Deck of Cards

by Johnson, ID

  ***

  As much as Leopold wanted to ride off into the mountains and disappear, he was determined to see Castle Graden obliterated before he did so. Caleb and Nichole’s forces had not been able to touch the line of artillery he had placed at the rare of the castle and, as long as they were there, he felt safe. As he stood watching the castle rock and sway with each barrage, a messenger approached him. “Sire, we have received word that King Caleb and Prince James have led a small band in to the castle. Apparently, they are looking for Katherine.”

  Leopold was stunned. And extremely pleased. “Well, I hope they find her!” he said a devilish grin spreading across his face. “In fact, why don’t we hasten them on their way?” He gave some instructions to the artillery officers and then prepared his horse to ride back in to the tunnel he had recently exited. If Caleb wanted to be with his queen, he would be happy to assist.

  ***

  It was impossible for Caleb and his group to move quietly considering the armor and chainmail they were wearing. The noise echoed off the walls and down the passages. Even if they had been shouting for Katey, she most likely would not have been able to hear them over their own cacophony. As they continued to search the halls and passages, looking for the one Joan had described for them, the one that led to the dungeon and then down to the crypt, the building continued to shake from the barrage of cannon fire. But now, it seemed to be coming only from the front and sides and not from the back. Caleb made a mental note of this, not sure of its significance, and continued his search. Occasionally, he would give the order for his men to pause so that he could listen and on two distinct instances, he was almost certain that he heard voices somewhere off in the distance. They continued to walk that direction, always on guard in case one of Leopold or Philip’s men were to leap out of the darkness at them.

  ***

  Katey and Rose hastened along, from time to time making a wrong turn. Rose would realize it eventually and have Katey turn and go the other direction. Having been in Rose’s position for so long, unable to ask questions, Katey began to retell the story of how she came to be here, why she was wearing Philip’s clothes—again—and how she and Caleb had wed and he was now looking for her. Rose was not sad at all to hear of Philip’s passing. She actually smiled, hoping in her silence that it had been an excruciatingly painful death.

  As the women continued to walk, they began to hear indistinguishable sounds. At first, Katey was unsure what it was exactly, but then she realized it was the sound of chainmail. “It sounds like we are no longer alone,” she whispered to her companion. “I only hope those are Arterian or Placidian forces and not Gradenian.” Rose had nodded. The noises were drawing closer and it was time for Katey to make a decision. “If we snuff out the light, there’s a chance we could hide in the shadows until we can determine who it is. However, if we do that, and those noises are coming from the enemy, we won’t be able to see to find our way out.” As she was debating exactly what to do, Rose made an impulsive move. She grabbed the torch from Katey’s hand and ran toward the sounds.

  Katey froze in panic. “Rose! No!” she said, once she had control of her voice. But by now it was too late. She had rounded the corner and was no longer in Katey’s view.

  Just as Dale and James were determining which direction they should go, the group heard the distinct sound of footsteps running up the hall parallel to them, behind the stones to their left. They all froze, swords drawn, ready to combat any aggressor.

  As Rose ran down the corridor, she was willing to gamble. She knew, either these were Caleb’s men and they were both safe, or they were Leopold’s and she was dead. At least this way, Katey had a chance to escape. It was the most unselfish act Rose had ever committed in her life. Even if it killed her, at least she had done something right. As she approached the corner, she stopped--listening. She could hear their breath, knew they were waiting for her, knew they would have their weapons drawn. She held the torch out first and dropped it on the ground. Not a sound. Next, she stuck out her hands so that they could see she was unarmed. When the men saw that it was a girl, they looked at each other, hopeful that they had found Katey at last. But, as she stepped around the corner, they could see that it wasn’t Katey at all.

  At first Caleb was extremely disappointed. However, he quickly realized who he was looking at. “Rose?” he asked. It was difficult to see in the torchlight but he was certain he recognized the girl who would be queen.

