by P D Ceanneir
‘On the other hand, you, are kind Prince Havoc,’ her breath was sweet as she looked up into his eyes, she took his hand from her cheek and held it firmly, ‘it is a pity that we had not met under different circumstances,’
‘Why do the circumstances’ have to be different?’
‘Because then I would be able to do this,’ she reached up and kissed him full on the lips, he responded and for the briefest moment they were lost in each other’s arms, two people drawn together by their emotional turmoil, released by their unity.
Beyond the clearing, by the side of a gnarled old yew, stood Barnum’s spy, his master had ordered him to watch the princess day and night. Now, finally he had something of interest to report.
Chapter 7
The Point of no Return
Mila, Princess Bronwyn’s handmaid, walked sternly, and straight backed into the inn’s stables and asked for the Lord Havoc. She handed over a piece of parchment and he paid her for her trouble, when he opened it he saw a drawing of a red kite sitting on a boulder by a river. He rolled up the parchment and told his friends that he was going for a stroll, on his own. It was three days till the wedding of Barnum and Bronwyn and this darkening night would be the last they would have together as lovers.
He ensured that no one followed him as he journeyed along the river’s edge. Havoc walked out of the tree line and onto the open area next to the Tarquiel River where he had first set eyes on Princess Bronwyn.
She was there, sitting on the same boulder that Mirryn had perched on that day, she rose and ran into his arms.
‘Don’t let go, hold me all night, I want this to last forever,’ she whispered.
‘I won’t my beloved Bronwyn,’ he said.
They had planned to be together for some time now, but the opportunity had not presented itself, nevertheless the busy preparations’ of the forthcoming wedding gave them some time alone and they would not be missed for a while.
It was a warm, calm summer’s night, the princess lay down on the blankets that she had brought, and Havoc smothered her face in kisses. They pledged their undying love to one another and made love under the clear starry night, it was long and pleasurable, thrilling, and passionate, and they forgot their lives for a time and escaped to a new utopia, afterwards the princess cried in Havoc’s arms.
The wedding was a plush affair, full of grand flower displays and colourful dresses. The princess looked beautiful in a white gown with pearls and opals stitched into the fabric in decorative swirls. The groom was dressed in his garb of honour, a green suit, the red Atyd shoulder sash, and golden epaulets. He wore his sword at his side.
They walked the aisle over thousands of rose petals to an arch of mistletoe flanked by the Wyvern Filial, handmaidens to the princes her and personal bodyguards wearing dark green dresses of shimmering silk.
Many gifts were given to the newlyweds, Havoc offered the Wind Orrinn, that won him the battle at Othell’s Cairn, Soneros Ri promised to teach Bronwyn how to use it.
The queen braved the pitying faces of the crowd. In the weeks that Havoc had last seen her, she had deteriorated considerably. The illness had taken the use of her legs and she had to be carried everywhere on her high backed chair. She had lost weight and her pallor was sickly; her glazed eyes showed the strength of the pain relief draft that she now took every hour, but she still had control of her faculties and gave a stirring speech in honour of her granddaughter.
The meal was outside in the warm summer evening, long tables placed in a square formation. Entertainers used the gap in the middle too amuse the crowd; hundreds came to the wedding, and most of course came in support of the various Atyd’s.
To add insult to injury, Barnum had invited Havoc to sit at the top table with the queen and her Atyds’, possibly to gloat, but the prince did not attend and left after the main event. Instead, he went for a walk in the palace gardens with Soneros for a while and they talked about various subjects to take his mind off things.
‘I met Baron Telmar on several occasions, did you know that?’ said Soneros.
‘You mentioned it before. What was he like?’ said Havoc suddenly interested.
‘Oh... he was much liked in his youth, handsome, intelligent and a gifted Rawn. That was all before he started having his Pyromantic attacks. He used to have sparring sessions with your grandfather in the palace library at Aln-Tiss.’
Havoc laughed and told the Ri of his spars in the library with Magnus.
