Ardent

by Florian Armas

  “And they will join me. I am the rightful owner of Leyona.”

  “The rights go to the winner, and the Knights of Leyona will attack you first. Their sons will follow with the rest of my army. You know what I mean. It may not even be necessary, as I’ve blocked your access to water,” I gestured toward the foot of the hill on which his army was gathered. “It’s summer. I am asking you only once more, Devan. Why did the Circle push you into that alliance with Mohor?”

  Biting a curse on his lips, Devan turned his back to me, walked a few steps away, then returned, his eyes on fire. He breathed deeply. Once. Twice. “What might the final agreement be to our stand off?”

  “Truce, and your return to Deva. It will give you more time to understand what is happening around you.” I am still tempted to crush you.

  Devan moistened, then bit, his upper lip. “Orban wanted to make Mohor complacent, with the alliance, so he wouldn’t look for more help. The war should have started this year, with Mohor left alone. It would have been an attack from all his neighbors, and Severin split between them. Mehadin vanished last year, and Leyonan… I don’t know why things have changed. I had no choice…” Devan swallowed, and bit his upper lip again. “Three years ago, Orban captured my son, and released him only after I signed the alliance with Mohor and the marriage contract. We kept this a secret.”

  “Did Cantemir know about your son?”

  “At first, no. He convinced Orban to release my son, after I signed.”

  Someone played Cantemir. And it could only be someone from the Circle. “Orban could eat Mohor alone. He did not need your help. Why did he ask you to attack Severin?”

  “I don’t know. I was promised a third of Mehadia. I also agreed with Cantemir to give Cernat and Jara a house I have in the south, at the border with Leyona.”

  Are you trying to buy my goodwill? I have to check this with Cantemir. “How long would Deva resist in front of Orban’s army if I break you here? A month?” I waited quietly, yet no words left Devan’ mouth. “You didn’t see it until now. The more you let the Circle play you the more you drown. There is only quicksand around you, but the Circle has a weakness right now. They are in a bad position after choosing Bucur as candidate King, with false arguments. Many people know now that he won no battles and everything was a farce. The Circle’s influence is vanishing.” Not so fast, but... “An alliance of Seigneurs can oppose and defeat them. It will not be tomorrow, but I don’t see the Circle surviving more than five years, even if only a few of us are united. You just need to get rid of your Secretary to cut their strings that bind you. Would you join me against the Circle?”

  “I can’t,” he breathed. “I can’t answer you now.”

  “Then why should I let you go home?”

  “I said that I need time,” for the first time there was firmness in his voice. “For my part, Leyona is yours now, and Severin belongs to Mohor. And I agree with you that the Circle is playing us each against other. They will play against Leyona too. We may find more common ground in autumn.”

  You think that I may lose Leyona before then, and it may be true. “Don’t forget about your Secretary,” I said, and he nodded. “You have one turn to leave that hill and go home.”

  He stared at me, tried to turn, then just stepped back. “Thank you,” he said and left briskly.

  We shall be able to leave for Severin before noon. I glanced at the sun, and Saliné’s face burst into my vision.

  Chapter 17 – Jara

  Bucur’s return was both unexpected and unwanted. It brought back to me the nightmare of his previous unexpected return. I was now convinced that he had poisoned me to take advantage of Saliné’s grief. And he drugged her... The candidate King of Frankis. I glanced at Mohor and Father; both were hiding their thoughts well.

  “Codrin sent me back,” Bucur said, his eyes fixing a spot on the wall. “He was afraid that Orban would try to attack Severin by surprise. As you already know, Leyonan was defeated and killed. It was a great victory. Devan should follow soon.”

  “Any letter from Codrin?” Father asked.

  “We did not have time to write a letter. It was a quick decision on the road to Orhei. Codrin received some bad news from a fellow protector who crossed our path.”

  “If danger comes from the north,” Mohor said, looking absently, “then it will be helpful to take your men and patrol the border.”

  “Yes,” Bucur agreed, his eyes still on that spot. “Ten will be enough for a strong patrol. The other ten should stay here. Just in case.” Mohor nodded. “I will leave at noon,” Bucur stood up. “If you don’t mind, I want to bathe before I leave,” he said and left the room.

