe. "It is stunning."

I grinned at him. "Look inside the chest," I said, unable to hide my excitement.

He sheathed the sword before he set the sword aside, and then he opened the chest. He gasped, looking at the armor set that rested inside.

"My lady..." He breathed.

The armor was silver, shining luminously, with black and gold designs engraved into the chest plate, arm-guards, legs...

The cape was a marvelous, rich black material with silver and gold embroidery designs, with sky blue designs embroidered along the bottom hemline, and the cloth that covered the thighs was a rich black with silver and gold embroidery, blue designs embroidered in the bottom corners of the hemline.

Beside of the armor rested two identical uniforms, very similar in design to the armor, as well as a new pair of black gloves, a pair of black boots, and even a new mask that matched the sets of cloths and the armor, though the mask had onyx stones embedded into it as well as a bit of metal plating to help protect the eye area.

He gaped at me, surprise on his usually-stoic face. I simply smiled at him, before I reached and grabbed his hand.

"I would ask that you wear this armor and use this sword for the hunt," I smiled at him. "I would be honored."

He swallowed thickly, nodding. He led me to his adjoined room, having me sit in a chair, before he wordlessly went back to my room, and I heard the rustling and clinking as he dressed himself, fastening the armor and his weapon into place...

After about twenty minutes, he called me out. "I am ready, my lady," he said so that I could hear, and I stood, stepping out from his room, and I smiled when I saw him.

"You look powerful," I said, smiling. "I am glad that the measurements were right. I asked the servants to measure your previous armor in secret."

He chuckled, looking at himself in the mirror. "Yes, I am quite pleased, my lady. It is marvelous."

"Only the best for the best," I smiled at him in the mirror as I stepped up behind him.

He paused, before he lifted the new mask out of the chest. "My lady..." He turned to face me. "I have been your knight for two months, now, and with this...well, I..." He sighed. "I was nervous it may frighten you, so I hadn't wanted to show you. However, I hadn't expected for you to provide even a new mask for me. I am...offering you the chance to see my bare face, my lady. It is something that I have not shown anyone since the doctors first uncovered the bandaging and my servants provided me a mask to wear to hide it."

I gasped, covering my mouth. "I hadn't realized how severe it had been," I whispered. "You...haven't shown a single person your bare face since?"

He shook his head, before he reached out his hand, and I placed my hand in his offered hand. He lifted my hand to the mask secured on his face.

"Please," he said, soft. "You should, at least once, see the face of your knight. I should have offered the day that you awoke from subjugating me, but I was nervous about it."

I nodded. "Alice, turn around." She smiled and gave a nod, turning, and I unfastened the mask from the back of Seryn's head, and took it down before looking at his face.

The left side of his face, from his hairline to his jaw, had four deep, jagged scars. The skin was only slightly discolored, but I could see just how seriously he had been injured. It was an old, faded scar, but it was still so large and deep, damaging to his skin.

I wasn't afraid, and it wasn't grotesque or ugly as I had thought it would be.

It was simply there, something that was. Overall, even with the scar, he was an exceptionally handsome man. His eyes shined with emotion as I studied his face, and he startled when I reached up, lightly tracing the claw-marks with the tips of my fingers.

The skin was raised but smooth.

"You are beautiful," I whispered, and he gaped at me. "May...may Alice see it?" I asked.

He hesitated, but gave a nod.

"Alice?" I asked, and she turned, looking at him. She gasped, hands clutched over her heart, but she didn't look away. "Isn't he beautiful?" I asked.

She blushed, but gave a nod. "Very..." She looked at the new mask, and then back to him. "I...understand why you wear a mask," she whispered. "You are handsome, but the scar...it is frightening, and hard to look at for long."

I smiled. "I disagree," I said. "I feel...somehow comforted."

Seryn's eyes widened. "Comforted?"

"You've come through such an injury...still so beautiful and powerful. It gives me a sense of peace."

He smiled at me, shaking his head. "You are truly something, my lady," he said, bowing. "Thank you. You have truly liberated me in a way that I never could have anticipated. Thank you for being such a gracious master." He stood straight again. "If it comforts you, then I will leave my mask off when we are alone. I will only wear it when others are around." He lifted his new mask to his face, fastening it into place on the back of his head, before glancing into the mirror again. "A dangerous-looking knight, indeed," he chuckled, before he reached out for my arm. "My lady?" He asked, and I took his arm.

"Let's go," I said, and he smiled as he led me down the stairs and out to the drive around in front of the castle.

Everyone gasped, gaping at us, when we came into view.

"You finally got a new set of armor and a new weapon!" My father smiled at Seryn. "I am sorry it had taken so long; it took a while to make things to my daughter's very demanding specifications. It is hard to make metals in the coloring and quality that she demanded, but we saw it done."

Seryn bowed to my father. "Thank you for your care and consideration in its preparation, my lord. I am truly thankful."

My father smiled, and my brother came over, looking at the armor thoroughly.

"What a nice set of armor! Well designed, sister," he praised. "He looks very powerful."

I smiled. "Yes, though I might want to have another mask made for him," I said, thinking about somehow integrating the scars' designs onto a mask. He looked at me with a confused expression, but I smiled, waving it off.

"Well, we had better get going," my father said. He and his knight got loaded into his carriage, my brother loaded into his own carriage, and Seryn helped me and Alice get boarded onto my carriage.

It was a few hours of travelling by carriage to reach the property where the hunt would be taking place, and once we arrived, we sat that staff was busy setting up tents and preparing a stage for the event.

We got set up as we waited for the remainder of the nobility to arrive, and I tried to control my rush of fear and anxiety when the royal family arrived.

Once everyone had arrived, everyone gathered in front of the stage, and all of the noble ladies stepped up onto the stage, taking a seat at a long table full of snack foods, and we nibbled on some food as we awaited the King's declaration.

"Welcome to the annual Hunt!" He called, and everyone cheered and applauded before he had them settle. "We are honored to have all of you here with us today. This year, we have many new young nobles joining us for their first hunt, so let us be sure to show them an extra special good time!" He smiled, glancing toward me before looking at the crowd again. "One by one, I will name off each noble lady, and those who wish to earn her favor will step forward and present their sword."

Sure enough, one by one, each noble lady was called and men stepped up to present their swords, receiving ribbons and kneeling to the lady of their choosing.

My mother was called, and my father and his knight both asked for her favor. During this moment, I saw my brother lean toward his knight, whispering something to him, and Varo smiled, giving a nod and a small bow before they wrapped up their interaction.

"Lady Kynareth Renna Severing, aged thirteen, yet another girl here for her first hunt," the king called.

I saw the Crowned Prince heave out a heavy breath, but he stepped over to me, his gait confident, before he gave me a small bow rather an a full kneel.

"My dear betrothed," he said, glancing up at me. "I offer you my hunt, and ask for your favor," he said, before he leaned closer to me and whispered so that only he and I could hear. "If I were not obligated, as your fiancé, to do this, then you can rest assured that I certainly wouldn't be doing this. I do not like you. I am not doing this because I want your favor," he said, before pulling back, a smirk on his face as he held his sword up expectantly.