The rest of the trip across the Atlantic was pretty tedious. So, technically speaking it wasn’t across the Atlantic. It was one of those great circle things that I’ve never understood.
The problem is, I think, that any time you see it on a flat map, it just looks so weird. You think you’d had to keep turning to get to your destination.
Logically, I guess, it makes sense; it just doesn’t look like it should make sense.
I watched the other Knights as they interacted. These men had been together for years. The next closest to me in age looked to be in his mid twenties. They knew each other, and trusted one another. Would I ever have that? Would I deserve it if I did?
I spent part of the trip just looking out the window at the clouds. We were above them, and the sun shone brightly upon us. I can’t really describe my feelings looking out and seeing our shadow following us across that sea of white.
It was intense to say the least.
I guess it would be a good idea to explain a couple of things about my growing up. No, I had no television or Internet, but that doesn’t make me ignorant of everything in the world.
I knew how to drive from the time I was ten. We all knew what airplanes were, as we might be called upon to fly at some point. We had a basic understanding of the world that you live in, we just weren’t part of that world.
It’s kind of like being Amish, but without all the farming.
As we were coming in for a landing Peter handed me a white cloth, neatly folded. I knew what it was before I unfurled it, but even so as the weight, more psychological than physical, settled on my shoulders I knew that I was something different than I was before.
Kevin had explained the precepts of our Order to me, if only briefly, but I knew that I wanted to live in their bounds.
I was a Knight. Everything about my old Order that had bothered me like the deaths of children, or killing of kids near our own age, wouldn’t be repeated here. I smiled as I realized that I was a part of something greater than myself.
One of the other Knights glared at me, but I just turned away. I’d been the target of hateful glares my entire life, and one more wouldn’t faze me. This was my moment. That moment of perfect bliss that every moment in your life is leading up to, and every moment after is a steady downhill path.
We walked off the plane and to the gate in the airfield fence. The airfield seemed mostly deserted, just like the one in America had been. As we approached the gate in the fence, I began to feel a little self-conscious. People were going to see us in our uniform.
In the Order, they had told us to blend in, not let anyone see your weapons. Become part of the background noise.
We were walking bold as anything to the edge of the field where a couple of men stood in what I assumed were military uniforms.
My steps faltered for a moment, but the soldiers just saluted Peter and we walked through.
“They know who we are?” I asked after we had passed the gate.
Peter smiled at me for a moment and then walked on. Kevin fell back and walked beside me.
“They think we’re SCA. The commanding officer on this base is a former Knight.”
“Former?”
“What, you thought you were in the Order ‘til the day you died? That would be foolish. Fighting the Unseen is a young man’s sport. There aren’t many who live long enough to have retirement forced upon them, but many of us decide that we need to live life. You find a girl, or one finds you, and you decide that it’s time to leave and start a family.”
“If there are girls in the Knighthood…”
“While not unheard of, it is frowned upon. We are a squad. It is our duty to protect everyone on the squad, and sometimes that means leaving someone behind. Fraternization in the ranks can cause divided loyalties. Best not to borrow trouble I always say.”
“That’s the first time you’ve said it.”
“You just haven’t known him long enough, Seth.”
The others laughed at this so I just smiled.
“Where are the girls, then?”
“Don’t let them hear you calling them girls,” David said to more general laughter.
“The women are after a solitary female vamp. Normally we’d send in the whole squad, but our intel this time was solid. Apparently she kills anyone she turns before his, or her, bloodlust fades. She enjoys the challenge.”
“Why…?”
“Surely you know that a female vamp can only mesmer a male.”
I blushed. I had known that, but it never occurred to me to worry about it. In my former Order they would throw people at the problem until it went away.
“We’ll be meeting up with them at the castle.”
I smiled assuming it was a joke, but no one else was laughing.
We didn’t walk for long. As soon as we were completely out of sight of the gate we found an SUV. We piled aboard, and once again Kevin drove us. I’d spent most of my life looking out windows and wanting to get into the world. Now that I had some level of freedom, I wanted to take advantage of it. The forest that went by on either side of our car beckoned me.
