Chapter 2 – Plans and Preparations

Later that night, Sir Fredrick paced the living quarters, uneasy of what awaited the following morning. One glance at his wife told him that his wife felt the same. He turned his back to the open widow and walked towards her.

“Do you think I’m making the right decision?” Fredrick inquired, his voice filled with the mixed emotions he was experiencing. As much as he wanted to see his daughter experience the adventures he had at her age, he could not help but feel like he was putting her life in jeopardy.

“Dear,” Fredrick’s wife, Lady Catherine, replied calmly. “Do you remember your first adventure and at what age you were? Wasn’t it ten?”

“That is entirely different, Catherine. I was never in as much danger as Lillyan will be if this does turn out to be a dragon.” Fredrick replied with a hurt tone. “Besides, I wasn’t alone. Roland and my dog, Krill, were there almost every step of the way. Who will Lillyan rely on? I know Bren won’t let Derith or Eliza join her on her quest and Lillyan hasn’t any pets.”

“Fredrick, dear,” Catherine sighed patently. “You know our sweet girl is capable of protecting herself. Besides, she will not be alone; the Divine will protect her.” As she said this, a gentle gust of wind brushed her face.

Sir Fredrick ceased his pacing and passed a weary hand over his face. In his mind, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t doing enough to protect his daughter despite his wife’s convictions. If anything happened to Lillyan, he would never be able to live with himself.

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The fires were lit in the kitchen and the staff were feverishly preparing for the night’s feast of roasted boar. A servant was turning the pig on the spit while the remaining three cooks busied themselves with the pies, breads, and boiled vegetables. No one paid any attention to the presents of the two guests except to bow and address one of them as, “M’lady”. The queen had brought Lillyan to the kitchen in order to finish supplying her for her excursion.

Queen Margret was a short, stout woman with fiery red hair and bright honey-brown eyes. The splattering of freckles across her face gave her a youthful appearance. Wearing a simple gown that strained against her pregnant belly, anyone might have mistaken Margret as a lesser noblewoman.

Despite the hustle to finish preparing the banquet, Queen Margret maneuvered around the kitchen with ease, selecting rations and shoving them into a pack she was preparing for Lillyan’s journey. The sweet fragrance of the pastries and the hearty aroma of the salted meat and cheese were enough to cause Lillyan’s mouth to water. In her mind, this adventure would be every bit more exciting knowing she would have scrumptious food to eat. Queen Margret even added a leather-covered canteen filled with apple cider, which was Lillyan’s favorite drink next to sweet wild-berry wine.

“Here,” Queen Margret exclaimed as she handed the pack to Lillyan. “This should keep you going for some time while you’re out gallivanting after monsters! Remember, your cheese knife can be used to fend off any greedy critters!” Her freckles stretched as she grinned, tussling Lillyan’s honey blonde hair affectionately.

“I hope the king will consider me for knighthood when I return. After all, I will be proving my bravery by doing this.” Lillyan blurted. “Don’t you think so, Margret?”

Still smiling, the Queen’s facial expression unexpectedly had a pained look to it. With a sigh, Queen Margret said, “I think you are very brave, but you know that it is the law that says girls cannot become knights. When I was your age, they wouldn’t let girls train to be pages or squires either. In fact, you have me to thank for the change in that rule…” Margret cut short her rant when she spied Lillyan’s crestfallen demeanor.

“I mean,” Queen Margret quickly corrected herself, “I will talk to King Roland about it. If you do help the kingdom with finding out more about this monster, there should be enough public opinion to bring up the issue. Until then, what do you say to a race to the great hall? Winner gets to choose the after dinner story?”

“You’re on!” Lillyan perked up. “Be ready to hear the Tale of Sir Ballard again, Margret! Or should I say, Looser?!”

“Only in your wildest dreams, Slowpoke!” Queen Margret laughed. “Should I give you a head start?”

“If you do, I’ll make it there and be back before you can reach the kitchen door! Let’s go… NOW!” With that, Lillyan bolted towards the open kitchen door and down the hallway with the young queen hot on her heels.

----

After dinner came the traditional storytelling time, and since Lillyan won the race, she requested her favorite tale of Sir Ballard. This particular story was entitled Sir Ballard and the Ice Wyrm. It depicted how the legendary warrior, Sir Ballard, won a battle against a frost drake of the northern mountains by forging a magical sword made of diamond. This blade became Sir Ballard’s famous Frost Blade.

Sir Frederick had often told Lillyan that Sir Ballard not only existed but also was their greatest ancestor. When he was young, Sir Frederick had traveled with Prince Roland in search of Frost Blade, but never with any success. Lillyan had begun to imagine she would seek out the fabled sword one day and follow her father’s example.

When the story ended, the children of the castle were told to head the bed. Derith and Eliza walked with Lillyan to their quarters. It was the first chance that the other two had to talk with their friend since she had been given task of tracking down the monster. While Eliza looked excited at her friend’s unexpected turn of events, Derith could not hide his worry.

“What’s wrong you, Derith?” Lillyan asked as they climbed the stone stairway. It wound around in a spiral as it led to the upper floor. The stairway was only wide enough for two adults to walk abreast, bare walls on either side with only the occasional torch in their scones to light the way. Lillyan and Eliza were in front and Derith trailed behind them.

“He’s been in a foul mood all day, Lilly.” Eliza complained. “You missed it. When he heard that you were going adventuring tomorrow, he quit working on polishing the saddles and stormed out of the stable! Looked like a baby to me!”

“Liar! I didn’t quit! I was finished when you came and told me!” Derith bawled. “Stop making up stuff, Liza, or I’ll tell our Dad!”

“Tattle-tale!” Eliza shouted, glaring venomously at her brother. “If you tell Dad, I’ll tell him you called me a “Liar”!”

