Following Orders: Chapter Two

Chapter Two

I was snapped back to reality by Ronald pushing past me. He rushed to the well, picked up a spare bucket, and began drawing water. I looked around, still a little dazed, searching for some way to help.

“Boy!” My eyes followed my ears to the source of the shout. A stable hand was waving me over to where he knelt by a wounded soldier. I trotted over.

“Yes sir?”

“I’m about to stitch him up and you need to let him squeeze your hand so he doesn’t move. Got it?”

“Yes sir.” I knelt next to the man. His beard held streaks of grey and his eyes were searching my face in a desperate sort of pain. He clutched at my hand and I tried not to wince.

The stable hand bent over the slash on the warrior’s thigh and carefully began the work of his needle. My hand was crushed tightly by a stronger one. The brave soldier had obviously been given no alcohol to lessen the pain. More than likely, there wasn’t enough to go around.

In a matter of minutes that felt like hours, the stable hand was done and moved on to the next wounded man. I began to get up, hoping to help somewhere with a little less blood, but my hand remained tightly grasped.

“Thank you.” It came in a hoarse whisper but I knew just how sincere the gratitude was.

I nodded.

“It happened too fast for us to do anything. One minute, we were marching. The next, we were fighting for our lives. There were too many of them. They killed without discretion.” The soldier’s eyes had glazed over, as if he were back on the battlefield, sword swinging. “There were too many of them,” he repeated.

I licked my lips. My mind flashed back to the return of the soldiers when my father died. Many of them had said the same thing. “There were too many. There was no time.” How many had lost their fathers today?

“Gerald and I tried to hold them off as long as we could. The pack that attacked us. But we were outnumbered three to one. There was nothing we could do. Gerald fell. He died. Just the night before, we had shared a tent and eaten together. He told me about his young daughters. I told him about my older girls. Only one set of sisters is left with a father.” He fell silent.

After a while, the man seemed to come awake. He let go of my hand. “Please don’t let me keep you. There are others to be attended to.” He gave me a faint smile and shooed me off.

Ronald was still carrying buckets of water. I hurried to get in step with him and grabbed the bucket from his hands. “Where is this going?”

Ronald pointed. “Over there. I’ll go with you.” We picked our way through the broken bodies and set the bucket down next to a small woman who was wrapping a bandage around a bloody arm.

The woman glanced up at us and I recognized her as one of the laundry women. She looked at me. “You’re Will right?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Her eyes traveled back down to her working fingers. “They’re askin’ for ya up at the castle. Said if I see you to send you to the king’s study.”

“Oh. Thank you ma’am.” What could the king possibly want with me?

“Guess you’ll be off then.” Ronald raised his eyebrows. “Wonder what you did this time.”

“Nothin’ I think. I hope.” I turned to once again weave through the near dead, this time toward the castle. I used the servant’s entrance and then made my way to the king’s study. The tangle of hallways and staircases was no longer difficult to maneuver. Years of practice had seen to that and being born in the castle didn’t hurt either.

Sir Manchmal was tapping his foot impatiently outside of the king’s study. “Where have you been boy? The king’s been waiting a full ten minutes!”

“I’m sorry sir. I only just heard that I was wanted.”

“’Wanted’ indeed! Come on!” The grey haired man knocked on the smooth oak door that stood before us.

“Enter!” The deep voice of the king rumbled through the wood.

Sir Manchmal pushed the door open and stepped inside, leaving me to close it.

The king glanced up from his stack of papers which he had been furiously sorting through. There were bags under his eyes and his hair was not anywhere close to neatness. A ragged quill rested between twitching fingers and a bottle of dark ink teetered haphazardly by the edge of the desk. His crown lay forgotten on a side table and the greatly embroidered tunic had been left on the back of his chair in favor of comfort. White sleeves were pushed up and somehow remained inkless, though the nose of the wearer did not.

“Sir Manchmal, Will, please sit down.” He seemed to at last notice the dangerously placed ink bottle and absentmindedly moved it closer to the center of the storm.

There was only one chair in the king’s office and Sir Manchmal took it. I stood just behind him and to the right.

“You wanted to see us, King Arthur?” I had never been this close to the king and despite his harried appearance, awe filled my every feature.

“Yes. There is something I need you and your squire to do for me Henry.” I tried to hide my surprise. The king and my master were close.

“Anything, my liege.”

“I know you haven’t fought since you injured your hand eight years ago.” He looked at me. “I also know that you lost your father to that battle, my boy.” I kept my face expressionless. “But this is important. I would only allow one of my most trusted knights on this mission. You and Gawain came to mind first. I chose you because Gawain will be needed in the battle field and,” the king paused and eyed his old friend carefully, “your strength now lies in diplomacy.”

