by Guy Antibes
“We’ve been riding through the night. I suggest you prepare for a siege.”
“Six days to hold. Do they really have fifteen thousand troops?” the King said.
“Close enough,” Pol said. “I need to sleep, as do my friends, including Kolli.”
King Colvin looked at Kolli, Paki, Kell, and Shira. “He speaks the truth?”
They all nodded.
“Go on. I’ll talk to you later. Honna really is dead?” He sounded heartbroken, as well he should, thought Pol.
Queen Isa rushed down the steps and took the King’s arm. “You need a good drink. Come.”
Pol turned to Kelso. “Get everything ready for a siege. There are still a few of Riverdale’s men in the city prepared to disrupt things. You know what to do better than I do.”
“We’ve already been planning,” Kelso said. “You get some rest.”
Paki and Kell gave Pol a hug and left the castle grounds on foot.
“I’ll rest in the Castle Guard building. I’ve done it often enough before,” Kolli said.
Shira still stood by his side. “Let’s get some breakfast in the kitchen and then we can rest.” She took his hand and led him around the castle.
“You must be as tired as I am,” Pol said. “Your arm must be pounding.”
She smiled at him. “It is, but one of General Wellgill’s healers gave me some additional powder for the pain. I can get it inside me when we eat.”
Hand in hand, with Shira doing some pulling, Pol let her lead him into the kitchen.
“My Prince!” Paki’s mother said.
“I’m not a prince. I’ve even changed my name to Pol Cissert.”
“That suits a mysterious young man like you.” She paused to give him a smile. “Breakfast is what you both need. Are those circles under your eyes, young lady?” she said to Shira.
Her hand went to her face. “Is she serious?” Shira asked Pol.
“I think so. They are faint,” He smiled, surprised that he could do so when he felt so tired.
They sat and ate a breakfast worthy of the royal family dining room. Pol made sure Shira took her medicine, and they walked the relatively short distance to his room.
He opened the door. Had he only been gone two days? It seemed like weeks. Shira followed him in and lay down on the other bed in the room.
“I’ll sleep in here, for now. Like old times, eh?” she said.
Pol wasn’t about to argue. He removed his weapons and his boots and lay down. He looked over at Shira who looked at him from across the room. Her eyes began to blink and lower and soon she was asleep. Perhaps it was the medicine.
It didn’t matter to Pol. He wondered about his feelings for her. In some ways, they were so alike, he thought. Bright, talented, yet both of them had lived a sheltered life. No matter what Shira had told him about being a merchant’s daughter, she had a narrow life experience, just like him. He smiled at the thought and let his eyes close.
~~~
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
~
POL OPENED HIS EYES. Shira had already gone, and that saddened him a bit. He sat up and stretched, but he felt much better.
Using the pitcher and bowl in the room, he washed up as best he could and changed into the clothes he wore for the state dinner. He left his room, seeking the King. The most likely place would be his study.
He rubbed his eyes as he went. How would he ever tell King Colvin about killing his daughter? It had to be done, and Pol expected to be expelled from Borstall before the day was over, if not something worse.
Four guards stood in front of the study, so he probably sat behind those doors.
“I’d like to see my father,” he said to the guards.
“He is in counsel with his closest advisors,” one of them said.
“I’ll be back. If he asks for me, I’ll be in the gardens.”
Pol returned to the small section of the garden that held the memorial to his mother. He sat on the same bench that he had shared with Queen Isa. As he looked at the statue of his mother, he smiled at the poor rendition of her, but then he wondered if King Colvin had done that on purpose. Grostin, Landon, Bythia, and Honna would probably have objected if the statue accurately depicted his mother.
It didn’t matter to him. Pol appreciated any remembrance of her. He pulled out the amulet she had left him. Throughout all this time, he had worn it beneath his clothes, and Pol felt it had given him strength.
