©2024 SammyC

I peered through the haze of a brumous morning and saw a throng of nearly a thousand people cheering boisterously. The gates of the royal palace had been flung open shortly after the proverbial rooster’s crow. Then came emotional farewells with my parents, the King and Queen, and my immediate family, including my baleful sister, who envied me being the savior of the world on the eve of its impending destruction by The Dagger of Heaven.

When she lifted her head to the sky and said in a voice that could only be heard by those near us, “It’s not fair at all. You’re not even a girl!,” Queen Hortense shot her a stifling glare.

Glad to be wearing a brocaded riding outfit rather than a flowing gown as befits a royal princess, Amos, my bodyguard and boyhood friend, lifted me up onto the saddle of my favorite Rumperdon. Rumperdons are large herbivores similar to the pictures of our home world’s elephants that Merlyn once showed me.

From my seat on the back of this gentle, sometimes comically docile creature, I waved to the sea of Easterners before us, shouting good wishes and prayers. They fervently believed that my wedding to Prince Kelvin would appease the Gods and divert the Dagger from its destructive path.

There were eight Rumperdons in our caravan. Two royal guards, Amos and Vance, armed with broadswords and crossbows, led our cortege, followed by Merlyn and me. The retinue was completed with a lady’s maid, a manservant, and Merlyn’s assistant, a tremulous girl named Luna. The last Rumperdon was weighed down with food, clothing and essential supplies.

We didn’t need to bring a gift with us since, in all honesty, I suppose, I was the gift.

As we moved into the countryside, I thought about the five days of rugged travel ahead of us and, even more poignantly, the uncertain welcome I would receive when either they discovered I was really a boy, or the Dagger didn’t cease its fatal approach. I felt for my own dagger in the folds of my riding jacket and, finding it, my mouth formed a smile that Merlyn misread as a sign of happy anticipation of my nuptials.

“I wish the sun were not obscured by clouds this morning, Merlyn. I’ve never ventured this far outside the city. These rolling hills, spotted with tall trees and vast green pastures… It’s beautiful.”

“But very dangerous,” Merlyn replied. “Only a select few have traversed the continent. We will be following the main trade route between us and The Western Kingdom, what little trade we have. There are large predators that roam these territories—”

“But they can’t eat us. We don’t taste good to them. Nor them to us.”

“Yes, but they can certainly sample us before spitting us out of their maws with disappointment. Also, my child, there are human monsters out and about. Because of the internecine strife that has caused two wars and several uprisings, there are bands of people who eke out a pathetic existence in the wilderness between the two kingdoms. They have been known to rob and murder travelers who are unfortunate enough to encounter them.”

Luna, behind us, gave out a shriek. “Master Merlyn, I’m scared! We are a small group, and these animals are known to flee, not fight. Such large beasts with so little courage—”

I patted the dagger beneath my jacket. “I will protect you, Luna. As will Amos and Vance. No sub-human miscreants stand a chance against their broadswords and crossbows.”

“Let us pray to the Gods we don’t chance upon these ‘miscreants,’ Princess Rani,” Merlyn declared.

“Oh, you don’t fool me, Merlyn. You don’t even believe in the Gods—” I snickered.

“I would have little else to believe in if I didn’t. You shouldn’t allow the callowness of your youth to blind you to the realities of the world. There are forces beyond our meager understanding of the universe, Rani.”

“Then why show me all those books and pictures? You could have left me in the dark like all the others. My mother always wanted me to be a High Priest—”

“I saw something special in you, child. Perhaps you have been chosen to be the one who can change the course of history. The one to ensure that we will have a history after these next few weeks.”

“Who chose me? The Gods?”

The angry clouds in the darkening sky, which had threatened rain all day, suddenly released their bounty and precipitation increased in intensity until the ground beneath us started to dot with puddles.

“There’s a cave a short distance away. We can find shelter there and maybe stay for the night,” announced Amos. “I’ve been through this land more than a few times, and the cave is warm and dry. Traders from both kingdoms often stop there.”

“Are there animals in or near this cave?” Luna asked, her voice trembling.

“If there are, we’ll clear them out, right, Amos?” Vance held out his broadsword and smiled, his eyes gleaming beneath the visor of his helmet.

The cave did turn out to be a warm and dry shelter as the rain continued into the evening. There were signs of intermittent occupation, as Amos had alluded to. We had to clear away some of the litter to find space to place our pallets. A makeshift curtain tricked up with some rope and two large blankets divided the men from the women.

Of course, only Merlyn and Amos knew my true gender. The rest of the traveling party, even my lady’s maid, believed I was a young girl of 16 in the measure of our home world. I remembered to act shy and overly bashful, even in female company.

After our dinner of dried meat and bread, washed down with red wine, we went to our separate corners of the cave to bed down for the night. Amos took the first shift standing guard. I was finding it hard to fall asleep. There were several reasons. First and foremost, there was the annoying, sickly-sweet smell of the burning cornsilk cigarette in Merlyn’s mouth. It was her most obnoxious vice. “It keeps me regular,” was her only excuse.

Secondly, I felt very uncomfortable sleeping in such close quarters with three other women. I mean three women, that is. I’m a boy. Although Merlyn keeps trying to convince me that I’m a girl, deep down. Before I could lose myself in mental circles thinking about that, there was the third reason I couldn’t fall asleep.

