Wolf Knight

Chapter 9

It came time for Wolf to go escort the lady, Knight. He made his way to her tent where he encountered page Hildegard who bore the Wolverine's symbol. He quickly explained that he had been sent to accompany the Lady Knight, to dinner. Hildegard disappeared into the knight's tent and in about a minute the page reappeared and announced' "The Lady Knight Wolverine." The Wolverine stepped out.

She appeared magnificent looking. She wore a blue dress with long sleeves and a white sash, from which hung a sheathed long thin dagger, held by silver chains. Her hair had been un-braided and spread across her back.

Wolf dumbstruck at the sight of the lady he beheld, finally managed to bow and speak, "My Lady, I am here to accompany you to my master's tent."

"Well spoken," she replied.

Wolf held out his right arm, which she took with her left hand. Together they left the woman's camp and took a meandering route to the men's camp. While walking she asked about his past, particularly about his foster parents. She then explained that her title did not come lightly, but had been earned by skill in combat, her good deeds, and her knowledge in arts and science. She explained that to be a knight, one had to be very good at what one does, and had to consistently work for the good of others. She told him, it's not only hard to become a knight, but it's also a hard life with little reward.

They arrived just at six, to find Red standing watch outside Raven's tent. Wolf announced, "Lady Knight Wolverine to see Sir Knight Raven." Red bowed then disappeared into the tent. She promptly returned and announced, "Sir Knight Raven."

The Raven appeared from the tent and promptly bowed, whereupon the lady curtsied. The Raven then took her left hand and led her into the tent, followed by Red then Wolf.

Inside the tent, the Raven let go of her hand, turned to face the Wolverine, and announced, "I propose a toast." Wolf placed wine glasses in their hands and Red carefully filled them with wine. "To the flag of our country"

"To the flag of our country," she repeated. They both took a sip of wine.

She raised her glass and toasted, "To our school, and the children in our charge."

"To our school, and the children in our charge," he repeated, and they again sipped their wine.

He then invited her to sit at the table. Wolf held the chair for her as she sat down. The Raven sat down with similar assistance from Red.

Red and Wolf then went to the backroom, and returned with the first course of the dinner, a salad, which they served. Wolf offered them oil and vinegar for salad dressing.

The next course consisted of hot steamed vegetables, followed by the main course of rabbit and onions. The meal finished with a spicy ginger raisin cake and dry white wine. Red and Wolf then cleared the table and placed on it a platter of fresh fruit for the rest of the evening.

Wolf handed Sir Raven his lute, Red produced her six holed flute, and together they played some quiet after dinner tunes. The Lady Wolverine joined in with a surprisingly beautiful soprano voice. To end their recital, they sang a couple of mildly bawdy tunes, for the amusement of the pages whom they knew, were gathered in the darkness outside the tent.

At the end of the evening, Wolf accompanied the Lady Knight back to her tent, where he bowed and bid her good night.

"Tell Sir Raven we must do this again soon."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"You are excused." With that, he and his earlier etiquette faults were forgiven.

When he returned to Raven's tent, Red had returned the tent to normal. She informed him, "The Raven is asleep. I think what he would tell you, is this, around people you must give them the respect their title commands. They've earned it. It makes people feel good, and it commands respect for themselves."

"I think I see what you mean. Why don't you always use titles with the Raven?"

"When we are alone we are more familiar. The Raven is somewhat easy about that, it's his way. Don't ever make that mistake around other knights, especially the Wolverine. She didn't get her name for being easy, and she is a stickler for details. You need to get some rest; we have a busy day tomorrow."

They separated to go to their tents. Behind the curtain of his sleeping chamber, the Raven smiled and then went to sleep.

At his tent, Wolf's mates peppered him with questions, mostly about the Wolverine.

It turned out that everybody took self-defense lessons from the Wolverine, even the grownups. The boy found out she had a reputation for perfection in fighting as well as manners.

When Wolf awoke in the morning there was no question in his mind; he had a problem. The wolf again lay curled up under his dangling arm. His tent mates were all staring at them, and nobody said a thing.

He whispered, "Somebody, do something," but nobody moved. Finally, the wolf got up and slowly limped out of the tent. The wolf looked gaunt with its right front leg matted in dried blood. Wolf got up half-dressed and ducked outside of the tent. He could see the animal disappearing into the woods to the north. This time a dozen or so other pages saw the wolf as he left camp.

