by Iny Lorentz
Once he said it, Michel realized that the first gray shroud had just been lifted from his memory. Breathing heavily, he stared at the boy, wide-eyed.
“By the Holy Virgin and Saint Pelagius, you’re right! My name is Michel Adler, and I was made a knight of the Reich by the kaiser. Jesus Christ! I know who I am. But tell me, Michi, what are you doing here in Bohemia?”
“I’m with the knight Heinrich von Hettenheim and his men. We marched the whole way to Falkenhain without coming across a single Hussite.”
“That’s because all of them are here!” Sokolny interjected bitterly.
Michel scowled. “You’ve come with a Hettenheim?”
He sounded so angry that Michi and the count winced, but then the boy laughed.
“Yes, with Sir Heinrich, the cousin of the evil Sir Falko, but rest assured, sir, that Sir Heinrich is no friend of his relative.”
Michel looked confused. “I don’t really understand, but it’s not important right now. Tell us why the knight and his men set out on such a long and dangerous journey.”
“The kaiser sent us to support Count Sokolny.” Michi laid out briefly but precisely the reasons for the trip, then explained that the group was now waiting for its chance to break the siege of the castle.
Sokolny thought of the Taborites swarming outside his gate like ants, and shook his head. “It won’t work. There are too many of them. You have to retreat before you’re discovered.”
“Then they’ll definitely be killed. The only way Marek’s companions can help us is to join us as soon as possible.” Michel raised his head and gazed through an open window at the night sky, where a few stars were shimmering through the gaps in the cloud cover that was eerily illuminated by the moon.
“There’s not much time for preparations, as the siege must happen tomorrow night, or the following night at the latest. Michi, let Zdenka make you a bed so you can get a few hours of sleep. You’ll have to leave the castle before daybreak and return to your friends.”
Michi nodded while casting a longing glance at the delicious-smelling pot on the hearth. Wanda saw it and filled another plate for him, which he fell to eating with gusto.
Meanwhile, Michel discussed the castle’s defenses and the new arrivals with Sokolny, asking the boy questions from time to time while holding his head and occasionally shaking it, as if struggling to focus. “We have to get the German knight and his men safely into the castle. There might also be someone among them who can tell me what Ludwig of the Palatinate did with my wife after I was declared dead. Wealthy widows are a desirable pawn in the politics of the mighty lords, but my wife is unusually stubborn.”
Michi looked up indignantly. “But, sir! I’m the best person to ask about your wife. The count palatine didn’t do anything with her, as she set out with me to look for you, and when I met her earlier today, she looked healthy and unharmed.”
Michel turned to the boy so fast, he nearly fell. “You saw Marie? Where?”
“She came to the creek to do the washing when I was looking for the tunnel. She said if Sir Heinrich tried to break through to the castle, she’d come, too.”
Michel grabbed the boy’s shoulders and stared at him with fear written all over his face. “Are you saying she’s with the Taborites?”
Michi nodded eagerly. “Yes, Lady Marie is their prisoner. That’s the fault of that devil Falko von Hettenheim. He left her in the Bohemian Forest. Aunt Marie told me the Hussites didn’t kill her only because she was able to tell them about Jan Hus’s death.”
“So Falko von Hettenheim not only betrayed me, but my wife, too!” Michel pressed his hands against his head, suddenly seeing himself lying on the ground, staring into Falko von Hettenheim’s triumphant face and remembering the man’s jeering words as clearly as if he’d only just heard them. Taking a deep breath, he let go of Michi and composed himself.
“By everything that’s holy, I swear to challenge Sir Falko and kill him in front of everyone.”
Sokolny sensed the German knight’s steely determination and was glad not to be his enemy. But before he could say anything, the boy began to tell them how Marie had joined the imperial army as a sutler.