  Rose sighed in relief. Her gamble had paid off. Luckily for both women it had been friendly forces because Katey had followed her and, if it had been Leopold’s men, they would have gone down together.

  But it wasn’t and Katey would have recognized that voice anywhere. “Caleb?” she called, stepping past Rose and coming out of the shadows.

  Upon seeing her, Caleb dropped his sword and ran to her, catching her as she flung herself in to his arms. “Katey!” he exclaimed. “Thank God! We were so worried!” He kissed her quickly before relinquishing her to James who was equally overjoyed to see her.

  After a brief moment, it was Noel who interjected. “I hate to break up the reunion but we really need to get moving,” he said.

  They all agreed. Caleb, looking questioningly at Katey’s attire, but with no time to ask questions just now, retrieved his sword and Rose picked up the torch off of the ground. As they made their way back the way they had come, they were contentious of the fact that the cannon fire had all but ceased. Caleb had a tight grip on Katey and James was on her other side. Katey was surrounded by the greatest knights in both armies and she began to feel safe, despite the dangerous situation she still found herself in.

  And yet, as they approached the staircase, they became quite confident that they were not alone. There was no mistaking the sound of armor and chainmail at the end of the passage. They just needed to ascertain how many of Leopold’s men awaited them and what to do about it.

  Leopold didn’t have a lot of forces left to take with him. He had called for a cease-fire on the castle as soon as he had entered the tunnel. It had taken a while for everyone to get that information, however, and he had grown a bit concerned that the tunnel he was traveling down might, in fact, fall in around him. But it held and, when he reached the end of the passageway, finding himself back under the castle in the largest passage, the one that led to the stairwell and down to the dungeon and catacombs, he could distinctly hear the clatter of armed men and the chatter of at least one female.

  Leopold suddenly began to realize he had been duped and he did not like it.

  “Whatever happens,” he explained quietly to his troops, “Make sure that Queen Katherine does not leave this castle alive.” The men nodded their understanding and braced themselves.

  Noel was at the head of the group. The allies decided to distinguish their torches so that they would not be such well-lit targets. Cautiously, he stuck his head out of the passageway in an attempt to ascertain just how greatly they were outnumbered. He was a bit surprised to see that there were only about fifteen men, not counting Leopold himself. He signaled to Caleb, letting him know he thought they had a chance of success. However, one thing he had not been counting on was the volley of arrow fire that came whizzing at his head as he pulled it back around the corner. That would make things a little bit more difficult. Still, several of the men still had their shields and they were all well trained. This did not seem like an impossible situation after all.

  Leopold disagreed. “This is King Leopold of Gradenia,” he began. “You are surrounded. I order you to drop your weapons at once and surrender.”

  At Caleb’s command, Noel led the men out of the passageway. James stayed behind with the girls, standing in front of them, his sword drawn. Katey had not wanted to let go of Caleb’s hand but she trusted in his ability to get her out of this precarious situation safely. From her vantage point, she could see nothing, only hear the clank of metal on metal, the occasional wince or scream. She held her breath, waiting to see who i
t was that came around the corner.

  Though they were outnumbered approximately two to one, the allied forces were far more skilled than Leopold’s men. This is precisely why Caleb and James had chosen these particular warriors for this mission. There were only two Gradenian archers present, the rest were all infantry. Caleb used his knife to take out one of them, throwing it across the passageway as the archer attempted to reload his bow. The knife landed solidly in his neck, putting him out of commission but leaving Caleb with one less weapon. The other bowman looked panicked at seeing what had just happened to his partner. Dale was able to use his shield to force his way forward toward the final archer and take him out with his sword. That, at least, made this a fair fight by weapons standards and it became evident very quickly that Leopold’s men were beginning to fold.

  Leopold could see this as well. He had not drawn his own sword as of yet, allowing his men to shield him as they fought off the intruders. He debated as to whether or not he should join in the battle and possibly take Caleb out, though he knew he would probably be killed if he did so. His soldiers were folding one by one, with barely a scrape on the their assailants. If he fled, his horse was just a few yards away down the corridor, he would most likely be able to escape and live to fight another day. If he stayed, it meant almost certain death.

