Chapter five

Chapter 5

                “Still no word from the messenger party your lordship.”

                “What do you mean there still isn’t word from them? How come they are not back yet?”

                “I am not sure. They should be back by now. My thoughts are that things didn’t go as they planned.”

                “What do you mean they didn’t go as planned? You mean to tell me that you failed in such a simple task of scaring a king?”

                “N-No milord. We haven’t heard anything yet so that means they could still be on their way. Perhaps they just got lost or were held up by something. You know how they get.”

                “Well you are about to see how I get when I am disappointed. You will not like it and I will make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Find out what happened to my men and make it fast. I have other things that need attending to.”

 

                The last stretch to Fort Winfard seemed to take longer than the whole trip itself. After I got back to the carriages, King Ethelred came to speak with me personally

                “Hawthorne. I must tell you that I am in utter grief at this time. Words cannot describe how I feel and how this has truly hurt me. My daughter, princess of Evalena, is now dead. Killed by the merciless enemy. I do not hold her death in your hands as you acted quickly and expertly. Remember that son, as this action will eat at you and make you doubt yourself. You must pick yourself up from this tragedy and keep a level head.”

                “Yes your highness. I just fear for my subordinate, Vasquez. You might not have known but they were somewhat of an item.”       

                I could tell that this was no surprise to the king but he did not let his fatherly side show for fear that he might lose control of his temper.

                “Go on lad, continue with what you were saying.” He said

                “He hasn’t been acting like himself since he found out. I’m not too sure how he is going to be able to handle this. Will you talk to him milord?”

I asked the king, hoping that he had some insight that he would be able to bestow on my fellow soldier.

                “Yes. Yes of course I will. It will have to be once we reach Fort Winfard though. I am not in any state to be giving motivational speeches.” He said with a look of despair in his eyes.

                I looked at the king, who seemed so old with the loss of his oldest child.

                “Your Highness, if there is anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask. I am in your command and will do all I can to help.”

                “Thank you Hawthorne. I may need your assistance with this one thing though.” With that, the king told me his plan about the burial of his beloved daughter. He wanted it to be extravagant, luxurious, and beautiful. Just as she was when she was living, he said.

                “Hawthorne, will you help me in planning my daughter’s burial? My emotions are too strong to even consider such a thing. I am not a man that is easily brought to tears, but this enemy has robbed me like I have never been robbed before.” The king looked at me expectantly and I knew right then that the enemy had no choice. No matter what they tried to do, this man, this king, would prevail and would stop this evil.

                “I will do all I can your Highness.” I said with a slight bow. “I will employ James to assist me. I would let Vasquez help too but I am not sure what state of mind he would be in. If there is something he could do, would you please inform him? He is the type of person that wants to be involved in everything.”

                King Ethelred looked at me and replied, “Yes. I can do that. You know Hawthorne, you remind me of a soldier I once knew. He was my greatest friend and someone that I was greatly affected when he perished in battle. We met in the warriors school and became fast friends. We would always end up being with each other despite what the instructors tried to tell us. He was the bravest man I knew, always looking for ways to improve himself and never giving up on anyone. He had that type of leadership you just flocked to.

                “I’m sorry, I am rambling at my old age. We still need to figure out how we are getting back to Fort Winfard. What was your plan?”

                I leaned in closer to the king to tell him what I had planned for the rest of the journey. I wanted to continue moving down this path, but at a more rapid pace. We had wasted enough time as it was on this journey and I wanted to get to safety as fast as possible.

                King Ethelred understood this and soon began shouting orders for everyone to mount up and get ready for a long journey. We could not afford to stop anymore.

                All of the Royal Entourage understood what was going on so they hurriedly got everything ready for what was to come.

                “Forgive me sir but I must ask a touchy question.” I said to the king before he was able to disappear into his carriage.

                “What is it Hawthorne?” He replied, turning so that he could fasten those steely blue eyes on me.

                “What is to become of her body for the rest of the journey? I do not think it wise to have her in a place where people can see her.” The king looked at me with an almost exasperated expression. It took a few minutes for him to get his composure together before he replied, “You are right. I will keep her in a separate part of the carriage. It is almost like a storage section. Thank you for that. I had not even thought about it.”

