Kingdom's Quest (19 page)

“Keanna, would you care to take a ride with me?” he asked.

“Yes, I would enjoy that.”

They mounted their steeds and left camp to explore the beauty of the woods. The forest canopy provided a cathedral of green, and the cool of the evening was a relief from the heat of the afternoon. They stopped at a small stream and knelt down to drink the cold water. Gavinaugh watched Keanna as she lifted the water to her lips with her cupped hand. He was once again mesmerized by her movements and by her form. Everything about her seemed to capture his attention. He felt alive and foolish at the same time. He understood the natural attraction of a man to a woman, but there was something so much deeper that drew him to her. When she looked at him, her eyes became a window to her soul, and he felt as though he were peering into the future of the kingdom. It was an indescribable feeling that took possession of him.

Gavinaugh stood and offered a hand to lift her from the stream's edge. She took his hand, stood, and looked at him with warm eyes. He lingered just a moment before releasing her hand.

“I have a gift for you,” he said with a smile and went to retrieve a package wrapped in soft leather from Triumph's pack. He handed the package to her.

Keanna looked astonished, and hesitated in accepting it. “But I—”

“Please, Keanna,” Gavinaugh interrupted.

Her eyes welled up with tears.

“You have been so kind to me,” she said as she slowly took the package from him. She ran her hand over the top of the string that held the parcel tight.

After a moment, Gavinaugh could not wait any longer. “Are you going to open it?”

“Do I have to?” she asked.

“That
is
the point of the gift—to be opened,” he said with a gentle laugh.

“But once I do, the unopened gift will be gone forever.”

Gavinaugh gazed at the beauty of her wonder and her humility and let his heart slip a little further into her embrace.

“Take forever if you wish. Forgive me for allowing my impatience to rob you of this moment.”

She smiled at him sweetly.

After another moment Keanna slowly untied the string and opened the soft leather. Her first glimpse was of a beautiful cream cloth. Her mouth parted slightly, and a sense of awe was on her face as she lifted up a simple but elegant dress, fit for a princess.

“When I saw the dress in Namor, I could not refrain from purchasing it for you,” Gavinaugh said, enjoying Keanna's expression.

The tears began to flow freely as she gazed at the beauty of the dress. “Gavinaugh, I am just a peasant girl. I could never wear such a beautiful garment as this,” she said as she tried to give it back to him.

“I have been in the presence of nobility all my life, Keanna, and I have yet to see a lady who compares with you. The Prince has opened my eyes to true nobility, and His kingdom belongs to hearts such as yours. Please accept it. Whether you wear the dress or not does not change the fact that you are a princess, both to the King and to me.”

She held the dress close to her and then quickly hugged Gavinaugh. She backed away and blushed.

“Thank you, Gavinaugh. It is beyond beautiful, and I should never be worthy to wear it,” she said.

“Nonsense! Try it and let us see if
it
is worthy of
you
!”

She looked wistfully into his eyes. “As a little girl, I always dreamed of wearing such a gown, and here it is in my hands. Dare I?”

“I insist,” he said.

She smiled. “As you wish, Sir Gavinaugh.”

She walked a short distance into the forest, behind a growth of thick shrubbery, while Gavinaugh turned and tended to the horses. He searched Keanna's pack on her horse and discovered the royal robe he had bequeathed her at the Tournament of Lords in Thecia. A moment later she called to him.

As Gavinaugh caught his first glimpse of Keanna, he was enamored by her beauty, for she possessed all the dignity of a lady of great stature. He stopped a few paces away and gazed upon her, entranced by the graceful lines of her form and the radiance of her face. Against the lush backdrop of the forest walls, Gavinaugh imprinted the image in his mind, hoping never to forget this moment. Keanna blushed at his gaze and looked down at the gown.

“I feel quite ridiculous. I will take it off,” she said and turned away.

“No!” Gavinaugh exclaimed. “You look beautiful!”

She smiled in response.

“Something is missing,” he said. He walked back to her horse and pulled out the robe from Thecia and placed it about her shoulders. He stepped back and bowed before her.

