The Dragon Lord's Daughters

by Bertrice Small

  “Aye.” Cadi nodded vigorously.

  “You weren’t told to tell me this, were you?” Rhys searched the girl’s face for any sign of deceit or betrayal.

  “Nay, my lord!” she told him. “I long for the day that Hugo de Bohun is slain. My sister was twelve when he saw her. She was a beauty was our Mary. He dragged her screaming from our hovel, and brought her here. And when he had finished with her he released her naked into the fields, and let his men hunt her down that they might take their pleasure of her. She died. And the same day he took her off,” Cadi said, “me da took his knife and cut my face so that I am scarred as you now see me. I was only nine years old, my lord. But where others then turned away from me, Elga took me and made me her helper. That, and the hope of revenge, has been my salvation, my lord.”

  “Yet you are not a virgin,” Rhys noted.

  “ ’Tis said all cats are black in the dark, my lord,” Cadi told him with a wink.

  Rhys laughed softly. “You’re a bold baggage, lass, but you have a good heart. I will keep my promise, and see that you and Elga are kept from harm. I suspect that the Dragon Lord will give you a home to reward you for your kindness.”

  “Breaking into the castle tunnel at the forest cave should not attract anyone’s notice,” Junia said, “but when you start beating on the door in the dungeons, they will surely hear you. You will lose the element of surprise.”

  “I’ll loosen the hinges of that door,” Cadi promised. “One light shove and the door will go down, my lord.”

  “You must do it in the next day or two, lass,” he told her.

  “That soon?” Cadi was awestruck.

  “I’ll ride today until I reach Dragon’s Lair,” Rhys said quietly. “The Dragon Lord will be on his way in two days’ time.” He turned to Junia. “You must tell no one. Not your Simon, and not Elga.”

  “But Simon—” Junia began.

  “Simon is weak, lass. Charming, but weak. He will give us away without meaning to do so. Swear to me, Junia! Swear you will not tell him. If you do you will have the death of your father, your brother, and many good men on your soul. As for Elga, she cannot help but be protective of the lad she helped to raise. The child of the girl she raised. Cadi?”

  “I swear, my lord! Elga has not the hatred for the de Bohuns as do I,” the girl replied.

  “Junia?” He looked hard at her.

  “I swear, Rhys, but you are wrong about Simon,” Junia replied.

  “You had best go now, my lord,” Cadi advised.

  Rhys nodded in agreement, and taking his sister-in-law into his strong arms hugged her, kissing the top of her dark head. “Be brave, Junia. Your deliverance is at hand, I promise you. And Cadi, I will not forget.” Then turning, Rhys moved swiftly from the chamber where they had been. He hurried down into the hall in hopes that he might gain a meal before they departed.

  Lord Mortimer arose from the high board as he entered the hall. “Was it indeed a stone in my horse’s shoe, Rhys? Did you get it out?”

  “Aye, the front right hoof,” Rhys answered, catching on to the excuse Lord Mortimer had obviously offered to mask his absence. “Is there time for me to eat, my lord?”

  “Best take what you want, and eat while we ride,” Lord Mortimer said. “We would reach Dragon’s Lair in two days’ time with the ransom proposal.”

  Rhys reached for the loaf of fresh bread, and sliced himself two thick slices. He buttered the bread lavishly, and then lay the remaining strips of bacon, and slices of a hard-boiled egg between the two slices. He filled his flask with wine from the table carafe, and stood again, bowing to Hugo de Bohun. “My thanks, my lord, for your hospitality,” he said. “I am ready, Mortimer.”

  As the two men strode from the hall Hugo de Bohun called out to them, “Safe journey, my lords. Give my regards to Merin Pendragon when you tell him I want all he has for the safe return of his children.” And he laughed uproariously.

  “Bastard!” Rhys muttered beneath his breath.

  “Go gently, my lord,” Mortimer advised. “At least until we have escaped Agramant, and met up again with my son.”

