by T. J. Quinn
"If I don't take them, Lord Bryce will, because, let's face it, without us, you don't stand a chance against him, and you know it,” he stated in a cold tone.
“How can I allow you to disrupt homes this way?” the man tried again.
“They will be shattered either way. It’s your choice how that will happen.” He was categorical. It was time to go home, and he wouldn’t go without what he had come for.
“You know that’s no real choice.”
“It’s what you’ve got. You either take it or leave it,” he assured him.
His attitude towards Kaylein had killed any sympathy Cuyler might have felt for him.
"I'll take it." The man finally accepted like Cuyler knew he would.
"Don't you dare to hide any woman from me, because I'll tear down this place until I find her,” he warned him, just in case the man was planning on fooling him.
“I’m a man of my word,” the other man protested, but Cuyler wasn’t listening. “Remove all of your men from the walls of the village. My men and I will face Bryce alone,” he ordered.
“But…” he started, but one look at Cuyler’s face dissuaded him from continuing. “I’ll give the order.”
Cuyler left the room and gathered his men, in an empty room near the main room. “We’re ready to go. I want you all in your full drogon form, spread across the whole wall. Igor and Haskell, you’ll be in the front with me. The idea is not to kill them, just scare them enough so they won’t come back. Bryce will attack. When he does, attack him back. That should end his insane ambition,” he ordered, as he started to take off his clothes, and calling out his drogon. Soon they were all ready and posted over the walls.
As he had ordered, all of Arryn’s men had been called off the walls.
Bryce's army arrived, and the minute his men saw the drogons lining up on the walls, they immediately stopped.
“It seems you haven’t learned your lesson, Lord Bryce,” Cuyler said, flying to meet them, hovering just a couple of yards away from them.
“I won’t be stopped by a demon from hell,” the man shouted, riding his horse to the front of his army. “I have God on my side.”
Cuyler had no idea how these people’s religion worked, but he was sure, no fair god would be on this coxcomb’s side.
“You do? Why is that? What god would be on the side of a man that plans to kill innocent people to satisfy his personal ambition?” Cuyler asked, loud enough for the other man’s army to hear them.
"The evil has contaminated These people; they need to be purged,” the man ranted, demonstrating his insanity.
“And you’ve assumed the role of judge and jury on that? Who gave you that authority?” Cuyler asked, exposing the man’s manipulation of the truth.
“God gave it to me,” he shouted.
“Does he talk to you?” The drogons believed in the magic forces of the universe, but not in specific gods, but Cuyler knew enough about religions to know that those that claimed to be able to talk directly with their gods, were considered insane.
"Yes… he has come to me in my dreams… he has told me you are demons I need to destroy,” the man shouted, with an almost maniacal fervor and his men started to look at each other's not sure what to do in the face of such confession.
One of them also riding a horse, approached Lord Bryce. "What's going on here? You can't claim you've talked to God,” the man protested in a low tone, but Cuyler could still hear him. "You said Arryn owed you money and that this was only to collect it,” the other man continued.
"That monster destroyed two catapults. Of course, they owe me money,” the other man said, unwilling to admit he had fooled the ones he had brought into the battle.
“The only thing Lord Bryce wants is to take control this village and its richness at all cost. He doesn’t have a valid reason for this invasion,” Cuyler said, flying closer to them, upsetting the horses. “If we were demons as you claim, Lord Bryce, by now, this road would be a cemetery of calcined bodies. We don’t want a blood bath. We just want to be left in peace,” he assured the other man that looked a bit more sensible than Lord Bryce.
"You won't stop me this time," Bryce shouted as he raised his arm, ordering the men handling the catapult to fire.
They threw some sort of huge ball set on fire, aiming to the village, but the ball never arrived. Cuyler intercepted it and let it fall to the ground as if it was nothing more than a paper ball. At the same time, a rain of arrows was shot in his direction and those he didn't turn into ashes, simply bounced on his scales or missed the target.
Upset with the man’s stubbornness, he made a sign to Igor, ordering him to destroy the catapult. The blazing fire startled most of the men that quickly started to take distance from Lord Bryce.
“This is your last warning. Leave now and don’t come back or you’ll suffer the same fate as the catapult,” he threatened, and his roaring voice was enough to set a few on the run. Another show of power from him and Igor, as they blew fire onto the ground, was enough for a few others.
But Bryce didn’t want to be scared away. Again, he pulled his bow and arrows and shot a few in Cuyler’s direction.
“Haven't you learned your lesson, Bryce?” Cuyler said, landing on the ground next to the other man and walking right up to him. “Perhaps, you have a death wish you haven’t told us about,” he said, with a cold tone.
But the man didn't listen. Instead, he withdrew his sword and tried to attack Cuyler.
Fed up, Cuyler pulled him down from the horse and faced the man.
By then, they were the only ones standing face to face. The rest of Bryce’s men had been scared away by Igor and Haskell.
“You’re not stopping me this time,” the man yelled again, attacking him with his sword.
Igor threw an abandoned sword towards Cuyler, and he was about to repel the other man’s attack when he heard Lord Arryn’s voice behind him.
