My Sparkling Misfortune (The Lakeland Knight) (9 page)

"You need my permission to do it?"

"Technically, no."

"Then why are you asking for it?"

"Because I wish to be courteous. You may not believe it, but I do care."

I glanced at him in suspicion. On one hand, sparklings don't lie... but what he'd just said couldn't be true, either.

"For the record, I
don't
believe it. Fine, go ahead and snoop. We'll see what you say after that."

When Jarvi returned after his brief disappearance, his expression was grave and thoughtful.

"Well?"

"Now I know, Lord Arkus. What the prince did was very unworthy."

"Was it, really?" I asked, feigning utter amazement. "But he wanted to defeat a villain! A noble intention, is it not?"

"There was nothing noble about it."

"My, oh my, a sparkling is taking a villain's side! I need to call a witness and write it down."

Jarvi looked me straight in the eyes.

"Please, stop mocking. I mean what I say, and I think you know it."

Did I?... I couldn't tell. Maybe. But it was so strange, I did not know what to make of it.

"All right then. Go find me a large heavy rock. I think I might settle on drowning, after all."

He didn't move.

"Lord Arkus... I want to ask you not to harm the prince."

"What?! You still wish to talk me out of it?? I should have known! Get out of here, and take your fake compassion with you!"

"Would you please listen to me?"

"No!"

"Well, I'll say it anyway. If you promise me not to harm the prince, I will promise you that you will not regret it."

Now, that sounded intriguing. I had to at least find out what he had in mind.

I lowered the second chair that was about to follow the first one.

"Say that again?"

He repeated it, stirring my curiosity even more.

"You'll have to tell me more than that. What will you do if I agree not to touch him?"

"I will not do anything. But those who do wrong always have to answer for it."

"Ha! I've heard that one before. 'Life will punish him,' right? Well, I have no intention of waiting until Life gets around to it. I'll make him answer for it myself."

"Then
you
will have done wrong."

"That's my specialty, remember?"

Jarvi let out a heavy sigh of resignation.

"Fine. Go ahead, do what you wish. Hurt your new friends who sincerely love you, break Philip's heart and his trust in anything good. And you will never find out what would have happened if you had listened to me."

With that, he turned around and headed to leave the room.

Oh, evil trickster! He knew me well, and knew that I couldn't stand mysteries. The line about Philip touched a nerve, too.

I went after him and blocked the door.

"Yes, I will know what would have happened. I'll make you tell me."

"I won't."

"You must do what I say, and I command you to tell me!"

The sparkling shook his head. His eyes were laughing.

"Sorry, but I won't. Faradin's order. His orders come before yours."

"What does
he
have to do with it??"

"King of spirits? I assume it's a rhetorical question."

∗ ∗ ∗

There was not much I could do against Jarvi
and
his king. I took the offer. I managed to turn it my way a bit, promising that I would not harm Kellemar,
but:
if I do regret it, I would retract my promise. That was clever, wasn't it? I didn't think Jarvi would go for that, but he turned out to be a good negotiator. He took a second to ponder it and agreed.

When an official invitation came from King Osmund to meet Prince Kellemar of Dalvanna at his palace, I asked Jarvi, not without sarcasm, what he wished me to do.

"Go for it," the sparkling replied. "Answer with a grateful letter of acceptance."

"You want the royal family to witness our confrontation, did I get that right?" I inquired.

"Yes."

He didn't say anything else, and I thought it beneath me to beg for explanations. After all, I didn't have to wait that long to find out. I could say one thing: it was going to be interesting.

On the day of Kellemar's arrival the king sent a carriage for me; I was supposed to be at the palace before the prince would come. In the morning, Jarvi presented me with a splendid new outfit, made of white velvet embroidered with golden threads. He wished me to look my best, it appeared. I didn't mind.

King Osmund barely held his excitement, he couldn't wait to show off "his hero" to the future son-in-law.

"Prince Kellemar will be so honored and so happy!" he assured. "He intends to ask you for a favor, from what I understand: he wants to become your apprentice. In his last letter, he wondered whether it would be possible. I had no time to answer, and I honestly wouldn't know. Is there such a thing as a hero in training?"

I suppressed a smirk.
Ah, Kellemar... Still following your ambition, aren't you?

"Not that I know of."

"That's what I thought," the king agreed. "It did not sound right, unless I misunderstood him? Perhaps the prince meant something else, perhaps he just wants a mentor."

I was certain King Osmund did not misunderstand, but I kept the thought to myself.

We proceeded to the throne room. It was supposed to be a private reception, just the royal family, myself, and a couple of noblemen. King Osmund and the queen sat down on their thrones, I stood on the king's right. Jarvi, as always, was by my side. By the way, I forgot to mention that he had donned a new outfit as well, replacing his brownish tunic with a yellow one, its pattern matching the embroidery of my clothes. I did not notice it right away, but when I did I had to admit it was rather neat.

A servant announced Prince Kellemar of Dalvanna.

"I hope you know what you are doing," I whispered to Jarvi.

"I do. Trust me."

It did not look like I had any other option.

Prince Kellemar entered, regal and proud, just as I remembered him. He was in the middle of giving a respectful bow to the king when he saw me. How can I describe his face?... Let's just say that the expression "his jaw dropped" has never been more appropriate.

Seconds passed, and the prince still didn't move or say a word, gaping at me. Others thought nothing of it, in fact King Osmund was pleased--it had to be exactly the reaction he expected.