As night fell in this wilderness, we extinguished our oil lamps, hoping we would hear nothing more alarming than the chirping of crickets and the rustling of wind through the tall trees. But even as my eyes began to close, the ominous growling of some predatory mammal of the imagination echoed in the darkness outside the cave.

I was frightened more for the poor dumb Rumperdons we left outside, untethered. They spooked easily. We would be in quite a fix if they ran off. Wrapping a robe around myself, I quietly moved to the cave entrance where Amos was standing guard.

“Amos,” I whispered. He turned around slowly with the nonchalance of a seasoned warrior despite his young years.

“Your Highness. What are you doing? Is there a problem inside?”

“Drop the highness stuff, Amos. I’m just Rani. I was worried that those scary growls coming from out there somewhere would spook the Rumperdons. They’re not tethered…”

“Not to worry, Rani. They’re all asleep. You’re hearing their snoring.” He chuckled. “It sounds like you’re more spooked than they are.”

“I’ve spent my whole life practically within the confines of the royal palace. I’m not used to the world outside.”

“I’ll admit it’s a dangerous world. But go back to sleep, Rani. Vance and I are on watch. Nothing’s getting past us.”

I yawned and placed my hand over my open mouth before turning to go back inside.

“Rani?”

I turned to look directly at Amos, his hazel eyes shining in the light of our planet’s two moons. He was always the most handsome boy among all my friends.

“Rani, thank you for doing what you’re doing…to save us all. It must be a huge sacrifice. Having to marry Prince Kelvin. Living far from home and your people—”

“It’s a huge charade, not a sacrifice. How dumb can everyone be that they’ll believe I’m a girl?”

“I guess I’m really dumb, then. I was never really sure you were a boy. Sometimes, I thought your father, the King, wanted a male successor to the throne and made everyone believe you were Prince Rani instead of his youngest daughter. How could I know for sure? You never went to our schools. Merlyn was your tutor. And the only reason I had any contact with you was because my father is the Captain of the Palace Guard.”

He smiled. “We played tether ball in the royal courtyard. I fondly remember that.”

“I’m not a girl, Amos. But, for the sake of all the superstitious people on this stupid planet, I’ll play along. It’s a good thing Prince Kelvin is just 9 years old. But, just in case he or anyone else tries something…” I took the dagger out of my dressing gown and showed it to Amos, the blade glinting in the moonlight.

“Hey, point that somewhere else, Rani.”

I stashed it back beneath my gown. “Anyway, we’ll all die when The Dagger of Heaven strikes us in a few weeks, marriage or no marriage. You know this is all hogwash, don’t you?”

Amos reached out with the hand not holding his sword and brushed my cheek lovingly, I thought.

“Girl or boy, Rani. I don’t know. You’re too pretty to be a boy. You always were. Good night. Sweet dreams.”

In the morning, buoyed by a false sense of security garnered from an uneventful night in the wilderness, I decided to bathe in the nearby brook before having a breakfast of oatmeal cookies and fruit juice.

Merlyn was almost apoplectic. “Dear child, the water is nearly freezing this time of day! What put this ludicrous idea in your head?”

“Cleanliness is next to godliness. Isn’t that from one of your history texts, Merlyn?”

“The things you retain from your studies are quite puzzling, Rani. Oh well, I’ll go with you. At the very least, I can shield you from any roving eyes. Come.”

Before the others awoke, carrying a bar of soap made from animal fat, wood ash, and fresh herbs and my riding outfit, Merlyn and I walked the short distance to a freshwater stream. Once stripped of my dressing gown, Merlyn stood directly in front of me as I stepped into the water until I was up to my shoulders. My teeth chattered as I shivered momentarily. I decided to bathe quickly.

“Come out before you freeze your pretty body, Rani.” She held out a thin blanket for me to wrap myself in to dry.

From the direction of the cave came the loud squeals and whimpers of our Rumperdons. Then we heard Vance shouting, “Hey, what’s the idea? Amos! Amos! Wake up! I need you out here!” As he was saying this, the sound of Rumperdon hooves click-clacking on the ground quickly grew distant. Merlyn and I ran toward the cave. Well, I ran and pulled Merlyn along behind me.

We came upon a frightening scene. The last of our Rumperdons was fading from view. A group of six or seven men in tattered clothing made of rough fabric were throwing rocks at it. Then they turned their attention to Vance and Amos, standing in front of the cave entrance.

“We want whatever valuables you have on you. We’ll round up your Rumperdons later. We can use them. We can do this nicely or…”

“You’ll have to get past my sword, you scumbags!” Vance warned.

Amos saw Merlyn and me running toward him. “Stay back, Your Highness! Stay back!”

As Vance brandished his sword and stepped forward, a scowl on his face, a good-sized rock, hurled by one of the bandits, struck him between the eyes. With a cry of pain, Vance crumpled to the ground. His body stopped moving. Picking up wooden clubs, the bandits emerged from the brush and rushed Amos.

Helpless, Merlyn and I watched as Amos fought bravely, but the numbers were overwhelming and blows from a barrage of clubs brought him to his knees.

Senselessly, I cried out. “Help! Help! Somebody!”