Legend of the Iron Flower Box Set (Books 1-4)

by Billy Wong

  Then Egbert, devoted captain of his guard, stood despite his own ghastly wound and made a last stumbling bullrush. He took her from the side and went with her off the roof, falling fifty feet to the ground below. Wilner briefly felt a pang of grief at the passing of his best man, which soon faded with his consciousness.

  #

  "Rose!" Finn screamed in horror as he saw her fall from the fort. He wasted no time charging straight ahead, desperate to reach her past the mass of enemies and allies alike, and Derrick chased after him. Terrified for the hideously wounded woman, they prayed for her miraculous survival, but in their hearts expected the worst.

  Nonetheless, the two men mowed through scores of Coblan soldiers on the way, paying no heed to becoming surrounded or the wounds they took themselves. Though Derrick shocked himself by mercilessly cutting down man after man in his rush to help his friend, it was Finn whose strokes felled men in droves. His mace pulverized bone and organs, often throwing men into one another or continuing on after smashing one opponent's skull or limbs to maim another. Many times, he trampled a wounded foe in his haste, crushing the life from them beneath his hard boots and great weight.

  It seemed as though Rose's fall had imparted her effectiveness on the battlefield to Finn, and both armies marveled at the carnage. The Kaylanders drew inspiration from the fearless duo and rallied against their enemies, forcing them to give ground. Even General Lipner did more than his share, shooting down man after man with a bow as he crouched behind a propped-up shield.

  Soon the tide had turned against Coblan's forces, though neither Finn nor Derrick realized it. They finally made to the spot where Rose and Egbert had fallen, but only saw the body of the latter. Next to the lifeless hulk, though, lay the woman's sword and shield amid a great deal of blood, and their hopes fell.

  #

  By the next day, they had interrogated many enemies, Finn showing no qualms against torturing them to assure the truth of their words. All who had seen anything of Rose's fate told them her body had been dragged away by fellow Coblan soldiers, though they knew not where it was now.

  "She was a great warrior," Peter said in camp, patting Finn's back as he spoke. "I'm sorry she had to die so young. At least she took them both with her." The dejected giant sat there still as a statue, staring into space. Derrick dutifully bound his wounds, uttering not a word.

  They had both accepted Rose's death by now, but hardly come to terms with it. Finn was of course the harder hit of the two, and could do nothing but fight, venting his bottomless rage against the Coblan army. He had killed many scores of them, but did not seem to have even scratched the surface of his prison of hate. Derrick, though also grief-stricken, tried to help Finn cope with his emotional turmoil, and sadly wondered how Rose would have wanted her funeral without her body to be.

  The maddened Finn became the Kaylanders' champion after the duel, and though Derrick was not one of the strongest soldiers, he gained infamy merely being at his friend's side. Many of the best fighters on both sides had fallen, but though outnumbered the Kayland army kept the advantage they had gained, driving the enemy into a slow retreat and looting their fallen for all they had.

  Peter was promoted twice due to the deaths of his superiors, and still they pursued the enemy, pressing the attack ceaselessly. Derrick wondered if General Lipner planned to take this to the point of completely slaughtering the Coblan soldiers, and realized guiltily he didn't care too much. Even that, after all, might not be enough to soothe his heartbroken friend's rage.

  A few days later, their reinforcements finally arrived and the Kaylanders beat the enemy all the way back to their capital, the walled city of Armand. Soon, they stood watching the funeral of the warrior who had made their triumph possible, the mighty Iron Flower. Every man, even those who had denounced her in life, lauded her now for the deed that would put her firmly into the ranks of the greatest legends. No other, they acknowledged, could have defeated the dreadful man thought invincible until Kayland's finest fighter showed him the end of her sword.

  And many of them, hardened men who had grown used to life at death's door, shed tears for the tragedy of her passing, her life snatched away on the verge of reunion with her one true love. But the various honors given to the fallen heroine brought no comfort to the anguished hearts of Derrick and especially Finn, who wept pitifully as they dropped her weapons into a shallow grave. Piling a high mound of soil over what would stand in for her remains, her friends topped the monument with the sword of Rose's greatest conquest, Prince Wilner.

