The Rose Princess Read Free Page B

rules, and we make no
     exceptions. And now, to deal with the little monkey bitch who called our princess
     a hag.”
    Although Elena tried to aim her gas-powered launcher purely out of reflex, the dark
     red stain across her field of view wouldn’t allow her to do so. She had to wonder
     which would come for her instead: the steely blade or the bloody lance? The face of
     the girl was stained with the hues of blood and death.
    Just then, the vermilion curtain was torn in two, as if to announce the beginning
     of a new tale.
    Even the deadly knights and their mounts averted their gaze and backed away from the
     wind that gusted down the road.
    But the bizarre phenomenon ended quickly.
    And everyone who looked up then saw it—an inky black horse and rider advancing eerily
     through the corpses and the stakes. For some reason, it would’ve seemed a terribly
     appropriate image in anyone’s eyes.
    The teeth of skulls still impaled on the stakes chattered in the wind. The green grass
     bowed, and the sun—ever generous with its light—ducked behind a cloud at that very
     moment.
    Everything else was forgotten as they gazed intently at the new arrival.
    About ten feet from the Red Knight the rider came to a halt. The face below the traveler’s
     hat was not of this world. It was unearthly in its beauty.
    Even the wind died out, as if it, too, was awestruck.
    “Clear the way,” said the traveler.
    “And just who are you?” asked the Red Knight. “This is our mistress’s domain. No one
     may enter. Leave at once.”
    However, didn’t the knights currently have orders to kill any intruders on the spot?
     What did these merciless killers sense in the young man before them?
    “The village of Sacri lies ahead, doesn’t it? I have business there,” the young man
     said, not seeming the least bit hesitant. His long hair fluttered in the breeze.
    “Oh, so you want to die, do you?” the Blue Knight said to him. “What’s the matter,
     Red Knight?” he then asked his comrade. “Have this man’s good looks got the better
     of you? If that’s the case, I’ll handle this.”
    Needless to say, he was joking. The Blue Knight knew better than anyone the skill
     of his crimson compatriot, as well as his cruelty and his valor.
    And that was why it was only natural that he was dumbstruck when the Red Knight told
     him, “You’re welcome to try.”
    “What?” the Blue Knight asked in return, but that was only after the space of two
     breaths had passed.
    “I leave him to you. Give it a try.”
    The reply had certainly come from the Red Knight. And the crimson rider had even fallen
     back to the edge of the road.



The mayor, Elena, and the bikers all just stared, dumbstruck. One of the Four Knights
     of the Diane Rose was backing down—was this some sort of waking nightmare?
    As if nothing at all had happened, the young man gave a kick to his mount’s flanks.
     He advanced without a glance at the headless corpses still locked in an embrace or
     the mayor that stood beside them—but the Blue Knight was waiting up ahead.
    —
    II
    —
    As they watched the distance dwindle between the two figures, the mayor and the others
     wore strangely calm expressions. Finally, normalcy had returned to the world. Finally,
     the Blue Knight would fight. That was what they honestly believed. That’s how unnatural
     it had been for the Red Knight to let the young man in black pass.
    The Blue Knight adjusted his grip on his lance.
    There was fifteen feet between them.
    The green grass twisted plaintively, singing a song.
    —
    Halt, I say, halt,
    Or one of you shall die!
    —
    Ten feet.
    The Blue Knight’s horse whinnied loudly, as if trying to repress its urge to bolt.
    Dark clouds crowded the sky.
    Five feet—now.
    The Red Knight suddenly looked over his shoulder—out at the grassy plains. “Hold,”
     he cried. “His honor the Black Knight is on the way.”
    Another figure on horseback was galloping toward them from the farthest