I Will Be the Greatest Knight

The world felt silent for a moment as Irene analyzed the situation, her green eyes scanning ahead of her as she decided what her next move would be.

What bothered her the most was the wyrm’s proximity to where she and Henry slept the night before, none the wiser to the monster that lurked just outside.

Had something changed? She thought there was an earthquake the last time she felt the wyrm outside of the place she occupied, but all she heard last night was winds whipping and snow settling against the house. Perhaps that was just how it was out here, where the snow seemed a bit sparser compared to that of the snowfields even further north.

A thought struck her. A gasp escaped her lips.

"The horses," she remembered, and she darted to the right before Henry could step outside.

Nothing. Not carnage.

She was so relieved when she saw their two loyal steeds huddled against the rock wall with snow that had gathered up to their stomachs, but they were safe. It seemed that the only destruction the wyrm had caused was the snow and uprooted grasses mixed in.

Her Commander rushed outside, his coat not even on because of the urgency in his wife’s voice. His heart raced, and his sword was drawn.

"You sounded afraid," he admitted.

But he, too, noticed what Irene had been observing before. She didn’t have time to answer.

"The wyrm," he realized in disbelief. His attention went to his wife. "Are you alright? You’re not feeling any different?"

He sheathed his sword.

Siverly had insisted that she didn’t have mana left inside of her that would indicate she was still under the effects of the wyrm’s magic, but now that they were within its reach, that could change. Siverly had already briefed him about the possibilities before they left. With them, they both carried anti-mana trinkets that would hopefully protect them from outer magic force.

Henry made it to Irene, and he grabbed her hands as he observed her face. His beautiful wife looked the same as always, in his opinion.

"I feel fine," Irene insisted. "Last time I saw the wyrm, there was fogginess. Now is different."

"I’m relieved," Henry admitted. "What do we do next?"

It was Irene who had experience with a wyrm. Henry decided he would still follow her lead.

"We should stay here," she insisted. "Travel won’t be safe. There are days of travel between here and the next small township where we will be able to stay. The likelihood of the wyrm finding us before that is high. If you can summon Blade, perhaps we should send a letter and let the others know to press forward. The only reason I escaped last time was my father slicing the beast into two, but I guarantee it’s in one piece again. Magical beasts are beyond my understanding..."

Henry nodded slowly, taking it all in. His eyes didn’t leave the horizon for long, paranoid that he would see the snow shifting again.

"Is it nocturnal?" he wondered.

"In the papers I’ve read, it doesn’t seem to point to that, yet each time I saw the wyrm, it summoned me at night or during a snowstorm," she admitted. "It seems to prefer that sort of environment."

"The horses are safe," Henry commented. "You’re right. We’ll stay here for now."

"I think I will spend the rest of the morning building a wall of snow around the horse pen," Irene decided. "Even if it won’t be strong, at least they’ll be more concealed."

"I’ll help you," Henry responded. "Then we will eat the porridge."

They both got to work quickly and used extra bowls, the shovel, and their boots and hands to stack up snow around the horses. To make it stand up easier, they packed each layer down tightly.

Irene noticed that both of their attentions never strayed from their surroundings for long. The thought of a wyrm lurking where they couldn’t see was petrifying.

Before Irene went back into the house, she reached through the opening behind the wall of snow they created, and she patted both animals on their surprisingly warm noses.

"Be safe," she requested. "We still need you two very badly."

After that, the pair went back inside, and that was where they spent the rest of the day.

Irene had brought books for them to study up on the wyrm some more. They were all things she had already read, but it didn’t hurt for the two of them to be educated in their approach.

Twice that day, Henry went outside and held up his Chemoian sword, only for there to be no response from Blade. It was understandable. The bird already didn’t like Sylaron, much less a magical beast that seemed to be threatening the Duke and his wife. He probably disappeared deeper into the forest until more calm settled in.

The day didn’t draw long. Night settled in soon since they only had so many hours of sunlight, and the two checked on the horses and fed them once more before shutting themselves inside.

For a while, they tossed and turned at the helplessness of the situation, knowing they were essentially sitting ducks, but eventually they both fell into a deep sleep.

However, at some point in the night, Irene tossed her legs over the side of the bed and stood up when her feet were on the floor. She dragged her tired body towards where her items had been laid out neatly after shaking the snow off them so it wouldn’t melt in the warmth of the small cabin.

Clumsily, she began to get dressed. The buttons of her outer coat were misaligned, and she had one glove on. Both of her boots were untied as well. It didn’t stop her from her unknown goal.

Her movements were groggy and slow, but her hands found the door. She certainly wasn’t being quiet, but Henry’s sleep had been impacted by whichever magic force pulled Irene in an unknown direction.

She leaned heavily against the door to close it.

Despite the snow blowing in, flying from all directions, she stumbled out into the whiteness. Something beckoned to her, and she could only answer it.

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