The Wild Rose
By Lote < kestrel@pacific.net.sg >
Rated: PG13
Submitted: February  2003

It's the heart afraid of breaking 
that never learns to dance
It's the dream afraid of waking
That never takes the chance
It's one who won't be taken
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul afraid of dying
That never learns to live
		---The Rose by Bette Midler
	 


"Snow's falling. Snow's falling?" Lois wondered. "When did 
it happen? Just yesterday, it seemed like summer and now 
snow's falling?"

She looked out of the glass wall of her little house at the 
soft flakes falling gently to the ground. The little pine 
tree on one side of the house was being covered ever so 
rapidly with snow. She could hear the snow hitting her 
roof.

She turned to the corner of her cottage, where her sleeping 
pallet was. Her strange visitor was still asleep, 
undisturbed and perhaps even lulled by the rhythmic sound 
of snow hitting the roof. Her mind returned back to that 
morning when she opened the door to her cottage to find the 
stranger laying flat on his face in front of her door.

********
"Lois, you're oh so late," Lois admonished herself, 
hurrying to pack her basket. She had gotten up late that 
morning, not at all like her usual routine. But she had an 
excuse since the night before she was helping Farmer Wayne 
with the birth of his new calf. In the small village of 
Trent, she was known as a wise woman, well-versed in herbs 
and other natural medicine. She was well-respected by other 
members of the community except for Father Tempus. He 
seemed to hate her. He wouldn't allow her to enter the 
church except to pay her tithe, and he would have done more 
if he wasn't afraid of offending her protectors -- Squire 
Perry White and Lady Alice White.

She shook her head to try and forget about Father Tempus 
and the Whites, even though she had much to thank them for, 
the Whites, that is. After all, they had raised her after 
her parents died when she was two. She had to hurry or 
someone else would take her spot in the market-place. She 
wished she had enough money to purchase a shop to sell her 
herbs and spices. The Whites had volunteered to lend some 
to her, but she didn't wish to burden them anymore than 
necessary.

Soon, the herbs and spices were all packed and she had her 
coat on. She opened the door and started to step outside. 
Blackie, her cat, yowled, startling her, and she promptly 
looked down, afraid that she might have stepped on Blackie. 
Instead she found her cat sitting on the back of a man 
laying flat on his face just in front of her doorway, 
blinking at her. She gasped and dropped her basket. 
Kneeling down, she tentatively touched the man. No 
movement. She looked up at her cat as if to question 
Blackie on what she should do.

********

What she had eventually done was to check whether he was 
alive. After ascertaining that he was, she had brought him 
inside and cared for his wounds. His wounds were quite 
extensive and severe. She was surprised that he even made 
it through the few hours he must have collapsed outside her 
cottage -- he had a strong will to live, it would seem.

She wondered where he was from; his clothes, plain as they 
were, were made from fine cloth, much finer than she'd ever 
seen in the little village she lived in. Of course, she'd 
like to know who he was and what actually happened. 
However, she was unlikely to get any answers in the next 
few days. Her patient was likely to be in a healing sleep 
for that time span -- she would insist on it. He had lost 
too much blood as it was.

She turned her attention to the falling snow once more. 
Such beauty and yet, it can be so deadly. She watched the 
snow gathering on her glass-paned roof. Perry and Alice had 
told her the story of the cottage which she had inherited 
from her deceased parents and Lois had fallen in love with 
both the house and the story. 

It was built by her father, the younger son of a nobleman, 
for her mother, who had been a wisewoman like Lois. Built 
against a small hill, the part of it that was glass faced 
the woods. The entire wall and part of the roof were made 
of glass. The other three walls were made of logs, and the 
other half of the roof, of shingles. In the middle of the 
cottage was the fireplace, leading up to the chimney. It 
was unique in that it was opened on both sides; the one 
facing the glass wall and the one facing the front door. 

Banked by a layer of brick on either side, the fire Lois 
had set up earlier quietly burned its way through the pile 
of wood in the fireplace. It radiated warmth throughout the 
little cottage. Lois imagined her parents nestling close 
near the fire, arms around each other and speaking quietly 
of their dreams and aspirations. She couldn't remember 
them; they died when she was only two. 

Her mother had been accused by Father Tempus of being a 
witch, and at the time, there wasn't anyone powerful enough 
to gainsay him. Her father had tried to save her only to be 
accused of being a heretic instead. They were both tried, 
found guilty, and burnt at the stake. Without being aware 
of it, Lois's hands clenched and a haunted look came over 
her expression. Whenever she thought of them, one question 
came up. "Why hadn't anyone been brave enough to stand up 
to Father Tempus?" From what she knew, no one had ever 
thought that her parents were guilty of what they were 
being accused. A loud crackle from the fire brought her 
back to the present.

She slowly unclenched her hands and shook herself out of 
the mood she had fallen into. Outside, she could see the 
sun setting in the distance and the squirrels scampering 
back to their nests. The snow had blanketed the entire 
ground and the branches. Her growling stomach reminded her 
that supper had to be cooked and that her patient needed to 
be fed too. Since he was unconscious, she was going to have 
to trickle some watery broth down his throat. Lois turned 
to the brick oven over in the opposite corner from where he 
was sleeping and went about fixing a light supper.

After having her supper and feeding him his, Lois checked 
the poultice on his wound. She bandaged the wound once 
again and felt his temperature. He was running a fever. She 
sighed, knowing that there was no rest for her till his 
fever broke. She didn't dare leave him alone for even a 
minute. She would just have to sacrifice her place at the 
market while her patient was recovering.

___________

Kal stirred, wondering where he was. All he could remember 
was the ambush. James, his squire, had been with him then. 
They were traveling through a stretch of woods when arrows 
rained down on them. Thank god for Valiant, his war horse. 
Valiant, having been trained for war, had the presence of 
mind to dodge the arrows and swiftly carried him away. That 
separated him from James. He hoped that his squire hadn't 
succumbed to the attack. 

Meanwhile, before he could escape very far, several knights 
with unknown markings on them appeared from behind the 
trees. He was surrounded. He drew his sword and primed 
Valiant for a fight as the knights drew him into a tight 
circle. Both of them, he and Valiant, had fought bravely 
against the knights, but eventually he tired and made a 
mistake by over extending his sword blocking off a blow. 
One of the knights took advantage of the mistake and ran 
his sword through the light chain mail protecting Kal and 
into his side. Valiant bucked and kicked the knight's 
extended hand, managing to break the circle. That was all 
that Kal could remember before he slipped into 
unconsciousness.

Now, as his consciousness returned, he puzzled over the 
reason for the attack. It was definitely not a band of 
outlaws trying to rob travelers. It smelled of conspiracy 
to kill him. But who had known that he was out of the 
palace? Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to leave the 
palace incognito. But at the time, it seemed like the best 
way to protect him.

He had gotten permission from his father, King Jor of El, 
to go out and see the world, and experience life beyond the 
palace walls. It had not been an easy task, convincing his 
father to let him go. It had been tradition that the heir 
apparent to the throne must remain within the palace walls 
to be protected at all cost, unless it was to carry out his 
duty as the commander of the army. But Kal had a thirst to 
know more about the kingdom he was to inherit one day than 
what was presented to him in books and reports from the 
council meetings. Even as a child, he had broken tradition 
and made friends with the servants whose freedom of 
movement was something he envied. 

Later, when he took up his role as commander of the army, 
he tried to learn as much about the people under him as he 
could. He managed to establish a few friendships with some 
of the officers in both the infantry and cavalry units. It 
was from these sources that he managed to learn about the 
outside world and used this knowledge to persuade King Jor. 

He argued that he would be a better ruler if he knew the 
minds of the people directly and not through reports that 
were biased towards the nobles. With the help of his 
brother, he managed to convince his father the wisdom of 
such an act. Between the three of them, they concocted a 
plan where he would travel incognito with only James as his 
companion. To the court, Prince Kal was supposedly 
indisposed as the king had sent him to one of the 
neighboring kingdoms to parley a treaty. That was why he 
was puzzled how someone managed to know his disguise and 
his travel plans. Aside from his father and brother, James 
was the only one who knew about it and Kal trusted him 
implicitly. The boy was loyal to Kal, that he had no doubt. 
So, who betrayed him?

A creak signaling the door being opened brought him out of 
his introspection. He turned towards the door, only then 
realizing his surroundings. "Where am I?" he thought 
briefly before gaping at the vision entering the now open 
door. The sun shone through, silhouetting the figure in the 
doorway, a very flattering female figure. The simple dress 
she wore didn't hide it at all. The sun also made a halo 
around her head. But perhaps it was just his imagination. 
Still, her hair seemed to be colored amber by the sun, a 
deep, dark amber. He couldn't see her facial features but 
his instincts told him that they wouldn't disappoint him.

"Oh, you're awake!" she exclaimed, her voice like the 
nightingale he once had when he was a little boy. "No, 
don't move," she said in alarm when he tried to push 
himself into a sitting position. She hurried to close the 
door and go over to him. 

"No," he thought idly as he drank in the beautiful face 
frowning in concern at him. "She hadn't disappointed me, at 
all." He dropped back onto the meager pallet as the lady 
fussed over him. He wondered what her name was. Her manners 
hailed her as a noblewoman but the trappings she had on 
contradicted that assumption.

"Lady," he ventured to ask. "Pray tell me where I am?"

_________

Lois frowned at her charge; that was what she had come to 
view him as. Him and his powerful charger. She had found 
the poor thing hanging around outside her cottage door the 
morning after the snowstorm. Having no horses of her own, 
she had to resort to stabling him in the barn with the cow. 
The charger was well-behaved and didn't complain about the 
indignity of a warhorse sharing a roof with a lowly cow. 
Lois hoped that his owner was as well-behaved.

She had just returned from feeding the charger when she 
realized that her patient was now awake. She became alarmed 
when he struggled to sit. His stitches were not healed yet 
and might be torn. If that happened, he could lose more 
blood, something he could not afford. Rushing to him, she 
checked her bandages to ensure no stitches were torn. She 
could feel his gaze as she went about her work, making her 
feel very self-conscious. What could he be thinking? Was he 
thinking her too bold as to shamelessly attend to him when 
he was naked except for his loin-cloth? She tried to 
distract herself by focusing on the wound in front of her.

Concentrating hard, she almost jumped when he spoke. She 
turned to frown at him. He hadn't injured his head so he 
couldn't have lost his memory. "No, it's a perfectly 
reasonable question. He probably had no idea where he is," 
she thought. "You're in my house on the outskirts of the 
village of Trent," she answered him.

"Do you know how I got here?" Kal asked further.

"Not really." Lois shook her head as she stood up, deciding 
that it wasn't proper for her to talk to him while sitting 
by his side on the pallet. "I found you unconscious two 
mornings ago in front of my house. Since then, your charger 
appeared. If I were to hazard a guess, perhaps your charger 
brought you here. He seems an intelligent fellow."

Kal nodded as he considered her words. "Lady, I thank you. 
My charger and I are in your debt. My name is Sir Clark of 
Kent," Kal volunteered. That was the name he had decided on 
during the brief journey with James. A knight of the ducal 
seat of Kent would be less obvious than a mere merchant, 
especially when he was riding Valiant.

Lois had heard of Kent, the traditional estate of the heir 
apparent to the throne. Its wealth and prestige was only 
rivaled by the ducal estate of Luthor, to which Trent 
belonged. Prince Lex, the younger brother of Prince Kal, 
inherited the dukedom of Luthor from his maternal 
grandfather. Since then, he had made it even more 
prosperous than it ever was. Many nobles and merchants had 
nothing but praises for the younger prince. Of course, Kent 
was a little grander than Luthor, but not by much. So, her 
patient was a knight in the service of the crown prince. 
She wondered why he had crossed into lands belonging to 
Prince Lex. Had he been on a mission?

She saw Kal waiting patiently for her response and realized 
that she hadn't introduced herself. "Sir Clark, I would 
have liked to meet you under better circumstances, but 
then, some things are not within our control. I'm Lois, a 
healer. Some call me a wisewoman, but I don't believe I'm 
fit to be one."

"Wisewoman or healer, Lady Lois, you saved my life. For 
that, you've earned my eternal gratitude," Kal responded.

Lois blushed at the courtly words before shaking her head 
in denial. "Not at all, kind sir. Firstly, as a healer, it 
was incumbent upon me to help you. Secondly, I'm no lady. 
Just call me Lois. Everyone does," she said shyly.

Kal wondered if she knew how beautiful she was when she 
blushed so prettily. "Probably not," he thought, comparing 
her innocent denial to the artful, if utterly contrived, 
sophistry of the ladies of the court. It was a welcome 
change. "Very well, if you would call me Clark." He was 
delighted when she smiled at him in response. He would have 
said more but his body wasn't cooperating. He found himself 
falling back to sleep.

_________

Over the next few days, Kal and Lois got to know each other 
better as life fell into a routine. Now that Kal was awake, 
Lois had once again gone back to the market-place to sell 
her herbs and spices in the mornings after feeding Valiant. 
She had asked Kal about it since she didn't want to 
continue calling the charger "m'lord" all the time. 

Lois would return in the afternoon to make lunch and change 
the poultice and bandages. She and Kal would eat together, 
exchanging her news of the world outside the cottage for 
his stories of what court life was like. She would then go 
out to gather her herbs and spices and tend her small 
garden, leaving him with her meager collection of books and 
her cat, Blackie, for company. Coming back at sunset, she 
would cook dinner and once again, they would talk. This 
time, the talks would revolve around different topics like 
philosophy, religion, politics, science, and other numerous 
areas.

Kal was amazed at the depth of Lois's knowledge. He hadn't 
expected that a simple village healer could be so well-read 
when more than half of the noblemen couldn't even spell 
their names, what more the ladies. He queried her on this 
before finding out that her foster father had once been a 
scribe to the viscount who held the deed to the village. 
Her foster father was the one who taught her to read and 
write, and had generously made his books available to her. 
He was curious about her past but did not delve further. He 
knew that if he questioned her about her past, she would 
expect the same from him. To lie to her about his past made 
him feel guilty. Of course, letting her think that he was a 
mere knight was also a lie. But he reasoned that it was a 
necessary lie. The subject of his past wasn't.