She curtsied and laughed.

“I was correct, however. The dress is not worthy of you, for its elegance has diminished in the presence of your charm,” Gavinaugh said.

She shook her head and came to his side. “Shall we walk, sir?”

He smiled and offered his arm, and she took it. They walked in the beauty of the forest scenery, content to let the kingdom pass them by for a time. They came to a large fallen tree and sat upon its trunk. Gavinaugh resisted what he knew he must ask, for he didn't want the delight of this evening to end. But eventually his peace escaped him anyway, and he became quiet.

“What is bothering you?” she asked.

“May I ask a question of you?”

“Of course,” she replied.

He hesitated. “I have given my life in service to the Prince because I believe in Him.”

Keanna turned her eyes away from him.

“He is the reason I am alive today. He is the reason for which I live. Do you understand what this means for me?”

“Yes, I do,” she replied.

“Keanna, do you believe in the Prince?”

She looked back at Gavinaugh, and he saw the conflict within her. She was silent for a time before she spoke.

“It is the Prince who has brought us together, and it is the Prince who keeps us apart, isn't it?” she said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

“It is,” he said. He turned to face her and looked into her eyes as he had never dared before. “Keanna, you have so captured my heart and soul that I cannot bear to think of life without you. I dared not tell you before, for I did not know if you could ever forgive me for the agony I caused you and your family. But now I cannot bear it any longer. My heart is yours to do with as you please, but I first must know that I have given it to one who serves the Prince as I do.”

She blinked and a tear fell down her cheek, but it was not shed out
of delight. He could see the turmoil in Keanna's countenance and could hardly bear the possibility of what her words might reveal. He lifted his hand to her cheek and wiped away the tear, then turned aside.

“Gavinaugh, it would be a crime against our hearts to offer anything less than pure truth.” She lifted her hand to his chin and turned his gaze back to her. More tears streaked her face, but Gavinaugh did not wipe them away, for each touch of her skin only melded his heart to the anchor of what seemed to be an impossible love.

“Do you love another, then?” he asked brokenheartedly.

“I have given my love to no one. When the Shadow Warriors killed my parents and sold me into slavery, I wanted to die myself. When I did not die, I wanted revenge. The Prince robbed me of my revenge, but I am grateful, for you have dared my heart to hope again.” She paused and looked at the ground.

Gavinaugh felt as though he were perched at the edge of a cliff, trying to keep his balance.

“Until this moment I did not think it possible that I could win the heart of such a noble knight as you.” She turned back and looked into his eyes. “But I have always known that any love in my heart I might offer you must be freed by the One you serve. I have seen how your loyalty to the Prince transcends even your own desires.”

She cried softly. “I have heard your words of the Prince and yearn for them to be my own, but the pain of my past has imprisoned me. Answer me one question, Gavinaugh, that I might believe.”

Gavinaugh found a sliver of hope in her words and yet became afraid.
What if I cannot answer this question? Will I doom her to destruction and to a life without love?

“What is this question that so haunts your soul?”

She hesitated, and he ached to hold and comfort her.

“If the Prince truly cares for this kingdom, why does He allow such great pain?” She asked it with such passion that Gavinaugh felt her soul tremble.

Gavinaugh reached out and placed her delicate hand in his own.

“Oh, Keanna, the whole of my being desires to give an answer that will satisfy your soul, but I fear that you will find my words inadequate.”

He paused to gather his thoughts.
Give me the words, my Prince, to show her the depth of Your wisdom and Your love
.

Gavinaugh looked down at Keanna's hand. “You must first understand that it is the Dark Knight who has brought such great pain to the kingdom. He has turned the hearts of the people away from the King and His goodness. The King desires all people to return to Him, but because of their pride and foolishness, many will never choose to follow Him. This pain and suffering is allowed for a time to reveal the treachery of Lucius. But do not think the King unmerciful or unfeeling, for He sent His one and only Son to endure more pain and suffering than any other man in the kingdom ever has, even unto death.”