Michel listened for a while and started to laugh. “So Marie never believed I was dead and so went out to find me? By God, only my wife could be that crazy.” He shook his head, then asked Michi to tell him everything his wife had been through over the previous three years. Though the boy’s report moved him deeply, Michel didn’t interrupt, but his clenched fists spoke volumes. After he’d heard about his daughter’s birth and, almost in the same sentence, that she was currently being looked after by an old sutler in Sir Heinrich’s group, waiting to reach the safety of the castle, he swore Falkenhain could never fall.
Also listening intently, Sokolny was discovering whole new sides of the man who’d become a faithful commander to him. He definitely didn’t want Michel Adler as an enemy, and he anxiously wondered if Michel would begrudge him the subordinate position he’d been given in his house. Walking over to him, Sokolny placed his hand on Michel’s shoulder.
“I hope you can forgive me for not treating you according to your rank, Sir Knight of the Reich.” While Sokolny was a count, he wasn’t a free lord like Michel, but rather a subject of the king of Bohemia, who in his turn was subject to the kaiser. As merely the liege man of a local ruler, Sokolny felt subordinate to a man who had the right to sit in the Imperial Diet.
Since Michel was an innkeeper’s son, he didn’t understand the count’s nervous attitude, as he never would have thought of showing off his coat of arms and treating others as subordinates. Laughing, he draped his arm over Sokolny’s shoulders. “My dear Sokolny, I have nothing to forgive you for, but rather I’ll be grateful to you for the rest of my life. No one else would have taken me into his home without asking who I was, while my fellow countrymen were devastating Bohemia instead of defending the towns and castles still loyal to the kaiser. Without you, Zdenka, and Reimo, I would have died.”
The count was visibly relieved, but Michel was less interested in the past than in the dangerous present and future. “Maybe there’s an advantage to Marie’s being a Taborite prisoner, as she’s clever and will do anything to help us.”
In the meantime, Wanda carried kettles of stew out into the hall, so that the count’s followers and soldiers could finally eat their dinner. When she returned, Michel waved her over. “You know a lot about herbs. Do you have anything that would knock out our enemy, at least temporarily?”
Wanda thoughtfully stared at the door to the chamber where she stored herbs, dried mushrooms, and various potions. Most of them were used to heal illnesses, but some were used to kill vermin. “I’ll see what I can brew up.”
“Brew us a potion that will make the Taborites unable to fight,” Michel requested, then cheerfully tousled Michi’s hair. “Get ready to crawl back through the tunnel at dawn. And be ready to wait a little before returning to your friends. Knowing Marie, she’ll try to catch you and talk to you.”
“I will.” Michi was relieved his godfather had taken charge. He liked Sir Heinrich, but he didn’t think he was half as energetic or as smart as Michel Adler.
2.
Michel stood on top of the tower, not to find solitude in his quest for his past, however, but to keep a keen eye on his surroundings. A fresh breeze was stirring the morning mist still covering the valley, and the line of wagons besieging the castle started to emerge from the fog. Michel saw a blond woman carrying a large basket through the camp, furtively glancing his way. Yes, it was his Marie! He was longing to wave at her, but he couldn’t take the risk. Their eyes met for a moment, and he felt her smile more than he saw it. If everything went well, he’d be able to hold her in his arms in two days’ time at the latest. But there was much to do before then. He turned to Reimo, who was wearing simple but practical leather armor like all the other men in th
e castle.
“Tell Michi he can go now.” Reimo nodded and hurried down the stairs. Searching for Marie again, Michel saw her now walking toward the creek at a leisurely pace. He thought he could feel her impatience, and her hope of finding Michi there. She wouldn’t be looking for the boy in vain, Michel thought contentedly, wondering why the next two days seemed so unbearably longer than the years he’d already spent there.
Marie sensed that Michel had recognized her. Her heart was singing, and the yearning she had buried deep inside herself for the past few years was now making its presence felt with frightening force. Every fiber of her being longed for Michel and Trudi. As she set her basket down next to the willow and started soaking the shirts in the water, she felt like a bow drawn to its breaking point. If even the slightest thing went wrong, her life would end there, even if she should survive the fall of the castle and the death of her loved ones. Heaven would have to decide whether she could leave that place happily or whether her bones would rot there together with Michel’s and Trudi’s.
