Tina let out a deep breath as she struggled to wake up. Her head felt fogy like she didn’t sleep off some sleeping medicine. She knew she had passed out. She had done that several times before. Maybe she should have asked that Westley guy for one of the herbs he had listed. Maybe not. She didn’t know if she could trust him or not. Someone placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. She winced and her lips pressed together as her back throbbed. She summoned her spirit energy and allowed the familiar warmth spread through her body before she directed it to her back. The pain faded away as her back warmed. She let out a relieved sigh.
She opened her eyes and blinked until her eyes focused. The sky was on her right while a pile of brown cloth laid directly in front of her. She was laying on her side. She turned her head and glanced around to see she was in a bed of a wagon. She turned her attention to see Tristan standing beside her with his arm reaching into the wagon’s bed to her, keeping his hand on her shoulder. She raised a questioning eyebrow at him.
“Hey, we are reaching Camelot,” Tristan explained, “I knew you wanted to see this.”
“Thank you,” Tina said, groggy. She grabbed the side of the wagon and pulled herself up into a sitting position. She rolled her shoulders and brought a leg under her before she pushed herself up into a kneeling position. She stood up, slowly, stretching. She felt a lot better after that nap, lot more energized. She took stock of her spirit energy and knew it had recovered enough where she could use it until she went back to bed later that night. She grabbed the side of the wagon, placing her foot on the side of the wagon. Tristan started to reach out to grab her hips and help her down, but she waved him off. She hopped down, landing in a slight crunch then straightened to her full height.
She caught sight of a large castle roughly a mile away, but there was a long line, waiting to get in. She blinked at that. She thought it would have been shorter then that. Tina frowned and turned to Tristan, hoping he would explain.
“They had increase security, due to the Funeral,” Tristan explained, “It will be still a bit before you can enter.”
Tina nodded and thought about what he just said before she cocked her head to the side, hearing the single way he phrased his statement, and spoke up, “I take it we are separating here.”
“Yes,” Tristan nodded, “I have a few things left to do before I entered Camelot.” Tina nodded. While she was curious on what he had to do, she knew it wasn’t her place to ask. “Here.” He handed her a scroll with a small pouch. Tina took the scroll and tucked it into the side of her bag before she took the pouch. It was heavy. She looked at the knight with both eyebrows raised. “The pouch should have enough coin to get you a room for a night or two with meals as well to see a healer about your back before you head back home or head to the Estate.”
Tina gapped before she nodded. She wasn’t expecting this kindness from Tristan. Hell, she wasn’t expecting him to take her to Camelot, either, but he did take her to the wall of the Castle. Tear welled up in her eyes. A lump formed in her throat. She pushed them back and cleared her throat before she spoke, “Thank you, Tristan.”
He nodded, his arms started to raise up, but he stopped them and allowed them to fall back to his sides. He shifted back and forth on his feet, his eyes darting around before they landed back on her again as she got emotional, but he went on, “Be careful and watch your back. You can keep the horse until you figure out what you are going to do.” She nodded. She did feel a little more comfortable riding it now. It just took her a bit to over her nerves of riding a horse. “Just find an inn with a stable. The horse will be well taken care of.” He handed her the reins for the horse. He took his bag off the back of the horse with his blanket roll. He swung his bag onto his back. He tried to hid his wince when the bag bounced off his back as Tina remembered he was also wounded. That Fawn village had also wiped him. He started to turn away when she said, “You should see a healer about your wounds, too, Tristan.”
“I will,” he glanced over his shoulder at her. A gleam in his eyes told her that he felt something that she didn’t identify.
“Good luck,” she said as he walked away, heading off the road to the forest that line the western side of the road. In the distance, she spotted a large, tall wall of rock extending all the way up into the clouds. She frowned, thinking that looked somewhat familiar, but she didn’t remember why or where she had seen it before.
