To Love in Peace: 10th Anniversary Edition

by Kathleen Bird

  She had just about given up looking when she found him, and at the sight of him, she wept. That blood red cloak was now dark with its owner’s blood and the blood of who know how many others. His sword was lying a little way apart; it must have been knocked from his hand, she thought. The body looked as if it had been trampled over after he died; and it probably had.

  The numbness Katherine had felt when she first heard set in again. Until she found the body there was hope that he still lived. Now that hope was gone.

  After burying her father, she lay down and tried to sleep; but her sleep was troubled with dreams of battle and conquest and death and her father and her sister and Adven and Suffrom. A never-ending tumble of pictures and sounds and words:

  “Your father is dead.”

  “I’m having a baby.”

  “Will you not stay to fight?”

  Blood. Blood. A sword. Drawn. Coming at her. The enemy surrounding her. Suffocating.

  “You will be conquered!”

  Eli! Why is he weeping?

  “Katherine is dead!”

  No, I am here!

  “Her god sent her on a foolish mission!”

  No! I chose to come!

  The knight.

  “You are Queen.”

  No! I’m not ready! Stop! Why won’t the pictures stop? My father’s not dead! He can’t be dead! NOOOOOO!!!!

  She awoke with a start. A sound came from across the clearing. Her hand went to her sword. The rustling sound came closer, closer, closer…

  A menacing shadow jumped out of the trees and brandished a sword in her direction, letting out a warrior’s cry.

  Katherine screamed and leapt aboard her horse. She drove her out of the forest and into the pitch-black countryside. Just when she felt she had gotten away she heard the sound of another horseman gaining on her. She tried to pick up speed; but her horse stumbled, and Katherine went flying off her and into the grass.

  The horseman approached her slowly; she drew her sword.

  “Stay! I hold a sword and one should not tempt me to use it!”

  The stranger came closer, curiosity plain in his expression. He held his hands out in a gesture of peace; although she could see his sheathed sword hanging from his belt, easily within arm’s reach. “Who is this who speaks so boldly to the ruler of these parts?”

  This angered her. “I am the ruler of these parts! I am Queen Katherine, daughter of Andrew, King of Adven and ruler of the land we now stand on!”

  The stranger laughed. “I know not this Andrew nor this Katherine. Perhaps you wish to challenge my claim?”

  A glint of steel accompanied his words. It was all the encouragement she needed.

  Her sword flashed out but was stopped by his. “Will you not even allow me to dismount?” A hint of a smile shone through his words.

  “Dismount,” Katherine replied.

  He did so and in one swift movement had tossed her sword across the hill. He laughed.

  “You should not let down your guard so easily, Queen Katherine.”

  “Do not mock me!”

  “I only give you fair advice.”

  “I need none of your advice. What do you want of me that you would disgrace me so?”

  “Nothing, save your name.”

  “This I have already given.”

  The stranger walked over and retrieved her sword, handing it to her with a smile. She snatched and sheathed it. He then sat down on the grass and motioned for her to sit down as well. Instead of accepting the unspoken offer, she angrily crossed her arms and remained standing.

  “Who are you?”

  The man smiled again. “My name is of no consequence, for I am called many things. The rescuer and the destroyer. The light and the dark. The master and the servant.”

  Katherine wanted to scream. “I care nothing of what you are called.” She again drew her sword and pointed it at his neck. “Only your name.”

  “My name is King Michael.”

  He paused as though waiting for her to react to his announcement. He didn’t wait long.

  “What meaning does that name have that you should look at me so?” Her sword inched nearer.

  “I am told it means ‘Who is like God?’”

  Her hand wavered. “Are you a believer in the One True God?” she asked.

  Michael laughed. “Indeed I am, for if I were not…” His sword flashed out, and he had her pinned to the ground in a moment. “You would already be dead.”

  He released her and then sheathed his sword. Katherine was upon him in a moment. She threw him to the ground and pointed her sword at his neck. She smiled.

  “You should not let your guard down so easily, King Michael.”

  She let him up then sheathed her own sword. They both sat down on the grass, their horses drinking from a brook just on the other side of the clearing, blissfully ignorant of the swordplay of their master and mistress.

  Katherine spoke first. “What claim do you have that you are king, Michael?”

  “I have no claim except that to my people I am a king. I am king as well as clergy, for my people serve the God that you obviously do, Katherine.”

  Katherine paused a moment to think about it. Adven was obviously lacking when it came to the spiritual. Perhaps she was still dreaming, and in her dream had entered into another realm, one where this Michael was king.

  The thought troubled her. In her sorrow, had she gone mad? What would Eli think?

  Michael studied her. She looked like a queen and he had never really ventured out from his own village, his kingdom. Of course, he had never dreamed that a mere girl would come to challenge his claim. He had worked too hard for her to take it away.

  But there was the matter of her faith. She was obviously a believer in God. As easily as he could have killed her, she could have just as easily killed him by now.

  Katherine looked at him for a long moment before saying, “How did you come here? Why did you come here? How long have you known the one true God? Why have I never heard of you?”

