by Billy Wong
She didn't think she needed some whelp at her side slowing her down, but answered, "Yes, that's fine." Tension between the army's commander and one of its inspirational figures would do its morale no good. "What combat experience does he have, and what does he use?"
"Howard is a veteran of fighting bandits and the like in southern Kayland, though he has little experience in real wars. Few of us have much—this past year has been unusually full of strife, hasn't it? Though I always tried to instill admiration of the bow in him, the boy insists on mixing it up in close quarters, longsword and shield in hand. He's not bad with such weapons, mind you, but I doubt you'll think him a worthy partner."
He might've been right, but then, Rose was used to fighting alongside Derrick and while well trained and brave, the scholar wasn't exactly a master swordsman either. She already felt better about guarding this boy, having learned he was willing to get into the real action, as she liked to think of it. Though she wasn't bad with a bow herself, she always preferred the thick of the melee where she could put her best skills to use.
"He sounds like a decent partner. I hope he can handle himself at my side, though!"
She put a bit of fear onto Lipner's face with the implication she wouldn't slow down too much for his nephew, and smiling, left him with that. She wouldn't really get the boy killed, if it could be helped at all, but it was satisfying to make the self-absorbed general squirm a bit.
"I guess we'll be babysitting, huh?" Loreen sounded angry. "I doubt we'll be able to perform at our best when we have to watch out for some kid playing at soldier."
"He did say the boy had experience in fighting bandits. Hey, it's not like Lipner asked you to do this, just me. So if you want, I can stay by the boy's side and you could do your own thing, if you really want."
She shook her head, to Rose's relief. "No, I've had more than my share of taking care of less competent fighters, and I don't think another will hurt me too much. I came here to help you; if I were to leave your side, I might as well not fight at all. Let's go and meet our charge, no help to delay it."
They walked the few steps to Howard's tent and Rose led the way, brushing aside the thick cloth flap to regard the young man inside. To her surprise, the one she saw was surely older than her, at least in his late twenties. The prematurely balding blond was of average height but strongly built, a warrior at sight.
"Hello," Rose said, a bit of uncertainty in her voice. "Are you Howard?"
The man stood with effortless grace and looked her up and down. He seemed impressed as he took in Rose's wide shoulders, thick limbs, and bulky chest, but barely spared a glance at lean Loreen behind her. "Yes, I am he. And who might you be? Women warriors, by the looks of you, but what do you want with me?"
Rose doubted this man needed a bodyguard, much less the "babysitter" Loreen had compared her to. "Well, General Lipner said I should watch your back in battle and keep you safe."
A controlled laugh broke forth from Howard's mouth. "You, protect me? You're a big one to be sure, but ha!—you'd have to be able to keep up with me, before you could guard me. I'm sure you're both worthy fighters—well, if your friend had both her arms—since a woman would have to be good to be accepted by my uncle. But still, my bodyguards?"
Rose blinked. This was one cocky man. Now she could see why the general would think he'd need protection. Before she could speak, Loreen did. "Hmph! You think you're good? Do you know who you're looking at? This is Rose Agen, the Iron Flower, the God-Touched, the-"
"Okay, okay, enough!" Rose interrupted. "Yes, I'm Rose, and this is my friend Loreen." She nudged her with her elbow; she didn't need any more bragging on her behalf at the moment.
Howard seemed to recognize her name, but didn't seem all too impressed. "So you're that girl who killed all those famous enemies and stopped one threat or another to Kayland, huh? Care to spar with me?"
"What?! We're in the middle of a war!" Rose couldn't believe his ego. Didn't he know how serious things were? "No I'm not going to spar with you, and it's a good thing because I'm of a mind to beat you silly. Then again, that might be a good thing for you, considering it might keep you from getting yourself killed."
"Relax. What's the big problem? I'm sorry if anything I said offended you. But I just don't need bodyguards. That's why I offered to spar with you, to show you I'm perfectly capable of handling myself."
"Having bodyguards doesn't mean you're incompetent," Rose tried to explain. "Anybody could use help in a battle like this, if they want to survive. General Lipner cares for you, so he wanted you to have some extra backup, that's all."
