***
“Helias, Sara, so glad you could join us,” said Thorgoth. The king still wore a patch of dressing bound to his eye. His cheek looked mostly healed, though.
Stepping around the campfire, Helias went to one knee and put the two swords in Thorgoth’s grip. “Thank you, Your Majesty. The blades of the king and queen of Erisdale.”
Berengaria narrowed her eyes at the swords. “For a pair of humans, they put up an astoundingly stubborn fight. At least we’ve neutralised them and their secret weapons.”
“Secret weapons?” Helias glanced at Glowron who shook his head.
The harpy-queen picked up Queen Forowena’s blade with one claw, giving it several experimental swipes. “Our spies have been tracking word of the king and queen of Erisdale developing two enchanted swords able to cut through magic and armour alike. They can be wielded by those not magically gifted and one of the effects is that they give their wielders monstrous strength.”
“That explains how they cut a bit through His Majesty’s shield,” Helias murmured. “And there are some rather powerful enchantments on these blades.”
Thorgoth picked up King Jerome’s sword. “Indeed. It appears that their plan was to set up an ambush on me when I led the assault on the Second Terrace. In that they have failed and we are in a far better position for it.”
Helias could see the king and his queen smiling, grinning even. Glowron continued to stroke his beard, his eyes narrowed on the crackling flames.
Sara met Helias’s gaze. He could see her just ever-so-slightly shake her head. The general let out a sigh.
“Your Majesty, may I note that while we have gained a great victory, we do have some concerning issues,” said Helias.
Berengaria arched an eyebrow, but Thorgoth waved his queen off. “Go on, my good general. You helped me kill Queen Forowena. I trust your opinion.”
Helias took a breath and braced himself. “We still have to overcome their defences in the Third Terrace and if our intelligence is correct, the Lightning Battalion and the rest of the Erisdalian’s forces are mere days away. We are in a far better position, but we just lost General Augusta. Given our losses and the recent victory we’ve gained, it may be a good idea to pull back.”
Thorgoth set the sword down, his tail stiff, and the start of a snarl started to twist the edge of his lips. “Pull back? I see that you speak from your heart, Helias, but I fail to understand your reasoning—”
Glowron cut in. “No, he’s got a point, Your Majesty. We’ve lost more than half of the kingdom’s Royal Guards and those that aren’t killed are all wounded in some way.”
“We have started receiving reinforcements from Minairen,” said Berengaria. “Our numbers are about twenty-nine thousand from the thirty-five we started with, but we have damaged them.”
“And they’ve continued to be reinforced. Soon they’ll receive fifteen thousand more soldiers. Veteran troops and many of them fresh. All we’ve been getting are conscripts and what soldiers we can strip from watching our frontline with the rebel Titania,” said Helias.
Glowron nodded. “Sire, even if we win this battle, we will not be able to punch through into the Human Kingdoms. Raise Athelda-Aoun perhaps, but this siege has taken so long, Titania has likely regrouped her soldiers.”
Berengaria raised the sapphire hilted blade and pointed it at Helias and then Glowron. “You morons. Don’t you understand we cannot retreat? If what you’re saying is correct, then they’ll have the rest of their army here. Even if they lost King Jerome and Queen Forowena, they’ll have King Sebastian and Queen Megara of Lapanteria here as the army leaders. When we pull back, they’ll sally forth and come after us.”
“All the more reason to withdraw to the defences in Minairen, shorten our lines of supply and communication,” said Helias. He bit his lip and gestured to the sword. “How do we know if they don’t have more plans and stratagems in reserve, Your Majesty?”
“No, I’m quite certain they have no further plans, my good Generals.” Standing up, Thorgoth gave several experimental swipes of King Jerome’s blade. “They’d been hiding the existence of these swords from us and taking quite a bit of effort to do so. They were so careful they never even informed the Firehand, the Stormcaller or even their top commanders. No, they were holding these in reserve as their last resort.”
“How do you know that sir?” Helias asked.