“This fight is mine,” he shouted.
“You’re a Satanist,” Lord Bryce accused him. “You’ve made a pact with the devil in exchange for protection,” he continued ranting.
“You give me more credit than I deserve,” Lord Arryn replied, taking Cuyler’s place in front of Bryce. “Your excessive ambition has made you lose your mind, and now all of your men know that,” he spat, furious.
Bryce attacked, but Arryn had no trouble at all answering his attack. "You don't deserve this place. You're not even able to produce a male heir, so why the hell should you keep what should be mine from the beginning?" he yelled, attacking once more, this time revealing the real reason behind his attacks.
“You have always considered yourself better than all of the rest and worthy of the best rewards, though you never did anything to deserve them,” Arryn said, fighting him back, the clash of the swords echoing around.
A few of Bryce's men, the ones on a horse, had returned and were hearing clearly the arguing between both men. Cuyler considered chasing them away, but then, he realized they would be witnesses of Bryce's insanity.
“I should be the king, not that stupid asshole sitting on the throne,” the man shouted, attacking Arryn more viciously. “I’m King James older son, not that idiot. The whole country should be mine,” he ranted.
“You’re nothing but a bastard, Bryce. Bastards have no rights,” Arryn mocked him, provoking the other man and soon the only sounds heard were the ones of the swords, until all was over and Bryce fell on the ground, mortally wounded.
Sweating and panting hard, Arryn turned to face the men watching the fight. “That’s the man you followed into battle. Will you continue his insane quest?” he asked them.
One of them dismounted and approached Arryn. "No, Lord Arryn. The story he told us has nothing to do with what we heard here today. I'll make sure the king knows the truth about all this, but it would be a good idea if you visited him."
“Yes, I know. And I will,” Arryn nodded. “As for the rest…”
“We saw nothing out of th
e ordinary, and I’m sure you didn’t either,” the other man interrupted him. “There’s no use trying to convince the people of impossible things,” the man added, showing more common sense than expected.
Lord Arryn nodded, and two of the other men picked Bryce’s dead body and left the village.
Pleased with the turnabouts of the battle, Cuyler called his men and they returned to the castle. Arryn followed them, cheered by his men. He was the hero of the day, after having faced Bryce on his own.
Cuyler and his men turned to their usual form, and after putting on their clothes, Cuyler went looking for Arryn.
“I guess you’re here to collect,” the man said, in a cold tone, when he found him in his study.
“You guess right Cuyler nodded.
“As you can see, my people are celebrating this victory. Could I convince you to wait until tomorrow?” he asked, with a deep frown.
“Yes, you can.”
“Please take tonight to select the women you want. It will be easier for everybody if only those selected are called here tomorrow morning,” Arryn asked.
“Yes, that makes sense. Just make sure all your daughters are present in tonight’s celebration,” he warned the man and left the room, to meet his men.
“We’ll get our women tomorrow morning. But I need you to choose them tonight. Get their names and all of the information you can on them, so there aren’t possible mistakes tomorrow,” he warned his men. “Igor, Haskell, since you’ve found your soulmates, I want you to go back to the vessel and send Gandalf and Egil. They deserve a chance of meeting their soulmates,” he added. “Tell them to bring all of the gold we have. We won’t be needing it for a while.
Chapter Fourteen
Both men nodded and departure immediately after giving him the details of the women they had been mated to.
The rest of his men joined the celebration, but he went looking for Kaylein. He needed to see her and make sure she was alright.
But she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. About to go looking for Arryn to demand an explanation, his instinct told him exactly where she was. Quickly, he climbed the northern tower, and there she was, sitting in the dark, contemplating the starry night.
“Why aren’t you celebrating with the rest of the village?” he asked her, taking a seat next to her.
“I’m glad you’ve managed to get rid of Lord Bryce, but I really don’t have anything to celebrate,” she said, with a somber tone.
“I heard about what happened. Are you alright?” he asked, in a soft tone.
“I’ll survive, I always do,” she said, oozing sarcasm.
Cuyler considered telling her about his plans for the following morning, but somehow knew she wouldn’t react well to the idea of being taken away from her home. Instead, he just mentioned his impending departure.
“We’re going home in the morning.”
Startled, Kaylein tilted her head to look at him. “You mean, forever?” What else could go wrong in her life?
“Yes, we’ve been away far too long, and it’s time we set course back home,” he explained, trying to see her reaction to his words, but she lowered her face, and he couldn’t see anything.
“Well, I guess I can understand that,” she said, with a sad tone.
“Will you miss me?”
She chuckled, but there was no joy in the sound. “We haven’t met long enough for me to miss you,” she said, getting up. “Well, I wish you a happy journey back home. It’s time I go check if my mother needs my help,” she said, walking away.
“Can’t you stay a bit longer?” he said, but she simply shook her head and disappeared down the trap door.
Kaylein went straight to her bedroom. To her surprise, Millicent was there, and she could tell she had been crying. “What happened?”
“They’re leaving tomorrow,” she muttered, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
“Yes, I’ve just been told. But why are you crying?” she asked, hugging her maid. More than a maid, she had been her best friend for her whole life, and it pained her to see her so disheartened.
