chapter six

Chapter Six

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Princess Karina stepped out of her carriage and starred disdainfully around the clearing, she was fifteen, the same age as Volt and very tall, her hair was a few shades darker then Karliah’s and her eyes were deep gray.

Besides the obvious details like height, hair and eyes, Karliah and Karina looked allot alike; their faces had the same shape and they stood in the same way. Finally she spotted Cenred, Volt, Karliah, and Nihco.

“Karliah!” She called waving and rocking forward onto her toes. Her cat, Sam, stepped out of the carriage and brushed the ruffles on her gold embroidered purple silk dress.

Ulfric dismounted his massive palomino horse and held its reins tightly. His horse had been known to run off if not watched. Ulfric was a big burly man with wide shoulders and a big barrel chest, his bearskin cloak covered most of the longbow and arrows he kept strapped to his back. His huge greatsword was sheathed and strapped horizontally to his horse’s saddle. Bits of his graying brown hair stuck out from his horned helmet that covered most of his face except his mouth, cheeks and light brown eyes.

Cenred and his apprentices approached the princess and head of their corps. Karina’s two guards instantly went on alert-mode; the one driving the carriage in iron armor stepped to Karina’s side drawing his massive battle axe, while the one perched on the carriage’s roof in leather armor leapt to the ground, already cupping a glowing blue shield spell in his hands.

“Ullr, Haymitch” Karina waved them off, “It’s alright, I trust them.”

The guards dropped their guard and stepped back uneasily.

“Well, Karliah? Aren’t you going to give you dear cousin a hug?” Karina asked tilting her head and pouting.

 Karliah gave her cousin a brief hug before stepping back awkwardly, “Its… good to see you again” she said.

“Yes, the castle seems so empty without my little cousin dashing about shooting things with her little bow; remember when you almost shot Ullr?” Karina agreed

Karliah laughed in reply, trying to remember back to when she was seven- a time when she barely knew how to hold her bow.

Ulfric laughed, a deep booming laugh that they could almost feel shaking the ground, “I sure remember it!” he roared, “Cenred, the king I were on the other side of the courtyard inducting Volt, Charcley was there too wasn’t she?”

“Yeah, she started screaming ‘Good job Lady Karliah! You almost got him! Why don’t you try again?” Volt said, imitating Charcley.

Nihco suddenly felt very left out, at the time they were speaking of he was probably dashing about on errands for the elder mages; as was the duty of all the youngest apprentice mages.

“Between Volt and Charcley I have no idea how I kept my sanity” Cenred concluded.

Volt nudged Nihco playfully, “Charcley really knew how to drive him crazy, I learned from the master.” Sometimes Volt missed when Charcley was first apprentice and he was second, but he also liked being the oldest.

“She will become a legend to all apprentices who enjoy annoying their mentors” Nihco proclaimed. He had only met Charcley a few times but he liked he care-free demeanor, and that she was from the Icx like him.

“I apologize, we never greeted you properly” Karliah said to Ulfric.

He shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder “No need dear girl, were all equals in the Black fox” he paused “except I give the orders”

The comment was rewarded by a chorus of laughter before the conversation continued to how their trip was and Karina went through a great deal of complaining about how big Norhail was and why Cenred’s hut had to be a day’s journey away from the castle while Nihco and Volt escaped to put the horses in the stable. Karina’s cat busied itself by investigating the clearing.

Looks like someone bashed its face in with a frying pan Karliah noted to herself.

“The stables going to explode” Volt said, eyeing the setup.

Ulfric’s Palomino was sharing a stall with Cenred’s horse, Volt, Nihco, and Karliah’s horses were sharing the biggest stall and the two mustangs that pulled Karina’s carriage- one white and one black- shared a stall. The final stall was left empty incase Charcley and her new apprentice had horses.

In the evening the apprentices built a fire over which Cenred hung the deer to cook and they rolled logs around the fire, where the group sat and reveled about old times.

Like clockwork, the minute the sky began to change to the colors of dusk the clouds split open and hurled their icy wrath down into the forest.

The sudden down pour doused the campfire the group had built and sent the Princess screaming onto the hut’s deck, where she thought the evil water couldn’t get her.