1200+ Years Ago

  GUS GHENLI

  Head Knight of the Order of Hazel

  The Velvet Kingdom was made up of a single small city on the edge of the Velveteen Woods. The forest was a blanket of white birch and metallic golden fir trees that began in the impossibly tall mountains to the east and cascaded westward over the foothills, tapering off into grasslands.

  Velvet was a young kingdom, only three generations old. The kingdom had come into being because of an alliance between two desperate species: humans and kanins, a rabbit people.

  A wave of humans had emerged from the Curtain to Drearia. Like all such population waves to emerge from there, the humans had been driven out of the region by the elves living around the Curtain and had left to fend for themselves. The forest elves are no friends to a species too often violent, short-sighted, and greedy for their tastes.

  Wandering northeast, the human wave had crossed a mighty river and found themselves in the grasslands beyond. Here, they had met the kanins. Kanins are about two-thirds the size of humans, and while they usually walk on their hind legs and are vaguely humanoid, they have more in common with rabbits than humans. They have short fur in a variety of colours, puffy tails, tall ears, large front teeth, and thick legs and hindquarters that allow them to move quickly and strike powerfully when cornered.

  The kanins had been in a precarious position at the time, hunted nearly to extinction by roving packs of lupus, a predatory wolf people who were far larger and more dangerous. While the rabbit-like kanins were very fast runners and excellent at hiding, they were less well adapted to fighting and had never developed much in the way of weapons or defences because the tribal people had never settled down into cities and industry, only digging themselves underground burrows that could be abandoned if necessary. Unfortunately, no matter how fast you are, you can only run for so long.

  The newcomer humans, on the other hand, were well-experienced in matters of industry and warfare. They knew how to handle spears as well as plows and could build with stone so strong that no wolf could blow it down, no matter how much they huffed and puffed.

  It had taken a desperate year to fence the first joint human-kanin camp with a wooden palisade made of tree trunks sunk into the soil in a ring, working while fending off lupus raids. It had taken another decade for the first stone wall to be completed. And while lupus had attacked in force, both humans and kanins had somehow managed to survive — by working together.

  Today, that first stone wall marked the boundary of the kingdom’s Watership Castle and its grounds. The castle was half above ground, with an extensive warren below. A second, much larger wall had been built further out, a ring of iron-rich granite that was so reminiscent of dried blood that the citizens had taken to calling it the Redwall. The project had taken nearly fifty years to construct as the community grew, something it had done rather quickly.

  By the time the third generation was producing the fourth, the two species were already becoming quite mixed, the strengths of both humans and kanins found in their offspring. The kingdom’s population was exploding.

  Gus Ghenli, Head Knight of the Order of Hazel, came from pure kanin stock. Not counting his long, black ears, he was only as tall as a human woman and probably weighed less without his armour. He wore that armour now, a steel breastplate dinged from blows both in training and in real battles against lupus. He casually leaned against the wall, fur that was graying from age now sweaty from drilling. He watched the other knights sparring in the training grounds outside the castle.

  Next to him stood Rahjur Rahbit, his nephew, a young boy whose father had been human and his mother kanin, leaving him with mixed features. Rahjur loved coming to watch his uncle and the other knights train.

  Their eyes were drawn to Yaz, a young human who faced off against two older, more experienced knights. The daring smile on his face and the way he played the aggressor made it clear that he was undaunted despite being outnumbered. Fast and sure-footed, his blade flashed in the sun as it fended off both of the other men.

  Gus grunted. “Amazing.”

  Rahjur was in awe. “How does he move so fast? It’s like he knows what they’re thinking.”

  Gus’s lips turned up in a half smile. “Yaz has a lot of skill. He’s very athletic. If he survives long enough, he could become the most skilled of us.”

  “The best of us, you mean?”

  Gus hesitated. “Hmm. That depends on how you define the best.”

  Rohjur’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Doesn’t it mean the best warrior?”

  “We’re knights. That means something more than just being a good fighter. Anyone can learn to become better with a sword or bow. But being a knight means pledging yourself to something bigger than ourselves. Something worth sacrificing yourself for.”

  “Like how the Hazel Knights pledge themselves to the Velvet Kingdom.”

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  He turned his head to Rahjur and patted his shoulder. “Exactly. For knights, beyond our combat skills, our values and actions matter just as much, if not more. Loyalty and dedication, integrity, courage, and self-sacrifice; all of these are important qualities that make knights different from mercenaries or adventurers.”

  Rahjur slowly nodded in comprehension. “So, who’s the best knight?”

  Gus threw back his head and laughed. “Ha! I’d like to think I am, being Head Knight and all. But that’s a hard question to answer. It’s about what’s on the inside as much as what’s on the outside, and it’s a lot harder to see who someone really is on the inside than what they can do on the battlefield or in a tournament.”

  “Is Dir Yaz a good knight?” Rahjur used the honorific attached to both male and female knights.

  Gus grew serious at that thought. Things had been brewing at court, and Yaz was right in the center of them. “Nephew, that’s a good question. And I have a feeling we’re going to find out what kind of knight he is very soon.”

  *

  Epheria

  Princess to the Velvet Kingdom

  Epheria stood in the empty hallway connecting the castle to the quarters used by the knight order. She quickly went over her appearance, checking it before Yaz saw her. Part-human and part-kanin, she was mostly human in appearance but not entirely. Her body was pear-shaped, slimmer up top and much wider at the hips. She’d been anxious about that when young, but Yaz’s enthusiasm over the course of their relationship had gradually reduced much of her insecurity.