Gavinaugh paused to see if Keanna was accepting any of his words. Her tears had stopped, and she looked at him as though she wanted to hear more.

“But here is the beauty of the Prince, Keanna. When we serve Him wholly, He can turn all of our pain caused by Lucius's vilest intentions into a glorious victory.”

“How is that possible?” she asked softly.

“There is a kingdom waiting for those who believe, where there will be no more sorrow, no more pain. If the pain we suffer brings us to that understanding and belief, then we are victorious. When the Shadow Warrior pierced me with his sword, I had an encounter with the Prince and believed. That pain bought me a place in the kingdom that is to come. Even this moment between us exists because of the pain we have suffered in our past, and I would endure the pain of a thousand swords to be in your presence this night and speak of the hope of winning your love.”

Gavinaugh did not sense withdrawal in Keanna, but he wished to know her thoughts.

“A mother must labor in pain to give birth,” he continued, “but in the end there is a precious new life. Our kingdom labors in pain, but in the end there is new life for those who believe. There is much pain, but the King has begun the healing through the Prince. All will suffer pain—the difference is what we choose to do with it. When we serve the Prince, our pain makes us stronger. What you have suffered, I cannot heal. But the Prince can and will.”

Keanna looked at him without expression. “I must think about what you've said. Please be patient with me.”

He nodded, and she stood and slowly walked away. The light of the setting sun broke through the vertical towers of the forest trees in a clearing near them, and Keanna walked toward it. Wisps of evening ground fog swirled around the beautiful gown and robe as she passed through. She was lost in heavy contemplation, and Gavinaugh hoped and waited.

The reins of his heart were pulled tight, and for the first time since he had met the Prince, his mind struggled against the desire to compromise his convictions.
What if she can't believe … does it really matter that much?
he asked himself. He rose up and lifted his eyes to the sky above and remembered his promise to the Prince to stay true to his quest:
“To the last beat of my heart, I will, my Prince … I so swear!”
He knew that his heart could not stand divided between the Prince and one who did not serve Him. He gazed at the slender form of his beautiful companion. She was standing by a large stone near the edge of the stream that watered their steeds not far away and seemed lost in the soothing sound and dancing reflections of the water.

Gavinaugh returned to recover their horses. They were grazing on the tender spires of new grass near the water's edge. Keanna was farther up the stream and just beyond his sight. He pulled on the reins and walked with the animals in that direction. After a few paces, Triumph stopped. He raised his head high and perked up his ears. Gavinaugh
stroked his neck and felt the steed's powerful muscles twitch with apprehension.

“What is it, boy?”

A dreadful thought began to swell in his mind, and chills ran from his feet clear up to his neck. He had been in this arena before. Triumph looked where Keanna should be, and Gavinaugh felt the beast of fear clawing at him. All at once the forest darkened and seemed to collapse upon him. He drew his sword, but it suddenly felt as though it weighed a hundred pounds. The air about him felt as thick as syrup as he turned toward Keanna and ran that direction. The beauty of the forest devolved into limbs of evil that seemed to grasp at him as he passed by, and all his fear exploded in the sound of her scream.

“Gavinaugh!”
Her voice pierced the serenity of the forest on the waves of terror.

“Keanna!”
he screamed and tightened his grip on his sword. The rush within his muscles overtook the atrophy of fear, and he charged through the barriers of the forest with the power of a war-horse barreling toward its foe. The hazy picture of impending doom cleared as he drew closer, and he despaired greatly—Keanna was in the tight grip of a Shadow Warrior. Two others drew their swords and faced Gavinaugh as they heard him approach. He did not falter at the ominous image of evil in front of him as he had before. His heart was powered by the force of the Prince—and by love.

Keanna screamed again and clutched at the air between her and Gavinaugh. Panic and fear so enveloped her that he could hardly bear to see it. A vision of her face and the scene at Cartelbrook years earlier flashed across his mind. The horrific episode of their past seemed to be unfolding before his eyes once again.