  Chapter 8

  While her friends searched vainly for her body, Rose wondered that she was still alive, and moaned as the moving wagon tossed her torn body about on the bed of hay. After falling from the fort, she had found herself dragged away by two men dressed as Coblan soldiers. She'd quickly grown fearful that they planned to finish her off, and maybe rape or mutilate her in the process.

  She'd thought then to defend herself with all she had left, but instead of harming her—directly, anyway—they assured her they were here to help, and yet simply tossed her into a wagon without any treatment for her grievous wounds. Well, they had removed the sword from her body—hardly a help considering how much blood it cost her. She could still hear the steel grating against her breastbone as the men pulled it out. Now they drove towards an unknown destination, inadvertently torturing her in the process.

  This course of action puzzled Rose. If they wanted her alive, why didn't they help her, and if they wanted her dead, why didn't they just try and kill her? Though she wondered if she could have still put up some fight, even in her perhaps dying state, they hadn't really tried to hurt her, so she didn't resist when they moved her. Would she regret that decision later, more than she had already begun to? She could already have reunited with Finn... if the Coblan army hadn't killed her first, anyway. It would be tough to fight off attackers in her condition.

  She really should have at least asked her rescuers to stop and let her grab her dropped weapons. Making those extra-heavy arms had taken a lot of time and effort, and if she couldn't find them...

  Later she was woken by the wagon coming to a sudden halt, and felt surprised that she'd managed to wake up. Going to sleep hadn't been the safest thing to do. Blood soaked her makeshift bed, despite the cloth she had stuffed into her gaping wounds to slow the bleeding. The men grabbed her and roughly carried her out of the wagon, and she could hardly breath with the pain. She saw she was being taken into a house, where they set her down on a real bed and vanished. The mattress was soft and comfy, and she hoped its owner wouldn't mind her ruining the sheets. A chill ran through her, and she wished somebody would start a fire.

  Rose lay there thinking for a while, and began to worry about Finn. Surely, he thought her dead. What would he do to avenge her? At least he wouldn't have to worry about Prince Wilner and his giant, since she'd killed them herself. Some vague unease nagged at the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite figure out why. Then she realized there were voices talking nearby, and began to listen more closely.

  A man—one of her rescuers—was saying, "Hey, sis, we brought you a present. She's strong and pretty like you, and killed that bully prince that used to scare us all the time. She's leaking some blood, though, so we put her in daddy's room."

  A female voice replied, "What?! Who did you bring here? Bully prince? You don't mean..." Hurried footsteps approached, and Rose forced heavy eyelids open. Standing over her was a lean, heavily scarred woman with one arm missing from the elbow down, eyes wide with shock.

  "Oh gods, you're bleeding out! I'm sorry my brothers didn't help you earlier, they're half-wits! I'll stitch you up, okay? Just wait a bit." The woman then ran out of sight.

  She'd already been waiting for hours, Rose recalled with a sigh. The woman came back with a needle, thread, and one of her brothers. Both her brothers actually, since the other followed along, and Rose saw now that they were twins. She groaned as she watched the woman clumsily attempt to
thread the needle, and cried out in pain when she asked her brother to hold the wounds closed so she could stitch them.

  The woman's face blanched with horror when she saw the extent of Rose's injuries, and she seemed to lose hope. Her brother couldn't get his job right, and in the end Rose offered to do the painful task herself. Finally, they got the rents on her exterior closed up, though she knew there was nothing to do for her insides. Coughing bloodily, she managed a smile.

  "Thanks for the help. I'm Rose. Are you a warrior too?"

  The woman smiled warmly as she stroked Rose's sweat-covered face. "My name's Loreen, and I'm just a farmer. How did you get so torn up? Did you really kill Prince Wilner?"

