The White Robe

by Clare Smith

  When they reached the wall they both pressed themselves against the solid stone and waited for their breathing to quieten down. In the distance, the edge of the forest was just a dark smudge, and not even the sound of rustling leaves could be heard. Shendar touched her lightly on the arm giving her the signal that he was ready to move again, and together, pressed tightly against the wall, they set off in the direction of the metal gates. They had studied this section carefully and had been grateful that whoever had constructed the fortress’s defences had decided against a moat or a defensive ditch full of spikes. Instead the ground rose up slightly as if the wall had burst out of the earth. It made clinging to the wall difficult but not impossible.

  The stone pillar, on which the gates hung, jutted out from the wall by the length of two hand spans, and for a moment, they huddled in its shadow, whilst above them the sound of metal rasping against stone made their hearts race. When, whatever it was that had made the sound had settled, Tarraquin eased herself around the corner of the pillar to where the hinges of the huge metal gates were buried deep into the stone.

  The gates were twice her height and were made up of metal bars the thickness of her wrist, held together within a thick metal frame. The top of each vertical bar ended in a sharp spike like a spear tip. It had been their intention to throw the rope over one of them, climb up the rope and let themselves down the other side. Close up she could see that the gates were higher than she had estimated and that the rope wasn’t long enough. Clearly her plan was not going to work, and one look at Shendar’s face confirmed her suspicions.

  They had come a long way and had chanced everything on this attempt, so she wasn’t going to give up that easily. Cautiously she stepped across the front of the gates, feeling for the horizontal bars that gave the gates their strength in the hope that the gates could be climbed without the assistance of the rope. On the other side of the gates it was dark and nothing moved. She tried to make out if there were buildings inside the compound, and for a moment, she thought she heard someone cough, but then everything was once again swallowed by the blackness and silence.

  Hardly breathing in case she disturbed the guarding raptors, she reached the centre bars where the two gates met. Two rings, embedded in solid metal plates, hung down either side of the frame, and between them, she could just see the bolt which held the two gates together. Cautiously she took hold of the ring on the left hand side of the gate in both hands and twisted it, but the ring resisted her pressure and nothing moved. She gave Shendar a quick glance, as he stood behind her staring upwards into the darkness to where the raptors sat, and took the other ring in both hands and twisted it to the right. For a moment the ring resisted her pressure, and then, with a slight grating noise, the bolt slid to one side and the gate swung slowly open.

  Tarraquin gave a small squeak of surprise and dropped the ring with a loud clang, but still nothing moved. Stepping cautiously forward she passed through the gate and into the darkness beyond, expecting to be challenged at any moment, but everything remained silent. As she turned to wave Shendar forward, her heart missed a beat as the gates closed slowly behind her, leaving Shendar stranded on the other side. He stepped forward to push the gates open, but she held up her hand to stop him. There was something going on here which she didn’t understand, but if the gate had let her in and had then shut itself behind her, she was almost certain that Shendar was not meant to enter.

  The space in front of her was dark, threatening and uninviting, so she moved carefully to the right until her back was pressed hard up against the wall. As with the outside of the wall, the ground had been pushed up slightly, but she managed to creep along the edge keeping her fingers in contact with the cold stone. When another wall loomed up out of the darkness, she realised that she had reached a corner and turned to follow the new wall along, hoping that somewhere in front of her, she would find some clue to where Jarrul was being held.

  The stone of the wall was cold and rough and full of sharp crystals. Tarraquin caught her finger on one and gave a small yelp as the sharp stone drew blood. She put the injured finger into her mouth to stop the bleeding and remained absolutely still, certain that she had heard a sound just ahead of her. When she was sure she had been mistaken, she put her hand back on the wall and realised with shock that she could see what her hand was touching. She looked up and cursed under her breath; the sky above was still dark but to the east it was turning to a steely grey, and the silhouette of the stone monsters could clearly be seen crouching on the top of the wall.

  Keeping as close to the wall as possible, she increased her pace forward until another wall, running at right angles to the one she had been following, loomed up in front of her. At the base of the wall where the angles met, there was a large metal cage, and in the cage was a man sitting on the floor in one corner, with his knees pulled up to his chest and his head resting on his arms.

  Shendar had also seen the colour of the sky change and he uttered a curse under his breath wishing he was far away from where he was now. He had always been a good guardsman, steady and conscientious, the sort of guardsman who could be relied upon to turn up sober, and on time, and stand to attention outside any door until the end of his duty. He wasn’t a soldier though, and had always been happy to let others volunteer for the exciting duties, particularly if fighting was involved. It wasn’t that he was a coward; it was just that he wasn’t particularly brave or decisive.

