This is the Training Urchin,” Kaliam said. He walked in a slow circle around the device in the center of the castle’s southern courtyard. The urchin was a tall post with three segments that turned independently of the others. Wooden arms, each equipped with its own weapon or shield, protruded from the segments. Kaliam walked behind it and smiled.
“We use it to train knights in combat, or to test their skill,” he explained with a wink. “I will control the limbs of the urchin. Your task is to attack—put a notch from your sword on each of the three segments without being thrown off balance, struck by one of its weapons, or knocked to the ground. You will have three strikes to succeed, and that is all. Do you have any questions?”
“Where is my sword?” she asked.
Kaliam gestured. Dozens of sword hilts jutted up from a barrel by the palisade. As she walked to the barrel to choose a weapon, Antoinette noticed a small crowd had gathered. There were even a few curious eyes glimmering out from the cracks and knotholes of the fence. Well, I’ll give them a show, she thought.
Antoinette sifted through the blades. Most of them were dull and notched from much use, but she found two swords that she liked. One was a two-fisted broadsword with a long, wide blade. The other was light with a narrow, tapered blade that looked much sharper than the others. She chose the sharp sword and turned back to the urchin.
“Ready?” Kaliam asked. He grasped the handles of the top and middle segments and stood, knees bent, feet at shoulder’s width—combat stance.
Antoinette slashed the air in front of her. The sword felt good—not unlike her favorite shinai at home. “Ready.”
Antoinette held her sword vertically out in front of her. Her back and neck were upright, perfectly straight, just as she had learned from years of spada-kendo training. She flexed at the knees, one foot a pace in front of the other. She stood very, very still.
Kaliam shifted in place behind the urchin. He turned the top segment so that its gray sword pointed at Antoinette. All the while, Antoinette remained motionless, watching intently. Finally, she thought she saw Kaliam’s weight shift just slightly onto his back foot. It was the opening she had been waiting for.
Antoinette unleashed a kakari-geiko attack, rushing toward the urchin and raining down blows like a sudden storm. But Kaliam was not overwhelmed as she had hoped. With one hand, he maneuvered the top segment so that its sword parried away each of Antoinette’s high attacks. With his other hand, he turned the middle segment so that its buckler shield swooshed toward Antoinette’s midsection. She had to stay her attack for just a moment to bat away the shield.
And when she did so, Kaliam used his foot to jerk the bottom section of the urchin. It brought a mace with a long chain swinging so suddenly that Antoinette could not leap in time. The ball and chain wrapped around one of her boots, and Kaliam forced the segment back the other direction. Antoinette’s leg was yanked out from under her, and she crashed to the ground flat on her back. Her sword flew out of her hands and clanged noisily across the cobblestone.
“Your speed is most impressive,” Kaliam said.
“You’re mocking me!” Antoinette said, leaping to her feet.
“I am most certainly not mocking you, Antoinette,” Kaliam said sternly. “Your speed is absolutely impressive, as is your technique. But you made a grave mistake. You forgot your objective.”
Antoinette winced as she bent over to pick up her sword. She thought she heard giggles from behind the fence. She went red with anger and turned back to Kaliam.
“What do you mean, I ‘forgot my objective’?”
“You were simply caught up in the effectiveness of your own attack. Your slashes came at the blade and at the shield, but your goal is to put a notch in each segment of the urchin. You have only two strikes left. Make yourself ready.”
Antoinette, sword out in front, approached the urchin. Her eyes darted from segment to segment. There was a sword and a blunt axe on the top segment, a sword and buckler on the middle, and only the mace on the bottom. Kaliam seemed able to move all three segments at once. Antoinette had to be wary.
Focus, she thought. Remember the objective.
She looked at the segments. One notch in each. Two strikes left. That meant she would need to get two notches in one turn. Antoinette moved side to side slowly, looking for an angle. She decided to attack the lowest segment first. Kaliam may swing the mace, but there was nothing there that could really block her attack.
Her mind made up, Antoinette lunged at the urchin. Her first swipe was a crushing high-to-low chop at the sword on the top segment. The urchin’s wooden arm groaned as it absorbed Antoinette’s fierce attack. Kaliam swiftly rotated the top segment. The blunt axe swung around. Antoinette ducked and raked her blade at the bottom segment, carving a notch into the base. But before she could swing again, Kaliam brought the middle section around hard. The buckler shield slammed into Antoinette’s midsection and she sprawled backward, landing once again on her back.
“That was much better,” Kaliam said.
Antoinette stood up, seething. “That’s not fair!” she said. “No enemy can attack with three weapons at once.”
Kaliam shook his head. “Do you think the knights of Paragory will fight fair? You are too used to rules of combat designed to keep opponents safe from serious injury. There are no such rules in war. Those rats from Paragor will hide daggers in their belts, throw sand in your eyes, or force you into a hidden fall—anything to gain the advantage. Anything to take your life. Now, you have one turn remaining, and two notches left. Be creative. It can be done.”
Antoinette held her sword up and positioned herself just out of reach of the urchin’s many arms. I have only one sword, she thought dejectedly. How can I compete with so many weapons?