Slowly as days passed, Kal's injury healed and he was able 
to move around a little. He volunteered to sleep on the 
floor, feeling guilty for taking up the only comfortable 
sleeping place in the cottage. Lois adamantly refused, 
knowing that he was in no condition to sleep on the hard 
ground. As for her, she was used to it. Having another 
person around felt strange at first, but she soon learned 
to appreciate his company and his conversations and forget 
the difference in their ranks. 

She tried a few times to ask the circumstances of his wound 
but he shied away, saying that he was set upon by a group 
of outlaws. Lois was surprised that there were outlaws in 
the woods around Trent since she knew the viscount was very 
strict about keeping the law and had men patrolling his 
demesne. Still, there wasn't any other explanation for his 
wound. "Besides, Lois, what makes you so sure that the man 
was set upon by outlaws near Trent? Valiant could have 
carried him far away from the site of his attack. Yes, that 
would also account for why he was here instead of in Kent," 
she thought to herself.

One night, almost a fortnight since Kal regained 
consciousness, Kal ventured to ask her, "Lois, I'm going 
stir crazy from staying indoors all the time. Now that I 
can move around, is it possible for me to go outside? 
Valiant needs exercising too." He looked pleadingly at her 
with his puppy brown eyes.

Lois weighed his request. One of the reasons why she wanted 
him indoors was to avoid being seen by the people of Trent. 
She didn't want any problems to arise from him staying with 
her. But as she looked into those brown eyes, she hadn't 
the heart to refuse him. "All right, you can. But no 
riding. Period. You'll only tear the stitches that way," 
she told him sternly.

Kal grinned at the concession. "Yes, ma'am."

"Clark, another thing. Don't venture too far away from the 
cottage," Lois said reddening a little. "Er...while not 
many people come out here, it's still not seemly for me to 
entertain a man all alone..."

Kal stopped her when he saw how the topic was embarrassing 
her. "Don't worry, Lois. I'll not smear your reputation..."

"No!" Lois interjected strongly. "It's not me I'm thinking 
about. It's you. The priest around here, Father Tempus, 
thinks that I'm a witch. He's been trying to prove it ever 
since I grew up. Because my foster father is the village 
squire, he's been thwarted time and again. I've tried my 
best to avoid him. But if he found out that you're here and 
that I had used my knowledge to heal you, he'd not hesitate 
to bring both of us to court and have you convicted of 
being bewitched."

Kal was surprised that a mere village priest could wield so 
much power. "Aren't you exaggerating? How can a priest do 
such a thing?"

Lois turned away and said quietly but bitterly, "No, I'm 
not exaggerating. He did it before." She paused to consider 
her words before continuing, "He ordered for my parents to 
be killed after accusing my mother of being a witch. He 
would have killed me too if not for the interference of my 
foster parents and the viscount."

Kal sat back, horrified by what he had heard. Looking at 
Lois's profile as she was silhouetted by the fire, he 
couldn't picture what her life might have been like to bear 
such a burden. He was also indignant on her behalf at this 
Father Tempus. How could a priest violate his oaths and 
misuse his powers like that? It was unthinkable. On 
impulse, he took her hand in his and tugged at it, catching 
her attention. He then captured her gaze before saying, 
"Lois, you've saved my life and cared for me and Valiant. 
Even now, you're thinking about me rather than yourself in 
this situation. I give you my word as a knight that I will 
do my best to protect you and to see that justice is done 
in the case of your parents."

Lois tried to protest but was silenced by a look from him. 

"Don't, please don't reject this little that I can do for 
you. I owe you more than you could possibly imagine," he 
finished, staring into her doe-like eyes before dropping 
his gaze to her hand still in his, breaking the contact. He 
was a little shaken by the connection he felt with her. 
While they had had physical contact before, this was 
different. Somehow he felt that they had delved into each 
other's soul and that he had left a piece of him behind 
when he resurfaced. The trembling hand that gripped his 
indicated to Kal that Lois had also experienced a similar 
feeling. He wasn't wrong. 

Lois couldn't remember a time when she actually been able 
to connect with anyone like she had with this relative 
stranger beside her. As she gazed deep into his eyes, Lois 
knew this must have been how her mother felt when she first 
connected with her one true love. But could she, Lois, 
afford to give in to this feeling? She knew next to nothing 
about the man, except that he was sincere in his vow to 
protect her and to see justice done. Clark had been too 
closed mouth about himself. Lois knew instinctively that he 
had a secret that he wasn't able to confide in her. Could 
they have a future together if that was the case?

She reluctantly withdrew her hand from Kal's and smiled 
tremulously. "Thank you, Clark. I trust you would do it, 
but I won't hold you to the promise. This is not your 
fight."

Once again, Kal was struck by how ladylike her behavior 
was. Much more than some of the noble ladies he had known. 
To compare them was to compare the light of the sun to the 
candle flame. "If only..." he quickly banished the 
treacherous thought before drawing himself together. "Lois, 
I've made it my fight," he quietly responded. "And nothing 
you say will make me change my mind."

Their gaze clashed once more before both turned away and 
Lois gave a small nod in acceptance of his declaration. 
They cleaned up the remnants of supper in silence, each a 
little shaken by what had happened. 

___________

The next morning brought the sunlight flooding through the 
glass walls, waking Kal up. Looking around, he noticed that 
Lois was gone, probably to the market. She usually got up 
well before dawn to do her various chores. He, on the other 
hand, rarely rose from his bed before the sun was fully up. 

Stretching, he finally remembered that Lois had given her 
permission to leave the cottage and what had then 
transpired between them. He sighed, wondering how 
complicated life was. Whatever his feelings for her were, 
he had to remember that he was the heir and must marry for 
the good of the kingdom. That was the reason he could only 
promise her his protection; that was the only thing that he 
could offer her.

After doing his morning ablutions, he stepped out of the 
door into the warm winter morning. As he breathed the fresh 
crisp air, he wondered as he had wondered for the past two 
weeks what had happened to James. Had his attackers harmed 
the boy? His mind recalled the ambush. Could he have saved 
James? Analyzing his memory, he doubted he could. He had 
barely survived the encounter. He hoped that James managed 
to escape. After all, the target of the attack had been him 
and not James.

For now, he was committed to ensure Lois's safety. Until he 
was sure that this Father Tempus could no longer hurt her, 
he had to stay here. That thought didn't really bother him 
all that much as he whistled his way to the barn to get 
Valiant out. After all, by staying here, he was also 
accomplishing one of his motives for leaving the palace, 
that is, to learn more about his subjects. He just had to 
convince Lois to allow him to show his face in the village. 
"That," he thought wryly, "will be more difficult to do 
than changing father's mind about allowing me to leave the 
palace. Of course, if Lex was around, he could do it. He's 
very good at convincing people to do things." 

He smiled at the thought of his younger brother. Lex was 
his twin, born mere minutes after him. But they weren't 
identical twins. Not in physical features, nor in 
temperament either. Yet for all those differences, they 
shared a connection as only twins could. Lex was his other 
half as he was Lex's. When either was hurt, the other 
always knew. Kal wondered if his brother was going crazy 
from worry since he must have felt Kal's attack. Hopefully, 
he wouldn't go to their father with his worry. That would 
defeat the real purpose of Kal's journey; to discover the 
threat to El. 

__________________

"Lois, there you are." 

Lois turned in the direction of the familiar voice. It took 
a while for her to spot Alice White since the market-place 
was crowded at that time of the morning. "Mother," Lois 
greeted her cheerfully when Alice approached the small 
stall Lois had set up by the corner of the square. "What 
brings you here?" she asked.

"Your father and I missed you, dearest," Alice replied, 
giving her a warm hug. "You've not been to see us for over 
a week and Lana was telling me that you didn't open your 
stall for a few days. We were worried. If Perry and I 
hadn't been out of town the past week, we'd have gone over 
to your place." 

Lois blushed, embarrassed that she had been so remiss at 
visiting her foster parents. Taking care of Clark and 
Valiant took up so much of her time and energy that she 
hadn't had the opportunity to socialize. Her best friends, 
Lana and Rachel, must have been very worried about her to 
report her comings and goings to the one person who had any 
influence over her. Sheepishly, she explained, "I was busy 
this past week. I had some things to tend to for a few 
days, which was why I didn't come to the market. But, don't 
worry, you'll see me over at the house tonight."

"I hope so, since I've arranged for a dinner party tonight. 
The viscount is visiting us with his son, Sir Daniel."

Lois groaned inwardly as she recognized the matchmaking 
undertones. "Who else are you inviting, Mother?"

Alice frowned when she remembered one of the other guests. 
"Father Tempus would, of course, be there," she told her 
foster daughter who also frowned at the name. "Master 
Harris of the Merchant's Guild, Rachel, and her fianc‚, 
Bard Roberts. Now, I know you don't like Tempus, but it 
can't be helped. He can't do much to you in the setting. He 
wouldn't dare," Alice declared fiercely.

Lois sighed, knowing that she'd have to attend. There was 
no excuse for her. "I'll be there this afternoon to help 
you, mother," she promised.

"Good," Alice said. 

Lois dutifully placed a kiss on her cheek, before giving in 
to her impulse and hugging her. Alice left after winking at 
her. Lois shook her head at her foster mother and turned 
back to a customer who had been waiting patiently while 
Alice was talking. The morning wore on with more customers 
visiting her stall. However, her mind wasn't on her 
business. Instead, it wandered to the upcoming dinner and 
the confrontation that she knew would occur when Father 
Tempus saw her. She dreaded that confrontation and wished 
that Clark was going to be there with her. 

"Where did that come from?" she questioned herself, 
surprised. But she couldn't deny the truth of it. She felt 
safe when he was near. It was illogical, especially since 
she knew next to nothing about Sir Clark of Kent. Lois 
sighed, knowing that she was falling for a stranger who 
might not even be remotely attracted to her, but she had no 
way of stopping herself. "He's not for you, Lois. Better 
keep your feelings to yourself. Bury them deep or otherwise 
they'll only serve to hurt you more." 

She knew her inner voice was right but a stubborn part of 
her questioned its validity. What made her so sure that he 
wasn't for her? Was it because of the difference in their 
ranks? If that was it, couldn't they overcome it somehow? 
Of course, she was assuming that Clark could fall for her, 
which she doubted. "Oh, stop it. Enough speculation. The 
evening ahead is already stressful enough without this 
issue being added to the pile," she told herself firmly. 
Packing up, she soon had everything loaded onto her cart 
and headed home.

_________

Kal knew that Lois had to come by the road leading to town. 
Feeling mischievous, he hid behind a tree, waiting for Lois 
to pass by in her pony cart. He thought to surprise her, 
giving in to a childish impulse.

He had a wonderful day, out in the sun and frolicking with 
Valiant. It was something of a novelty for him since he had 
never known a day when he had felt freer. Since he had been 
stranded in Trent, he hadn't had people demanding his time, 
meetings to attend, disputes to settle, and best of all, he 
needn't sit through boring musical recitations from 
squawking court ladies. He did wish that he could ride 
again, but Lois was very explicit in her instructions.

As if thinking about her had made her materialize, he heard 
a cart approaching. He signaled to Valiant to keep quiet 
while he climbed up to the lowest branch and readied 
himself to surprise her. Soon, he could see the little cart 
which was being pulled by her old donkey. 

"What the..." Lois nearly jumped out of her skin when Kal 
dropped on the cart, seemingly out of thin air. She glared 
at him, her lips thinning in displeasure. 

Kal grinned sheepishly at her. "Surprise?" he said weakly.

"Clark! What did I say? You weren't supposed to strain 
yourself!" she scolded him.

Kal's grin faltered and he gave her a puppy-dog look, as if 
to plead for her clemency. Sighing, she gave it. "All 
right, stop looking so pathetic. Just don't do it next 
time," she warned him. "Boys," she muttered under her 
breath.

"I was just trying to surprise you. Wasn't straining myself 
at all," Kal tried to argue his case.

"Clark, give up. You're not going to convince me," Lois 
told him. "Besides, I'm busy right now."

"Doing what?" he asked curiously as he looked around, 
trying to figure what she could be busy with.

"My foster mother came by and she wanted me to help her 
with this dinner party she's having tonight," Lois 
explained, her tone level.

That didn't stop Kal from detecting that there was 
something wrong with the picture she was painting. "Who's 
attending this dinner?"

"The viscount and his son; one of my best friends, her 
father, and her fianc‚; and ..." Lois hesitated.

"Who else?" Kal pressed for the answer.

"Father Tempus," she finally spat out the name.

Kal frowned. Why would her foster parents invite him if 
they knew what trouble he was making for their daughter? 
"Duh, are you galactically stupid, Kal?" he asked himself. 
"Of course, they have to invite him. In the village, he is 
a key political figure. It wouldn't do to snub him as they 
would if they hadn't invited him."

"Perhaps I should go along," he volunteered.

She didn't answer him. Instead, she busied herself with 
unloading her herbs and spices and unhitching Old Greta, 
the donkey, from the cart. Kal helped her with the various 
chores, all the while waiting for her verdict. When she 
still refused to answer after all the chores were done, he 
insisted, "I should come along. I had promised to help 
you..."

"Stop," Lois commanded. "Clark, there is no way that I can 
bring you to the dinner with me unless we explain the 
reason you're here. That would lead to even more problems. 
Besides, I can handle Father Tempus."

Kal looked at her, concerned. He knew she was right that 
his accompanying her would just lead to a lot of questions. 
It would be like opening Pandora's box. But that didn't 
mean that he was happy about it. "Lois, I think it's time 
for me to move out of your house," he suddenly announced.

