The Vampire & Her Witch

Standing before Thane, Ollie’s cheeky smile had left his face as he flexed the fingers that still stung from striking the vampire knight’s chest. If he didn’t know better, he’d have thought that Thane was wearing armor under his tunic, but the truth was that the vampire before him had strengthened his body until even a sword swung by a common soldier had little chance of harming his alabaster flesh, much less a punch from a kitchen boy.

”Now it’s time for a reminder,” Thane said, wasting no time and striking out with the back of his hand, landing a blow on Ollie’s chest that was so heavy that a meaty -THUMP- echoed across the still water of the pond and Ollie stumbled back for several steps before falling to his backside.

”This blow is a reminder,” Thane said formally. ”No matter how high you rise, without your horse, without your armor, without your weapons, without your title, without your soldiers, you are just a man like any other. A man who can be beaten until he falls. Remember this blow and remain humble, even when you have donned your armor and your weapons and sit high above the masses atop your steed.”

”I will remember,” Ollie said, pushing himself up off the ground and coming to stand before Thane again. His chest stung with what would likely become a spectacular bruise, but compared to the vampire’s full strength, the blow he’d landed on the young man’s chest could barely be considered a light tap.

No sooner had Ollie arrived before him than Thane struck out again with the opposite hand, landing a second blow on Ollie’s chest with yet another resounding -THUMP- that was so loud, even the villagers in the distance winced at the sound of it.

This time, Ollie thought he’d prepared himself for the powerful slap, bracing himself against the impact and riding the force of the blow as Thane had once taught him, breathing out to reduce the pain of the strike. But it seemed like the vampire had anticipated all of those things and increased the strength of the blow to overwhelm the young man despite everything he had done.

”This blow is a reminder,” Thane repeated. ”It takes courage to stand again when you know you may be hurt for returning to the fray. Sometimes, your courage will win you the day, but whether you win or lose, your courage will bring you pain. Remember this lesson, and never lose the courage to rise again, no matter how badly you fall or how greatly you fear your adversary.”

”I will remember,” Ollie said stubbornly as he stood once again, staggering for a moment as he sucked in several deep, shuddering breaths before he returned to stand before the vampire once more.

”How many times is he going to do this?” Heila asked, fidgeting with the wand at her waist while her mind flipped rapidly through the healing incantations she’d learned that could be used on a person she couldn’t touch. The healing wouldn’t be as effective at a distance, but so long as no bones had been broken...

”Three more,” Ashlynn said, interrupting the diminutive witch’s thoughts. ”He needs to bear the pain of these strikes until his vigil ends, to remind him of his virtues throughout the long night and day of his vigil. That’s why they’re called ’reminders.’”

-THUMP-

The third powerful blow struck Ollie, but this time, Thane struck Ollie’s belly, knocking the wind from him and robbing him of the strength to stand. Rather than staggering back under the force of the blow, Ollie’s knees buckled, slamming into the soft earth at Thane’s feet as the powerful vampire towered over him.

”This blow is a reminder,” Thane said for a third time. ”All strength fades with time and with neglect. The day that you are satisfied that you are strong, when you cease in your discipline and your training, whatever strength you have will slip away and your body will fail you when you need your strength the most.”

”Do not neglect the training of your body,” Thane admonished as Ollie staggered to his feet. ”Or the maintenance of your armor and the care and feeding of your horse. These things are all a part of your strength, and without your strength, your protection is worthless to the people who depend on you to keep them safe.”

”I. Will. Remember,” Ollie said, fighting to draw breath when his lungs seemed to have forgotten how to function and stars swam before his eyes.

Before the young man could stand up straight, Thane struck again, this time lashing out with a foot that struck behind Ollie’s ankle, knocking him off balance and dropping him directly on his back.

The blow was so unexpected that Ollie didn’t have time to prepare himself for it, and once again, the force of the impact, even on the soft soil, knocked the wind from his body and covered his vision in darkness until he could roll to his side and draw a ragged, shuddering breath.

”My lady,” Heila cried, turning to look at Ashlynn with wide eyes. ”Isn’t this too much? He still has to receive his seed and...” Heila’s voice trailed off as she saw Ashlynn looking on with an unflinching gaze, as though she was forcing herself not only to see every moment, but rooting herself to the ground rather than interceding.

Clearly, the Mother of Trees found no joy or even pride in the way her future witch endured this rite of passage, but equally, she had no intention of interrupting. Ollie had chosen this, and if she interceded now, it would only insult his conviction to become her knight.

”This blow is a reminder,” Thane said, looking down at the shuddering young man on the ground as he fought to rise to his knees. Standing might be beyond Ollie at the moment, but if he couldn’t stand, he would at least kneel.

”The world is filled with injustice, and your enemies may not fight you fairly,” Thane advised once Ollie knelt before him. ”No matter how much injustice you encounter in the world, you must never turn away from it, and you must never run from it. To be a knight is to stand for what is just even if everyone around you has fallen to cruelty, trickery, and deceit.”

”I. Will remember,” Ollie said, placing one foot on the ground and pressing off his knee with both hands as he straightened his back to stand before Thane once more.

Seeing the young man rise once again, a faint smile tugged at Thane’s lips despite the solemnness of the mood. Balling up a fist, Thane took a half step forward, rooting himself to the ground and gathering his strength for what promised to be the most powerful blow he would land on the young man this evening.

Heila’s heart leapt in her throat and she drew a breath to cry out, intending to say that Ollie couldn’t withstand such a powerful blow, to protest that he was still just a human, not yet a witch to endure the power of a vampire’s strength, but Thane’s fist flashed out faster than she could speak, tearing through the air as he struck toward the center of Ollie’s chest.

-THWAP-

The sound of Thane’s strike was strangely high-pitched and sharp, and when Heila looked closely, she realized that the vampire knight’s fist had done nothing more than strike the fabric of Ollie’s tunic, leaving him completely unharmed despite the power and speed of his punch.

”This blow is a reminder,” Thane said, tapping Ollie lightly with the back of his fingers before setting a hand on the young man’s shoulder. ”No matter how overwhelming the odds, no matter how fierce the foe, never give up hope. You may triumph when you were certain of defeat, you may find allies among your enemies, and you may find mercy where you expected only cruelty,” Thane said.

”The world is often different from what it seems,” Thane said with a smile that was matched by a wide, toothy grin on Ollie’s face. ”Hold on to your hopes and your dreams. Share them with others and fight to bring them to life. Even when it seems impossible, never lose hope.”

”I will remember,” Ollie said, his pale eyes shining as he looked at the most unlikely mentor a young knight could ever ask for. Never in his life had he dared to hope for a moment like this, and even though the first step had been wild and outlandish, following Ashlynn into the wilderness to escape the Summer Villa, every step since then had been one he took with his own two feet.

He had a dream, and tonight, he was about to step firmly onto a path that the kitchen boy he’d been a year ago wouldn’t have dared to hope for. For the past several months, he’d been plagued by doubts. Doubts about whether or not he could keep the seemingly endless tide of refugees fed. Doubts about how he could bring so many different clans together to share one place. Doubts about whether or not he was even worthy of making the attempt.

But now, as he stood before Sir Thane, those doubts melted away one by one. He had done each and every one of those things to reach this moment. His challenges weren’t over, and he still had doubts about the trial to come...

But he also had hope, and that was all he needed to keep moving forward toward his dreams.