                He took the final step into his carriage and was lost in the sea of curtains and drapes that cascaded down, blocking any view one might catch of the royal family. I walked away from the morgue carriage and proceeded to where my horse stood, waiting for me to ride him. My thoughts were averted to where Vasquez was. I know that I shouldn’t be too worried about him but there was just something in his face that told me he needed help. Time would only tell, I thought, as the caravan started to make its way toward the ending of our journey. I was just hoping that Vasquez would come to join us as we passed his part of the trail.

               

               

                The sound of footsteps resonated throughout the trees as Vasquez delved into his thoughts. Plans started to unfold but lost their purpose the more he thought of them. Nothing seemed to be working out for him as he planned his vengeance for the one he loved.

                How could I have been so stupid? He repeated in his head over and over again. Why was I not able to save her?

                He headed back to where his beautiful brown mountain horse was and prepared for the long journey ahead of him. He needed to focus, to learn as much as he could from this Cleric Borese. He was a great soldier right now, but he was no match to take on this type of enemy. He needed something more, something that would make him more than just human. Thoughts raced through his mind as he considered the possibilities of become the greatest warrior of all time. Then, when all hope seemed lost in the world, he would be able to be that shining light to save his people.

                Vasquez was lost in the future that he didn’t hear what Hawthorne had to say to him.

                “What did you say?” He asked, making sure he sounded strong and in control.

                “I said, we should be there before daybreak. The king wishes we make haste so that there are no more delays. He wants to make sure that there are no more casualties that result from this journey.”

                Hawthorne gave him a questionable look that seemed to ask if he really was okay. He didn’t mention anything about it because he could tell that Vasquez needed his time to deal with this.                   

                “Is there anything you need me to do then?” Vasquez asked. His facial expression seemed to soften as he noticed that Hawthorne could be a great ally. He should not do anything to mess it up as he might be missing out on a great friend.

                “Make sure to keep a watch on the trees and just be cautious. Now that they know the royal family has a capable body guard, they might want to attack us first. I won’t let any of my men perish if they don’t need to.” 

                It seemed as if Hawthorne didn’t notice the change in Vasquez’s face until he locked eyes with him. Hawthorne made sure that Vasquez was able to see that he knew Vasquez was having a hard time, that no matter what, Hawthorne would be there to help him with anything that he needed. There was no need for words, it was apparent between the two of them.

                Hours passed but still the caravan pressed on. I made a point to talk to James to tell him about the planning of the Princesses burial.

                “Are you okay with doing something like this? I know it isn’t what you thought when we were planning on helping the king, but this is something that is important to him.” I told James as I briefed him on what I had planned.

                “I understand. He needs our help with burying his oldest child. I would be a mess if I lost my daughter by some murderous dogs. I would be glad to help. I think we should do it as soon as we get to Fort Winfard though. We need to clear ourselves of this evil memory and turn it into something to fight for.” James replied with fire in his voice. Something seemed to change about him. He seemed more prominent on defeating this enemy now and using the princess’s death to help fuel the rebellion.

                “I agree. We must get this over with and make sure that they king is in a state of readiness and not down about the loss of his daughter.”

                “I know this is off subject, but have you talked to Vasquez?” James inquired, worry splattered on his face.

                “Indeed I did. He is dealing with this in his own way and I do not wish to interfere with it. He understands that he can come talk to me though. I am also having the king talk to him about his daughter. I felt that would not only benefit Vasquez, but the king also.”

                James seemed to like this idea as he nodded his head in agreement. I pulled away from James so that I would be able to watch the road a bit better. I settled myself as the point man of the caravan so that I would be able to spot anything ahead of us. I trusted that James and Vasquez would be able to identify any danger that might pass off to their side of the road.

                I crested over a slight ridge when excitement crept into my entire body. We had finally made it to Fort Winfard. The castle looked bleak in contrast to Castle Evalena, but just the sight of it meant that we were safe. Almost hidden in the valley, Fort Winfard stood out in the middle of a vast city, acting as a sort of maze that has prevented many attackers from penetrating its very walls.

                We made the short descent down into the valley in a matter of minutes to find ourselves at the entrance of the city that would be our new home. I directed the group to the castle through the winding streets of Winfard. Hope swelled in my breast as thoughts of fruition penetrated my mind. This is where we would take our stand. This is where we would defeat our biggest fear.