"What!" Lois turned around to look at him. "Why? You're not 
fully recovered, yet. You won't be able to go far." She was 
sincerely worried about his condition if he left. On top of 
that, she was also hurt that he wanted to leave. After the 
conversation the night before, she felt there was a bond 
between them. Obviously, he didn't think so. That was 
probably why he was chafing to leave her. His promises were 
just a way for him to feel better that he had given her 
some support as payment for her saving his life.

While all those thoughts were running through Lois's mind, 
Kal was thinking that moving out was the only solution to 
the dilemma they were in. He could not be her protector if 
he wasn't able to be seen with her. By moving out of her 
house and into the village inn, he could reintroduce 
himself to her socially without her being cast into the 
role of a witch. "I won't be going far. Just the inn."

She frowned and protested. "You can recover better here 
than at the inn."

"While that is true, I can't be selfish. Lois, you need 
help against Father Tempus, and I can't help you if I can't 
be seen at all. We need to establish my identity here in 
Trent so that I can protect you better," he tried to 
explain.

"Clark, you don't need to protect me. I'm doing fine on my 
own. Why do you all think that I can't protect myself? 
Everyone thinks that I'm this fragile flower that needs to 
be sheltered from the storm. Well, I'm not. I've done well 
to create a life for myself. I've not asked my parents for 
their financial support in years. As for Father Tempus, he 
doesn't have anything on me. I won't let him best me, not 
as long as I'm still breathing," Lois ranted.

Kal took her wildly waving hands into his to calm her down. 
He pulled her to sit beside him on the log bench outside 
the barn. "Shh...Lois, I know, and I'm sure your parents 
and friends know too, how independent you are. Our wanting 
to protect you comes from our love for you, and not because 
of any weakness on your part," he said, coloring a little 
when he realized what he had just revealed to her.

Lois understood the implications of his last words 
immediately. Still, she knew that they weren't allowed to 
act upon those feelings. She sighed and thought, "At least, 
now you know that you can be loved by a man. That you 
aren't society's outcast, a plague that men should avoid at 
all costs." 

"Thank you, Clark. Sweet of you to reassure me but I 
believe there is no need for you to move out of here," she 
finally said.

"You're stubborn, Lois. But I can be just as stubborn. So 
let us compromise: I'll leave as soon as I can ride 
Valiant. How about that?"

Lois closed her eyes, knowing that the day he could once 
again ride wasn't too far off however much she wished 
otherwise. "All right. If you so wish," she relented. "Now, 
I must prepare to go to my parents' place. My mother will 
need help organizing the dinner."

Kal reluctantly let her hands go. "Enjoy your dinner and 
don't let Father Tempus goad you," he advised.

She only nodded and went into the cottage to change.

_________________

"Rachel!" Lois moved to embrace her childhood friend. 

Rachel returned the embrace warmly. "I missed you. Where in 
the world did you disappear to, friend?" she chided. 

Lois laughed. Just like Rachel to be direct. "I was busy at 
home," she answered vaguely. "I missed you too. So how's 
engaged life?"

Rachel grinned, pulling her fianc‚ to her side. "Roberts, I 
want you to meet my oldest and dearest friend, Lois. Lois, 
this is Roberts. He's a bard by profession and is currently 
the head of the Bardic Guild of Lowell, Trent, and Salem," 
she introduced proudly.

Lois knew that Trent was too small to have a guild of its 
own, so it made sense that they shared the Bardic Guild 
with two other towns. She was impressed when Roberts took 
her hand and kissed it. "It's a pleasure to finally meet 
you, Bard Roberts. Rachel has told me a lot about you."

"Likewise, Mistress Lois. I wish that my duties hadn't kept 
me away from getting to know Rachel's family and friends as 
much as I'd like to," he said, looking at his fianc‚e 
fondly. "And when I do get the time, I'd rather spend it 
with her." 

Rachel colored at the compliment while Lois grinned. "I 
understand, sir," Lois stated before turning to the older 
man who was waiting patiently beside the couple. "Master 
Harris, how remiss of me not to greet you and invite you 
in."

The man smiled fondly at her. "I know how it is when you 
two," he indicated both his daughter and Lois, "are trying 
to catch up. Where are your parents?"

"Inside, entertaining the viscount and his son. Come in," 
Lois replied, leading the way to the parlor where the 
viscount and his son were sitting, chatting with Perry and 
Alice White.

After a round of greetings and introductions, they settled 
into an amiable chat while waiting for Father Tempus to 
arrive. He had sent a message that he would be late due to 
a surprise messenger from Archbishop William who arrived at 
the church just as he was leaving. 

"So, Sir Daniel, will you be recruited into the service of 
His Grace, Duke of Luthor?" Perry asked Sir Daniel who had 
been trying to catch Lois's eyes since he arrived without 
much success. It seemed that he had taken one look at her 
and cupid's arrow had struck his heart. He hadn't seen her 
since he left home to be fostered with the Duke of Luthor. 
At the time, Lois had been just a little girl in ponytails. 
Now, he couldn't help but admire her beauty. 

For her part, Lois had avoided him like a plague and stuck 
close to Rachel and Roberts. She knew he was casting 
amorous looks her way but she had no urge to encourage him. 
She remembered the spoiled little brat that he was, and how 
he tormented her when they were young. She doubted if he 
had changed all that much.

Daniel now turned to Perry. The subject was one close to 
his heart, and he answered with a fervent light in his 
eyes, "That's a good probability, Perry. Prince Lex will be 
holding a tournament soon where he will pick the best 
knights in the land to form his personal guards. I intend 
to be there and win his approval. It is a great honor to be 
part of his entourage."

"Aye," Roberts agreed cautiously. "It's an honor. But to be 
one of Prince Kal's guards is even more so. I have a 
friend, Sir Peter, who is in the Heir's service. He said 
that the Prince was one of the best to serve under, better 
than Prince Lex."

The viscount looked shrewdly at the bard. "Did he say why?"

Roberts smiled, not rising to the bait. "While Prince Lex 
is an exceptionally motivating leader and superb organizer, 
Prince Kal has a deep understanding of the people around 
him. It is this quality that makes him able to utilize and 
mobilize them in the best way possible. That's the reason 
why our army is as strong as it is. He also garners respect 
and loyalty of his men, something very few other lords are 
able to do."

"Eloquently said, Bard Roberts," the viscount complimented 
him. "I've met both young men and I agree with your 
assessment. But you make them sound as if they're competing 
against each other. That is not the case, in truth. I've 
not met two brothers who work so well together as do the 
two princes. You will find that they are each other's 
champions."

Master Harris nodded. "Aye, my lord. I've heard that. But 
there are disturbing rumors that all may not be what they 
seem. Prince Lex is ambitious and Prince Kal is very easy-
going. I wonder if there are those who would want to divide 
them."

"Perry, what say you in this matter?" the viscount asked.

"Me, my lord?" Perry queried. "I'm just a lowly squire who 
knows little of such political implications," he demurred.

"Ah, my friend. You can't escape so easily; you're a keen 
observer, Perry. We all know that," the viscount 
acknowledged his friend's strength.

"Yes, Perry, do say what you think," Master Harris backed 
the viscount up.

Perry looked around. Everyone was attentive to what he was 
about to say. "Well..." he started. "We're all friends here 
and I trust all of you. So I will say what I have observed 
and what I think may yet come. Aye, my lord. Your 
assessment of the princes is accurate. But Harris is right 
as well. There are those who are not happy with their 
strong bond. With the two of them working together, they 
would be a force to reckon with. There are ambitious people 
out there who would stand to gain if the princes were at 
loggerhead. I've felt the undercurrents of a movement to 
increase the power of the Church, while undermining the 
power of the king."

Bard Roberts frowned when he heard the word "church." As 
the head of the local Bardic Guild, he had dealings with 
the church. It was inevitable since the bards were supposed 
to be under its jurisdiction. Slowly, he leaned forward and 
said in a low voice, "You may be right, Squire Perry. I've 
not thought it before, but now that you've planted the seed 
in my head, I can see where things are heading." He looked 
around to the others. "Archbishop William is a close 
advisor of the king and he has the ear of Prince Lex. In 
fact, at one time, he was the princes' tutor. So I see 
where he might have enormous influence on them. 
Furthermore, as you all can see, he has gotten the king to 
approve the witch-hunt, in the guise of stopping the 
heretics. The people are very frightened of the 
inquisitors."

Lois who had been listening couldn't hold her tongue 
anymore. "I agree. There have been many who are accused of 
witchcraft when their only sin was that they went against 
the inquisitors. Then, there is the breed of people who are 
like dogs, bowing and scraping to these people in order to 
get some scraps. Why isn't the king doing something?"

"Because, like any other king before him, he's bound by 
tradition to sit in the Palace and not venture out," Sir 
Daniel answered her, hoping that she would approve of his 
knowledge. "That's why we need the lords and knights to be 
the people's voice to report to him."

Lois made a face to show what she thought of the system. 
"Begging your pardon, my lord," she addressed the viscount. 
"But I feel that most of the time, the lords and knights do 
not represent the people. Instead they protect their own 
interests. Who is then to champion the people before the 
king?"

The viscount smiled cynically. "I know what you mean, Lois. 
The system is not perfect. That is why they're trying to 
undermine the bond between the two princes. By tradition, 
Prince Kal has to stay in the Palace, but not so for Prince 
Lex. Given their bond, Prince Lex is likely to act as 
Prince Kal's eyes and ears in the kingdom. But if they can 
undermine them..." He didn't finish but they all knew the 
implications.

"Father Tempus has arrived, Master Perry," called out the 
butler, who was swept aside by Tempus. He arrogantly 
greeted them, all the while casting suspicious looks at 
Lois. If Lois was trying to avoid Sir Daniel like a plague, 
she had been trying to avoid Father Tempus like she would 
death itself. Unfortunately, like death, he was 
unavoidable.

"So, Mistress Lois," he said in the way of greeting, 
arching his eyebrow. "You've not been paying your tithe to 
the church the past two weeks." 

She unclenched her fists and teeth before replying with 
saccharine sweetness, "I've only recently started selling 
herbs and spice in the market again. I've little coins to 
pay the tithe, Father."

"Without the tithe, how is the church to function, my 
daughter?" Tempus asked with equal sweetness. "I'm sure 
you're a dutiful daughter of the church and would not want 
to see it fall to ruins. So I'll look forward to seeing you 
tomorrow at the church to pay your tithe and fines." He 
abruptly turned away from her and ignored her for the rest 
of the dinner.

Lois was only too glad to be ignored. She spent her time 
trying to catch up with Rachel and get to know Roberts. She 
found him to be well informed and intelligent, very 
suitable for Rachel. She also pried information about his 
friend Peter from him. Rachel had mentioned Peter before 
and they had agreed that he sounded just the man for Lana. 
She was a little saddened to think that both her friends 
had, or might have found, their perfect other halves, while 
she was still struggling to be on her own. She knew that 
she had no future with Clark. He was a knight at the very 
least. But her heart told her that there was more to him 
than just a mere knight. He was probably a powerful lord in 
his own right. On the other hand, she was but a lowly 
wisewoman. The gap between them was just too great to 
bridge.

"Even if he does feel something for me other than 
gratitude," she thought. "Perhaps last night was just my 
imagination."

"Lost in thoughts, Lois?" Sir Daniel queried from beside 
her. Alice had arranged for them to sit together in order 
to further her matchmaking efforts. 

She blinked, gathering her scattered thoughts. "Not at all. 
I was just thinking of my duties which I had left at home."

"You do not stay with your parents?" Daniel asked, 
surprised.

"No, I have a small cottage near the woods. It is easier 
there since I have better access to the wild herbs and 
spices I collect," she explained.

"Of course," he said, even though he didn't really 
understand it. How could a proper lady live on her own when 
her parents were around to take care of her? To think that 
she even had a profession, it was unimaginable. But that 
was just like the Lois he had known as a child. It seemed 
that she hadn't changed at all.

Lois just nodded at him, knowing that he didn't really 
approve of her. Not that she cared. It was her life; she 
had a right to live it as she deemed fit. Soon, the dinner 
came to a close. After the guests had all left and the 
viscount and Daniel had gone to bed, Lois took leave of her 
parents and went home. Perry had wanted to send someone 
with her but she refused. What if the person saw Clark, how 
would she explain?

A little ways from her parents' place, she saw Kal sitting 
on a bench waiting for her. He was cloaked and the hood 
drawn over his face but she knew it was him. She would be 
able to recognize him anywhere. "Clark! What are you doing 
here?"

He quickly stood up and strode to her side. "Waiting for 
you, of course. It is not safe to walk alone at night. I 
know you would refuse an escort from your father. Thus the 
only logical thing was for me to fetch you home, my lady."

Without really wanting to be, she was touched by his 
gesture. "Thank you, kind sir. You're a gallant knight," 
she teased, in order to cover up the choking feel in her 
throat. "I would be honored to be escorted back to my 
home."

"My pleasure, my lady," Kal answered, bowing. 

They walked in companionable silence through the quiet 
streets.

________________

Morning came once more. Kal stirred awake at the merry 
chirping of birds outside the cottage. The sun had long 
risen. He glanced around and saw that Lois was no longer 
there. That wasn't strange, of course. She would have gone 
to the market-place by now. Then he frowned, spotting the 
herbs and spices that she would usually bring along with 
her. 

He hastened outside, worried that she might have tripped 
and fallen. Once more, he wondered why she didn't stay with 
her foster parents. Of course, he knew how independent she 
was. Living with her the past week or so had taught him 
this. But he still worried that something might happen to 
her, without the protection of her family.

Looking around outside, he saw that the cart and old Greta 
were still in the barn, but there was no sign of Lois. He 
wondered where she had gone. "Has she gone into the 
forest?" he thought. Whistling for Valiant, he made his way 
to the edge of the forest. "Come on, Valiant. She might be 
in trouble. In fact, my senses tell me that she's in real 
trouble," he spoke softly to his loyal steed.

Before they could go further than a few steps into the 
forest, they heard a crash. His apprehension rose as Kal 
sped towards the noise. He broke through the bushes, only 
to find his arms filled with a familiar figure.

