A
Knight to Celebrate
New
Camelot Prequel
by
Barbara Russell
Genre:
YA Arthurian Steampunk Fantasy Romance
Nathair
and two other fellow cadets of the Sir Lancelot’s Academy for
Knights are pulling a prank on the ladies of Lady Guinevere’s
Academy for Damsels. After the ladies filled the cadets’ quivers
with honey, it’s only fair that the cadets return the favour.
**Only
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THE
FIRST RULE to be a good, no, a great thief was to be patient. Hurry would get
Nathair caught, and getting caught picking the lock of Lady Guinevere’s Academy
for Damsels meant an immediate expulsion from Sir Lancelot Academy for Knights,
a month grounded at home, and the end of his dream of becoming a knight.
But
with his fellow cadets fretting around him and urging him to be fast, the noise
of the night patrols roaming New Camelot’s streets, and the looming fear that a
clockwork knight might discover them, he wasn’t particularly prone to follow
this first rule.
Not
that he was a real thief. He’d never stolen anything. So far, he’d used his
pilfering skills to help his best friend, Tristan, enter the ladies’ academy to
meet his girlfriend of the moment. If Sir Lancelot had been alive today, almost
five hundred years after King Arthur’s death, he wouldn’t be impressed by what
the young knights in training were about to do. Protecting the ladies was one
of the first rules of the Knight Code. Heck, Nathair’s mother wouldn’t be
impressed or amused.
He
was the first dark-skinned cadet, member of the tribe of the Snake, to almost
become a knight, and he might blow his career tonight. But two days ago, the
girls of the Lady Guinevere had filled the cadets’ quivers with honey. So, it
was only fair that the cadets returned the favour.
“Will
it take long, Nathair?” Raymond asked, biting his fingernails. His gaze darted
around, and his chest strained the jacket of the cadets’ uniform.
Nathair
slid a thin knife into the slit between the door and the doorframe. “It’ll take
the time that it’s needed.”
He
paused to wipe his clammy hands over his trousers and to push back his hair. A
sliver of anxiety crawled up his neck like a spider, but he ignored it. He’d
picked this lock dozens of times. He knew it intimately, better than the
cabbage field in his farmhouse. Yet that night the lock didn’t want to yield to
his touch.
The knife jammed even though the lock hadn’t been changed. He was
sure of that. It was the same, rusty old lock of a few days ago.
Raymond
shifted his weight and blew air on his hands. The blue cloak swished about his
ankles. “Can’t you speed up?”
Tristan
swatted his shoulder. “First, don’t disturb Nat while he’s working. He tends to
become sloppy when you push him.”
“No,
I don’t,” Nathair gritted out, sticking the second knife in the lock.
“You
do.” Tristan waved a dismissive hand before returning his attention to Raymond.
“And second, why did you wear the academy uniform? If someone sees us, they’ll
know the Sir Lancelot’s cadets broke into the Guinevere’s Academy.”
A
Knight in Distress
New
Camelot #1
Knights
are supposed to rescue damsels. That’s the natural order. So when
Nathair, a knight in training, finds himself rescued by the princess
he’s supposed to save, he’s annoyed. And when the princess proves
she can fight like a knight? Well, that’s enough for a boy to think
about a career change.
Amazon
* Kobo
One
Nathair
hadn’t planned to end his last day at Sir Lancelot’s Academy for Knights
getting caught cheating on his final examination. Especially since the cheating
had been a misunderstanding. The incriminating piece of parchment was still in
his best friend’s extended hand. General Baldwin loomed over Nathair in his
emerald uniform, one eyebrow arched in disappointment.
“Sir,
I wasn’t—” Nathair started, standing at his desk.
“Don’t
even try, Locksbay.” General Baldwin held up a hand to silence him. “The
situation is clear enough. I’ve caught your friend Tristan red-handed passing
you that piece of paper with the correct Numeracy answers. Cheating is not only
against the academy rules, but the Knights’ Honor Code as well.”
Ouch. That
hurts. Nathair wasn’t a cheater. He was an average student maybe, but
never a cheater. He bit down the remark and ignored his fellow cadets
whispering and giggling behind his back. They leaned forward on their wooden
desks, heads turning from him to the general like in a game of stool-ball. Many
cadets would enjoy seeing the only russet-skinned boy at the academy being
publicly scolded.
Tristan
of Greystone stood and bowed to the general. His blond hair swished about his
shoulders. “General Baldwin, it’s my fault. It was my idea to help Nathair. I
knew he needed help with Numeracy, and I thought to pass him the answers. He
didn’t ask me anything.”
