Chapter six

Chapter 6

                “Sire, I have some bad news.”

                “I would advise that you do not speak it if you wish to continue living.”

                “But milord, it is about the messaging party. They have all perished. Only one man survived but he is severely injured. What should we do?”

                “D****t you little toad! What do you mean they are all dead? Bring in this man so I can question him. I will not stand to have my men fail at such a simple task.”

                “He said that the attack was well executed, everything was going right until one of the King’s men on horseback commanded two others to attack. Their aim was precise and they could spot our men as if they were in plain sight!”

                “Who were these men?”

                “We are not sure but we believe they are part of Evalena’s Elite Archer unit.”

                “Good. There will be more hope to those who are seeking revenge. I will make sure that these ‘Elite Archers’ are taken care of.”

                “Yes your lordship. What shall you have me do?”

                “Nothing as of right now. Continue training the men and building up the army. We have to make sure that we will overpower these weak humans.”

                “Yes of course. Oh, there was one last thing that the survivor said. The princess was killed in the attack.”

                “Even better than what I had hoped for! That martyrs the princess and causes her death to be a reason to fight for.”

                “You are not mad that she is harmed?”

                “No. This makes things more interesting now. We will see how our king will react to this tragedy.”

 

 

                The sound of rubber soles beating against the rocky path resonated throughout the courtyard as soldiers and couriers frantically scrambled to outposts. A loud bonging sound was heard overtop the rushing bodies and weapons bristling together. Commands were being shouted, trying to make their way throughout the loud cacophony of battle.

                I took in the fast paced movements of this well trained army as they went about their exercise. Commanders were expertly placed in corners of protection that not only kept them safe, but allowed their voices to travel to their men in a way that wouldn’t be heard as well. Sentries ran frantic from post to post, relaying orders between units, keeping the whole of the army with the knowing’s of what was going on.

                I was surprised to notice how few archers they had in their arsenal. They relied so heavily on their catapults and large crossbows to do the job for them.

                “Do you see that?” I asked James who was standing to my right, observing the exercise with me.

                “Hmm? See what?” He replied, not following my gaze.

                “They don’t have any archers protecting their walls. They are just hoping that their catapults and large crossbows will do the trick. What happens when the enemy comes in too close?”

                “That is where our soldiers come in.” A booming voice came from behind me. I winced as I was not expecting anyone to have snuck up on me that easily. The voice belonged to a tall, muscular man with gray hair just barely touching the dark brown that was natural in his youth. He seemed no older than twenty-five though, considering the softness of his clean shaven face. I took in his muddy brown armor and olive drab under garments that signified the Army of Winfard. Crested on his armor was the white crow, wings in full span and beak opened in a fearsome scream.

                “You must be the Sergeant at arms. You oversee this army?” I asked the Sergeant, taking mental notes on how he looked as a commander and how he would answer my question.

                “Aye, I do. I have been in charge here for the past ten years. What you see here is what I have come up with.” The Sergeant had a good head on his shoulders and seemed to be respectable, but he was lacking imagination. He didn’t see the fight as a whole, but merely summed it up in bits and pieces. This worked well if you were planning to stop an attack from barbarians that had almost no tactics but this was not going to work against the enemy that felled the kingdom of Evalena.              

                “What about your archers then? I notice that they are scarce and poorly trained. What were to happen if the enemy can survive against your machines? We are facing a new kind of enemy that none of us have ever faced before. We are going to need new tactics if we are going to combat them.” The Sergeants eyes narrowed, giving the impression that what I had said was offensive instead of constructive.

                “Are you trying to tell me how to run my army soldier?” The sudden ferocity came at a surprise and it took me a moment to regain my thoughts.

                “N-No. Forgive me I was just giving out a suggestion and noting things about your army from an outside view. I meant no disrespect.”

                “I see what this is; you feel that since I am not Evalenan, I don’t know how to command my army. We do not need your help for this, soldier, as we are perfectly capable of protecting our own country, unlike yourselves.” A slithery smile came across his face as he mentioned our defeat.

                My blood seemed to boil and it took all I could do to not make a mistake. The Sergeant must have seen, for his smile seemed to widen even more telling me to go ahead.

                “Sergeant, we come in a time of darkness, seeking help and shelter. Forgive us for interjecting with your training exercise as it was rude of us. We were taking personal notes on how your army is run and noticed differences between our two armies. There is no need for hostility as we came as friends, not seekers of overthrowing.” James was adequate with his words which I had not realized, but nonetheless was very grateful for. Not very many soldiers knew how to sweet talk a thick headed commander and walk away still intact.

                The Sergeant (who was still unnamed at this time) huffed in a sound of disagreement but let the matter drop. There was no need to ruffle the feathers of the hen that was going to nurse our egg to life.

                We took our leave from Sergeant Unknown and walked to a different part of the castle walls where we could look upon another section of the training exercise. Groups of soldiers were pitted together in mock fights to simulate battle. One on one, soldiers faced off in two-minute heats to begin with, and then were set up against two on one for another two minutes. This went on for about fifteen minutes until they split off into sub groups to talk about strategy and to go over the mistakes that each one made. I had to admit that their training techniques were definitely very well planned out. I was still kind of upset to see that there weren’t many archers in the midst of the army but I am also biased toward that aspect of war.

                “I have to give them credit, the Winfard army is really well trained. How come we don’t get any warriors to come to our army? They are definitely good enough.” I inquired to James.