_______________

"James!" Kal couldn't believe his eyes. There, in his arms, 
was his missing squire, unconscious. The poor fellow looked 
like he had been through hell and back. However, there 
wasn't much time to muse over his appearance as Kal heard a 
loud snort coming from one side of the clearing. A huge 
boar was preparing to charge both men. Instincts took over; 
Kal whistled Valiant, and as the horse broke through the 
foliage, he hauled James over his shoulder and leaped onto 
Valiant's back. Valiant flew like the wind, leaving the 
enraged boar far behind.

It was only after the danger was over and the adrenalin 
effects had faded away that Kal realized he had torn his 
stitches. "Lois is going to kill me," he muttered to 
himself, shifting his unconscious squire to his front. Once 
they reached the cottage, he slid down. He didn't manage to 
do more when an angry voice caught his attention. Putting 
one hand on his wound to stop the bleeding and the other 
holding Valiant's reins, he moved to the front of the 
cottage cautiously. 

Once there, Kal found a tall, heavy-set man threatening to 
hit Lois. Instantly, he saw red but his training kept him 
from reacting blindly. Instead of following his impulse to 
run the man through with a sword, he decided to use a 
different tactic; he cleared his throat. "Pardon me," he 
spoke loudly, catching the man's attention. 

The man turned his head, chagrined. He, Nero, had been sent 
by Tempus to collect the tithe and fines from Lois when 
Tempus realized that Lois wasn't going to appear. However 
when he arrived at her cottage and informed her of his 
intention, the crazy woman had taken a pitchfork and 
threatened him with it. Of course, he had no choice but to 
grab it from her and show her her proper place. It was his 
sacred duty, after all. Nero was sure that the stranger, a 
knight, would agree with him once he explained the matter.

Lois gasped when she saw Clark's bloody tunic. She bit her 
lips in order to stop herself from running to him. While 
all she wanted to do was to ensure he was all right, she 
couldn't afford to let Nero know about Clark and her. She 
hoped that Clark wouldn't do anything to alert Nero about 
their relationship.

Kal, seeing Lois's concerned look, wished that he could 
reassure her that everything was going to be fine. Instead, 
he focused his attention on the man. "Kind sir, madam, I'm 
in need of help. My squire and I were attacked by bandits 
and this is the first house we have chanced upon in hours," 
he addressed both Nero and Lois as if they were strangers.

Nero was at once solicitous. "Sir Knight, I'm shocked. Our 
lord has always been dutiful in his protection of his 
property. To have bandits nearby is scandalous. Why, you're 
injured!" Nero exclaimed. "Come, the town is just a few 
more miles down this road. I'll take you straight to the 
physician."

"I could see to him," Lois spoke up.

Nero narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. "Woman, Father 
Tempus has forbidden you to practice your craft unless you 
want to be charged with witchcraft. Do you?" His voice was 
harsh and the look in his eyes showed the pleasure he was 
taking from threatening her.

Lois would have retorted but Kal beat her to it. "My squire 
and I are badly in need of attention, and I'm bleeding. I 
don't think we can go on much further. Perhaps, if you 
would oblige me in fetching the physician while we rest 
here, I would appreciate it and reward you handsomely," Kal 
pleaded, throwing in the lure of money to entice the 
fellow.

"Of course, there is no such need, my lord. Indeed, it's my 
pleasure," said Nero with a greedy gleam in his eyes. 
"Woman, open your door and prepare a resting place for this 
gallant knight," he ordered Lois. He then turned to Kal and 
said politely, "I'll go fetch the physician at once, my 
lord."

Lois bristled against the imperious tones but left to carry 
out the orders. She heard someone coming in after her, and 
on turning her head, saw Clark carrying an unconscious 
young man. When Nero didn't follow him in, she relaxed her 
guard and closed the door. "Put him on the pallet," she 
instructed Clark and assisted him at the same time. After 
James had been settled in, she reached for Clark. "Let me 
see the wound. What did you do to tear the stitches?" she 
admonished with a frown.

Kal stopped her hands and pulled her down beside him. "It's 
all right, Lois. The bleeding has stopped. Before that man 
returns with the physician, we should talk." 

Seeing Lois's reluctance to talk, he got up to pace, 
unmindful of his wound. His pent up anger showed when he 
spat out, "I wished I could do some bodily harm to the guy. 
Why was he trying to harm you?"

Lois sighed. "He is Nero, Father Tempus's lackey. He was 
here to collect the tithe and fines."

"Why? Is it normal practice to send someone to rough you up 
for them?"

"No it's not. But I've not paid my dues in weeks. It's a 
silver piece for each week, and two coppers for each time 
you miss paying a tithe. I don't have that much money, 
especially when I missed a few days of selling my herbs," 
she explained impatiently, her attention straying to the 
figure on the pallet.

Kal flushed when he realized he was the cause of her money 
shortage and ultimately her confrontation with Nero. He was 
about to speak when Lois interrupted him.

"Clark, is that really your squire?"

"Yes. Lois..."

"I'm glad he's not dead as you feared," Lois interrupted 
him once more. "Where did you find him? Was he conscious? 
How did he get here? His wounds are not as severe as yours 
but it seemed that someone had used him as a punching bag. 
Poor fellow. I hope Master Klein will be able to help him. 
Master Klein is the physician, of course."

"Lois..."

She didn't notice his interruption as she once again went 
off on another tangent. "Talking about Master Klein, you 
know, we have to come up with a story to tell him. He'll 
know that you didn't receive this wound a few hours ago. 
Perhaps we can tell him that you..." She was stopped from 
speaking when a gentle mouth descended on hers.

Kal had given up trying to apologize to her. Instead, he 
impulsively leaned forward to kiss her irresistible lips. 
When the kiss ended, he whispered that she shouldn't worry 
about things. 

Lois, dazed by the gentle yet passionate kiss, could only 
nod her head without really knowing what she was agreeing 
to. Looking at her, Kal had to laugh. In the week he had 
been with her he had never seen her at a loss for words 
before. The laugh made her come to her senses and she 
glared at him. The glare soon changed to a look of 
confusion.

"Clark?" she asked tentatively.

"I'm sorry, Lois," Kal said softly, his hand caressing her 
face. "It's not my wish to cause you hurt, physical or 
emotional. I do have feelings for you, but..."

"But we're in a situation where we've too many barriers 
between us. So we can't act on these feelings, can we?" 
Lois finished for him.

"I wish..."

She gently placed her finger over his lips to stop him from 
saying anything more before putting her hand over his and 
leaning into his palm. "If wishes were horses, I'd be rich. 
It's all right, Clark. I understand. The time I've had come 
to know you and gain your friendship is enough for me." She 
paused, trying to find the words to express her feelings. 
It was so difficult for her to discuss about the matters of 
the heart. "You...you've woken something within me which I 
had never imagined I could ever feel. For that, I'm 
eternally grateful," Lois shared with him. "We'll both be 
fine. We'll get on with our lives and one day, be distant 
memories for each other." She paused again, struggling to 
contain the tears. Softly, she added, "There is a part of 
me that will always remember you."

They stayed thus for an indefinite amount of time till a 
knock on the door brought them back to reality. Lois got up 
and opened the door, letting Nero and Master Klein in. 

"Mistress Lois," greeted the physician. Being the 
viscount's personal physician, he had come to Trent with 
the viscount. He was, however, quite familiar with the 
people of Trent and the surrounding villages. This was due 
to the generosity of the viscount who had permitted Master 
Klein to administer to his people without stint. In an age 
where physicians were rarely found except in the cities or 
the noble houses, they had been very lucky to have Master 
Klein with them. 

"Master Klein. How are you?"

"I'm well, thank you. Though I wish that we were meeting 
for a different reason," he answered pleasantly. "Where are 
my prospective patients?"

"Come this way." 

Nero, out of respect for the physician, didn't create any 
trouble. He stayed near the door, as if he couldn't stand 
being in the house of a fallen woman, as he thought of 
Lois. However, from his vantage point, he was able to 
observe everything and would include it in his report to 
Father Tempus later. Father Tempus would be delighted to 
hear of the appearance of the knight and his squire, he was 
sure.

Lois introduced Master Klein to Clark who was very 
surprised to see a real physician. He had thought that Nero 
had probably gotten a barber to try and patch him up. 
"Master Klein, it is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Sir Clark 
of Kent," he introduced himself, bowing slightly.

Klein looked at the familiar face and wondered what game 
was being played. He had seen the heir to the throne of El 
before, though it was at a distance, when the viscount had 
visited the Palace. Still, if Prince Kal didn't want his 
identity to be known, he wasn't about to disobey. 
"Likewise, Sir Clark. Perhaps you should lie down and I'll 
check you?" he suggested.

"No. Please see to my squire first. He has been unconscious 
for the longest time. I'm worried about him," Clark 
protested. "As for me, the wound isn't serious."

Klein was taken aback. That this man would put his 
servant's welfare before his was a remarkable thing to see. 
His respect for the Prince raised a notch. "Of course, Sir 
Clark," he agreed, going up to James. He examined James 
thoroughly before turning to Kal and Lois, patiently 
waiting for his verdict. "It would seem that he is just 
dehydrated. He appears to have been sorely beaten too and 
has sustained a head injury. I'll prescribe some poultice 
for his bruises. It is best not to move him much, in case 
you aggravate the head injury. Give him broth, trickle it 
down his throat if you have to, and wait for him to wake 
up. That's all that we can do at this moment. I will tell 
Mistress Lois how to prepare the poultice after I've seen 
to you."

He led Clark to lie by the fireplace and examined the 
reopened wound. He looked at Kal sharply, a question in his 
gaze.

"I sustained an injury a little more than a week back," Kal 
explained on seeing the look.

Master Klein wondered who had dared attack the heir of El 
and the reason that he was traveling incognito. However, 
this wasn't the time to speculate matters. "The wound 
seemed to be very extensive. Who gave you permission to 
ride again before you're truly healed?" Klein scolded.

Kal grinned sheepishly. "No one did. However, extraneous 
circumstances forced my hand in this matter."

"Well, extraneous circumstances or otherwise, I expect you 
not to repeat this again. Do I make myself clear?" Klein 
said, taking the basin of hot water from Lois and washing 
the wound. He then restitched the wound and gave Kal strict 
instructions not to aggravate his condition. "It seems that 
you and your squire will be Mistress Lois's guests for some 
time to come," he finally commented. It was best that the 
prince and his squire stayed out of sight. While Father 
Tempus might be only a village priest, he had enough 
connections within the church hierarchy to be able to 
recognize the heir of El. Given that Prince Kal had gone to 
the trouble of donning a disguise, Klein wasn't about to be 
the person to blow the whistle.

 "But Master Klein, it isn't proper for her to be here 
alone with two men," Nero whined from his post beside the 
door. 

Master Klein looked at him as if he had grown two heads. 
"Mistress Lois is one of the most chaste women I've ever 
met. She is unlikely to do anything improper even if Sir 
Clark or his squire is up to it, which might I remind you, 
they're not. I believe Sir Clark, being a knight of El, 
will not besmirch the honor of the young lady who has 
kindly given him shelter." This was aimed at Kal who 
colored slightly. 

"No, Master Klein. I would never do that. Mistress Lois, 
you're very kind to help us," Kal quickly spoke up in order 
to reassure the older man.

"Then, there is nothing else to be said. I'll be back 
tomorrow to check up on your squire." Master Klein nodded 
his dismissal to both Lois and Kal, gathering his 
instruments, and prepared to leave.

"Here, sir. This is for your kind efforts," Kal pressed a 
gold coin into Klein's hand. He wouldn't accept the good 
physician's protests. He then turned to Nero to give him 
the reward he promised. Soon the two men left, Nero being 
the more reluctant one.

______________

After the two men disappeared from view, Kal turned to 
Lois, who was fussing over James. A pang of jealousy 
coursed through him, discomfiting him due to the newness of 
the feeling. He had never been jealous before, and 
certainly not of his squire. What was happening between 
Lois and him? Inwardly he sighed. He knew what was 
happening; they were falling in love, impossible as it 
might seem. 

Lois felt Clark's gaze on her as she went about making 
James more comfortable. She wondered if she should tell him 
to stop, that it was making her uncomfortable. She wished 
she had the strength to do that but she was weak. She 
needed him as she never thought she could need someone 
before. He would walk away one day and she would be left 
alone, but till that day comes she would revel in his 
company and store up the memories. That was the reason why 
she didn't protest when Master Klein literally handed Clark 
and James over to her. Finished with James, she gathered 
enough rugs to create beddings for both of them.

"Here, let me help you," Kal volunteered, taking some of 
the rugs off her hands and laying them near the fireplace. 
Silently, they worked together to make the bedding. It was 
only when they finished did either of them realize that 
there was only one bed even though it was big enough for 
two. Lois blushed while Kal stammered, "It's...it's all 
right. We'll...we'll just do it again."

As he reached out to rearrange the rugs, she took hold of 
his hands. He looked at her questioningly. In response she 
shook her head and lowered her gaze. "Clark, I know what 
you told Master Klein was true. I also know that we do not 
have a future together, but we do have this little time to 
call our own. Let me have this, please?" 

Tears brimmed in her eyes as she spoke through the lump in 
her throat. She had never begged before; his arrival in her 
life had changed her more than she wanted to know, more 
than she was prepared to cope. "How low can I go? I sounded 
like a..."

"Stop, Lois." 

His harsh voice interrupted her. She turned pain-filled 
eyes at him, expecting a look of disgust from him. Instead 
she found a similar pain reflected back at her.

Clark wondered if he was doing the right thing. No, he was 
doing the right thing. So why did he feel as if he was 
being torn into two? Could he really refuse her when all of 
his being wanted the same thing? "On my oath to protect 
her, I've to do this," he steeled his resolve.

"Don't castigate yourself for asking," Clark explained 
gently, his voice softened as he gathered her into his 
arms. "You're only human, as am I. Sweetheart, I gave you a 
promise to protect you. That includes protection from me, 
and even your own self. Lois, we cannot give in to our 
feelings."