That
was true, and swyve. Tristan excelled at many things—he was the academy’s top
cadet—but persuading people was his most honed skill. His confident tone,
reassuring smile, and bright blue eyes could soothe the most inveterate
criminal into turning himself in.
General
Baldwin waved a dismissive hand. “You can sit down, Greystone, and keep going
with your examination, but I’ll take fifty points off your final score for
breaking the rules.”
Tristan
did as told, casting an apologetic glance at Nathair.
General
Baldwin took Nathair’s test and scanned it. “Let’s see why you wanted
Greystone’s intervention.”
When
his’ gray eyebrows shot up, Nathair smelled trouble. He didn’t need the
mind-reading power of the mind-wrens to guess what the general was thinking.
The bell echoed in the high-vaulted ceiling of the Training Hall, and Nathair
exhaled. Chairs scraped back against the wooden floor.
Now
he was done for.
“Locksbay,”
General Baldwin’s voice sounded stern, “…follow me to my office.”
“Of
course, sir.” He collected his quill, parchments, and ink bottle and stuffed
them in his bag.
“Sorry,”
Tristan whispered. “I’ll wait for you here.”
With
heavy feet, Nathair followed the man who might expel him. He swallowed hard,
thinking about his mentor. What would Ewhen say when he heard about this?
Nathair shuffled behind the general along the Champions’ Corridor lined with
famous knights’ suits of armor. They headed to the eastern tower of the castle
toward the mechanical winch.
Before
entering the narrow cabin that would lift him up to the third floor, Nathair
hesitated. Traveling suspended by an iron cable wasn’t his idea of a safe trip.
In comparison, the clockwork stairs, despite the grinding noise of the steps
winding up, seemed safer. Nathair stepped inside the cabin and shoved his hands
in his blue cloak pockets, while the winch coiled up with a grinding of metal
against stone. From a gap between two metal plates, he caught a glimpse of
rotating wheels and pumping pistons.
Once
at the landing, Nathair trudged toward General Baldwin’s office. The oak door
closed behind them with a thud. The room had four floor-to-ceiling windows, a high-vaulted
ceiling, and a fireplace that resembled a dragon’s open jaw. Despite the size
of the room, Nathair’s chest constricted. He breathed in the familiar smell.
The musty scent of old parchments mingled with that of the armchairs’ worn
leather.
“Sit.”
General Baldwin sat on his throne-like chair.
Nathair
groaned and dropped down onto one of the stuffed chairs. No chance this would
be quick.
General
Baldwin scanned Nathair’s test, his eyes darting up and down. “You have
twenty-five points. It’s not good enough, but it’s not an excuse to cheat
either.”
He
didn’t reply. He’d rather take the blame than involve Tristan. Besides, telling
the truth wouldn’t change his score.
General
Baldwin drummed his fingers on the desk. “What happened? You were a good
student. Not the finest, but decent. This,” he gestured at the paper, “is not
what I’d have expected from you, and I’m not talking about today’s
examination.” He opened a drawer and pulled out a leather folder fat with
parchments. He unfastened the string and spread them out.
Nathair
gripped the armrests.
“I
had a look at your tests and assignments, and I’m very disappointed.” General
Baldwin flipped through the stack of papers. “In your last Wildlife and
Wild-flora test you scored an Insufficient, same thing with Music and Courteous
Conversation.”
He
shook his head. A sickening lump crawled into his stomach. Please,
anything but Poetry.
“For
example, Poetry.” As General Baldwin read, his frown deepened. “Dame Puddifoot
wrote only one word about your poetic skills: hopeless. What is your obsession
with cats? Cats are all over your poems. You must love them.”
Hardly. Cat rhymed with
everything: fat, hat, sat, bat, mat—the possibilities were endless.
“And
I see no extracurricular skills or activities.” He stared at Nathair.
He
wiped his hands on the trousers of his uniform and pulled back a curled strand
of his chestnut hair. Call it a hunch but breaking into Lady Guinevere’s
Damsels Academy using nothing but two knives probably wasn’t an extracurricular
skill the general would be interested in, but then someone had to release those
greasy pigs into Lady Guinevere’s dormitory. Last week, the ladies had filled
the cadets’ quivers with honey. It was only sensible that the cadets returned
the favor, and Tristan needed help to sneak into the rooms of his many
girlfriends.
“Well?”
General Baldwin prompted.
“I
don’t have much time for extra activities, sir.”
“Anyway,
I might agree that Music and Poetry aren’t essential for a knight, but an
Unsatisfactory in Swordsmanship and Defensive Strategy is inexcusable.
