The Rose Princess (4 page)

There was no sign of the traveler.

Putting one hand to the left side of her chest, the girl tried to get her breathing
back under control. The weapon she had wound about her waist felt unreliable. Still,
Elena sent herself into the ruins with a gait that firmly planted one step after another
on the paving stones.

Although she soon found the horse, D was nowhere to be seen. The ruins covered quite
a large area, and there were plenty of places to hide. Having played here since childhood,
Elena knew the area like her own backyard, but finding the traveler on the first try
would be difficult.

“Just you wait and see. I’ll show you what you get for ignoring me!”

As she spoke, the right hand that’d rested on her hip came up, and a streak of black
shot out and wrapped around one of the ruin’s stone beams. A second later, Elena was
swinging easily into the air.

From the top of the highest beam—some thirty feet up—she commanded a view of the whole
ruins. But as much as she strained her eyes, all she could find were scant spots of
green between the ruins and the ground below. Although she was supposed to be searching
for D, Elena then turned her gaze to the west. Even before her eyes had focused on
the manor, her lips twisted and her teeth gnashed.

Just as her anger was approaching its peak, a voice called out behind her, “Don’t
even think about it.”

The fact that it took Elena a full second to turn in amazement showed just how angry
she was.

A metallic clatter resounded from her right hand, and out of her fist spilled a long,
thin chain. With a weight the size of a small stone at one end, it was this same chain
that had allowed her to swing up there.

The young man of unearthly beauty who stood behind her was met by a razor-sharp gaze.

“These ruins haven’t done you any harm,” said D.

“Well, I’ll take it out on you, then,” Elena replied as she toyed with the chain in
her hand. She must’ve had nearly fifty feet of it wrapped around her trim waist. It
wasn’t the sort of thing they taught girls at finishing school.

If D hadn’t come out when he did, she probably would’ve broken some of the beams or
knocked a hole in the ceiling.

“You’ve been a real jerk,” the girl continued. “And just to clear something up—if
you think we’re afraid of those lousy knights, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

“What do you want?” asked D.

The wind fluttered the hem of his black coat. Some of its threads were loose, and
the lining was visible. The edge of the garment was badly frayed.

“To do this!” the girl cried.

A whirring flash of black ripped through the wind to coil around D’s arm and torso.

“Ah!” Elena gasped, but the wind devoured her cry. Stunned, she stared at the tree
branch her weapon was wrapped around. D must’ve had it ready all along. No doubt he’d
figured out earlier what kind of weapon she carried. He stood in exactly the same
spot as before.

“You’re good,” Elena remarked.

Her second shot made a beeline for D’s chest.

D turned one shoulder toward her and avoided the endlessly stretching links.

Behind him, the chain whipped around without slowing down at all, headed back in the
opposite direction, and wrapped around D’s neck.

“Sucker! That’s like the first trick you learn to do with a weighted chain. Where
are all your tricks now?” she asked. “Or were you just lucky last time?”

“Not really.”

Elena looked all around despite herself—she didn’t think the hoarse voice she’d just
heard belonged to D.

A second later, the inky black form leapt into the air. The move was so unexpected
that Elena was left without any options.

Light shot out above her head.

With a shriek, the girl extended both arms. Even given the outstanding reflexes with
which she’d been blessed, the girl still found her own reaction miraculous.

Her chain stopped the steel with a
cha-chink!

But Elena couldn’t move. D held his sword with one hand. Elena, however, was using
both hands. Even taking the strength difference of their respective sexes into consideration,
she should’ve at least been able to jump out of the way. Yet she couldn’t move at
all, as if her body had been turned to lead.

But that wasn’t entirely true, either—her hands alone continued to sink, slowly but
surely.

When the edge of the chain finally touched her forehead, Elena exclaimed, “I give
up!”

The way she coughed up the words, it seemed like she was spitting up blood.