The tears could no longer be held back, and she cried into 
his tunic. He tightened his hold on her and stroked her 
hair in a gesture of comfort. At last she sniffed and 
pushed away from him. He knew better than to stop her and 
so watched silently as she bent and separated the rugs into 
two distinct beddings.

"Lois..." he started but was ignored.

Lois had silently taken her herbs and spices and walked out 
the door. The soft click of the door swinging shut was more 
telling than if she had banged the door. Left alone, not 
counting the unconscious James, Kal wondered where things 
had gone so wrong. He hadn't meant to hurt her, and in so 
trying, he had inadvertently hurt her more. Something 
touched his right leg. Looking down, he saw Blackie rubbing 
her body against his leg, purring. He was struck by her 
intelligence when she looked up at him as if to plead on 
her mistress's behalf.

"You don't have to apologize, Blackie. Neither does she. It 
is my fault for hurting her so," he told the cat. Was it 
his imagination or did Blackie smile and nod? He didn't 
have a chance to find out before she bounded away in search 
of a mouse.

____________

"How shameless can I be? Why am I behaving in this manner? 
It's as if I've lost control of my feelings. I got to pull 
myself together." She drew a deep breath and walked 
resolutely to the barn to fetch Greta. "Why can't I think 
straight around Clark? What is it about him that clouds my 
judgment so?" Lois mused as she hitched Greta to the cart. 
Her thoughts drifted to Clark and her suspicions of his 
high status. 

"Of course he wouldn't want to bed me. Why would he when he 
could have more beautiful ladies with noble houses to ally 
with?" She placed her wares in the back of the cart and 
jumped in. "I'm just a lowly wisewoman who has nothing to 
offer him. True, I saved his life, but that doesn't mean 
anything in the greater scheme of things. Wake up, Lois, 
he's not for you." She dashed away her tears, resolving not 
to think of Clark anymore.

As old Greta moved slowly along the road, Lois turned her 
thoughts to the trouble she could foresee happening when 
she arrived at the market. This morning she had returned 
from her herb collection to find Nero camping out in her 
front yard. Her heart had skipped, thinking that he might 
have discovered Clark. But a scan showed that neither Clark 
nor Valiant was around. Nero soon revealed the reason for 
his presence: to collect the tithe and fines. He had 
threatened to revoke her license to open a stall in the 
market-place when she refused to pay. Returning to the 
present, she wondered if Father Tempus was going to be 
there with the town guards to bar her way.

On her arrival at the market, she saw Father Tempus 
lingering around. A tiny sigh of relief escaped her when 
she noticed the absence of town guards. "Good day, Father 
Tempus," she greeted him courteously.

"Good day to you, my daughter," he responded insincerely. 
"It seems that you're late in setting up your stall. I've 
reserved your spot for you."

"Did you?" she questioned in her heart, wondering why he 
was being so pleasant. Outwardly, she only smiled and 
graciously thanked him before going about arranging her 
herbs and spices. Already, the market was crowded and she 
expected many would approach her as soon as the priest left 
the vicinity.

"Nero told me that you have two unexpected visitors this 
morning," Tempus finally revealed the reason he was there.

"Yes," Lois confirmed without yielding more information.

"Mistress Lois," Tempus advised, "you should care for them 
as if they were your own children. The knight is a very 
important person. Not someone we should offend at all. If 
you need anything for their comfort, just come to the 
church and I will try to provide it for you."

Lois looked up, surprised. This was something she hadn't 
expected at all. Tempus knew who Clark really was, there 
was no doubt in her mind. "It's not fair," she thought. 
"Strangers know who he is and yet he won't tell me his real 
identity. But then again, Tempus could just be fishing for 
information. It's best if I play dumb." 

While Lois was gathering her thoughts, Tempus was trying to 
organize his and stay one step ahead. He knew that Lois was 
a very smart woman and would not bend so easily. If Nero 
was right, the crown prince and his squire were the two 
strangers resting in Lois's little cottage. The missive 
from the Archbishop had been very clear. He was to keep an 
eye out for an injured knight and his squire, and when he 
found them, to detain them as long as he could. He had 
heard rumors that the knight was actually Prince Kal in 
disguise. The concept of wanting to go out and mingle with 
commoners was mind boggling. What noble would even care 
about their servants, much less the peasants who had little 
worth except as laborers? The prince was a strange fellow.

"Thank you, Father. That's very kind of you," Lois spoke, 
bringing Tempus out of his thoughts. "But I'm sure I have 
everything I need to provide for my guests."

He smiled, an insincere smile Lois thought. "Well, then. I 
was just volunteering in case you need anything. You never 
know what the future may bring."

"Perhaps," Lois answered, wondering how she could get rid 
of him and get down to doing business. Luckily for her, or 
was that unluckily, Sir Daniel rode up. She saw him heading 
straight towards her. Her mind furiously weighed which two 
of them could be considered the lesser evil. 

"Mistress Lois, your mother told me that I would find you 
here. Good morn, Father," Daniel greeted with his usual 
enthusiasm, if a little formal, oblivious to the tension 
between Lois and Tempus.

"Good morn, Sir Daniel," Father Tempus greeted before 
turning to Lois. "Do not hesitate to approach me when you 
need help, Mistress Lois." He then left.

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "He's a sourpuss, isn't he? 
What does he want?"

"He was volunteering to help with my guests," Lois replied, 
inwardly groaning that she was going to be stuck with 
another person she disliked. Of course, Daniel wasn't as 
bad as Father Tempus. It wasn't his fault for being a 
spoiled child. Lois remembered how the viscount's wife, 
Lady Violet, doted on her only child and couldn't bear to 
disappoint him. 

Daniel relaxed and grinned. "Oh. Master Klein told my 
father that you're housing a knight of Kent and his squire. 
What's he like?"

"I don't know, Daniel. I left him and his squire resting to 
set up my stall and conduct my business," she answered, 
subtly hinting at her need to go about selling her wares.

Unfortunately, Sir Daniel wasn't one to understand 
subtlety. "I've always wanted to meet a knight of Kent. 
People say that the knights of Kents are the best in the 
land. To think that one of them could be bested by mere 
bandits," he mused loudly.

Lois bristled at the apparent insult. "I'm sure if you were 
set upon by bandits, you'd have killed all of them," she 
said sarcastically. 

"Of course," Daniel bragged. "No knight should fear ill-
equipped, ill-trained bandits."

Lois rolled her eyes. "Since the bandits appear to be on 
your lands, perhaps you should ride out to oust them away 
from here. Why don't you do that, right now?"

Daniel finally got her point and his grin got bigger. "I 
could, Lois, but since father has so many knights in his 
pay I don't see why I should risk my life for it."

"Sure," Lois drawled, turning away to take care of a 
customer who was seeking her attention. 

Daniel waited but Lois didn't turn back as she continued to 
cater to her customers' demands. After an hour of hanging 
around, he decided it wasn't profitable to try and get her 
to talk to him. In fact, people were giving him weird 
looks.

"I'll go now, Lois. Will I see you tonight?" he finally 
asked.

Lois turned, surprised that he was still around. "No, I 
need to make supper for my guests."

"Perhaps I'll come by for a visit then."

Lois wanted to say no, but revised her decision. It was 
going to be awkward to be alone with Clark tonight. Daniel 
would serve as a good buffer. "Please do. I'm sure Sir 
Clark would welcome male company."
 
That cheered Daniel up so much that he beamed at her. "I'll 
be there," he shouted, galloping away.

_________________

Part 4. 

Lois approached her little cottage with apprehension. The 
last few hours at the market had kept her busy and 
distracted. But as her house loomed larger in the horizon, 
she had to face the reality in the shape of Clark. How 
could she have been so stupid as to have bared her soul to 
a near stranger like she did? What was she suppose to say 
to Clark? How would he react? All the doubts assailed her 
making her want to turn around and just walk away till he 
was gone. But something kept her hand on the reins; she 
wasn't going to be a coward.

From the little window in the door, Kal watched Lois jump 
out of the cart and unhitch Greta, stowing away the cart. 
He couldn't read her mood; her face was guarded. As she 
neared the door, he swung it open. "Hi," he greeted 
hesitantly. It felt so awkward, a situation he hadn't 
experienced with her before. The instant connection they 
had had helped allay any awkwardness between strangers 
meeting before. Now, however, it seemed to have vanished 
and left them hanging; neither strangers nor friends.

"Hi," she answered shyly. Like him, she too felt the 
awkwardness and tried to grasp something which would help 
bridge the gap that seemed to grow larger as the time 
passed. "How's your squire?" she asked, making small talk.

"James's still not awake. I've been feeding him broth," he 
informed her, relieved that she sounded almost normal.

"Did you make the broth?" 

"I tried, but it is very watery," he admitted his lack of 
kitchen skills. 

She just nodded. Then, they stood there outside the little 
cottage, staring at each other. Neither knew what else to 
say. "Can I come in?" she finally asked, shivering slightly 
when a gust of cold wind blew through.

Kal grinned sheepishly. "Oops, sorry." He moved away from 
the door to let her in.

Once they were both in, she busied herself preparing for 
dinner while Kal looked on. "Can I help?" he asked 
politely.

"It's all right. I can manage," she answered with equal 
politeness. "Besides, you need rest." 

So he reluctantly went to sit on one of the beds, the cause 
of their awkwardness, still observing her. He wished there 
was a way he could put a stop to all the politeness and 
embarrassment and get back to where they were before that 
morning. In his musings, he didn't notice that Lois had set 
another placement for dinner. When he did, he blurted out 
the first thought that came to his mind, "Lois, are you all 
right?"

She turned to him, wondering at the concern in his voice. 
She had avoided his gaze the whole time she was preparing 
the meal. In fact, she tried her best to pretend that he 
wasn't there. Of course, it was futile for she could feel 
his eyes trained on her the entire time. "Why do you ask?"

"You're putting three placements for dinner. James isn't 
about to suddenly wake and join us, is he?" Kal asked, 
puzzled.

"The extra setting is for Sir Daniel, the viscount's son. I 
invited him to dinner earlier," Lois clarified hesitantly. 
She suddenly realized what a stupid move that was and 
regretted it. The situation between Clark and her was bad 
enough without being complicated by the presence of Sir 
Daniel.

At the mention of the viscount's son, Kal felt a sharp pain 
coursing through him. Compared to the pang of jealousy he 
felt earlier on seeing Lois fuss over James, this was much 
worse. Daniel was obviously a rival for Lois's affections. 
Furthermore, it would seem like she wasted no time to 
change her affections. Only this morning, she had offered 
herself to him, and now she was seeing Daniel instead. 

"That's not a fair assessment, Kal," scolded his 
conscience. "You hurt her by your rejection. This is her 
retaliation, her way of proving to you that there are 
others who find her attractive and wouldn't reject her out 
of hand."

Lois observed the various expressions on his face and knew 
that she had made a big mistake, probably bigger than what 
happened that morning. In order to set things right, she 
tried to explain, "He came over this afternoon to the stall 
and asked about you. He heard about you from Master Klein 
and was curious. I thought you might like some other 
company besides mine and so invited him over."

Kal sighed, bowing to the inevitable. "Tell me about him," 
he requested.

Lois made a face, thawing the tension a little. "What's 
there to tell? He's a spoiled brat with big ambitions and 
little common sense."

Kal laughed. "You don't like him, do you?"

Lois grinned ruefully. "Is it that obvious? Truthfully, he 
used to be a bigger pain in the neck when we were younger. 
He's much mellower now."

"Hmm..." Kal made a face, showing her what he thought of 
her remark.

Lois was about to retort when she remembered something. 
"Clark, Father Tempus was also at my stall earlier. He 
wanted me to take good care of both of you, saying that you 
were an important personage. I don't trust his motives," 
she warned him.

Kal frowned. "What else did he say?"

"He said that if I needed anything to ensure your comfort, 
I should approach him. That rang my alarms. He'd never 
volunteer to use church funds for anything, much less for 
helping me out. I'm not even welcomed in church. Do you 
have any inkling for his change of hearts?" Lois asked, 
curious as to the answer.

A sense of dread passed over Kal. Father Tempus would never 
have singled Lois out and emphasized Sir Clark's importance 
if he didn't know who he really was. So who told him? The 
only two people besides James who knew of Kal's disguise 
were his father and brother. He couldn't imagine either of 
them ever betraying him knowingly. But could Lex have 
unwittingly confided in Archbishop William, or Father Bill 
as both boys affectionately called him when they were 
young? 

Kal didn't trust Father Bill though he knew his twin did. 
Lex had defended him quite adamantly when Kal brought up 
the issue of the church abusing its power. They argued 
heatedly over the issue till their father had to step in 
and settle the matter by initiating an investigation on the 
corruption within the church. Unfortunately the 
investigation didn't yield anything major. The 
investigators could only uncover some abuses by minor 
members of the clergy. There was nothing to trace back to 
Father Bill.

Given the findings, Kal had to back off and apologized to 
Lex for his earlier accusations. However, Kal had never 
recovered his trust of Father Bill. His suspicions 
increased when one of Father Bill's most vocal opponents, 
Father Andrew of the Order of the Rose, died quite 
suddenly. While investigation couldn't prove foul play, Kal 
was informed by Brother Jonathan, Father Andrew's second-
in-command that he believed Father Andrew had been 
poisoned. For the moment, Brother Jonathon was the acting 
head of the Order, and he was treading very carefully so as 
not to cross the Archbishop while he secretly pursued his 
own investigation into Father Andrew's death.

Now that he thought about it, Lex could have confided in 
Father Bill about Kal's disguise. That would explain how 
his enemies knew where to ambush him. That would also 
indicate that he had to be very careful with Father Tempus. 

"Clark?"

Lois's voice brought him out of his musings. "Sorry," he 
apologized. "I was just thinking about something. But yes, 
you're right. I wouldn't trust Father Tempus, if I were 
you. I don't believe his intention was purely altruistic."