You’ve
excelled in them until recently. Ewhen’s always praised your fighting skills
and resilience. What’s going on with you?”
He
loosened his jacket’s collar. “I…my family had problems this winter.”
“What
problems?”
“My
sister got the water-elf disease.”
General
Baldwin’s jaw dropped. “Was it serious?”
“Her
lungs were affected.” Nathair fussed with his cloak. “The healer’s fee was
exorbitant, and my mother couldn’t hire a worker for the harvest. I had to help
her.”
Not
that his mother had asked for his help. She wanted Nathair to focus on his
studies. In fact, they’d had a furious fight. Still, he’d worked tirelessly on
the field. The cuts and bruises covering his hands didn’t come from combat
practice. The hours spent plowing and tilling had taken their toll.
“Did
your mother ask for a loan?” General Baldwin asked.
“She
did.” Nathair’s eyes narrowed. “They wanted forty percent interest.”
General
Baldwin tilted his head. “What? That’s robbery. Your mother is being treated
like a witch. The reason?”
“They
said that…” Anger and shame swept through Nathair. He squirmed on the chair as
if he were sitting on hot coals. At least he would be eighteen soon and the
official owner of their land. “They don’t trust a russet-skinned woman of the
Snake clan, and she was lucky that Ewhen is our landowner. Otherwise, the
Wizarding Council would’ve already confiscated our land. Unless we pay the debt
in a month, they’ll take our farm, and my mother’s permit to stay in New
Camelot will be revoked.”
If
his mother were expelled from the city, he’d follow her into the Snake
Mountains where her people lived. New Camelot was his home. He’d been born
here. All he knew about the Snake people was that they were dark-skinned and
worshiped a half-woman, half-snake goddess. He didn’t even speak their tongue.
“I’m
not surprised. The war against the Snake people has gone on for too long—like
the war against the Saxons and the Goths, and now we’re on the edge of a war
with the Romans.” General Baldwin rose and paced. “Did you tell the
moneylenders about your father and how your mother is a hardworking,
law-abiding citizen? I guess they don’t care.” He stopped pacing. “Why didn’t
you tell me any of this? I might’ve helped.”
Nathair
scuffed his boots on the marble floor. “I thought I could handle it.”
“Pride
is a knight’s trait, but you should’ve told me. Now I can’t do anything.
Tomorrow, when the High Wizard assigns you your quest, you’ll be on your own.
Besides, I have to inform him of your attempt at cheating, which means your
quest will be harder. After the last Wizarding Council’s decree, I’m afraid
that…” He fell silent and waved a hand. “Never mind. You’ll know soon enough.”
“Even
if I fail tomorrow, I can try next year, right?” He wouldn’t graduate with
Tristan, but next year he’d study hard, and his final examination would be
better.
General
Baldwin paled. “Er…well, that’s the rule…for now.” He turned to the mantelpiece
and straightened the shield of the order of the Swan. Always
brave, always faithful, always a knight, the motto read.
Those
ancient words would be written on Nathair’s shield one day, if he were ever
accepted into the order.
General
Baldwin faced Nathair, his expression grave. “I know how badly you want to be a
Swan.” His chest puffed. “The order of the Swan has the best warriors of the
kingdom. I’ve been a Swan knight since your age and fought with them for more
than thirty years, so I understand your feelings. Promise me you won’t do
anything stupid or reckless tomorrow. When the High Wizard assigns you a quest,
I want you to think carefully before accepting it.”
Nathair
rubbed the back of his neck, struggling to follow the conversation. He could
have a second chance if he failed the quest, but not if he turned it down.
Without even trying it, he could never apply to the Swans and could never be a
knight. “I’ll do my best, sir.”
“Off
you go.” General Baldwin opened the door. “Tomorrow is an important day for
you. Sleep well and get ready.”
A
Damsel in Shiny Armor
New
Camelot #2
After
fighting dragons, wild Vikings, and clockwork monsters, Nathair is
facing the biggest challenge of his life: proposing to Bryhannon.
Apparently, flowers and a three-month salary worth ring aren’t
enough because she doesn’t seem thrilled by the proposal. She has a
devastating power to control, Reapers to face, and more importantly
she has to find the courage to tell Nathair that she’s a Morrigan.
One
The
wild spinning into the air, the feeling of his ribs almost being crushed, and
the searing pain in the skull didn’t bother Nathair much. His head throbbed,
and his stomach rolled with nausea, but that was normal when he used a
traveling charm.
