Thursday, August 9, 2007

The Knight of the Red Dragon - Part Six - Ben's Side

Some time later I woke up. A middle-aged, peasant man, a peasant woman about the man's age and the kind who rescued me, stood over me. "Huh? Who are you?" I asked. I pointed towards the kid, "And you. You never told me your name. What is it?"

"It's best you don't know," he said. "What?" I asked. The three of them stared at me as if I had just fallen from the sky.

"Doesn't he know?" the woman whispered.

"I think he got his head hit one too many times. You should have seen those knights ...," The man and woman glared at the kid, and fell silent.

"Oh, Solomon! Are you sure he is the one?" asked the woman.

"Yes, Ruth. I am sure," answered Solomon.

"What?" I said. They turned their backs to me and I laid back down. 'What on Earth are they talking about?" It was then that I felt the sharp, piercing pain in my head.

A loud knock startled me. Solomon walked over to a door and opened it. An old man wearing a shawl with tassels walked in the room. The two men whispered to each other in a language I did not understand. The kid walked to a table, carrying two candles. He wore a small white cap on his head.

'That cap looks familiar ... Oh! I got it!' At that point, though, I felt my head ache again. "Oh!" I moaned. Ruth came over to the side of my bed, and lowered a wooden cup to my mouth. "Here. Drink this. It'll take away the pain and help you sleep," she said. I took some sips from the cup and could taste the bitterness of the liquid. I shut my eyes, and soon I was out.