Darius Chapter 14

Heldrus trotted back to Erinstone in the afternoon, taking his time so that he could conjure up fantastic variations of the events to happen upon his arrival. He pictured the bright banners with his face stitched into them, and tapestries of his men taking down hordes of bandits. He thought of what he would tell the other captains when they asked about his adventure. Should he say there were thirty bandits? Or fifty? He could probably get away with eighty or so before the odds seemed too unfavorable for a warrior even as mighty as himself.

Every now and then, his mind would switch to Marth, instantly souring his mood. Out of all the people in the world, how did he end up hunting him down in the middle of the forest? He shook his head, choosing instead to focus on the ride ahead of him. Erinstone was in view, it had been since he broke out from the tree line onto the Great Road. It wasn’t until he was a captain that he got to see this view that often – as a run-of-the-mill foot soldier, his duties had mostly been crowd control and personal security, not straying too far from the boundaries of the kingdom. As a captain, he was freer to roam the outside world, occasionally partaking in Trenk raids or bandit scouting missions. None had ever been so fruitful as the last few days had been.

He took the same route that Marth had taken earlier that day. He grew more eager the closer he got to Erinstone, and by the time he was in view of the first plots of farmland, he was galloping along, the sword at his side whacking against the horse’s side as it ran. He raced north through Mouse’s Melee, old hunched-over men raising their canes at him as he sped past into the Trader’s District. He took the western trade path up to the armory where he dropped off his armor and blade to be buffed and sharpened, respectively.

His last stop before home was the stables. He dismounted and led his horse in, walking the rows until he found a spot with fresh hay. He picked a fresh bay and opened the gate, taking off the bridle and saddle as his horse walked in. The stable groom came out from his room with a brush and a bucket of water, ready to brush down the horse and wash the sweat and mud off. He called out to Heldrus.

“Picked a good bay there, just cleaned it out and put in fresh hay this morning after Prince Ranvost left. He was in an awful hurry.”

Heldrus grunted in reply and left the stables, now on foot as he stamped up the hill towards the Royal District. The guards saw him coming and opened the gate for him, but to his surprise, there were no shouts of admiration or congratulations for his bandit conquest.

When he at last made it back to his quarters, he kicked off his boots and muddy clothes and slumped onto the bed, taking a rest after the exhilarating ride. He didn’t lay there long, his nervous energy kept him from sleeping, and soon enough he was dressed in fresh clothes and back out the door, calling over a servant.

“You there, where’s my mother? I was expecting her to be here waiting for me.”

The servant kept his head bowed as he replied.

“Sir, Ms. Avongold is in a meeting with Tallacus Pike, she is expected to be back in a couple of hours.”

“And where is the meeting being held?”

The servant didn’t reply for a moment, deciding which of her options was the least troublesome – she could either tell Heldrus where the meeting was and face Layla’s wrath later, or not tell him and face him right now. She gave in.

“They’ve met in Porter’s Hall, but please, don’t let anyone know I told you.”

Again, Heldrus didn’t reply. He strode down the western corridor to the heart of the castle, stopping at the kitchens to sample some food now that he had the luxury of well-cooked meals back on the menu. He had been getting a bit sick of the berries, tubers and charred fish that his men had scrounged up whilst in the forest.

He continued past the kitchens and entered Porter’s Hall, not knocking or bothering to have the servant standing outside announce him. The doors swung open, and he strode into the hall to an audience of his mother, Tallacus Pike, and seven or eight other officials and scribes. The scribes saw Heldrus and their eyes widened, hurrying to fold shut the open maps and papers in front of them.

“Hello, mother, apologies if you were planning my welcoming party, I galloped as soon as I could.”

Layla frowned, not accustomed to being barged in on. She rose from her chair and walked up to Heldrus, grabbing his arm and leading him back out the door. She dismissed the servant with a flick of her hand and turned to Heldrus.

“Heldrus, I’m glad you’re back, and you’ve been a splendid captain, but don’t you ever interrupt a meeting of mine again, do you understand?”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Heldrus deflated. He had hoped things might’ve changed with his mother in the short time he was gone.

“I do, I’m sorry. I thought you might want to know that Marth Ranvost also came to me with a message, he was making these stupid accusations that you were setting up an attack on my men whilst I was here getting my promotion.”

Heldrus was confused when Layla didn’t deny it outright.

“Ah, Marth Ranvost? How could that little – how would the Crown Prince have any idea what I am or am not doing? What did you tell him, where is he now?”

Heldrus puffed out his chest, proud of his planned response.

“I told him if he was so sure of the shit he was spewing, he could take charge of my men and defend them against his phantom evils.”

Heldrus finished speaking, and for the first time in years, he saw his mother smiling. At him.

“You did WHAT?! Heldrus! You’re saying Marth Ranvost is still out in the forest with your men?”

