by Paul Green
For Ambrosius had succeeded in getting him drunk the night before, as the celebratory mood of being reunited with his brother, and also many Knights he had grown up with, had become rather ... celebratory.
Of course, there were several beautiful serving girls; all of whom were dressed rather scantily. And Ambrosius repeatedly tried to get Uther to 'partake' of his 'lovelies'.
But Uther found the strength to resist the temptations; oftentimes by rubbing the scar on his left hand.
By late evening, Ambrosius was much too drunk to pay attention to Uther's resistance to the charms of Concubines - who themselves personally and repeatedly offered great temptation.
But Bors, who kept himself clear-headed and alert throughout the night - found himself surprisingly impressed with Uther's choice to remain faithful to his wife. Even though he completely disagreed with the concept; ESPECIALLY as she was merely a peasant. Rather, it was about Uther's integrity which spoke to Bors, and it spoke volumes about Uther's character.
Even though Bors couldn't agree with his reasons. Because women were used as how women were meant to be used; it was as simple as that. It was how things were and how things had always been. Of course, Bors himself was young and had no wife or any inkling of such ambitions. And he was certainly no stranger to women or their obvious single purpose in life.
But Prince Uther seemed to have a different philosophy about women; something which Bors didn't understand. Nevertheless, Bors respected the fact that Uther stayed true to his most unusual philosophy. And that gave Uther integrity; something which was rarely seen. That night, Bors found himself respecting that thing called 'integrity'. And for the first time since he met him, he found himself beginning to respect Uther.
And so it was, that as Uther woke up the next morning to the first rays of sunlight ... with a severe hangover ... he was surprised to discover he wasn't alone.
Bors was in the tent with him; sleeping in the opposite corner, facing the other way. Snoring.
"Uh ... Bors?"
Bors immediately awoke at Uther's voice. And grunted. Though he still remained facing the other way.
"Uh ... Bors?" Uther asked again, rubbing his pounding temples. "Why are you in my tent?"
"To keep the women away ... my liege."
"What!?"
"Would you rather I had let them in? They were rather ... insistent."
"Are you serious!?"
"About their insistence? Oh, yes. I had to fight them off, myself." Bors chuckled. "It was a terrible job, but someone had to do it. I would not mind doing it, again."
"I do not understand! Why would you do this thing!?"
"It seemed to me, to be ... important to you. You would not have awoken alone this morning, if I had not."
"Really? You watched my back?"
"You were doing well enough on your own; but as the wine and ale flowed and your mind became drunken; eventually, the women would have prevailed. If not at the feast, then during the night."
"I owe you one, Bors."
"I do not know why this is of such importance to you. I do not pretend to understand your thinking. But ... I know it is important to you."
"You are not drunk, are you?"
"No, my liege. It is my place to be your eyes and your ears."
"You are a good and loyal man, Sir Knight. I cannot thank you, enough."
"Do not thank me, yet. We must still get you through the next two days."
"Huh? What?"
"Have your forgotten? Today is the beginning of week's end. Last night was but only a foretaste. The real party begins tonight."
Uther groaned and lay back with his hand over his eyes. "How can my brother live like this?"
"It is true Prince Ambrosius enjoys his few days off; but his days off are few. Most of the time he is hard focused at the task at hand. It is only because he knew you were coming ... and this was our last opportunity to ... rest ... that he is 'resting' so ... fervently."
"I see. So ... the Concubine tents..."
Bors chuckled. "No, those have always been there. He says it helps him sleep better."
"Uh huh. So ... two more days of this?"
"Oh, yes."
"Bors, are you going to be on watch, all of this time?"
"Of course."
"Can you do me a favor?"
"You are High Prince Uther Pendragon. You do not ask favors."
"Fine. I ... give you a command, then."
"Of course, my liege."
"Can you see to it, that somehow ... my wine and my ale are ... watered down?"
"You ... are a strange, strange, man."
"I love my wife, Bors. I do not expect you to understand, but ... I love my wife."
"You ... are a strange, strange, man."
"Thank you, Bors. Uh ... may I ask you another question?"
"You are High Prince. You do not ask permission."
Uther sighed. "Fine. Uh ... Bors? Why do you keep your back towards me?"
"You will not approve."
Uther closed his eyes and shook his head. "You have someone over there, don't you?"
Then Uther heard a pair of giggles coming from Bors' general vicinity.
As Bors didn't need to answer, Uther sighed as he rubbed the scar on his hand. "I think ... I shall go and find something to eat."
"My liege, you shall find the royal mess tent near the royal Concubine tent."
Uther sighed, again. "On second thought, perhaps I shall go running, instead."
Bors chuckled as Uther quickly darted out the tent.
~ King ~
Chapter 20
Three months later
Uther did manage to survive the weekend of festivities; thanks to Bors. But while that event had been 'successful', the siege upon the royal compound of Vortigern was not proving to be quite as successful.