The device had weathered a number of personal storms. There were more to come, maybe within the hour? he thought. What came after Borstall, if there was an ‘after Borstall’? Perhaps he could take Shira home to Tishiko, the capital of Shinkya, where she said she lived. Maybe Demeron would find his way there, too.
He laughed. Shinkya was at least as big as North Salvan. How could he find a horse in such a large country? Even if he did find him, how would he get the stallion out? Pol had no idea where the copy of his title was. His original papers had been left at Deftnis.
Pol could sense the beginnings of depression that led him into a state of melancholia. He stood up and took a deep breath. He didn’t want to get that way again. He bowed to the statue in memory of his mother and went back to the King’s study.
“He can see you now, Master Poldon,” a guard said.
No prince. Pol snorted. That was fine with him. Pol knocked and walked into the study.
He faced the King and the backs of Kolli and Shira.
“Sit down, son,” King Colvin said. His voice was subdued. “These two have already told me the story of Honna’s death and your rescue of your two friends.”
Pol took a chair and dragged it next to Shira’s.
“How do you feel about what you did?” his father asked.
Pol looked at Shira, who gave him a nod of encouragement. Kolli showed him a weak smile. “I wasn’t comfortable at all. I thought of disabling her, but that wouldn’t have saved my friends. It took a lot to take her life just before she would have taken the lives of Paki and Kell.”
“She was a traitor,” the King said. “You did say she wasn’t under compulsion?”
Pol nodded his head. “She knew what she was doing, sitting at dinner with your enemies.”
“And that includes King Astor,” Colvin said. It wasn’t a question. It was a statement.
“Isa told me all about Onkar. He deserved his death, and I suppose, so did Honna. She was in on the assassination, undoubtedly.” He looked at Pol. “I didn’t raise her very well.”
“My mother and you did the best you could,” Pol said. “There are unavoidable strains in a royal family.”
“I know that as well as you. Luckily, I didn’t have any siblings,” King Colvin said. “Kolli and Shira told me how anguished you were after your escape. That speaks well of you. You saved Landon’s life because you had the opportunity, and I have no doubt you would have done the same for Honna under other circumstances.”
“But there weren’t other circumstances, and for that I am sorry.”
King Colvin waved the comment away.
“Kolli will stay and protect Queen Isa, along with Shira. You will return to your former rooms in the palace. They have been used for guests, and they all exited the castle a few nights ago. Horker will take the room that Val used, if that is acceptable.”
“Is that all?”
King Colvin stood, making them all stand. “I’d like a few more words with Pol.”
Shira and Kolli left the room. The King motioned for Pol to sit again.
“Grostin knows that Honna died, but not that you ended her life. I’m not sure what he will do when he finds out. You are still under my protection, and I offer that to you as long as either of us lives. We’ve talked about him before, but I want you to try to make peace with him.”
Pol gripped the arms of his chair. “I’m not sure that is possible.”
“Then perhaps some accommodation. I will allow you to work with Jamey and Kelso in working out Borstall’s defen
ses. Farthia Wissingbel taught you extremely well, and you can help them more than I can.”
“I saw the memorial to Mother.”
The King sighed. “Isa told me. I made it less than what she was on purpose. I hope you don’t mind, but I didn’t want the statue desecrated. Now you know why I turned away from her. It wasn’t on purpose.”
“I was ready to execute King Astor.”
“Shira told me. That was unfortunate. I am confident that the Emperor will soon get the chance. I only hope we can hold out for a week’s siege. Borstall hasn’t been invaded before, but I am worried.”
“As am I.”
“One other thing.” King Colvin swallowed as if preparing himself. “I know that I am not your true father.” Pol could see his father’s eyes well up.
“If there was ever another person who could perform mind-control it would have been that Cissert fellow, your true father. I met him a few times, and I did not like him. Your mother had a hard time with her parents’ deaths, and he gave her the solace that I couldn’t.”
“I didn’t know until just before she died.”
