The Shadow, the Orc, & the Princess: Part Three (special preview)

Not long after my sixteenth birthday my father gave me the opportunity to train my own knights. I was excited, but only until I learned he wanted to begin focusing on Bronn and his training. While it was a worrisome moment, I decided it was best to put my focus onto deciding the kind of people I wanted around me, as they would be with me when I was queen.

I went into the village, selecting six young women. I decided if I was going to have these people around me, I wanted them to be like me so we would all understand one another. Two of them, Kirsa and Veerle, became my constant companions, and the three of us worked together on the best training regimen for our knights.

“Our best means would be horseback,” Veerle suggested. “We can strength train all we want, but our best advantage would be learning how to combat mounted.” She was a tiefling and was the tallest and strongest of my girls as well as the most educated. She came from a well off family but had worked on her family’s farm as soon as she could walk.

“Archery!” Kirsa interjected excitedly. “Aiming and shooting, those will be what's most fun.” She was much more petite and thin than most of my girls, but she held a vicious streak inside her that made her a terrifying combatant. The others called her the Goblin.

Veerle gave her a look and her tail twitched. “It’s not about what’s the most fun.”

“Oh come on!” Kirsa whined. “We can swing battle axes all the time. Arrows give us range! The give us speed! They’re silent, most people don’t know they’ve been hit until it’s too late,” she giggled with glee.

Veerle then gave me the look.

“She’s right,” I grumbled reluctantly. “And most of the girls are already performing well in archery.”

“That’s not what worries me. The Goblin does.”

Over the years we perfected our craft. Our horses were carefully selected and bred, our girls were trained to be the best shooters in the land. We became a vicious and beautiful force to be reckoned with.

Around my twenty-first birthday my mother fell ill. I asked that any celebration be canceled, as I didn’t feel like celebrating while she was sick.

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Bronn asked me one night. He had been having nightmares and he took to coming and sleeping with me.

I stroked his hair, giving him a faint smile. “She’ll be fine. She just needs her rest. She gets better by the day.”

Boon went quiet, holding onto his stuffed knight toy. “Are you okay?”

I chuckled. “What are you going on about, little prince? What’s going on in that head of yours?”

He looked up at me with those big eyes and pouted. “I keep feeling you hurt.”

I sighed and pulled him into my arms. “Don’t you worry about your big sister. I will be okay. As long as I have you around, I will always find a reason to smile.”

His small hands touched my face. “What if the shadow man comes back?”

“Don’t you worry about the shadow man either. I handle him just fine.” I kissed the tip of his nose. “Now get to sleep. We can’t have you getting sick either.”

Bronn settled down, closing his eyes and holding his toy close.

I hated he worried so much, but he seemed to feel everything that those around him felt. Father said it was a special power, and one we should watch and cultivate.

But the shadow man was something else. He was a gargantuan man clad only in black who would appear at the palace every few months. He kept his face obscured, wrapped in black cloth, and his hands were stained as if by ink. Father’s wrestling matches had grown, and I had started taking on challengers myself the same way my father did. I would let any challenger come forward and select their choice in weapon. The shadow man began showing up not long after.

During our first fight, he chose a sword. I could tell he was being tentative, so I put everything I had into the fight.

“You choose a sword but you’re using it like a shield!” I yelled at him. “Why challenge me if you’re only going to act delicately!” I struck his sword and he threw me back. I went flying into the ground, hitting so hard it nearly knocked the air from my lungs.

“I was merely waiting to see how you danced around the arena,” he replied with a gravelly voice. “Now I know how you move, and I won’t be gentle again.” He held out his hand and helped me up from the ground. “Now, let's start again.”

I wiped my face and nodded. “Be prepared. Now that I know you watch, I won’t move the same way twice.”

The match ended in a strange stalemate. I was more exhausted, but I had landed a blow to him that slowed him down. My father called the match, realizing both of us were at the ends of our ropes.