We arrived, and I finally understood what they were talking about. It wasn’t a castle in the traditional sense, but there was something about the manor that just screamed “castle.”
“How is it that we have a castle?”
“In the past we were a part of the nobility. The kings and queens knew who we were, and supported our cause. Our lands have never been ceded, and we continued to own them through wars and peace time,” Peter said from behind me.
“I am the current duke of something or other in England. In France and Germany I am just another land owner.”
“But…”
“Don’t worry about it, Seth. I’m working on your paperwork to get you dual American and British citizenship.”
I was floored. There was so much about the Knights that didn’t make sense to me. I doubt that my former Order had ever heard about them, but here they were working almost out in the open.
“How do the Unseen react to all of this. We are so exposed…”
Peter shared a look with Kevin. Kevin took me aside as Peter and the other Knights went inside.
“We are only in the open with the other humans. The Unseen have a really bad relationship with us at the moment.”
“It’s because of the Sacred Heart, isn’t it?”
“Mostly, yes. There have been some…incidents…in the past; they were dark days for our Order. We don’t like to remember them, but the Unseen involved won’t let us forget.”
“We made mistakes?”
“Mistakes would be easily rectified. We blamed the wrong people for the schism in the Order, and before we discovered our mistake we made enemies. Some very powerful enemies.”
“What kind of enemies?”
“The kind that you should hope never to meet. We’ve only recently begun to really recover. There were decades where there was only a single squad of Knights.”
I looked around us at the forest. I felt safe here, but what eyes hid there, watching us. A shiver went through me at the thought.
“Come inside. Let’s get you warmed up.”
“If you don’t mind, I’ve had enough of walls for a while. Can I walk in the woods for a while?”
“You’re a Knight, Seth. As long as you are not under orders you can do whatever you want.”
I smiled at him, and began walking. The tabard was so comfortable on me that I’d completely forgotten I was wearing it, and when I did remember, I was miles from the castle.
Shrugging my shoulders, I continued my walk. The forests weren’t the same as those I’d grown up in, but the similarity made me feel at home. I loved the sounds that forests made. There was a stillness to them that felt right to me, somehow. I knew I wasn’t an Unseen, or at least I assumed I wasn’t, but it was as if I were born to walk these forests, or any forests for that matter.
I don’t know why I started, but before I knew it I was stalking. It was something I did at home, trying to sneak up on the animals in the forest. Not the easiest of things. Animals are wary of predators, and humans are some of the best predators around.
No, we don’t have the natural weapons of a lion or a vampire, but we have intelligence. Well, I suppose that a vampire has intelligence as well. There’s a reason I don’t call us the best predators. Just in a select group that includes the Unseen and us.
The tracks I found were those of a rabbit.
I’d never successfully caught a rabbit before. I’d tried a lot, but they always seemed to hop from my grasp the moment that I was about to take them.
This one, however, seemed to be completely unaware of my presence. How that could really be, I don’t know, but it was the case as far as I could tell.
As I drew ever closer to it, a smile spread across my face. I was nicely downwind, and I know I wasn’t making a sound. My soft leather soled shoes allowed me to feel the terrain. I could feel the branches and twigs that might have betrayed me.
I ever so slowly reached out my hand and grabbed the bunny.
My elation only lasted for a moment or two before I wasn’t holding onto a rabbit anymore but a naked girl. My arm had been around the rabbit’s torso, so you can imagine where my hand ended up.
She let out a bloodcurdling scream and began to struggle in my grasp. I was trying to get out from under her at the same time, so we ended up in a tangle of limbs. The more we struggled, the more difficult it became to concentrate.
You try wresting with a naked woman and tell my you have any more luck at it.
Everything came to a screeching halt when I heard the tell-tale click-clack of a round being chambered in a shotgun.
“Unhand my daughter,” I heard someone say in a British accent from behind me.
I figured that if I did anything other than simply stop moving I was a dead man. Trying to let her go had just resulted in more confusion previously. She got up and ran into the woods, but not before she gave me an excellent view of her backside.
Trying not to grin, I turned back to look at her father.