Heldrus nodded, confused by the peaks and troughs of Layla’s mood swings in the past thirty seconds.

“Heldrus you’re a genius! He has no chance against the men I’ve sent – We're finally going to get revenge for your father. Come now, Tallacus can stew in there for a while – let’s celebrate!”

She clopped off down the corridor, turning and looking back at Heldrus, waving at him to follow. He didn’t move.

“What do you mean the men you sent? You mean Marth was telling the truth? You’re killing my men? Why?”

He felt tears come to his eyes, realizing he was more attached to The Bandit Executioners than he had thought. Layla walked back, touching him on the shoulder.

“Oh Heldrus, you sweet thing. It’s for the good of Erinstone. The bandits are all that’s stopping this wedding from going ahead, so myself and Tallacus are paying to keep them there. I know it’s a hard choice, but it had to be done! And don’t forget, you paid that girl to kill Marth, we’re both doing the same thing!”

Heldrus couldn’t believe he had been fooled. Tears ran down his cheeks, the confusion and stress pushing him to the edge.

“But you’re killing Erinian soldiers – my soldiers! They’re good men, they have families here in Erinstone – Don’t you see how terrible that is? How could you do that?”

He pushed past, not waiting for a response. He felt like his ribs were contracting, and his heart was beating at a million miles an hour. He felt saliva rush to his mouth, and he sprinted out of the castle, retching and vomiting onto the grass outside. He stumbled back down to the stables, washing his face and drinking desperate gulps of water from the horse's trough, trying to clear the acid taste from his mouth. The groom was still in the midst of brushing down his horse, but Heldrus shoved him aside, grabbing the saddle and bridle off the hook and slapping them onto his horse, fumbling with the straps and clips of the bridle. He opened the gate and sped out of the stables, the groom shaking a pitchfork at him as he left.

He rushed down the paths, passing back through the way he’d come just a short time ago. It occurred to him that his horse might not have been rested enough, so he slowed down once he reached the jam-packed streets of Mouse’s Melee. The mid-day markets had mostly finished, but the paths and streets were still crowded with carts moving stock, and people walking about the district, going about their business.

Heldrus had just gotten a clean break through the crowd when he heard a familiar voice.

“Heldrus! Oi! Over here!”

He swung his head in the vague direction of the voice, squinting at the mass of heads. Eventually, he saw Peskimir waving her arms at him. She was obscured by a brown cloak that hid almost all her face, except for her sea-green eyes. He thought she was smiling at him, but as she came closer, he realized it was a strange scowl. She stood in front of his horse and shouted up at him.

“Can you explain to me what the fuck is going on? Did you get cold feet? Wanted your stupid money back so you decided to kill me to get it?”

Heldrus was stunned. After his mother had flown off the handle at him – before this whole bandit mess – he'd thought Peskimir had been marked for death, sentenced by the goons that his mother paid. He should’ve known at that point that killing Erinian soldiers wasn’t too far below her, especially if she was willing to kill the young woman.

“Peskimir, I’m so sorry, my mother – I’m so lost right now, I need to get out of Erinstone and save my men.”

“You’re leaving Erinstone?”

“Not permane-’

“Great! Thanks to you, I’ve gotta leave too. I’ll come with you, and you can explain yourself on the way.”

She brought back her cloak, flashing the two daggers at her waist. It was apparent that ‘no’ wasn’t an option. She grabbed his dangling arm and heaved herself up, almost pulling Heldrus off with the movement.

“Don’t go too fast, I’ve got no stirrups back here and I don’t want a bruised bum.”

Heldrus had no time to go slow, but he also had no time to argue. They started off at a slow pace, rising to a canter as they exited Erinstone. Heldrus looked at the sun and was shocked to see the small amount of daylight left. If the attack was set for dusk or even that night, they’d be struggling to make it back in time. A stupid idea came to his mind.

“Look, Peskimir, I really want to kick you off the horse and leave you here, but if you insist on coming with me, we have to go faster.”

Peskimir emitted a questioning tone, curious what his next words would be. Heldrus didn’t disappoint.

“It’s gunna be weird, but I think if I give you a piggy-back, I can put my feet in the stirrups and then we can both lean forward over the horse’s neck. That way you’ll be off her back, and we should be able to gallop without bouncing you around too much.”

Peskimir laughed, not convinced about the safety of his plan or the likelihood of it succeeding.

“Fine, but we’re not allowed to fall off until you come clean with why you sent those guys after me.”

She got into the strange riding position, which was beyond uncomfortable for both of them, but tenable.

“Well, I’ll explain later, but the short version is that I had nothing to do with them, it was my mother.”

Peskimir adjusted her seating as the piebald picked up speed. Before the wind rushed by too fast for them to speak, she yelled into his ear.

“And I thought I had a tough upbringing!”

The pair carried on, and as the sun set, the battle approached.