by Angela Blake
The next morning came and I awoke to a knock on my door and it was one of the servants with a plate of breakfast and a hot cup of tea. “Good morning” she said as she placed the tray on my bedside table. “These are compliments from the Sanyek brothers as an offering a friendship” she said as she delivered her message. It was a very nice gesture and hopefully a sign that castle life could be more peaceful than it was yesterday. We had a recruitment drive from the nearby villages for army members and numbers were increasing once more. Things were looking up.
George – The suspicion
I knew I was there through noble intentions, but I knew that the same couldn’t be said for the Sanyek brothers and I knew they were up to something. I had fought with my father to leave the castle. Our army was strong with the best weapons in the land. There was no reason for us to join any fight as my father was not power hungry. With our army we knew also that we had no fear of being attacked. My father may have hated Bella’s father, but he had no interest in starting a war. He also had no interest in taking advantage of Bella and her vulnerable situation, not that I would have let him.
I had requested that he let our army protect their castle, but he couldn’t see the point and he had little idea of my affection towards Bella. He refused to help, which was understandable, he had no reason to. I also refused to not help, which he found hard to understand. He desperately wanted me to stay at the castle and out of the battle, but I took my personal guard and made my way. He called it suicide; I knew it was for love. He didn’t want his only son to ride off into a situation that was so dangerous, but I had no doubt in my mind.
When I arrived at the castle, I was surprised to see the Sanyek brothers there. I thought they would have been preparing for an attack given how events have unfolded over the course of the last few weeks. May father had given me the news about the failed wedding and I knew the Sanyek king was a proud man.
Our relationship with them wasn’t the best and my father never trusted them. While my father wasn’t power hungry, he always was the sense that they were. They had not long invaded another smaller kingdom to their west and increased their numbers. Even if they did have a good relationship with Bella’s father, I didn’t think they’d be too sentimental if they could sense an opportunity.
I wondered why Isaac and Ralph had stuck around, Bella had told me about the deal that they had tried to make with her which was unbelievably cheeky and she was right to turn it down. For me it looked like a weak attempt to invade the castle whilst making it seem as though they were doing a good dead.
They tried to take the castle through fear, rather than through force. It would have been a smart move if Bella was stupid, but she was far from it. Also there was John; he was suspicious of me which I thought was fair enough. He didn’t like my father by association and therefore didn’t like my presence at the castle. I vowed to him that I was here to protect the princess, and I think he believed me. He was a wise man and a great fighter; we needed to be on the same page.
I woke up very early in the morning and was doing my patrol, walking though all areas of the castle and wondering what this day would bring. I walked into the kitchen and I saw the one of the Sanyek soldiers hurriedly packing away items into his back and clearing the kitchen. He took one look at me and quickened his pace, trying to leave as quickly as possible.
“What have you been doing?” I said to him apprehensively. He ignored me, and kept packing his things away. One of the castle servants was in the room and informed me that breakfast had been made for the princess as a peace offering, and had been sent up to her.
I drew my sword and held it to the soldiers throat “Give me the bag” I said aggressively. I didn’t know if I was being paranoid or overly suspicious, but his manner gave cause for me to doubt his intentions. I pressed the tip of the sword into his throat as blood started to be drawn. He finally handed over the bag and I gave instruction for the servant to empty the contents onto the floor and go through them. There were a few food items and cooking tools before the servant found a bottle and showed it to me, it was poison.
There was no time for an inquest and no time for a trial, I pushed my sword into the soldier’s throat and watched him drop to the ground. “Make sure no-one finds out about this until I get back” I instructed the maid, as I needed to make sure that no alarms were raised. I placed my blood-soaked sword back into my sheath and ran as fast as I could up to the princess’ room. Surely I was going to be too late, my heart was racing and I was in a panic trying to get there quickly enough.
That’s the reason they stayed at the castle. If they couldn’t get the princess to silently surrender her castle, they were going to make it look as though she had died by natural causes and then make claim to a defenceless castle. It probably would have been a good idea but I presume they hadn’t considered that I’d be there.
Even if I couldn’t get to the princess in time right now, their plan had been foiled. There was no way I was going to let them take over this castle. Her room seemed so far away, I had never been so desperate to get anywhere as quickly in my life. I got nearer and nearer as I was fighting though my breathlessness, fighting to save my loves life.
Bella – Breakfast was served
I was surprised at the breakfast, but appreciative of the gesture. I’d always be able to request breakfast in my room, but this had a few food items that we didn’t frequently have in the castle so I was happy for the change. I put my tea to the side and was enjoying the food, hoping that everyone in the castle would be able to work together. I knew I’d enjoyed my time with Isaac and Ralph, but I was still suspicious as to what their long term intentions were.
While I was enjoying my breakfast, there was a knock on the door and behind it was Isaac who asked to come into my room.
“Hi princess, I was just making sure you were enjoying your breakfast” he said with a smile on his face.
