Inquisitor's Promise (Act One, Chapter Six)

The opening of the ancient gate had been ominous. Down on Earth, young Inquisitor Aeneas Aquilanus was blissfully unaware that his life was going to change forever.

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Chapter Six: Galatea

After moving back inside, Aeneas paced back and forth in the Grand Hall of Castle Aquila. He was getting impatient.

“Young Master,” a recently arrived servant said to Aeneas. “Your father is still in Roma. He will be home in about half an hour.”

“Half an hour!?” Aeneas exclaimed. “What is he doing? How long could dropping off some reports to the Holy Office take?”

“Peace, Young Master,” the servant pleaded. “Surely your father will have a good explanation.”

Aeneas took a deep breath. He knew that the servant was completely correct. “You’re right, I’m sorry.”

The young Inquisitor never liked hobnobbing. Not that he found it useless or anything. He simply found himself out of his depth in social occasions like this. The more he had to do it, the more appreciation he had for politicians.

Aeneas tried to remember all the people he had talked to. He had talked to most of the faction leaders, the minor leaders, and the petty lords too. But he was missing someone very important.

“Sir Juan Carlos!” Aeneas called. The Grand Knight of San Felipe was not by himself; he was pushing a wheelchair carrying a young woman. A petite girl, judging by how she fits in her chair. Aeneas knew who she was: Galatea de la Mancha, the Grand Knight’s niece.

Like her uncle, Galatea had dark hair; it was long and braided at the back. As for her skin, the hue was much lighter than her uncle’s. A combination of both her mother’s pedigree and lack of time spent outdoors. Her eyes were small, but she was a pretty girl.

Aeneas spotted some books on the sides of Galatea’s wheelchair. A strange sight, but he did not think much of it.

“On behalf of House Aquilanus, I welcome you to Castle Aquila,” Aeneas said as he reached out his hand to Juan Carlos.

The Grand Knight shook the young Inquisitor’s hand. “Thank you, Sir Aeneas. But I believe there is someone else here who would enjoy your company more than I.”

Juan Carlos motioned his hand to his niece.

“Lady Galatea?” Aeneas asked. The Grand Knight’s niece looked visibly embarrassed, a blush colored her light face. However, the way both uncle and niece carried themselves showed that there was a conspiracy afoot.

“Of course,” Aeneas said as he bowed. “I shall keep your niece safe, Sir Juan Carlos.”

Juan Carlos handed over Galatea’s wheelchair to Aeneas before he left the two of them to their own devices.

“Where do we go now, Lady Galatea?”

“I suppose, some place outside.”

“The veranda it is then,” Aeneas declared.

Aeneas was able to find a veranda that was empty of people. Unlike the one he was in before which was facing the City of Nepoli, this one was facing away from it. The veranda showed Prochyta, Lake Tyrion, and glimpses of the Mediterranean Marshes at the far end.

“Do you like the view, Lady Galatea?” Aeneas asked.

“I do,” Galatea answered, her smile caught Aeneas’ eyes. “It reminds me of home.”

“San Felipe is quite the beautiful place,” Aeneas said. “Thank you for the compliment.”

“Um,” Galatea said hesitantly. She looked away in embarrassment.

Aeneas realized that his interlocutor wanted to say something. “What is it, Lady Galatea?”

“I suppose I should go for the jugular,” the girl muttered.

Galatea then whistled with her hand. A swooshing noise was heard in the air as a large serpentine creature with two wings and two legs flew in. It was a wyvern, the one animal that was most associated with the Fiefdoms of San Felipe. Silver in color, it was a majestic sight.

Aeneas looked at the creature in awe. He now knew why Galatea had wished for them to be outside.

“Lord Aeneas, I want you to meet Sancho Panza,” Galatea said joyfully, her face beaming with pride.

Aeneas approached the wyvern warily. He had seen wyvern knights before when he was in San Felipe, but he wouldn’t dare touch a wyvern.

It was Sancho Panza who made the first move. Despite its intimidating appearance, the wyvern soon showed itself to be friendly as it licked the young Inquisitor’s face. And despite Aeneas’ protests, the creature rubbed its head on him like a cat.

“Go on, pet him,” Galatea encouraged, seeing Aeneas’ discomfort.

“Him?”

But despite his misgivings, Aeneas did so, and Sancho Panza growled happily. And the creature proceeded to lick him once more.

“Urgh,” Aeneas said in disgust.

“He really likes you, Lord Aeneas,” Galatea giggled. “I think you’re the first one to have befriended him this quickly.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Aeneas said as he attempted to get wyvern slobber out of his shirt. “I’m sure there’s more to this than introducing me to your pet, though.”

“Indeed,” Galatea responded. “Leave us be, Sancho Panza.”

The wyvern acknowledged its mistress’ command and flew away to the sky.

“I didn’t know wyverns are so obedient,” Aeneas said in amazement at how easily Galatea could command the creature.

“Wyverns are very close to its masters. We share a bond,” Galatea said.

“I see. Go on then.”

Galatea looked at Aeneas intently, her face betrayed a wistful countenance. “Do you remember when you first visited San Felipe?”

“How can I forget?” Aeneas answered. “That was my very first mission as a full-fledged Inquisitor. That was when I helped your uncle root out the bandit knight Raul de Cambrai.”

“A blight on the good name of knighthood,” Galatea commented bitterly.

Aeneas was taken aback by the vitriol in his interlocutor’s voice. He didn’t expect such strong words from so delicate a girl.

“I didn’t know you feel so strongly about this.”

“I do,” Galatea responded. “A true knight would never do the evil deeds that Sir Raul did.”

