The Rose Princess Page 7

  Elena also looked at D. She couldn’t help but wonder what he thought of the staggering information the princess had just disclosed. Relief and excitement filled the biker’s heart, but D’s expression hadn’t changed in the least. No matter what the Nobility had in mind, the Hunter would no doubt remain impassive as he brought all their plans to naught. Beautifully and emotionlessly.

  “They are certain to insist on accompanying me,” the princess continued. “After all, they live solely to protect me and my stronghold. Doesn’t that sound absolutely dismal? I’ve always been sickened by that cloying kind of love and feelings of loyalty.”

  “Then why have you put up with it for so long?” D asked.

  The princess let a wry smile drift to her lips as she replied, “Oh, there are any number of reasons. Bound by the traditions of my ancestors and so on. They are my retainers, ultimately. It wouldn’t do for me to leave them with nothing to do, would it? After all, they haven’t a talent for anything but this work.”

  “But you’d abandon them now that you’re bored?”

  “Don’t make it sound so sordid. Everyone has a right to put their own happiness first, right? I have a feeling that in that respect, humans and Nobles don’t differ in the least.”

  There was no reply.

  “That’s all I had to say. If you’d be so good as to eliminate them, I’ll move on to a different area. And the village will be free—won’t it? Everything works out nice and neatly that way. And you can finish up here without even having to destroy me.”

  “I listened to what you had to say,” D said softly.

  “Now, hold it right there,” the princess said, fairly admonishing the Hunter.

  The ghastly aura that’d begun to permeate the area left Elena unable to speak.

  “Wait just a moment,” the princess continued. “I told you I’d be willing to leave these lands. There’s no need for you to try and kill me, is there? Are you some kind of homicidal maniac?”

  “I’m a Hunter,” D said. Perhaps even that brief response was only out of politeness.

  The flash of silver that shot out bisected the lovely princess once, slicing the table in two as well.

  “Well done,” the princess said, rising completely unscathed.

  A stark light mowed through her waist.

  In her white dress, she flowed to the center of the room like a fog.

  “See, I knew you were pigheaded. If you are intent on fulfilling your contract to slay me, it seems I have no recourse but to change the mind of your employer. But first, watch this.”

  The princess raised one hand. What then suddenly formed in the air was an image of the village of Sacri as seen from a distance. The silver disc that glowed in the sky was obscured by the fluttering of black wings.

  “Bats?!” Elena exclaimed.

  As if taking their cue from the biker’s cry, the countless winged mammals dove straight for the village.

  The view changed.

  Elena had her eyes glued to it, for the tiny descending creatures had become roses beyond number. Flowers in four shades billowed ornately down the streets and alleyways. And before the eyes of the awestruck Elena, the image vanished.

  “This is not a dream, I tell you. All of that actually happened. Aren’t you at all curious what’ll become of the village I’ve blessed with my flowers?”

  “What have you done? What the hell were those flowers?!” Elena cried.

  “You’ll see when you get back there, little girl,” the princess replied, her lips remaining parted for silent laughter. “I had intended to kill you here, but now you may return to the village. However, you’ll find there are some cases where it’s more painful to live than to die. Go ahead and find out for yourself. See exactly what I mean.”

  As the princess spun around and raced for the door on the far side of the chamber, a stark needle pierced her back. Her laughter never abating, the figure in white was swallowed by fog before she reached the door.

  At the same time, the same door that they’d entered by opened to the rear of her two guests. No doubt it was the princess’s way of ordering them to leave.

  “Let’s go back, D,” Elena urged the Hunter.

  But D walked off toward where the princess had disappeared.

  “Where are you going?”

  “If you won’t go home alone, come with me. Or stay right here, if you like.”

  Elena’s eyes bulged in her sockets, but it only took the blink of an eye for her astonishment to become anger.

  Pointing toward the door, she said, “You saw those roses, didn’t you? Something really awful is happening back in the village. The only thing that can save someone from being harmed by a Noble is another Noble. And you’re half one, right?” Elena exclaimed, but only as the words were coming out of her mouth did she realize what she was saying.

  Putting her fist to her mouth, she said, “I’m so sorry.”

  D had already been swallowed by the fog.

  Realizing the gorgeous man and woman were truly creatures from a whole other world, Elena was plunged into a solitude that rent her soul.

  —

  II

  —

  Elena couldn’t even remember how she’d gotten out of the manor. The next thing she knew, the rose garden spread before her like something out of a dream, and a knight sat before her on a black horse. The moonlight informed her that the armor encasing him was the same hue as his mount.

  As the girl froze in her tracks, the Black Knight indicated the back of his horse and told her, “Get on.”

  Elena was at a loss for words.

  “There’s nothing to fear. The princess’s orders were that I deliver you safely back to the village. But only in the event that you came out without the Hunter.”

  “Why?” she asked. Although she’d tried to put some force behind it, her voice quavered.

  “She bade me to let you see the village, come what may. And some very dangerous things come out at night in these parts.”