  Michael laughed. “I suppose I am a bit of a mystery, aren’t I? Well, my story is a long one…”

  “I have the time,” Katherine said quickly.

  He paused. “Well, I came from the kingdom of Suffrom when I was a teenager. My parents had raised me as a believer in God, and I decided that God was not for me. Seeing as how everyone in Suffrom believed in God, I ran away.” He shrugged when she looked at him in confusion. “It seemed the best choice available to me at the time. I wanted to be as far away from my old life as possible; so I came here. I, being the naive boy that I was, brought nothing save my horse and was soon starving. Thankfully, the people from one of the villages here saved me and nursed me back to health.” He laughed somewhat awkwardly at the memory.

  “I felt awful because I had nothing to give save myself; so I went to work for the leader of the town and soon found that the town had no joy whatsoever. I realized that the only reason I had joy was because of the faith that had driven me away from home. I immediately fell on my face and prayed, asking for forgiveness. God heard my prayer, and I soon was telling anyone who would listen about the God of joy. To my surprise, my words spread through the whole village; everyone soon was putting their faith in the One True God I spoke of. They declared they would no longer be a part of Adven and proclaimed me to be their king, as well as their helper in their new faith.” He glanced at her to confirm that she’d remained engaged until the end of the story.

  She paused, contemplating, before hesitantly asking, “How long ago was this?”

  “Two years.”

  The beginning of the war. “How have you remained unscathed by the war?”

  Michael shrugged. “God has protected us. What more can I say?”

  Katherine thought a moment. “One more question.”

  “Speak it.”

  She paused. “Don’t think me rude but, aren’t you a little young to be a king?”

  The sound of Michael’s laugh r
ang through the forest. “I was thinking the same of you!”

  Katherine frowned. “I am twenty-one!”

  “As am I. I suppose we are young to rule anything aren’t we?” He laughed heartily.

  “I do not appreciate being laughed at!” Katherine said sternly.

  A noise stopped them both. It sounded like a rustling in the trees.

  Michael put his hand on Katherine’s shoulder. “Stay here. I will see who it is.”

  Katherine shrugged his hand off. “I can take care of myself.”

  With that, she walked quickly towards the forest, with Michael following right behind her.

  “Who’s there?” she called into the night.

  Her response was the glint of a sword being drawn, reflecting off the moonlight.

  “Run!” she shoved Michael and raced to her horse. He followed and leapt atop his own mount. They turned them away from the clearing and pushed further into the forest with the other horseman was right on their heels.

  Then the worst happened. Her horse stumbled and fell. Katherine tumbled off and rolled into the grass; she shouldn’t have been pushing her horse so hard.

  “Go!” she yelled as Michael hesitated.

  “Go,” she whispered again as she drew her sword.

  He looked to see the other horseman gaining on them.

  “Your people need you to teach them about the true God,” she urged.

  “I will come back with help,” he replied and sped off into the night.

  She turned to face her adversary. He came riding at her with sword drawn. Katherine rose up off the ground to meet him. His sword was crashing down upon her head before she could get fully to her feet; only her raised sword stopped the assault. He rode past her and returned to try again. She was tired and unprepared to face such an enemy. She fell to the ground seconds before the sword breezed past her. Her mind was fuzzy, keeping her knelt on the ground as it felt like the darkness and the sound of hoofbeats echoed in her brain. The only thing that seemed real was that she was very much alone in a dark forest.

  “Help me, God,” she whispered as everything faded away.

  Chapter Three

  When Katherine came back to consciousness, she found herself bound hand and foot in what seemed to be a tent. Her sword had been taken away from her and was nowhere to be found. She sat up to see her surroundings better, which were indeed inside a tent. It was dark and had nothing in it save the blanket she had just been lying on. At one end of the tent was an opening.

  A way to escape? Katherine scooted herself along the ground until she could see out the opening.

  What she saw was a typical war camp. There were tents for the knights scattered about, and one big tent which must be for their war leader or king. The fire in the middle of it all burned brightly and crackled with intensity. There were several men gathered around it, eating it looked like. A big pot sat by the side of the fire, obviously their supper. The men stood around it, scooping whatever it was into their clay bowls. The men looked thin and tired, but more importantly they were not knights of Adven.

  Katherine looked around for their war standard or some other sort of clan marking. Strangely there were none. Not a symbol, flag, or any other mark of family. Also there were no women. That could be easily explained away because it was obviously a war camp, but there should be one or two to cook and clean for the knights.

  And there was no way to escape. She could never get past all those men by the fire or any other knight that might be hiding out in his tent.

  She sat back and sighed. The ropes chafed her wrists and ankles, and she was ferociously hungry. What would these men do with her? She was clearly their only prisoner. What had they done with her horse? Did Michael get away? Were they searching for him right now?

  She shook her head. Why was she worrying about Michael? She had more important things to worry about, like escaping.

  Just then, a man came out of the big tent. He wore golden armor and a large sword at his side. He was obviously their leader, whoever they were. He scanned the camp until he spotted her.

