Crystal Key - Chapter 2

                                                        CHAPTER 2
                                                                  
         Footsteps headed down the hall toward him. It was obvious by the sound, who it was. The heavy rhythmic footfalls meant the lord of the castle. Being the highest ranking officer in the order of the knights of Arndale Amise Noller commanded enormous respect. The sentry stepped in front of the doors and had them open as the commander stepped onto the landing in front of his office doors. This was the ceremony around the entire castle toward all men chosen to be a knight of Arndale. Only their king received any more adoration than a knight.
         
“Do you require anything my lord?” the sentry asked.

         “No Vargas, I should be fine for a while.” The Order of the Eagle Knight snapped back to his servant, as the doors closed behind him.

         Vargas had been in the service of Lord Noller for about thirteen years now. He started right around the time the commander’s son Nicholas was born. He had won the post for being well organized and determined as a cadet under Lord Noller’s command. One night he almost lost the post by falling asleep at this very door.

         The corridor was very quiet since it was set to one side of the castle. Not many people walked its halls. Vargas was at his usual post waiting for the commander to return, and fell asleep. He had been awakened by a stiff fist across the jaw. Lord Noller informed him if it happened again, it would be the last thing he ever did as a Knight of Arndale.

         Vargas had watched as Amise fell into what appeared to be a depression. The Lord’s usual bounce was missing and he did not have much of a sense of humor of late. The guard did not press him though. Since the compassion the Lord had shown to him, he could not show any concerns for the commander, which might lead to him being removed from his position. So Vargas kept his observations to himself.

         From inside the office he could hear Amise pacing back and forth. The pacing was not unusual for him, but the frequency at which he had been doing it over the last couple of months was starting to worry the younger knight. Sitting down on the stool next to the door Vargas listened to the rhythmic steps coming from the other side of the door.A loud thud came from inside the commander’s chambers. Vargas stood, with hand on door ready to enter, but he dare not go unless called for. He waited for what seemed like an eternity.

                             **********

         Lord Amise Noller was a knight by every sense of the word. He had grown up the son of a knight, who had also been the son of a knight. The family heritage was a long line of those who had served the royal family of Arndale. His mother had come from a wealthy family also. They were in the trade business using the city's docks to conduct their deals. Life had been good for Amise. Life had been good until the last few weeks.

         The town’s fields being attacked by rats and then the rain, the constant gloomy rain. No sun had shown for over a month bringing a city wide depression. Then there was the voice. The voice that told him to go he needed to be away from here. There were other things for him to be doing. He felt a strong tug from the voice and knew not to give into it, but sometimes he found the voice making sense. His head swam as he fought back another attack on his brain. He couldn’t concentrate like this much longer. Slamming his fist into the desk he let out a muffled curse. Maybe if he saw Nicholas he could get his mind off of the pressures around here and relax for a little while.

“Vargas!” Amise yelled “Vargas, come here”

         The door opened immediately and Vargas stepped in with a small bow. “What do you require my lord?” Vargas did not waiver at being yelled at. He was a knight and a stern order was nothing to falter to.

         Vargas was not of noble birth. Not that it mattered around here. Men were considered men whether they came from royal stock or not. And if you were selected into the order of the knights you could not be thought of more highly. Ranks were given simply to keep order. These knights were trained with the highest standards set to them, making them some of the strongest and welled trained on all of Iona. His father had taught him the value of hard work. He worked their farm every day until the day he died. Vargas learned to transfer his father’s example back into his own work.

         “I would like a cup of tea, and to see my son. Could you see to both of those Vargas?” It was an order not a question, but Amise tried to keep things light between him and his servants. This kept both sides very happy.

                   “Yes my lord, I will see to it immediately.” Vargas said as he backed out the door closing it firmly behind him.

         Hopefully this will relax me enough to get some work done. And get my mind back, hopefully.


                             **********

         Vargas made his way down the familiar halls to the kitchen. The castle always smelled wonderful. A staff member was always on hand to cook something up for you if you were hungry. No one was to go hungry in this castle, ever. Today it smelled like baked apples. Cinnamon also hung heavy in the air. Chatter stopped when he poked his head around the corner and said “Lord Noller wants some tea.” His head disappeared back around the corner and he was off to fetch Nicholas the Lord’s son.