I relished the scene for a while and then politely inquired,

"What's the matter, Your Highness? Do I remind you of someone you know?"

That seemed to bring him back to his senses, to some degree.

"What is this man doing here?!"

The king chuckled.

"Why, my dear Prince Kellemar, what a question... You are too stunned, I'm afraid. This is our fearless Lakeland Knight."

The announcement struck Kellemar speechless again. He stared at me, at the king, and then at every other person in the room.

"He's no knight!!"

"Yes, I know that," the king nodded.

Kellemar's jaw went down once more.

"Your Majesty knows?..."

"Of course. I offered him knighthood, but he refused it. We made up the name
Lakeland Knight
and call him so, unofficially."

"Ah! So you do not know his real name?"

"No, he has reasons to conceal it, which is not unusual for a hero. What is the matter, my friend? Why are you so agitated?"

Kellemar squared his shoulders.

"Because I know exactly what those reasons are! Your Majesty, you are deceived, and you are in grave danger! I do not know how this man has managed to gain your trust, posing as a hero, but he is not what you believe him to be! He is a treacherous villain, I would not be surprised if he is after your treasury and your crown!"

King Osmund looked shocked, angered, and embarrassed at the same time.

"...What are you saying, my dear prince?? You must be unwell. Do you have any proof of these outrageous accusations?"

The prince opened his mouth to say something and closed it. I smiled, figuring it all out. He might have had proof, but he'd never use it. His claim to fame rested on defeating Lord Arkus--on
killing
him, to be exact. Revealing my identity would shatter the only valiant deed he had under his belt. I was beginning to like it. This was far better than drowning!

"Your Highness," I interfered, "I will be the first person to tell you that there is nothing heroic about me."

"He is confirming it!.." half-asked, half-exclaimed Kellemar, with an utterly lost expression.

King Osmund rose from his throne.

"Yes, of course he is confirming it! Shame on you, prince! 'Posing as a hero'--what a thing to say to a man who had refused to be called so from the very beginning, yet whose deeds speak for themselves! He has rescued my daughter, he has been helping my people in more ways than I probably know, he offered sincere friendship to my son, and..." the king's gaze fell on Jarvi. "...and he has a sparkling in attendance! What more do you want? I believe you owe our friend an apology."

"An apology?! Never! And his sparkling must be just as fake as he is!"

The king frowned.

"Now, I'd be more careful, if I were you. It is dangerous to insult a spirit."

"Let him first prove that he is indeed a spirit!"

Jarvi stepped forward. He was up to the challenge.

"What proof will you take?"

His determination impressed Kellemar; the prince shifted in a rather nervous way.

"I don't know, but it'd better be a good one! Do something no human can do."

Jarvi lit up with bright orange and slowly floated up in the air. Everyone gasped, including the king. Even though the royal family knew who Jarvi was, they never saw him manifest his nature before, and it was quite a sight.

"Is this good enough?" the sparkling asked.

Poor Kellemar could only give a weak nod. Did I just say "poor"? Sorry, that was a lie. I did not pity him one bit.

Jarvi lowered himself to the floor and returned back to normal.

"...But this is not possible!" Kellemar insisted. "It is a sparkling, yes, but he cannot be with this man! He--he must have tricked him somehow, or captured him and forced him to obey!"

Now, this made me a little tense. The darn prince was too smart.

King Osmund shook his head.

"My dear Prince Kellemar, let me assure you that it is impossible. No one can capture a sparkling. Even if there was a way, and anyone dared to try it, they'd be dead in an instant. Faradin himself would see to it. Isn't that right, Jarvi?"

I thought everything was going to crumble at that moment. But Jarvi made a slight bow to the king and said,

"That is true, Your Majesty. Sparklings serve Faradin and him alone. If anyone wished to have one for themselves, they would be challenging the king of spirits--which is more than any mortal can handle."

Kellemar blinked. And blinked again.

"So you mean to say that... you help this man out of your own free will?" he asked.

"The details of our arrangement are between me, him, and Faradin," the sparkling replied. "But yes, I can confirm that I help him because I wish to."

My mind was racing. Why did Jarvi say these things? He wouldn't lie. That meant everything he said was true, but how could it be?...

"Prince Kellemar, you know that sparklings don't lie," King Osmund said, echoing my very thoughts. "I suppose that settles the dispute, and not in your favor. I must ask you again to apologize to the Lakeland Knight, who, I am sure, has not yet challenged you for a duel only out of consideration for me and the laws of hospitality. You gave him more than enough grounds for it."

A duel? That was a great idea! I hoped Kellemar was mad enough to grab it and challenge me himself.

Unfortunately, he didn't.

"I apologize to the sparkling for doubting him," he said, glaring at me, "but not to this man! I insist that I told the truth, and I will find a way to unmask him! You will all see!"

"I wish I was old enough to challenge you for a duel!" sounded Prince Philip's indignant voice.

Everyone turned to him. The boy stood with his fists clenched, eyes flashing with anger. It was clear that it took all his willpower to restrain himself until that moment.

"Yes, I know I shouldn't say it," he went on. "Forgive me, father; Prince Kellemar is our guest and almost a part of the family, but he should not be allowed to insult our friend and protector!"

You know, I'm not the sentimental type, but I was touched by how this lad stood up for me. He did exactly what
Jarvi
would have done... The Jarvi from my past.

"Well... Philip, uh..." King Osmund appeared at a loss for words, obviously not knowing whether he should correct his son for this breaching of etiquette.