James Maxey - Greatshadow

Looking around, I realized that everyone was present and accounted for except Tower and Infidel. I flew back up the shaft, homing in on the bone-handled knife. I cut a path through stone and emerged in the hall where I found Tower with his helmet removed, on his knees before Infidel, holding her hand. He was kissing her knuckles.

“My love, before I go below to face the dragon, there is something I must give you.”

“Great!” she said. “I hope it’s chocolate this time.”

Tower brought a gauntlet to his breastplate, directly above his heart, and pressed a small panel there. A tiny door slid open and something glowing fell into his palm.

My eyes bulged as he slipped a dazzling ring studded with diamonds and glorystones onto Infidel’s finger. Infidel’s mouth fell open slightly, but she made no sound.

“I’ve carried this over my heart since the day you vanished. I always knew the moment would come when I would have another chance to give it to you.”

“Um,” said Infidel. “Why now?”

“I’ve won every battle I’ve ever fought, my love. Still, I can’t underestimate the danger that waits below. It may be that I shall perish. But I would die a happy man if I knew this ring was on your finger, testament to all the world of our eternal love, my princess.”

“Ah,” she said. “Hmm. Uh, it doesn’t really go with my disguise, you know? Father Ver might figure everything out if I go below flashing this around.” She slid the ring from her finger.

“You won’t be going below,” said Tower. “The danger is too great. I want you to go back to the surface. I’ll find you after the battle. I couldn’t bear to see a single hair on your head singed by the dragon.”

“It’s a little late for that,” she said, running her fingers through her spiky locks.”

“That fact that you can jest is testimony to your courageous spirit,” said Tower. “Still, I beg you…”

Infidel sighed. “Don’t beg.”

“But my love for you is-”

“You aren’t in love, you idiot,” she said, grabbing his gauntlet and dropping the ring into it. “At least, not with me. You don’t even have a clue who I am.”

“You’re Princess Innocent, daughter of-”

“Stop,” she said. “You know my family tree. You don’t know me.”

“But your lineage is part of who you are,” said Tower. “Your royal breeding proves that you’re a woman of beauty, grace, and wit, matchless in-”

“Please stop talking,” she said. “You think I haven’t heard this crap growing up? Being a princess means you stop being a real person. You’re just an actress following a script written by history. In case you didn’t notice, I tore up that script. I’m not sweet little Innocent anymore.”

“Oh, I know this,” he said, rising, looking down at her with a leer. “You’ve grown into a very, very naughty girl. You may even require a spank-”

“Try it and I will rip your arms off,” she said, smiling sweetly.

He cocked his head, looking confused. “I’m sorry. Since you’re wearing leather pants, I assumed you might enjoy such rough treatment.”

Infidel sighed, powerfully enough to stir the dust in the room. She closed her eyes, rubbing them as she contemplated her next words. Finally, she said, “It’s time to come clean. I’m not going to marry you. I don’t like you. At least, not romantically. It’s possible we could, I dunno, be friends. You seem like a decent guy who would probably make the right woman happy.”

“Yes!” he said, squeezing her hand. “And you are that woman!”

“You’re sure of that?”

“With all my heart.”

“You know me that well?”

“I’ve known you since before I met you!”

“What’s my favorite color?”

His face went blank. Then, he smiled softly and said, “I remember the green ribbons you wore in your hair. Green is your favorite color.”

In fact, she hated green. She didn’t enlighten him, however, hitting him quickly with a second question: “What’s my favorite food?”

His face brightened. “Cake!”

“A good guess, but the correct answer is fried monkey.”

He furrowed his brow, trying to figure out if she was joking. He waved his hand dismissively. “We shall have years to learn this trivia.”

She shook her head. “I know I’ve been giving you mixed signals. You ran into me at a very confusing time. I’m still mourning the death of someone I truly loved, wondering how to move forward without him. Plus, I’ve been given some unexpected news about my future, and you seemed like you might, maybe, be a candidate for helping fulfil a little prophecy. Any daughter I had with you would at least have pretty eyes.”

“Any son you had with me would some day be king!” Tower said. “Think of your destiny!”

“I don’t really do destiny. I escaped from my father’s plans for my future. The Black Swan told me something about my future that messed with my mind a little, but I really don’t have any reason to take her seriously. I thought maybe you played some role in my future, but you care far more about potential kings that might fall out of my womb than you care about me as a person. I’m sorry, but I’m just no longer interested.”

“But… but… but…” said Tower, his voice trailing away.

“I should have told you this earlier, but Aurora thought you might have the Jagged Heart and I played along to find out if it was true. Now that she’s gone, there’s really no need to humor you.”

Tower set his jaw as his eyes hardened into an angry stare. “Yes,” he said, his voice low and trembling. “Yes, my princess, there is a need for you to humor me. You’re still a fugitive, accused of crimes beyond imagining. I’m your sole path to forgiveness.”

“Forgiveness is a vastly overrated commodity,” she said. “Also, are you really trying to win me over with blackmail?”

Tower said nothing as he put his helmet back on.

“So, what, we fight now?” asked Infidel.

“Yes,” said Tower. There was something strange about his voice. I poked part of my face into his helmet for a look. He was crying. “Yes, we fight now. But not each other. Not yet. My first mission is to slay the dragon. Then… then I will return to my sacred duty of smiting infidels.” His shoulders sagged. “Flee if you wish. I won’t pursue you.”

“Flee?” Infidel cracked her knuckles. “There’s more proof you don’t have a clue who I am.”

Flashing a grin, she jumped down the shaft.

Down below, the Truthspeaker had carved out a hundred-foot circle of calm stone amid the chaotic false matter. The cavity seemed even larger than it had before, as if the false matter of the walls was retreating from the holy man. The heat was as horrible as ever; Father Ver’s armpits were stained with dark circles of sweat. The second Menagerie spider monkey had rejoined the group; the two tiny primates were fanning one another with triangular wedges of shoulder bones to keep cool.

Infidel dropped from the shaft, landing on the stone island. She looked around, her eyes wide. I floated toward her, wondering if the veil between the spirit world and the material world was as thin as Zetetic claimed. I placed my lips by her ear and whispered, “Your favorite color is black, even though that isn’t really a color. I could have answered the monkey question in my sleep. Tower might know your family tree back a dozen generations; I know ten thousand things that make you smile. And when you smile, I smile.”

She didn’t smile. She didn’t respond at all, other than to look toward the shaft just as Lord Tower flew through the opening. He shot off sideways at blinding speed, slamming face first into a wall, sending out a rainbow spray of undulating false-matter gravel. He rose on hands and knees, perpendicular to the others, and said, “By the sacred quill! What madness is this?”