He was equally as naked, and had the barrel of his shotgun pointed at me.
“If you could put down your gun, I promise not to draw a weapon and we can discuss this like civilized people.”
“Like you could…”
I drew and threw a knife in a fluid motion and sent it into the tree a couple of feet to his left. He threw his hands up to try to block it, firing the shotgun into the air above my head.
“Now, I realize you are Unseen. You likely know I’m not. I never meant to harm your daughter.”
“You stalked her for over a mile.”
“I thought she was a rabbit…you know what I mean. A real rabbit, not a were-rabbit.”
“Why would you…”
“I like to sneak up on animals and I’ve never successfully caught a rabbit with my bare hands.”
The man began to laugh.
“No, seriously.”
A moment or two later, the girl, now dressed, returned to see what the fuss was all about.
“Watch this one, he’s tricky.” He said and left the two of us alone.
She had the most beautiful ash blond hair I’d ever seen, and flawle4ss skin. I had to find out more about this girl.
“What’s your name?” I asked politely.
She glared at me.
“Look, I’d like to at least know the name of the first girl I got to third base with.”
She blushed prettily and glared all the more at me.
“Come on. If your going to kill me, doesn’t the condemned man deserve at least one last request?”
“You don’t deserve anything, Hunter.”
“I’m not a hunter. I don’t even have a gun.”
“Are you an idiot? We know you came from that group of Hunters at the castle. Order of the Heart or whatever…”
“You think…” it suddenly dawned on me who she thought I was, and I think I was afraid for the first time in what felt like days. I’d just been angry outside the Rector’s office. Now I realized they wanted to kill me and there was likely nothing I could do short of killing them.
And I wasn’t going to kill them.
“Wait, you’ve made a mistake. We are the Sacred Sword, not the Sacred Heart.”
“What’s the difference? You still kill Unseen.”
“Only bad Unseen.”
“And who are you to judge who is bad or not?”
“I don’t judge. We research an Unseen before we pass judgment. Mostly we kill vampires from what I hear.”
“What you hear?”
“They just inducted me into the Knighthood. I’ve never…”
My look must have told her what I’d just realized. I had killed an Unseen before. The girl in front of me reminded me of the other girl. There had been hatred in her eyes as well.
“I’ve never killed an Unseen that hasn’t tried to kill me first.”
It was technically true, but I wasn’t going to go into the specifics. There had been no fault in that other girl. Of that I was sure.
“Look, either tell me your name or kill me. I’m not here to hurt you, but if it makes you feel safer, then remove me from this world.”
I felt drained of all emotion. I’d thought that I would finally be able to live a life I could be proud of, but if that wasn’t to be then at least I would die a death I could be proud of.
There was no more defiance in me. I looked into the face of death and realized that I never expected it to be so beautiful. I smiled at her.
“Damnit, father, hurry up.” She said quietly.
“Fine, if you’ll not give me your name, then I’ll try and guess it. How about…Jasmine.”
“A flower? You think me named after a flower?”
“No, not a flower. But another plant…Sage?”
She smirked at me, but something in her eyes told me that she was enjoying the game, and that I was getting closer.
“Rosemary.”
“Not a flower remember?”
“Rosemary is an herb.”
She rolled her eyes at me and was actually grinning. This was the strangest flirting that I’d ever imagined let alone heard of. She was still pointing a gun at me, and I was trying to guess her name.
“Ginger.”
She wrinkled her nose at me, “Too Eastern.”
Was she giving me hints? I began to smile myself at this point.
“Thistle.”
“I really think that one is a flower.”
“You might be right on that. Um…Olive.”
“That’s a fruit.”
“And you’re not a fruit? You’re pointing a shotgun at me.” I said it with a smile though.
“Be nice to the girl with the shotgun.”
“Yes your majesty. Not a fruit, not a flower, but a plant. I don’t know…Laurel.”
She started as I began, but calmed as I ended. I’d almost hit upon it but what could it be…and be a plant?
“Laura…Lauren…Lauren isn’t a plant.”
“It means Laurel, which is kind of a boys name anyway.” I looked at her strangely, but shook it off.