“Yes, very much thank you” I said, smiling back. He was fully dressed with his sword by his side which seemed odd for this time of a morning.
“Going somewhere?” I asked. He replied that he was going to go out hunting with Ralph shortly and wanted to see how I was before I left.
“Have you tried your tea?” asked George, “It’s a specialty from the castle, I’m sure you’ll love it” he continued.
“No, not yet, I’ll drink it in a moment” I replied. “Well I’m just about to head off, and I’d love to know what you think . . . drink some” he persisted. His persistence sparked a doubt in my mind as to why he wanted me to drink it so much.
“No, I’ll wait until I’ve eaten” I replied, cautiously. “Please try it, I insist” said Isaac, changing his tone slightly. At this stage there was no way I was going to drink it, he wasn’t a very good actor and there was clearly something awry.
“No” I said bluntly back towards him. At this point he drew his sword and pressed it in against my chest. That fake smile that was on his face had been replaced with a menacing look.
I wasn’t sure which option I was going to take. If I tried to escape I was surely going to be killed, if I drank the tea then I was now sure I was going to fall to the same fate. I reached over for the cup that was by my bedside table, and tentatively brought it to my lips, trying to buy more time as I tried to figure out what I was going to do.
It’s not as though I had anything in my room with which to protect myself, I didn’t know how to fight and was dressed in my night gown. I was no match for a fully dressed soldier. I wondered if I could try and escape after drinking the tea, make myself sick and try and survive. I also thought that it might be for the best to let him kill me, that way everyone would know exactly what happened.
I decided that I was going to drink the tea. I presumed that something was in there, but I wasn’t sure exactly what. Maybe it wouldn’t kill me. Maybe it would just knock me out. I thought that my odds were very grim as it was, maybe they were slightly better if I drunk the tea. In
that moment I was scared, but I was calm. Here I was facing my own death and I was thinking clearly and straight.
I didn’t want Isaac to see the fear in my eyes. The man who not long ago I was fucking with all his brothers was now going to kill me. I bought the tea to my lips, Isaac was in desperation and reaffirmed once again that I had to drink it, or he would thrust his sword straight through my chest.
In that moment there was a mighty boom on the door as the lock that Isaac had placed on it flew across the room. I shielded my eyes from the splinters and metal that flew off the door. The cup fell out of my hand and dropped to the floor and smashed. I looked up in front of me and watched Isaac spin around as quick as a flash with his drawn sword, now with his back to me. The next thing I saw in the haze and confusion was a sword coming straight through the back of Prince Isaac before the sword was drawn back through Isaac’s now lifeless body.
The brightness of the light pouring through the door and Isaac had blocked my vision of exactly who had just burst through the door. In a matter of milliseconds a million things had happened and my mind was trying to process them all. It didn’t take long for my eyes to adjust to the light. Isaac dropped to the floor and George was standing there, my saviour.
“Are you okay?” he asked in panic.
“I’m fine, he tried to poison me” I said, still trying to catch my breath from what had just happened.
“I know, I caught one of their soldiers in the kitchen” said George. I told him that it was in the tea that was now spilt all over the bedroom floor, as the ever widening puzzle of drink had met with the ever widening puddle of blood that was now coming from Isaac’s dead body. I was in shock that the prince of a neighbouring kingdom had just been killed in my bedroom.
“We need to act fast, get dressed” said George. My hero. My knight in shining armour. He had come out of love and had already saved my life. It might not be the first time he has to do that. Two guards came through the door and immediately drew their sword at George.
“Stop!” I shouted, George dropped his sword and put his hands up.
“Are you okay princess, we heard a commotion?” said one of the guards, looking at the body that was now on the floor.
“Yes, Prince George is on our side. You are to do what he says” I said, giving clear command. They immediately withdrew their swords while George picked his back up.
“Right men” started George, “Prince Isaac and they Sanyek’s have just tried to kill our princess. You stay here” he said pointing at the guard who spoke, “and protect her while I find John. I’ll send back-up” he was in full battle mode.
“You come with me” he said to the other guard.
“Understood” said the guards.
“Stay safe” said George. I looked towards the secret passage and contemplated escaping once more. Not this time, this time the castle needed their princess and I was ready to command. In a flash George ran out of the door to find John. He must have passed a few guards as within a few minutes there were about 20 men protecting my room, ready to die to protect me.
John - Getting ready for battle
I’ve had some rude awakenings in my time, but being awoken by a prince from another castle holding his sword was probably the rudest of them all.
I would have probably grabbed for my sword under my bed if one of my guards wasn’t calmly standing beside Prince George. If the awakening wasn’t rude enough, the next words to come out of his mouth sprung me into action.
“The Sanyek’s have tried to kill the princess. She is safe, Prince Isaac is dead and we have to attack”
I looked at the guard, who I had trained, for reassurance. “He’s right General” said the guard, “The princess has her trust in George”
Good enough for me I thought, I had so many questions floating around in my head, but George had given me the exact information I needed, I’d find out the details later. Time was at a premium.
