‘My love, you are alive and safe!’ exclaimed Prince Xavier. ‘We tried to ride for reinforcements but returned as soon as we could when we found that the bridge had been burnt down.’
‘Oh,’ said Princess Beatrice. ‘What an unfortunate stroke of luck.’
Prince Xavier observed the scene around him.
‘’Tis incredible that your small band of royal guards has defeated the vastly superior force of the winged beasts,’ said Prince Xavier. ‘How did you do it?’
‘We had a better run of luck than yours,’ said Princess Beatrice.
‘Sorceress!’ hissed Lothaire.
Prince Xavier turned his gaze upon the captain of the winged beasts.
‘Why is this monster still breathing?’ asked Prince Xavier.
‘He is a prisoner and will be accorded the usual rights,’ said Princess Beatrice.
‘Rights!’ exclaimed Prince Xavier. ‘Monsters have no rights.’
‘He was taken prisoner in a battle with the royal guard of Trasimene and therefore he is now under my protection,’ said Princess Beatrice.
‘This beast and his ilk sought to annihilate you. He has no appreciation for your fine principles and would betray you the moment your back is turned,’ said Prince Xavier.
The captain of the winged beasts began to cackle with bitter mirth.
‘Her Highness The Princess Beatrice Who Would Not Be Poisoned!’ sneered Lothaire. ‘How fitting that the jewel thief princess should be betrothed to the two-faced, covetous knave of a prince. Take care, princess, that your wedding feast does not also—’
Lothaire fell silent as Prince Xavier galloped up, lance in rest, and plunged it into the beast.
‘Foul monster!’ said Prince Xavier. ‘Are you all right, my love?’
Princess Beatrice stared at Prince Xavier in shock.
‘He was restrained and unarmed,’ said Princess Beatrice.
‘He was intending harm to your person,’ said Prince Xavier. ‘Do not waste your sympathies on the monster.’
‘My sympathies are mine to waste,’ said Princess Beatrice. ‘You will leave the other prisoners of Trasimene alone.’
‘Very well, my love,’ said Prince Xavier. ‘We would do better to turn our minds to leaving this accursed valley. We are truly stranded now that we no longer have a bridge to cross over the river to reach our camp.’
‘There is no need for the bridge or a long journey around the undulating hills,’ said Princess Beatrice.
‘How so, my love?’ asked Prince Xavier.
‘We return the way we came,’ said Princess Beatrice.
‘But recall, my love, the rockfall blocks the way,’ said Prince Xavier.
‘We have fire and we found vinegar in our supplies,’ said Princess Beatrice. ‘We will blast a way through the rockfall.’
‘It is an ingenious idea,’ admitted Prince Xavier. ‘But will it work?’
‘We shall see,’ said Princess Beatrice. ‘It worked well enough in the quarries.’
Several knights of the princess’ royal guard went to gather firewood for the fire-setting. However, before the preparations were ready, resounding cracks split the rockfall. The knights all fell back as the pile of rocks and boulders rolled away to expose a jagged path through which Lord Moncrieffe appeared. The general came before the princess and bowed.
‘Apologies for the lateness of the hour, your Highness,’ said Lord Moncrieffe.
Princess Beatrice smiled.
‘I am very glad that you also carry vinegar with you, Lord Moncrieffe,’ said Princess Beatrice. ‘We are ready to return home.’
‘As your Highness wishes,’ said Lord Moncrieffe.
When Princess Beatrice arrived back at the capital of Trasimene, she was summoned to an audience with the king.
‘Beatrice, I hear such alarming tales from Sir Hugo and the reports from Lord Moncrieffe and the returning royal guards of your expedition that I can scarcely credit my ears,’ said King Theobald.
‘Your Majesty,’ protested Sir Hugo.
‘Is it true that you accepted Prince Xavier’s invitation and rode into the Piegaro Valley with the prince and his men despite suspecting—knowing—that it was planned as a trap?’ asked the king.
‘Well,’ said Princess Beatrice.
‘Beatrice,’ said the king.
‘Yes, father,’ said the princess.
‘Beatrice,’ said the king.
