The Crusader's Crown (Tales of the Brotherhood Series Book 1) by James Mercer (free children's ebooks pdf .TXT) 📕

  Robert ignored his Commander’s warning and glared at the merchant who trembled slightly and then scowled in fury, looking at the floor. Finally he pulled back the veil of the young woman. To begin with, she too kept her head bowed, staring at the ground, but then slowly lifted her eyes and looked up at the armoured horseman.

  Robert’s heart almost stopped. He felt a tingling feeling as if his skin was being covered in ice. Memories of sitting in an orange grove, looking at a slender figure of a dark haired maiden, flooded through his head.

  Selva!

  At first her gaze was sad and shameful. Her eyes then widened and quickly started to glisten with tears.

  There was bruising across the right side of her face.

  Noticing the tears running from her eyes, the merchant started to push her back toward the rear of the stall.

   “Stay where you are!” yelled Robert.

  His roaring voice startled those present and slightly unnerved the horses which skittered on the cobbles. Dismounting, he walked toward the couple and shoved the merchant, none too gently, away from the maiden. Removing his glove, he softly took the left side of her cheek and inspected the injuries she had sustained.

   “How dare you touch my wife without my permission?” snapped the merchant.

   “This woman has been mistreated,” answered Robert, his back to the merchant. His eyes stared into those of the girl he had dreamt of for the past eight years.

   “That is not your business. She disobeyed me, so she was punished accordingly.”

   “Robert we should leave. This is not our quarrel,” said Reynard firmly.

  What has got into the man? Reynard thought to himself.

   “No it is not. Now leave this place, or I shall call for the watch,” said the merchant hurriedly.

  At that moment, two hulking men appeared from the dim street, carrying maces, similar to that of the counterfeit friar who had barred the way to the council meeting that day. A few seconds after their appearance there was a small yelp as Robert drew his sword and pressed the blade against the merchant’s neck.

   “Robert!” shouted the Commander “For God’s sake, enough!”

  Reynard was suddenly silenced as an arrow with a red feathered fletching, flew passed him from behind. The well-aimed arrow thudded less than half a foot away from the two men approaching.

  The Commander whirled around to see that the Moor already had another of his arrows notched to the string of his Persian bow. Ruscar started to speak to the Commander in Arabic. Once he had finished, Reynard turned back to the scene, where the two large men stood hesitantly. Meanwhile the merchant stood rigid as stone, the blade still pressed to his neck and beads of sweat running down his face.

  Reynard sighed.

   “Robert, we must leave.”

   “And the maiden Commander?”

   “She is the wife of this man.”

  Robert looked back at Selva. She had remained silent throughout the brief confrontation. As she returned his gaze, her eyes were fearful yet cold. Lowering his sword he slowly sheathed it back into its scabbard. Suddenly he grabbed the merchant by the scruff of his collar making the man yelp like a frightened child. Robert dragged him close, so he was only inches away from him.

   “I shall return tomorrow. And the day after that and the day after that. And if I see any signs of further harm done to this lady you will find yourself hanging on the end of your fine silks with your hands severed and your eyes cut out. Do you understand me?”

  The merchant hastily nodded his head and fell heavily to the floor as Robert shoved him away.

Mounting his horse, Robert took one last look at the woman he had loved yet never held. With a last cold stare at the merchant he steered Jupiter round to follow Ruscar and the Commander down the street.

   “You know they’ll be gone by tomorrow?” said Reynard after a pause.

   “I know.”

   “And you know, once gone, she will be severely punished for the humiliation she has caused him?”

   “I do.”

  They continued down another street before Robert spoke.

   “What else did Ruscar tell you?”

   “Enough,” replied Reynard.

  Robert was amazed that the Moor had remembered Selva after all these years.

  There was another brief silence as they turned a corner.

   “Three men only,” said the Commander.

   “That is all I will need,” replied Robert.

   “It must look like a looting. No witnesses.”

   “It shall.”

   “And you know the trouble you could bring if you kill him?”

   “I may have a title Reynard. But I was a mercenary first. I would have killed him then and there had you not intervened.”

   “I know.”

Chapter 9

Among all the knights and mounted men-at-arms, only one group had the hundreds of inhabitants and travellers in Toledo stand aside to give respectful space for them to comfortably ride through.

  Some cheered and others saluted, many flattened themselves against the walls, as the unpredictable warrior monks trotted their massive warhorses down the streets. The beasts’ flanks were heavily lathered after their long journey.

  The Templar knights, led by Sir Alejandro, had donned their pot helms again to add to the fearsome sight they portrayed. All but their banner man, who held aloft a gonfalon with the Templar’s emblem upon it, carried spears. Unlike those carried by infantryman, these were as long as tourney lances but slimmer and carried a thin deadly steel tip at their end.

  In battle this first weapon of attack would either shatter against an enemy’s shield or skewer a man clean through, puncturing mail, leather and flesh. However by then, an enemy’s