Kingdom's Hope

by Chuck Black

  “I will never let them go. You will have to kill me!”

  Leinad looked at the guards, overseers, and slaves—all stunned, waiting for his action. He didn’t want any more bloodshed. If he killed Fairos, the loyal guards could turn the scene into a massacre of the slaves. He needed Fairos to order the release of the people. It would be the only peaceful way to free them. He looked down at Fairos and stared into his eyes.

  “No, Fairos, I will not kill you. I will do something far worse than that to you. I will let you live. You will live with the shame that a lowly slave on a mission from the King defeated you.” He withdrew his sword and held it high in the air. He turned and faced the people.

  “People of Nyland!” he shouted. “Let it be known that by the might of the King’s sword, mighty Fairos was defeated. I challenge Fairos to another contest tomorrow. If he defeats me, I will serve as a slave under his hand until my heart beats no more. If I am victorious, let this be proof that the King reigns and that He will bring judgment upon you for enslaving His people.”

  Leinad sheathed his sword and glared at Fairos once more. “If there is any honor left in you, meet me here tomorrow.”

  “I will meet you and kill you, slave!” Fairos said.

  Leinad walked past him to his horse, Freedom.

  TESS HAD BEEN WITH A large procession of slaves returning with a new load of bricks for the castle when she first saw the crowd gathered about the drawbridge. As the slave caravan moved closer, Tess watched the last sequence of the fight between the two men and sensed something familiar about one of them, even from a distance.

  She tried to move faster, but the nearest overseer detained her. Her mind dared not think the impossible, but she could not quench the hope rising within her heart. For weeks she had mourned the death of Leinad. Then, when he spoke to the crowd, she felt as though her stomach flipped within her. She broke from the other slaves and ran toward the drawbridge despite the severe punishment she knew she would receive. The mere thought that her dearest friend might still be alive was all she needed to abandon caution and seek out the truth.

  Leinad had finished speaking as she passed Barak at the head of the slave caravan.

  “Leinad!” she called.

  Barak released the coils of his whip and unleashed a vicious lash toward her back. “Back in line, slave!” he bellowed as the tip of his whip tore into her back.

  Tess screamed and fell to the ground in pain. Barak took a couple steps forward to execute more punishment, but Leinad heard her call and her scream. He drew his sword and quickly covered the distance between them.

  Barak’s whip split the air again, racing to tear more flesh on Tess’s back. Leinad precisely crosscut with his sword just above her head and cleanly severed one-third of Barak’s whip. Leinad slowed his approach but continued toward Barak with the wrath of a protective tiger. No one around challenged or stopped him, for he had just beaten the best swordsman in all of Nyland.

  Barak retreated a few steps, then pulled back what remained of his whip and directed a lash toward Leinad this time. Leinad sliced the next third off the whip. Barak threw what remained of his whip at Leinad and fell back against a cart full of bricks.

  “Stop him!” Barak yelled to the other overseers, but they did not move.

  Leinad closed in on Barak and pressed the tip of his sword into the fat of Barak’s neck. He glared into Barak’s pale white face with fire in his eyes. Barak looked like a frightened cornered rat.

  “Many slaves have died at your evil hands, Barak,” Leinad said. “If you ever harm another slave, I will hunt you down and bring justice by the edge of my sword. I swear it!”

  Leinad turned back to Tess. She was already on her feet and running to him. She leapt and hugged him with both arms locked around his neck.

  “Hello, Sunshine,” he said, gently returning her embrace.

  “I thought you were dead,” she said tearfully, still clinging to his neck.

  “So did I. But the King brought me back.”

  She stepped back and looked into his face as if to reassure herself that he was real.

  “Let’s get out of here, Tess,” he said, and they walked to Freedom.

  Just before they mounted, Leinad saw Fairos walk over to Keston’s body, pick up his sword, and return to the castle. The humiliation he had just experienced seemed to fuel his anger with every step. When he reached his guards across the drawbridge, he stopped and pointed to one of them.