It had been two months since the seventy thousand troops of Ambrosius first marched upon the compound. And as it turned out, Vortigern had been expecting them. The high stone walls surrounding the mighty fortress had been covered with pitch and would be set afire whenever Ambrosius' forces tried to scale the walls. There was also supposed to have been a secret underground passage available to them, but that passage had been filled with water. The fortress had been fortified at every known weak point and inside the walls were tall recently built ramparts all around and filled with soldiers and 5,000 archers
Though Ambrosius outnumbered Vortigern 4 to 1, the fortress was impregnable. Which left Ambrosius with only one remaining option. They would have to wait it out, until the 25,000 people inside starved to death; of which little more than half were soldiers. The rest were innocent residents living within the fortress and surrounding compound; men, women and children.
Uther was very much opposed to the idea and voiced his objections, often. Ambrosius merely shrugged it off, saying is was casualties of war and nothing more.
"You have grown soft, little brother." Ambrosius said casually over dinner. The only other people joining them were Bors the Captain of the Knights, and two of the ground troop leaders.
"This has NOTHING to with being soft, Ambrosius! I have proven myself, time and again on the battlefield with the men. I have the scars to prove it."
"Oh, I do not doubt your courage or your skill or your fortitude, little brother. There is not a man among the ranks who is not impressed with my infamous and ... should I say ... surprisingly aggressive warrior brother. Rightly has our father called you 'Fearsome'; you have surely proven this to be true. But you cannot allow yourself concern for the men within the walls. They have aligned themselves with Vortigern and so they pay the price.
"THEY HAD NO CHOICE!"
Ambrosius took another bite from a large drumstick. "They could have left when they saw our forces approaching."
"The walls were on fire! They could NOT leave!"
"Casualties of war, little brother. The people are insignificant. What matters is the throne. Without the throne, there are no people.
"
"I disagree, brother. Without the people, there is no throne."
Ambrosius stopped eating for a moment and looked at Uther with more than mild irritation. "I am going to pretend I did not hear that."
Uther sighed. "Listen, Ambrosius; I have been away. I have not been near the action as you have. I do not pretend to know what is best for the throne. I leave that to you. But surely, there must be some other way; some way which would not result in the deaths of so many innocent people."
"Have you not heard a word I said, little brother? People ... are inconsequential. They do not matter. They have never ... mattered. It has ALWAYS been about power. And government. And ruling. Only the strongest survive. Those who are weak? Do not deserve to live. Even nature itself, teaches us these things."
"We are not animals, Ambrosius."
"Are we not?"
"No. We are not."
"That is where you are wrong, little brother. We live for whatever pleases us. Whatever makes us feel good. Whatever our flesh desires? Whatever our flesh craves? That is what our flesh will get. Unless ... we are too weak to obtain it. Only the strong survive, little brother. The rest?" Ambrosius then picked up another drumstick and took a large bite. "The rest can be eaten by wolves, for all I care."
One of the two ground troop leaders chuckled. "There is already talk of the people inside eating each other."
Ambrosius grinned at Uther. "You see, little brother? While we sit here and enjoy this feast, they have become desperate and feed upon one another. They are nothing but animals. They are weak, where we are strong."
"Your own people are in there! Your own Concubines! Your own soldiers!"
"Eh. Concubines are less than animals. Soldiers? They understand the cost of battle and sacrifice. We will honor them."
"THERE ARE CHILDREN IN THERE!"
Ambrosius winked. "Not for much longer. Soon, we shall be able to walk in through the front gate without so much as raising a sword. And we shall sweep them out as the trash that they are. They chose to align with Vortigern; thus they shall die with him."
"There is another way, Ambrosius."
"If it involves the loss of more of my soldiers, I am not interested. I still need a force once I regain the throne."
"The secret tunnel beneath the fortress."
"The one that is flooded with water?"
"Yes. That water has to come from somewhere. Let me find the source of that water. I shall dam up the source and the water shall lower, allowing you passage. You can retake the city in a day and no innocents need perish."
"There are no innocents in war, little brother."
Uther thought to himself for a moment. "If you let me do this, Ambrosius, you shall retake the city with a single and final glorious battle! Do you wish to be known as the one who won the throne whilst eating a feast!? You shall be known as the king who retook his rightful throne in a single day in glory! It shall be as a message from the gods, that none dare cross swords with the great and legendary High King Ambrosius Aurelianus."
Ambrosius looked at Uther and blinked. "Surely you jest."
"What?"
"You seek to turn my mind by appealing to my vanity!?"
"Uh..."
Then Ambrosius grinned. "Well, it worked, little brother. I rather like how you worded that. Remember those words and give them to my scribes. I wish for this day to be remembered, just as you said."
Bors leaned over and whispered to Uther, "Crafty as a fox."
Uther smiled and then looked at Ambrosius. "So you will let me go and clear the tunnel?"
"No, of course not. I shall not risk losing my brother to such a menial task. But I shall give you credit for the idea."
"It is too risky to NOT send me, Ambrosius. There are too many things to go wrong. You need someone who is both skilled in battle and smart. You need me."
Ambrosius sighed. "I cannot run the risk of losing you, Uther. You are the only family I have left."
"I shall take three men with me."
"Twenty."
"Seven."
"Ten."
"Done."
Ambrosius shook his head. "You do have courage, little brother; I give you that. Take ten of my best men."
"I will go." Bors offered, before anyone else could say anything.