  “I don’t like this,” Father said thoughtfully. “Codrin would have never sent anyone here without a letter for you, Mohor. And he would certainly have sent some of your guards. Aron’s men outnumber yours now. Even if Bucur stays away with his ten men, Aron is now only a few soldiers down.”

  “Victory, Leyonan is dead, urgency...” I stared at the same point of the wall that Bucur used while speaking. “He did not spare any word to fool us.”

  “You imply that we should leave Severin,” Mohor rubbed his chin. “To go where? I know, Codrin told us to hide in his fortified home, I can’t say fortress, in Cleuny, if the need arises. But will be it safer?”

  “Yes,” Father said bluntly.

  It took a while for Mohor to answer. He stood up slowly, and went to the map on the wall. “It’s a two or three day ride to Cleuny. Maybe five with the children, and the need to hide and take less used roads. It may be dangerous.”

  “It may be even more dangerous to stay here,” I said. “I still have that front-basket I carried Mark on that short ride to Anler, so we used no carriage. He has grown a bit, but it still can be used.”

  “Yes, it still can be used,” Mohor repeated, absently, still staring at the map. “You will go soon after Bucur leaves Severin with his men. I will give you ten guards. Jara,” he turned toward me, “Veres should not be part of this escape. I am sorry,” he took my left hand, and I just nodded, gripping his fingers. ”I should stay too.”

  “You can’t.” I jumped up. “Mohor,” I grabbed his other arm with my right hand. “You must come with us too.”

  “I am the Seigneur of Severin,” he shook his head. “I can’t abdicate from my duties. I may not be a soldier, but I am not a coward.”

  “Your main duty is to stay alive, Mohor. For Mark. For me. Severin will not run away from here. When Codrin is back, we will return too.”

  “I have to think about it,” he said, and left the room with the reluctant steps of an old man.

  For some moments, my mind closed on itself; there was no way to leave Mohor behind, alone with Aron and Bucur. I need something, and I need to prepare the children. After my signal, Vio and Saliné were ready in minutes; it was like they already guessed something after seeing Bucur. I dressed Mark, and he chuckled cheerfully when I told him about our long journey, and that he will ride on my horse. Mark... I stared at him, and took his small body in my arms. We left my room, and went together to find Mohor. Each time he chose to say ‘I stay in Severin’, I leaned Mark closer to him.

  “Fine,” Mohor smiled after a while. “You’ve convinced me.” He ruffled Mark’s hair, who smiled happily. “We leave in one turn.”

  “Where is Bogza?” Mohor asked when we arrived at the gate. Bogza was the Chief of the Gate, and the leading guard when Vlaicu and Ban were not in Severin.

  “He is not here,” one man I did not know answered. He wore Aron’s colors.

  “That much I see,” Mohor said. “I asked where he is.”

  “We don’t know, Sir,” he shrugged.

  I counted fast. There were ten guards at the gate, five of them ours, but we had the ten soldiers who were joining us on the journey to Cleuny, so we outnumbered them.

  “Bern, open the gate,” Mohor ordered, and I remembered that Bern was Aron’s Chief of Guard.

  “I
apologize, Sir, but it will be dangerous to leave now. Orban’s soldiers were seen close to Severin.”

  “I did not ask your opinion. Open the gate.”

  “I apologize, Sir, but I have my orders to protect you,” Bern said.

  “You are not protecting me. I am the Seigneur of Severin,” Mohor shouted to all the soldiers around. “Dan, open the gate,” he said to one of our guards.

  Dan nodded and moved forward. Three of Aron’s men stepped between him and the gate. Hands on hilts, our men split from Aron’s and joined the guards who were to leave with us. That is, two of them did. Three of our guards joined Aron’s, and the windows in the wall showed three bows ready to shoot. I sensed movement behind, ten more soldiers coming to the gate. Aron’s.

  They took the Gate. Where is Bogza?

  “Please, Sir,” Bern said. “I am sure that everything will be clarified in the evening, when Aron is back.”