  “You! Draw your sword!”

  The guard hesitantly drew his sword, and Fairos attacked him. The guard defended himself as best he could, but Fairos quickly ran him through, and he fell dead at Fairos’s feet. Fairos pointed to another.

  “Draw your sword!” he commanded.

  Again, another fell. Then another, until all of his guards cowered before him. He threw Keston’s sword to the ground and pointed toward Leinad.

  “I am Lord Fairos! Tomorrow he dies! Double the work shifts of all slaves!” Fairos turned and entered the gates of his castle.

  Leinad mounted Freedom and pulled Tess onto the horse behind him. “Have faith, people!” he called. “The King will set you free. Have faith!”

  Leinad took Tess to the sanctity of the countryside to let her taste freedom once again … at least for a day.

  HARDENED HEART

  Leinad and Tess found shelter within a quiet grove of trees a few hours’ ride from Pyron Mid. During the ride, they had talked about his experience in the desert and his training with the King.

  Leinad dismounted near a brook that meandered through the trees. He helped Tess down from the horse and saw her flinch.

  “How’s that cut, Tess?” he asked.

  “It’ll be fine. It’s just a scratch.”

  She shrugged, but Leinad turned her so he could see the wound more clearly. It was on her lower back on the right side. Most of the bleeding had stopped, but it looked painful.

  “It’s not just a scratch,” Leinad said, wishing he had stopped and dressed the wound earlier. “We need to wash it and cover it. Come over to the water.”

  Leinad washed the dried blood and cleaned the cut. Barak was an expert with the whip … Leinad could testify to that. Although the cut was not too deep, it was as long as the span of his hand. He was quite concerned since he knew that unattended wounds could fester and even cause death. He applied some of the sweet-smelling salve the King had given him.

  “What’s that?” Tess asked.

  “It’s an ointment made from a rare spice found across the Great Sea. It’s called the Life Spice. My father once told me about it, but I’d never seen any until I met the King.”

  Leinad wrapped a clean cloth around Tess’s waist and covered the gash.

  “It feels better already. Thanks!” She grabbed Leinad’s arm and looked into his eyes with a heartwarming smile. Tess kept her hair tied back, and she swept a few loose strands from her soiled face.

  “I missed you, Leinad. I still can’t believe you’re alive.”

  “I missed you too, Tess. Every day my hope was that you would be all right until I returned,” he said, returning the smile. Their temporary separation coupled with the possibility of never seeing each other again had caused them both to realize how important and deep their friendship had become.

  Tess washed up in the cool water while Leinad built a fire and fixed some food. They enjoyed their meal together and talked at length about the King and their future.

  “Well, Leinad, here we are again … the two of us with the whole kingdom to explore.” Leinad read concern on her face. She looked earnestly at him. “I want so badly to just leave this wretched place. I don’t want to lose you again, Leinad. Please don’t fight Fairos tomorrow.”

  “You know I have to go back, Tess. The King’s people will die there unless I do. We are part of them now. Don’t worry, the King will deliver all of us from the hand of Fairos.”

  Tess looked solemnly at the ground. “I know we must go back. I coul
dn’t leave them either. I just wish there was a better way than to see you face Fairos again.”

  Leinad looked sharply at Tess. “We are not going back. I am going back, and you are staying here, where it is safe, until I return,” Leinad said.

  Tess narrowed her eyes at Leinad. “I am going with you! I will run all the way to Pyron Mid if I must.”

  Leinad shook his head and looked upset, but he loved her courage. “Get some sleep, Tess. We both need it.”

  The weariness of slavery had taken its toll on Tess, and Leinad was exhausted from the sword fights earlier that day. Tomorrow was going to be another very intense day.

  THE NEXT MORNING, THEY ATE their breakfast in silence.

  “You’re not coming with me, Tess,” Leinad finally said. “I don’t know how Fairos will respond, and it might get brutal. Yesterday he demonstrated just how barbaric he can be.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” Tess said. “It’s much safer to leave a helpless young girl in the wilderness all alone.”