  Caleb could see that Leopold was not engaged and this infuriated him. Why not fight like a man? As he took care of his current attacker, he shifted his focus to Leopold, determined to take him down. He began to make his way in that direction. As he did so, Leopold’s henchmen began to defend their king. One short black-haired man was especially aggressive and it took Caleb a little longer to bring him down than he had hoped for. Just as he lunged his sword through the soldier’s gullet, he saw Leopold bolt. He began to give chase but was held up by another attacker. This one was not as skilled as the last but it was enough to prevent Caleb from determining which way Leopold had gone. The sound of horse’s hooves pounding off in the distance was enough to let him know Leopold had escaped.

  He turned back to survey the damage. It looked as if one of James’s men had been wounded. Noel was just finishing off the last standing Gradenian soldier. The rest were strewn about the floor in different states of injury, some clearly dead. As he approached his men, he shook their hands. They had won this battle. They had won this war. Though Leopold had escaped, it was enough that Katey would soon be back in his arms where she belonged.

  James could hear the conflict coming to an end. He slowly peaked his head around the corner, both women far behind him. It looked safe so he stepped out from the passage. Just as Rose followed, there was a flash to his left. He attempted to block her, but it was too late. One of the Gradenian soldiers who lie dying on the floor had mustered just enough strength to throw a blade. Thinking that the red haired lady in the dress must be the queen, he had let it launch. As Rose fell backward into James’s arms, Noel finished the assailant off with his sword. Then, to ensure that the rest of the party was safe, he walked around the room relieving the threat completely.

  Katey had been just behind Rose and witnessed the entire incident. She helped James guide Rose down to the floor so that they could assess her injuries. The knife had hit its mark, landing in her chest, near her heart. Even as they laid her down, she began to gargle blood, her eyes starting to roll back into her head.

  “No!” Katey demanded. “Rose, please, stay with us.” James was shaking his head at his little sister, knowing there was nothing they could do to save her. “Oh, Rose,” Katey said, hugging her closely. “You saved me. You saved my life. Thank you, thank you for being a true friend.”

  Katey could tell by her expression that she heard her, that she understood. As she took her final breaths, she looked up in to the Queen’s face. She had always wanted to be a queen. Today, she had sacrificed her life to save one.

  Katey began to sob and James reached over to dry her tears. Just then, the entire castle began to shake. The cannon bombardment had begun again, which meant that Leopold had exited the tunnel safely.

  Caleb empathized with Katey over the loss of her friend, but he knew that they were running out of time. He ran to his queen, pulling her up from the ground in one swift movement. “Come on, Love, we must get out of here.”

  They moved quickly up what was left of the staircase. By now, the entire upper floor was on fire, smoke and debris reigning down on them. It was difficult to see and none of them were quite certain which passage might be the quickest to take to safety. Noel led the way with Caleb and Katey right behind him. Just as they had the front entrance in sight, another barrage of cannon fire hit the building, shaking much of the top floor loose. Caleb grabbed Katey and darted for the exit, using his body as a shield. He felt and heard others behind him, either leaping to safety or being thrown about by the force of the explosion.

  The smoke began to clear and he looked down at Katey, who was shaking her head, attempting to clear the ringing in her ears. She was fine, as was Noel, who helped them both to their feet. They were now in the front courtyard and they needed to hurry to get away from the castle before another explosion took them out completely.

  Caleb turned back to see who had made it out. Dale was picking himself up, as were most of James’s men. Katey realized just before he did that there was someone missing. “Where’s James?” she asked.

  He didn’t know. No one seemed to know. Frantically, Katey began searching through the rubble. Caleb attempted to pull her back as the other men began to search. He could not stop her however, no matter how far he pulled her, she pushed him off of her and went back to digging. She was yelling his name, panic taking over. Caleb could tell by the silence that they were almost out of time before another barrage and he would not allow Katey to stay this close to the collapsing castle under these circumstances.