  “We have no chance now,” Father whispered to Mohor, who nodded, and we returned to the palace and barricaded ourselves inside.

  By the evening, all the guards who were still on our side gathered there too, and I counted twenty-six. We had fourteen traitors.

  “Bogza is dead,” one soldier said. “I saw Aron’s men carrying his body just before I came here.”

  “We are twenty-eight soldiers against forty or more,” Father said to all the people gathered in the main hall, soldiers and servants. “Aron will have fifty men when Bucur returns. Jara, Saliné, Vio and some servants are familiar with the bow or with the dagger. There are enough of us to keep the castle for months, until Codrin comes back with the army. There is plenty of food.”

  “We need a way to send a courier to Codrin,” I said loudly, to be heard by all.

  “Tonight, I will take care of this,” Father agreed, and I understood that he planned to contact Ferd, Valer’s man in Severin.

  Together with Mohor, he made all the plans for a long siege, and in half turn, all the soldiers were instructed and at their posts. The armory was in the Guard Tower, but we found six bows and more than a hundred arrows in the castle. Each soldier was already armed, so things did not look bad.

  “Aron is back.” A soldier burst in the hall, one of the five watchers Mohor had ordered.

  We waited for him to come and negotiate, but he did not show up, leaving us both relieved and worried. The morning came slowly, after a night that was both short and filled with dread. Under the bright sun, the plaza in front of the castle was peaceful. Aron did not try to attack; we were too many inside the castle, and Father was an experienced commander.

  He may wait for more of his men to come. I kept the thought to myself.

  It was almost noon when some soldiers finally occupied the plaza in front of the castle. There were more than a hundred.

  “Orban’s colors,” I whispered from my window. “Aron let them enter Severin.”

  “We may have a complication,” Father said, biting his lower lip. “I will go down to see what they want.” His hand touched briefly the hilt of his sword, and he drew a deep breath before leaving the castle.

  He came back together with a bunch of people that I feared and loathed at the same time: Aron, Bucur, Aurelian the Sage and Doren, Orban’s Spatar. Father looked calm, but his face was ashen.

  “Lady Severin, Sir Mohor,” Doren bowed briefly. “I came with an invitation from Grand Seigneur Orban. He asks you to enjoy Arad as his guests.”

  “We thank him for his kind invitation,” Mohor said, “but, taking into account the war that is raging in our lands, we can’t leave Severin for the moment. When the situation improves, we can think again about Orban’s invitation.”

  “Mohor...” Aurelian the Sage tried to speak.

  “I am not Mohor to you, Sage,” Mohor said, coldly.

  “Sir Mohor,” Aurelian shrugged, unimpressed. “The Circle advises you to accept the invitation. It covers all your family, except Saliné and Veres, who will remain to manage Severin, with Bucur, until you return.”

  “Vio should go into Codrin’s custody.” I tried at least to save her from Orban.

  “Ah, yes,” Aurelian said. “The agreement we have. She will return to him when the conditions are appropriate.”

  “We will leave today. Seven hundred soldiers from Arad are here to protect you during the journey,” Doren said, and there was nothing more to negotiate.

  “Mohor, it is the best solution to keep Severin, and you, safe,” Aron said, after Doren left the council room. “Everything will return to normal when you are back. The Circle has guaranteed your safety. Everything will be fine.”

  “Shut-up, you traitor,” Mohor said in a cold voice.

  “I don’t want to be you when Codrin is back,” Vio glared at Aron.

  “Everything was done for your safety, little girl.” Aron smiled condescending at her.

  Too many ‘everything’…

  “You know, Big Mouth? You will be much shorter without that ugly head on your shoulders,” Vio smiled back.

  “Get out, Aron,” I said, and set my arm around Vio’s shoulders. I embraced her after he left, and Saliné came to us too. We stayed in silence, unmoving. There was too much dry desert inside me to shed even a tear, and I tried in vain to think what to say to my daughters. They will keep Saliné as hostage.

  “Saliné,” I whispered after a while. “Do you remember what Codrin said about Bucur and Severin?”

  “That Bucur will need it to have a power base.”

