Saving Summer

Chapter Eighteen: Riverside Chat

Sir Domnahl did not answer right away. He jumped down from his horse and opened up the satchel attached to the horse’s saddle. Taking out two carrots, Sir Domnahl walked in front of the horse and held one carrot out to it. The horse eagerly took the carrot from Sir Domnahl. Crunching sounds filled the air as the horse ate the carrot. Patting the horse on his back, Sir Domnahl moved to the other side of his horse and looked up at Penelope, who was still mounted on her horse.

“Before I answer, you should get off your horse,” Sir Domnahl said, holding the other carrot in his hand. “Give him a chance to rest before we return to the palace.”

He stepped aside to make room for her. Penelope climbed off of her horse. Sir Domnahl held the other carrot out to her and she took it. Penelope fed the carrot to her hungry horse who gobbled it greedily. A large overturned tree lay in the grass beside the bank of the river. Sir Domnahl seated himself on the overturned tree and glanced back at her. He patted the space next to him and Penelope got the hint. Once she sat down, Sir Domnahl chose that moment to speak.

“Tell me about the place that you are from,” he demanded. His eyes were focused on hers and his expression was serious.

Penelope blinked, “Why?”

“Because that is my question and since I won, you have to answer,” he replied, firmly.

Penelope laughed, “I still don’t know why you would want to know about where I am from. It really isn’t that interesting. Not like this place.” She waved a hand out in front of her for emphasis.

“That is how I feel about Prinaes,” Sir Domnahl told her. “I have lived here my entire life so I am used to everything here. But the idea of an entirely different place than this is fascinating.”

Penelope sighed. Never in her entire life would she think that the town of Gloverfield, Ohio would be interesting to anyone. It was a completely unremarkable place with nothing to do there except watch the corn grow. Nothing exciting ever happened there. Many people moved far away from there the first chance they received. 

“Trust me, where I am from is the furthest thing from intriguing,” Penelope commented. 

“Try me,” Sir Domnahl responded, looking intently at her.

Penelope inhaled deeply and exhaled. She really did not want to do this. Gloverfield was the most mundane place in existence. No one truly enjoyed living there and if they said that they did, it was a lie. The fact that nobody new ever stayed there long was proof enough for her. 

“Fine,” Penelope mumbled, “But be warned, where I am from is a dull place.”

“Let me be the judge of that,” Sir Domnahl answered, crossing his arms over his chest.

He fell silent as he watched her. Chirping birds and flowing water filled the air around them. Penelope stared back at Sir Domnahl in incredulous silence. He truly was serious and nothing that Penelope said would persuade him otherwise. Resigning herself, Penelope began to explain what life in Gloverfield, Ohio was like. 

Sir Domnahl did not speak the entire time that Penelope talked. He sat there and listened as Penelope told him all about the town, where she lived, where she worked, her past friends, and her family. The only time that Sir Domnahl chose to interrupt was when Penelope spoke of her mother’s struggles with raising her.

“You mean, she had no one to help support her after your father died?” he asked, flabbergasted.

Penelope shook her head, “No, she did it all by herself. My other relatives lived too far away to help out. My grandfather lives in Boston but that is several hundred miles away. And all of the men that my mother dated never brought up marriage. I thought the one who owned the horses would, but he got offered a job in Kansas and moved away.”

“He did not ask you and your mother to move with him to this Kansas place?”

“He did but my mother did not want to drag me away from my friends. She knew it was hard enough for me to make friends. It would have been even harder doing so at a new middle school.”

“Middle school?”

“That is what we call a school for 11-14 year old children,” Penelope explained, quickly. “But, yeah, my mother pretty much raised me by herself. It wasn’t easy for her but she did everything that she could to make our lives as happy as possible. I did well in school and activities so that I could get a scholarship - that is basically where someone gives you money to help pay for further schooling - and pursue my dream of becoming a teacher. I knew that we did not have a lot of money so schooling after high school would be out of reach for me if I did not receive one. I was so ecstatic when I got a music scholarship. My mother was so proud that she took me out to eat to celebrate.”

Sir Domnahl smiled, “Sounds like your mother was a wonderful lady.”

Penelope nodded and beamed, “Yes, she was. I miss her dearly.”

Penelope turned away from Sir Domnahl. Thinking about her mother was painful. Even though almost a year had passed since she died, it felt as though it had happened yesterday. Her mother had been her best friend. Life was much harder now without her in it. Especially when she thought about everything that her mother was going to miss. She would never see her get married and have a family of her own or spend time with her grandchildren. Not that Penelope had any prospects. No one in Gloverfield wanted to date her and Penelope did not want to date them. Penelope was not ugly but she was not pretty either. She was average. Her last relationship, if you could even call it that, had lasted a month. She ended things when she felt as though it was going no where. She could tell that the dude was not looking to settle down. All he seemed to care about was partying, and she was not about that lifestyle. 

Both of the horses were standing on the sandy bank of the river. Their heads were hung low as they drank from the clear water. Penelope watched them for a moment before looking back at Sir Domnahl. He was eyeing the horses as well. His hand brushed the hilt of his sword as he stared at the water. Penelope could not help feeling like her earlier suspicion that there were monsters swimming in the river was correct. She was now staring at the water as well but remembered that her weapon was currently back at the palace. If anything did show up, Penelope would be useless. 

The horses backed away abruptly from the water and behind the overturned log. Sir Domnahl stood up and Penelope followed. The surface of the water swirled around and something huge lurked beneath the depths. A long sword encrusted with fire opals came out of the holder attached to Sir Domnahl’s hip. The silver gleamed in the late afternoon sunlight as Sir Domnahl raised it as he moved into a defensive stance. He glanced over at Penelope who stood frozen to the spot.

“Get back!” he bellowed. “Whatever it is, it is going to attack. You don’t have a weapon so I need you out of the way!”