Ambrosius shook his head. "You are Captain of the Knights and my Second in Command. I cannot spare you."
"It is your only brother." Bors argued.
Ambrosius sighed, again. "It is as you say. Very well, Bors. Watch over my brother with your life."
Bors clapped his fist to his massive chest and bowed his head.
Then Ambrosius gave Uther a stern look. "And you, little brother, do not get yourself killed. For if you do, I shall march into hell and kill you myself with my bare hands."
Uther grinned. "As if you could take me. I have bested you three times out of three times."
"Only because I was drunken."
Uther grinned at Bors. "Why does everyone always resort to that excuse?"
Ambrosius pointed his finger at Uther. "I am serious, little brother. What you seek to do ... you shall be greatly outnumbered if you are discovered. Do not be foolish."
Bors noticed Uther rubbing the scar on his hand. "I have a reason to come back alive, brother. I shall not be foolish."
Ambrosius looked at Bors and then at the two ground troop leaders. "So be it. When my brother is successful and the water has lowered, we shall enter the city without delay."
The leaders all clapped their hands to their chests.
"BUT..." Ambrosius continued, "...the first order of business once you have entered the fortress, shall be to find my brother and see to his safety. Then you shall take the city. Do you understand?"
Once again, the leaders all clapped their hands to their chests.
Ambrosius then looked at Uther. "When do you leave?"
"It is dark. I leave ... now."
"Very well." Ambrosius nodded. "Tomorrow shall be a glorious victory for us all." Ambrosius then rose to his feet and held out his arms towards Uther. "And let all know, that our victory shall be won, because of my fearless and brave brother, High Prince Uther of House Pendragon."
The others rose to their feet and applauded as Uther walked over and embraced his brother.
*** *** ***
A short time later, twelve men left the encampment of Ambrosius under the cover of darkness towards the mighty royal fortress of Vortigern. Uther and Bors, and ten best soldiers. They were on foot, so as not to draw attention to themselves.
"So why did you choose to come with me?" Uther asked Bors, as they were nearing the fortress. "You should be at Ambrosius' side when the troops enter the fortress. That is your place."
"My place is with you."
"Huh? I do not understand."
Bors shrugged as they crouched low beneath a row trees to scout the nearby fortress wall. "For what it is worth, my liege, I happen to agree with your point of view in this matter."
"Really?"
"It is your own fault. Your being 'soft' seems to be having an adverse effect upon me."
"Ah." Uther grinned. "Well, we cannot have that, can we?"
"Indeed, not. I hope we come across many enemy soldiers inside. I have a great need to bash a great many heads."
Uther chuckled. "I am sure you shall get your wish, my friend."
Bors grunted. "I am NOT your friend. You are High Prince. I am but a Knight. Royals do NOT befriend Knights."'
"You are very stuck in your ways, aren't you?"
"And you ... are a strange, strange, man."
Uther patted Bors on the shoulder. "Okay, the way to the tunnel entrance looks clear. Let us go."
"Wait..." said Bors, "...the way to the tunnel? Were we not to look for the source of the water?"
"And ... the source of the water shall be found within the tunnel, itself."
"What!? Surely you are not suggesting..."
"Yes, my large friend. We e
nter the water of the tunnel and swim to the source."
"But I cannot swim!"
"What!?"
"I thought we were to be looking for the source of the water!"
"Of course! By the entering the water! Are you serious!? You cannot swim!?"
"For what reason would a Knight or soldier need to learn to swim!? We are trained in the art of war!"
Uther looked at the other soldiers. "Can none of you swim!?"
They all shook their heads. And Uther groaned.
"You are a royal, Prince Uther." said Bors. "Only royals are educated in such ... luxuries."
"It is not a luxury! It is a necessity! I cannot believe none of you know how to swim!"
One of the solders spoke up. "My sister has taught her children to swim. She has just a borne a third child and plans to teach him to swim, as well."
"What is your name, solider?"
"Frederick, your majesty."
Uther smiled. "I am not the king, Frederick. Prince Uther shall do."
"Of course, my Prince. Forgive my ignorance."
"Can you swim, Frederick?"
"No, my Prince. My sister tried to teach me, but ... I did not think it important."
Uther sighed. "Then ... I guess it is just me."
"NO!!" Bors objected. "You shall NOT go alone!"
"I am going to clear that tunnel, Bors. Do not think to stop me."
"I forbid it!"
Uther raised his eyebrow.
"I ... I ... forgive me, my liege. I did not mean to ... order you."
"No. You do not command me. Or have your forgotten your own words?"
"It is my job to watch your back, my liege. I cannot allow..."
Uther looked at Bors, again.
"I mean ... I cannot ... recommend..."
"I appreciate your sentiment, my friend. But I am your Prince and you shall obey my command."
"You asked me to advise you."
"Your advisement is duly noted, Sir Knight. But I cannot let innocent men, women and children die. Now watch my back as I go and enter the tunnel. Do not let any enter in after me. If the enemy discovers what I am doing..."
"The enemy shall be as good dead, my liege."
"Good. Now I shall go and do this thing. And the victory of this day shall belong to my brother."