Chapter 40

The kingdom wants to throw Dakota a grand celebration for her seventeenth birthday, but Dakota and Sorbo have their own grand plans for that most wonderful of days.

Finally, at long last, Braylard shows up with his son Mika. “Welcome, Mika. Tomorrow you may join in on our training field, but if you are anything like your father, and he says you are, you will be a full knight before long.”

The giant minotaur, who looks identical to his father, smiles with exuberance. “Thank you, king.”

“Please, Mika, once you are a knight, we will be brothers. There will be no king and soldier.” Mika seems to like that.

“Uh,” Braylard interrupts them. “We stop by your family’s cabin on way here as you asked and it has been totally destroyed.”

“Oh, that petty spiteful goddess.” It is at that moment that Dakota and Sorbo start hatching a plan to annoy her even more.

The night before they plan to leave to go to the cottage they are lying there in bed and Dakota says, “We should go to the Gathering next year and when we can find the place, when she doesn’t want us to, that will embarrass her and maybe make more knights come over to our banner.”

“Ouch, you are a vindictive little thing when someone gets your ire up.”

“That cabin was our home. She is starting to annoy me.”

“Hmm, probably not a good idea to annoy the White Sorceress.”

“Or her Great Protector.”

They laugh and hold each other as they fall asleep.

Finally, before sunrise so as not to be disturbed by anyone, they head out to the cottage. They had already taking a few trips there and made sure it was still standing, amazingly yes. They gave command over to a trusted woodsman to have it presentable for when they arrive. Dakota is not disappointed. Sorbo secretly had him put pink everywhere he could think. It took them a week to reach the cottage and they finally get there on the eve of Dakota’s seventeenth birthday.

As they are standing there hand-in-hand outside watching the stars that have so graciously shown back up as the last storm fades they anxiously await not just midnight which signals the next day, but they are waiting for one fifteen which is the exact time Dakota was supposedly born.

As they are standing there Odin comes to them. In a golden flash he comes smiling and says, “I am more than proud in you two. With the test I gave you two, it has shown that there is nothing you two cannot accomplish. Goodnight, children.”

“Ah, Odin.”

“Yes, Sorbo.”

“Can you make it so no gods can watch us, including yourself?”

Odin laughs and bows. “As you command, sir knight, but don’t forget as Knights of Odin the other gods cannot find you.”

Sorbo and Dakota turn to each other and take big deep breaths. “Finally!”

“Uh huh!” agrees Dakota.

They start walking into the cottage until Sorbo stops and picks up his bride. He carries her inside and shuts the door with his foot. “At least it did not fall off the hinges.” Dakota teases.