At any one time around a fifth of the army was battle ready for a moment at this. I went into the army quarters and gave a simple order. “Kill the Sanyek men, George is on our side” the army had complete trust in me and my every command. They would do such an order without as much as a question.
They marched out of the quarters to where the Sanyek’s were based. Word must have gotten to them, as they were preparing for escape by the time we arrived. Ralph was shouting for his brother, trying to tell him that they were going to escape.
“Your brother is dead” snarled George, “and our princess isn’t” with a malevolent smile on his face. Ralph’s face turned to horror at the news, their plan had failed and he had to escape.
We chased them out of the castle, but we could only claim a few of their soldiers. Their horses were already ready to ride, and ours weren’t. They lowered the drawbridge and made their escape, when they were at a safe distance, Ralph turned around to deliver a defiant message.
“Expect the whole of hell to be at your gate, we’ll burn this castle to the ground” I hate no doubts about the first part of his message; I very much doubted the second part. Bring it, I thought.
Bella – The reflection
It was a close call with the poison, It’s clear that the Sanyek’s never had any intention of helping us in the battle against the Gattzam, they were obviously using it as a rouse to try and get control of my castle. The events of the morning were dramatic, and everyone sat down afterwards to discuss what had happened and what we were going to do next. We figured we had very little time until they came back, but their army would need to be readied so we probably had a day at the least.
Isaac’s body was removed and disposed of; I couldn’t believe that it had come to this. Not too long ago we were having fun after the joust and it had all gone wrong since. The marriage with his brother had broken down, which indirectly led to my father’s death and now him being killed in my room just as he tried to murder me. It was a crazy chain of events.
I bet Ralph saw this as his time to shine, his brother had been killed and I figured he’d now want to climb out of his shadow and show that he could lead the army against us. I had always had a soft spot for Ralph, but now there was probably nothing he’d want more in the world than to kill me. We shouldn’t have let him escape from the castle, but it was difficult with all the commotion.
I hadn’t seen Josh since I left the castle when he swore his revenge. I had little doubt that the actions of the Sanyek castle were at least in part due to the embarrassment that I cause them by fleeing the castle. They may not have killed my father, but they saw it as an opportunity to get their revenge when they found out he was dead. I may not have seen Josh for a while, but I had no doubt that I would be seeing him again very soon. This time though, one of us wouldn’t be getting out alive.
John was preparing himself and his troops for battle; this is what he lived for. He had been in many fights before and had won them all. This one though would be his toughest. It was such a turn on to see him in action around the castle. Commanding his men and giving out clear instructions. He may have won his previous battles, but this would be the hardest one he’s ever fought. I wouldn’t put my faith in any other man in the world.
George was also a man I was happy to put my faith in. Everyone in the castle was suspicious of his intentions when he first arrived the castle, just as they were with the Sanyek brothers. George, however, had proved his worth. I would be dead if it wasn’t for his actions and everyone knew it. John now had his faith in him and they were going to work together to bring peace to the castle.
Max had come to see me when he’d heard what happened, he was very concerned with my health but I reassured him that I was okay. He was dressed up in full army uniform fit with his own sword. He had got his chance due to the low numbers and signed up for the force. I was going to protest, but I knew it was pointless. Just as I wasn’t going to hide anymore, neither was Max. I could see it in his eyes. He had always said that he would die for
me, right now I feared that he may have to.
So, the six men I desired, the six men that I had all fucked recently were now a huge part of my story. A shout from the castle gates and that number was just about to become seven. I walked over the drawbridge to see who was by the entrance.
“Adam! You’re alive!” I shouted gleefully. I demanded they lowered the drawbridge I and ran out to him.
“Just about alive” he said as I embraced him with a hug.
“What are you doing here” I asked.
“I’ve come here to fight” he said, succinctly.
“But . . .” I said, just about to refer to the obvious.
“Well it’s about time that the castle knew my secret, and by all accounts I think you could do with a beast on your side right now” he said. I couldn’t argue with that.
I wasn’t sure how we were going to break the secret to everyone, but I knew that it had to start with John and George, the two most respected men in the castle. Of the seven men that I looked at in the banquet hall at my father’s birthday party, one of them was dead, two of them wanted me dead and the four others were prepared to give their lives in order to protect me.
I walked with Adam into the castle, talking about how he managed to survive. I made my apologies, but he knew there was nothing that I could have done to help him. We walked through and I saw John in the distance and shouted him over. I asked him to find George and meet me in the coronation chamber and locked the doors behind me.
“Adam wants to fight for us” I started. George didn’t know who he was, but John did.
“No problem” John said, “We’ll find him some armour and a sword, we have training all day” John was usually very particular about who joined his army, but he knew the situation was dire. Everyone was accepted and anyone who hadn’t fought before was immediately given basic training.