‘I would not have more innocents die or be unjustly maligned like the handmaiden and the baker and Lemondrop,’ said Princess Beatrice. ‘If there are those who will continue to scheme against this kingdom and think to succeed by trapping me, it is no great inconvenience for me to oblige. Entering a trap is no different to riding into pitched battle if one is prepared.’
‘Prepared!’ cried the king. ‘The crown prince of Ossaia leads an entire army into the Piegaro Valley followed by the princess of Trasimene with only a small contingent of the royal guard and—’
‘You forget Lord Moncrieffe, father,’ said the princess.
‘Of what use was Lord Moncrieffe’s detachment of troops when a rockfall prevented them from continuing along the valley pass as your escort?’ said the king. ‘How could your royal guards hold against the superior numbers of Prince Xavier’s army and the winged beasts?’
‘Lord Moncrieffe’s detachment was not meant to bolster our numbers in the event of battle, father,’ said the princess.
‘Then what was its purpose?’ said the king.
‘To deter Prince Xavier from attempting anything until we entered the Piegaro Valley pass,’ said the princess. ‘The prince cares somewhat for his reputation.’
‘Were you not already risking enough that you had to deliver yourself up on a platter?’ said the king.
‘Princess Beatrice was afraid that the enemy’s intention was a double attack: to fall upon an unsuspecting capital while ambushing her in the Piegaro Valley, sire,’ said Sir Hugo. ‘It is the reason the Lords Peregrine and Falconridge were instructed to remain behind and hold the main force of troops in reserve and hidden, to come to the capital’s defence if the need arose while the princess made a show of allowing Lord Moncrieffe’s detachment to escort her to the Piegaro Valley. The princess wished to split and draw the enemy’s attentions and resources away from the capital.’
‘The threat to the capital was far greater than any threat to me,’ said Princess Beatrice. ‘I might have been lured into the Piegaro Valley but so too were Prince Xavier and the vast proportions of his army. Sir Hugo and the other generals could protect the capital more readily and without interference while Prince Xavier’s lines of communication to the Ossaian forces which remained behind near the capital were cut. The Ossaian troops stationed around the capital could not move without receiving the prince’s command.’
‘As an additional precaution in case other Ossaian lines of communication remained intact, the Lords Peregrine and Falconridge were instructed to send men to light campfires on the distant hills away from the capital so as to convince the Ossaian troops that the Trasimenean forces were further away than they actually were,’ said Sir Hugo.
‘And the royal court and the privy counsellors and I had to be played for fools while my daughter rode off to offer herself as bait and be set upon by a host of murderous winged beasts!’ said the king.
‘Naturally the arrangements had to be secretive, father. It would have been more difficult to discover and foil the enemy’s plans if everyone, including the enemy, was wise to them. We all had our roles to play,’ said the princess.
‘Princess Beatrice and the generals had studied the geography of the Piegaro Valley and noted that it was well adapted for an ambuscade, your Majesty,’ said Sir Hugo. ‘The princess proposed to lay a stratagem to surprise the enemy and counter their plans. The Lords Rinaldo, Aldemar, Trecombe and Sanditon had long ago been assigned to make diplomatic forays into the regions along the border of Trasimene and Ossaia—’
‘This has lon
g been planned?’ said the king.
‘Cristabel did not trust Prince Xavier, father,’ said the princess.
‘It was suspected that Ossaia might be in league with the beasts of the Black Mountain, your Majesty, though whether Ossaia is playing both the Black Mountain and Trasimene false is uncertain,’ said Sir Hugo. ‘The Lords Aldemar and Sanditon had succeeded in striking strong alliances with the native tribes of the Piegaro Valley. The extension of civility and amity by the lords and the princess’ knights, along with the reputation of your Majesty’s rule over the kingdom of Trasimene, won over the inhabitants of the forest and valley who had long suffered under the oppressive rule of King Arnulf and his forbears and held no warm love for or loyalty towards Ossaia. Three days prior to the princess’ departure for the Piegaro Valley, knights were selected from the princess’ royal guard to undertake special missions. Sirs David, Thomas, Liam, Ishaan and Akash and the Ladies Hannah, Astrid and Saski were despatched with troops to the valley to scout the conditions and conceal themselves in the forested hills and prepare for an ambush. Sirs Timothy, Lachlan and Benjamin were sent to intercept, or close off as necessary, the enemy’s lines of communication.’