Then she had an idea. She thought of a way to even the odds.
Antoinette stepped slowly to the left of the urchin. For this to work, she needed to swing hard from the outside.
Antoinette took her sword in both hands and battered the urchin’s top sword hard to the right. Kaliam absorbed the blow and shifted to bring the buckler on the middle section through again. But Antoinette stayed far to the outside. And then she evened the odds.
Antoinette grabbed the buckler with her right hand and brought her sword down with a savage one-handed chop onto the wooden arm of the shield. The wood of that arm was old and battered, and it split in the center.
The urchin’s buckler shield and half of its wooden arm clattered to the ground. But Antoinette was not finished. The mace came around hard, seeking her ankles, but she leaped and brought her sword down on the wooden arm that held the mace. It splintered, cracked, and fell away.
To Kaliam’s astonishment, she did the same to the urchin’s remaining two weapons. Then, she walked casually over and cut a notch into the top and middle sections. The crowd cheered. And Antoinette noticed that it was a much larger crowd than when she began the test. She stared, thinking for a moment that she saw Aelic, but she couldn’t be sure.
“You, you have broken the urchin!” Kaliam bellowed. Antoinette’s smile disappeared and she went red, wondering if she had gone a little too far. Then Kaliam laughed out loud and said, “Marvelous effort, Antoinette! Well done! Yes indeed, well done.”
Antoinette grinned. “You said be creative.”
Kaliam picked up one of the severed arms and said, “And it was creative! I am just glad that you were dueling a piece of wood and not me!”
Antoinette smiled and asked, “What’s next?”
The crowd had grown yet again. They followed Kaliam and Antoinette to the fairgrounds behind the castle and filled the stands of the jousting arena. Antoinette sat atop a handsome white unicorn mare at one end of the arena. “She’s beautiful,” Antoinette said.
“Her name is Rael,” Kaliam explained. “And she comes from a proud lineage. She is both surefooted and swift. Should you pass this test—and the test to come—Rael will bear you on our journey to Yewland.”
Antoinette brushed Rael’s silky white mane with her hand and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “You hear that? Help me win, and I’ll take good care of you.”
The unicorn bobbed its head and snorted.
“Look down the rail that runs the length of the arena,” Kaliam said. “Do you see the three posts about midway?”
Antoinette nodded.
“They are spaced fifteen arms apart. Suspended from each one is a gold ring. You must ride your unicorn swiftly at the rings and steer her so that she spears all three rings with her horn.”
“Sounds easy enough,” Antoinette replied.
Kaliam grinned. “But you must do so before Sir Tal does.”
Antoinette suddenly realized that at the far end of the arena was another mounted knight.
“Heralds, mark your place!” Kaliam yelled. Two Glimpses wearing dark blue tunics walked to the edge of the track in the center of the arena. Each of them had a green flag and a red one.
“Sir Tal has his own set of rings to spear on his side of the rail,” Kaliam explained. “It would not do to have your unicorns knock heads at a full gallop.”
Antoinette winced at that image.
“Your herald will raise a flag the moment you pass the three rings. A red flag if you miss a ring. A green flag if you get all three. The first herald to raise the green flag marks one of you the winner.”
“I only get one try?” Antoinette protested.
“You told me you could ride,” Kaliam replied.
“Yes, but I’m no seasoned unicorn rider. Sir Tal, he’s probably done this before.”
“Many times,” Kaliam said with a laugh. “But Tal is much better with a blade or a bow than he is on a unicorn. I would say that you are well matched for this event. One try only.”
Antoinette frowned.
“Riders, stand you ready!” Kaliam yelled. He strode quickly to a raised platform that stood behind the heralds. It was exactly in the middle so that both riders could see him.
Rael seemed to sense the competition, and she tensed like a compressed spring. Antoinette ran through everything she remembered from years of riding. Just subtle pressure from the legs or a slackening of the reins had definite meaning for a horse. Antoinette just hoped her commands had the same meaning for a unicorn.
“Riders, stand you ready?!” Kaliam bellowed from the dais.
Antoinette saw the other knight lift an arm in salute. She swallowed and did the same.
Kaliam held a large blue flag aloft.
“C’mon, Rael, we can do this,” Antoinette said. She brushed the unicorn’s mane once and grasped the reins. She looked at the golden rings and then back at Kaliam’s blue flag.
The flag fell.
Antoinette kicked gently with her heels, and Rael responded by launching forward. The force of the movement overwhelmed Antoinette and she almost fell. But Rael adjusted her gait to allow her rider to regain her seat.
“Thanks!” Antoinette yelled. “Now go!” Rael surged forward even faster than before. It was more speed than Antoinette had ever experienced on a horse. The golden rings were just ahead. But Tal looked like he was going to reach his first.
“Stop staring at him,” she told herself. “Focus on the objective! Focus on the objective!”
Rael raced forward. Antoinette pulled gently on the left rein, and the unicorn leaned to the left beside the rail. Antoinette leaned forward. Her armor bounced with the unicorn’s thunderous gallop. The world was zooming by as they quickly closed in on the first ring.