Tina turned her attention back to the road leading to the outer wall. She took a deep breath and grabbed the horn of the saddle and the back of the saddle. She slipped her foot into the stirrup and bounced before she jumped. She swung her leg over the saddle, settling down into it. She placed her other foot into the stirrup. She let out the deep breath she took, slowly, trying to calm her racing heart. She kicked the sides of the horse, gently and the horse moved forward, walking slowly as the line moved forward.
She didn’t know long much time had passed, but she knew it was enough for her ass to ache, her thighs to started screaming with pain and her back started to bother her again. Tina shifted in the saddle with a groan as she waited to enter the outer wall. Her eyes roamed over the outer wall. It appeared to be made of limestone or white marble. There were cracks in the wall, showing the age of the wall. She wondered if the wall had been through several repairs since the Founding of Camelot or maybe this kingdom was just a few years old. She didn’t remember if Tristan had told her the name of the King whom recently passed or not. She still had to figure out a lot of things when it came to Camelot and its residents. She knew she would figure it out, eventually.
She directed her attention back to the wall. Her eyes roamed upward, noting the various holes in the wall, closer to the top. Maybe that’s where the archers would fire from. It provided safety for archers and the ability to deliver sure-kill shots. Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.
A red haired man strolled long the top of the wall. His hair color. She paused, thinking. It looked so similar to her shade of red. He wore a red trench coat as he stood tall and she knew he shouted orders, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying above the dull roar of the crowd trying to get past the outer wall. Another man with long red hair that was braided down his back strolled up to the Man in the trench coat and saluted him.
The red trench coat man was a high-ranking member of the guard or the military, Tina mused, as he returned the salute. The Red Braid spoke to the Red Trench with a serious expression before Red Trench replied back. Red Braid nodded and turned away, heading back in the direction he came from, leaving Red Trench. He looked over the line of people entering the outer wall before he met Tina’s eyes.
Tina noticed his eyes were green. They looked familiar, just like his hair did. She wondered why. Maybe she had meet him in the past. However, that didn’t make sense. She never been to Camelot or its surrounding lands.
She ran to him before she stopped in front of him, and cried out, “…..!” She pointed behind her, “They are being mean to me again!” He glanced over her shoulder and rolled his eyes at her.
She blinked, rapidly, as a sharp pain rippled across her forehead. She reached up and rubbed at it. That vision was strange. She didn’t get much details other then the boy in her vision appeared to be the younger vision of the Red Trench man. He had to be just a couple years older than her. That didn’t make any sense. She never met him in her life. She sighed before she turned her attention back to the entrance.
Two pairs of guards standing on this side of the outer wall. They waved people through, and Tina entered the tunnel of the outer wall. She glanced at the walls of the tunnel to see murder holes and spotted men with bows at the ready. Curious sparked in Tina as she rocked back and forth on the back of the horse. Tristan wasn’t joking when he said security had been increased. The tunnel went on for at least 15 feet before it ended. She glanced back and forth as she tried to control her anxiety. The tunnel was nothing more then a large kill zone if an enemy managed to get into the tunnel. She could easily image how it would go.
The enemy would be bottlenecked as archers filled the narrow tunnel with arrows and other deadly sharp items. Bodies would pill up, giving the people of Camelot a makeshift barrier and time to figure out what to do next as the enemy tried to clear a way path in the tunnel. It would a crude way to block an enemy from entering the Castle, but effective. Tina pushed those thoughts away as she entered Camelot.
She looked ahead to see a large castle sitting the far end of a town. Her jaw dropped as she tried to look in every direction at once. The town as she first thought was not a small town. It was more like a small city. Many of the buildings were brick from Tina could see. She took a deep breath. There was the strong scent of fresh baked goods on the air coming from a bakery up the street. She smiled as she recognized the scent of cinnamon and baking bread. It reminded her of home as pang of homesickness went through her. She lost the smile as she blinked back tears. She would return home, soon. She had to find out why this Lady Freya sent a ninja to kidnap her and request her to be brought to this White Hall Estate. She would eventually go there once she explored Camelot. The tears disappeared as she tried to look on the brighter side of things.
