Wayne Batson - The Rise of the Wrym Lord

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!