  Katherine scooted back into the tent, struggling to get free. The ropes were tied tight with thick knots; there was no way she could get them loose.

  The chief entered the tent and glared at her. She met his glare with her own.

  “What are you doing here?” he said in the general tongue of Adven.

  “Your men captured me.”

  “Why did you threaten them?”

  Katherine’s anger boiled over. “I never threatened your men or any of your people! They captured me for no reason!”

  He studied her for a moment. Then it seemed like something clicked in his mind. “Where do you come from?”

  “Adven.”

  “Who is your father?”

  “My father is dead.”

  He leaned closer to her, his hot breath filling her nose with an unwelcome scent. “I don’t care if he’s dead; I asked who he was. What was his name?”

  She closed her mouth and refused to say anything more.

  He fumed for a minute and then left without saying another word.

  Alone once more, Katherine had a few minutes to think. What did she know? She knew there were a group of unmarked knights just across the southern border of Adven. The chief thought she was hiding something, and there was no way to escape.

  She sighed. What could she do? She was their prisoner, and there was no way she could get out on her own. Coldness seemed to envelop her as she realized how alone she truly was. No one even knew she was in trouble.

  Michael! The thought leapt into her head before she could stop it. He saw her capture; perhaps he could get word to Eli, or the knights out in the countryside. Maybe his own people would be willing to help her.

  What am I thinking? He had probably run off into the forest and forgotten all about her. If she was getting out of here, she would be the one who would have to do it. With God’s help, it was possible; she just didn’t know exactly how.

  Michael fell onto his bed and sighed. What was he supposed to do? The people were out tending to the crops, and he was all alone in the village. This is no time for moping. Katherine needs my help! But he had no idea where she was or who the man was who had attacked them.

  He stopped for a moment. When had he started calling Katherine by her first name?

  Michael shook his head. Again, this was no time for that. He had to figure out a way to help Katherine.

  He looked around his house. It was one room, with a fire pit, bed, table and chairs. His sword sat in the corner across from him.

  God, what should I do? Normally his prayers were not quickly answered; but in this instance, he knew immediately what he needed to do. In one stride, he was across the room, and his sword was in his hand. “I will find you, Queen Katherine. I will save you!”

  He threw open the door and marched into the sunlight.

  Michael’s horse galloped over the hills searching for Katherine’s trail. Whoever captured her was careless. He had left tracks all over the place.

  He followed the tracks until he reached a camp. Knights were wandering around the fire and getting ready for supper. The sun was going down and they apparently wanted to eat before dark. Several knights were cooking the food while others put more wood into the fire. Others were cleaning the weapons and feeding the horses.

  Michael crouched outside the camp, hidden in some bushes. He watched all the goings on very carefully. But he saw no sign of Katherine. He saw a rather large tent on one side; that must be where the chief must be. On the other side of the camp was a smaller tent. No one was going in or out of that one.

  That must be where Katherine is! They must be holding her as some sort of prisoner! The thought angered him, which was surprising since he barely knew her; but he felt like rushing in immediately without any sort of plan in order to spare her any further suffering.

  But he had to be patient. God, please help me. I’ve got to find her before she gets
hurt. Keep her safe until I do.

  He drew his sword and crept toward the camp.

  Katherine slowly worked to loosen the ropes around her wrists. After she did that she could untie the ropes around her feet.

  Suddenly the sound of panicking men and horses filled the tent. She looked out the opening and saw knights running and grabbing their swords and jumping onto horses. An attack perhaps?

  “I have come to rescue a friend of mine. I believe you have her?”

  “Michael!” Her heart thumped, and she frantically thrashed at the ropes a final time. The ropes miraculously slipped free, and she hurriedly untied the knots around her ankles. She ran out the opening into the evening twilight.

  Michael stood in the middle of the camp with his sword at the chief’s throat. He looked quite majestic as she ran towards him. Not exactly the best time to be gawking at a handsome face, she reprimanded herself internally.

  “Katherine!” He looked at her with an expression of relief on his face.

  But the moment was over too soon. The chief and the knights took advantage of Michael’s distraction and began their attack. Michael easily disarmed several of the men, who seemed ill prepared for battle against a real swordsman. Then he turned to face the chief, who seemed much more confident than his underlings. Around them, more knights were coming to the aid of their leader.

  “Michael, no!” Katherine grabbed a sword forgotten by its owner by the fire and headed into the fray.

  They fought back-to-back for several minutes before Katherine insisted, “Michael, we can’t fight them all. We must escape while we can!” Even as she spoke, more men poured from the surrounding tents and joined the attack.

  “You’re right! My horse is behind your tent. When I say ‘now’ run for it.” His voice sounded exhausted and out of breath.

  “Alright!”

  They fought a few more seconds before, “Now!”

  They took off for Michael’s horse. Brushing past knights and horses, they forced their way out of the fight. When they reached the horse, Michael leapt aboard it and reached down for Katherine’s hand. She hesitated.