The Union

The royal guards followed. They were still smeared with blood. Bolts of arrows still protruded from their kite shields and armors. Injuries and cuts still dotted their bodies. But the defeated faces they wore were washed. Henry was too. Captain Rain was a good man- a trusty veteran loyal to his oath. He was a loss. But this was not the time to wallow in defeat. It was the time to take arms.

"Half of you take the gate and open it to our allies. The others" Henry unsheathed his sword in sharp ring. "With me!"

Henry limped his way to the top of the wall. The defenders were fixated on the approaching enemies that they failed to notice the few dozen of Henry"s lots. The first knight who tasted his steel"s kiss didn"t even saw his face. Henry stabbed him in the neck, red blood oozing like a river. He didn"t feel remorse. His conscience wasn"t even touched. These knights followed a madman. They were evil. And Henry- his job is to rid the world of people like them.

His next opponent was more prepared. They wrestled in the stairs leading to the top of the wall. He pushed the knight to the side, helm hitting the stone wall with a splitting echo. Henry bashed his opponent again. He then grabbed the dagger on his waist and stabbed upward. The blade entered his opponent"s chin.

Henry reached the top. The royal guards behind stormed the wall, stabbing the defenders with fury. Surprise was with them and the element had a fatal result for their opponents. Below the royal guards attacked the few guards at the gate. Armored or bare, knight or levy, they did not discriminate. They need to open the gate at all cost.

Henry glanced towards the attacking force.

The attackers formed a shield wall. Shields overlapped and spears pointed forward, they advanced. The last line of men were holding ladders. Henry noticed their equipment. Kite shields with spears, gambesons with mail- they were not Castonians. He looked at the banners that fly in the cold wind. The cloths were painted with the image of an armored horseman. Two of the horse"s feet were up in the air and the horseman was pointing its spear forward. In the background a stone tower can be seen. It was the flag of Tulosa.

But when he saw the way they march- he knew it. They were Castonians dressed as Tulosans. The uniform heavy steps that approached like an unstoppable storm was the trademark of Castonian heavy infantry. The neat straight lines and the order in their ranks also confirmed Henry"s thoughts. Henry took a second to appreciate Erik.

But he focused his mind towards his enemies on top of the wall. He must save the hostages. The royal guards were fighting the knights. Swords and spears met. The defeated swallowed death. He joined the fray, swinging his steel, angling it towards his enemies. He is First Spear, Henry thought, he must live up to the name.

After a while the outnumbered knights broke. They ran. Some royal guards tried to pursue but Henry grabbed them all towards their true aim.

The hostages were bound by ropes. About a dozen more knights were on their backs, ready to push them. It was an ironic scene- knights who were supposed to protect were the ones threatening the hostages.

"Don"t move!" A knight shouted, his voice full of desperation. "Go back or we will kill them!"

Henry held his sword. He eyed the Castonians. They were still a certain distance away. He needed to buy time.

"Just go brother" He said in a calm tone, careful not to breed distrust "You know all is lost. You cannot stop them. Just retreat and leave the hostages. You cannot...."

One of the knights pushed a wailing woman down the wall. The woman fell, hitting the hard ground below. Her bones were broken. Her body contorted in an ugly shape. Blood flowed from her body. She was dead.

Everything stopped for a moment.

Henry shook. His lips and eyes and cheeks quivered behind his helm. He looked at the knight who did the murder. Henry gripped his sword even harder.

He screamed as he rushed forward. The royal guards followed.

**********

Erik saw the moment a woman was pushed from the wall. She fell headfirst and hit the ground.

His eyes were wide. He was in shock. Part of him was expecting that the knights inside the city wouldn"t do it- that it was just a ruse. But they did and a person just died. Even though it was the Princess who made the decision, he still had part in it.

But no, he snapped inwardly. This was not the time to think whose hands were wet with the woman"s blood. He could worry about that later. He needs to act. Other hostages will die if they dally.

"Order a charge" He said to his squire behind "Break formation and order a charge"

"Sire breaking formation will..."

"Shut your mouth and blow the d.a.m.n horn!" Erik shouted.

The squire was taken aback. He recovered after a while and forwarded Erik"s order to the horn blowers and the signal to charge was blared.

**********

The Castonians were overlapping their shields in the front and above. The defenders loosed bolts but they were ineffective against the layers of shields.

Emily was behind. Her guards held their shields to protect her. Bolts were raining and the shields of the royal guards looked like porcupines now. Under her armor was her flesh. Under her flesh were her organs. One instance. It would only take a single instance of a lucky shot and she would die.

But she joined the a.s.sault. Foolish, yes. Careless, of course. But Emily wanted to be seen. She wanted to be known as the one who saved the city from Balian. She wanted to erase the smudge the King made on the royal family"s reputation by running away. She wanted the Tulosans to know that the royal family still functioned as the people"s refuge.

A single thud was heard. She looked through the gap in the shields and saw the body of a woman lying on the ground. She felt a surge of guilt. The knights above might be the one who pushed the woman down, but it was her who gave the order to a.s.sault the city.

Horns blared from behind- low, booming and strong. Three blasts reached her ears. The Castonians stopped as soon as the blasts echoed. A momentary silence prevailed. And then what followed was the sudden and uniform sound of Castonians arranging their their formation. The once tight turned into a loose formation.

And then the Castonians charged. A deafening battle cry echoed from them. In full armor they charged towards the walls. The ones carrying the ladders rushed forward and set them up. The battering ram was carried towards the gate. It was chaos and order mixed. The Castonians acted in unison, each person knew his place. Emily had heard about the prowess of Castonian heavy infantry before. She had heard that Castonians are crazy enough to charge against cavalry instead of the other way around. Now she finally witnessed their skills. Open-mouthed she looked as the Castonians scaled the walls.

The gate was raised. Emily saw royal guards from the other side waving their arms. Those holding battering rams dropped it and rushed inside. Emily looked around. The walls were as good as taken.

**********

Several more hostages were dropped by the knights. Henry swung his sword. The royal guards behind had thinned. But he was not afraid. It was too late to be afraid.

He permitted a glance towards the attackers. The Castonians had scaled the walls with ladders. Many were pouring through the open gates. The defenders were routing in ma.s.s. But the knights that hold the hostages were yet to retreat.

Henry pushed on, bathing his white armor in blood. It was hard. His thigh was bleeding. He had small cuts all over his body. But he didn"t care.

In the end the rest of the knights retreated, running like the cowards they are. The visor of Henry"s helm was cloudy with grit and blood. He struggled to catch his breath.

The Castonians have taken the wall. The hostages were saved but about two dozen of them died. Henry knelt. He uttered a prayer to the Omniscient. He opened his heart and spoke with honesty. He pleaded for the end of this dismal affair.

When he opened his eyes the rest of the Castonians, in real Castonian armor, have begun entering the city. Leading them was Erik. He also saw Princess Emily. Henry went down from the wall to meet them. The walls may have been taken, but the battle was far from over.