Knightly Bonds 1: Their Majesties' Knight

Knightly Bonds 1

SUNNY DAY

Copyright © 2011

Chapter 1

The road in front of them curved slightly, finally making its way out of the dense woods. Lan liked it. It was well-done and well-maintained, making it easy for him to cover large chunks of its length in a relatively short time. Having spent most of the last six years traveling, he knew some rulers didn’t care about the state their country’s roads were in, which made it hard to travel. He gathered his reins and pulled them gently, causing Black to snort, but the horse stopped, obeying its master. Lan looked at the view in front of him. Now, finally, after days of approaching it, he was close to his destination. At least for now, he added absently to himself. He didn’t have plans to stay forever in Hearthstone, but the rumors that abounded about the town and its new charismatic ruler were enough to make him think it would be interesting to stay for at least some time. He didn’t have plans to stay anywhere forever.

The city, nestled in the valley in front of him, was a haphazard mass of buildings and roads that were filled with people. Numerous pointed towers rose toward the sky, multicolored banners merrily fluttering from the top of most of them, looking like they were telling him hello.

The corner of his lips twitched.

Hearthstone was built atop an older town. Lan had heard it mentioned in his brother’s castle. That made its magical defenses impressive. It was the capital of a thriving kingdom of the same name. Lan was already traveling in it for months. It was its previous king that started to build its reputation. His son, the current king, merely added to it. Lan grimaced even as the thought formed in his head. No. Not merely added to it. He was slowly acquiring neighboring kingdoms, some peacefully, some by less...polite means. In Lan’s mind, that equated a dangerous man
—
a man he would have liked to meet. He grinned to himself. Maybe it was true, and he craved danger, but this was his life, and he could do with it as he wanted. If nothing else, this visit promised not to be boring. Lan could use a diversion. He could use something else, too, he thought absently. In a city this size, it was possible to find a bedmate to his taste. Lan absently patted his horse’s neck. It was a long time since he indulged.

He frowned, his mind spinning to his host of two weeks ago, a baron whose castle lay south of Hearthstone. Lan had met, and soundly beaten, two of his most skilled guards. The old man was thrilled to offer him hospitality, hoping to lure him to his service. Lan declined politely enough, saying he was headed to Hearthstone. His host had gone silent then tried to talk him out of it. Subtle but still clear enough.

“Why?” Lan had asked. “I heard the king is a good leader, a man his knights would be proud to follow.” He paused to slice a tiny piece of served meat and put it in his mouth.

The baron coughed, his eyes focusing somewhere behind Lan’s shoulder. Lan had been awarded a honored place next to the host, so they were seated far enough away for others not to overhear their conversation. “That he is.” He hesitated. “It’s just that there are talks about goings-on in that palace of his.”

“Oh?” Lan tried not to show his eagerness. In his experience, it was better to wait than to fish for information. The guy frowned. “Nothing specific, just some
—
rumors. Then again, he is young and unmarried, so...” He let his words trail off.

Lan shrugged, appearing unconcerned. “That kind of rumors. In my experience, they can be heard about any young man, especially one who has power. Your king is young, is he not?” he added as an afterthought.

The baron heaved a sigh. “Yes, he is.”

Lan didn’t manage to get anything out of him that night. He wasn’t overly concerned. He had heard about King Arin’s mistresses before. It wasn’t that unusual, though, there were some hints he was married—or at least contracted to be married. But it wouldn’t be unusual for someone in his position, and besides, Lan was hardly in a position to judge anyone on his sexual exploits. He was careful to keep his under wraps, which didn’t mean that no one knew about his preference for men. Since he was able to grind his opponents into dust, no one has ever said anything to his face. Dinner finished without him getting any other snippets of information. He said his good-byes in the morning and continued toward Hearthstone.

“So, Black, what do you think?” he asked aloud. “Will we like it here?”

The horse pawed the ground, obviously more than willing to be off.

Lan obliged, letting Black set his own pace. Probably lured by the thought of a warm stable, the horse started off at a lively canter.

As he neared city walls, Lan recognized some of the buildings whose outer walls were visible from outside the city. Ah. Wizard towers. Not so surprising. If Arin was as influential as Lan heard, wizards were likely to flock to him. If he was as smart as Lan heard, he was likely to keep some of them where he could control them. Wizards were all but harmless, no matter whose side they were on.

Lan should know. He grew up surrounded by wizards.

A loud noise snagged his attention. He looked up, realizing that he was in front of the gate. It was open, but his trained eye had noticed at least a dozen soldiers watching it. Lan slowed his pace. Two of the soldiers immediately detached themselves from the wall and headed toward him. Lan barely suppressed a snort. Obviously, an unfamiliar knight in full armor, riding on what was obviously a battle stallion, warranted their attention. He kept his expression mild. He had no intention of starting a fight. At least, not right now.

“Good day to you, sir,” said the older of the two men, the one with golden epaulets on his shoulder. He was obviously more experienced because he used the opportunity to grab Black’s reins. The other one was younger and stupider, Lan concluded, judging by the way his gaze swept over Lan’s white and golden garb, and his upper lip curled derisively. Lan barely suppressed a smile. The boy had a lot to learn.

“How may we help you?” his comrade asked, no doubt noticing that horse was in excellent condition, as was the armor, and that Lan had no page to take care of it.

“Just passing through,” Lan answered amiably. “Heard that your king is looking for knights.”

“That he is,” the young one said, “but not—” He was about to say something disparaging. Lan raised one eyebrow.

His superior frowned at the youngster. One glare shut the kid up. The officer turned back to Lan. “That he is. It’s easy to find the palace. If you go there, someone will take care of your lodgings and food. Our king is gracious to visitors.”

