The Union

"Emily" The murderer uttered .

"Child" The murderer"s wife said .

Emily"s blood was hot . Her face was red . After all these years she still hated them . Her anger wasn"t dulled by time . What she felt back then, that heavy feeling on her chest eating her from the inside, churning like a hungry devouring machine- that never ceased . She still remembered what these two people did to her . She still remembered that very night-that horrible night . She remembered how they used her to cement their rule .

"Why are you talking to people? Stay inside and stay hidden child!"

"Your mentor is a good person but he knows too much and he couldn"t keep his mouth shut . He needs to disappear"

"You are nothing . Without us you are nothing . Know your place"

"Your father was a serf . Your mother was a lowly dead serf . You are a lowly serf . You are lucky we took you instead of ditching your corpse somewhere dark and wet"

Their old words came back to her . She was a p.a.w.n, a tool for their political gains . For many years she looked up to them . They were unreachable . High on the pedestal they sat . She was the ground . They were the heavens . She couldn"t touch them . She watched for many years as her mother"s murderer roamed free . She wept as her beloved mentor had his throat slit on some dark alley in Bivon . She was powerless .

But now it"s different . She was sitting on top of her horse with a crown on her head and an army at her back . They were kneeling on the gra.s.s, looking at her with fear . She had become justice herself . With a single word she could take her revenge .

"Take my offer Emily" Balian said, imposing and firm . "An opened gate for justice . Not bad right? If not, they will escape . You have the power to make justice of your own . Make it so that they pay for their sins . You and I are very much alike . Pragmatists . We see the world for what it is- unfiltered by weak ideals like honor and faith . We understand how things work . If something can be done, we will do it . Right now a choice presents before you . One word and you will have them . Choose wisely Emily"

"Loose! Arrows!" Emily shouted all of a sudden . A few of her guards loosed arrows towards Brice and Sharon . But the knights were quick to shield the two . The arrows just bounced off their armor .

"Like what I said" Balian wore a smile "I know you . I know that you are a practical girl . I know you would try something like that . Sadly, the only way to kill them is to agree to my offer"

Emily jotted a look at Balian before returning her gaze at the murderer and his wife . "Your offer is appealing . You are right . I am a pragmatist . I see, I realize and I do . Unfortunately…" Emily produced a smile to mock both Balian and herself "I am a foolish little girl who does foolish things . I am a fool and I will remain one . The answer is no . I am contented with my current allies and I shall not switch sides just because you offered me the lives of two old couple . Kill them, set them free, serve their feces on a golden platter, I don"t care . They are weak, unlike those two who destroyed me all those years ago . They are mere shadows of Brice and Sharon . It wouldn"t be satisfying to have justice from shadows . If you want the gate opened Balian, you would have to open it yourself . Of course arrows and spears and swords and other nasty things are waiting for you but just wear your armor and you"ll probably be fine"

Emily turned her horse around . Her guards flanked her .

"I will take the fort Emily and your corpses will litter the b.l.o.o.d.y Red River"

"Could be the other way around . And you address me wrongly Balian . I am not just Emily" She turned her head and p.r.o.nounced the next words with clarity "I am Queen Emily Tulosa"

Emily was welcomed at the gate by the ever smiling Commodore Bernard . The Commodore offered his hand to help her off her horse "Parley was useless?"

"Like most parleys" Emily took the Commodore"s help . Her two feet landed on the gra.s.s with a soft thud . Emily put a small grin "Earlier you said that I would have to marry you if you die due to my foolish decision . Well no Commodore, you will just have my permission to court me in the afterlife . After then, you will have to wait and see if you have a chance"

"You jest" Bernard chuckled "Your humor adds to your beauty . I am more inclined to take that afterlife courtship" His tone then became serious "We are going to die, aren"t we?"