What
bothered him during a trip with a traveling charm was the fear of being
beheaded or losing a limb as it’d happened to a junior knight a few weeks ago.
The poor lad had lost his foot and screamed so loud Nathair thought a dragon
was attacking the Swan’s headquarters.
Yes,
a healer had reattached the missing limb, and now the lad walked with only a
minor limp, yet, experiencing that type of pain wasn’t something Nathair looked
forward to.
He
landed on the grass in the middle of the Order of the Swan’s headquarters in
New Camelot and staggered onto his feet. The blue smoke produced by the charm
twirled around him and dissolved in the morning air. He bent forward and sucked
in a deep breath, the faint smell of sulfur, dragonwort,
and something else spicy filling his nostrils. He touched his face to confirm
his nose and ears were still there. His long curled, chestnut hair fell over
his cheeks, and he pulled it back. Good. So even his hair seemed all right. He
hadn’t turned bald. Legs? Two. Eyes? Two as well. Fingers? Ten.
Nathair
straightened his black Swan uniform and brushed off the dust it’d gathered
during his trip from Astolat. Next time, he’d take a dragon flight. It was
slower but safer. More or less.
“Finally.”
Tristan strode over to him, cutting through the courtyard packed with horses.
His neat uniform stretched over broad shoulders, making his golden hair appear
shinier. “You should’ve come back yesterday. What happened? Problems with the
mission?”
“No.”
Nathair smiled. Bryhannon’s flowery scent still lingered on his clothes. “I
easily found the Swan’s headquarters in Astolat and delivered the documents,
but…” He checked the courtyard. A group of recruits in green uniforms sparred
against a clockwork knight—an Ametor. The clash of swords covered their grunts.
Senior knights practiced hand-to-hand combat, and a few healers milled around,
their noses stuck inside the pages of fat books. No one was close enough to
hear him. “Bryhannon came with me and—”
“Bryhannon?
You took her with you during a mission?” Tristan’s sapphire eyes widened.
“Shush!”
Nathair pressed his lips together and glanced around. “She wanted to buy a few
things in Astolat, and I asked her to come. It’s not like I took her into a
Saxon war zone. Astolat is relatively safe.” It wasn’t like Londinium, where
Saxon dragons had thrown fireballs on the city and almost burned everything to
the ground.
Tristan
put a hand on the hilt of Gutrender. “She’s still a princess even though her
father disowned her and an unchaperoned lady. People will talk. Her reputation
will be ruined.”
“No
one knows she was with me. She told General Baldwin she was going to visit her
sister in Summerland, and since when you’re so worried about propriety?”
Tristan’s
cheeks flushed. “I suppose that if the situation were reversed and I’d taken
your sister in Astolat with me—”
“You
wouldn’t breathe right now,” he gritted out.
Tristan
spread his arms. “See what I mean?”
Nathair’s
face warmed, and he loosened the collar of his jacket. Tristan had a point, but
Nathair had only wanted to spend some time alone with his new girlfriend
without General Baldwin’s constant vigilance or a maid listening to everything
he said to Bryhannon. Was it that bad?
“Bryhannon
insisted, and nothing happened. We slept into two different bedrooms.” Unfortunately.
“That’s
something.”
Nathair
arched a brow. “You aren’t planning on taking my sister somewhere, are
you?”
Tristan’s
stare dropped to the ground. “No. I’ve invited her to Beltane ball in my house,
and she said yes.” His chest swelled then deflated. “But she didn’t sound
happy.”
Nathair
frowned. With her damaged leg, Nineveh probably didn’t feel confident enough to
go to a ball, but her mechanical boot allowed her to jump and run freely. So
why wasn’t she happy to attend a ball?
Tristan
was right about Bryhannon though. Her reputation was at stake, and he had to
behave like a proper gentleman. He tapped the small velvet box in his
pocket–the proof that he was a gentleman, and that he was serious about
Bryhannon. The small case represented the first big step toward a life
together.
Slowly,
as if he were handling an asp, he fished out the box and showed it to Tristan.
“I care about her reputation.”
Tristan’s
mouth hung low. “You’re going to propose to her?”
Nathair
nodded, not trusting his voice.
“Are
you sure it’s the right thing to do?” Tristan peered at him.
“It’s
what I want and what she needs. Her father disowned her. She’s been forced to
live in General Baldwin’s house. She doesn’t have a family anymore.
Besides, I
love her, and I’m eighteen now. Why shouldn’t I marry her?”
“I
simply think it’s a bit too early.”
Nathair
stiffened, closing his hand around the box. “Just because you prefer changing
girlfriends every other day, it doesn’t give you the right to judge me.”
