IO - Part 2

Meeting an Unexpected Friend

The royal family was all fast asleep. All was wrapped in silence, and all that could be seen was the moon peacefully illuminating darkness. Io lay deeply asleep in her cosy chamber. The night passed, the moon paled as dawn came. Suddenly, the sounds of enigmatic murmur fell around her that stirred her up. She sleepily woke up and strained her ears to find where the sounds came from. She looked around but only found darkness all around her. Not a single person was in her room. The sheer creepy gusting wind coming from her open window alerted her instantly.

.“How strange, I had locked the window. Was it because of the wind? And where’re the sounds gone” Io murmured. The chilly night wind had brushed her skin and made her shivering. As she tried to lock her window, she saw a shadow flashing at the palace wall. Someone was climbing up the side of the palace wall. The shadow tried to reach King’s Orestes chamber. Step by step the figure came up the wall, cautiously and unhurried, as if the figure had confident that there was nothing could stot him.

Io’s first instinct was to yell out for the guards beneath, but cunning took over. To shout would raise the sleeping guards, but it would also alert the intruder. She reached for her archery and stepped out her windowsill until her feet found solid rock ridge below. From her distant, she cautiously aimed her target. She measured her elbow string and put an arrow on her bow. The shadow was trying to climb up the window. Io released her first arrow. It hit the intruder at the left arm that made him lost his balance. The shadow fell on the roof. The sound soon alerted the guards below.

“Intruder, set the alarm.” Shouted one of the guards.

Io run towards the door and stormed into King’s Orestes’s chamber. The King has awakened and already got ready with his sword.

“Father, are you all right?” said Io.

“What is it Io? I’ve heard someone fell from the window and the guards have just set the alarm?” asked the King.

“Someone was trying to get into your chamber. I had wounded him at his left arm.” Said Io. Before the King could stop her, Io had run to chase the intruder.

The guards had him sieged. The intruder fought back. He had wounded some patrol guards. As help were rushing in with more numbers, he made a loud whistle. A steady black mare came and he leaped up on his back. He run towards the gate that was surprisingly wide open. He managed to escape into the thick forest.

Io kept chasing the intruder alone. She rushed Argos to follow his track. The dawn has just broken. The sunlight slowly lightened up the day. Its ray had slowly pierced through the thick forest trees. The sound of the birds echoed throughout the forest. Io had lost his track. He drove Argos slowly following the riverbank. After awhile, the road began to climb steeply. Argos was neighing and panting. His head low as he picked his way up the steps. The forest deepened, still and airless. There were already signs of winter, though the sky was clear blue but the air cold and damp. The leaves were beginning to turn gold and vermillion. Some were already falling to the damp grounds. Strings of wild geese flew high above her. Io was suddenly stricken with hunger and fatigue. She had been riding for hours by now and she did not eat ever since. She did not know where she was and she got completely lost. Argos also looked miserable.

“Easy now Argos… I think we are lost. Come, we must find someplace to rest.” Io got off from his back. She held Argos’ reign. She walked through thick shrubs and braches until she found a small clearance near a small creek. She let Argos grazed. There were a lot of wild berries she could eat. Lucius had taught her to recognize which berries safe to eat. She sat under a great shady tree. Fatigue had made her sleepy. She fell into a sleep afterwards.

Io woke up by the cold iron on her neck. She opened her eyes and looked at a bearded big man pointing his sword at her neck. His clothe was so shabby and his muscular body was muddy. Yet, his eyes were as sharp as a hawk. His left arm was in a bandage. Immediately Io knew the man was whom he was chasing. Surprisingly, Io did not feel any threatening danger coming from the man. She stayed still for a moment or two.

“What do you want, coward? Attacking me while I am sleeping?” shouted Io fiercely.

The man laughed loudly but his sword still at Io’s neck. His gaze was fixed on her from head to toe.

“I can’t believe a little girl had wounded me. I thought you were a man for a moment. I like your spirit. Not bad for a young girl like you.” He grinned. “You should be very careful young lady. It’s a dangerous forest to carelessly sleep.”

“Hey, I’m not a little girl. Your wound is the prove. Let’s fight and we shall know who is the little girl.” Screamed Io angrily.

The man’s laughter echoed again. He removed his sword from Io’s neck and put it back at its sheath.

“Save your energy, princess. I don’t want to fight you. It’s no use. Why there’s fight between friends while you still have many enemies to deal with.” Said the man calmly. He made a gesture for Io to follow him.

“What? Is it a joke? Why should I trust you? And how do you know me?” Io talked loudly and had strained her bow.

“Lucius was right. You are both stubborn and courageous. You don’t want to kill a friend, do you Princess Iola?” The man reached out of his pocket. From inside, he produced a royal seal, the emblem of Navarro. “I believed you know this seal very well. Only the most trusted could obtain this seal.”

Io dropped her archery and looked at the man. She tried hard to remember the face. Yet, she never saw his. “Who are you?” asked Io curiously. “I’ve never seen you before. And why did you try to kill my father?”

“You have mistaken me, Princess Io. I wasn’t trying to murder the King. I was trying to save him. And off course you never see me. First, i am tripple your age." Smile the man. " Second, I’m not a kind of person who likes to mingle around at the court. Third, I like the jungle far better than your palace. Come, we must not waste our time. Soon, Eresbos will send his guards to find and kill you. Save your questions for later.” He said impatiently and started to walk away.

“Wait up, at least give me your name, please?” said Io at last. She led Argos to follow him. She knew with the royal seal, she had no doubt that the man was someone she could trust.

“Just call me Jato.”

Io gasped when she heard the name. She never had thought she would meet the legendary man herself. His father and Lucius often told her about the mighty dragon slayer who had saved Navarro from his terror long time ago. It was told that 20 years ago, a dragon that breathed fire attacked Navarro. Many had died to kill him. The dragon seemed immune to any weaponry. His scale was thick as iron and his face was fierce. He flew away form his lair across Navarro. He stuck any villages with his fire. Hundreds of arrows were broken as soon as they hit his scale. Swords and sabres got broken when they made contact with his scale. Many knights and citizens of Navarro died. King Orestes almost got killed when the dragon stuck the palace. King Orestes bravely fought the dragon and got wounded with his claws.

In the moment of despair, King Orestes made a contest that whoever killed the beast, he shall be crowned as King of Navarro. Many knights and warriors tried their luck. No one succeeded. All met with a miserable death either got crushed or burnt in the fire. Jato came in. A brave man at his early twenties challenged the beast. It was said that he rode at the dragon’s back and cut off his head with his sword. But when the King wanted to make Jato king, he refused. He left without a word and disappeared ever since. That’s the story Io often heard.

to be continued in Io and the Dragonian Order