The Knight and the Mage

Bea heard the faint sounds of the king’s soldiers getting closer to the center of the forest. Gripping her greatsword tighter, she glanced over her shoulder at Hallie. “They found our tracks,” she whispered. “It’s only a matter of time before they find this place.”

“I’ve almost got it,” Hallie replied, her back to Bea. She was standing at the threshold of a massive tree, trying to figure out how to dispel the magic protecting it so that she could extract the briarheart from the trunk. “Just hold them off until I’m done.”

“Of course,” Bea said, adjusting her armor. She’d been traveling with Hallie as the mage’s personal knight and bodyguard for several years now. But it didn’t stop her from gazing at Hallie’s chestnut curls for a moment as she watched the sorceress work. There was something so magnetic about her when she was in her element. Bea cleared her throat uncomfortably and returned her focus to the forest, listening to the distant clatter of soldiers approaching.

“I’m certain, Bea,” Hallie said, her voice feverish with excitement. “I’m certain this is the last thing we need.”

The way Hallie said we instead of I made Bea feel warm. What began as Hallie’s quest to create an artifact that would raise the dead had become their shared adventure across the lands of Wyndland. The mission no longer belonged to Hallie alone. Though Bea had signed on to be little more than muscle and a sword, she was now personally invested and an equal participant. 

Hallie insisted their mission was nearly complete, but Bea wasn’t so sure. The mage had promised many times that they’d obtained all the magical ingredients or ancient incantations, and been wrong. There was always something else, something more they needed. Bea had a hard time believing that securing a briarheart would be the end of their quest. Nonetheless, she readied her sword for the onslaught of soldiers coming to stop them.

Hallie was casting spells, murmuring under her breath as she faced off against the towering tree unwilling to surrender its source of magic. She was more talented than the average sorcerer and Bea knew that it wouldn’t be long before the determined mage obtained the prize. Hallie always won. She always succeeded at any cost. Stubborn and determined to a fault, she refused to give up her quest. Their quest.

“How many did the crusty old bastard send this time?” Hallie asked, turning around briefly to look in the direction of the approaching soldiers.

“A lot. The king doesn’t give up easily.” Bea sighed. “But don’t worry. I’ve got it.”

“I know you do,” Hallie said with a smile. Bea killed many men for that smile.

But the moments dragged on and Hallie struggled to cut the briarheart out of the tree. Bea could see the glint of steel in the dappled sunlight as the battalion of soldiers approached. There had to be twelve, maybe fifteen of them.

“It’s going to be a bloodbath here in a few minutes,” Bea advised. “Are we fighting or fleeing?”

“Fight them,” Hallie urged. “I have to get this briarheart.”

“Aye,” Bea agreed.

The soldiers tripped the trap Hallie had set on the perimeter of the glen. A magical explosion of arcane fire burst up in a ring just as the soldiers had spotted Bea. A few unlucky soldiers fell immediately, but the rest continued marching forward. Bea quickly counted them up. Nine remained, all in full plate armor with sabers at the ready. She’d have a little help from Hallie, but by and large, it was up to her to hold them off. Fortunately for her, she trained in the king’s guard before becoming Hallie’s personal knight. She knew how these soldiers fought, and more importantly, what their weaknesses were. She and Hallie had been battling against the king’s forces for months now and they didn’t seem to get any better at fighting her. But she was getting better at defeating them, no matter how many the king sent.

The soldiers charged the clearing, coming at Bea with swords drawn. The knight saw a flash of magic around her chest plate as Hallie cast a protection ward on her. Nine soldiers were no match for Bea with Hallie at her back. The fight began and Bea cut down the soldiers one by one. Occasionally Hallie aided with a flash of magic, but it was mostly Bea doing the work. The scuffle was over nearly as quickly as it began, bodies littered around the majestic tree the soldiers were trying to protect.

“It’d be so much easier if we could just finish our quest in peace,” Hallie said with a laugh. “Too bad the king doesn’t understand the power of being able to raise the dead. Doddering old fool.”

Bea wiped the blood off her sword into the tall grass and said nothing. She did her job and stood by the mage’s side through thick and thin. Hallie was determined to bring her family back from the dead and there’d be no stopping her.