The King put a finger to his eye. “She never knew I knew. Cissert was in poor health and died of natural causes before I decided what to do about him.” He looked directly into Pol’s eyes. “As far as I am concerned, you are part of me. You are part of Borstall, and even though you are disinherited, I am proud to have you for a son.”
Pol’s reply caught in his throat. “I, I am yours until death,” Pol said.
The King looked at him grimly. “I hope it doesn’t come to that, but,” he stood up, “I’d like to hug you.” He stepped around the desk and took Pol in his arms. “I’m glad you had the courage to come back home, Pol.”
Colvin called him Pol for the first time he could remember. “Thank you for receiving me,” Pol said as he tightened his arms around his father.
~
Pol let Horker walk around the city battlements with him. Kelso had given Pol the assignment to see if there were any weaknesses in the defenses.
Unfortunately, Borstall was built in the relatively peaceful times of the Empire. The walls weren’t particularly tall, although the battlements were designed to accommodate some weapons. The problem was there weren’t enough trained men in the city to fully man them.
The five hundred North Salvan soldiers that had just arrived in the afternoon would be spread around, but there were three shifts of soldiers needed for a siege, and up until now, the city and castle guards only had enough to man the various gates into the city and not much else.
Pol couldn’t rely on the death of Onkar to put the South Salvan army into disarray. If he were a general, he would concentrate his forces on two or three points and flood the city with men. He didn’t think the city wall could hold back the Guardians and the South Salvan army, even if they all weren’t compelled to fight.
He looked back at the castle and had a little better feeling about the siege. The walls were higher and the perimeter shorter, but over time multi-story buildings were built too close to the castle walls.
“What do you think, Horker?”
The former monk looked helplessly at Pol. “I am out of my depth here. I can fight as well as any man, but I learned magic, not defense.”
“What about defending the monastery? It looked like a fortress.”
“Not really. The walls aren’t particularly thick, and there were lots of small gates, not to mention the open gate to the new practice field that was made from simple wood.”
Did the monks really think they could take over the world using mind-control? He hoped that the Emperor’s magicians could find an easier way to solve the compulsion problem.
“It’s time to talk to Kelso.”
Horker nodded and followed Pol through the city streets. The people seemed skittish. The usual casual conversations Pol had noticed before he had left the castle earlier weren’t much in evidence.
He walked towards the Castle Guards and saw commoners with wooden swords in their hands. Jamey Carter had put General Wellgill’s soldiers to good use training the citizens to defend themselves.
Pol hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Onkar’s, now King Astor’s, mind-controlled army wouldn’t hesitate to cut down a poorly trained citizen. Pol shuddered at thoughts of the bloodbath to come. He hoped that Val and the Emperor’s army were closer than he thought.
He found Kelso on the other side of the practice field talking to a soldier.
“What’s your opinion?” Kelso said. He sent the soldier for Jamey, who wasn’t long in coming.
“We’d need the whole army to really man the city walls. You’ll have to have them pooled somewhere, ready to go where the greatest need is. Do you have any siege engines that can fire into the army? A ballista or catapults?”
Jamey nodded. “We have thirty or more with plenty of rocks and cranes that can drop burning oilskins on the attackers.”
That didn’t sound like enough to Pol.
“What about archers?”
“We are training men and women to shoot. With an army of fifteen thousand, they are certain to find targets.”
“And arrows?”
“Fifteen thousand arrows, I’m afraid. We always thought we’d be attacked by an army of two thousand.”
Pol groaned. “They won’t be good enough to hit a soldier with every arrow.”
“The fallback is Borstall Castle. We’ll have to have men assigned to fall back in a breach and rally to the castle walls. The new buildings are too close. For some, you’d just need a long ladder to make a bridge from a roof to the wall. I doubt we could tear down enough to make a difference,” Jamey said.
“It looks hopeless,” Kelso said.