"Not if you hold them in the river while I hold the fort . I"ve seen the Castonians on the field Commodore . Impressive and terrifying . But their stern faces and brutish demeanor was cold . I"ve heard that you Vanadians are more jolly and calculative like the merchants that you are" Emily paused a little and continued after a while "Raise your anchors and sink those Lutani ships for me"

Bernard"s puffy cheeks curved a grin "As Her Majesty commands"

Emily and Bernard went to their respective positions . Bernard raised his anchors from the muddy bank . The Vanadian galleys raised their sails painted with colorful images .

A horn was blasted from the enemies" side . Four blasts Emily heard . She didn"t know what that meant but guessed it was a signal for an all-out a.s.sault .

The knights rode with their steeds . Their powerful steeds were useless unless they take the gate but it helped close the distance fast . Seeing thousands of knights trotting in formation would have erupted awe from her . Unfortunately the knights were marching to battle her and her people .

When the knights were only five hundred paces from the trench, Emily closed her eyes . She wasn"t a pious person but at that moment she prayed . She opened her heart and said the words she wanted to say . Like what Balian said, she is a pragmatist . She doesn"t believe in ideals or in a divine being but she prayed .

When she opened her eyes the knights have advanced quite the distance . Four hundred paces .

"Ballistae" Emily ordered calmly, careful not to show her anxiety .

The eight small ballistae shot their large bolts towards the knights . Emily blinked once and the bolts already hit . Four found their mark while the rest missed . Nevertheless there was four less knights to deal with . The ballistae creaked again, the men manning them loaded the weapons in haste .

Emily looked around . His people were few . Less than a hundred were Castonians . About two hundred were veteran royal guards . The others were untrained, green and new . Some could barely hold a spear upright . Some never swung a sword other than at a practice dummy . They followed her here in search of peace by making war . They risked their lives on her order and they will die on her command .

A sudden booing of springs was heard when the enemies were just three hundred paces from the trench . Emily saw the flight of burning projectiles overhead . Fireb.a.l.l.s arched towards the knights from the Vanadian galleys . When the b.a.l.l.s of fire landed, they scorched the gra.s.s . Fire spreading and flames erupting, the knights on the front line burned in their armor . Their horses neighed and tumbled . Agonizing screams echoed in the vast plains . Their armor couldn"t do anything to shield against the projectiles . Emily even thought that their armor melted . Some knights retreated but most trudged amidst their burnt comrades . It was devastating and several lines of knights were wiped . Seeing that they were under barrage from the Vanadian galleys, they charged .

"Two hundred paces Your Majesty . Soon they will be under the range of the crossbowmen" The royal guard beside her informed .

"Fire at will" Emily said . She hoped that was the proper order to loose bolts without reserve lest she embarra.s.s herself .

The crossbowmen on top of the wall peppered the knights with bolts . Most of the bolts either missed or failed to penetrate the armor of the knights . Those that did inflict damage were not enough for a kill . Emily questioned the need for crossbowmen but ceased her doubts when she saw a single knight fall and several more retreat .

When the knights were almost at the trench, Emily ordered for it to be lit on fire . Several soldiers outside threw torches into the trench before running back to the fort . The trench burst into flames amidst the cheering of the defenders .

The wall of fire that separated them from attackers was a welcomed sight despite the heat that reached Emily"s face . The knights stopped but the bolts rained still . They dismounted from their horses and just looked at the fire . Emily wore a smile . While the flame burned, they are safe- and h.e.l.lfire burns long .

But as she turned her head towards her royal guard, the veteran second-in-command of Captain Rain, she noticed the man"s unhappy expression . Seeds of doubts grew in her stomach .

"Why?" She asked

The Royal Guard pointed . "See those crates being carried by some of the horses?"

There were really crates being hauled towards the moat . Emily didn"t bother for a count .

"What of them?"

"Sand and soil" The Royal Guard said "Even h.e.l.lfire cannot burn soil"

The cheers of the defenders were extinguished just like how a portion of the wall of fire was . The knights dumped soil and sand and what appeared to be stones into a portion of the moat . Soon, the flame went out and an opening of about ten paces presented .

The knights poured into the breach .