“Pleased to meet you, Lauren. My name is Seth which I have no idea what it means.”
“It means Appointed.”
I just sat there on the ground, which I’d never stood up from, and looked up at her. Have I mentioned yet that she was beautiful.
She offered me a hand and I stood up. I was just taller than she was, and I could smell the scent of her. She smelled like the forest and it made me smile.
It only lasted for a moment or two, but those moments cemented something in my mind. I did not want anything to happen to this woman.
And no, I’ve never heard of ‘love at first scent’ before, but that is what it was like for me.
She smelled of home to me.
Someone behind us cleared his voice, loudly. “Lauren, the gun if you please.”
“No, Dad. I’ll not give you the gun I think. Seth and I are going to go talk to the Hunters and figure out what’s going on from there.”
“I told you, we’re Knights, not Hunters.”
“No you didn’t.”
“I was sure…there are two groups of normal humans who train in how to kill Unseen. The Order of the Sacred Heart are the bad guys. They torture, kill, and generally make pests of themselves from what I hear.
“The Knights of the Sacred Sword are the good guys; we do not torture, we kill only when necessary, and we get to wear these really cool tabards.” I said with a grin to Lauren.
She smiled back to me.
“Fine, Lauren, but be aware that I am letting the council know where you’re going.”
“I know, dad. I’ll be careful. Move, prisoner.” There was something in her eye as she said that. Almost as if she were enjoying this a little too much.
I’ll admit that I was enjoying it as well.
We walked back to the castle in silence. When we got out of sight of her father, she dropped the gun to her side and moved up next to me. I wondered a bit how the rest of the knights were going to react to Lauren.
I got my answer possibly a little sooner than I expected to. We walked through the big double doors not quite hand-in-hand but close enough. The other knights, however, were more interested in the shotgun.
The tableau would have been funny if I were not so intimately involved in it. Men and women were arranged haphazardly around the hall doing menial tasks like caring for their weapons. The talking that had been going on up to that moment ceased abruptly. Swords leapt into hands from tables and scabbards, and Lauren raised her shotgun.
“Seth, get down,” Kevin called, reaching for one of his knives.
I calmly stepped between Lauren and the knights and held out my arms. Without realizing it, I’d drawn my sword in my right hand, and one of my knives in my left.
“That’s enough!” bellowed a voice from the stairs.
Peter descended assisting one of the oldest women I’d seen. “You know we’re not to draw weapons in anger inside the castle,” Peter said, still obviously angry, “What is the meaning of this?”
“The girl has a gun.” One Knight said.
“He’s brought a norm in here,” another said.
“I’m no Norm,” Lauren said, and then colored.
Everyone turned and looked at me…and then people started chuckling around the room.
“You don’t start small, do you,” David said.
“Leave the boy and his future bride alone,” the old woman said and everyone shut up, stunned.
“Grandmother…” Peter began, only to be shushed.
“I am neither dead nor senile, Peter. You of all people should know that, else why would you have wanted me to come check the young man out. Or over. Or whatever you young people say these days.”
“Grandmother, I don’t think…”
“Well I do think. If ninety-six years has earned me anything, it’s a little freedom from the rules. I’ve Seen enough tragedy in my life to deserve it.”
The way she said it left no doubt that she wasn’t just talking about her normal sight. I wasn’t even sure she could actually see anymore. Here eyes were milky orbs.
Lauren let out a small gasp behind me as she realized the import of what had been said, “Do you know what that woman is?”
“Peter’s grandmother, apparently.”
“No, she’s a Seer. And she said…” Lauren blushed very red, and turned away from me.
“Well, boy, let me get a look at you.” The old woman said.
I walked toward her, sheathing my weapons as I did. It was harder to put away my knife than it had been before I began wearing the tabard, but I adjusted.
The woman mumbled to herself as she walked around me. I could only catch one word in three and the words I did hear just made no sense.
After she was done with her second circuit, she looked up at Peter with her milky eyes. “He’s the one. A direct descendant of Saint George himself.”
“What about me?” Lauren asked, “How can you declare that…say that…I just met him!”