‘It was one of those fights, outside the library entrance,’ said the Ri, ‘when I met him for the first time. He and your grandfather were both thirteen, I think, and they were always falling out with one another. When I found them, they were trying to get the drainage grills up that ran at the sides of the cloisters. Telmar had disarmed Vanduke, knocking his wooden training sword out of his hand and it fell down the grill. I helped by using the arts to lift the heavy grill and tried to retrieve the sword,’ he chuckled, ‘they would not stop arguing, well your grandfather did the shouting, he always had a slight temper, Telmar ironically, was always calm.’
‘Then his personality changed when he became mad,’ Havoc mused. He frowned, ‘did grandfather get his sword back?’
‘Eventually, the guttering is deep and the sword fell quite far. The young baron climbed down to get it; he found it on rubble that was part of a collapsed passage, so I believe.’
Havoc stopped and stared at the Ri, the words from a past dream sprung sharply to his mind.
Ye shall be blind to the hidden passage.
‘A passage, was it the one that King Valient made for his secret lesions with my great-grandmother?’
‘You are well informed young prince,’ smiled the Ri, ‘I think it may well be. It was always a secret route that few knew about. It was eventually destroyed by Valient’s father.’
He was about to ask his master more about the location of the collapsed tunnel under the library when he heard screams and shouts coming from the open air banquet tables. They both ran to the feast and found Vallkyte cavalry, dozens of them. Women were moving their children out of the way of the approaching officers that had dismounted and made their way to the queens table. Very few of the Falesti men were armed. More wore ceremonial weapons only at the wedding, although the dozen or so palace guards had spears. Havoc saw Powyss and Little Kith still sitting at one of the tables, but could not see his other friends, he hoped they were going to arm themselves.
It was obviously a show of strength, not an invasion. The Vallkyte cavalry had not deployed in any threatening manner or surrounded the tables. At first, Havoc assumed they had come to pay their respects to the couple, but the riders wore dark grey carapaces and light mail with a light blue and silver tabard over the top. Their peaked helms had a spray of red and gold feathers and the standard-bearers banner depicted the crest of a Knight-bannerette of the Vallkyte Fifth Mounted Division out of Fort Chunla. The Atyd’s stood by the queen as the officer walked to the top table. Havoc noticed that Barnum was looking around for someone and then his eyes met his and he saw the Atyd smile.
‘Please accept my apologies, Queen Nieve, on this most auspicious occasion,’ said the young Vallkyte captain, he bowed, ‘we will not take up to much of your time. I am Sir Mallon de Moth, leader of the Fifth Mounted. ’
‘You realise, Sir Mallon,’ Havoc could just hear the faint voice of the queen, ‘that you have unlawfully entered neutral territory? Have you sought permission to come here?’
‘Sadly ma’am I have not, speed and necessity brought me here.’
‘You have brought a small army captain, pray tell me why?’ The queen’s voice sounded reproachful. Her stare penetrating, but the officer seemed not to notice.
‘Commander Leman, Officer Commanding at the Chunla Fort, sends his apologies Ma’am, but it has come to light, through an anonymous contact, that you are harbouring a fugitive. He is the De Proteous prince of the Roguns’, his name is Havoc.’
There were gasps all aroun
d the small clearing; most eyes turned Havoc’s way. From his left he heard Soneros Ri growl, ‘Barnum you fool!’ he said. Which made the prince glance at the Atyds’ way, but Barnum looked as perplexed as the rest at the table.
Then it struck him that the Ri was correct, it was so obvious; there was only one anonymous contact that had the influence to bring fifty Vallkytes to arrest him. Did he know about him and the princess? Was he trying to get rid of him for that reason? On the other hand, was it just out of malice? Was that the reason for the wry smile, had Barnum planned all of this?
His answer came from the princess herself; she glanced from Havoc and looked with dread at Barnum, she knew it was he, and there was pain and fire in her eyes.
Havoc was now on the spot, Barnum had chosen the time well, fifty Vallkytes with lance, sword, and shield against the unarmed multitude. Havoc glanced to his left, past the Ri, at the boulder with SinDex still sitting in it.