Wolf ran to Raven's tent where the knight and Red were already dressed in their forest clothes. They both had their bows and arrows.

The boy declared, "The wolf is back again!"

"We know," Red replied. "We're going to hunt it."

"No!" Wolf exclaimed.

"We have to, he is badly hurt and either in danger of dying. He is a danger to all the other students." The Raven said very quietly. "You stay here and go to the stables to start your riding lessons."

Wolf pleaded, "I need to go with you."

The Raven gave him a questioning look, "Why?"

The boy continued, not sure what he could say to keep the wolf from being shot, "It's important to me."

"This is serious business," Red replied without her customary smile.

Wolf got very agitated, trembling with nervous energy, "There is nothing more serious to me. It's important. The wolf picked me. He's why you call me Wolf."

The Raven bent down to him and said very quietly, "If you come you must understand, life is hard. You remember I said not all lessons will be fun. Here my word is the law, no exceptions. The safety of the students comes first; if there is any danger to them I will kill it."

Wolf pushed his opportunity, "I'll accept your decision, but you must let me go. He's been in my dreams."

"How long have you had these dreams?" Red asked, suddenly interested in what the boy had to say.

"Since the first night, I met you."

"You can come with us; but not a peep," admonished the Raven. With that he turned on his heels and headed for the woods, followed by Red and Wolf. They entered the woods, not where the boy had last seen the wolf, but at the base of the hill where a small stream flowed. After walking a hundred yards into the woods, the Raven stopped and crouched down to look at the moist ground. He pointed at shallow depressions in the ground, and then to a bush nearby.

Wolf knelt to look; it took him a few seconds to make out the footprints. The Raven quietly explained to the boy that there should only be two prints in the wolf's gait as the rear paws stepped in the front paws prints. There were three prints because one leg was out of sync. The wolf was indeed lame. When Wolf looked at the bush carefully he noticed the morning dew had been brushed off of a few leaves, and a couple of hairs were stuck to a wet leaf.

From here on the Raven did not stop, but slowed occasionally to read a sign, leaving Wolf and Red to try and find the signs on their own. After about twenty minutes they came to a rocky slope and stopped. There spotted a large hole, just a few meters up and easily reached.

The Raven slowly strung his bow and Red did likewise. His hand signaled for Red to go left while he went right. There they would hold their positions. Wolf would advance up the center to the rocks. After Wolf got the plan straight in his mind, he nodded to the Raven.

The two bowmen moved to flank, and Wolf slowly advanced toward the rocks. When he approached halfway he realized what the Raven planned. If the wolf came after him it would be caught in a deadly crossfire of arrows. He silently said a little prayer for the wolf to not move.

He could see the hole up between the rocks. It appeared large enough for him to easily enter. He climbed up to the opening of the hole and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. He saw the wolf lying down at the back of the hole, panting, obviously hurting. With its snout resting on its good leg, it had the injured leg sticking out. To the boy it seemed an obvious thing; he had to attend to the wolf. He slowly crawled into the hole and carefully approached the animal on his hands and knees, trying to keep calm. The wolf whimpered a little but laid still. The Raven appeared at the entrance of the hole, his bow no longer in his hand.

"Can you help him?" the boy asked hopefully.

"I don't know. I'll have to check him out." The knight crawled into the entrance. He did a quick exam of the animal. "I think he has been shot in the leg, it's badly infected and he's very sick."

"Can you do anything to help him?" the boy finally confessed. "He had been caught in a trap, and I released him."

The Raven looked at him with a stern glare. "I thought as much. I can help him, but I don't think he will be able to hunt well enough to survive on his own. He is very lucky his leg isn't broken. That would have been fatal by now. I don't believe he will ever be able to run long distances again. If he survives, he will be entirely dependent upon you. He came to you. He trusts you. You are the one who will make a difference for him."

The boy pleaded, "But, I don't know how to help him."

Quietly the Raven said, "I'll teach you what to do."

The boy swore, "I'll learn. I'll do whatever it takes."

"I'll teach you," answered the man. Quickly he turned to Red, who stood at the entrance, and ordered her to go for his medical kit. He also gave her a list of medications to obtain from the school Veterinarian. Red put her bow and arrows down and took off running back to camp.