"Are you in any danger?" Lois asked perceptively.

Kal smiled at her reassuringly. "I'll survive. There's 
nothing we can do at this moment anyway until James and I 
recover."

The conversation had finally broken the earlier tension and 
they found themselves, if not as close as before, working 
comfortably to finish preparing dinner. 

__________________

Daniel looked askance at the little cottage. He hadn't 
expected Lois to be staying in such a small and shabby 
place. "When we get married, I'll have to burn this down," 
he planned. "Can't have Lois connected to such a rundown 
little cottage. Besides, she'll have too many new 
residences to even care about it."

As he paused outside the door, he heard laughter and 
intimate voices drifting through the open window. He 
hesitated; they didn't sound like two strangers talking.

"Not there, Clark. You wouldn't want to give him ideas, do 
you?" Daniel heard Lois say with laughter in her voice.

"Would that be bad?" A man's voice asked, a little 
plaintively. Daniel assumed it must belong to Sir Clark.

"No, but let's not invite trouble," Lois was heard to 
council.

"Spoilsport." Daniel could imagine the man pouting even 
though he had never met him.

Daniel was curious; how could two strangers who just met 
this morning develop a friendship that fast? "Clark, I 
heard a horse neighing and it doesn't sound like Valiant. 
I'll check if Daniel has arrived." Upon hearing the comment 
from Lois, Daniel scrambled back to his horse and pretended 
to fuss with the saddle.

Soon enough the door opened and Lois poked her head out. 
When she saw Daniel, her demeanor changed to be more 
formal, if still pleasant. "Daniel, did you have much 
difficulty trying to get here?" she greeted him as she 
stepped outside.

Daniel studied her for a few moments, quite aware that she 
only tolerated him. But the teasing voice she had used 
earlier with Sir Clark, a stranger, was in stark contrast 
with the formal tones she used in her speeches with him who 
had known her during her childhood. A small part of him 
felt hurt but he refused to show it. "Not at all, Lois. I 
hope I've not kept you waiting?"

"No, we just finished dinner preparations."  

Daniel raised an eyebrow at the "we." 

"Shall we go in?" Lois quickly stepped back inside and out 
of the cold winter night.

As he trailed after her, he thought, "So Sir Clark's quite 
a domesticated knight; no wonder he can't fight properly." 

Inside, Kal steeled himself to meet Sir Daniel. While the 
tension between Lois and him had thawed a little, and Lois 
had reassured him on how she felt about Daniel, he still 
felt a little apprehensive. He observed a medium height man 
with unruly black hair step through the door and look 
around with undisguised curiosity and a tiny dose of 
disdain. The look of disdain helped make his mind up about 
Sir Daniel: Kal wouldn't want him for a friend. Still, he 
came forward to greet the fellow. "You must be Sir Daniel. 
I'm Sir Clark of Kent."

Daniel hesitated for a second before shaking hands with 
Clark. Sir Clark was a handsome devil, and if he wasn't 
sure before, he was positive now that this man was his 
competitor for Lois. Furthermore, unlike him, Clark had no 
negative history with Lois. But he wasn't about to give up 
so easily. He squeezed Clark's hand a tad longer and harder 
than necessary. "A pleasure to meet you, Sir Clark."

Kal raised his eyebrow slightly at the pressure but decided 
to leave it alone. A glance at Lois told him that she 
didn't appreciate being the prize of their little contest. 
Releasing Daniel's hand, he invited him to sit at the 
little table laden with food. 

"Is that your squire?" Daniel asked, having caught a 
glimpse of the figure in bed.

"Yes, he is still unconscious. Lois told me that Master 
Klein works for your father. I'd like to thank you for 
letting him see to us."

"Not at all. My father's the one you should be thanking. He 
has sent some of his men to hunt down the bandits. Nasty 
vermin, those bandits," Daniel said, sitting himself at the 
head of the table.

Lois and Kal exchanged looks but didn't comment as they 
each took a seat on either side of Daniel. 

"That's very kind of your father, Sir Daniel," Kal praised. 
He remembered seeing the viscount once or twice at court 
and heard of his reputation for fairness from the king. 
"Lois tells me you're on your way to a tournament?"

"Oh, yes," Daniel confirmed enthusiastically. So dinner 
began with small talk revolving around knights and 
tournaments, with Lois listening attentively while the two 
knights discussed the finer points of jousting, the art of 
sword fighting, and more. Mostly, it was Daniel who talked 
and Kal who contributed slightly by subtly correcting him 
or agreeing with him. "Well, I believe I can win the 
championship and be selected by Prince Lex to be part of 
his honor guard," Daniel concluded.

"Why would you want to be part of his honor guard?" Kal 
asked curiously.

"You're one of Prince Kal's men. Don't tell me it isn't an 
honor to serve under him?" Daniel asked back, surprised at 
the question.

Kal sat back, trying to imagine what it must be like to be 
one of his men. Slowly, he answered Daniel, "It is but it 
is also a heavy burden, a responsibility. Prince Kal 
expects his men to uphold not only the code of chivalry, 
but the code of conduct becoming of a military officer. We 
are part of the cavalry contingent of El. At any given 
moment, if El is engaged in war, we are likely to be called 
into service."

"And Prince Lex's men won't?" Lois asked, struck by the 
unfairness of the system.

"The way the system works is that, traditionally, Kent 
belongs to the heir, or to the King if there's no heir. The 
heir, or the King, is also in charge of the army. To ensure 
that there isn't conflicting interest between the 
responsibility to the dukedom and to the kingdom, all of 
Kent's fighting forces are part of the regular army. In 
times of war, only minimal force is kept at Kent while all 
the rest are expected to join the battle. The other 
demesnes are not required to contribute men to the war 
effort. Thus Kent has the largest number of fighting men in 
the kingdom."

"Oh." 

Daniel who had been quiet while Clark was talking now 
leaned forward. "If I may ask, Sir Clark, what are you 
doing outside of Kent?"

Kal tensed; he should have expected the question. "I...I 
was traveling to visit some friends up in the Marches. Earl 
Randolph is getting married in early spring and I felt the 
winter was mild enough to venture forth through Luthor and 
into the Marches to attend his wedding. However, I didn't 
anticipate bandits," he explained ruefully.

"You're friends with the Earl of Marches?" Daniel asked, 
astonished by the connection. The Earl was one of the most 
influential nobles at court, and was the Provost Marshal of 
El. He helped the heir of El in times of war in strategy 
planning and doubled up as field marshal during major 
battles. 

"We've worked together once or twice," Kal answered 
nonchalantly, trying to dismiss the importance of their 
friendship.

Lois felt a little lost. She had heard of the Marches, a 
mountainous region which borders with the kingdom of Nor, 
the traditional enemy of El. The Earl of Marches had 
traditionally been the Provost Marshal due to his demesne's 
proximity to Nor and the need to maintain a stronghold 
there to prevent any invasion. But the fact Clark had 
hesitated slightly in giving the story, and had never told 
her about it before, alerted her that things might not be 
what they seemed. There was more going on here, and she 
felt ill-equipped to deal with it. After all, a mere 
wisewoman who was in trouble with the church had little to 
do with political intrigues or military missions.

Daniel was also thinking along similar lines; he had 
detected the slight stutter before Clark's explanation. 
"Sir Clark bears more watching," he noted to himself. 
Outwardly, he pushed away from the table and turned to 
Lois. "Lois, thank you very much for the bountiful dinner. 
Your cooking is unrivalled," he praised lavishly, taking 
her hand and bowing over it. "Thank you for inviting me. 
Sir Clark, it was a pleasure to have met you. Perhaps you 
will still be here before I leave for the tournament and we 
could visit again?" he addressed Clark.

Kal smiled thinly. "Perhaps, Sir Daniel. All the best for 
the tournament," he told him.

Both Lois and Kal saw Daniel to the door before sighing in 
relief after he was gone. 

"Phew, so was I right?" Lois asked Clark, grinning.

"You were." He grinned back. "I'm not sure that he'd fit in 
with Prince Lex's men."

"Oh?"

"Not serious enough," he explained. "Want me to help you 
with the cleaning?"
 
"No, you better get some rest," Lois said, shaking her 
head. Her eyes followed him as he prepared for bed even as 
her hands worked to clean the table. He was a mystery to 
her; the last few hours had reminded her of the fact that 
they came from two different worlds. She resolved to give 
him the space he needed to heal. He would be gone from her 
life soon enough; she could stand to play the role of an 
impartial healer for that brief period, never to let him 
know how much he had gotten under her skin. There would be 
time later, after he was gone, to feel the pang of loss.

"Meow," Blackie announced her presence, jumping onto the 
tabletop, and rubbing her body against Lois's arm. 

"Oh, you," Lois said with mock exasperation. "Come here, 
Blackie." She picked the tabby up and nuzzled her nose into 
Blackie's fur. "Want some food? Let's see what's there for 
you," she chatted softly with the cat who started purring 
in anticipation of the food.

By the time Lois had served Blackie her food and finished 
cleaning, Clark was asleep in his assigned bed. Lois took 
the other bed and tried to sleep, without much success. 
After a while, she turned to face Clark and studied his 
features in the moonlight shining through the glass wall. 

He was handsome, with a body to kill for. She expected that 
it was the byproduct of his training. More than the 
physical, he was kind, thoughtful, intelligent, caring, and 
loyal. He had proved his character to her more than once 
since she met him. It was his character that attracted her 
to him, not the physical. She knew from what he had said 
before that he cared for her, was attracted to her, and 
perhaps even loved her to some extent. But something 
prevented him from acting upon those feelings; something to 
do with his mission perhaps, for she had no doubt that he 
was on a mission. Whatever it was, it not only prevented 
him but also prevented her from expressing herself. The 
last time she did try, it only worsened their relationship. 
So she would stop. Friendship had to be enough for her.

__________________

Kal decided to walk Valiant after Lois left for the market 
and Master Klein checked his wound and James's injuries. He 
was puzzled by Lois's behavior that morning. She seemed 
like a totally different person. A distance between them 
had sprung up so suddenly. "What had changed in the span of 
a night," he wondered, but couldn't figure it out. At last, 
he gave up analyzing the situation, chalking it up to the 
mysterious ways women tended to think and work. 

He entered the house after stabling Valiant, wandering 
around the confined space, looking for something to take 
his mind of his mission. Daniel's questioning his purpose 
here gnawed at him, making him feel a little trapped in 
Trent. The clock was ticking, he felt. Soon he would run 
out of time to discover the enemy threatening El. The 
question of whether it was an internal or external enemy 
needed to be answered soon before they struck. 

"Ouch." James was struggling to sit up. 

Rushing to his side, Kal helped him gently. "Are you all 
right?"

"Your Highness? Your Highness! Thank god that I found you," 
James exclaimed, his voice rusty from the lack of use. "I 
had almost given up hope, thinking that you might have been 
dead," he cried, tears streaming down his face.

Kal looked on awkwardly; what was the etiquette for 
comforting one's squire? "As you can see, I'm fine. You, on 
the other hand, look as if you've gone through hell and 
back," he tried to tease him.

It worked as James put on a watery smile. "Yeah, I did go 
through hell and back. I've much to tell you, Your 
Highness."

"Stop that, James. Remember that we're supposed to be 
incognito. Address me as my lord, or Sir Clark," Kal 
chided.

James blushed. "Oops. Sorry, my lord."

"That's better. Now what was it that you wanted to tell 
me."

"When I was separated from you, they captured me, my lord. 
They were mad that you got away and tried to make me talk."

Kal narrowed his eyes. "Did they torture you?" There was 
steel in his voice.

"They beat me up and starved me, but I kept my own council. 
Instead I found out things about them and the people they 
report to."

"What would that be?" Kal took a seat, giving his whole 
attention to James.

"They're foreign knights, most of them. The ones from El 
seemed to be hired swords. I noted that two of the knights 
spoke the Nordic language..."

"Which means they could have hailed from Nor," Kal 
speculated.

"Yep. I don't think they were pretending since I was 
supposed to be down for the count after one of those 
grilling sessions. Anyway, they referred to this "m'lord" 
who had instructed them not to kill me no matter what."

"Why was that?"

"M'lord believed that you were alive, and even if I weren't 
able to tell them anything, I might be able to lead them to 
you..." James suddenly paled. "Oh no," he exclaimed in 
dismay. "I did do it. My lord, you need to leave at once. 
If they come after you, how am I to answer to your father?"

Kal didn't answer him. Instead he got up to pace. From 
remarks made by Lois last night, it would seem that Father 
Tempus was part of this. "Now, how can I use Father Tempus 
to uncover who these turncoats are?" he mused. Inspecting 
the evidence from various sources, it would seem that the 
enemy might be both internal as well as external. The 
external was probably easier to defend against than the 
internal. Father Tempus seemed to be the solid link to 
these people. While he might be in danger, and was putting 
Lois in danger too, there was little choice in this case. 
He had to stay.

"Sir Clark?" James asked tentatively.

"What? Oh yes. Don't worry, James. We'll both be all right. 
Now why don't you get some rest?" Kal suggested.

James opened his mouth as if to argue but decided against 
it. He struggled to lie back down and only then realized 
his surroundings. "Sir Clark, where are we? How did you 
manage to find me? You were injured; are you all right?"

Kal smiled at the questions. At least, those questions he 
could answer. So he settled down to regale James with all 
that had happened since they were separated. Soon, James 
slipped back into a healing sleep, leaving Kal alone to 
chew on the news he had brought.

_______________

Part 5.

Kal woke up and looked around. He hadn't realized that he 
had fallen asleep. "Rap! Rap!" He glanced at the door. 
Someone was knocking, and from the sound of it, had been 
knocking for quite some time. Remembering what he had 
learned from James, he drew his sword from its scabbard and 
cautiously approached the door. He doubted that his enemies 
had come for him, but nevertheless it paid to be cautious.