“Until you realize that the Emperor will be arriving in four or five days after they arrive. Anyone alive by then will be saved by Imperial forces.”
Jamey looked at both of them. “Five days to hold.”
Pol nodded. “How secure is the harbor?”
“The castle cliff protects the south side, and there are also cliffs on the other. The maritime merchants will have their men protecting the ships. Unless King Astor launches a naval attack, that will be the last part of the city to be invaded,” Jamey said.
“So we’ll need the King and his son and daughter to be ready to ship out,” Pol said. He had already spoken to the king about such a possibility when he first revealed his identity.
“Colvin will never flee,” Kelso said.
“I know. But we can save Grostin and Amonna.” He would be speaking to Grostin next. “I don’t think I’ve helped any.”
Kelso put a hand on Pol’s shoulder. “No, but you’ve pretty much confirmed what Jamey and I have come up with. We’ll need a lot of luck.”
Pol nodded. “I have to find Grostin.”
Horker left Pol to see how Queen Isa fared. Pol was certain he didn’t want to visit Grostin any more than Pol did.
It took nearly an hour, but Pol found Grostin sitting by himself in Pol’s old classroom. It used to be the nursery where all of King Colvin’s children used to play.
Pol had learned quite a bit under the tutelage of Farthia Wissingbel, daughter of a high-ranking advisor to the Emperor. The books that he had studied still filled the shelves. Grostin ran his finger along a map of North Salvan, but Pol could see he wasn’t planning, but thinking of other things.
“May I have a few moments of your time?” Pol asked. His heart beat quickly, reminding him of days past when this kind of confrontation would lead to wheezing and a loss of strength. Today his heart just pumped away a bit harder than normal.
“Are you going to kill me, too?” Grostin said, listlessly.
“No. Honna was about to murder someone.”
His eyes, red-rimmed, swiveled towards Pol. “So you murdered her?”
“I don’t call it murder. She was a traitor to North Salvan. She betrayed Father and Honna betrayed you, if you must know. Do you think King Astor will have a F
airfield around if he succeeds in invading Borstall? He won’t hesitate to kill Honna, Father, and you. I’m already on his list for other crimes.”
Grostin gnashed his teeth and turned away. “We only have you to believe that Bythia was going to poison Landon.”
“That’s not true. Val was there.”
“Your friend Valiso Gasibli.”
“Ask Landon for the real truth. He might surprise you with it. Ask Queen Isa how King Astor really feels about us.”
“I already have.” Grostin went back to the map and idly traced something on the map with his finger. “It is my choice not to believe her.”
“But you do, don’t you?”
Grostin stood up with his fists clenched. “I refuse to accept you as my brother. I refuse to think that you are anything other than a murdering swine.”
Pol felt his temper rise. He took a deep breath, but it didn’t do any good. “And who murdered my mother? You? Amonna? No. It was Bythia, who used her magic to trick Amonna. She knew something was wrong, but Bythia never told her there was poison. I heard Bythia admit to it when she spoke to Landon. You just stood by and let it happen.”
“So?” Grostin said.
Pol let out his breath. Was his brother so closed to reason? “What will it take for you to believe me?”
“An impossible task.” He rose and walked to the window, looking down at the courtyard.
“Then do just one thing for me.”
“What would that be?”
Pol could hear the familiar venom in Grostin’s voice.
“Take a ship tomorrow for Tarida with Amonna. Come back after the Emperor’s forces have taken care of King Astor.” Pol didn’t mention that Grostin would likely return as the King of North Salvan.
“Father won’t go.”
Pol nodded. “He won’t.”
Grostin looked into Pol’s eyes, and Pol didn’t flinch one bit. “You mean it, don’t you? I thought you’d be one that would insist I stay.”
After shaking his head, Pol said, “I love my sister, Amonna. I don’t want another sibling killed, even you.” He looked around, trying to keep his emotions in check. “I love this room and the hours I spent learning.”