  She had dun-blond hair and furry rabbit ears. The irises of her eyes were solid black rather than the textured style of a human. Her feet were longer, her toes larger than human ones, to the point where she preferred being barefoot like most kanins and only wore slippers at her father’s insistence.

  Her dress, the dark green of spruce needles, was fairly simple in design, with voluminous sleeves, hem below the knees, and tied in the back with a large, drooping bow. She smoothed the fabric out, plucked an imaginary piece of lint off, and took a breath.

  Yaz exited Hazel Hall, saw her, and smiled wide. “Hi!” He’d bathed, dressed in black leather pants covered by shiny steel greaves and a black leather jacket covered by a dark green tabard that matched the colour of her dress. Her human girl friends told her he wasn’t considered classically handsome by human standards, but he was handsome enough to her.

  And she liked his blond mustache and beard, even if she giggled to herself because she knew he only grew it to appear older and more manly, both for her sake and to help earn the respect of the other men in the order. Silly insecurity, as far as she was concerned, but he probably felt the same way whenever she complained about the size of her thighs.

  She fought her own automatic smile and knew her ears were upright and facing him, betraying her eagerness. “Oh, don’t act like you’re surprised. You knew I was watching you practice.”

  He scooped her into his muscular arms and lifted her off the ground, something you aren’t supposed to do to princesses, eliciting a yelp from her before putting her down and kissing her, his facial hair tickling her skin. “Doesn’t mean I was expecting you to be waiting for me.”

  Epheria cherished the warm, comfortable feeling of being in his arms and slid her own around his waist. She laid her head against his chest and sighed.

  He tilted, trying to get a look at her face. “Something wrong?”

  “No. Are you tired?”

  “I’m…a little worn out at the moment. Looking forward to lunch. Why?”

  “Maybe we should go for a picnic. Just us. Sleep the afternoon away under the sun.”

  He stroked her hair. “Sounds nice.” He leaned back and looked down at her. “What’s really going on?”

  “Father wants me to go to the Heart Kingdom. Make an appearance. Remind them we’re here.”

  “But…”

  “He’s using me as bait. Hopes someone with a royal title will take a liking to me and sweep me off my feet. And give him money or soldiers.”

  Yaz’s voice turned grim. “Well, he is the king. Finding allies and resources is his job. Our people created the position so that we had someone to negotiate with others. Wish he would come up with a better way to do it than selling his daughter. Or anyone’s daughter, for that matter.”

  Epheria pressed into him again, her expression turning to misery and rebellion. “Let’s just run away and live our own lives. I would give up being a princess if it meant I could make my own future.”

  “You say that without ever having lived any other kind of life. How would you fare sleeping under the stars?”

  She spoke defiantly. “I’d say, how beautiful!”

  “In the rain and cold?”

  “I have you to keep me warm.”

  “Would you be happy in a shack on the edge of a pitiful farm, barely able to feed ourselves?”

  “As long as we have enough to feed our children and have enough love for them and each other.”

  His head tilted, and his eyes softened. “Epheria…”

  She frowned, offended. “You doubt me. Pity me? Why? Do you think I’m such a spoiled little girl that I couldn’t live like anyone else?”

  “No!” He struggled to find an answer. “But you would give up the chance to be queen one day?”

  A dismissive wave. “That will never happen.”

  “Your father isn’t getting younger.”

  “He’s never named me his official heir. When Mother went too many years after having me and not getting pregnant again, he convinced her an official consort was necessary for the good of the kingdom and tried very hard to have another child with his new woman. And when she failed him, he tried it with another woman and another.”

  Yaz sighed. “Sounds like the problem is him, not them.”

  Bitterness caught in her throat. She hated that her father saw so little worth in her just because of her gender. It was so short-sighted. “It just has to work one time and produce a boy. Because that’s what he really wants. I’m only a placeholder until someone more appropriate comes along.”

  “Which could be lost to a miscarriage or any number of childhood illnesses.”

  “One healthy boy who lives, and I’ll be traded off and shipped elsewhere. Or Father may bring some prince here, marry me off, and crown him king. Honestly, the way he’s been talking lately, I think he’s very seriously considering it.” She crossed her arms and bowed her shoulders, upset.

  Yaz pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Most people aren’t this sexist. Why is he so obsessed? How can he not appreciate you? You’re smart, capable, positive. People love you. I love you. You’re a fantastic princess and would make a wonderful queen.” Frustrated, he growled. “Sorry. I really don’t like your father much.”

  Her spirits returned, and a smile accompanied it. She placed a palm on his chest and gave him a peck on the cheek, happy that he saw her that way. “Thank you. But I’ve made my peace with it. I’m twenty-four. I’ve helped found the university and helped build our first real hospital, all without any support for him, fighting him for funds he wanted to spend on the military. And you can already see the benefits; people are healthier and happier. We’re stronger in a way he doesn’t want to see. If he hasn’t come around to the idea of me succeeding him by now, he never will. And his breeding schemes and lack of support prove it.”

  “I’m sorry, Epheria.”

  “It’s fine. I know he sort of loves me, in his way, maybe, even if he doesn’t respect me. Besides, I have you. And you respect me, don’t you?”

  “Always.”

  She pulled him close with a smile and kissed him.

  A voice broke in. “It’s unseemly for a princess to be doing such things in public.”