‘Was Lady Sarah aware of her enlisted role when she insisted on three days of preparations necessary for the princess’ wardrobe to be readied?’ asked the king.
‘If Lady Sarah had her suspicions, she kept it to herself,’ said the princess.
‘The valley tribesmen came down from the depths of the wooded valley to meet the knights and alerted them to the presence of Ossaian soldiers concealed on the low slope of the forested hillside just above the valley road, gathering boulders and making preparations to cause a rockfall,’ said Sir Hugo. ‘The knights scouted the enemy camps and sent report of their discovery back to the capital and received orders to allow the Ossaian soldiers to continue their preparations undisturbed, but to observe them from a higher concealed position on the hillside overlooking the valley road and to remain well hidden, waiting in readiness to strike at the opportune moment.’
King Theobald sighed.
‘The Piegaro river has steep banks, densely overgrown with brambles and other thorny plants, and only one bridge for hundreds of miles which traverses its churning waters,’ continued Sir Hugo. ‘Sir David was instructed to take his troops to the bridge of Piegaro and conceal themselves in the underbrush of the Piegaro river under the cover of night, and to guard or destroy the bridge as necessary.’
Sir Hugo looked towards the king who waved him assent to continue.
‘It was assumed that the purpose of the expedition was to isolate the princess in a location where succour was far from hand,’ said Sir Hugo. ‘However, it was unclear when and how the deadly strike would come.’
‘And from whom,’ said Princess Beatrice. ‘Prince Xavier generally seems to prefer to keep his own hands clean—or at least concealed.’
‘To encourage the enemy to reveal his hand, the enemy’s preparations were allowed to proceed undeterred,’ said Sir Hugo. ‘Lord Moncrieffe ensured that his troops were readied with sufficient supplies of vinegar and firewood and purposely marched them in the rearguard to gradually fall behind. The rockfall came and blocked Lord Moncrieffe’s detachment from continuing, cutting the princess off from her escort. The princess and her royal guard continued to follow Prince Xavier’s army to the other side of the bridge of Piegaro until they arrived at nearly nightfall in a forest clearing within sight of a ruined fortress on the hillside. When the princess saw stone gargoyles sitting on the battlements of the fortress ruins, it became clear that an ambush was nigh—a scene in which Prince Xavier would claim to have tried but failed to prevent the assassination of his betrothed by winged beasts.’
King Theobald sighed heavily again but did not otherwise interrupt.
‘Princess Beatrice and her royal guard were able to make their way back across the bridge of Piegaro unopposed because the Ossaian soldiers who had been stationed there to block the pass had been taken by Sir David and his troops,’ said Sir Hugo. ‘Prince Xavier came after the princess in such hasty pursuit that he did not stop to question how the princess and her royal guard had gotten past his soldiers.’
‘The prince was likely unconcerned because he was confident that the winged beasts would succeed in finding us irrespective of the location,’ said Princess Beatrice. ‘And he was right. They did find us.’
‘The winged beast prisoners whisper and murmur of your sorcery, Beatrice,’ said the king.
‘Oh,’ said the princess, laughing. ‘Lucy was right.’
‘Beatrice,’ sighed the king.
‘Oh, father,’ said the princess. ‘I persuaded Prince Xavier to set up camp in the clearing so that his army would be slowed down if the prince later commanded all of his troops to come after us in pursuit. I sent Lady Sophia ahead to warn Sir David to burn the bridge after Prince Xavier crossed it so as to prevent the superior numbers of his army from joining him, and to signal to the knights posted to the heights of the forested hills. The knights hidden in the forested hills had, with the help of the valley tribesmen, captured all the Ossaian soldiers after the rockfall and were waiting in concealment in the forest with their archers in readiness for battle—waiting for the signal to attack. They played their part until Lord Moncrieffe arrived—or rather, reappeared with his detachment, for Lord Moncrieffe had also been waiting for his cue. There was no sorcery or magic.’