"Besides, you don't have to think of us as bodyguards," Loreen added, "but as partners instead. Everyone in an army relies on the other people fighting alongside them, it's just that we'll stick closer to you than most. I'm sure you'll feel safer, as much as you can on a battlefield, with Rose at your side."
Howard didn't look totally convinced, but grinned. "I guess I'm stuck with you. You girls can look forward to my protection, then. With me as your partner, you have nothing to fear!"
Rose wasn't sure what to say to that. Loreen grabbed her arm, dragged her out of the tent, and growled, "What did Lipner get us into? This guy's going to get himself killed in a hurry, us being around or not!"
"It almost sounds like that's what you want."
Her friend didn't deny it, but replied, "He's an arrogant pig!"
Rose smiled. That was surely true, but it didn't mean the man deserved death, though he might walk headfirst into it if they let him. "Let's just let him see us fight, next time the Sevrians attack. Maybe that'll humble him a bit."
#
Inevitably, the horns sounded signaling the advance of the Sevrian forces. Howard immediately ran to the front of the encampment and ducked down behind the wooden barricade to await the enemy, sword in hand. Rose and Loreen followed, the former readying her great bow. It impressed her to see the underbrush on the plain before them, so trampled just last year during the past war, growing up tall. Life was strong, she thought. She drew hope from it that Kayland too could survive the coming struggle.
"A bow?" Howard commented. "Can you do anything up close, or are you scared to stand face to face with the enemy?"
Rose rolled her eyes. This was just unbelievable. Instead of responding with words, she nocked an arrow and loosed, though the closest enemies were still far out of range of standard army bows. In the distance, two scale mail-clad warriors standing one behind the other could be seen falling and disappearing beneath the feet of their allies. Rose looked to see Howard's reaction.
To her surprise, he gazed calmly back at her and asked, "What kind of strange bow allows you to do that?"
"One that's really hard to draw!" Angrily, she shot another arrow, and another, and a third, all before any other archers on their side had loosed. Six men fell with the three perfect shots, and she looked again at her charge. He still didn't seem impressed, and Rose returned to shooting until the first enemies were about to reach the barricade.
Before she and Loreen could even draw swords, Howard stood up, and to their shock leapt over the barricade (good thing for him there were no pits in front). He charged the enemy masses, screaming oh-so-inspirationally, "For Kayland!"
"Get back, you stupid sack of dung!" Rose pleaded as she followed him over, her enormous broadsword hacking swaths through the oncoming enemy. Howard held his ground by her side and Loreen joined them with an angry curse which went unnoticed by him. "I said get back!" Rose repeated to no avail. Body after body fell before her. She noticed that the part of the barricade they'd been hiding behind was not being swarmed by the Sevrians, unlike every other section of the wall of spikes and boards. She felt a twinge of pride—maybe letting too much of Finn rub off on her—and dared a glance at the foolhardy fighter who'd led them into this insane endeavor.
Indeed, he yelled gloriously while he fought, dancing around the small clearing they maintained against the Sevrian mass. But then, an offi
cer with a beautiful blue cape opened up a gash on his arm. He dropped his sword with a shriek and turned as if to run. The Sevrian raised his razor-sharp scimitar, and Rose knew Howard would be killed if she didn't do something now. Two opponents occupied her sword arm at the moment, so she simply smashed her shield into the officer, knocking him into Howard. Both men fell, but to her relief, her charge regained his senses. Recovering, he drew a dagger and sliced his opponent's throat. Without a word of thanks, he retrieved his sword and threw himself back into the fray.
But Rose wasn't about to let the overzealous warrior die yet, and dragged him back towards the barricade while she and Loreen held off the enemy. Her friend cried out and stumbled from a spear to the leg, and Rose hastily helped her over the wall. Then, as she began to climb over the short wall herself, a force like a punch from a giant struck her in the chest and threw her down on her back between her injured companions. She realized to her shock that she'd been deeply pierced by a huge arrow to rival her own, the head of which had been driven nearly through her back.