“And what makes a true knight, if I might ask?”

“A lot of things,” Galatea said. “Loyalty, love of truth, faith, moral impeccability…”

“All that sounded vague,” Aeneas pointed out. “Where did you learn that?”

In response, Galatea pointed to the books that she had next to her. “These books, I suppose.”

Galatea handed over the books to Aeneas as the young Inquisitor looked through them one by one.

“These are storybooks on knights,” Aeneas commented. “Fairy tales.”

“Yes,” Galatea said. “I love knights.”

“I can relate,” Aeneas said. “These stories taught me about being a good Inquisitor.”

“Is that so?” Galatea asked. “How?”

“Remember that Inquisitors are knights themselves. But while the average knight fights for a temporal lord or lady, the lady we fight for is the Church,” Aeneas explained.

“Wow!” Galatea glimmered. “That sounds very romantic, Lord Aeneas.”

Aeneas chuckled awkwardly in response to his interlocutor’s compliment. It was not very often that girls call him romantic.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Aeneas said with a sly grin. “Why do you have such fascination with knights?”

At this point, Galatea looked down; she was nervous once more. “In truth, I wish to become a knight myself.”

Aeneas gave his interlocutor an odd look. Not exactly what he was expecting. It was as if she had grown a second head.

“I’m not sure I heard you correctly,” Aeneas said as politely as he could.

“You didn’t mishear, Lord Aeneas,” Galatea responded. “Stories of knights slaying dragons, saving villages. I’ve always been interested in them.”

“But why do you want to be one?” Aeneas asked. “Because it’s exciting? Riding through the sky with your wyvern and slaying dragons?”

“Oh no, nothing like that.” Galatea shook her head. “Honestly, I like the idea of serving a lord, even in battle.”

“That’s quite the boyish ambition.”

“Does my lord Aeneas disapprove?” Galatea asked nervously.

“No, not at all,” Aeneas answered.

By this time, the day was now far spent. As the sun was setting, its light shone on Galatea. Aeneas couldn’t help but be drawn to the girl’s beautiful face.

“Lord Aeneas,” Galatea said, breaking the young Inquisitor from his trance. “I want to show you this story, in particular.”

Aeneas took the book that Galatea held and looked at it.

“The Misadventures of Milana the Lady Knight,” Aeneas read aloud. “What is it about?”

“It’s about a girl who befriended a wyvern, became a knight, and then fell in love with a handsome Inquisitor,” Galatea began excitedly. “And then they got married.”

“What a story,” Aeneas said uneasily. He was fully aware of where this conversation was heading.

“It’s a true story,” Galatea insisted. “If not wholly, then parts of it. I want to be just like Lady Milana.”

“But is that even possible? With your current conditions?” Aeneas asked, pointing out the obvious.

“This will not be an issue for long, Lord Aeneas,” Galatea said. “I’ll be undergoing a surgery once I return back home. I’ll be able to walk!”

“That’s great,” Aeneas said earnestly. “And I suppose this is why you’re really talking about all this knight stuff.”

“Yes,” Galatea said before countenance changed to one of sadness. “But no one really takes me seriously. Why should they? I’m a paraplegic girl. I’m not really knight material. Not even close. It’s all just silly dreams anyways. No Inquisitor in his right mind would take me as his knight.”

Aeneas was not quite sure of what to make of the sudden mood change in the girl. Could this be just Galatea being a woman? Or maybe the whole thing was bluster from the very start. Maybe she just wanted someone to talk to, to vent her frustrations.

“Well, thanks for listening to my crazy talk…”

“Wait, Lady Galatea,” Aeneas cried. Aeneas braced himself, he knew that he might be undertaking something that was either really bold or really foolish; perhaps both.

“Yes, Lord Aeneas?”

“I’ll be your Inquisitor.”

This time, it was Galatea who could not believe what she was hearing.

“I believe I might have misheard you, Lord Aeneas.”

“No, you heard correctly,” Aeneas insisted. “I’m more than willing to be your Inquisitor, should you earn your knighthood.”

Once more, Galatea gave out a smile that melted Aeneas’ heart straight off.

“Thank you, Lord Aeneas,” the girl cried. “Thank you so much!”

“But remember,” Aeneas said sternly. “This is not a done deal. This means that you must do what you can to get that knighthood.”

“Just you wait, Lord Aeneas,” Galatea said cheerfully. “You might not know, but Sancho Panza is easily one of the strongest wyverns in San Felipe.”

Aeneas smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. He then noticed that the girl in front of him was taking something out of her dress pocket, a ring. That ring had an insignia of a wyvern with a star, the symbol of San Felipe.

“What’s this?” Aeneas asked.

“This was my father’s,” Galatea said. “He used to wear it before he was killed on duty. Take it.”

Aeneas nodded in understanding. He knew that he had to return the favor, and he had just the thing. The young Inquisitor reached deep into his shirt and into his inner pocket where important things were hidden away, and took out a bracelet. It was a carefully crafted one: its colors were those of the Republic of Nepoli, and it had the insignia of a swooping eagle which was the symbol of House Aquilanus.

“And you can take this,” Aeneas said as he handed over the bracelet to Galatea. “It used to belong to my mother. Sickness took her life.”

Aeneas reached out his left hand and Galatea put her father’s ring on the young Inquisitor’s left ring finger. In turn, Aeneas put his mother’s bracelet on Galatea’s right wrist. The two looked upon one another; there was an unspoken understanding of the meaning behind their actions.

“I shall do what I can to be a knight worthy of an Inquisitor.”

“And when you do, I promise to be your Inquisitor.”

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