Suddenly, Antoinette panicked. She didn’t know how to ask the unicorn to lower its head so that it could spear the ring. She’d never had to command a horse to do such a thing. The ring was there, and there was no time to think. “Rael!” Antoinette yelled.
The second ring appeared a split second later. Then, the third. Rael suddenly slowed to a trot, and then came to a stop.
Antoinette brushed her wispy red hair out of her face and looked up. And swaying on Rael’s white horn were three golden rings. “You did it, Rael!” Antoinette said, hugging the mare’s velvety neck. “You got them!”
Antoinette pulled gently on the reins and wheeled Rael around. She rode toward the center of the arena and looked at the heralds. They both had their green flag raised high.
Antoinette looked at Kaliam. Tal came riding up as well.
“Congratulations are awarded to Tal!” Kaliam said. “For his flag rose first!”
Antoinette felt as if she had been kicked in the stomach. All her dreams of adventure in The Realm, her desire to serve Alleble as a knight, her errand for Aidan—it all swirled and vanished.
“Not so, m’lord!” came a deep, rhythmic voice Antoinette had not heard before. Antoinette looked up as Sir Tal approached. He had removed his helmet, and great locks of dark braided hair fell about his shoulders. His eyes were black and piercing beneath heavy bristling brows. He wore a thick mustache that tapered at the ends to a slight curl and a little inverted triangle of whiskers below his bottom lip. He reminded Antoinette of a good-natured pirate.
“I love to win more than any,” he continued. “But I would rather be raked over hot coals than to be named the winner when victory was not earned.”
Antoinette looked from Tal to Kaliam and back.
“My herald, it would seem,” said Tal, “is in need of an eyeglass.”
He gestured toward the ivory horn of his unicorn. Antoinette’s heart leaped, for there were only two golden rings dangling from Tal’s unicorn.
“I had a feeling I’d missed that first one.” Tal laughed. “I looked up only for a moment to see where Antoinette was, but it seems that moment cost me the victory. Please tell me, m’lady, that this was not your first joust.”
Antoinette hesitated. “Um . . . actually, it was.”
“Not again!” Tal roared in mock anger. “First, Sir Aidan shows up and pulls off a moulinet in three days—a feat that took me three years to master! And now I am bested by Antoinette in the joust!”
“I’ve ridden horses for years, though,” Antoinette said. “So I’m not a rookie.”
“That is precious little consolation,” Tal said, and he laughed. “But I say well-met to thee, m’lady. And should the King will it to be so, I will gladly ride by your side into battle!”
“Well, one thing is clear, Tal,” Kaliam said with a wink, “your way with words is better than your riding ability. So therefore, Antoinette, I declare you the winner!”
The crowd roared its approval. Antoinette ruffled Rael’s mane. “You hear that? We won!” She looked into the first row of the stands, and there was Aelic. He smiled and nodded his head just slightly. Antoinette smiled and nodded back, trying to will herself not to blush.
“Congratulations again, Antoinette,” said Kaliam. “You have passed the first two tests. But one task still remains. It may prove to be the most difficult for you, for it is a very personal test. And from it you may learn more than you wished to know.” Antoinette gave him a puzzled look.
Later, as Kaliam said good night to Antoinette, he tried to smile encouragingly, though, in truth, he was torn. The Library of Light had had very little mention about Antoinette’s visions, but what little there was fed Kaliam’s suspicions and left him with inescapable dread. For if Antoinette succeeded in the third test, she would journey to Yewland. To what end? Kaliam wondered. And if she failed, she would return to earth, and her life might be spared. But at what cost to The Realm?
Antoinette felt conflicted as she lay on the bed in her chamber and stared out the window at the quiet shadows of the slumbering kingdom. She had, after all, barely passed the first two tests. What challenge would the final test bring? It wasn’t at all like trigonometry, where there were absolute rules—steadfast patterns she could count on to work the same way again and again. She could study for that sort of test. But there was no way to study this time. The third test could be anything!
Kaliam certainly hadn’t given away much. He had told her that it would be a very personal test, and that the difficulty would be more than physical in nature. Great. But then she had a change of mind. Maybe I can study for this test!
Antoinette threw off the downy comforter, hopped out of bed, and grabbed a tall candle from the silver stand nearest her bed. She opened the chamber door and peeked both ways up the hall. No one in sight. She crept along the stone passage until she came to a torch, and held the candle’s wick to the fire. Cupping the candle’s small flame with her hand, Antoinette slowly made her way back to Gwenne’s room.
Back in its holder, the candle cast flickering pale blue light upon the bed. Antoinette opened The Story and began to study. It was like visiting with a cherished old friend, and soon Antoinette was lost among the many adventures within the book’s pages. Through every story, she found the steadfast presence of King Eliam’s will. And there was great comfort in that. Whatever the third test would be, Antoinette knew she would not be alone.
Hours later, a breath of wind blew out the candle near the bed. And for the first time in many days, Antoinette slept without the invasion of a nightmare. No, instead, she saw visions of rolling green hills blanketed with patches of white flowers, under a sky so blue that it must be from another time and another place.