Straight ahead, a large inn sat inviting to the weary travelers. The sign hanging down the front porch read ‘The Dragon’s Keep Inn’. Tina snorted at that as she studied the inn. It was four-story brick building with a wrap around porch going to the left. To the right of the building, there was a large stable. There was nothing special about the Dragon’s Keep from the outside, Tina mused as she noticed two smaller signs hanging down from the large sign with the Inn’s name - No Vacancy.
That didn’t surprise her a bit. She knew from the long line of people, hotels will be filled to the brim with people. She really thought her best bet was using Tristan’s offer, whatever it was to get a room for the night.
Tina looked to the right as she pulled on the reins slightly causing the horse to stop. She didn’t see another inn to the right, but when she narrowed her eyes, she thought she spotted another entry point. She pulled on the reins toward the left and the horse turned to the left. The horse slowly walked down the street. Tina kept the wall to her left as she peered at the various stores.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Next to the Dragon’s Keep Inn, a three story brick store stood. A sign with the image of a dress poked out over the street. The words written on the sign said, ‘Dresses for all occasions’ and in a store window, a wooden female figure stood with a simple, yet, fancy black dress for sale. A red sale sign sat the foot of the wooden female figure, ‘Up to 50% off on all black dresses’. That would be one way to make sure every woman got a black dress for the funeral ceremony.
Tina’s eyes moved on the third building. It was a simple one story structure. There was no door or windows to enter the building, but it was butted right up against another building. Maybe it was an added on for the building sitting at the corner of the street. She kept her eyes moving. She spotted a pair cross road signs. It reminded her of those ones that told the street names back home. She felt surprise to see something like that in Camelot. The top road sign said ‘Main Street’ and it went perpendicular to the bottom one which she couldn’t read. She figured that Main street went straight up to the castle. Her thoughts drifted to the scroll Tristan handed her and she turned in the saddle, wincing as a sharp pain cut through the healing effect of her spirit energy, to pulled out the scroll from the side pouch of her bag. She untied it and unrolled it.
Her eyes darted up as the horse continued to move under her before she started to read it silently. For the first read through, she saw it was directions to an inn that Tristan sometimes stayed at, if he was conducting secretive business, which happen to be a brothel. She sighed as she read through the letter again, comprehending a lot more through the second read then she did the first time around.
Lady Tina,
I have a room standing available for me at the Lady Love’s Brothel and Inn. It’s on the corner of Allen road and Smith ave. You can take Main street up to Cheyenne Ave to Shawnee Trails. I have enclosed a letter for the Madam there. She is a close friend of mine. I use the room for less then savory business. It may not be available since the Funeral Ceremony is in the morning, due to the nature of the business. However, if that is the case, I have enclosed a letter, allowing you to get onto the Castle Grounds and entry to the Castle. Just go to the castle and show it to one of the guards or knights and they will direct you to the Knights’ Tower. They will escort you to my personal chambers. I will allow you to stay there until you make your decision on what you will do next, whatever it may be.
Sir Tristan
Tina’s lips parted as she read the letter again. Tristan had a room at a local whore house for his less then savory business. That was something she was okay with, but the fact he had even suggested it to her. She blinked. She didn’t know if she should be insulted or amused. Granted she had stayed in worst places then a whore house when she was forced to participate in the Black Tournament. That hotel had been owned and operated by a Demon Clan and they won’t shy about the various activities that went on indoors. She didn’t know how many times she had walked in on adult activities in the lobby or one of the lounge areas. She shuddered as she tried to push those memories away.
Directing her attention elsewhere, Tina glanced up at the street sign before she pulled on the reins, directing the horse to go right. She caught sight of where the delicious smells of baking goods drifting from. It was a corner bakery called Hikari Bakery. She blinked at the store name. Hikari was the Japanese word for ‘Light’. She hummed as she thought about it. Light Bakery. She smirked in amusement. Most baked goods were not light on the stomach. It was a nice play on wordage.
Tina half turned in her seat and tucked the scroll back into her bag. She couldn’t be losing that. Tristan did her a huge favor. He basically have her a letter of recommendation for a place to stay for the night, maybe two nights. Plus he was willingly to pay for it. Once she figured out what was going on with the whole situation with the White Hall Family, she would figure out a way to repay him for his kindness.