“It’s easy to see with you two. He excites you. He’s not only the bad boy your father will hate, but he’s the knight in shining armor you have always dreamed of secretly. I mean he is carrying a sword.”
She turned a gaze to me, “And you have been smitten by her in a way that no medicine can cure. If you two don’t get married you’ll both regret it for the rest of your lives.”
“I’ll just leave,” Lauren said, “if we never see each other again.”
“That would be kind of difficult since you’re destined to become the first Unseen Knight in the history of the Order.”
There was an uproar at this declaration.
I looked back at Lauren with a smile on my face only to see her fear. I did the only thing I could. I gathered her into my arms and held her as she cried.
“But I don’t want to be a Knight!” she wailed.
Comments
Cool twist. A lagomorph
Cool twist. A lagomorph being the first Unseen Kniggit.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
:)
She's got HUGE FANGS!!!!
Just kidding.
He entered the hall to get warm. She left it two hundred years later.
Faeriemage
And can leap large distances for the neck!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcxKIJTb3Hg
Beware the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch!
How is it that Seth has managed to overcome a lifetime of conditioning to hate the Unseen?
It was somewhat clear in the
It was somewhat clear in the first story that he had been suspecting things all along, and didn't think much of the way they were approaching the Unseen. Remember that first kill?
After finding out that a demon wants to do something to possess you, wouldn't _you_ be shocked enough to overcome most conditioning?
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Thank you.
I don't think I could have said it better myself.
Seth never quite bought into the whole concept that the Unseen were evil, he just knew that you didn't question the old folks. As alluded to here, he has spent a lot of time wondering if there wasn't something off about killing Unseen, especially that Were girl from so long ago.
He entered the hall to get warm. She left it two hundred years later.
Faeriemage
That makes sense.
I guess he wasn't quite as conditioned as I had imagined.
A couple of my own characters were trained from childhood that MORFS happened to evil people, and they had no problem shucking off that training because they were already having their doubts before... well, no sense giving it away.
I was just contrasting the instantaneous response to the demon lady with his later response to his future hunny-bunny.
That was a lovely bit of writing, by the way. What an epic way to meet your future wife and father-in-law -- complete with the shotgun! [snicker]
The boy is smart and level-headed. There is no doubt about that.
Difference in reaction
Ok, even though he figured he could probably wound the person with the shotgun, he was not a hundred percent sure he could kill before the guy rechambered and shot him.
That's reason number one for a different reaction.
Reason number two was that I was already in physical contact with Lauren, which has a different impact upon the male psyche than just the vision of a beautiful girl.
Reason number three was he was initially outnumbered, and he knew he was screwed in any sort of a real fight if these Unseen were anything like what the Order suggested they would be.
Number four is that he is really beginning to doubt what the order told him
Those are just the first four reasons why he didn't act the same. There are more, and all of this was running through his mind even as he talked to Laruen and played the name game. :)
Now, the main reason he reacted so quickly in the forest was more to do with the fact that he was already on edge about his coming of age than anything else. Then, when his initial throw failed, he was driven by a tiny bit of fear that he was about to die.
He entered the hall to get warm. She left it two hundred years later.
Faeriemage
Magical
More twists than a high mountain goat path. Delightful story.
Joani
O----kay!
This is starting to get really interesting!!
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
nice surprise
for all of them. she will make a great spy. even better if they can get her a pendent that lets her keep clothes and weapons.
great chapter, thanks
Redemption - 3
Wonder what the Order will say?
May Your Light Forever Shine
Remening
I had my reservations about this story at first but I'm liking where you're going with this. Hopping to see the next chapter soon...
Huggles,
Winnie
Bunny he he he he
When using Bunny as a term of endearment he will be very accurate. And I guess Rodger Rabbet would not be a house guest any time soon. All puns aside this story is really cool beans. It has a very imaginative start and a very sweet beginning So please keep up the excellent work.
Misha
With those with open eyes the world reads like a book
It was a close thing though
He came within a hare's breath of missing her! Errm...