Standing to one side, he opened the door. Immediately an 
older gentleman came in, without so much as a by-your-
leave. Kal hesitated to take a course of action since the 
man clearly wasn't armed. "What may I do for you, sir?" Kal 
asked, startling the poor man. 

The man turned to him, surprise written on his face. "What 
are you doing back there?" the man asked gruffly. "Next 
time, answer the door properly, will you?" he grumbled. 
"You almost made my heart stop."

Kal was amused. "Of course, if you're intending to come 
back, that is."

"Of course I intend to come back. I happen to be Lois's 
father." Perry frowned at the drawn sword. "Mind if I ask 
why you're carrying that sword? I suppose you're Sir 
Clark."

Kal blinked, trying to process his thoughts under the rapid 
fire of questions. "Er...you must be Squire White. Pleased 
to meet you, sir." Kal offered his hand while putting his 
sword behind his back to show that he meant no harm.

Perry stared at him for a while before accepting the 
gesture of peace. He had wanted to come over yesterday but 
Alice had prevented him. "Think about Lois's feelings," she 
told him. "Lois isn't going to appreciate your protective 
gesture. Sir Daniel is here; she wouldn't mind his presence 
as much as she would yours." So they had asked Sir Daniel 
to be the scout and find out what manner of a man was 
sharing their daughter's home. Sir Daniel had come back 
with mixed report, prompting Perry's presence this morning.

As Kal showed him to a seat near the fireplace, Perry 
observed the two makeshift beds after glancing at the 
sleeping figure on the pallet. Without conscious thought, 
he finally relaxed. His daughter wasn't in danger of being 
ruined by this stranger.

Kal saw the direction of Perry's glance and thanked his 
lucky stars that he hadn't succumbed to temptation and 
given in to Lois's plea the morning before. He doubted he'd 
lived to see another day if that were the case. Quietly, he 
sheathed his sword and took a seat opposite Perry.

The two men stared at each other for some time, neither 
wanting to break the silence and concede the unintended 
match. At last, Perry stirred and gave up. "So tell me, Sir 
Clark, how long are you going to be around?"

"My squire is still quite ill, Squire White, and Master 
Klein has forbidden us from moving him just yet. Once he 
has given his permission, we'll adjourn to the inn while we 
recover from our injuries. For now, your daughter has been 
kind enough to give us shelter," Kal explained the 
situation.

"So you're going to be in town for some time?" Perry asked.

"It'll be at least a week before either of us recovers 
enough to endure the journey to the Marches," Kal answered.

"But you won't be staying here the whole time," Perry 
stated rather than asked, his eyes trained on Sir Clark's 
face, trying to detect any insincerity on the part of the 
knight.

"I'm sure the inn will have lodgings for us," Kal assured 
him. "Let us not mince words, sir. I know that you're 
worried about your daughter's safety and reputation. I've 
given my promise to her and Master Klein that I would do my 
best to protect her and her reputation, and I will give you 
the same promise." 

Perry weighed the words against the countenance of the man 
before him and found himself convinced of the man's 
sincerity. "I believe you, Sir Clark. However, there are 
those who would judge by appearance alone. That both of you 
are living under one roof without any chaperone is already 
fodder for gossip. I cannot allow that to happen to Lois."

"I understand, sir. What would you have me do?" Kal 
conceded. 

"Convince Lois to allow her mother to be here for the 
duration of your stay." Perry put his hand up to stall any 
arguments. "Lois will never accept it, coming from Alice. 
But I'm sure she'd listen to you."

"Hmm, why would you think *that*?" Kal was sure Lois 
wouldn't listen to him anymore than she would listen to her 
mother. She was just too independent and stubborn to care 
what gossip she'd generate. 

"She is more sensitive to the needs of guests; being a 
guest, you're able to guilt her into having a chaperon." 

Kal sighed, knowing that having a chaperon was the right 
thing to do. "I can try, sir. But no guarantees."

"That's all I'm asking, Sir Clark," Perry told him before 
getting up. "Oh, yes. Alice is inviting you for dinner at 
our house tonight if you're up to it. Your squire too."

"James may not be able to come, but I will be there."

"Good, I'll have a carriage brought around to pick you and 
Lois up," Perry said as he moved to the door. "See you 
tonight."

______________

It had been a while since Lois had allowed him to do 
anything more strenuous than doing light chores around the 
cottage, and Master Klein had agreed with her. However this 
morning, Master Klein finally declared him to be hale once 
more. Upon hearing the 'decree", Kal seized the chance to 
explore Trent more and to satisfy his curiosity about 
Father Tempus.

The town of Trent looked very different in daylight. The 
houses formed concentric rings around the town center which 
was divided into three different sections: business, 
religious, and government districts. The town square housed 
the marketplace where Lois sold her herbs and spices, as 
well as the various offices of the Merchant Guild, Weaver 
Guild, and other smaller guilds. Next to it, down one alley 
was the government district where the town hall was. There, 
Squire Perry White held office and administered judgment on 
behalf of the viscount. Merchants, who were not part of the 
Guild, had to apply for a license from the town hall in 
order to be able to trade in Trent, even though the Church 
controlled the license for the marketplace. 

Kal was a little confused at the divisions when he heard 
about them from Lois, but she eventually explained that the 
marketplace used to be part of the Church's property. In 
order to raise funds, the Church had allowed small-time 
businessmen and out-of-town traders to sell their goods 
there in exchange for a weekly or once off tithe depending 
on whether they were permanently based in the square or 
were just passing through. It was no surprise then that the 
church was located adjacent to the square and overlooked 
it. The consecrated burial grounds were behind the church, 
something that Kal found interesting. In most towns he knew 
of, the burial grounds were outside the immediate town 
vicinity. 

As he walked into the town proper, Kal noticed a few 
beggars lounging along the street. The fact that there 
weren't more attested to the good administration of the 
viscount, or in this case his representative, Squire White. 
The houses and buildings that he passed were also in good 
repair and there was a sense of security for a person 
walking the streets. He was truly impressed with Perry. 

He had enjoyed Perry's company the last few days, finding 
him to be an astute man. Even Alice, who he had managed to 
convince Lois to stay with them at least at nights, was a 
delightful lady. He liked the easy relationship between the 
three. It helped make up for the distance Lois had put 
between them. 

____________

Tempus sat silently in the front pew, as if in deep 
contemplation of the mysteries of man's relationship with 
his Creator. In actuality, he was trying to control his 
temper at the high-handed way the two visiting church 
knights had conveyed the newest message from the 
Archbishop. Evidently, they saw him as nothing but a 
lackey. He'd show them. They'd rue the day they insulted 
him. So deep was his concentration that he didn't notice 
the figure slipping through the doors and walking softly 
towards him. 

"Father Tempus?" Kal asked, quite sure that the man in the 
black priest robes was Tempus.

Tempus looked up, startled. He took in the handsome visage, 
the fine tunic, and the beautifully crafted short sword. 
Whoever he was, the man before him was evidently a well-to-
do knight. He carried himself with the simple grace and 
assurance associated with nobility. "Yes, my son?" Tempus 
replied, standing up. His bones protested slightly at the 
movement, but Tempus was getting used to ignoring them. He 
disliked to think of himself as old.

"I'm Sir Clark..."

Tempus's eyes widened at the name.

"...and I was touched by your concern when Mistress Lois 
told me how you volunteered to assist her financially with 
my accommodations and other expenses." Kal noted Tempus's 
reactions with interest.

"Lois spoke to you about me?" Tempus asked, his eyes 
narrowed.

"She was trying to allay my worry. I didn't wish to impose 
on her any longer than necessary."

"Of course. But tell me, Sir Clark, why are you here?" 

What was it with Daniel and Tempus? Both asked him similar 
questions. "I don't understand, Father," he temporized.

"I mean, shouldn't you be in bed recuperating, instead of 
coming all the way here?" Tempus looked concerned. "You 
didn't ride, did you?"

"I'm all right, Father. It feels good to stretch the legs," 
Kal answered sheepishly. He knew what Lois would say to 
that.

"Perhaps you should take a rest before you return to 
Mistress Lois's place. There is a small room behind the 
church that you can use." 

Kal was suspicious as to why Tempus seemed eager to make 
him stay, and he had no intention of taking up Tempus's 
offer to rest. Somehow, this particular church didn't seem 
all that welcoming. "I'm fine, Father. I won't be walking 
back anyway. Mistress Lois will give me a ride back in her 
cart. I just wanted to thank you for your kindness and 
concern." With that, Kal turned and made his way out of the 
church. 

Tempus looked at Kal's retreating form with open 
consternation. He had to alert the two church knights 
before "Sir Clark" could slip away. "But how?" he asked 
himself. "Forget it, Tempus. Let them fend for themselves. 
Each man for himself." 

________________

Kal felt much better, stepping into the sunlight. There was 
something very unsettling about the church. Dark and 
foreboding. Forbidding too. He found himself breathing 
easier as he soaked in the warmth of the sun. He looked 
around the marketplace, trying to find Lois amidst the 
chaos. Soon, he spotted her; she was talking animatedly to 
two ladies while sharing cakes and tea near her stall. 
Obviously, she had finished for the day since all her goods 
were packed away. 

As he approached them, he noticed a man lingering nearby. 
Dressed in maroon, he carried the insignia of the Bardic 
Guild. Kal became curious and a little cautious; what was a 
bard doing in Trent? Was he somehow connected to Tempus? 
Why was he interested in Lois and her friends? 

Lois didn't know how, but she sensed that Clark was near. 
It was absurd, of course. He was at home, resting. But she 
couldn't shake the feeling. 

Lana noticed her distraction and called her on it, "What's 
wrong, Lois?"

But Lois was looking around in search of Clark and didn't 
hear her friend's question. "What is that stupid man 
doing?" she muttered under her breath when she spotted him. 

Lana and Rachel followed her line of sight and soon saw the 
object of her comment. Lana couldn't help ogling the 
handsome man whose attention was focused solely on Lois 
while Rachel noted that Lois's attention was likewise 
occupied by said fellow. "Wonder if she's going to 
introduce him any time this decade?" she mock-whispered to 
Lana.

Lois blushed slightly as she glared at her friends. She 
then turned back to Clark and scolded him, "Which part of 
the word 'recuperation' don't you understand?"

Kal grinned, expecting the admonition. "Really, I'm fine, 
Lois. I needed to stretch my legs more than I need rest." 
He waited for her response in glee; at least this Lois was 
familiar.

"All the way to the town center?" Her voice was dripping 
with sarcasm.

"It's impolite not to answer your friends, you know," he 
reminded her, sidestepping the question.

Lois would have uttered a scathing comment if Lana and 
Rachel hadn't broken down and started laughing. "What are 
you laughing about?" she asked them, exasperated.

"If I didn't know better, I'd have thought you two were 
married with children," Rachel commented, trying to control 
her laughter.

"Hrmph. Well, if introductions are what you want, you've 
got them. Clark, my friends, Rachel and Lana. The grinning 
gentleman behind Rachel is her fianc‚, Bard Roberts. 
Ladies, this is Sir Clark of Kent," Lois casually motioned 
to the various people.

Lana gawked at Clark, a little envious of Lois's good 
fortune of having such a knight sheltering under her roof. 
From the looks of things, their relationship might even be 
more than just mere guest and hostess. "You don't look as 
if you're injured." She colored at her forwardness as soon 
as the words were out of her mouth.

Kal was a little amused by Lois's friends and more than 
slightly relieved at the identity of the bard. "My injury 
is on the mend, Mistress Lana. And you might be interested 
to know that James has been allowed to move, Lois," he 
turned to address her.

Lois couldn't help but smile at the good news. She knew 
that Clark was worried about his squire. "That's good, 
Clark."

"So now you needn't contend with us being underfoot all the 
time," Kal went on, though he was keenly observing her 
reaction.

Lois kept up the smile, even though inside she felt torn. 
She decided to change the subject. "Now that you're here, 
you might like to help me finish packing and we can go 
home." 

"That sounds suspiciously like an order," Rachel remarked, 
winking at Clark.

Kal grinned in response and moved to help Lois while the 
others took that as a sign for them to leave. Rachel and 
Lana gave Lois farewell hugs and exchanged promises to 
catch up again in a few days. Kal observed the interaction 
between the three with keen interest. He wished he had that 
kind of friendship; being the heir was a lonely business as 
there was a barrier between him and everyone else that 
seemed insurmountable. That was the reason why he 
appreciated his brother so much. Lex was the only one who 
he could be close to without being suspicious of his 
motives.

"You should treasure such friendships, Lois," he remarked 
softly to her when her friends had left.

Lois turned to study his expression. She felt a soft tug at 
her heart string for this man. His eyes indicated not only 
his sincerity but certain loneliness. She couldn't imagine 
Clark being lonely. He had such a warm personality that it 
should have been easy for him to make friends. What 
deterred him from having friends? What about the Earl of 
Marches? Wasn't he a friend? Once again, Lois was reminded 
that Clark was very much a stranger to her and one who was 
soon out of her life.

In the end, she stated quite simply, "I do, Clark."

__________________

They rode home in companionable silence, each absorbed in 
his or her own thoughts. The scenery passed by peacefully. 
Kal could hear birds chirping overhead in the trees, the 
creaking of the wheels as it rotated, Greta's soft sigh as 
she pulled the cart along, and winds rustling the leaves. 
There was a certain hypnotic touch to the tune of nature 
that seemed to lull him even as they moved along. He 
wondered if Lois felt it too. 

Of course, the negative part of being lulled was that the 
mind drifted to things that were better left alone. Things 
like why Lois was so distant the last few days. He had 
thought the dinner with her parents would thaw her, but 
instead it made her even more remote. Neither of her 
parents ever detected any familiarity between them other 
than the politeness of strangers forced to share a roof. 
Unconsciously he sighed.