Sir Manchmal flexed his fingers ever so slightly and nodded ruefully. “What do you need me to do Arthur?”

The king avoided the question a little longer. He shifted in his chair and rearranged the mess before him. He cleared his throat. “Doubtless, you saw the carnage of battle outside?”

“Yes. It is horrible.”

Arthur nodded. “Yes. Camelot is on the verge of war. The neighboring country of Aronway is pushing to seize our land.”

“Do they not remember the stories?” My master was incredulous, as was I. “Have they not heard of the great King Arthur, warrior, conqueror, protector? Have they not heard the tales of all of the wars and attempted conquest that were so easily won by the magnificent king of Camelot?”

The king chuckled grimly and shook his head. “Those stories are old my friend, as am I. I was a young and strong man when those legends were lived. No doubt, they know that I am moving on in years and believe that I cannot defend this land. They think it is high time to try to take this small land once again.”

“What about our allies? Will they not come to our aid?”

“We are not officially at war yet and Orenland and Sacremu are both fighting against Malathew. They have no forces or resources to spare. That leaves Remantlia and they have just come out of a drought. Besides, they are not much bigger than Camelot. Our other allies are too far to march here before this country is overtaken by Aronway.”

Sir Manchmal stroked his beard. “Is there no other resource or ally from which to pull?”

“Not currently. But that’s what I need you for. We must form an alliance with King Baldwin of Morestia and quickly.”

“King Baldwin? Morestia is so large, will he ever accept the offer of alliance? There’s nothing we could give him that he doesn’t already have.”

The old king of Camelot smiled grimly. “Unfortunately, there is one thing.” Sir Manchmal’s heavy brow furrowed. “A person, actually.” The king leaned back in his chair, restless and uneasy. He avoided the curious gazes of Manchmal and myself. “My daughter, Elaine.”

I sucked in my breath. The king doted on his daughter. Camelot must be in a dire situation for him to even consider such an idea.

The cries of pain from the courtyard filtered through the stained glass window on the left wall. A bird flew by, its shape distorted by the reds and greens. A draft crept in under the door. All of this before the king spoke. There was a hardness, and edge to his voice.

“I have taken counsel with my advisors. We have spent as many days as could be spared making this decision. Every other option has been searched thoroughly and found to be useless.”

“Have you approached the king of Morestia about this – this arrangement?” Manchmal’s words sounded just as pained as the king’s. He had known the princess since the day she was born all these seventeen years.

“He approached me actually. A messenger came just three days ago with the offer. Here, read this.” He handed Manchmal a parchment that had been rolled up at some point, but was now almost too worn to even have the seal recognized.

My Dear King Arthur of Camelot,

I am distressed to see such war between yourself and Aronway as to cause so much bloodshed and pain. It would be my will to see such pain brought to an end as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, I would only be able to help one of your countries.

King Valensay of Aronway has already approached me with an offer. Half of your kingdom in exchange for the forces and supplies to win the war. However, as we have been allies in the past, I wanted to give your more sparsely supplied kingdom a chance as well.

As much as I would like to increase the spread of my territory, there is something that I would like even more, which brings me to my offer.

You see, my friend, I am seeking a wife to rule by my side as Queen of Morestia. On previous political visits, I was quite charmed with your daughter, the Princess Elaine.

I would offer you and your country a permanent alliance with Morestia and an end to this war in exchange for your daughter’s hand in marriage. Fear not: I would care for her and love her with all my heart. She shall want for nothing!

I eagerly await your reply. As soon as I receive word, my troops will move out – whether for or against Camelot is up to you.

                                                                                                   

Yours Truly,

His Royal Highness King George Baldwin of Morestia

Sir Manchmal stared at the letter, speechless. He finally looked up at Arthur. “And you’re going to accept this? It is nothing less than blackmail!”

The tired king sighed. “I know my friend. But there is nothing else to be done. As you said, it is blackmail, and with blackmail, there is no way out.” He rubbed his hands over his face and then looked Sir Manchmal in the eye. “But I believe him. I am not personally fond of Baldwin, but I believe him when he says that Elaine shall be cared for. As much as I would rather think him a liar, I believe his word. Believe me, I have tried everything I could possibly think of to avoid this necessity, but there is nothing. This is where you and your squire come in.”

“You want me to take her to Baldwin.” His statement sounded dead and dull.

“Yes. I am sorry to ask this of you my friend, but I must. I know that you will not take it the wrong way when I say that you are the only man who can be spared. All the rest must stay to defend the castle or our borders.”

“And I am unable to do that.” The scarred hand lay limply in his lap.

“I would not trust this task to anyone else. Elaine is my most precious jewel. If I could, I would send a whole armed guard. Unfortunately, we have not the men to spare and we do not want to draw attention to the trip. It will be better without a whole retinue.”