‘Prince Havoc is in my house, safe under the laws of asylum, you have no jurisdiction here,’ snapped the queen. The fatigue was more evident in her face.
‘I am well aware of the law ma’am. Harbouring a renegade is against Vallkyte law, and so too is the murder of our soldiers by your people,’ said the captain severely. Morden stirred restlessly next to the other Atyds’, ‘I will be escorting the prince to King Kasan.’
‘You can tell my uncle to come and kiss my arse!’ shouted Havoc as he walked out of the crowd, there was some sniggers at the outburst; Powyss stifled a laugh, even the queen smiled.
‘Prince Havoc of the Roguns, I arrest you in the name of...’ said the knight, with as much dignity as he could manage, but his prisoner was walking away from him, ‘Halt, or my men will cut you down.’
Havoc stopped and turned to the captain. ‘If you think I’ll come quietly then you are an idiot captain. If you want me, I will be on that rock,’ he pointed to the boulder then walked at a fast pace to get there before he was run down by the cavalry.
A murmur went up from the Falesti. They moved out of the way as the Vallkytes kicked their mounts and moved around the square table then onto the glade adjacent to the palace garden. The princess stood and watched Havoc’s journey to the boulder with the sword sticking out of the top. Soneros Ri joined them and also watched with interest. Everyone watched, even the Vallkytes were mesmerised at the retreating figure as he climbed onto the boulder and pulled out his sword from the rock, there was a screeching sound as it exited.
‘Ah well, the entertainment was rubbish anyway,’ said Powyss to Little Kith who grunted in acknowledgement.
The knight-captain pointed to two of his men and they broke off from the main body. They cantered towards the boulder, gripping their lances and shields.
The sword felt good in his grip. The long weeks without the weapon faded away and his mind seemed enhanced by its power. He heard a whispered voice in his head, the Blacksword had returned, like a long lost friend.
Are we going to have fun now? It said.
‘Oh yes,’ said Havoc with a grin.
The hooves to the two cavalry horses bit into the ground as the horses picked up speed. The lance tips levelled and ready to jab. The bodies of the riders bent forward reins gripped in mailed fists ready to manoeuvre their mounts in any direction. Knees tightened on the flanks. The short gap to the prince became less and less; they split and headed for separate sides of the boulder.
Havoc jumped at the last minute, crashing into the equestrian on the right, his sword found the gap above the shield rim and helmet, blood gushed from the man’s neck. Havoc twisted as the body fell from the horse. He landed on the soft grass and turned to the other attacker as he pulled his sword free.
The second rider was quick to turn his horse; he was on Havoc in a flash, but the prince moved across the path of the animal and cut both front legs from under it. The horse’s neck hit the ground and it skidded along the grass; the rider was thrown several feet from his saddle and broke his arm on landing. He was trying to stand when the prince run him through with SinDex.
The whole attack was over in a few seconds. The Vallkyte captain looked stunned as he watched the prince flick blood from his sword.
‘You five, attack!’ he said to a group beside him. The riders spurred their mounts and galloped towards their target.
‘We can’t allow this to happen, we have to help him!’ shouted Bronwyn, she turned to Soneros, ‘Master Ri, please do something.’
‘The prince can handle himself, besides the rules of my order state that I can’t interfere,’ said the Ri with a shrug. Though, there was a look of concern on his face.
‘It will be over soon my dear,’ said Barnum with his arm around her, and a smile on his face, but she shrugged his arm off and scowled at him.
Havoc used the third element to give him lift to jump higher than the advancing horses. He split SinDex in two and swung the swords in both hands towards the front two riders as he twisted around above their heads. The ends of the swords sliced through the hard metal of the plumed, shiny, helmets and into the skulls of the soldiers, they fell from their horses like dead weights as Havoc landed on both feet. The third and fourth horse passed him by, but the fifth rider slowed and turned his mount into Havoc’s path. The prince had enough time to knock the lance away and slash a deep cut into passing horseflesh, the horse reared and whinnied in pain toppling his rider from his back. Before the rider had time to get up, Havoc pinned him to the ground with his sword; the sound of gurgling blood, issuing from the man’s mouth as he died.