Berengaria chimed in, a smug look on her face. “Well, if the Firehand or the Stormcaller knew about it, they probably would have been accompanying King Jerome and Queen Forowena in the attack. Instead they were withdrawn. I doubt this was done so willingly.”
“That, and why else would that pair attack us like this? Why not just send some minion of theirs instead of leading the ambush themselves?” Thorgoth mused.
Helias felt his shoulders sag. The king wasn’t even looking at him now. Nodding almost to himself, the tauroll said, “Aside from the enchantment, the swords seem quite normal, though.”
Thorgoth grimaced. “I must admit, our spies seem to have exaggerated the potency of these weapons but it’s also likely they have secrets. I’ll have to spend some time trying to unlock them.” Sheathing the weapon, he cleared his throat. “In the meantime, make sure our troops are well-fed and rested. We’ll let them have a day and a night’s worth of recovery before the final assault.”
“Yes sir!” Helias and Glowron echoed.
***
The moment the pair entered the tent, Helias cast privacy spells and took his cloak off.
“We can’t pull back,” said Sara.
“They won’t—”
“They won’t and we can’t. Almost the entire Royal Guard as casualties? Thousands of Alavari dead for a king and queen and a hostile enemy army still existing? Even I, with my limited knowledge on military affairs, know we can’t pull back.” Undoing the fastenings to her dress, Sara walked to their shared bed. “Come on, the night is young and I think you and I need to stop stressing about this.”
Helias let out a very long sigh before nodding. “You’re right. Fuck me, but you’re absolutely right. But I do want to talk about this.” He walked over to the casket of beer, uncorked it and poured them both a glass. “Besides, we need something to help us get into the mood.”
Sara smirked at her husband. “Oh, discussing military strategy and politics is so arousing,” she drawled, even as she accepted the cup from a now smiling Helias. “But what is on your mind, dear husband?”
Tossing his shirt to one side, Helias loosened his suspenders and sat down beside Sara. He clinked his glass with hers and together they took a sip. “All my instincts are telling me we should withdraw and pull back to Minairen. I cannot pin down as to why.”
“I figured.” Helias arched an eyebrow at Sara who snorted in a most unlady-like fashion. “Give me some credit, Helias. I’ve spent a lot of time observing you. You would never have spoken up against Thorgoth, especially with what we know about the situation, unless you felt like you had to.”
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“I see.” Helias leant a little to the side, the bare skin of his arm touching against that of his wife’s. “Do you think we should withdraw? Or at the very least, what’s your opinion on this whole shit parade?”
Sara wrapped her arm around her husband’s, slipping her manicured nails in between her husband’s callused fingers. “It’s bad, and…I…I had a very brief idea as to why. Like you know, in the moment right after you wake up, where you remember the dream you had the night before?”
“Yes. What was—” Helias blinked as he noted the frown on Sara’s face and how tightly drawn her wings were to her back. “Ah, you forgot.”
Sara groaned. “Yes. I nearly spoke up in the meeting, almost blurted it out in fact. I almost forgot I was in front of King Thorgoth and Queen Berengaria. By the time I recovered I completely forgot. I just know you said something and that gave me the idea.” She looked up at Helias blinking back tears. “I’m sorry. I think it was something very important, but I just—”
Helias couldn’t help it. He leant down and gently kissed his wife’s lips, cutting her off. When they finally pulled back, their hearts were beating hard and Sara was just staring at him, blushing just a bit.
“You had to stay alive, for our daughter. There was no way you could speak up without consequence. You know that.”
“I do.” Sara swallowed and took a breath. “Thank you, Helias.”
“You’re welcome.” Helias allowed himself to smirk as he whispered, “And thank you. You didn’t think I hadn't noticed you sneaking in my favourite beer.”
“You knew?” Sara squawked, the mirth returning to her dark eyes.
“Oh yes. I also noticed how smug you looked when you thought I wasn’t watching you,” Helias growled, grinning wickedly as he leant forward, pressing Sara gently against the bed.