"Because I was fool enough to fall in love with one of them,” the girl confessed, as her sobs became louder and she hid her face in Kaylein's shoulder.
Kaylein tried to comfort her as best as she could, but deep down, all she wanted was to cry her heart out, just like Millicent was doing. But she had learned a long time ago, tears didn’t solve anything, and they were a waste of energies.
“Why are you here and not downstairs spending these last moments with him?” she asked her maid.
She sobbed louder. “His leader sent him on an errand, somewhere in the woods. He won’t be back anymore,” she explained. “I have nothing to celebrate.”
“Well, that makes two of us,” Kaylein said, holding back the stubborn tears welling up in her eyes.
The rest of the day went by amongst the celebrations of the people. Lord Arryn had ordered the kitchen to prepare food and drinks for everybody, and the villagers all looked happy and celebrated throughout the night.
By the time the sun came out on the horizon, only a few people had remained in the main room. Lord Arryn was one of them, seated in his favorite chair, with a glass of ale in his hand and the handle of his sword in the other, as if he was expecting bad news.
Next to him, stood his faithful friend, Sir Henry.
Cuyler crossed the room, followed by his men, towards him, arching his eyebrow when he saw the sword. “Are you planning to take back your word?” he asked him, with scorn.
“It would be suicidal of me, wouldn’t it?” he said, in a self-mocking tone.
“Yes, it would. I’ve done all I could to keep this transaction as beneficial as possible for you and your people,” he assured him. “But my goal as always been as we discussed, and I assure you I won’t leave this village without it.”
“Of course,” the man huffed, with scorn.
“I believe I’ve paid you more than enough for it. But, as I’m aware that losing so many people will affect you somehow, I’ll pay even more.” He made a signal to Eirik and Gandalf, and both men stepped forward to drop four bags with all the gold they had extracted from the planet. “I’m sure that will cover any loss you might have.”
Arryn didn’t even bother checking the bags. He knew he had no choice but accepting.
“They won’t go voluntarily,” he warned him. “So, I’ve prepared two locked tumbrils for you to take them.”
“Thank you, that’s very thoughtful of you,” Cuyler nodded.
“Very well, let’s hear the names of the lucky ones,” the man said, oozing scorn.
Cuyler started naming the girls, adding all of the information his men had given him. Unfortunately, not all of his men had found their mates, but he was sure the girls would find their mates as soon as they got home.
When Cuyler named Muriel, one of Arryn’s twin daughters, the man tensed up.
“That’s one of my daughters.”
“I’m well aware of that,” Cuyler said, in a stern tone. “In fact, I’m taking Guinevere and Kaylein as well,” he added.
Arryn jumped up from his chair, his face suddenly pale. “You can’t do that. They are all I have left…”
"You couldn't care less about your daughters, and we both know it. They aren't the sons you wanted, so they weren't worthy of your love and care," Cuyler retorted in a cold tone. "I was quite clear when I told you all of the women would be included."
The man clenched his hand around the handle of the sword a few times, as if considering his options, but soon realizing he had none.
“Who else?” he asked instead, through gritted teeth.
“Millicent, Kaylein’s maid and Mariah, one of your kitchen’s maids. Those are the last two.”
Sir Henry had made a list with all the names, and he was ordered to get the women that lived outside of the castle.
"I'll bring you, my daughters."
There were so much rage and frustration oozing from the m
an that, for a moment, Cuyler feared he might do something stupid.
“I’ll be right here waiting. Don’t do anything stupid like unraveling my rage, Arryn. You wouldn’t like the consequences,” he warned the other man.
He nodded and disappeared up the stairs.
Kaylein had just finished dressing, with Millicent’s help, when her father entered the room. “Pack your things, both of you. You’re leaving,” he barked the order.
“What do you mean, we’re leaving?” Kaylein asked him, startled.
"I'll explain it to you, downstairs. Don't even try to escape. I have two soldiers right outside your door,” he threatened as he walked away.
Startled, she heard him saying the same to Muriel and Guinevere, followed by her mother’s cries and pleads. Something wrong was going on.
“He said… Both of us?” Millicent's weak voice brought her back from her amazement.
With a deep sigh, she nodded. “Yes, I’m afraid so.” She confirmed it.
“What is going on?”
“I have no idea, but you better go and do what he told you to,” she advised her maid, as she grabbed a small bag and shoved a few dresses and underwear in it. Not much, just all she could carry, after all, she had no idea where they were going, nor how they were going. At the last minute, she added her dagger, just in case, and she went downstairs, followed by the two guards.
When she arrived at the main room, there were several other women gathered in it. She wasn't able to count them since some were still arriving, but she certainly didn't like the looks of it.
A few minutes later, her father entered the room followed by several of his men, and after they surrounded the group of women, he started to explain.
“As you all know, yesterday we could have been attacked by Lord Bryce’s army, and we all know what as well would have been the consequences of such attack.”
Kaylein looked around the room, noticing the stern looks on all of the girls’ faces. Muriel and Guinevere were next to their mother, weeping quietly.
Chapter Fifteen