                “Haven’t you noticed? There is a complete hatred of us in their eyes. They will fight alongside us but with a grudging contempt. I never figured out why until we came here. Do you notice how we never have anyone from Fort Winfard in our army? It isn’t that they don’t send anyone, it’s that none of them get into our schools. As soon as the commanders get word that they are from Winfard, they turn them away telling them that they are not good enough to enter our schools. We are the reasons that there is so much distaste in the eyes of a Winfard soldier when they are in the presence of an Evelanian soldier.” James replied.

                “What the hell is going on with our commanders? Can’t they see that we could use the help of our closest allies? James, I have a plan and I hope that you are willing to back me up on this one.” I stepped closer to James so I could inform him about my plan.

 

                Perry stood in the Grand Entry that led to the squalor of Castle Winfard with thoughts tacing through his mind. It wasn’t that this castle was not beautiful, it just lacked originality with its drab wooden frames and tattered shields of enemies lost in battle. The only spectacular thing about it was that it had one of the largest entryways in the kingdom. It was rumored when the castle was constructed by King Farlow in the Eight King reign, the king was allied with the Barthcile clan, one of the only clans of giants that existed in all of Guilldrin. He constructed this entry way in order for them to dine and discuss battle plans.

                “There you are lad.” The raspy voice of an older man startled Perry out of his reverie, bringing his solemn face and stoic demeanor back in place.

                “Milord,” He said as he bowed low, showing respect and condolences.  “Have you been seeking me for long?”

                The king, dressed in thick, black robes lined with the fur of mountain wolves, black tights clung to the skin of his legs, looked at Perry with a look of worry and sadness.

                “No. Not too long. I realized you could not have gone far and no doubt wanted to be alone for a few minutes. Please, do sit with me at the table.”

                The king motioned to the enormous wooden table that was placed down the middle of the hallway. Perry decided to take a seat opposite from the king, only to sit sideways in the chair so he could turn away if things got too emotional.

                “How long have you and my daughter seen each other.” King Ethelred left no room for small talk as he went straight for the ultimate question.

                “Not long sir. I was on a routine walk around the castle walls when I accidentally ran into your daughter coming around a corner. I was so startled that I didn’t realize who it was. I looked up and I just saw pure beauty. She gave me a stern look but then smiled when I gave her what must of looked like a horrified expression.

                ‘Milady!’ Perry exclaimed as he realized he had just ran into the princess. He bowed low, face flushed with embarrassment.

                ‘Do you fare well? I’m terribly sorry I should be more careful. Is anything hurt? Do you need me to call for someone? How are-‘

                ‘Soldier, please,’ Princess Arema cut him off, giggling as she did so. ‘I fare well and nothing is hurt or broken. It was an accident and I will allow you to keep your head.’ She said that last part with a smile and gave Perry a little wink. This seemed to soften Perry and he began to collect himself.

                ‘Yes, of course. I am just glad to see that you are okay. Is there anything I can get for you though milady? You seem to have dropped some of the flowers that you were carrying.’

                The princess looked down and noticed that he was right.

                ‘Oh shoot I did drop them. My favorite kind too.’ She mentioned as she looked back up to meet Perry’s gaze. After a moment, Perry leaned down and grabbed the lilies that had been dropped. Petals were splayed everywhere and not much was left of the actual flowers. Even so, Perry handed them to her as if they were the most beautiful flowers.

                ‘They aren’t much but I thought you might like these, milady. As you said so yourself, these are your favorite flowers.’ Perry managed to keep a straight face for as long as he could but soon lost it when Arema broke out into her gorgeous smile. Perry was smitten with her right at that moment and knew he wouldn’t be able to rest without courting this magnificent girl.

                “From that moment on, I knew I was in love. We agreed to meet again the next day since I was on Castle guard the rest of the week. She was always afraid though, worrying that someone would see her following me around the castle even though all we did was just talk.” Perry sat back against the chair (he adjusted himself during the story to the king) and looked across the table at the king’s expression.

                Tears were welling at the corners of his eyes as he must have remembered her smile, the way she laughed and how she could make anyone in the room smile.

                “She was lovely wasn’t she? Always able to create happiness no matter where she was. I miss her Perry. I miss her a lot. I understand you might feel the same considering you and her were lovers.”

                “Sir I feel partially responsible for her death. If I was able to respond faster or better or-or if I was closer to her I could have prevented this.” Perry’s face looked distraught and he was overcome with sadness.

                “Listen here soldier,” The king took on a whole new clarity about him and he addressed Perry with a sternness. “There was nothing you were able to do. You fought your hardest and you saved everyone else that was a part of this entourage. You lost one person, albeit that person was my daughter, but in my eyes that is a hell of a lot better than losing ten. Have you been in combat?”

                Perry shook his head but kept quiet

                “I have. I have fought in numerous wars with some of the greatest friends I ever had at my side. One minute you are fighting back to back, the next minute he is lying dead, throat cut, stomach slashed, or head cut off. We are at war with a type of creature the likes I have never seen before. This is going to be a continuous battle in terms that we are not used to. I need to know that I can rely on you to react in the same way as you did in the woods. Your execution was flawless, your aim was deadly, and your nerves were steeled. Perry, can I trust you to continue fighting for me and the lost country of Evalena?”

                Perry looked up and met the eyes of the old king. A fire was brewing in his belly but it was not the fire of solitude that was there before. It was the fire of respect, motivation, and vengeance toward the one he loves. “Milord, I will fight for you and I will avenge your daughter. You have my word.”

                The king looked pleased with this answer. “Good. Now let’s get to the business of strategy.”