  Their horses were brought forth from the stables, and mounting them the two men rode slowly from the courtyard, across the heavy drawbridge, and over the field before the castle into the wood beyond. As they rode Rhys told Lord Mortimer what he had learned, and when they had again met up with Roger Mortimer they sought for the cave that Cadi had told him about. Finding it they discovered that the hinges on it were made of leather. They cut through the hinges, and lifted the door off, laying it down. Making a torch of some nearby reeds they lit it, and Roger, anxious to play some part in their mission, went through into the tunnel. When he returned he told them, “There’s another door at the other end just like the girl said. I was able to see through a crack in the door. It’s a dungeon all right.”

  They replaced the door carefully, and to a cursory glance it would appear that no damage had been done to the door’s hinges. Returning, they mounted their horses and rode from the cave out onto the faint forest track. The day was gray, but dry.

  “We’ll go as far as Mryddin Water,” Lord Mortimer said. “I will then go on to Dragon’s Lair to fetch Merin and his men. You two remain hidden on the chance that de Bohun sends anyone to watch for the Dragon Lord’s coming. If you see anyone, kill them. It is the element of surprise that will assure us of success in this venture.”

  By the time they had reached Mryddin Water it was already dark, and Lord Mortimer decided to remain until it was light enough again for him to travel on. He assured his son and Rhys that he would be back that same day with the Dragon Lord and his men. When he departed the two men remained hidden in the rocks about the water keeping watch, and when the sun was directly at midlevel they saw two men wearing the de Bohun badge on their sleeves come to the other side of the water and dismount, tying their horses in the trees. The two men walked along the bank of the broad stream.

  Rhys caught Roger’s eye. He nodded to the bows tied to the back of their saddles. Roger nodded back, and slipped back farther into the rocks to fetch the weapons. He returned, handing Rhys his bow and two arrows. Then he notched his own bow with an arrow while tucking a second carefully beneath his other arm. Each man picked his target, and then Roger gave the piercing cry of a hawk. The two men across the stream immediately looked up even as the two men across from them let their arrows fly. Both of de Bohun’s men were killed instantly, and falling into the fast-running water, were swept downstream.

  “Damn!” Roger exclaimed. “I meant to get our arrows back. Do you think de Bohun will send any more?”

  “Unlikely. These two were sent to give early warning to their master. They won’t be expecting our return so quickly,” Rhys replied.

  “How is the girl?” Roger asked.

  “Unbroken, but foolish yet. The de Bohun son is a kind young man, but weak. He lives in terror of his sire, as well he should. Hugo de Bohun is a beast. Still, Junia cries love, as does her Simon. My father-in-law will kill him, of course, after he has wed him to Junia and restored her honor, and that of the Pendragons.”

  “Does Junia realize that?” Roger asked.

  “Nay, she does not. Had I told her she would have remained at Agramant in bondage to the de Bohuns rather than let harm come to her lover. The father has negotiated a marriage for the son with Aceline de Bellaud. Do you know the family?”

  Roger shook his head in the negative. “Nay, but she must be propertied if de Bohun wants her for Simon. I will tell my uncle. He is looking for an heiress for his younger son. He’s a FitzWarren, and the name is every bit as good as de Bohun.”

  Rhys nodded. “Rest now, Rog, and I will keep watch for a bit. The Dragon Lord will be here soon enough to surprise Hugo de Bohun and end this feud.”

  In mid-afternoon Merin Pendragon and his men arrived in the company of Lord Mortimer. They stopped long enough to give their horses a brief rest, and then the armed party crossed Mryddin Water, and
continued onward towards Agramant. Rhys moved his mount up alongside his father-in-law.

  “You have brought the priest?” he asked softly.

  “He rides at the rear. I sent to the Cistercian monastery the day you departed for Agramant,” the Dragon Lord replied.

  Rhys nodded. “What will happen to Junia afterwards?”

  “I will look for a match for my widowed daughter,” the older man replied. “There will be someone who will have her. Her dower is respectable enough.”

  Rhys nodded. Junia had brought it all upon herself with her willfulness, but he still could not help but feel sorry for his wife’s youngest sister. “Let me kill Simon de Bohun,” he offered. “Better she hate me than you, my lord.”

  Merin Pendragon turned to look at his son-in-law. His face was one of deep sorrow. “Nay, it is my duty, for she is my daughter.”