‘Prince Xavier did not expect a reserve contingent of the princess’ knights would penetrate the forest and come over the Piegaro Valley hills. It has never been done before,’ said Sir Hugo. ‘It is more than likely that the prince came back after abandoning the princess and her royal guard to the winged beasts to confirm that the attack had succeeded and to finish off any survivors. Or perhaps the prince was a little unsettled to find the bridge unexpectedly burnt down and his royal person suddenly separated from his army, with only the few men in his personal guard for protection.’
‘Perhaps he came back in the hope that we were vanquished by the winged beasts and that the soldiers he had ordered to cause the rockfall were still there to answer his command,’ said Princess Beatrice. ‘It seemed rather desperate that Lothaire, his ally, died at the prince’s own hand.’
King Theobald sighed a final time.
‘It is well that you kept it a secret, old friend,’ said the king to Sir Hugo. ‘I could not have given the command to allow Beatrice to be lured into the Piegaro Valley, knowing all this, nor stopped myself from going after her. I imagine it was the same with regard to Lady Lucy.’
‘It was difficult, your Majesty,’ said Sir Hugo. ‘But my niece chooses her own path.’
King Theobald turned his gaze upon the princess.
‘Well, Beatrice?’ said the king. ‘If Prince Xavier is as you fear, he will be very angry to again be thwarted and forced to suffer such heavy losses.’
‘Yes, father,’ said Princess Beatrice. ‘The danger grows. Nightfall is coming and there is so very much to be done before it arrives.’
Shortly after the expedition through the Piegaro Valley, two things occurred which were worthy of note.
The first was that Prince Xavier spent long hours shut away in his tent with his advisers, never again mentioning his intended wedding gift to his betrothed.
The second was a terrible deep rumbling which shook the land one night. Many people in the capital of Trasimene thought that it had been the tremors of an earthquake. Princess Beatrice had been outside in the sunken garden of Ermengard Abbey that evening observing a starfall in the night sky. She noted that the rumbling had not arisen from the earth but rather had seemed like an echo from the north reverberating through the air of the cavernous night.
A storm of knights arrived in the capital the following day. Princess Beatrice ran out from the royal stables to meet them.
‘Good tidings or bad?’ asked the princess.
‘We cannot say for certain, your Highness,’ said Sir Davi
d. ‘But the tremors did originate from the Black Mountain. The villagers and watchmen we spoke to said the mountain shook and glowed like a hearth of black fire.’
‘Oh,’ said the princess.
Three days later, Prince Xavier came before the royal court and bowed.
‘Your Majesty, it seems that a ferocious one-eyed beast now rules the Black Mountain,’ said Prince Xavier. ‘In light of these black tidings, I believe that, for the sake of our kingdoms, Princess Beatrice and I should wed at once.’
‘I must deliberate on this matter with my privy counsellors as must the princess. We will not act in undue haste,’ said King Theobald.
But the princess gently kissed the king on the cheek, then turned towards Prince Xavier.
‘It shall be as you wish, prince,’ said Princess Beatrice.
Promises Kept and Made—A Meeting in the Forest
The one-eyed gargoyle came towards the abbey of Ermengard at the edge of the dark forest to stand before the princess.
‘SO MELCHIOR AND BEATRICE were actually friends?’ asked the mill owner’s daughter.
‘YOU LIED,’ SAID PRINCESS Beatrice.
‘As did you,’ said the beast.
‘I did not,’ said Princess Beatrice.
‘You did, by word and by omission, princess,’ said the beast.
‘White lies do not count,’ said Princess Beatrice, repeating a childhood catechism. ‘And I kept my promise.’
‘So did I,’ said the beast.
The princess drew out the chain around her neck from which hung the crystal vial and the intricately wrought setting which held in its golden claws the clear jewel that the beast had entrusted to her in the dungeons of the Black Mountain. She took the jewel off her necklace and held it out to the beast.
‘The possessor of this jewel was meant to have the power to protect their kingdom,’ said the princess.
‘And so it has,’ said the beast, accepting the return of the jewel.
‘I returned from the Black Mountain to this kingdom and three years of war and death and strife,’ said the princess. ‘How did it protect Trasimene?’
The Princess & the Gargoyle Page 10