by Duncan Lay
He watched the guards for a while, judging their state of alertness and also the shadows on the ground. Then he eased across the ground, using the darkness as his cover and timing his move for when they were all looking the other way. The skin on the back of his neck crawled as he imagined eyes on him but he reached the pen and jumped over the low fence smoothly, landing among the sheep. The smell of them was rank and thick but they were used to men being around them and did not try to run away — not that there was room for them to do so. He waited for a few moments, until his breathing had calmed down, then he found a plump ewe and fumbled the end of the bladder over her teat and began to milk her. It was not the strangest thing he had done on the night before a battle but it had to be close, he thought with a smile.
Once the bladder was full, he eased back to the edge of the pen and glanced across at the guards. Instantly he cursed. An officer was now with them and their chatter had been replaced by a keen watchfulness. The old firepits were only a few paces away and from there he had cover all the way back — but they might as well have been miles away.
He looked left and right but there were guards walking a beat across the front of the pen and no way past without being seen. He was about to try it anyway and at least hurl the bladder somewhere Harald or Ruttyn could find it when there was a shout. He peered around cautiously to see Harald stagger up to the officer and begin pleading at the top of his voice for a cup of milk.
‘I haven’t been able to sleep for days,’ he bawled. ‘But a nice mug of milk will settle me down a treat. Just give me a little while with the sheep and I won’t trouble you any more.’
Guards came running to see what the commotion was and Caelin used the distraction to wipe the ash off his face with wool and hurry down to where Harald was surrounded.
‘Where is your officer? Get away from here before I have you digging latrine pits for the rest of your miserable life!’ the officer was bawling.
‘I am this man’s sergeant. I am sorry he got away for a few moments but I’ll take him back now, sir,’ Caelin said loudly.
‘What’s the matter with the man? I should have the pair of you on punishment detail!’
‘He took a blow to the head when we were on the raid on Dokuzen,’ Caelin said hastily. ‘Captain Edmund let him stay with us because of the bravery he showed then.’
The officer’s indignation subsided at the mention of Captain Edmund.
‘Don’t let it happen again. And clean yourselves up!’
‘Will do, sir,’ Caelin said woodenly, then saluted and grabbed Harald by the shoulder.
‘Daddy? Is that you? Come to take me home?’ Harald babbled.
‘That’s right, lad. Come on now,’ Caelin said.
Once clear, he could not stop chuckling, partly in reaction to the tension, and he patted Harald on the back.
‘I may be a shithouse scout, but I know how to play the fool.’ Harald grinned.
They laughed all the way back to their fire and, best of all, Hild eagerly grabbed the milk bladder and was soon silent, much to the relief of all around.
‘With minds like ours, how can we lose tomorrow?’ Harald asked, to general laughter.
‘The human army has set up camp on a flat plain and it looks like they are ready to fight, at last,’ the scout reported.
Sumiko merely nodded. She had become used to seeing for herself what the Forlish were up to, thanks to the birds she kept circling above them at all times. But someone — she guessed either Rhiannon or Asami — had been killing the birds off and nothing had been getting back to her since the early afternoon. She hated that but did not want to let it show. Besides, it was easy enough to get the answers using ordinary means.
‘Did you look to their flanks? Did you see any tricks waiting for us?’ she demanded. A bird could have seen all that in a few moments but it was much harder for the scouts.
‘We swept wide around to both flanks, going as close as we dared without fighting the humans,’ the scout said. ‘There is nothing waiting, nothing to either side, no other force around.’
Sumiko nodded again. ‘Good. Keep a watch on them at all times and tell me if anything changes.’
‘Yes, High One.’ The elf bowed low and then backed away.
Sumiko watched him go with a little smile of satisfaction on her face. She enjoyed this new respect. If only her father could see it.
‘What do you think they are doing, High One?’ Oroku asked.
