The Hellknight's Savior

Chapter Three: Magic

King Ibrinkal led Talia through many torch-lit halls towards the heart of the castle. It seemed the farther they went towards the center of the castle, the narrower the halls became. Soon the halls felt as if they were pressing down on Talia. With each step, her breath quickened and her fear escalated until she didn’t think she could take any more of it. When they came to a door, she felt instantly relieved.

The King opened the door to reveal a small chamber furnished with homemade things. Everything in the room seemed to have one shorter leg causing them to wobble when touched. There was no light except for three candles placed in a triangle on the floor. Each candle was a different color. One black, one red, and one white. The candles lit the entire room even though it seemed that they shouldn’t. It must be magic, Talia thought amazed.

King Ibrinkal motioned for her to sit on the floor in the center of the candles. When she did, she felt a tingling sensation in her arms and legs that quickly spread throughout her body. A look of pleasure crossed her face.

“I’ve never felt anything like this!”, she said in awe.

“It’s one of the simplest protective spells to learn. I will teach it to you before you leave. Then, before you sleep each night you can cast the spell and be safe.”

Talia was overwhelmed with happiness. She jumped up and gave the King a hug. For the first time since setting out, she felt like she might have a chance now. “Thank you so much. It seems that I’m undeserving of this gift though. After all, I caused the death of one of your maids, I’ve ruined this dress, and I’ve disturbed the peace that you have had.”

“No dear,” King Ibrinkal said, “You didn’t disturb the peace. Bralec did. And the dress is nothing.”

“But if I wouldn't have come here, then Bralec wouldn’t have attacked me!”

“Child, the peace would have been disturbed soon enough. If the Hellknight isn’t stopped, then there will be no peace,” the King admonished her, “But I must warn you, the situation is not what it seems.”

“What do you mean?” Talia sat down again.

The King’s face showed uncertainty. “I’m not sure.” He sat down too and put a finger to his chin, thinking. After a while he said, “It’s not very clear, but when I meditate a vision comes to me where the Hellknight is filled with grief and sorrow. There is no hatred or malice in him and the outline of his body is blurred. I’m almost certain there is magic involved. But it seems to me, that the Hellknight has no control over what he does. That someone has cast a spell over him. That would explain the blurred outline.”

“Wow,” Talia said. “I never would have thought that he might be under a spell.”

“Most people wouldn’t,” the King said. “Most people want someone to be the enemy and they have chosen the Hellknight. But he may not even be the real enemy. Just a vessel of someone else’s evil and power. So you need to proceed with caution.”

“I’ll heed your warning. Could you teach me the protective spell so that I can just continue on my journey tonight?”

“I’ll teach it to you. But I think you’ll find yourself too tired to continue on tonight. Besides, I wouldn't want you to miss the dinner my castle has prepared.” The King stood and helped Talia up, taking her arm.

“But…,” Talia protested.

“No buts. We are going to go have dinner now. If you’ll please follow me, I shall escort you to the dining hall,” King Ibrinkal said, bowing deeply and extending his arm for Talia to take.

“Oh alright. But you’re not always going to get your way every time,” Talia warned, pretending exasperation.

The King grinned impishly. “We shall see.” He opened the door with his free hand and led Talia into the hallway, her eyes opened wide in surprise.

“Oh!”, she gasped. “What happened to the long hallway?”

King Ibrinkal smiled. “It’s a mind trick. To everyone its different. It’s spelled to show you your own fears. Some of the best protection magic can do.”

“This castle amazes me,” Talia said shaking her head.

In no time at all, they reached the dining hall where the guests were enjoying their dinner. Most were dressed in silks but a few could be seen in cotton. Looking around she asked, “Why do the servants eat at the table with us, Your Majesty?”

“Here, status does not matter. After all it is the ‘servants’ as you put it, who put the food on the table for us. Without them, we would have no food, so they are respected guests at the dinner table.” As the King led her to their seats, no one even looked up to greet their King.

I don’t think I’ll ever get use to the customs here she thought to herself, amazed. As she waited for food to be served to her, she looked around the great hall. Banners were hung around the walls depicting several of the family crests on them, some of which she had seen on the house doors in the city. Great tapestries portrayed glorious battles and magnificent beasts.

Her eyes roamed around the room before falling on the people before her. It seemed that there was several races here; dwarves, humans and elves. There must be some kind of gathering going on she thought.

Her nose told her that her food had finally arrived. She breathed in deeply of the aroma. The smell blended perfectly of chicken and garlic, just the way she preferred her chicken. Next to her chicken were stewed carrots and potatoes. There was a basket on the table filled with bread, a glass of wine was placed to the right and a salad on the left.

“Your Majesty,” Talia whispered, “would it be alright if I just had water instead of wine?”

“Of course,” he said. At once a glass of water replaced the wine. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

“I believe I have everything else that would be possible for you to get that I want.”

“Well, let’s dig in then.” King Ibrinkal grabbed a fork and began to eat his potatoes.

Talia picked up her own fork and ate her carrots. Next, she worked on her chicken. When she had eaten the salad and potatoes, her plates were cleared away and dessert was brought. She chose to eat the pudding. Glancing up she saw Grolden and Alondra. Grolden smiled and waved at her. She returned the smile but kept her hands in her lap.

