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Ring of the Heart
Deep in the shelter of the Lands of Never, the six children rested after running from the Orcs. The fire was bright, and together they talked about how close they had come to getting caught and how they might get home with the Rings Dungeonmaster had told them about.
Eric half-listened to the conversation with an impassive look on his face, but inside he was furious.
Everyone was just pandering to the Thief! She’d botched the whole thing! She’d just made a mess of stealing the first Ring, and it was only his quick thinking and bravery that had gotten them out of trouble!
And no one had said a single thing. Not even a quick word of thanks! Nothing!
Well, that was just typical these days. No one cared what he did for the group, or cared about what he thought. He might as well not be there!
The others talked well into the night, trying to make the nervous Thief feel better, but Eric grew tired of the whole charade. Claiming extreme tiredness, he pulled his cloak round his shoulders, turned over and forced himself to go to sleep.
No one stopped him.
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There was the sound of crying. And it wouldn’t stop!
Some girl was close by, sobbing her heart out. And how was he supposed to sleep with that terrible snivelling noise going on? She’d monopolised his limelight for the whole of the previous evening, couldn’t Sheila shut up for just one morning!
He opened his eyes, thinking up suitable pithy and clever putdowns to say to the Thief, but much to his surprise Sheila was still sleeping. And so was everyone else.
Eric looked round in confusion. Who was crying, then?
Uni appeared at his side, her eyes wide with discomfort.
‘You can hear it too, huh?’ he asked the Unicorn.
‘Meah!’ she replied, nodding vigorously.
The Cavalier looked round at the sleeping forms of the other five Young Ones, wondering if he should wake them up. He felt he should do, after all, it could be dangerous, but the memories of yesterday were still very fresh in his mind. They hadn’t really seemed to need him, they hadn’t even seemed to notice him at all even after he had saved their skins.
And besides, if he did wake them, they would just tease him about needing their help with everything. He didn’t want to be teased at the moment.
‘Come on, then Uni,’ he said shortly. ‘Let’s go!’
He led the Unicorn out of the campsite and out into the maze of tracks through the land. For a while, he was worried about getting lost, but fortunately for his patience, it didn’t take them long to find the cave from where the crying was coming from, or to find their way through to the girl.
At first, she didn’t seem to notice him when they entered, but she quickly turned round as he drew closer. She was pretty, in a girly sort of way, with long, wavy, blonde hair, tied back with a hair-band, and wore a frilly, pink dress that made her look a little like a Barbie doll.
She seemed surprised to see him, but she ran over anyway.
‘Please help me,’ she said, earnestly, here eyes wide and very blue. ‘I’ve been in here ever so long.’
Eric didn’t see what was keeping her there, but when he held out his hand, there seemed to be a pane of glass right in front of him.
The girl put her hand up as well.
‘Please help me, I can’t get out.’
Eric opened his mouth to say something clever, but Uni butted in with a loud bleat that made him forget what it was. He scowled at the animal.
‘Please, help me!’
‘What do you want me to do?’ he asked in a surly tone. ‘I can’t break this down!’
‘You should be able to push your hand through,’ she said. Eric looked doubtful. ‘Please, try. Please. I’ve been here for so long.’
She looked at him with great, soulful eyes, a way that few girls had ever looked at him. Inside there was a small spark of pride. She wanted his help! She needed him! How often had that happened recently!
The Cavalier looked again at his hand. It seemed straightforward enough, she seemed to think he could do it, and he wasn’t about to disappoint the only person he’d met over the past few weeks that actual thought he was capable of being useful! He pushed.
Much to his surprised, his hand sank slowly into the glass and he could feel the warm hand of the girl on the other side. Their hands touch, and linked and he tugged, pulling her through.
A moment later, the girl threw her arms round his neck and held tightly on to him.
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘Thank you, so much.’
Eric didn’t know what to say, or do, so he just stood still for a moment, his arms limp round her waist, acutely conscious of the way she was pressing herself against him. His face went slightly pink. Eventually, the girl disentangled herself from him.
‘My name is Karena,’ she told him.
‘I’m Eric.’
Karena looked at the Shield on his arm, as if seeing it for the first time.
‘You… you are one of Dungeonmaster’s pupils?’ she said in surprise, a tinge of awe in her voice.
Eric nodded.
‘I’m the Cavalier,’ he said proudly.
To his eyes, she looked suitably impressed.
‘In freeing me, you have placed your self in great danger,’ she said. Eric’s heart gave a little lurch, and he gulped. ‘You must be very brave.’