  “Sounds like not everything’s under her control. Are human beings the only thing she can’t set free?”

  The Black Knight smiled without saying a word.

  Noticing that his was not an unsettling grin, Elena pulled herself together once more. Swallowing her saliva, she said, “I’ll go back on my own ride. Out of the way.”

  “In that case, you’ll find it right there,” the Black Knight said, tossing his chin to the right and ignoring the rude manner in which she’d declined his offer.

  Glistening in the moonlight, her motorcycle looked like it was brand new.

  “I gave it a tune-up while you were inside,” the knight told her. “That was also on instructions from the princess. But even if you’re riding back, I’ll escort you.”

  “Do whatever you like,” Elena said absentmindedly as she walked over to her bike. It was like a completely different vehicle. The responsiveness of the accelerator and brake, the feel of the spring suspension, the purr of the engine—they’d all been raised to a new level. Elena restrained her own curiosity about how he’d managed so many improvements in such a short time.

  But the question that weighed most heavily on Elena’s mind was whether this man or his compatriots in the quartet—one of whom had yet to show himself—had any idea of the change that’d come over their proud liege. The princess was certainly a capricious character, but did she actually think the biker wouldn’t tell the knights what she knew?

  “What a fine mistress you have,” the girl said sarcastically once they’d finished coming down the hill. Suddenly, she stood transfixed by a fierce gaze evident even through the dark of night and held her tongue. In a heartbeat, she’d lost all urge to divulge the secret.

  Quickly facing forward again, the Black Knight said in a rusty voice, “Never mention the princess again.”

  Elena thought he was going to follow up with a threat of some sort, but the knight continued to advance on his steed without saying another word.

  �
�You and your friends will be finished soon,” the incorrigible Elena sneered, even though she realized it was a reckless thing to do. “I’m sure he’s gonna kill you all. You could all come at him at once and it still wouldn’t make any difference.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  The knight conceded so easily, it threw Elena into a strange mood. Her bike was creeping forward at a speed of about two miles per hour. To be honest, the reason she didn’t just take off was because she was scared. Although this knight in black was the most human of the four in his emotions, she was still chilled to the marrow just knowing he was there by her side. And it wasn’t horror that chilled her, but rather a physical coldness from the supernatural aura given off by all those in league with the Nobility.

  “Then why don’t you all take off out of here as fast as you can? And take your mistress with you.”

  “I believe I just told you I wouldn’t allow any further discussion of the princess,” the Black Knight said in a tone that froze Elena’s blood. “Do you hate us that much?” he asked, his voice carrying a puff of laughter.

  “Of course. How many people do you think have been put on the stakes over the years?”

  “That’s always been done to make an example of those who would harm the princess. It’s unavoidable.”

  Anger caught hold of Elena.

  “Unavoidable?!” she snapped. “Try putting yourself in the shoes of those you killed. Of course, the whole lot of you are half dead already, so you probably wouldn’t mind, would you?”

  The Black Knight seemed to chuckle softly. “Very good. You’re exactly right.”

  As for the next question, even Elena herself didn’t know why she asked it. Nevertheless, she said, “Were you guys human once?”

  “What do you think?”

  “I don’t know—that’s why I’m asking.”

  “If you happen to be around when I die, take my helmet off. Then you’ll know.”

  “Okay. I’m looking forward to it.”

  The biker was just congratulating herself on her cheeky reply when the Black Knight rode past her on one side.

  After he’d gone about fifteen feet ahead of her, he asked, “Can you speed up?”

  “I only need a half second, and then I’m good to go!”

  The two of them were approaching the road that ran straight into the village. To either side, black tree trunks stretched up to the sky. But one of the trees in the stand seemed to be sort of twisted out of shape, and it made Elena blink. Come to think of it, she’d taken this road hundreds of times. There’d never been a tree like that before.

  Elena was bracing herself to say something when another tree shot across her field of view. It hadn’t fallen. It’d leaned over, and was going right for the Black Knight’s head.

  The girl saw a band of light. It flowed up from the Black Knight’s back to wind around the monstrous tree bearing down on him like an avalanche, and then the bizarre creature fell to the ground, sliced in half where the band of light had touched it.

  “Go!” the Black Knight bellowed.

  Above his head loomed another tree, and this time it had split open from the tip to reveal stark white fangs as it attacked.

  It took half a second for her to hit forty miles per hour. A full second later she hit sixty—and Elena and her bike were both propelled forward by a roar. The very instant she passed the Black Knight, Elena caught the band of light once more out of the corner of her eye, but she sped off without so much as a backward glance. And while she didn’t look back, she did wonder about the outcome all the way to the village.

  The village gates were still open when they greeted Elena. But it was long past the hour when they should’ve been shut. Something was wrong here.

  Fighting the chill against her skin, Elena rode her bike into the village.

  In areas where the Nobility remained, people holed up in their houses as soon as the sun went down. While it was natural that there was no one on the streets, the scent of roses filling the night air made Elena tense. Before she knew it, her left hand was massaging the opposite breast in an attempt to ease her apprehension.