  The story made Loreen stare in amazement, and when Rose finished, she held her hand as if to comfort a dying friend. This at once touched and annoyed her. She enjoyed the comfort of the sympathetic touch, but didn't want to be treated like she was going to die, even if it looked like she would. "Rest now, Rose. You've earned it..."

  Rose had had enough, and grasped the woman's one wrist in an iron grip. "Don't talk to me like that. I hate being given deathbed manners. Treat me like I'm going to be fine, okay? Please."

  Loreen's eyes widened. "You've heard them—deathbed manners—before?"

  She smiled sardonically. "More than once. I'm still here. Now, I may look like I should already be dead, but I promise the reaper has a long fight ahead of him if he wants my soul. And I'll tell you why. Right before I got hurt, the man I love arrived to support me, after weeks of hard traveling to get here. This in spite of bitter arguments between us. So I can't die, not before I thank him with all my gratitude." She had forced the words out despite the blood accompanying each one. Now she paused, and her smile grew less severe. "Besides, I'm still pretty young, and not quite ready to die."

  This seemed to stir her host's heart, and Loreen brushed aside blood-caked hair which had fallen over one of Rose's eyes to look with new resolve into both of them. "To tell you the truth, I did use to fight for Prince Wilner, and when I lost my arm, the pain was so bad I was sure I would die. But I lived, and think the life I have now is still good despite my loss.

  "In years of fighting, I have never seen anyone survive a wound like yours, out of many hundreds so struck. Most die instantly from such a blow. But at least you've survived this long; you must have the most amazing constitution. I promise I'll do everything I can to help you make it."

  To Loreen's clear amazement, Rose reached up with a bloody, trembling hand and nudged her shoulder playfully with her fist. "Well, get me some soup then! I'll need the energy to heal up."

  The next few days were hell for Rose as her maimed body fought desperately to stay alive. The two women made it through together, Rose answering all of Loreen's questions when she could find the strength to talk. Other times, her host held her hand and whispered comforting words as cataclysmic pain overwhelmed her and she lay struggling for breath. Despite her enormous vitality, there were times when Loreen seemed to think her spirit would soon give out, and grew more detached as if steeling herself for the sad event. But Rose held on, and soon began to regain strength faster than even she thought possible.

  #

  As Rose forced herself out of bed not quite a week after her arrival, Loreen grabbed her by a broad shoulder and tried to ease her back down. She'd rested for far too short a time, and it was impossible that she was ready to travel, her suffering body nowhere near healed. But the determined woman eased herself free, and took Loreen's hand as she explained.

  "I'm very grateful for your help. But I've got to go. I'm sure Finn has already committed terrible deeds in vengeance for my death, when I'm not even dead. I have to soothe his rage, before it destroys him."

  Loreen smiled at her dedication, but did not let go of her hand when she tried to walk away. "Then I'll come with you. My brothers can take care of themselves well enough, and I'm afraid that maybe you can't. So I'll lend you my sword and my wits, so you can make it home to the arms of your love and the happiness you deserve."

  "I do still feel pretty weak," Rose admitted. "You've become a great friend to me already, Loreen. I'll be glad to have you with me." Thus they armed themselves with items from Loreen's fairly extensive collection, covered themselves with bulky cloaks to hide their identities, and set off.

  It took them only a single day to get back to the fort where the fateful duel had taken place, but there they found only corpses. The women had little trouble following the trail of the two armies, and Rose commented proudly at the evidence left behind. "They turned the tide. Though the Kaylanders were outnumbered, they pushed the Coblan army back, even without my help. Finn must have done a lot for them while I was gone. I hope he and Derrick are okay."

  Loreen put her arm around Rose's shoulders and smiled. "I'm sure the man who is your match and his fighting partner are just fine. Besides, you got rid of the two best fighters in Coblan for them, you crazy girl."

  She shrugged as she walked. "I didn't mean to. If only Prince Wilner hadn't cheated and accepted his loss honorably, I might have spared him. I'm not usually one to kill a helpless foe."