Powyss and Kith stood looking agitated, their eyes were searching the surrounding trees.
The fight animated the Falesti; they cheered Havoc and waved fists in the air towards the Vallkytes that milled about the tables giving back dark looks.
‘Please someone help him...!’ shouted the princess.
‘Be at peace, your highness, Captain Powyss has sent Whyteman for help,’ said Morden.
‘He’ll be too late, the prince needs help now,’ Bronwyn looked at her grandmother, ‘please...’ she pleaded, but the queen remained impassive, but also fearful for the prince.
Havoc picked up a fallen lance and hurtled it left handed. It took one of the remaining two riders in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground as it bounced off his carapace. He threw Dex at the other, but the rider pulled his horse round for protection; however, the sword point impaled the animal in the neck and the rider jumped to the ground as the horse fell and thrashed about in screeching agony.
Havoc avoided the flailing hooves as he pulled out Dex from the neighing horse. He sealed both the swords together and advanced on the rider who had unsheathed his sabre and was now backing away. The soldier hoisted up his shield just in time to deflect a lunge and then the rider rushed at the prince hoping to put him off balance. The prince moved back and to his right, he raked his sword over the man’s left shoulder as his opponent stepped away from the lunge. Havoc then spun left and punched through the shield with his sword and into the rider’s right lung.
The Vallkyte captain roared in fury; he lifted his hand up and shouted for all of his men to attack.
‘NO!’ Bronwyn screamed. She grabbed the hilt of Barnum’s sword and pulled it out of its scabbard. She ran at the Vallkytes, her white dress flapping in the air around her.
Everyone tried to stop her, all except Powyss and Little Kith who ran with her. The queen turned to Soneros, she had no strength to speak but her eyes said it all; protect her.
‘Damn it!’ he said as he threw off his cloak and took his long, blue bladed, sword out of the wooden staff, ‘Never liked rules anyway,’ he ran after the princess.
A wall of cavalry galloped immeasurably towards the prince, he prepared to meet them like a Rogun, and ran at the advancing troops.
The first arrows appeared from out of the tree line to his left and hit the Vallkyte knight in the chest and throat. He went under the hooves of the horses behind him as he fell from his mount. Felcon and B
rynd, with several other archers, were suddenly there behind the prince on the glades eastern edge; they loosed off several volleys as they trudged forwards. Archers to the rear of the enemy cavalry used the rider’s backs as targets. As soon as they realised they were under attack, the cavalry split up and they rode past the prince.
Each trooper raised their shields as they rode towards the archers but the first flight of arrows had done the damage, many riders were down and brave Falesti men had ran into their paths with stones or branches, anything they could get their hands on.
On his run towards Havoc, Powyss picked up a fallen sword and broken lance; he lobbed the lance at Little Kith who caught it and turned round to one of the oncoming riders. He had no time to throw the weapon, so he swung it like a club instead. It broke in two as it smashed against the riders shield. It was as if the Vallkyte had hit a wall; he fell from his horse and landed heavily onto his back. The big man’s shadow loomed over the soldier as he struggled to get up. Little Kith rammed the heel of his boot into the man’s throat, crushing his windpipe.
Havoc danced around the horses. The cavalrymen were ignoring him now as they concentrated on shielding themselves from the arrows but the relentless attack was coming from all sides. Havoc saw Whyteman walking through the chaos, he was nonchalantly notching arrows into his bow, and firing, notching, and firing, before the arrow had hit its target, he had another one aimed. All of his boreheads’ were deadly.
The Falesti men fought well; they had formed into their usual fighting groups, the same tactic that Havoc noticed on his desperate fight in the Oldwoods, months ago. Some had fallen under the spears, but most dodged through the mass of riders and pulling them from their saddles as they worked in pairs. Morden was rushing around them, giving orders. The Atyd did not possess the skill of a warrior but he certainly had the heart of one. Women folk and the aged had surrounded the queen to protect her; the other three Atyd’s were amongst them.