“You bastard!” Sara giggled.
Helias snorted. “That’s what I am.”
Sara wiped her eyes and smiled. “You’re…you’re a good husband, Helias.”
“You’re a fantastic wife.”
“Thank you.” Sara’s breath hitched in her throat. “Helias, I don’t love you romantically, and this arrangement is still not ideal, but…I confess I have come to really enjoy whatever it is we have.”
Helias’s heart skipped a beat. He swallowed and yet, his voice was still hoarse. “We’ve never spent so much time together in the same place, haven’t we, Sara?”
The harorc shook her head.
“Because I concur, Sara, and my only regret is that we didn’t spend more time together earlier.” With that, the Tauroll leant down, and whispered a Word of Power to put out the candles
***
Within a cold cellar underneath the Goblin Empire’s palace, Frances finally put her wand down and closed her eyes.
“You did a wonderful job, Frances,” said Timur.
Frances opened her eyes, briefly examining her handiwork knitting together and erasing the wounds that marred Forowena and Jerome’s bodies. The pair lay side-by-side in Erisdalian royal red, stiff hands clasped.
“I know. I just wish it hadn’t come to this,” she croaked. Her hand seeking her fiance’s, she let herself be led away from the two.
Timur dabbed away at her tears with her handkerchief. “They set their sights on this my dear. Your mother and I don’t know why and we intend to find out, but we could not have stopped them.”
“I know that too and I know who holds the answers.”
The prince blinked. “You do?”
Frances holstered Ivy’s Sting. “Yes. Follow me and if you don’t mind, call Edana, Sebastian, Megara and Alexander to headquarters please.”
***
In the covered gallery of the Goblin Empire’s palace, staff officers and runners either sat or stood at the ready.
Edana arrived at the headquarters, eyes narrowed. Walking over to the main map table, she found a woman with close-cropped brunette hair writing something down. A lanky Asian man with spectacles sat next to her.
“Nicole, Jim. Is there a meeting today?”
Nicole’s sharp nose accentuated her frown. Standing up she put her pen down. “No. We’re holding off any meetings until after the funeral tonight.”
“Timur said Frances wanted to—” Edana arched an eyebrow as Frances strode across the courtyard, followed by Timur, Alexander, Sebastian and Megara.
“Frances, what’s going on?” Jim asked, blinking.
Stopping at the table, Frances placed both hands to brace herself against the varnished wood. “I should be asking you that. Nicole, Jim, how long have you known about King Jerome and Queen Forowena’s plan.”
Nicole crossed her arms. “Frances, what are you talking about—”
Only for Jim to gently squeeze her shoulder and cough into a fist. “Not for too long, but we did know they planned to launch that ambush on King Thorgoth.”
Alexander’s tail rose, stiffening and coiling like the fingers of his hands. “You knew about that insane plan and you didn’t think to tell anybody else?”
“We actually succeeded beyond our wildest dreams,” said Nicole in a dry tone.
“What could possibly make you say that?” Megara asked.
“Because they fooled all of us.” Sebastian pressed his messy brown hair back, before pointing at the two Otherworlders. “I was thinking about how we didn’t notice the Erisdalian Royal Guard not being at their posts. I was wondering how an entire secret warehouse got built. Who could have informed Jerome and Forowena that Frances was about to turn around and get them to fake an assassination attempt on them. They had someone helping them, and who better than their own trusted aides.”
Jim stood up. “That’s not what she meant.”
“Then what did she mean, Jim? Why did Jerome and Forowena sacrifice themselves and the rest of the Royal Guard?” Frances whispered, staring at her two former classmates.
Jim swallowed.“We can tell you tomorrow, when Martin, Ginger and the rest of our soldiers arrive—”
“They’re all dead. Jerome and Forowena, Ulric, and Captain Severus. Not one of those two thousand or so soldiers and mages made it out of there. What could possibly be so important that you all had to keep it secret from us?” Frances whispered.
“How about the fact that this plan is going to win us this war?” Nicole asked.