  Loreen looked curiously at her. "Your good nature always surprises me, Rose. Sometimes you don't seem cut out to be the great warrior you are. But then again, you're so much mightier than most, maybe that's all you need to excel."

  "No, you're right," Rose said, her voice meek, "I'm not cut out to be the kind of warrior Prince Wilner was, mercilessly slaughtering men by the regiment. I just try to help people with whatever I can, and fight when I have to. I don't have much against killing a handful of murderous bandits or some bloodthirsty monsters. But I hate wars, and seeing so many blameless men die.

  "Many soldiers don't even want to fight and are only there to fulfill their duty, or avoid the punishment for not fighting. I only entered this battle to help my friend Derrick, who goes to school in the Brushknoll and joined the fight in hopes of helping to save that institution."

  "Knowledge is a valuable thing. It's a better motivation for fighting than the ambition of ruthless princes, for sure."

  Rose caught the anger in her voice. "Did you know Prince Wilner better than the average soldier?"

  "Did I! I was one of his personal guard, the runt of the lot. He would do anything to win, as you've found, and showed compassion only when it suited him. I fought at his side for the better part of a decade, suffering many wounds which marred my appearance and made me an outcast among normal folk. But when I lost my arm defending him, he demoted me to the rank of a common soldier. So I faked my death and left the army. My brothers were still there, and he soon found out I was alive and gave them much grief over my failings. I'm glad you slew that snake when you did, before his misplaced anger cost my innocent brothers their lives."

  Rose giggled. "Snake? He was more like a great lion with steel claws and skin! But still I killed him, and he'll hunt no more!" Loreen realized Rose's brittle laughter was not truly mirth, but her way of coping with the memory of the battle, and held her closer, gently comforting the fearsome warrior.

  Stopping at a nearby stream, they took the opportunity to bathe, splash each other with the clean water, and compare old scars. Loreen had an impressive collection herself, but was shocked to see how many horrendous torso wounds Rose had survived. Of particular interest to her were the set of what looked like giant teeth marks all over her new friend's trunk.

  When Rose told her a dragon had done it, she took it for a joke and viciously attacked the laughing woman with impressive splashes for one hand. Only after they calmed down (after Rose accidentally threw a fish into Loreen's face) did she realize Rose was serious, as she told the painful tale in depth.

  They shared more laughs when Rose, still somewhat clumsy due to her wounds, dropped a fish into the campfire trying to cook it, and they took turns trying to spear it out of the flames using sticks without looking. The little game ended in a draw, as they chose to save their dinner over settling the contest.
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  Loreen slept easily as her friend took the first watch, and when it came time to switch, she could not take her admiring eyes off the sleeping Rose. She shuddered to think how close the cheerful woman had come to death days ago, and marveled at her vigor despite the wounds which still ailed her. Both of them awakened full of energy, and even the bodies they passed could not shake their feeling that the future could only be blissful and carefree.

  The pursuit of the Kaylanders proved longer than expected, as Loreen slowed her pace for Rose's sake and their trail stretched all the way to Armand, but the two women enjoyed every minute of it. Before they entered the encampment, Loreen put her cheek on Rose's shoulder and leaned on her sturdy form. "Someday when you're back home, can I come and stay for a while? I want so badly to get to know you better, even if we already feel like old friends. I'll miss you a lot."

  The big woman didn't hesitate. "We need all the friends we can get, and guests make for good cooking practice! I'll be glad to have you." Loreen smiled, and they walked together into camp.

  #

  Derrick looked on with worry as Finn destroyed the contents of their tent in his latest tantrum. The Kayland army was camped outside Armand as they waited for siege equipment to be set up, and the inaction allowed the giant's inner torment to build to an unbearable peak. He spent his time ranting about who was to blame for Rose's death and usually attributed most of it to himself, though he also took his shots at Wilner, the "cowardly Coblan people," and in his worst moments, Rose for disobeying his demands to stay home. He even once nearly killed Derrick, citing his inability to protect Rose from Wilner—as if that was remotely possible!