  “The young de Bohun tried to protect her,” Rhys said. “He is still doing his best to keep her from harm’s way. The two women servants, too. I promised them you will give them their lives in return for all the aid they have rendered Junia.”

  “So Mortimer told me. I will honor your word to the two women, but as for Simon it makes no difference. When you stole Averil away you were willing to accept your responsibility in the matter. Simon de Bohun and Junia have caused their own misery. He knew he could not wed her, and she knew the same of him. Yet they met again at Mryddin Water in defiance of parental authority, for Hugo de Bohun would have told his son what I told my daughter,” the Dragon Lord said stonily.

  “I do not believe that Simon ever considered his father would follow him,” Rhys made a small attempt at the young man’s defense.

  “He should not have gone to meet Junia at all that damnable day,” Merin Pendragon said angrily. “He was the man. He should have known better. Junia’s foolishness I can more easily forgive, for she is a lass. Now that is an end to it, my son.”

  Rhys grew quiet. His father-in-law was right. Honor was all, and honor must be restored to the Pendragon name. What had happened to Junia was not simply barbaric, and the behavior of another age; it was totally unforgivable that de Bohun had caused the public deflowering of an innocent girl of good family. Both father and son had to pay for the insult to this line of the legendary King Arthur.

  It grew dark, and finally when they could no longer see their way, they stopped. They dared not light the torches they carried for fear of exposure. A small fire was lit in a sheltered grove. Their mounts tied to trees, the men settled down to eat the oat cakes they carried, and drink whatever they had in their flasks.

  “I believe we are fairly near to Agramant,” Roger Mortimer said quietly.

  “We leave at earliest light,” Merin Pendragon replied.

  When false dawn was lighting the skies, it was just enough to allow them to move onward again, albeit slowly, until finally the skies grew lighter with the approach of the dawn.

  “There!” Rhys said, and he pointed to the rock formation in the grove they had just entered. “There is the entrance to the cave, my lord.”

  “You are certain?” Merin Pendragon said.

  “Come this way a moment, my lord, and you can see Agramant through the trees,” Roger suggested.

  “We could not choose a better time,” Lord Mortimer said. “The castle will not yet be awake but for the servants, Merin.”

  “Aye,” came the terse reply. “Is the cave big enough to hide all the horses?”

  “Yes, my lord,” Rhys replied.

  “Then let us do so now, and begin our assault,” the Dragon Lord responded.

  One by one the armed men moved into the cave, dismounting. The youngest of them would be left behind to shepherd the horses, and keep them inside. To this end they had carried several bales of hay with them, and a bag of oats. The hay, mixed with the oats would be spread about to keep the animals occupied. The door to the secret tunnel was removed, and the Dragon Lord congratulated Rhys on his foresight.

  “Are there torch holders along the walls of the tunnel?” he asked.

  Rhys nodded. “The tunnel is about half a mile from here to the dungeons beneath the castle,” he said.

  Merin Pendragon turned to his men. “The first dozen of you light your torches. You will place them in the holders beginning with the first one you come upon. That man will then drop back allowing the other torchbearers to light the way forward until all the holders have been filled. Be silent now,” he told them, waving the torchbearers ahead, and ducking his head he moved after them through the door, and into the darkened tunnel beyond. As each holder was filled the Dragon Lord moved forward until as the last torch was placed, he was leading his men. Finally they reached the end of the tunnel. The doorway to the dungeons stood before them.

  “The girl, Cadi, said she would weaken the hinges,” Rhys said. He put his shoulder against the portal, and felt it give way, swinging open on its half-cut hinges, and hanging askew. “She should have her freedom for this,” he murmured low.

  “She will,” he heard his father-in-law say as they stepped through into the dungeons of Agramant Castle. “Set the door aside, Rhys, so it does not fall.” He moved quickly around the corner, and seeing the sleeping guard slit his throat swiftly and neatly, lowering the body to the ground. Taking the man’s keys he opened the cell door, and Brynn, grinning broadly, stepped silently out. The Dragon Lord nodded, pleased, and then signaled his men to follow him up the stairs into the great hall of the castle where the servants were quickly hunted down, and were killed. “Bar the door,” Merin Pendragon said softly. “We’ll take care of the castle’s garrison after we have killed its master.”