         “It will be ready in a minute or two!” a voice shouted to Vargas who was already out of range.

         He made his way through the maze of hallways in the ancient castle looking for the one that held Lord Noller’s son. Rounding a corner the smell of sweat and leather hit him. The war training room, it was the castles most intriguing room, and the most deadly. Entering the room Vargas once again took in the high vaulted ceilings, the tapestries covering the walls, and the tangible smell of strength in the air.

         The tapestries had once been glorious depictions of distant battles. Now they were scarred by sword cuts and errant spears. But it was to be expected in this room. And all the errors would be preserved for that generation and future generations to see. It was an excellent tool of motivation to stay off of the family tapestries. Although. All of the trainees that entered this room would eventually get their place among the others. Nicholas had a couple of spots already.

         Nicholas was in the middle of the room. He was attacking a man covered in full armor trying to defend himself with only a shield, and doing quite a good job of it. Just as Vargas thought the young Noller had met his match, he spun quickly on his left foot and brought his sword down across the man’s neck. If it were not for the double layered and padded armor the man would surely be dead. Nicholas smiled. And stood back catching his breath.

         “See what I told you about desperation, it can fuel you on either side. Oh hello Vargas.” A muffled voice came from inside the thick practice armor. “But yes that was an excellent show my young apprentice.” The trainer finished. Removing his helm he revealed a mess of sweat soaked hair. Smoothing it back he gave Nicholas a wink and a nod, “You might just make a decent knight one of these days.”

         “Nicholas, your father requests your presence in his office.” Vargas piped up so that he could get back to his post. Leaving Lord Noller unattended left him feeling worried.

         “I will be along as soon as I get this sweat off of me Vargas.” Nicholas gave his father’s sentry a sideways glance.

         Vargas knew what that meant. A game he had wanted to stop playing years ago was still being played out with the adolescent boy to this day. Nicholas showed his true age even though he had been going through his knight training for years now. But it was to be expected.
         
         Nicholas would race Vargas back to his father’s office. The boy always made it to the office before the sentry. Vargas was sure there was a secret passage being used. But he let Nicholas go every time and never tried to follow him. Amise found it quite entertaining to watch this grown knight try to beat the boy at a child’s game, since he didn’t get the chance to play with his only son much being the commander of the Knights of Arndale. The boy was not going to beat him this time. As soon as the door closed he was at full speed. He darted back down the corridor he came from stopping only at the kitchen to retrieve the tea that had been requested of him. Scooping up the hot tea, he spilled some on his hand causing him to do a hot tea dance before heading back into the hallway to the lord’s chamber.

         He had to climb one flight of stairs to get back to Amise’s office. As he took the last step the office door closed with a click. The boy had beaten him again. How embarrassing, he thought to himself. He was just glad that none of the other knights got to see this.

         As he approached the door he could hear the Lord and his son having a giggle at his expense. Slowly he opened the door to find Nicholas lounging as if he had been there all day long, and Amise holding back a smile.

         “What took you so long?” Amise asked without letting the smile overtake his face.

         “The boy knows tricks of this castle that I do not. If I find out his secrets, this little game will end much differently next time.” Vargas answered while trying to catch his breath. It was a game that he had been forced to play with the lord’s son since he took the position. As long as this game never got out among the ranks, his respect would still be intact.

         “That will be all for now Vargas, Thank you.” Lord Noller said.

         Vargas nodded and went back to his post outside the giant wooden door. Lord Noller seemed to be happier now that his son had come to see him. It set his mind at ease.

         Inside the office Amise asked his son about the day of training and if Remis (Remis Fletcher, the man who was training him battle arts) was pleased with his training progress. The young man said that his teacher would make a knight out of him eventually and his mark in the class should be higher than in the past months. He always received good grades in all of his classes, but battle arts would keep him alive.

         “Good. I’m glad to hear that your studies are going well. I need to be alone now, so get to your room and study up.” Amise dismissed his son with nod.

         After Nicholas left the giant office the let the throbbing creep back into his head. Can I keep up this front until I can find out what is wrong with me? Amise thought as he rubbed his pulsing temples. I must not let King Arndale find out his number one advisor is losing his mind. It could mean...the thought shook him to the core...his head.