Edana frowned. “You mean may—”
Nicole shook her head. “No. It has. Look, do you not trust them? Do you not trust us?”
“It’s not about trust,” Edana said, gritting her teeth.
“It’s about the fact our friends are dead and you aren’t telling us why!” Frances winced and shook her head. “I’m sorry, I know you two were close to Forowena and Jerome but I don’t understand why…why—”
“We let them die?” Jim asked. He crossed his arms, spectacled eyes narrowed. His breathing whooshing through flared nostrils. “Do you think we didn’t care? Of course we did! We wanted to stop them, but…fuck.” The mage turned away, running a hand through his hair. “We couldn’t think of anything else, Frances. No way to secure victory in this war.”
Edana pinched the bridge of her nose. “What kind of war-winning plan meant sacrificing the lives of Erisdale’s King and Queen? Especially with our reinforcements but a day away?”
Nicole sighed. “We can’t tell you. Not until everything is ready, Not yet. Just… wait for their funeral tomorrow please. We’ll tell you then, along with Martin and Ginger.”
Frances, teeth ground together so tightly she thought she locked her jaw, spun on her heels and stormed off.
She didn’t stop until she was back in the cold room, staring at Jerome and Forowena’s lifeless bodies.
“I know why she didn’t tell me,” she said suddenly.
She knew you would have tried to stop her, right? Ivy’s Sting asked.
“Of course. I was already suspecting something was wrong. I just didn’t expect so many others to be involved as well.” Frances wiped her eyes. “I didn’t expect Ulric to be involved. I would never have thought he would go out like that.”
He…he was a good man. He helped Edana polish me and…and wouldn’t stop talking as he did so.
She let out a gurgle. “He helped me with my lightning spell. I…I feel like I can see him now, going on about some weird magical theorem, or asking me about some common Otherworld item.”
That’s…why you can’t visit his grave right?
Frances nodded. “Yeah. I can’t… I can’t see him like that. I think I knew something bad was coming for Jerome and Forowena. They weren’t really hiding it. I just didn’t want to admit I suspected. But Ulric? I thought he was going to live forever.”
Pressing her sleeve against her eyes, Frances sobbed, finally allowing her grief to show.
“Is this what you meant, Forowena? That there is a time for everybody to die and not to fear it? That we should meet our deaths after living a full life? Because…because I know what you mean, and I now understand why you, Jerome and Ulric could do this. I just wonder if you thought about who might miss you?”
Nobody answered Frances but her own memories of Ulric’s mad laughter, Forowena’s knowing smile, and the blaring of Jerome’s trumpet.
Touching her wand, Frances swallowed. “Ivy. I…I know I’ve been worried, and scared of dying. I also know you’re scared too. I swear that whatever happens, I’m going to try to live, if only to keep you safe and because…I can’t imagine what it’ll do to you if I’m killed.”
I appreciate that Frances. Thank you. Ivy paused for a moment before whispering. Do you want to know what I think?
Frances nodded.
I think that your friends sacrificed themselves for you. Not you only, but for you and all of their friends. They were thinking about the pain their sacrifice might cause, but I think they knew it was so that those they cared about may live. Like how you would do anything to protect Morgan and Hattie, and how you have put yourself in harm’s way to save Edana and Timur.
“But then… Is the act of sacrificing yourself a way of saying that your life is less valuable than others?” Frances asked.
I don’t think so. They all wanted to live. They all valued their lives, but they also knew that trying to end the Demon King’s tyranny was the right thing to do, even if it meant endangering themselves.
Frances blinked, eyes suddenly dry. Her faithful companion’s words seemed to strike a chord in her that was becoming increasingly familiar. “I know what you mean. It’s why I couldn’t let Thorgoth kill Timur, and why I couldn’t let Hattie die.”
Yes. Though, as you said, we all wish it didn’t come to this.
“Mhm.” Frances gave her wand a squeeze. “Thank you, Ivy.”
You’re most welcome, Frances.
***