“How much have you got?” she asked, her voice sharp and rude.
He reached into his robe and withdrew a bright red gem that caught the afternoon light as he held it up to her face. His smile grew as her eyes fixed themselves upon it.
“I think that will be enough,” he said, letting her grab the gem that he had taken from the purple-robed men some days before.
“But you won’t be getting food,” the woman snapped, and for one of the few times in his life he grinned in genuine humour.
“No, dear lady, I will not be asking you for food,” he agreed. “I am entirely self-sufficient.”
With a curt nod she opened the door and ushered her lodger in, no doubt wondering about this strange man from the country who seemingly conjured riches from the pockets of his robe. Likely she wondered what other surprises he might provide.
Without doubt, she would find out in due time.
TWENTY-TWO
She stepped carefully, balancing her weight before taking a second step.
It was the first time she had stood since coming into the castle, and she was doing so in secret. It was after midnight and she was alone in the ward, save for a snoring nurse who slept every time she was on duty.
Kara took a third step forward, keeping her hands outstretched, ready to catch herself if she should fall. She stumbled once, her hands seizing the bed frame as she caught herself. Silently she stood once more, her breathing sharp. The nurse’s snoring was the only other sound in the room.
Cautiously, as if she were a burglar, Kara put one foot in front of the other. Her legs held, and within a minute she stood at the entrance to the ward. She turned to make her way back to her bed, feeling suddenly strong again. Her legs obeyed her now.
But she would not stop there. Furiously she recalled Theodore’s words.
There has never been any woman in the order. It is not permitted.
Upon reaching her bed she turned and, moving more quickly now, returned to the door again and then back to the bed. She ran back and forth from one point to the other, back and forth, minding her stance to run silently-for when she had to be, Kara was as silent as the stealthiest cat.
After a moment she stopped. Though winded, she was satisfied that her legs had strength enough for what she needed to do. It was her arms that now needed testing.
She lowered herself to the floor and did fifty brisk pushups. Her stomach muscles cramped together from the strain of keeping her body straight, and before long her arms shook from the effort. She bit her lip to quiet herself as her arms finally gave way. Breathing heavily, she climbed back into her bed, her muscles warm and her skin breaking out in a sweat.
Though frustrated, she was happy. In the darkness of the ward, with the nurse mumbling nearby, she smiled. Despite her injuries, her body had not lost too much of its strength, and she knew that within a few days she would be sufficiently recovered to do what she needed.
For she was going to escape.
“Do you think you can walk?” Theodore asked Kara gently. “Perhaps you should try and get some fresh air.” He was anxious to make peace with her after their previous harsh parting, and in hopes of doing so he intended to show her the castle.
Kara remained as silent as she had been since he entered the ward. Now, without a word, she pushed back the sheet and lowered her legs to the stone. With an angry glance in his direction she stood for a second, and then-as her legs began to shake violently-she collapsed into his arms.
When she looked up at him, it was still with anger in her expression.
“Does that amuse you, Theodore? Do you want to laugh at me again-the girl who wanted to be a knight and who hasn’t the strength even to walk?”
Not knowing what to say, he lifted her up and returned her to the bed as gently as he knew how. Finally he replied.
“I do not want to laugh at you, Kara. Surely you know that.”
When she didn’t respond, he felt an irritation of his own welling up. To prevent himself from speaking hastily he disappeared into the depths of the ward, returning a minute later with a wooden chair that ran on squealing wheels.
“If you cannot walk, you can still get some fresh air. Can you climb in or do you wish me to help you?” He allowed no malice in his words.
Kara stared at him, as if looking for an excuse to refuse.
Theodore remained patiently silent.
“I can do it,” she snapped suddenly, and quicker than Theodore had expected she lowered herself off the bed and into the chair, pulling the bed sheet after her and wrapping it about herself. “I do not want to be cold,” she said, before he could ask.
Without another word he wheeled her out, guiding her gently down the wide stone staircase one step at a time.
Kara’s bad mood waned as Theodore showed her the fortress. Her eyes widened in wonder at the grand towers and marble edifices. But more amazing to her still was the city that lay beyond the moat. Having climbed the spiral stairway to the battlement, leaning on Theodore’s shoulder to maintain the illusion of her weakness, she gazed from the ramparts.
It was like nothing she had ever seen before.
“Take all the time you need,” he said, watching her intently as her dark eyes absorbed everything.
“There are so many people,” she said quietly. “I didn’t know.” For the first time since climbing the high wall, she turned to look him in the eye. “I remember my father telling me stories of Falador. He must have been here, but he never told me why, and he never told me how many people there were. Thank you, Theodore, for showing me the city. I am sorry for being angry with you earlier.”
Theodore nodded. “Thank you, Kara,” he said. “I was rude to you before and I am sorry for it.”
He held her hand tightly, and suddenly a cold wind rolled down from the north. She shivered involuntarily the cold air turning her skin to ice under the white garments worn by patients of the ward. She stepped closer to him, to shield herself from the wind, resting her head upon his shoulder. The squire said nothing and made no effort to move away. After a moment Kara lifted her head and gazed at the mountain.
“That is Ice Mountain,” Theodore told her.
“How far is it?” she asked. “How many days’ travel?”
“It would take three days to get to the foothills, but the mountain itself is beyond our authority, for a colony of dwarves lives there, and we respect their territory.”
At the mention of the dwarf race, Kara’s eyes shone. She had not told Theodore of her discovery and adoption by Master Phyllis, the dwarf who had taught her so much. Back then, it had taken her weeks to regain the confidence to speak any words. Once she had, however, her foster father had educated her, speaking to her in both the common tongue and his own language. Kara was fluent in both.
She thought back to her final months in the underground city. She had lived there for eight years, rarely seeing the surface world, and by her estimation she was seventeen years old. Master Phyllis had been unwilling to keep her amongst his people any longer. One night she had discovered him at work in his forge, and it was then that he had presented her with a long sword crafted from adamant.
“It is yours, Kara,” he revealed. “It will cut through the toughest armour of any surface dweller, and through the hides of most beasts.”
Thinking about her sword, she turned her gaze from the mountain and looked up into the squire’s honest face.
“Can I have my sword, Theodore?” she asked suddenly. “It’s very important that I have it-it was made by someone very dear to me.”