Lois sat in the cart, melancholically thinking of the 
inevitable separation. While she had tried to distance 
herself from him, the effort wasn't very successful. There 
were times, even with her mother around, when she caught 
herself staring at him, trying to gather as many memories 
of him as she could. She had agreed to her mother staying 
so that she'd be a buffer between them, but instead her 
mother had once again tried to be a matchmaker. She created 
so many opportunities for them to be together that Lois had 
taken to going out earlier and coming home later than ever.

Hearing him sigh, Lois turned to question him. Before she 
could utter a word, they heard harsh voices raised in cruel 
laughter from the direction of her house. Kal immediately 
jumped out of the cart and raced on while Lois pressed 
Greta to move faster, not that old Greta could do so.

The two knights weren't aware of the presence of the man, 
who stood before them, legs apart and sword drawn, as they 
continued to take pleasure in kicking the young squire who 
was whimpering in pain. "Have you gentlemen had enough?" A 
cold voice rang out in the small front yard of the cottage. 
They jerked up their heads to meet the steely gaze of a 
furious warrior. 

Kal took a step forward, never breaking the eye contact. 
His entire being was in the state of readiness, turning 
into a fighting machine as per his training. He assessed 
his opponents with quiet precision; two church knights, 
indicated by their tunics, wearing mail shirts. However 
their chain mails didn't cover their necks and arm pits. He 
noted the particular weaknesses of his adversaries. Their 
swords were the usual long swords favored by most knights. 
That gave them more reach than his shorter sword could. But 
he wasn't too worried; there were ways to get under their 
guards such that they would be ineffective to block him.
 
The two knights left James to his own device as they fully 
faced the new threat. Seeing that he had no armor, and was 
armed with only a short sword and a small hunting knife, 
they thought it was a joke for him to be issuing threats. 
"What if we're not finished? What are you going to do about 
it?" one of them taunted.

"You look like knights, but you don't behave like one," Kal 
taunted back. "Or is it knightly behavior to kick around 
innocent boys? Perhaps you're afraid to take on someone 
your own size?"

One of the knights would have stepped forward, but was 
stopped by his friend. "Hold on. Prince Kal, isn't it?" he 
asked Kal, bowing mockingly. "You don't look all that 
dangerous. They warned us about you, but seeing you, I 
think your reputation is greatly exaggerated."

"Would you care to test my skills?" Kal placed his hand on 
the pommel.

The knight pretended to consider, and then stepped up to 
face Kal. "This assignment is turning out to be a 
pleasure," he said, laughing.

So Kal found himself facing a knight of heavier built, with 
a bleeding scar on his face that looked like claw marks. As 
they circled one another, Kal didn't let his guard down 
against the other knight watching to the side. He suspected 
that he would be facing two opponents before long, one 
coming from behind when he least expected it. He waited in 
a low guard position with his sword pointing at 45 degrees 
to the ground, willing "Scarface," as he thought of him, to 
come to him. While most people think that the best defense 
is an offense, Kal knew differently. In this particular 
case, with his short sword, it was best to be in the 
defense until the appropriate moment.

He didn't have to wait long. With a shout meant to drive 
terror into the heart of his opponent, "Scarface" charged, 
swinging his sword in a downward arc. Keeping his eyes 
trained on the hilt of his opponent's sword, Kal dodged 
nimbly to the side, lifting his sword to ward off the blow. 
He immediately followed his parry with a slice at his 
adversary's unprotected neck. "Scarface" reeled just in 
time to block the blow. The blades met and a clear sound 
rang out. The other knight could see the blades shudder on 
impact before "Scarface" forced them downwards. 
"Scarface's" bulk allowed him to hold the swords down, 
effectively trapping Kal. Before Kal could disengage, 
"Scarface" moved forward to shove Kal with his shoulder. 

But Kal had anticipated the move. With quick legwork, he 
slipped his sword from under his opponent's and stepped 
away, upsetting "Scarface's" balance. Momentum carried him 
forward past Kal, stumbling. Fortunately, he recovered 
fast. He turned, only to find Kal smiling contemptuously at 
him. Anger took over and he lunged wildly at Kal. Seemingly 
without effort, Kal brought his sword up to parry the blow. 
This time, as the blades engaged, Kal's wrist twisted, and 
"Scarface's" sword arced across the yard, even as he 
screamed and clapped a hand to the cut in his sword arm.

The other knight, shocked at the ease with which his friend 
was disarmed, charged at Kal who had his back turned and 
was occupied with "Scarface." Kal turned to see the sword 
swinging down at him, but it was too late.

___________________

Lois gritted her teeth at the pace the cart was moving. She 
wished she could abandon the cart, but given Greta's 
propensity to wander off if not guided, she worried that 
Greta might get lost. It seemed like eternity to her before 
they reached the cottage, only to find Kal's life in danger 
as one knight charged at him with his sword. Lois didn't 
know what pushed her to leap out of the cart, pick the 
pitchfork propped on the side of the barn, and throw it at 
the knight with all her might.

It was only when the pitchfork left her hand that Lois 
realized her actions. She watched in horror as the 
pitchfork reached its intended target, the momentum and 
force of the throw allowing it to pierce the church 
knight's armor. The knight jerked, his face a mask of shock 
as his heart stopped. Kal barely managed to swing his blade 
up to ward off the falling sword as the knight pitched 
forward, dead. He wasn't so lucky in avoiding the body and 
staggered under the dead weight.  Seeing his opportunity to 
escape, "Scarface" scrambled for his horse, riding off 
without a backward glance to his companion.

Kal would have chased after him if he hadn't noticed Lois 
starting to shake. With almost lightning speed, he was at 
her side, drawing her into his embrace. He held her tightly 
and willed warmth into her as she continued to shake as the 
consequence of her deed dawned on her.

"I killed a man. I killed a man," she repeated in a hoarse 
whisper, as she rocked back and forth in Clark's arms. 

"Shh, Lois. It's not your fault. You had to," Kal tried to 
say, hoping that the words would register with her. He 
understood what she was feeling. The first time he had to 
kill, he wretched out the contents of his stomach, and he 
was a trained knight at that. For her, it was worse since 
she thought of herself as a healer.

He continued to stroke her back, letting her cry as much as 
she wished. They stayed thus until she calmed down. 
"Better?" he asked tentatively when she finally stopped 
rocking.

"How do you do it, Clark? How can you bear to kill another 
person?" She looked up into his eyes to try and gain some 
perspective on the enormity of her deed.

Kal tightened his embrace. "Not easily. Not without paying 
for it with your own soul, Lois," he admitted. "Even when 
it's justified, you think twice, thrice before going into a 
fight. But once you enter, there's only one goal; to get 
out of it alive. In order to do that, you may have to hurt 
your opponent, even kill him. For every such action, you 
lose a little of your humanity. It taints your soul. But at 
times, there is no other way, no other choice."

She heard the pain in his voice and saw the same pain 
reflected in his eyes. "So what do you do to regain that 
humanity, Clark?" She knew that he couldn't have lost his 
humanity if he still felt the pain of his actions. 

He smiled softly. "You can't. But you can make up for it. 
By saving other lives -- saving a life is as if you've 
saved the whole of humanity, just like the taking of a life 
is as if you've killed the entire human race. That's what 
you did today, Lois. You may have taken a life, but in 
doing so, you managed to save two others."

Her eyes glistened with tears as she listened to him. She 
finally realized that he would have died if she hadn't 
killed the knight, her arms going round his waist and 
squeezing it in a show of support. And if he had died, both 
her life and James's would be in jeopardy by now. It was a 
matter of survival. Thinking of James, she quickly stepped 
out of Clark's arms and moved towards the groaning squire. 

Kal had almost forgotten about his squire in his worry for 
Lois, but now he quickly followed Lois to help James up. He 
sported a bloody, split lip, and black eyes, reminding Kal 
of a raccoon. Lois found no broken ribs, but James's right 
arm needed to be set right away. "Clark, help me bring him 
in."

James struggled to speak. "No!" he rasped out. "Please, 
Mistress. Don't go in there. Please."

Kal and Lois were baffled by the distressed squire. "But 
James, we need to set your arm."

"Mistress Lois, no," James held her wrist tightly in his 
good hand. "My lord..." he pleaded.

Not truly understanding, Kal decided it was best that he 
went in first. "I'll go and check if it's safe, Lois," he 
offered, glancing at James who seemed pacified by the 
offer.

"I'll stay here with James," she replied to reassure the 
squire. However, her curiosity was pricked, and she 
wondered what exactly had happened to the cottage. 

She glanced to the body in her front yard and winced, once 
again reminded of her previous actions. The knight was 
obviously a Church Knight, and with his companion escaping 
to report back to their superior, she was in huge trouble. 
She doubted her parents could bail her out of this 
situation. On introspection, she both regretted and didn't 
regret what she did. On the one hand, she regretted having 
to kill. It went against her natural instinct. But she knew 
she would have killed him again if she had to, to save 
Clark and James. 

_____________

Kal opened the door slowly, not knowing what to expect. As 
he stepped in, his senses recoiled from the wreckage that 
once was Lois's beautiful home. Furniture smashed, the 
glass wall shattered, and clothes torn. He turned to call 
out to Lois that everything was safe when he caught sight 
of the door; pinned to the door was lovable Blackie. Kal 
stared in horror at the blood darkening the wooden door and 
pooling on the ground beneath. Kal closed his eyes in pain, 
remembering the lithe little cat that seemed so human. It 
was no wonder that James hadn't wanted Lois to come in.

A sound distracted him. He turned to see something moving 
from under the furs and clothes. He withdrew his blade and 
approached cautiously. "My god!" he exclaimed when he saw 
who was buried under the pile. "Alice!" He knelt to take 
her into his arms. Immediately, he saw that she was 
unsuccessfully trying to stem the blood from her mortal 
wound. There was a pool of blood where she lay. "What 
happened?" he asked, knowing that there wasn't anything 
anyone could do for her.

"Sir Clark?" Alice whispered hoarsely. "Lois? Don't let her 
see me..." She drew a gasping breath. "...Please."

"She's outside. Alice, how did this happen? You weren't 
here when I left to go to town." Rage seized him. 

"Good...tell her I love her...Perry, too." 

"Shh, Alice. Save your breath," Kal tried to comfort her.

"Not much time...promise!" Alice grasped his hand. 
"Promise...protect her. They...come back for her...must 
keep her safe." Her breath became more ragged as pain shot 
through her.

Kal held her hand tightly. "I promise. She'll not come to 
any harm as long as I live."

"...Wanted to find a good man for her...her 
father...nobility...her mother...true lady. You...be good 
to her."

Kal understood what she was trying to say. "Alice..." How 
could he deny a dying woman's wishes? But how could he 
promise her something which he couldn't guarantee? 

Alice didn't notice his hesitation. Her eyes were no longer 
seeing what was in front of her. "Love her...Perry..." Her 
voice was so soft that Kal strained to hear the words.

Kal's arms tightened their grip as her body was wreaked in 
pain and she drew her last breath. He wasn't aware of the 
tears that fell, as he gathered to carry her out of the 
house. Lois must not enter it; it would be asking too much 
of her. He didn't care that his tunic was soaked with 
Alice's blood as he strode out of the cottage.

Lois, who was fussing over James, glanced up when she heard 
the door open. She didn't notice when she actually fainted, 
but she was slowly roused by Clark's voice calling to her. 
"Lois, Lois?"

_________________

Kal and James could only watch in horror as Lois collapsed 
bonelessly to the ground. Kal laid Alice gently to the 
ground and bounded to Lois, scooping her into his lap and 
cradling her. "Lois, Lois?"

Her consciousness slowly returned. "Clark? What happened?" 
Her memory of her mother limp in Clark's arms returned and 
she gasped. "Mother! Where is she?" Lois strained against 
Clark's embrace as he pressed her face into his shoulder. 

"Shh. Lois, it's all right." Kal tried unsuccessfully to 
comfort her.

"Let me go, Clark. I know it's *not* all right!" Her voice 
became louder with every word spoken. She struggled to free 
herself.

Knowing it was futile to stop her, Kal released her slowly. 
"Lois..."

Lois wasn't listening as she flew to her mother's side. 
With tears blinding her, she gently lifted Alice's head 
onto her lap. She couldn't believe that her energetic 
mother would never bother her with her matchmaking plans 
again. No, it just wasn't right! "Why?" she sobbed out. 
"Why her?" 

James looked on, gathering his courage to explain what had 
happened. "It's my fault," he apologized softly. "Mistress 
Alice would still be alive if it wasn't for me."

Lois turned to the young man, her expression fierce. "Don't 
say that! Did you run her with a sword? Were you the one 
who killed her?"

James shook his head.

"No? Then why should it be your fault?" Lois tried to 
convince him, her hand unconsciously stroking Alice's hair 
as if to comfort her. In actuality, it was Lois who was 
comforted by the action.

"But...but she died to save my life. The two knights broke 
into the cottage while I was sleeping and seized me. They 
wanted to know where you were, my lord," James address Kal. 
"When I told them I didn't know, they started beating me. 
Blackie..." He paused, remembering how the brave cat had 
tried to help him. "Blackie jumped and clawed one of them 
when they started attacking me. The man managed to catch 
her and..." his voice broke as he remembered the cruel 
actions of the knight, "...he killed her." 

Kal moved to sit by Lois and put his arms around her as she 
broke down into fresh tears. She laid her head on his 
shoulder, grateful for his support. Her little cat, dead. 
What kind of monsters would kill a small, innocent animal? 
What kind of monsters would kill an innocent woman? As 
seconds passed by, her anger mounted; she would make sure 
they pay for their actions!

James, not knowing the thoughts passing through Lois's 
mind, continued. "Your mother came in on them searching the 
place. They were discussing loudly how they'd bring the 
witch who lived here to justice, citing how her familiar 
was a demon who attacked one of them. Your mother gasped, 
alerting them to her presence." James grimaced, cradling 
his broken arm as pain shot through his body. "I think...I 
believe they assumed that she was you and...and...." 

He flailed about to describe what had happened, before Lois 
took pity on him. She lovingly placed Alice back on the 
ground and went to him. "James, it's ok. We need to set 
your arm firs