I like this whole different perspective of the societies who are opposing the weres. However, how do they fit into regular human society. Technically any unseen who have human base forms ( no vamps ) technically have rights in the US of A. So how does regular law enforcement feel about it if they ever find out about it as Knights or no, they are just dressed up vigilantes in reality.
They are dispensing their own justice without an legal standing really. In a way, that is understandable and it also protects the good unseen ironically as exposure is not good at all. So do the unseen have to even acknowledge authority of these Knights? Do they even have had any input into it at all up till now?
As much as we want to support a person who is trying to reform himself, the context that he is doing in has to be clarified.
Kim
Vigilante
Which is better? Letting the cops who are not equipped to take on the Unseen die? Or leave them with an unsolved crime?
The Knights are outside of society. They usually take no part in real society before they leave the Knights and integrate again.
Beyond that there are a lot of things about the Knights that are unrevealed :)
I do not excuse their behavior, believe me. Thing is that the Vamps killing their own, the Witches binding, the Weres "removing from the gene pool" are ALL vigilante acts. If we allow the Unseen to police themselves then we have to allow the properly trained humans to do the same.
It's only when you get to the overlap point that things like jurisdiction become interesting.
He entered the hall to get warm. She left it two hundred years later.
Faeriemage
The Unseen
They have pull all over the world...including in politics and law enforcement. The humans think they're in charge but the Unseen have been around a whole hell of lot longer and the world is actually theirs. They just give the Norms the illusion of being in charge.
As far as the Knights go, I'm sure they have their own pull from somewhere.
This world the Unseen exist in is completely oblivious to the Norms. Its real easy to dance around in it and get away with a lot of stuff.
You make the point better than I
Kudos to you.
He entered the hall to get warm. She left it two hundred years later.
Faeriemage
The Story Changed?
From part 1: >> I’ve never been to school. The only learning I received was how to kill efficiently and cleanly. That was the entire goal of our training after all. <<
and, from above: >> I guess it would be a good idea to explain a couple of things about my growing up. No, I had no television or Internet, but that doesn’t make me ignorant of everything in the world.
I knew how to drive from the time I was ten. We all knew what airplanes were, as we might be called upon to fly at some point. We had a basic understanding of the world that you live in, we just weren’t part of that world. <<
Is this the same kid who came thru the training/death camp?
Hugs and Bright Blessings,
Renee
Change in outlook more than person
Basically, the Seth in the first chapter was very...depressed. He was pushed down by the training and was almost suicidal. He accentuated the negative and denied anything positive
While still basically true, they only did train him on things they would need, and having Hunters able to drive was something they needed. They also needed them to understand some basics of technology.
So...both are true.
But here we are getting into the philosophy of truth, which you shouldn't really get me started on.
He entered the hall to get warm. She left it two hundred years later.
Faeriemage
Excellent!
Very nicely done thus far. I'm certainly hoping to see more of Seth and Lauren. I guess that most norms want to be blissfully ignorant of the unseen. Even if that attitude can end up making one dead!
Haven't read it yet but checked the posts to make sure
I just want to make sure everyone understands about great circles because no one mentioned it and it took me awhile to get it back when I was a youngster and first heard about it.
" It was one of those great circle things that I’ve never understood."
The best way to understand it is to look at a globe of the Earth instead of a flat map. Flat maps are projections that are always distorted. The globe is the shape that lets you truly see the shape and distance between places on a large scale. Look at a globe and you can see that San Francisco is closer to Hawaii than Los Angeles is even though LA is several hundred miles south of SF and both are on the west coast. Measure it with a string if that helps.
I hope that helps anyone who didn't understand and I hope everyone understood and I wasted my time... LOL. Sometimes people are embarrassed to ask a question.
Why does the word "Embarrassed" have "Bare assed" (almost) in it? Why does "diet" have "die" in it?
It's because "Semantics" is "Antics with words".
Chris
Ok, i've read the chapter now
And it just gets better and better. This story is FUN!!! I hope there's more soon because I'm about to run out of it. I LIKE IT!!!
Chris
Berry Berry...
Intwestin!
*wonders if there might be more someday*
~Hypatia >i< ..:::