Sir Manchmal nodded. “When do we depart?”

“Tomorrow morning at dawn a coach will be waiting by the gate. I have sent word ahead of my answer, so Baldwin’s forces should march out before long. My fear is that if Elaine does not arrive soon, he will withdraw his men and demand to have her before continuing to defend us. You must travel quickly.”

My master nodded his understanding once again. He rose and started to bow.

“Wait, one more thing.” King Arthur looked at me and smiled. “I was hoping that your squire could keep her company and keep her mind off the trip. None of her ladies in waiting will be able to accompany her. They don’t leave for another ten days yet. I’m sure she would appreciate to distraction.”

Sir Manchmal looked at me incredulously. “Him? Will could hardly hold a conversation with a princess Your Majesty! Is there not another girl or even another squire who could go?”

Arthur looked back to Manchmal. “As I said, we cannot spare the people. Besides, I thought you might be glad to have your squire along. He looks like an eager one. I’m sure he can hold his own in a conversation.”

I felt like I was an animal being bartered for, not a human standing right there.

“I’m not so sure –“

“He will go.” The king was stern. “I believe that Will will do fine.” He looked at me again. “Would you excuse us for a moment my boy?”

I bowed and stepped outside the room, closing the heavy door behind me. I leaned against the wall, ready to let my mind wander. That is, until I realized I could still hear the conversation taking place.

“I don’t think my squire is the right person for this job. He’s inexperienced and hardly ready for such a trip.”

“Henry, there was another reason I am sending him. You’ve seen the men lying outside – it is exactly as it was eight years ago. I don’t want him to suffer months of reliving his father’s death.”

I slumped against the grey stone at my back. So that was the real reason I was going.

“Surely there are others who lost their fathers that day! One of them could go.”

“There are. But you are the knight that I want with my daughter and he is your squire. Henry, why are you so against your own squire accompanying you on this journey?”

A pause.

“He is completely useless and good for nothing. He hardly knows how to clean my armor, let alone be helpful on the road or hold court with your precious Elaine!”

The king’s voice became very soft but still filled with resolve. “I want him to go with you. I’ve seen him with his red headed friend and I think he will offer good company. Also, I feel that you could use this as an opportunity to teach him, if he is really as incapable as you say. That is my final decision Henry.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The shuffling of feet and the door opened, revealing a scowling Sir Manchmal. I straightened immediately. “You’re going. Pack my things.”

“Yes sir.” I ran off to do as he bid. Even the running though, could not leave behind the king’s words. “Reliving his father’s death.” Was I really so incapable as to be chosen only to get me out of the castle?

I opened the door to my small room adjoining Sir Manchmal’s to find Ronald sitting on my bed. I slammed the door behind me. “What do you want?”

He shot me a curious look. “Good day to you too Sunshine. What did the king say?”

I pulled a pack from the small chest at the end of my bed. That wooden box contained everything I owned, with room to spare. I began callously shoving things in the pack.

Ronald stood by my shoulder. “Are you being sent away?” Worry laced his Scottish voice.

“Not for good. Just going on a trip.”

“By yourself?”

I sighed and looked up at him in irritation. “Yes. I’m going all the way to Morestia with just the pack on my back.” I went back to my work. “Of course not by myself.”

“Wait, you’re going to Morestia? Why?”

“Princess Elaine is going to marry King Baldwin and Sir Manchmal is taking her there.”

“What? I thought the king doted on the princess! How could he let her do that?”

“He does. But there’s no other way to keep Alonway from destroying Camelot. If the princess marries King Baldwin, Morestia will help to fight them. If she doesn’t, Morestia destroys Camelot itself.”

“Then why are you in such a bad mood? You’re going to Morestia with a princess! I’d take your place in a wink!”

I had never told Ronald about how my parents died so I couldn’t tell him the king’s words.

“I just am. I’m sure it will be terribly fun to go romping through the woods with Princess Elaine, but I don’t think the king will let us switch places. Sorry.”

I shoved a tunic in my pack, revealing an intricate knife with an ivory handle. Patterns swirled on the blade and the creamy handle was carved simply and beautifully. I lifted it out of the chest carefully.

“What’s that?” Ronald leaned in for a closer look. “I’ve never seen that before. Where did you get it?”

“It was a gift.” As I gazed at it, I remembered the words my father had spoken when he gave it to me. I had asked him why he was going to war and he had pulled out the dagger.

“We don’t always like what we have to do, Will. But that doesn’t mean we can just abandon our responsibilities. A man does what must be done. Use this knife carefully. No running around with Ronald and using it for play.”

I looked at my friend with a slight smile. “I’m going to Morestia.”