“Stop it, Eliza! I was asking Derith something, not you!” Lillyan shouted.

Eliza gave her a dirty look then crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I was just having a bit of fun, Lilly! Who made you the boss of me? Just because you get some big, important quest, you think you can tell me what to do?” Resentment colored each word that Eliza spat.

“I’m not being bossy; I’m just tired of hearing you two fight each other! If I had a brother…” Lillyan began.

“But, you don’t.” Eliza snapped. “You’ll never know what it’s like. So, stay out of it!”

“What is going on here?” a new voice interrupted over the raucous. All three children turned to see the owner of the voice was none other than Sir Bren the Lesser, Eliza and Derith’s father. “You’re making enough noise to wake a giant. Shouldn’t you three be in your beds? What is the argument about?”

Eliza and Derith averted their gaze while both had beat-red faces. Only Lillyan meet Sir Bren’s gaze. His sage-green eyes were identical to his son’s while neither of his children inherited his sandy-blonde hair. Sir Bren’s face was untarnished by facial hair; allowing his angular features reminded Lillyan of a golden eagle, his aquiline nose giving him a blunt beak appearance.

“Well,” Sir Bren asked again. “Would someone tell me why three young folk such as yourselves are busy squawking about rather than resting up for tomorrow? What could possibly be so important?” His voice was almost velvety, smooth and dark, completely betraying his slight build. It was filled with as much amusement as it was with curiosity.

“Um…” All three children began at once. Then Derith stepped forth to face his father. “It’s my fault. I called Liza a liar.”

Both girls’ jaws dropped. Derith was taking the blame when he had barely contributed to the quarrel. Although it was in his nature to be the peacemaker, his selflessness never ceased to astound the others. Even Sir Bren could not hide his surprise at his son’s directness.

Raising an eyebrow, Sir Bren inquired, “And why did you call your sister a liar? Eliza, do you have anything to tell me?”

When Eliza remained silent, head bowed, Derith decided to continue, “Lilly was asking me something when Liza began to exaggerate what I did. So, I called her a liar.” Then, turning to his ashamed sibling, Derith added, “Sorry, Liza.”

“I forgive you, Der, and I’m sorry I made up that stuff about you.” Eliza mumbled, her facing turning a deeper shade of red, though if it was due to feeling guilty about her actions or to aggravation towards her brother, it was unclear. Lillyan guessed it was probably both.

“And I’m sorry, Lil, for what I said.” Eliza sighed as turned to only friend, her facial expression more genuine then before.

“It’s ok,” Lillyan game her friend a weak smile. “I said things that I shouldn’t have either.”

“I guess that’s resolved,” Sir Bren said thoughtfully. “Thank you Derith for being honest. Eliza, please do not tease your brother. And Lillyan… you should probably go to sleep. You have a long journey tomorrow.” Before he left, Sir Bren added to his two children, “I will be back later to tuck you two in.” His voice was gentle now, underlying his affection that he felt towards his offspring that he was not always able to vocalize.

As soon as Derith’s father had passed out of sight, the children headed back up the stairway and began walking down the corridor that made up the residential wing. A few step away from their room Derith halted and tugged frantically on Lillyan’s sleeve. Lillyan turned toward Derith while Eliza stormed off ahead, evidentially irked by her brother’s saint-like behavior.

“Lil,” Derith whispered. “I’m afraid! What if something bad happens to you out there? There are all sorts of beasts out there, not to mention the monster itself!” His eyes were wide with fear as he imagined hideous wolves and bears hiding in the deep forests.

“Is that why you were worried?” Lillyan asked, ever so slightly offended at the notion of her helplessness. “Derith, I know what I’m doing. I can defend myself if you can remember our sparring sessions? Just because I’m a girl doesn’t make me weak.”

“I’m being serious, Lil! The monster might eat you before you can fight back! It has burned villages! Why do you have to be the one to spy on this murderous thing? You’re not a knight!” After the words came out, Derith knew he had done it. Lillyan would doubtlessly perceive his warning to be a challenge.

However, instead of responding, Lillyan gave Derith a smoldering look of contempt before marching off, head held high in defiance. I’ll show them, Lillyan thought scornfully. I will find this monster and I will be a hero!

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In the shadows of the Black Peak Mountains, a large figure slunk through the dense Ebony Forest towards a sleepy village that lay nestled beyond the forest’s fringes. Smoke drifted from the chimneys, mingling with the morning mist that hung in the air. A dog barked nervously as he caught the scent of the creature lurking in the darkness.

A cruel expression passed over the monster’s face as he spied movement in the rickety houses. Despite the distressed sounds of the villages’ animals, the townsfolk were slow to stir. Even the small handful of guards the village managed to house were dragging themselves out of what must have been a deep sleep. None present appeared ready for a fight. Peace and tranquility had left the land lazy. With only the occasional wild animal and rare bandit, the guards spent more of their time working other jobs than keeping up their practice of swordplay and archery.

“Fools!” the creature growled contemptuously to himself. “They think themselves safe? This will be all the more pleasurable, I dare say.” Peeling his lips back into a vile sneer, revealing dagger-like teeth, the monster crouched low and prepared to pounce.

After spending several minutes vainly scouring the nearby terrain for any sign of threat, villagers reluctantly returned to their daily lives. Only the dog continued to bark and whine into the darkened woods. One guard patted the dog to reassure him. Glancing over in the direction where the mutt still stared intensely, the man gave a start. For a moment, he spotted what looked to be glowing white orbs in between the trees, almost like eyes of a giant beast. But as soon as he had seen it, the orbs disappeared, leaving only the haunting feeling of being watched.

Next Chapter: Chapter 3 - The Dragon in the Woods