She allowed the horse to wonder up the road as she looked at the various shops along the Main Street, seeing majority of them were packed with the dinner rush. The scents drifting through the air were mouthwatering. Her stomach rumbled. She wanted to stop by one of the packed restaurants to grab something to eat, but she didn’t know how much Tristan gave her. It could possible a room with everything going on would be expensive as some of the business owners hoped to make one hell of a profit. She hoped it wouldn’t be extreme, but the profits they could see might help them out in the long, like saving up a daughter’s bride price or buy new clothes. She sighed as she noticed the shadows between buildings. There were some people without families to help them. However, a nearby conversation caught her attention.
“The Pope will be overseeing the Funeral Ceremony of King Uther, Tenth of His Name, Of House Drake,” a loud voice rang out, “The Funeral Ceremony and Parade has been postponed until the morning of the 23rd.” Tina spotted where the voice was coming from. A lanky man stood on a small stage at the corner of two streets, reading from a scroll. It was a Town Crier. She remembered from her classes that covered the middle ages, they helped deliver the news throughout the various towns and villages of a kingdom. He looked up from the scroll and went on, “King Uther of House Drake has ruled over Camelot almost 10 years, now. He passed away three days ago. May his soul rest in peace. Prince Arthur, Ninth of His Name, of House Drake, is the acting King and has refuse to take the Crown of Camelot.” Tina blinked at that news. She knew majority of the time, the son would inherit the father’s throne if they were royalty. “It is unclear, now, who will be taking the Throne of Camelot. Until then, High Queen Kalliope will be ruling with Prince Arthur as an adviser.”
Tina cocked her head to the side. She didn’t know if this Queen Kalliope was the same Queen in the stories of Arthur’s father or not. Something was not adding up here. She heard murmurs from the crowd gathered around and listened in a conversation.
“…Queen Belladonna doesn’t like that,” a man dressed as a merchant said, “She stormed out of the Royal Wing after the High Queen stood up to her.”
“It is about time someone did,” another man dressed as a blacksmith replied, “I never did like that Warrior Queen’s attitude toward the previous High Queens. She always thought she was better then them caused she refused to sit at the castle and helped out on the battlefield.” The merchant nodded before he parted ways from the Blacksmith.
“I hope Queen Susan will return for the Funeral Ceremony,” a woman, holding the hand of her child, commented to another woman who carried a bundle of cloth in her arms.
“Me too,” The Cloth carrying woman said, “I wish Queen Brenna would come to the castle. She was my favorite Queen. I still can’t believe Uther would cast out his Aunts from the Castle like that.” The two woman drifted away. Tina raised both eyebrows. That was never covered in any of her classes about Camelot and the Arthurian Legends. She knew it did happen a lot during the Middle Ages when a new family took over the throne of a kingdom.
The horse moved past the Town Crier stage and continued its causal stroll up the road. Tina turned her attention to in front of her to see something she never thought she would see in a Medieval Kingdom…a large trolley rolled down the street and went through an open front building, disappearing down a slope, heading under ground. She blinked. She expected to see that in San Fransisco, not Camelot of all places. She, then, began to noticed some odd things about some of the horses close by. At first glance, they appeared to gray-color horses. At second glance, the gray color coat of the horses turned out to be a dull silver plating. Tina narrowed her eyes, trying to see past the plating before her eyes widened. She could have sworn she spotted gears like the horse was not a living breathing horse similar to the one she rode upon, but a mechanical horse.
If this kingdom had that kind of technology available to it, it meant this Camelot was not the one of legend, but a steampunk version of it. She couldn’t help wondering what the hell was going on with this kingdom. No medieval age kingdom should have access to that type of technology. For a moment, she wondered if she could try to charge up her music player for the return trip. That would be nice. Her thoughts turned back to the steampunk issue. She wondered what other kind of technology would have. It would be something she could keep an eye out for during her stay.