Eric smiled a cocky smile, that faltered at she kept staring at him.
‘It’s just… no one else really… thinks so,’ muttered Eric, his cheeks turning red. Karena looked so surprised that he felt obliged to explain a little about what had happened yesterday, about the Ring and his friends.
‘I have a Ring too, and that will help protect us, but…’ Karena suddenly looked worried.
‘But… what?’ asked Eric, though he didn’t really want to know. Beside him, Uni gave a bleat of annoyance, but he ignored her.
‘It is close by, in the Citadel of Shadow. But I cannot get it, I am forbidden to enter by powerful magic.’
She looked pleadingly at him. ‘Will you help me get it, so we can be safe?’
More danger and activity didn’t seem like such a good idea to Eric, but safe was one of his favourite words too. And she had been nice to him. And the way she said it didn’t make it sound that bad really. Maybe afterwards he could boast to the others, and get some respect.
Against, his better judgement, Eric nodded.
Naturally, it wasn’t as easy as he’d thought, but the only really tricky part was not falling off the edge of the collapsing bridge. Well, that and avoid the giant bat.
But he had the Ring and that seemed to be enough. Karena took it with a grateful smile. Uni however glared at him.
‘Meah!’
‘Quiet!’ he hissed at her.
Karena had put the Ring on her finger, and was gazing down at it with untold glee. Then she looked up at Eric with a coy smile.
‘You know,’ she said. ‘You could do me another favour. And it might be a good way of teaching your friends a little lesson in humility. They don’t really appreciate you, after all.’
This was starting to get a little suspicious, but there was something undeniably tempting about showing the others that he really was capable of looking after himself. His pride won over.
‘What do you want me to do?’
= = =
Actually, getting one up on the others was surprisingly easy.
Karena had insisted that he was quick, and that he didn’t stop to think about what he was doing for too long. She was clearly worried about something, but he had no idea what.
Nevertheless he did as she asked.
He took the other Ring from Hank as he slept, and the other five weapons as well. That done, he hurried back to the Citadel of Shadow, ignoring Uni’s attempt to trip him up or stop him. At last he shouted at the Unicorn and told her to stay with the others and give him some peace, so he returned to the Citadel alone.
Karena was waiting for him in the Great Hall. She had changed into long flowing black robes, and was sitting on a high-back throne, her hands folded neatly in front of her.
When she saw the weapons in his hands, she rose.
‘Give them to me.’
Hesitantly, Eric did, feeling suddenly overwhelmed in her presence. Was this how he thought it would be? He wasn’t that sure any more.
‘And the other Ring?’ She held out her hand, palm up.
Slowly, Eric placed the Ring in the middle of her hand. Her fingers curled greedily over it, and she drew in down her index finger, beside the original one.
Then she smiled at him.
‘And your Shield,’ she said.
‘Hey! No that’s mine!’
She arched her eyebrow up a nasty smile on her face, and realisation hit Eric. He’d been played like the petty, pompous, arrogant fool he was. The fear he felt was nothing compared to the yawning pit of guilt in his stomach. He’d taken the weapons, he’d taken the Ring, he’d betrayed his friends just because they’d ignored him for a few hours and now he was about to have a taste of his own treachery.
He pulled the Shield tighter to his chest.
‘N-no!’ he stuttered.
‘Now I have both Rings, you dare not refuse!’ she told him with a smile.
‘I can!’ he said, taking a step back. But there were footsteps behind him. He turned to look in horror as a troop of Orcs filed into the room.
‘Take the Shield,’ she said.
Even as Eric lifted it, he knew they would get him eventually, the best he could hope for was to delay them for a while.
In the end it took a shorted time that he’d expected, and at last he was knocked to the floor and the Shield was wrenched from his arm with such force that the back straps broke.
Karena looked down on him pitilessly.
‘I have no more time to concern myself with you. Lock him in the deepest dungeon, and throw away the key!’
‘No!’ he howled.
‘Soon, my beloved brother will arrive, and I must be ready for him,’ she said. 'But with the rings and the weapons there is no way he can defeat me! And I will rule the Realm!'
As he was dragged away to his new home, Eric realised just who she was taking about. There wasn’t a great deal of family resemblance, but with the black robe and the cowl over her hair, he could just imagine her taller, with one horn being the female image of Venger!
He’d sold his friends, and the Realm itself, out to Venger’s sister!
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Fanfiction Masterlist
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