Tristan
exhaled through clenched teeth and glowered. “Those days are in the past, you
know this, or I wouldn’t be courting Nineveh.”
Nathair
raked a hand through his hair, a pang of guilt striking him. Tristan had proved
to have serious intentions about Nineveh. “Sorry,” he said, stuffing the box
back in his pocket.
“Well,
congratulations then.” Tristan clasped his forearm like the Swan warriors used
to greet each other.
A
corner of his mouth quirked up. “I have a job now. My mother’s debt has been
paid. I can take care of Bryhannon.” I want to. Then,
they could be alone as much as they wanted.
Tristan
swatted his arm, startling him. “Ewhen wants to talk to you.” He headed toward
the wooden barracks that surrounded the courtyard. “Actually, he was waiting
for you early this morning for the camouflage training session.”
Nathair
dodged a stray arrow and scowled at the recruit who shot it. The boy flustered
and bowed his head. “I thought the camouflage training session was optional.”
Besides, spending hours dressed like a bush and imitating birds’ songs grated
on his nerves.
“We’re
senior knights now. We aren’t at the academy anymore. Optional means
compulsory.”
They
entered the main building and climbed the wooden stairs to Captain Ewhen’s
office. The familiar smell of worn leather and sword polish wafted around.
Knights’ boots stomped on the polished floor as a group of Swans marched along
the corridor. Some had blood-stained bandages around their heads and arms, the
result of a recent Saxon intrusion into Briton territory.
Nathair
stopped in front of Ewhen’s office. The door stood ajar, and Ewhen’s booming
voice drifted out.
“We’ll
find him, whoever he is.” He slammed a fist on the desk,
causing it to shake. The content of an ink bottle quivered. “If I have to
interrogate every single knight in the entire Briton Empire to find him, I
will.”
Nathair
winced. Ewhen wasn’t nicknamed the Dragonhearted for being sweet. He peeked
inside. A see-through face floated in the middle of the desk right over the
silver bar of an orator—the device for long distance communications.
“What’s
this all about?” he whispered.
Tristan
shrugged. “A dispatch arrived yesterday from the war zone in the south.
Something happened, and since the Saxons invaded the land of the Franks, Ewhen
didn’t have a moment of rest.”
Sir
Bohemond paced in front of the desk, his large frame obscuring the view at
every passage.
The
ghostly head of the man nodded. “The situation is out of control, Sir Ewhen.
Every garrison in Londinium has been thoroughly searched.”
“Search
again until you find him.”
The
head bowed. “Sir, yes sir.”
“Dismissed.”
Ewhen punched a button, and the spectral image disappeared. He shot a glare at
the door, features tensing. “Come in.”
Sir
Bohemond opened the door fully and beckoned Nathair and Tristan inside. The
long scar, crisscrossing his face twitched when his jaw muscle rippled.
“Welcome back, Nathair.”
“Thank
you, sir.”
Tristan
closed the door behind them. Nathair stepped over a pair of muddy boots and
stood in front of Ewhen’s wooden desk. It was so large it took up and entire
corner, almost as big as his bed.
Ewhen
pushed the orator aside. With its long, tubular shape, rounded ends, and the
holes on its top, it resembled a flute. He ran a hand over his face, and his
auburn hair tumbled forward covering his tense shoulders. “Nathair, I didn’t
see you this morning at the camouflage training session.”
Oops. “Uh, thank you,
Captain.”
Bohemond
chuckled, and Tristan’s mouth twitched up.
Ewhen
arched a red eyebrow, but the hard lines on his face softened. “Very funny. Did
you have problems in Astolat?”
“Not
at all.” Nathair swallowed the lump in his throat. Now his idea of spending
more time with Bryhannon didn’t sound so reasonable. “I was delayed.” By the most beautiful and smartest girl I’ve ever met. A
smile threatened to raise his lips when he remembered a particularly happy hour
spent with Bryhannon by the empty shore of the Lynn River in the moonlight. So
he cleared his throat.
I’m
an entomologist and a soil biologist, which is a fancy way to say
that I dig in the dirt, looking for bugs. Nature and books have
always been my passion. I was a kid when I read The Lord Of The Ring
and fell in love with fantasy novels.
When
I discovered cozy mystery and crime novels, I fell in love with
Hercules Poirot and Sherlock Holmes. Then I grew up and . . . Nah,
I’m joking. I didn’t grow up. Don’t grow up, folks! It’s a
trap.
PS
I hate gardening. There, I said it. Sorry fellow Kiwis.
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1 comments:
Thank you for having me :)
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