  The men-at-arms within the castle were sought and slain. Then Rhys led his father-in-law to the chamber where he knew Junia and Simon were sleeping. The girl was awake immediately as if she had been expecting her father that morning. She jumped from the bed, clad in her dirty chemise, and taking up her gown quickly drew it on as her lover was pulled from the bed.

  Confused, and still half asleep Simon’s handsome face was suddenly aware of what was going on. “Allow me to dress, my lords,” he said.

  “Where is your father’s chamber?” the Dragon Lord asked.

  “He sleeps in the east tower,” Simon said without hesitation as he drew on his garments. His own death was very near, and he knew it. For some reason he did not understand he felt at peace with the knowledge. “You have a priest with you?” he asked of them. “I will need to make my confession, my lords.”

  Merin Pendragon nodded. “We do.”

  “You will allow me to be shrived?” the young man asked.

  “I am no barbarian, Simon de Bohun,” the Dragon Lord answered him. “Aye. You may make your confession before you die.”

  Junia grew pale. “Da . . .” she began.

  “Be silent, Daughter! This is not over yet,” he told her. “Bring her and her lover to the hall, Roger. Rhys, you come with me.” He strode from the chamber.

  Together the two men crept up the narrow staircase to the east tower, and upon trying the door were surprised to find it unlocked. Slipping into the room they found Hugo de Bohun lying upon his back, snoring, an empty carafe and goblet on the floor. He was alone, which was to the good. Neither Merin nor Rhys enjoyed killing women.

  “Hugo de Bohun, I have come to take my children home,” Merin Pendragon said in a loud voice, and as his enemy’s eyes flew open, a startled expression upon his visage, the Dragon Lord’s sword swiftly descended, cutting the head of Hugo de Bohun from his body in a single sharp stroke. Then Merin Pendragon reached out and lifted the coverlet off his enemy. Pulling up de Bohun’s chemise he took his knife and sliced the manhood and balls from the body. These he stuffed into de Bohun’s open mouth. Finally he lifted the severed head from its trunk. “We will put it on a pike. Perhaps it will save me the trouble of killing the garrison, and the serfs. We will fire Agramant, however,” he said. “Let this be a warning to those who would follow this man’s example.”


  “I will take the head of the beast into the castle courtyard, and see if the rest of the men-at-arms will surrender,” Rhys said. “The sight of this may help them make the correct decision,” he said with a grim smile.

  “And send Roger back through the tunnel with several men. I want the horses brought around into the courtyard of the castle,” the Dragon Lord ordered.

  The head of Hugo de Bohun, master of Agramant, his genitals spilling forth from his mouth, was displayed openly upon a pike within the courtyard.

  “I am Rhys FitzHugh, lord of Everleigh, and son-in-law to the Dragon Lord. We are within the castle, and have slain your lord. You are given the opportunity to surrender yourselves, and serve Merin Pendragon. This castle will be destroyed.”

  “What of Simon de Bohun?” a voice from among the small garrison called.

  “He will soon be in hell with his sire,” Rhys replied coldly. “Put down your weapons if you would swear a new alligance to the Pendragons.”

  The sound of falling weaponry filled the courtyard, and the men there fell to their knees.

  “Two of you,” Rhys said, “open the gates wide, now, and watch for our horses. The rest of you come into the hall.” And he led them into the castle, the head of Hugo de Bohun leading them on. They were then put into the dungeons, and locked in the cells there, for Merin Pendragon would want each man interviewed before he would trust any allegiance they would make. The de Bohun men understood that, and made no protest. Rhys then rejoined his father-in-law and the Mortimers.

  Junia and Simon were standing separately, each guarded by two of the Dragon Lord’s men-at-arms.

  “Where is the priest?” Merin Pendragon called loudly, and the cleric hurried forward. “You know what to do, priest,” the Dragon Lord said. “Bring my daughter and the young de Bohun lord forward.”

  “Da!” Junia attempted to speak with her father once again.

  “You are to be married to your lover, girl. Is that not what you wanted?” he asked her coldly.

  “Have mercy, Da!” she begged him.