  “Well, it’s just happened,” I said, bitterly. “They played better, and with all our precautions we’ve lost. But that is not what I wanted to tell you. Codrin said more, but did not want to worry you at that time. He said,” I breathed, still unsure if it was the right thing to do. “He said that Bucur doesn’t need you as Queen. Not after becoming Seigneur of Severin. He will need a wife who can bring him an army. Look at me,” I left Vio aside, and grabbed Saliné’s hands. “There are several candidates in the south who have passed the test of the Circle. We don’t know them yet. This may help you or may not. It depends a lot on the situation. You may be in danger, but you have also the opportunity to hold and negotiate. And postpone some things...”

  “Codrin should be strong enough to pressure them.” Saliné’s fingers gripped mine too.

  “Yes, they will not dare to harm you.” They will not dare to kill you, but they may still harm you. And Orban... I closed my eyes, thinking of Vio and little Mark. “You know Ferd,” I glanced at her and she nodded. “He is the liaison between Valer and us. Use him to send messages.”

  “Aron is the master of Severin now.”

  “Valer counts on Codrin’s rise in Frankis hierarchy and he is close to Dochia. You need to be cautions with the most important things, but Ferd can be trusted for some other things. You are clever enough to decide what.” I caressed her hair, forcing a smile on my lips, and she nodded.

  “You still have Codrin’s knives,” Vio said, her eyes thin, like she was thinking how to kill Aron or Orban.

  “Vio,” I half reproached her. I have to rein on her; Orban is more dangerous than Aron.

  “I will take mine too,” Vio stubbornly continued. “They are small, flexible and easy to hide, even in a dress.”

  “My strong daughters,” I whispered and embraced them again.

  “Lady S’Severin.” Doren, the Spatar of Arad, entered our room, when the time we had been allowed by him had passed. “We should leave now.”

  “Don’t worry, Doren, your captives will be ready in time.”

  “I apologize if you think of it that way, but you are not captive, just honored guests of Grand Seigneur Orban.”

  “Yes, yes,” I said, trying hard to control my voice. How much must the ‘guest’ pay for his hospitality? Will my body be enough to shield my children from Orban? “Why did Orban request Vio?” I have to kill him, if he tries to touch Vio. Then suicide... Our final escape.

  “He did not ask for her to visit Arad.” Doren kept
up the pretense of a casual trip. “It was... It was Aron’s choice.”

  “Aron?” And Aurelian, that scoundrel from the Circle. “Can we agree then to send Vio to our house in the south?” I stared at him, holding my breath.

  “I apologize, Lady S’Severin, but it is too late to change the actual arrangements. I have already sent a courier to Arad with the news.”

  “It’s never too late,” I said, still staring at him. “And such generosity will be well rewarded.”

  “Thank you, Lady S’Severin, your generosity may indeed offer many things, but it will not keep me alive. Please, let’s go, now.”

  In the end, it was Mohor who delayed us. He used every possible gambit to postpone our departure, for a reason that remained hidden to me, and knowing what was in front of us, I did not try to influence him. He changed clothes twice; returned to his room to pick another thing that he had forgotten. It bought us almost one turn. All this time, he did not exchange a word with me, just smiled thinly each time I stared at him. There was no joy in his smile, and I could not smile back. When we finally left the castle, most of our servants were lined up in the front yard. In silence, they bowed while we passed, then followed us toward the main gate of Severin. With each minute, they grew in numbers; more people from the city joined them, in a silent march.

  “Move back,” Aron’s men, watching the gate, shouted to some merchants whose carts were blocking the way. News that they were finally allowed to leave the city spread during the day. Orban’s soldiers did not interfere, waiting around the carriage that would take me and my children. Vio wanted to ride, and she was allowed a horse, and I had one too, but we were forced to leave the city in the carriage. Aron wanted to sneak us out late in the evening, when no one could see us. Doren overrode him.

  Six carts, I counted; five of them belonging to outside merchants from Deva, Mehadia and Leyona. We stopped for a while, until the carts freed the road to the gate.

  “Get in your carriage,” Bern, Aron’s Chief of the Guard, growled at me. Imitating Mohor, I moved slowly, with Mark in my arms. Vio followed me.