  Now he watched the sky growing lighter, and the empty space on the other side of the gate, where the queen had disappeared from view, with growing anxiety. He wanted to run, but he couldn’t leave her to die, so when the first rays of the sun tipped over a distant hill he made a decision and moved. If she could go through the gate then so could he. Without waiting any longer he ran forward and grabbed the iron rings and pushed with all his strength. Behind him there was the sound of grating metal, and he turned with his arms raised over his head to protect himself, but only had time to let out one piercing scream before the raptor’s talons sunk into his chest and back, and lifted him off the ground.

  Tarraquin heard the scream and turned in time to see the raptor fly into the air with a man dangling from its talons. She closed her eyes and felt sick, but there was nothing she could do for the man except to hope that he had died quickly. Instead she turned her attention back to the cage where the prisoner had lifted his head. There was no mistaking that it was Jarrul; dirty, weather beaten and haggard, but unmistakable. He rose from his sitting position and staggered across to the front of the cage, putting his hand out to grasp her arm whilst she tried to find a way to release the door.

  “My Lady, what are you doing here? Go! Please go before he finds you.”

  “I’ve come for you, Jarrul, and I’m not going until I have you out of this cage.”

  “No! No, you must go.” He gave a rasping cough and fought to catch his breath whilst Tarraquin tugged harder on the lock. “You must go before he comes. Please listen to me, you have everything to live for whilst my time is nearly done.”

  “I will not leave without you.”

  She went to pick up a stone with which to pound at the lock, but at that moment the door of the building on the other side of the compound flew open spilling light into the courtyard, and a dozen guards carrying burning torches flooded down the steps. Tarraquin watched in horror as they parted in the centre and a beast with long tusks and dripping fangs bounded down the steps between them. She would have screamed if she could, but all that would come was a terrified whimper.

  The beast bounded across the open ground leaving the guards running behind it and charged towards the cage, its mouth open and snarling. Tarraquin pressed herself to the bars of the cage and held her hands up to protect her throat, certain that the creature would leap at her and sink its fangs into her flesh, but when it was just two strides away it suddenly stopped. From the doorway of a low building close by a running figure was shouting and waving his arms, and she prayed to the goddess
that he would catch and leash the animal before it attacked.

  With a snarl the creature snapped its jaws shut, just an arm’s length from her, and began to pace before the cage as if it was impatiently waiting for something or deciding what to do next. She had never seen anything like it; almost man shaped, but on all fours, with matted fur and tusks, teeth and claws which could effortlessly rip her open. She whimpered again and the beast stopped its pacing and glared at her.

  That was more terrifying than the pacing, because, instead of the red eyes that she had imagined the creature would have, deep brown eyes, with almost human intelligence but full of hate and anger, glared back at her. She was sure that the creature was going to spring, but as the guards came to a halt forming a semi-circle behind the creature, it turned and growled, and the man who had run from the low building stepped forward.

  “Madam, what are you doing here? This is private land and you are not welcome here.”

  Tarraquin took a deep breath and fought down her fear. “I’ve come for my friend; you have no right to hold him prisoner.”

  The creature growled again and it was almost as if the man was listening. “Your friend was trespassing on my lord’s land and is being punished for being where he has no right to be.”

  “That may be so, but what sort of punishment is this? To cage a man in the open like some animal with no warmth or protection is inhuman. Can’t you see that the man is sick and could die?”

  Again the beast growled. “It’s a fitting punishment for those who enter my lord’s home uninvited.”

  Tarraquin glared down at the beast and then back at the man realising that they were talking to each other. “You tell that thing that it’s inhuman too, and not just because it’s a monster, but that it has a heart of stone.” The creature pulled back its lips in a terrible snarl and took a threatening step forward. “I’m not scared of you, hound, and I’ll prove it to you. I’ll take my friend’s place. Take me as your prisoner and set him free and I promise that I’ll stay here as long as you wish to hold me.”

  “No! My Lady, you cannot do that!” pleaded Jarrul from behind the bars.

  “I can and I will. I don’t know what is going on here, or how this creature is giving commands, but if this monster will agree to set you free and return you to the borders of Leersland, I will take your place. Well, what about it, hound?”

  The beast stopped its snarling and took two steps back to stand beside the man who had been his spokesman. It growled quietly whilst the man listened. “My master asks that if you were to be his prisoner, how would you know that your friend had been returned to Leersland, and not just taken into the woods and killed?”

  “I wouldn’t. I would just have to trust him.”

  The creature gave out a few howls which sounded like laughter and stepped forward again to stare into her face. Tarraquin looked back unflinchingly into its brown eyes.

  “Agrregd.” It shook its head, licked saliva from its lips and turned back to the building from which it had come with half the guards following behind.