—

III

—

To be completely honest, she wasn’t even sure that her words were enough to save her.
He’ll just cut me down here and now
—that was her strongest feeling. Somewhere in her heart, she thought it would be inevitable
coming from that young man. And that was why she was left so stunned when the pressure
she felt was gone so suddenly.

But the surprises didn’t end there.

D had turned his gaze toward the manor as if he’d lost all interest in her, but she
saw his right hand.

“Where’s the sword!” the girl exclaimed.

It was at that point every inch of Elena’s flesh rose with goosebumps. She’d seen
a flash of steel, felt it strike her chain, and had even heard the sound of it. Although
each of these had the earmarks of a fierce blow from a skilled blade, she had to wonder
if it’d all been an illusion. Could it be the blow she’d barely managed to stop, and
then struggled with all her might to deflect with absolutely no success, had been
nothing more than a barehanded chop?

“Is there anyone in the manor aside from the four knights?”

It was only several seconds later that the girl understood that D was asking her a
question. And she didn’t answer until several seconds more had passed.

“I don’t know. No one’s been inside.”

That was all she said before she hung her head. She’d realized that if D was holding
his sword, she’d never be able to stop it and would inevitably be cut in two. Then,
she suddenly thought of something. Looking up again with desperation on her face,
she asked, “Do you want something up there? Say, could it be—you’re a Vampire Hunter,
aren’t you?”

“Ever been outside it?” asked D.

“Sure I have. Plenty of times,” Elena replied, feeling the center of her chest grow
hot. In dribs and drabs, blood began to work its way through her frozen heart once
more. “There are no defense systems next to the castle walls. There used to be all
kinds of stuff set up in the old days, but if there’re any now they’ll only be on
the inside.”

“How about entrances?”

“Nothing but the castle gate—I was going to say, but there’s one more. Again, this
was a long time ago, but when some folks from the village were preparing for guerrilla
warfare, they made a hole in the wall the day before. Not long ago—maybe three days
back—I was out that way and it’s still there. Don’t worry,” she added, “it’s more
than big enough for you to get through. So, you going up there?”

“If you don’t have any business with me, go home.”

“No way. Take me with you,” Elena said as she felt power surging through her body.

All of her despair was banished. The young man who’d bested her like she was a mere
infant was going to fight the Noble up in the manor. The mere thought of it was enough
to make her body tremble with excitement.

“I’ve got some serious ill will toward those clowns,” Elena said. “The princess, in
particular. Come on, you’ve gotta let me help you. I take back what I said earlier.
I’ve got no problem with you running the show.”

“It takes more than ill will to destroy a Noble,” D said frostily as he looked up
at the sky.

Elena imagined he was calculating how long he had until sunset.

The figure in black leaned forward casually. Without a sound, he drifted down from
a height of fifty feet. The way his coat spread out reminded the girl of a certain
creature. It looked just like a—

As the traveler was heading for his horse, the girl called out to him, “I’m going,
too!”

And with that cry Elena tightened her grip on her chain and raced after D.

—

Less than five minutes after leaving the ruins, Elena found herself mired in a new
sense of surprise. Although her bike was supposed to be twice as fast as the average
cyborg horse, she could barely keep up with the galloping rider. Since it didn’t look
like he was riding a custom model, the only conclusion she could draw was that it
was due to his horsemanship.

When they reached the foot of the hill, D looked back at the girl and said, “Wait
here.”

“Not a chance,” Elena replied, shaking her head. “After all, I haven’t even told you
where the hole is yet. I don’t care how good you are, you’ll still be looking for
it when the sun goes down. And once that happens, much as you may hate it, the princess
will be in her element. Even if that doesn’t happen, the four knights still move around
by day, too. You could use all the friends you can get.”

Saying nothing, D rode up to the bike and leaned over. His left hand reached out and
took hold of the handlebars. A second later, he let go and wheeled his horse around.
He didn’t lash his mount or give it the spurs; he simply rode on with the reins in
his hands.