‘Well, they obviously mean to fight and they dare not take up a position where we can use trees against them. They must have learned from what we did to them last time,’ she mused. It was at times like these that she wished she still had Jaken as her unwilling puppet — he had been useful in that regard. His death had been all the humiliation she had wanted for him but she had not studied war the way he had. Still, it was just a matter of commonsense.
‘We shall rest here for the remainder of the day and overnight. We will advance on them tomorrow, keeping up a gentle pace, and then form up in the clans. Whatever they try, we will destroy them with our bows and magic, then send in our warriors to wipe out whoever is left.’
‘I shall send the message out to the clan leaders.’ Oroku bowed.
Sumiko left him to do that and ordered food brought to her. They were growing low on rice but, thanks to the Magic-weavers, they had fresh vegetables each night. Of course there was no question of her going short. That was for other people to worry about. She would have a good meal and then rest. Tomorrow would bring plenty of magic.
‘You have to get our son back,’ Mildrith pleaded.
‘And I will. I saw the way Huw looks at Rhiannon. He will not do anything that endangers her. We shall exchange them tomorrow,’ Ward said absently.
‘Ward, he is our last son, our last child. You cannot put him in danger,’ she insisted.
‘And why is he our last son?’ Ward asked sharply. ‘Because you tried to interfere with my plans and saw Uffa killed by our men!’
Mildrith’s head dropped and she began to sob.
Ward sighed. He preferred it when she was being an icy bitch. It was much simpler then.
‘You know all I have desired is to see your sons grow into strong men, to take their place on the throne of Forland after you,’ she whispered.
‘But you have to earn the throne. It cannot just be handed down.’
‘You want immortality? Then Wilfrid needs to take the throne. You have seen and heard how Edmund has behaved in the past few days. He will seek to create his own legacy. And he is still young enough to father sons. Give it twenty years and nobody will even remember you. But if Wilfrid Wardsen sits on the throne, then your name will live forever more.’
Ward was about to dismiss her when her words hit home. Edmund was indeed finding his own way. Ward had encouraged that but perhaps not at the expense of everything he had built.
‘Give Wilfrid a chance. All he needs is a chance. But he will not get that if he is killed by some Velshman!’
‘We will get him back. The Velsh need us more than we need them.’
Mildrith reached out and grabbed his arm. ‘If you ever had any love for me, if you have any love for your son, you will get him back for us,’ she said. ‘Please. I am begging you. I cannot stand to see another boy die.’
He looked down into her face, into her eyes swimming with tears and was transported back to the days when they had been young, and in love, and full of hope.
‘He is of your blood. Who knows how long the elven magic will last in you? Will you let the last of you be taken from these lands?’
The voice in the back of Ward’s mind was even more nagging than she was. Ward raised her up to her feet.
‘I will get him back this night,’ he promised.
‘And keep him safe tomorrow. Keep him with you in the battle,’ she urged.
‘I cannot do that and expect him to take the throne. He must prove himself in war. If he stays by my side while Edmund leads us to
victory, how can he expect the men to follow him?’
‘But it will be terrible. Anything could happen to him!’
‘I can protect him, or I can give him a chance to be king. I cannot do both,’ Ward said slowly. ‘It will be your choice.’
‘Why can’t you do both?’
Ward pointed to his insignia on his tunic. ‘We are wolves. Just like my standard. And the other wolves only respect strength. You cannot hold Forland unless you use an iron fist. My war captains would never respect a man who sat back and let others fight for him.’
‘But you will not draw a sword!’
‘I have already done so. I led the conquest of Breconia, showed them how it was done. And I will lead the final charge, let everyone’s last memory be of me driving the elves from the battlefield in terror —’
‘You could let Wilfrid do that.’
Ward shook his head. ‘I have made my decision, you must make your choice. Safe, or play the game of kings.’
Mildrith bowed her head for a long time and he wondered what her choice would be. As much as she professed love for Uffa and Wilfrid, he suspected she loved the position they gave her a little more.
‘Let him be king,’ she said finally, fiercely.
‘So be it.’