  “Captain Tangier!” pleaded Jarrul. “You cannot allow this to happen. This is no place for a lady; if the beast doesn’t kill her, then being a prisoner in this cage will.”

  The captain shrugged. “An agreement has been made between my master and this lady, and whether I wish it or not, I have my orders. Madam, we don’t have the means to escort this man to the border. You will understand that our movements are somewhat restricted but we will provide him with a good horse, warm clothing and provisions if that is agreeable to you?”

  “Yes, captain, if that is the best you can do, it will be acceptable. Jarrul, you will take what the captain provides and you will return to Leersland, where you will find Istan and tell him what’s happened. Do not return to my camp in the woods as Malingar’s men are there and I’m not sure if I can trust them, and don’t try to get back here to rescue me; if you did I wouldn’t come with you.”

  Jarrul went to protest but before he could speak the door to the cage was opened and two guards dragged him out and marched him across the open yard in the direction of the high metal gates. He looked back one last time to see Tarraquin stepping into the cage and the door being shut behind her.

  *

  Tarraquin sat in the corner of the cage and shivered. It had been bearable when the sun had been there to warm her, but once it had dipped behind the walls, her corner had been lost in the shadows and the cold had begun to bite. Now the temperature was barely above freezing. She had left her warm cloak behind when they had sneaked up to the walls and her riding jacket, despite being made of fine wool, was little protection from the cold. It had been a long day too.

  She had watched Jarrul leave on a horse, which appeared on the other side of the gates. He was wrapped up in a thick cloak and looked a little better, although she hadn’t been permitted to say goodbye. In the afternoon she had discovered that the courtyard was used for the guards to practice their weapon craft, and twice the beast had come to visit her, pacing up and down outside her cage, growling and snarling under its breath but never looking at her.

  Just before the sun had set, Captain Tangier had come with an invitation to dine with his master which had surprised her, but she had turned it down saying that, if the beast wanted her company then, he would have to ask her himself. Looking down at the small pail of cold water and the chunk of bread that one of the guards had brought her, she was now regretting her decision. She wondered how long she would survive on starvation rations and in freezing temperatures. Still, at least she was safe behind her iron bars where the wild animal couldn’t get at her.

  When the night was at its darkest and the cold was enough to form a film of ice across the top of the water in her pail, the door of the building, where she guessed the beast lived, opened and Captain Tangier crossed to where she lay huddled in the corner of the cage. He looked down at her and shook his head. “My master offers you shelter and a warm room for the night.”

  She shook her head. “You can tell your master that if he wants me to go to him he needs to ask me himself, not send his lackey.”

  Tangier looked irritated but opened the door and threw something inside before returning to the building. In the darkness she thought it was some sort of wild animal but when it didn’t move she crept forward to touch it. The bundle was larger than she had first thought and soft to the touch, and when she unrolled it, she found it was cured hide with the thick fur of a large bear like creature. She took it back to her corner and curled up underneath it, feeling warmer than she had been all day and, eventually, fell into a restless sleep filled with dreams of men dressed up as strange creatures.

  The following day was the same as the first, except that the sun disappeared when it was at its highest behind thick grey clouds. Again the beast came to visit her, this time just sitting and looking at her, or occasionally raking the ground with its front claws as if it were angry or frustrated. Captain Tangier came again with an invitation to dine with his master, but when she refused, he told her that if she would not eat with his master she would not eat at all. She waited, hoping for a change of heart, but no food appeared, not even the dry bread. By the time it had been dark for a candle length or two, the sky had opened and she was soaked through, freezing cold and starving.

  There were no torches burning outside when she came to the decision that she’d had enough of being a prisoner; pride was one thing, but dying for it was a completely different matter. She pulled the sopping fur blanket around her and tottered to the front of the cage, hoping that her call for help would be heard above the noise of the heavy rain. Wearily she leant against the door of the cage ready to shout, and toppled out as the cage door swung open. For a moment she lay in the mud too shocked to move, and then picked herself up cursing loudly for being such a fool; the door must have been unlocked all the time and she had been too proud to try it.

  Clutching the blanket tightly around her she made her way to the wall that su
rrounded the fortress and slowly worked her way along it until she came to the high metal gates. Instinctively she reached for the two iron rings knowing that if she turned them the gates would open for her and she would be free, but she had given her word, and trust was a two way thing. With a sigh of resignation she carried on passed the gates until she reached the corner of the building where the beast lived.

  Some small bit of pride still lived inside her making her cringe at the thought of standing at the front door looking half drowned and begging for help. Instead she searched along the building’s side wall until she found a small, plain door. Giving a quick prayer to the goddess, she turned the handle and pushed and was hugely relieved when the door swung open.