She dropped the wash, knelt down, and recited the prayer of supplication she had learned in church so long ago, beseeching the Holy Virgin and Mary Magdalene to help her, Michel, Trudi, and all the others threatened by the Taborite heretics. About to stand up and get back to work, she heard a noise, and Michi’s head popped out of the tunnel entrance, an impish smile on his face.
“Uncle Michel says hello, Marie,” he said once he was outside.
Marie laughed with relief, finally knowing for certain that her loving husband hadn’t forgotten her.
Before she had a chance to speak, Michi motioned her closer and whispered in her ear. “Uncle Michel wants you to put something into the Hussites’ food. I think it’s a sleeping potion that’ll make them so tired that Sir Heinrich can get into the castle unscathed.”
“That’s impossible, as there are more than a hundred cooking fires. I could only get the stuff into a few pots,” Marie said. “What is it?”
“Some potion Wanda, the count’s cook, brewed up. Uncle Michel thought something liquid was better than herbs, which would be hard to mix in unnoticed.”
Marie nodded happily and glared at the camp. “Michel is right! I can add it to a few barrels of beer, since they’re all kept in one place. When can you get the brew to me?”
“I’ve got it right here! Can you check that no one’s around? Then I’ll pull the skins out of the tunnel.”
Marie climbed up the bank, looked around, and nodded with relief. “No one in sight,” she said when she’d climbed back down. “They’re all staring at the castle.”
Loosening a string he’d tied around his belt, Michi pulled on it and lifted a well-wrapped parcel out of the tunnel. “Here!” Marie opened it to find two bulging pigs’ bladders exuding a weak but unpleasant smell. She wrapped them back up, emptied the laundry basket, placed the parcel at the bottom, and piled the laundry back on top.
In the meantime, Michi had also looked around from up the bank. “There aren’t many people outside the camp yet, so I’ll hurry up and return to Sir Heinrich.”
“Be very careful, stay out of sight until you’re deep into the forest, and watch out for wood collectors.”
“I know! You be careful, too. When can you poison the barrels?”
“Not until it’s very dark. Luckily they serve beer only at night now, as the provisions wouldn’t last long otherwise, and so they won’t notice anything until it’s too late. Tell Heinrich von Hettenheim not to come before tomorrow night.”
“That’s what Uncle Michel figured, too. We’ll fight our way through just before dawn the next morning, when the poison has struck most Hussites and the rest are sleeping. Be ready to come with us.” When Marie nodded, he waved to her and disappeared into the forest.
Marie’s thoughts were a tangled mess. She was not so much concerned with her task, but focused almost completely on Michel. She’d have to wait for two more days and nights before being able to wrap her arms around him, and already trembling with anticipation, she didn’t know how she’d manage. At the same time, she was worried about their reunion. She had gotten older, and after all the hardships and horrors she’d lived through, she probably wasn’t as pretty as when Michel left her. Three years apart couldn’t be erased so easily. Full of doubts, she leaned over her work, beating the soaked shirts with a wooden club as if she were beating their owners.
Deep in thought, Marie didn’t notice how high the sun had risen, and she startled when a shadow fell across her hands. It wasn’t one of the Taborites, however, but Anni, bringing her a bowl of food. “I thought I’d check on you.” The girl’s tongue still struggled to form words, and any memories of her former life still hadn’t returned, but when she was around Marie, she seemed as happy as a war slave could be.
Marie took the bowl and cheerfully thanked her, rousing Anni’s curiosity.
“Something’s happened,” Anni observed.
Leaning over the basket, Marie quickly lifted the washing to show Anni the parcel. “It contains a sleeping potion we’ll add to the beer tonight, and then tomorrow night we’ll flee to the castle.”
Anni took a while to process what Marie was saying. Then she shook her head. “But it’s no use. Vyszo will be twice as angry, storm the castle, and kill everyone inside.”
Marie laughed. “He can storm it, but he won’t conquer it, as it’s defended by my husband, Michel.”