‘When can I go back to my father?’ Wilfrid demanded petulantly, his voice carrying from where he was sitting, surrounded by Velsh dragons.
Sendatsu and Huw exchanged a look.
‘The sooner the better,’ Huw grunted.
Sendatsu sighed. ‘I think we should keep him close with us tomorrow, use him as leverage during and after the battle. Ward will not try anything while we have his son and Rhiannon will know what to do without any prompting from us. She can take care of herself better than just about anyone else here.’
‘That’s a good reason but, truly, I would rather risk Ward turning on us than listen to him whining all day. Besides, the Elfarans might do us all a favour and kill him.’
‘That would be no favour,’ Sendatsu said. ‘He is the sort of man you want ruling the Forlish — foolish and easily amused. Fear the clever ones, the ruthless ones. Wilfrid is no danger to us.’
‘I suppose you are right,’ Huw said grumpily. ‘But I did want to see Rhiannon, have her stand beside me tomorrow.’
‘Better to have her standing beside you for every day afterwards.’
Huw nodded, then reached out to grab Sendatsu’s arm. ‘I would say we are about to be told that is no longer our choice,’ he said.
Sendatsu turned. An honour guard of Forlish soldiers, led by Edmund, was walking towards them, under a huge standard.
‘We shall see,’ he said.
The dragons had seen the honour guard approach as well and the dragon flag was brought across, so the dragon met the wolf as Huw and Sendatsu met Edmund. Sendatsu glanced up at the two big flags. The Forlish standard was on thick linen, which snapped and rustled in the soft wind. The wolf design was beautifully stitched and the cloth had been dyed carefully, the rich colours crisp and clean. By contrast the Velsh one had been crudely put together, the red dye of the dragon leaking out to turn the grey, rough linen a strange pink in places. But he knew it was not about the flag itself — it was about the symbol.
‘Captain Edmund, to what do we owe this visit?’ he asked.
‘My lord king welcomes you to this field. With the elven army a half-day’s march up the road and battle to be joined tomorrow, King Ward would like to spend this last night with his son. He also thinks you would like to spend this last night with Rhiannon.’
‘That is a kind offer,’ Sendatsu said immediately. ‘But they are guarantees of our alliance. Would it not be better to keep those in place?’
Edmund looked at him and for a moment Sendatsu thought he saw a flash of sympathy. But then Edmund turned to Huw.
‘Lord Huw, my king would take it as a grave insult if you did not show trust in our alliance. Our common enemy is in the field. We should be worrying about that.’
Sendatsu willed Huw to stall the man, give them time to think up another way — but then Huw bowed his head.
‘We shall gladly exchange our valued guests. Our alliance is indeed more than just the trust held in Prince Wilfrid and Rhiannon,’ he said.
Edmund smiled. ‘I shall wait for your honour guard to get dressed.’ The squad of men behind him was immaculate, their armour shining, their cloaks freshly washed.
‘They’re ready now.’ Huw shrugged.
Edmund glanced over and Sendatsu could see what he was thinking. Cadel, Bowen and Arval’s squad, which had been watching Wilfrid since the prince arrived, were wearing a mixture of clothes, tunics and trews of different colours, all of them at least slightly dirty. But Edmund said nothing.
‘Come then,’ he invited.
His men marched in step, each pace stamping down onto the ground at precisely the same moment. Cadel and the others walked in a group, not even in ranks, Wilfrid in the centre. Sendatsu took care to walk between the two groups, keeping them apart from each other.
‘Can these men really fight?’ Edmund asked Sendatsu softly.
Sendatsu hesitated, then decided bravado was better than modesty.
‘I trained them all myself. They took apart the men your king sent north and they held them again outside Dokuzen.’
‘They had a wall to fight behind, and elven archers to back them up there,’ Edmund said defensively.
Sendatsu looked at the officer and guessed he had been the one in charge of the attack on Dokuzen; interesting that he was still held in high honour by Ward. Sendatsu would have thought such a failure would have been the end of an officer’s career. ‘Well, you’ll be able to see them tomorrow,’ was all he said.