Raising herself on an elbow, she looked into the distance and saw a gold-armored figure towering over his innumerable tall countrymen, holding the immense bow that must have wounded her. Though a leering ceramic mask with bloated, hideous blood-red lips and crazy bulging eyes hid his face, she could somehow feel his smile as he regarded her fallen form. An urge rose in her to stand up and charge him, and wipe the cruel merriment off his face. But she felt strong hands grab her under the arms and drag her away, and in her agony Rose didn't stop her would-be rescuer.
#
"Are you okay, Rose? That was a nasty one." She didn't know the kind-faced though muscular man who gazed down with concern as she lay on the floor of the tent, but she appreciated the way he delicately worked at removing the arrow from her body. She might've just ripped it out, though it would've hurt like hell.
"I'm fine," she assured him. She actually felt quite pained as the arrow had gone deep into her, bypassing her three-layered armor which would have stopped most projectiles, but she'd definitely had worse. "Why were you so hasty to take me away from the battle? I still have some fight left in me."
Her curly-haired blond rescuer held her hand comfortingly while he extracted the bloody arrow. "You fought really bravely, saving that fool Howard at the risk of your own life. You don't need to do any more, when you already took such a bad hit defending your comrades."
She didn't agree, but kept her thoughts of returning to battle to herself for now. "You know Howard?"
He laughed as he began to clean her wound. "Know him? He's my brother, the self-centered fool! Though he wouldn't be anymore, if not for you. Thank you."
"So what are you, a medic?"
"Oh no, I'm a soldier. Actually, captain of the unit Howard is 'supposed' to be in."
She stared at him with surprise. "I didn't see you out there with us."
The man held up a full-face helmet and smiled. "You saw me. I was the scary one with the horns. Name's Justin, by the way. Pleased to meet the greatest warrior of Kayland, if the stories about you are true." He paused. "I don't doubt it. That was some amazing fighting. You must have killed over two score of them before Joghra shot you."
"That was Joghra? I expected someone a lot less, well, brutish as the general of the cultured Sevrians..."
"Most Sevrian officers are just about the opposite of brutish, and still skilled fighters. But their leader in battle must be the mightiest of them all, and he who holds that distinction is also, like you say, brutish. But don't be deceived by his looks and demeanor. It's said he possesses a devious cunning matched by few on the battlefield."
Rose touched her wound and frowned. "Yeah, I got that when he waited for me to be most vulnerable before shooting me. I just wish I could get to him, and see what he's really made of." Her thoughts shifted to another topic. "Why do you let Howard fight, if everything he does is apt to put him in grave danger? Shouldn't you protect him from himself?"
He tensed, but shook his head. "He's my brother, not my slave, and as you see he's a grown man. I can't keep him from doing what he wants; the best I can do is keep him under my own command, where I can watch out for him."
She sighed. "He just isn't cut out for this, though. He would've gotten killed today in spite of your watch, if we hadn't been there. My friend Loreen might not have been hurt if he hadn't done what he did, and I don't even know how she's doing now. Can't you or your uncle discharge him from the army?"
"He doesn't really do anything to put others at risk, unless they choose to risk themselves for him as you did. I suppose Uncle could dismiss him, but it would humiliate my brother. We don't know how he'd respond to such a blow to his pride. Besides, Father is not one to brook any embarrassment to our family, and if there's one person Uncle fears, it's our father. So we put up with him, and try not to let him get killed."
Rose sat up angrily, though it hurt to do so. "That's fine and dandy when it's your own business, but your uncle dragged me and Loreen into this little mess of yours. I can't do my best for this army while playing bodyguard to some hapless fool who doesn't even have the common sense not to charge out over the barricade alone. Find another bodyguard for Howard, because I don't want us involved anymore."
"There isn't anyone else who I think could have saved him today, except maybe a whole crowd of fighters. There's no warrior to match you here—though I'm sure you knew that. I know it's hard for you, but it might be up to you to protect his life from the death he unknowingly seeks."
She didn't appreciate such a burden being placed on her conscience, and snapped, "If you could just exert some more control on him, you wouldn't need me to guard him!"