  Leinad couldn’t help the smirk, which turned into a smile. “You are an ornery lass and have been from the first time I met you.”

  Leinad and Tess made their way back to Pyron Mid and arrived just before noon. The cool morning air was quickly consumed by the sun of a cloudless day. At the castle, the entire entourage of guards, overseers, servants, and slaves were gathered around the drawbridge. Leinad and Tess dismounted.

  “Promise me you will not die, Leinad,” Tess whispered to him.

  “I promise, Tess. The King will be my strength and my assurance.”

  Tess took Freedom aside, and Leinad walked through the aisle formed by the crowd leading up to the drawbridge. The slaves looked more worn than usual. Leinad tried to encourage them with a determined smile, but most of them looked weary and empty. The younger ones responded enough to fuel Leinad’s drive. He walked to the middle of the drawbridge and waited.

  Fairos soon appeared and approached Leinad. “As you can see, I have gathered everyone so that they may witness your death today, slave. Your futile attempt to rescue these pathetic people is over, and so is your life.”

  “The King demands one thing from you, Fairos,” Leinad replied with authority. “He made a promise to free these people. If I die today, you can be assured that another will come who is much more powerful than I. Either way, your time is short unless you let His people go.”

  “I am king here,” Fairos said, drawing his sword, “and I swear by the power of my sword that I will never let these slaves go!”

  Leinad drew his sword and took a swordsman’s stance. “Then you swear in vain.”

  Once again, the sound of clashing swords filled the Nyland countryside. All eyes were fixed on the duel between castle lord and former slave. The fate of all onlookers depended on these two men and the outcome of their battle. Both men knew their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses well. It was not necessary to feel out the fight. Their engagements were intense and direct.

  The fight raged on—positions changed, tactics changed. Leinad focused on a seamless defense and a powerful, precise offense. Though Fairos appeared to hold nothing back, the fight turned against him once again. In spite of all his skill, experience, and rage, he could not bring Leinad down. His cuts came slower, and his parries were slightly delayed. It was all Leinad needed to open the fight to his favor, and he pressed in hard.

  Leinad saw Fairos gather his strength for a counterattack and feigned an opening in his defenses. Fairos brought a combination crosscut and slice followed by a powerful thrust at Leinad’s chest. Leinad quickly parried the thrust and stepped aside. Fairos stumbled forward and fell to the decking of the drawbridge. Leinad quickly covered him with his sword to prevent him from rising, but there was no fight left in Fairos.

  “End this misery for everyone and let the people go, Fairos,” Leinad said as rivers of sweat ran from his brow.

  Fairos worked to catch his breath. “I will not yield to a slave.” Fairos slapped Leinad’s blade with his own and began to rise. “And I will not free my slaves.”

  Leinad let Fairos pass to return to the castle, and it seemed to Leinad that the castle lord strode with his chin a little lower than normal.

  “I challenge Fairos to another contest tomorrow so that all may see the work of the King!” Leinad shouted for all to hear.

  Fairos stopped at the far side of the drawbridge and turned to face Leinad. His face projected the hate within him. He did not respond to Leinad but turned instead to Barak.

  “Barak!” he yelled loud enough for every slave to hear. “Cut all of the slaves’ food rations in half!” He then turned and walked to the gate of his castle. Those he passed kept their eyes to the ground.

  Though he was victorious in the sword fight, Leinad stood on the drawbridge feeling completely defeated. The moan of the slaves crushed his heart and his hope. He walked to Tess and his horse.

  “Some deliverer you are, Leinad,” said a man by the name of Garrin. “It looks like all you’ll deliver is a bunch of dead slaves!” Garrin was a man who would compromise anything or anyone to better himself. Because of his overbearing personality, some of the slaves looked to him as a leader, and he despised Leinad’s encroachment on his influence with the people.

  “Leave us alone,” another man said. “Because of you, we’re overworked, and now we’re starvin’ too.”