Ward was waiting for them on the open ground between the two camps, flanked by another squad of guards, as well as a group that included both Queen Mildrith and Rhiannon. All of the guards held torches, casting a fitful light over the open space.
Huw and the Velsh dragons slouched to a stop, while Edmund and his squad kept marching, before crashing to a halt in perfect unison beside King Ward, their flag waving proudly.
‘Lord King, I bring your son back to you, safe and sound, cared for as if he were one of us. I return him as a symbol of our trust, and our desire to fight together to stop the Elfarans from ruling these lands and turning us all into slaves,’ Huw said loudly, his bard-trained voice reaching every ear.
Sendatsu smiled to himself. The former bard knew what to say and how to play to an audience.
‘Likewise, here is Rhiannon.’ Ward gestured. ‘It is right that loved ones should spend perhaps this last night with each other. Our scouts tell us that the elven army is bigger than our combined force and all of them are archers.’
‘We shall prevail, although it will be difficult,’ Huw said.
Rhiannon began walking towards them, although of course none could have stopped her, even if they wanted to. At a nod from Huw, the dragons shuffled aside and Wilfrid pushed through them to hurry across to his father, who nodded to him, while his mother embraced him.
Huw reached out his hand and Rhiannon took it.
‘Welcome back. I don’t want to be parted from you again,’ he said softly.
‘Don’t get too excited to see me. I have been stopping every bird Sumiko has sent over. I am ready to sleep and nothing else,’ Rhiannon replied, standing next to him.
Sendatsu coughed a little, to let them know he could hear, and Huw chuckled. Meanwhile Ward had finished greeting his son.
‘Tomorrow morning we shall meet here again, and my heralds shall show you to your positions. We shall have plenty of time, for the elves will not reach us before the afternoon. I expect you want my men to shield yours, as they have no armour, nor shields of their own.’
‘That would be greatly appreciated, Lord King. But once we are close to the elves, you will see the quality of my men.’
‘Let’s hope it’s better than the quality of their clothing
— and their food!’ Wilfrid said loudly.
Huw stiffened and Sendatsu held out a warning hand, only to see Rhiannon already doing the same. But neither of them could hold him back.
‘The Velsh will prove how good they are on the battlefield tomorrow,’ Huw said loudly.
Sendatsu groaned. He could hear the anger in Huw’s voice and he had no doubt Ward could too.
‘An excellent idea!’ the Forlish king said. ‘But perhaps we should have a quick demonstration first. Not to the death and first blood must stop it immediately.’
Sendatsu glanced at Huw and Rhiannon, who both looked back at him. This was not a path he would have gone down but now they were committed.
‘Certainly, Lord King,’ he said, ignoring the faces Huw and Rhiannon were pulling.
Ward gestured and a pair of huge soldiers stepped out, armed with sword and shield, both of them over six feet tall, looking even bigger with their iron helms and billowing cloaks.
‘Cadel, do you mind showing them how we fight?’ Sendatsu asked casually.
Huw stepped closer to him.
‘Are you mad?’ he hissed. ‘At least send out Bowen as well. Those guards look enormous!’
‘We need to show them what we can do. They will not respect us, nor fear us, unless we do something dramatic. Besides, those guards will be slow and too used to standing on duty rather than fighting,’ Sendatsu whispered back and then reached out to grab Cadel by the shoulder.
‘Use your speed,’ he said. ‘Just as we practised.’
Cadel grinned and stepped out, loosening his shoulders with a series of cuts. Dressed in tunic and trews, he looked very slim and young compared to the big Forlishmen, though his shoulders were wide and he was trained to perfection by moons of hard work. And while he was their height, he lacked the metal helm.
The Forlish chuckled when they saw him but Sendatsu smiled at that. He knew Cadel would stop their laughter.
‘Is this all you want to send out, Lord Huw?’ Ward called. ‘Are you sure you would not like a few more?’