One Knight's Bargain
Evernight Publishing
Copyright© 2013 Alexandra
O’Hurley
ISBN:
978-1-77130-277-7
Cover
Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor: Marie
Medina
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING:
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is
illegal.
No part of this book may be
used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a
work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any
resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or
dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
To characters who barge in and demand their story
be
told, even if you thought them a bastard at first.
ONE KNIGHT’S BARGAIN
Knights of the
Alexandra
O’Hurley
Copyright
© 2013
Near
Sybille de Campion moved her wooden sword before her,
chuckling as her little brother’s battle cry ripped from his lungs. She
deflected the strike and twisted her sword to swing back in attack. He moved
his feet, lowering his center to take her blows before repelling her strike.
Sybille had started slowly, letting Nicolas become accustomed to the force of
her sword, but with each jab, she increased the pressure to see where his
comfort level was. Instead of facing her, Nicolas jumped to the stairs, leaping
over a coiled rope and out of Sybille’s reach.
“Nicolas! Stop with the theatrics. I’m trying to teach
you the basics.”
“I don’t need basics. I’m an expert swordsman. Felix
and
Gui
showed me all I need to know.”
“
Gui
is seven, and Felix is eight. They have not learned much at all yet. And who do
you think taught them what they know?” Sybille crossed her arms over her
surcoat
, her sword dangling from one hand. “You are no
expert, little boy. Now come back here and face me.”
“But I’m not supposed to fight with girls.”
Sybille looked down at herself and back to him. “Do I
appear to be a girl today?”
Nicolas snickered as he gazed at her standing before
him in their father’s chainmail and
surcoat
. “No, you
look like an ugly man.”
“I suppose I do not make an attractive knight.”
Sybille laughed as she glanced down at herself once more. “But with our parents
away, this is the best I can do to teach you to protect yourself. So come down
here and let us start over.”
Nicolas jumped back down to the ground, widening his
stance and preparing for her attack. The bailey was empty except for them.
Gui
and Felix leaned against the
tower wall above them, watching them fight.
“When will our parents return, Sybille?”
Sybille paused, worry gnawing at her gut. Her parents
should have returned weeks ago. The longer they left the house near empty, the
higher the risk of bandits raiding their meager supplies, if they didn’t lay
claim to the old fortress completely. “I do not know, Nic. I wish I did. Each
day that passes I fear for the safety of our home.”
“We have
Guillame
and
Petior
to defend us.”
“They are no longer young men, Nic.”
“They are strong knights and will keep the bandits at
bay. Father told me so before he left.”
“They are the only men left, besides the three
father
took to protect them as they went to
Crusades or left when the gold dried up.”
“The gold dried up?”
Nicolas might only be six, but it was about time he
started to learn the truth. She had shielded him for as long as she could. “It
is about time you knew we are destitute.”
“What does destitute mean?”
“Poor.”
“We live in a fine castle. We are not poor.”
“Do you see any people here? We have one old servant
and two old knights. They only remain because they are too old to leave. No one
works our meager fields. We have no tapestries to keep our hall warm, no candles
to light the night, no animals to get meat or milk from. Our parents and
brothers have left with every item of value to sell in
barge in and take over our home. So this is why you need to learn to protect
yourself, Nicolas.”
“Sybille, men approach!”
Sybille turned to
Gui
and Felix, who were now standing close to the
tower wall. Both boys ran down the tower steps and rushed through the bailey,
across the bridge, and up the barbican steps. She moved forward, to get a
better look as Nicolas rushed past her. All three boys were already at the
crenellated wall before she could even get to the bottom steps of the barbican.
Her father’s chainmail slowed her progress, and it took a moment to ascend. All
three boys stood gazing over the edge, their little bodies barely allowing them
to see over. She stepped behind Nicolas and gave him a boost, as she peered
down herself. Riders on black horses were coming at a full gallop, a cloud of
dust surrounding them, making it impossible to see how many were in the
cluster.
“What do we do, Sybille?” She could hear the fear in
Nicolas’ voice. He pretended he was invincible and in that moment, she wished
he were.
“Felix, go get
Guillame
and
Petior
. They are probably asleep in the kitchen.” Felix ran
for the stairs as she considered her alternatives.
“They will protect us?”
Sybille looked down at Nicolas, her frown returning.
“They are all we have, Nicolas.”
Sybille was rooted to the floor, watching as the men
grew close. Guillaume and
Petior
arrived, standing
behind Nicolas and the others on the barbican, looking down.
“That’s Sir Eustache’s flag,”
Petior
said from behind them.
“The devil in black, just what we need here,”
Guillaume added.
Both knights turned on their heels and went down the
barbican as Nicolas turned back to watch the raiders stop at the gates below.
Guillaume and
Petior
exited the gates and began to
talk to the man at the head, a towering man who appeared too large for his
enormous horse. The large man handed Guillaume a piece of vellum. Guillaume
handed it to
Petior
since he could not read, and
Petior
broke the seal. His eyes grew large as he read over
whatever was on the page, his eyes rising as he looked to the barbican wall.
Nicolas strained to hear the conversation that
followed, but they spoke too softly, and the words wouldn’t glide up the stone
walls of the fortress. After a few moments, Guillaume and
Petior
dropped to their knees before the large knight. Nicolas gulped as two of the
raiders slid from their saddles and approached Guillaume and
Petior
, plunging their swords into the older men’s necks,
the writhing bodies dropped to the ground.
Blood rushed from the bodies onto the ground, the sun
shining on the dark red. Then the men did something surprising. They laid the
men on their backs and crossed their arms over their chests, placing the dead
men’s swords within their grasp. Each was then put on a pallet and carried
through the gates. Sybille let out a sob and grasped his and
Gui’s
hand, rushing down the barbican’s
steps and rushing for the keep. Nicolas stumbled and fell in the lower bailey,
making them stop. A tearing sound echoed through the inner walls as the iron
gates were ripped away. The only thing that stopped them now was the unguarded
drawbridge, and it would only be a matter of time before the bandits made it
inside the castle.
Sybille threw them both into their parent’s bedroom.
“Hide in mother’s chest. You both should fit inside. I’m going to find Felix.”
“No! Don’t go, Sybille!”
Sybille turned at the door, half her body already
outside the room. “Get in the trunk and be quiet. I’ll be back as soon as I
can.”
Sybille rushed down the keep’s stairs, her heart
thundering in her ears. She could only hope
Gui
and Nicolas could remain hidden until the threat
was gone. She had absolutely no idea what she would do next; all she did know
was she needed to find Felix and get him to relative safety while she faced the
brigands herself.
Once she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, she
heard a yell coming from the kitchens.
Magda
was
inside and had probably not been warned. Sybille ran to the space and saw Felix
pulling the old woman into the larder.
“Get inside,
Magda
!”
“I’m too old. Go save yourself, little master.”
“No, you must hide.”