  Leinad and Tess mounted Freedom and left the castle grounds to the sound of jeers and taunts.

  They rode in silence. What should have been a day of celebration had become a day of oppression, and Leinad felt responsible for it all.

  How many will die today because of me? he asked himself.

  The horse’s rhythmic bounce seemed to pound that question into his mind over and over.

  BROKEN CHAINS

  The next morning, Leinad and Tess were back at the castle. Leinad knew his mission and steeled himself against the defiance of the slaves and of Fairos’s people.

  Unlike the previous day, the people were not gathered around the drawbridge. They were working hard, and the oppression of the overseers was severe. Virtually the only action the slaves took that did not bring a scourging from the overseers was when they cursed Leinad as he rode by. Hungry, exhausted, and beaten, they were a people in the depths of despair and hopelessness like they had never felt before.

  It was almost too much for Leinad to continue, but he saw the face of the boy who had first recognized him when he returned three days ago and found all the encouragement he needed. The boy looked up from his burden and smiled at Leinad. It was a smile that gently said, “Take us away from here.” Leinad found affirmation in the heart of one boy.

  Leinad took his position in the middle of the drawbridge. There was no announcement, no herald. All knew he was there, but Fairos did not show.

  By midafternoon, Leinad was still waiting in silence. He knew that Fairos could not ignore him forever. With every passing moment, Fairos was admitting defeat.

  Eventually Fairos left the safety of his chamber and exited the castle gate. He rushed upon Leinad without any exchange of words.

  The initial ferocity of Fairos’s attack set Leinad in early retreat, and it took him some time to recover and counter with an advance of his own. But soon Leinad was aware of an attitude in Fairos’s fight that he had never seen before. Though the strength of the fight was still available to Fairos, Leinad could feel his resignation to defeat. He guarded himself against a possible ruse Fairos might have planned.

  The work on the castle grounds stopped once word of the fight spread. The slaves were not sure who they wished to win, for they could not imagine bearing the next hardship that was sure to come if Leinad was victorious again.

  The fight continued and positions were exchanged many times until Leinad’s back was to the castle. Fairos advanced with a quick and powerful combination just as Leinad heard the quick but quiet approach of someone behind him. Leinad knew this new attacker was close behind him, s
o he parried a hard thrust from Fairos slightly downward and began to sidestep and turn to face his second opponent.

  “Nevin!”

  The scream of Lady Fairos reached the ears of the combatants on the drawbridge, but it was too late. Fairos’s young son, with his boy-size sword, had charged Leinad from behind to end his father’s disgrace. As Leinad stepped clear of Fairos’s deadly thrust, the boy ran full into his father’s sword.

  An instant of shock silenced everyone. The scream of a hysterical Lady Fairos shattered the silence. The boy looked briefly at his father and then collapsed to the deck of the drawbridge.

  “No!” Fairos screamed in disbelief of the horrific scene before him. He withdrew his sword, threw it aside, and fell to the decking beside his son. He cradled him in his arms.

  “My son! I’ve killed my son!”

  Leinad stepped back in silence. Lady Fairos ran to her dead child and wept uncontrollably. Some of the castle guards approached with swords drawn, ready to do Fairos’s bidding. Fairos looked up at Leinad with the face of a completely broken man.

  “You have taken my honor … you have taken my son. Take these wretched people and leave me forever!”

  Fairos lifted the limp body of his son and carried him into the castle. Lady Fairos’s servants all but carried her back to the castle.

  Leinad was shaken by the tragedy as well, but he reminded himself of the countless people that had come to an early death, some of them children, because of Fairos’s enslavement of the people. He steeled himself for the monumental job that lay ahead.

  He spoke to one of the guards he had once trained when he was instructing Fairos’s men. “Tell the rest of the guards and the overseers of Fairos’s command to release the people. There has been enough bloodshed. We do not need any more.”

  The guard acknowledged and began spreading the word. The people had been enslaved for so long that they were cautious and unwilling to accept their freedom.