Lan’s estimate of the man went one notch up.

“May I ask for your name, though?” the man added. Lan smiled, showing his teeth.

“Lan of Lions,” he said.

He had the pleasure of seeing the younger guard blanch. The name was obviously familiar. As it should be, Lan thought. He had gone to some pains during the last six years to make it very familiar. The older guard snorted. “Thank you, sir.” He patted Black one last time. “Off with you, boy.”

Lan picked up the reins again. It was easy to navigate his way through the streets since most people tended to get out of the way of an armed knight and a horse.

That aside, the streets were clean and wide. He found his way to what was obviously the palace’s courtyard. A banner depicting a dragon, a hawk, and a shaft marked it clearly. Lan frowned at it. He was under the impression that the royal crest had only a dragon. A wooden shaft was the mark of the magician. He distinctly remembered hearing that magician who once belonged to King Arin’s father was really powerful.

A young page, dressed in drab but serviceable clothes, showed up in front of him. He motioned toward the stables. Lan hesitated before dismounting. “I want to see where he is going to stay,” he said. The boy’s head bobbed. “Certainly, sir.”

The stables were cleverly tucked inside the courtyard, making it easy for a large number of knights to ride out at once. The stables themselves were well-lit, and pleasant warmth emanated from the walls. Black went to one of the empty stalls without much encouragement. Two of the stalls on his left side were empty. The one on the right contained a gray horse that was presently being groomed. A cursory inspection revealed that all of the horses looked healthy, their coats shiny and clean. Lan decided to risk leaving Black to the mercy of the stable boys. One of them had already approached.

“Beautiful animal, sir,” he said, staring at Black in awe. He barely spared a look to Lan, who grinned. “Yes, he is. Can I trust you to take care of him?”

“Certainly, sir.”

He didn’t have time to ask anything else as his name was shouted and a large hand landed on his shoulder. Lan turned, his stance relaxing as he recognized the grinning knight.

“Garen!” he exclaimed.

“Yes, it’s me. I have been wondering when you were going to find your way here.”

The two men had met before and parted with a favorable impression of one another.

Lan shrugged. “One place is as good as another, I think.”

Garen shook his head. “There is no place like Hearthstone. A fitting home for the best knight of our time,” he added teasingly, referring to the title that was often associated with Lan.
  
 

Lan rolled his eyes. “As you say. Are you visiting?” Lan had met Garen and his three brothers in their father’s kingdom, Moralea.

“No, I live here. My father swore fealty to Arin, and I’m the one who was sent here.”

“I see.”

Garen grimaced. “You helped us repel the last attack of Dirvadi, but they are still a threat. King Arin can help us with that.”

That was Lan’s conclusion, too.

“Come on, then, man!” Garen pushed him toward the entrance. “The boys can take care of Black. You there!” he said to Lan’s guide. “Pick up Sir Lan’s things and bring them to the castle. Kay will be able to tell you where to put them.” The boys scurried to obey.

“You have been here long enough, I see,” Lan said in a dry tone.

“You could say that.” A speculative gleam entered Garen’s gaze. “What about you? You are a good man. The king will be happy to have you.”

Lan shrugged then grinned. “Are you going to put out a word for me? After all, who better to vouch for my skills than the person I have soundly beaten?”

“Rub it in, will you?” Garen muttered, grimacing at the remainder. “Come on, I’ll take you to the king.”

* * * *

“I hate that woman!” King Arin roared, unperturbed by the presence of his knights and servants. He had just been informed that his future queen had left the castle. Without permission. Again.

He stared moodily at the tall windows cut in the stone. Damn it, what was wrong with her? She was promised to the most powerful man in the kingdom, was going to be the queen of a prosperous land, had a whole palace, all his riches and lands at her disposal—and was she thankful? No. She kept leaving the castle without even bothering to ask for his permission first. Not that he was going to give it, but still. She should have shown some respect for the man who was going to be her husband. But no, she continued to defy him at every turn. Arin stubbornly refused to remember that Galena’s spirit was exactly what had attracted him to the minor baron’s daughter. He scowled.

“If you really hated her, you wouldn’t care she’s left,” said a black-haired woman entering the room.

Arin winced, turning around to face her. “Hello, Moira.”

At first glance, there weren’t a lot of similarities between him and his sister. She was slender, pale-skinned, with black hair and eyes. He was heavily built, muscles bulging from constant training, and red hair and eyes so light they were almost golden. At the moment, he also sported a short beard.

Arin loved his sister. However, there were times he was tempted to keep her permanently locked in her tower. He narrowed his eyes. Moira and Galena got along famously. In fact, he could have sworn he had heard Galena calling him an overbearing ass and saw Moira nodding her head sympathetically.

“What do you want?” he asked bluntly.

Moira appeared unperturbed by his obvious anger. She stared at him with what was a decidedly unflattering gaze, her hands on her hips, lips pursed. “We need to have you dressed.”

A flicker of uneasiness went up his spine. Moira had inherited all their father’s magical power, not to mention his knowledge. “I am dressed.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Dressed up, actually. We are trying to pass you off as this dignified, wise, and powerful king.”

Someone snickered then coughed as Arin’s gaze went in his direction. “Why?” he asked suspiciously. “We don’t have any guests we need to impress, do we?”

He went over the list of numerous people present in his castle. No. Kay would have warned him, if no one else.

“Wrong, brother dear.” Moira disappeared into the next room then returned with her hands full of clothes. With a humph, she unloaded them on the nearest page. “Go on, boy. Help your master.”

“What happened, Moira?” Arin asked as he came over to help the poor page, who was practically staggering under a heap of rich and heavy fabric.

“The White Lion has just come into the castle,” she answered, sounding satisfied.