As she waited for dinner to finish, she thought of her task. If magic is involved, she thought then I am the wrong person to deal with this. I am no sorceress or witch. As she continued to think, her thoughts turned to the past week.

Of finding Shadow on the side of the road. The horse not leaving her alone, no matter what she did to scare it away and following her every day until she gave in and rode him.

Then her thoughts turned to the events of Freykonia. Meeting Grolden, Alondra, the King, and the twins. Last of all, she thought of Bralec and wondered why he had tried to kill her. When she thought of his face as he fell, horror creeped in at what she had done. She had never killed someone before. Then she remembered the dress. She looked down and gasped.

The King, who had almost finished with his pudding, looked at her. “Is anything the matter?”

“The dress!”, Talia uttered. “The blood is gone!” She looked closer at it. “It’s as if it was never there to begin with!”

Those at the table stopped and looked at her. Some looked annoyed that she had disrupted their dinner, others gazed at her curiously. Seeing everyone staring at her, Talia blushed and stared at her glass of water.

The King, who found all of this amusing, was smiling. Soon he started to chuckle. Talia looked at the King and glared. “Your Majesty, I do not find this funny! One minute, there is blood on this dress.” she grabbed it and pulled at the spot to show him where. “And the next, it’s not there! I would appreciate it if you would stop laughing at me and tell me how!”

This made the King laugh harder. Talia crossed her arms and kept glaring. By now everyone was looking at her and whispering, but Talia didn’t care. She wanted answers and she wanted them now. Finally, the King stopped laughing but his smile was still present. “How does anything else happen here? By magic, of course!” The King added merrily at Talia’s look of bewilderment, “I see I will have to teach you about all the things magic can do, for you seem not to understand what people with magic are capable of.”

The King rose from his seat. “Ladies and Lords, please excuse the two of us, for we have pressing business to attend to. Please enjoy the rest of your meal.” At those words everyone began to eat once more. Hardly anyone paid attention to Talia and the King as they left.

“We shall go back to the chamber we had been in before to finish discussing matters and to teach you the spell,” King Ibrinkal stated.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty. May I ask you a question?”

“I don’t think anyone could stop you from asking a question. So I guess the answer is yes,” he replied impishly.

Talia smiled. “You are probably right. What I wanted to ask is if that chamber was your study, where were all the books?”

“Hidden with magic. Just like many a rooms and things in this castle. I’ve lived here for a long time and I’m sure there are rooms and things hidden by magic that I haven’t found yet. Maybe one day you could help me search for them.”

Talia looked at him questioningly. “Are you saying that you would like to have me come back?”

“And why not? You’ve been splendid company and have made things exciting for a while.”

When they came to the door the King opened it and paused. “Now, the only way anyone can enter this room is with my permission, so you need have no worries about anyone trying to harm you in there.”

Talia stepped through the door and an arrow flew at her. Talia instinctively dodged and put her hand to her dagger. I wish I would have brought some other kind of weapon she thought. One made for battle. Her eyes scanned the room slowly, searching for whoever had shot the arrow. No one else was in the room except the King.

“Well done,” said King Ibrinkal.

“What!?” Talia said in disbelief, spinning around.

“You can take your hand from your dagger. There’s no danger here,” he said calmly.

“You shot an arrow at me!” Talia exclaimed. “Why? You could have killed me!”

“Calm down child,” the King said impatiently. “I was testing your reflexes, which are quite good. You moved fast. That is important in battle. And as for killing you, I missed on purpose. If I wanted it to hit you, it would have.” He rubbed his hands together and his eyes glinted with mischief. “Now let’s get down to business, shall we?”

King Ibrinkal showed Talia all the steps to the spell. When he was through he made Talia try. The first time, nothing happened. The second time, there was light but when she stepped into the triangle she didn't feel anything. Finally after several more attempts, Talia did it.

She clapped, jumping up and down and smiled widely. “I did it! I did it! Can you believe it?” She turned to the King who was bent over laughing. “What’s so funny?”, she asked, looking confused. “I did do it, didn’t I?”

The King started to gasp for air. “I... I…. can’t…. stop laughing.” The King finally gained control of himself and said, “The way you jumped and shouted, that was exactly how a child would act.”

“Well, I’m sorry for my behavior but I’m happy. I’ve never done magic before. It was quite exciting.” Talia yawned loudly. “I’m really tired now or else I’d do it again.”

The King smiled. “I told you that you would be. But I believe you’re so tired from trying to do it so many times. I know you’re tired but you need to do it again. If you can do it without a mistake while you are tired then you will have mastered it.”

“But I’m so tired!”, Talia protested. “What if I fall asleep while casting the spell? Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“It would. But I sense that you have enough strength left to do it five more times and still make it to your room before falling asleep. Now quit being childish and do it.”

Talia stuck her tongue out and performed it again. “Are you happy now?” she asked, crossing her arms. “I want to go to bed now, if that's alright with you.”

The King rolled his eyes. “You might as well,” he said, “because I don’t think I could get you to do anything else in the mood you’re in.”