  Just as he was about to pull her away and carry her to safety, a hand came pushing through the rubble. “James!” she yelled. All of the men swarmed the area, picking up the debris and throwing it off of him as quickly as possible. Finally, his head was visible, then his shoulders, and they were at last able to free him from the pile of wreckage. There was no time to survey the damage, however, as another round of cannon fire began to hit the structure, forcing them to lift the fallen prince and carry him as far away from the castle as they could.

  Caleb picked Katey up and ran with her, seeking any sort of shelter available. He found it in the form of a large tree. The rest of the band hunkered down, throwing their bodies over James. Caleb was watching over his shoulder and saw a large stone make contact with one of James’s men, hitting him squarely on the head, spraying the rest of the group with brain matter. Caleb had his arms around Katey so that she could not see and for that he was thankful.

  That round of cannon fire ended and they began to assess James’s condition once again, only to be hit with a volley of arrows, this time coming from a ridge to their right. Caleb was furious. By now, the cannon should have been taken out and the archers should have been long dead or forced from the field. He saw his own troops moving now, out on the edge near the castle wall, and he was hopeful that one of his officers was smart enough to ascertain the situation and do something about it before they all ended up back in the catacombs permanently.

  Luckily, the arrows did not do significant damage, though Noel took one in the boot. They still had shields but it would be nearly impossible to carry James to safety while protecting themselves from arrow fire. Caleb signaled to put up the shields and wait. There was another short arrow assault and then the distinct trumpet sound signaling an attack by the Arterian cavalry, which promptly signaled the end of the archers’ attempt at slowing the party. Behind them, the cannon fire continued to rock Castle Graden but they were far enough away now that little debris could reach them. They continued to carry James out of harms way and Katey prayed that her precious brother would be safe.

  At last, they reached safety behind the Arterian lines. Medics
rushed in to assess James’s situation. Although he was badly injured, they were fairly certain that he would make a full recovery. Once Katey learned the he would be all right, she breathed a deep sigh of relief. Caleb had been rushed off to assess the state of the army and to give orders. She could see him across the field, knew that he was secure behind his own line, but she longed for the protection of his arms. He met her eyes from across the distance between them, gave his last few commands and began to make his way toward her.

  Dodging the officers, messengers, and other who dare to step between them, Katey took off, running faster than she ever had before. She threw herself into his open arms, her lips meeting his. She was home at last.

  After kissing her for what seemed like an eternity, Caleb finally released her long enough to whisper in to her ear, “Don’t ever die on me again, okay? Do you promise?”

  “I promise,” she said laughing. The sounds of victory echoed off in the distance and Katey looked forward to a very joyful, uneventful life with her king in their castle, forever after.

  Epilogue

  “Princess Kaylen may have my eyes and your hair, but she has her Uncle Matthew’s ability to escape,” Caleb said, watching his daughter lithely climb over the top of her wooden play pen and teeter across the floor, chasing her older cousin as quickly as her chubby little legs would carry her.

  Katey laughed. She was so happy that Kaylen would have her cousin Marcus to look after her, much the same way that James had always kept her safe when they were little. Even though Matthew, Maggie and Marcus had reestablished their home in Zurconia they visited often and the two were very close. Now that Marcus had another brother or sister on the way, it may be more difficult for them to visit. Katey was looking forward to spending some quality time at Castle Ringley.

  After the fall of Clovington and Gradenia, the allied forces had divided the territory, though not evenly. Nichole took much of Gradenia for herself. After learning of King Philip’s dead they had appointed James as the new King of Clovington, though Nichole insisted that he still answered to her, as she was his older sister. He had professed his love for one of Nichole’s ladies-in-waiting and they were married shortly after he recovered from his injuries. Katey was so very happy that he had also found true love. In her opinion, there was no greater force in the universe. It could make the dumb speak, bring the dead back to life, and repair the most broken of hearts, those who thought they had nothing worth beating for.