  Elena peered into the guardhouse to one side of the gate. There was no sign of anyone. The gatekeeper wouldn’t go right home after closing the gates–after all, travelers were known to show up suddenly, and express messengers came from the Capital on occasion. The absence of the gatekeeper was fairly strong evidence something wasn’t right.

  Elena turned forward again. Someone else’s face was right in front of her.

  Choking back a scream, Elena said, “Miksin?”

  That was the name of the one of her gang members. He wore a dazed expression she’d never seen on him before, and it made him look like a specter.

  “What the hell happened? And where’s Stahl?”

  “Don’t . . . know . . . ,” the stocky little man mumbled, saliva spilling out with the words as he swung his head from side to side. “Oh, that’s right . . . He helped . . . bury everyone. Right now, he’s digging . . . a hole . . .”

  “A hole? What are you talking about?! Snap out of it!”

  Grabbing the man by his powerful shoulders, Elena shook him. The head on top of his bull neck snapped back and forth easily, but Miksin didn’t offer any resistance. The girl’s left hand slipped off Miksin’s shoulder and slid right down his back. Elena knew immediately what the soft sensation traveling from her fingers had to be. She spun Miksin around with all her might.

  “What in the world . . . ,” she muttered.

  On the man’s broad back—directly above the seventh thoracic vertebra—a symbol of the world of night was blooming in all its crimson glory. The girl tried to yank it out, but only the petals were left in her hand, while the stem remained rooted in the middle of his back.

  “Where is everyone, Miksin? Tell me!” she shouted, but just then the sound of hoof beats reached her ears. “D?!” she said, her assessment all too natural under the circumstances.

  “I see you made it back safely,” the Black Knight said from outside the gates. His armor had a white luster to it—the work of the moonlight.

  “You of all people must know something about what’s happened here, right?” Elena asked in a low voice as she pulled her hands away from Miksin. “Tell me. What do we have to do to save everyone? How are we supposed to get these flowers out of them? Tell me, damn you!”

  The girl sounded like she was spitting up blood as she beseeched him, but the Black Knight sat there listening like a lump of cold steel.

  “My work is done,” was all he said as he wheeled his horse around.

  “Wait! Wait just a second!” Elena shouted, and at just that moment an idea sparked in her brain, as if by a miracle.

  Leaving Miksin behind, the girl dashed out through the gates.

  “I’m outside the village now. I’m not safely inside. You haven’t fulfilled your duty yet.”

  “Enough of your childish games,” the Black Knight said as he continued to ride away.

  “I’m gonna stay out here until you do something. In another minute or so, the beasties will catch my scent and come after me. And if I were to die outside the village, that’d mean you disregarded your princess’s commands, wouldn’t it?”

  Elena had ample confidence in that last comment.

  Sure enough, it hit the mark. Certainly this must’ve been the first time anyone had ever made the Black Knight turn his mount around not once, but twice.

  As he rode over to Elena, he remarked, “A crude but effective ploy.” He said the words without any modulation, but his delivery alone spoke volumes about Elena’s victory. “However, I’m not about to do anything,” he added. “What has happened to the village is in accordance with the will of the princess.”

  “Which would you choose?” Elena asked, desperately trying to retain the upper hand. “To be punished for killing me, or to be scolded for preventing some evil work of the princess that you had no part in? If I were you, I’d see to it
that I did my job.”

  “I’m not going to move from this spot,” said the Black Knight. “But I shall be here all night to cut down anything that tries to attack you. Stay right there, if you wish.”

  Elena realized he’d turned the situation around. With despair and rage blasting through every inch of her, the biker stomped her feet and shouted, “If you walk around in the daylight, you can’t be a Noble! What are you, a synthetic human? Well, no matter what you are, if you’re even remotely human, there’s no way you could just leave the village to its fate. If you believe in following orders, you must be capable of respecting others. In that case, you’ve also gotta be able to understand their suffering!”

  Elena’s reasoning was a bit forced, but it was all she could think of at the moment. To be honest, she didn’t believe it would have any effect at all.

  As expected, the Black Knight didn’t budge an inch. He had become a statue, sitting there on his horse, devoid not only of emotion but of life itself.

  “You heartless monster! Fine. I won’t ask any more of you. Take off already.” The girl turned and was about to walk back in through the gates.

  “Wait,” a voice called out behind her.

  Another reversal—but Elena couldn’t focus on her own joy at this turn of events as she’d noticed a number of figures heading toward her from the village.

  —

  III

  —

  It wasn’t Miksin, but she was only sure of that after she noticed the five or six villagers who had also drawn the Black Knight’s attention.

  “Look over there . . . That’s Elena, isn’t it?” an old woman thin as a withered tree branch said with obvious joy.

  “That’s right. It’s Elena,” said another. “You’re unharmed, I see.”

  “We can share this with you. Join us.”

  Beslik, dressed in his butcher’s apron, and the old man who ran the general store clawed at the air like they were swimming as they approached her.