“Almost done?” Bea asked. “I’m hungry and could use a–” But before she could finish, an arrow whizzed through the air, pierced through her steel plate armor, and embedded itself in her thigh. Bea cursed loudly and crumpled to the ground. “It’s a sniper,” she groaned. “The king finally sent an assassin if the soldiers failed.” She wrenched the arrow out of her leg. “Mithril tipped arrows. Damn.”

Hallie whirled around and held up her hands to create a protective magical barrier around both of them as a second arrow shot through the clearing and bounced off the shield. “What direction?” she asked.

Bea gestured vaguely to the southwest and moaned, clutching her leg. “Poison tipped, too.”

Hallie kept her left hand steady to maintain the magical barrier and pointed her right hand towards the assassin’s location. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as a shot of necrotic energy blasted into the forest, killing every single tree, fern, and tuft of moss in its way. A moment later they heard a thud as a body fell from one of the trees. Hallie and Bea lingered in silence for a moment, waiting to see if anything else was coming for them. But when the forest returned no further aggression, Hallie dropped the barrier and knelt at Bea’s side.

“Did you get the briarheart?” Bea asked, sucking in air through clenched teeth. The poison was leaching into her bloodstream, sending screaming pain all throughout her body.

“That hardly matters,” Hallie retorted, beginning to unfasten Bea’s armor and pull it off of her. “I gotta get that poison out before I need to bring you back from the dead,” she said with a nervous laugh. “Stupid, stupid king,” she murmured under her breath. “Sending all these assholes to hunt us down.” She was rattled and uncomfortable, a strange demeanor for the otherwise cool, calm, and collected mage.

 “You realize why they’re hunting you down, right?” Bea said as Hallie held her hands over the wound in her thigh.

“Hunting us down,” Hallie corrected. “It’s because the king doesn’t want to see someone like me possess more magic than any of his court mages.”

“No,” Bea growled, the pain in her leg intensifying as Hallie magically syphoned the poison out of the gash. “It’s because the things you’ve done to gain this power have been destabilizing Wyndland.”

“What are you talking about?” Hallie said, her eyes beading with tears. Bea knew that on some level, Hallie understood.

“The briarheart,” Bea said, gesturing to the tree. “Removing it would kill this entire forest. You know that, right?”

“So?”

“Hallie, how many other things have we taken, stolen, extracted, or otherwise illicitly obtained on this quest to raise the dead? The briarheart is only one of a dozen or more items or ingredients hidden in that satchel of yours.” The pain in Bea’s leg made her angry, which made her bold.

Hallie paused her healing magic, staring at Bea with those dark black eyes. “It’s worth it, Bea,” she said. “It’s all going to be worth it in the end. My entire family died in the plague when I was a little girl and I was robbed of my life with them. I will do anything to get them back.”

“And how many other people died? How many other grief-stricken citizens are living in Wyndland? None of them are causing this level of destruction like you are.” Hallie tore her eyes away from Bea and returned to drawing out the poison with her magic. “Hallie, look at me,” Bea pleaded.

“What?” Hallie snapped.

“You’re the villain, Hallie. The king is coming after you– after us– because we are the greatest threat to the kingdom. He sent an assassin with mithril arrows dipped in poison and it still wasn’t enough to stop us.”

“Why are you still here then?” Hallie whispered, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. She continued to work on Bea’s leg and the pain was lessening as the poison was eliminated. “You took an oath as a knight. Knights don’t help villains.”

“I took my oath to you,” Bea reminded her. “When I pledged my service to you.”

“I free you from my service,” Hallie blurted out. “Lady Beatrice of–”

But before Hallie could finish the words that would formally dismiss Bea, the knight leaned forward and pressed her fingers to Hallie’s lips. “Don’t,” she whispered. “I’m not leaving you. I’ve come this far. Don’t send me away now.”

Bea had thought many times of asking for dismissal. She knew long before Hallie did that they were on the wrong side of things. She did not delude herself into thinking there was anything righteous about their quest. She drew her fingers from Hallie’s lips and cradled the mage’s cheek in her palm. Her tether to Hallie transcended the mortal oaths they pledged. She was bound to her in this life, and in every life.

“Bea, I lo–” Hallie breathed.

But Bea already knew what she was going to say and cut her off with a kiss, wishing to taste the words on Hallie’s lips rather than hearing them said aloud.