Chapter 13

It doesn't take me long to find Saber. He is close to 7 feet tall and all muscles, but he is pretty smart for a muscle man. I just focus on the sounds of fighting and there they are, Knight Protectors of the Compound. A 16 man squad, down now by 3 and at least 2 more on the critical list. But they are out there working, honing their skills in the area set aside for their fight practice.

I spend a minute watching. They are some of the prettiest men and women I have seen in awhile. And as Napoleon is not in evidence at this time, I feel at ease walking into their midst. At first I join two women who I take to be spectators. They are not. They are the Amazons: Annie's friends.

One is tall with short curly black hair. She has a strapping figure to go with her height, the other is more average in looks. She has short brown hair and an old scar over her right eye.

"You must be the famous Chronos?" the tall woman says doubtfully. She is radiating animosity.

I am kind of easy to spot. I have dark green hair and a thin gold chain wrapped around my waist. Who else would I be. The woman is obviously upset by something, whether or not it is me remains to be seen. I can think of no reason to antagonize them right from the start.

"I am called Chronos. I did not think I was famous, but then again I did not count on saving a 16 year old chatter box either," I give her an easy grin. She sniffs, but the other woman chuckles.

Neither of them has the same charm and beauty that Annie had. She had long red hair, and a wicked sense of humor. We hit it off as friends right away.

"You must be Annie's friends." I try to be polite. They exchange looks, but don't answer. Whatever. I shrug my shoulders and move on as they are not willing to accept my hand of friendship.

I am really here to talk to Saber, so I leave the two women protectors and follow their line of sight. Saber is wrestling with Bunyan. It is a close match. Many of the men who are watching give me a companionable nod as I join them.

"Do you think he needs help?" I ask Gunga Din as I sidle up next to him.

"Which one?" He asks philosophically.

"The little one." I answer just as composed.

He grunts out a laugh.

"I hear you are something of a swords woman," he gives me a quick glance before turning back to the fight.

"I only ignite her when there is something to kill," I say flatly. Thinking to myself I may have been a bit hasty the other night running around with the damn thing.

"As do I; when, I unsheathe mine," he nods wisely. "We could use practice blades." The groove's around his mouth seem to sink into his face as his tone becomes more grim. What could be so grim about practice blades?

"Now?" I ask in the sake of polite interest.

"That would be acceptable," his grim face changes to a smile in a flash. So that was the right question.

"Rules?" I ask.

"Touch only," he suggests.

I counter with, "count of 10".

"Done," He offers me a bow. I do the same.

I follow him over to a bench with an assortment of training weapons. I look over the sword selection. Wooden slats tied at one end with a handle at the other. They don't cut but will be painful if you get hit. I pass my hand over them looking for weakness'. I find one that is strong. I pick that one. I look up to find Gunga Din watching me. He smiles at my choice of weapons.

"Your handy work?" I ask.

"I have made many of them," is all he will say on the subject.