“Of all the nerve,” Elena spat. But as she gave the accelerator a twist, her eyes
bulged in their sockets.

Her bike wouldn’t budge. Although the engine was running, the transmission wasn’t
functioning.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” she grumbled. “I just tuned the damn thing this morning!”

Without so much as a backward glance at Elena as she wildly wrestled with the throttle,
the black pair of rider and mount swiftly disappeared in the distance.

“You’re gonna pay for that, buster!” Elena shouted with all the anger in her heart.

—

The layout of the grounds around the manor and the traps set there were things D had
committed to memory.

Mazes, quicksand, flooding areas, spear-lined pits, swarms of monstrous insects—these
were not the only death traps that might prove inescapable for invaders. The electronic
brains that controlled everything surely maintained their constant vigil through the
day, too. And even if someone made it through all of those defenses, the four knights
would be waiting for him. This wasn’t the sort of place anyone who valued his life
would go.

D advanced in silence.

Suddenly the scenery changed. Greenery so dark it was nearly black seemed to have
been utterly rooted out, leaving the reddish brown soil exposed. Bereft of a single
rock or tree or blade of grass, the tableau that stretched before him was one of relentless
destruction and ruin.

Without even a moment’s hesitation, D rode right through the area. Soon he heard the
sound of running water growing closer. After continuing on for another five minutes,
the horse and rider found their advance blocked by a powerful torrent of water.

Clear as glass, the river seemed to swerve away from the hill to its west—where the
castle loomed—as it rushed along to provide water for the entire region. Further upstream—about
sixty feet from the Hunter’s present location—a rope bridge spanned the river. Thirty
feet in the air, it stretched three times that length and ended at the base of a steep
slope that led directly to the castle gate.

When he was just fifteen feet shy of the bridge, a voice that D alone heard said,
“This sure is fishy.” The words echoed from the vicinity of his left hand, which was
wrapped around the reins. “The brush we came through earlier, this river, the bridge—they’re
rigged with all kinds of traps. That’s what my gut’s telling me. What,” the hand then
exclaimed, “you’ve already started across it?! You just don’t listen, do you?”

Yet for all the objections and dissatisfaction the voice had carried, D crossed the
bridge without incident and came to a path that ran like a tunnel through rows of
trees with interwoven branches. The sun was blotted out, and shadows and light began
to form a vivid mosaic on the rider and his horse.

“See—it’s starting already,” the voice said.

At the round exit from the sheltered pathway stood a crimson horse and rider.

The air was tinged with omens of combat.

This was enemy territory—and D would be at a tremendous disadvantage. Yet the gorgeous
huntsman advanced as if that was the way he’d always gone, without hesitation or fear.

The Red Knight remained just as he was, too.

An irresistible force and an immovable object—what would happen when the two of them
met? Even the leaves on the branches interlacing overhead seemed to listen intently
with their eyes open wide for that moment.

However, the Red Knight quickly stepped to one side.

D went right by him on the covered path as if were completely natural. He didn’t even
glance at his formidable opponent.

“I’ve come to meet you and serve as your guide,” the Red Knight said in a voice like
grating metal after the Hunter had gone several steps past him.

“I don’t need one,” D replied.

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that. We’ve known for some time now that you would come.
I have orders from the princess to meet you, but to do nothing else.”

The sun was still high. Although this was the time when the Nobility should be slumbering,
there were some who merely entered their coffins but remained awake.

Giving a kick to his mount’s flanks, the Red Knight galloped over to D. “Regardless
of your wishes,” he continued, “I will serve as your guide. That is my duty to my
liege.”

Still facing forward, D asked, “What would you do if I came at you with my sword?”

Rarely did the Hunter pose a question like that.

“I would have no choice but to stand and be cut down. I’ve not been told to fight.”

Those were surprising words coming from the mouth of a knight whose ferocity was unrivaled.

“Then your lady must be quite important to you.”