"But we can't," he said sadly. "He never listens, never learns, and has gotten a number of bodyguards killed while hunting down bandits in the past. You should be proud you're the one we'd turn to in such a hopeless situation. It's a good thing for you, perhaps, that he was wounded today. We'll use that as an excuse to keep him from the fighting for a while, and you can have a break. But we'll be calling on you again."
She was glad for the temporary respite, at least. "We'll see when the time comes." She realized he'd finished treating her. "Now can I return to the battle?"
He frowned, eyes on her arrow wound. "You're badly injured. Surely you could use a few days' rest, at least?"
"Days!" Rose was taken aback, though she knew most would've needed weeks and more. "I usually would've waited until a lull in the fighting, to treat a little scratch like this! Besides, Loreen's probably still out there, unless somebody dragged her off too. I have to help her, you know. She's only got one arm, and I worry a lot about her whenever there are arrows flying around. So thanks for your concern, but I'm fine. In the meantime, figure something out with your brother!"
As she left, he said gently, "I'm truly sorry you're forced to endure such aggravation for our sake. I'll see what I can do." But his voice sounded too helpless for her liking.
#
She found Loreen soon after, and greeted her by killing the pair of Sevrians she battled with two quick jabs. Her friend, who sported a slight limp from her leg injury, smiled. "Glad to see you're still strong! It was scary to see you dragged away like that!"
Rose shook her head as a stroke of her broadsword broke a spear, cut its wielder's throat, and went on to all but rip the arm off another man. "My rescuer just overreacted a bit, that's all. You know he was our charge's brother, and leader of his unit? That family's setting itself up for grief, I think. They can't keep letting that fool onto the battlefield and expect him not to fall out of stupidity."
Loreen felled a hesitating soldier with a stab through the groin. "You planning to go after Joghra soon, before we have to deal with Howard again? He doesn't keep that many men close to himself, from what I've seen. I think we could reach him, if you could clear a path while most of the Sevrians are busy throwing themselves against the barricade."
Rose looked after chopping down the
man before her and saw that indeed, only a few Sevrians stayed back to guard the Death General far from the rest of the battle. Still, "No, I don't think that would be a good idea." Maybe if Finn or her old friend Alicia were here, but... "You think you could stand with me against them, Joghra included?"
Running a Sevrian through, her friend gazed at the clump of fighters with Joghra and frowned. "There's still a bunch of them, and they're probably among the best of the lot. No, I couldn't stand up to all those. I'd probably just be a burden if I tried to go there with you."
Indeed, few could have faced that throng alone and lived, even if Rose kept Joghra occupied. She pulled the huge bow off her back. "Then there's always this. Loreen, keep the Sevrians off me and I'll try from here to bring him down. What do you say?"
Intercepting another soldier and quickly killing him with a slash to the neck, Loreen smiled as Rose stepped back and aimed at the unsuspecting general. "All right. I'll be glad to see you pay that coward back for the grief he's brought to many a family today and his cheap shot to you. Let's do this."
#
The Death General raised his bow, grinning behind his mask while his target fought on heedless of his impending doom. He nocked the arrow, the large-bearded man he aimed at raising a useless shield to deflect a Sevrian spear. He began to pull the thick cord back, already picturing the officer's death throes, when a heavy impact threw off his aim and knocked him down on his side. He saw to his chagrin that his own arrow, its course altered, had struck and killed a Sevrian soldier. He then realized he'd been shot beneath the armpit.
But the arrow hadn't gone deep, for Joghra's great curving armor had saved him grave injury and possibly his life. Still, the wound hurt, and it was with effort that he stood and looked in the direction he'd been hit from. He saw the large female warrior he'd shot before, the one called Rose, standing proudly with bow in hand. Hadn't he killed her? He frowned; even if she wasn't fatally hurt, the terrible wound he'd inflicted surely shouldn't have allowed her to come back to the field on the same day. Unless... the legends were true then, after all. The powerful woman shot at him again. This time he was ready, and ducking out of view among his retainers saved himself the sting of another arrow which instead ripped the throat from one of his massed bodyguard. Oh, she might be strong, but as he retreated he already envisioned how he would get his revenge.