But Anni wasn’t that easily convinced, and it took a while for Marie to explain Michel’s plan. Eventually the girl nodded, and since she couldn’t come up with any further objections, she helped Marie beat the washing. When the sun stood in the west and shadows turned long, Przybislav appeared, then casually strolled past the women upon seeing Anni and turned around, looking disgruntled.
Shortly after, Marie and Anni finished their work and carried the heavy basket full of wet clothes back to the camp. Helene was waiting for them by their cooking fire and went to hang up the washing to dry. Marie grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “Careful, there’s something underneath the clothes that our friends can’t see.”
Helene raised her eyebrows and quickly lowered her head, so none of the Taborites nearby would notice the surprise on her face. “What is it?”
After quickly outlining the plan, Marie looked at her friend. “And we have to add the potion to the beer tonight.”
“It’s impossible! The barrels are guarded far too well, and they’d see us as soon as we got near them.” But even as Helene was speaking, her expression changed and she clenched her fists. “Maybe it is possible. As far as I know, Hasek’s got the first watch tonight. He’s been making eyes at me for a while, so I’m sure he won’t mind my going to warm him up a little tonight.”
Marie looked away so Helene couldn’t see the disgust on her face. “You want to give yourself to him voluntarily?”
“Him, and his comrade keeping watch with him. What choice do I have? Przybislav came over earlier and asked if I was healthy again. Of course I started to cough on the spot, but I won’t be able to keep him away for much longer. If I don’t want to lie underneath him for years to come, I’ll have to stay with Hasek and his friend tonight.”
“Helene is right,” Anni said. “I’ll help her distract the guards while you poison the beer. I want to get out of here, too! The men are looking at me like a roast chicken, and Przybislav wants me to go to his tent.”
Marie realized that Anni’s figure had filled out over the winter despite the meager food rations, and she was now womanly enough to prove a temptation to men. Marie placed her hands on her friends’ shoulders and pulled them close. “I hate asking this of you, but I don’t see any other way. Make sure you give me enough time to put the brew into several barrels.”
“We will,” Helene promised determinedly. “But now we should eat and rest. It’ll be an exhausting night.” She winked at Marie and Anni
, and hurried to the fire to fill bowls for herself and her two friends.
3.
When darkness fell, the three women wrapped themselves up in their blankets and lay down underneath their assigned wagon. Even though their breathing soon became regular, excitement kept all three of them awake. Marie glanced up at the sky, which was too overcast to see any stars, and she regretted not being able to estimate the time. They couldn’t sneak away too early, as the guards would still be awake and become suspicious, but they couldn’t go too late, either, if they were to avoid bumping into the next changing of the guard.
In the end, Helene made the decision for her. Shaking off her blanket, she walked a few steps to the side, and crouched down to empty her bladder. The Taborites had dug several latrines at the edge of the forest and had forbidden the men from relieving themselves anywhere else, but not even Renata and her friends dared to go there at night, as several women had already been dragged into the bushes there despite the preacher’s strict interdiction, and most of the men had gotten away without being recognized or punished.
Instead of returning to her bed, Helene made sure no one was near and signaled to her two companions that it was safe to come out. Anni crawled out from beneath the wagon and darted over to her, while Marie took out the two pigs’ bladders. She weighed them in her hand and prayed the brew would serve its purpose.
Joining her friends, she couldn’t tell if anyone had noticed them in the flickering light of the camp’s watch fires. “Now it’s getting serious,” she whispered to the others, waving for them to follow her. They had to get to the beer without the guards’ noticing them. But most of the men were staring at the castle or watching the edge of the forest, and none of them paid attention to the three figures moving silently in the shadows of the wagons and tents.
Just before reaching their goal, Marie left her companions. Helene and Anni straightened up, stepped into the circle of light around the fire next to the beer barrels, and with swaying hips approached the two soldiers keeping watch over the brew. At the sight of the women, they stopped and lowered their pikes. Helene spread her arms. “Don’t you have a cup of beer for two thirsty girls? We really don’t feel like water today.”