As Tina roam up Main Street, she kept seeing the mechanical horses pulling wagons that full of supplies and other items needed. She wondered if there were other mechanical things. She heard a loud bell. She sucked in a breath. Her eyes darted up to the Castle. A tall tower loomed over the city like town. The bell rang out several times. She silently counted them. 6. It was 6 o’clock. No where why most of the restaurants she had came across were packed. It was dinner time. Her stomach rumbled a bit at that thought. She sighed. She glanced around the street. She knew it had been a while she had anything to eat, before she had entered the walls of Camelot.
The streets slowly cleared as many of the townspeople wondered home, to an inn, or to a local restaurants. Tina watched as some of the street merchants began to close up shop for the day. She shook her head in amusement. This was so different from what she was used to. The only time she had witness street merchants close up was when she went to the local farmers’ market on Saturday mornings. She spotted a street opening on the left hand side. The second one she had seen on Main street. She was still too far away from the street sign to read the street name.
Tina turned her attention back in front of her to watch a group of kids run through the slowly emptying street with an old lady, silver hair streaming down her back, screamed after them, “Get out of here, you bloody street rats!” she threw what appeared to be a rolling pin at the back of the tallest street rat. It sailed through the air and the tall street rat glanced over his or her shoulder in time to duck the flying rolling pin. It hit the ground with a dull thump.
That was something else Tina never witness before and it only causes her to pulled the coin pouch closer to her. She knew the kids were probably homeless or at least their family was poor. Her heart went out to those kids. She didn’t stop as the tall street kid bent down and grabbed the rolling pin. He or she turned around and waved the rolling pin in the air above their head, grinning brightly, and called out, “Thank you, ma’am, for the nice rolling pin!” They disappeared down an alley way.
“YOU BRAT!!!” the old woman shouted at the top of her lungs. Tina acted like she didn’t see a thing as she guided the horse to the street entrance. “GET BACK HERE WITH THAT ROLLING PIN!!” The old lady hurried after the street rats, disappearing after them. Tina just shook her head then she saw her. She stood on the other side of the street.
A woman with long, flowing black hair wearing a light purple dress that remind Tina of orchids. Even from that distance, Tina could see the beautiful shade of blue of her eyes. She looked familiar - very familiar like Tina had seen her, recently, on TV or in a movie. What TV show or movie, Tina didn’t remember, but the woman had a beauty about her that Tina had only seen a few times in a TV series. If memory served her correctly, it was about Camelot, but she didn’t remember anything else. It will eventually come back to her when she was not thinking about it. Either way, this woman had unearthly beauty to her. As if she had some elvish blood or fae, assuming those type creatures existed in this version of Camelot. It wouldn’t surprise if such creatures did live in hiding.
Tina shook her head and tried to figure out where she would go first. That Brothel first or skip it and go straight to the castle. Granted she would have protection either way she went. However, there was a chance if she did go to the brothel, she could be mistaken for one of the Ladies of the Night and fend off any horny man. On the other hand, that still could happen at the castle if a knight didn’t have the honor it was rumor the Knights of Camelot had. Hopefully, there would be less of a chance of that happening within the heart of the Kingdom. She didn’t really need it much more thought then she already did.
She glanced up at the large castle, sitting in the middle of the town. Something settled in her gut as she nudged the horse to walk up the road. It could be nerves. It could have been something else. Either way, she knew once she entered through the gate separating the castle from the town, her life would change. She still didn’t know how she felt about that. She glanced over her shoulder. She could easily turn around and try to find her way back home, but it would linger at the back of her mind…what if she stayed and found out about her father’s side of the family? She took a deep breath and steeled her nerves as the horse walked past the unearthly beauty and continued up to the castle.
https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B08MBFS53L . The Paperback is available for purchase: . I am working on a Hardcover edition, which I am hoping to have out by the end of February 2025, as long as there is no trouble. If you want an autographic copy of the book, please check out the link to my etsy shop where you can get an autographic copy with a bookmark.
https://ko-fi.com/valeries26
https://www.amazon.com/stores/V.L.-Souders/author/B08QJQ7KGJ
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Vals3C
