by Billy Wong
"Finally," Humphrey bellowed, "we are alone!"
Rose stalked slowly towards the giant and he didn't back down, waving his mammoth studded club before him with an enthusiastic grin. "You're not scared of me, are you?" she said.
"I fear no woman!"
She could hardly believe he would still hold her sex against her after she'd just destroyed his men. "I've beaten many warriors greater than you, including your emperor and his brother. You ought to run, if you want to live."
He replied with a booming laugh and the words, "Bah! You may be a lucky woman, but your luck has run out today! After all, while others may think differently, I know that I am the true best fighter in Fanteia!"
Humphrey telegraphed a swing at Rose's head. She ducked it easily and slammed her shield rim into his midsection. Despite his gigantic belly, the blow clearly hurt him, and he staggered away gasping for breath. But when she tried to follow up with a slash at his neck, he blocked with his great club. Though Thorn cut deeply into the thick wooden hunk, it did not go all the way through. Before she could free the blade, Humphrey kicked her in the gut and at the same time pulled his club back, wrenching Thorn from her grasp.
Rose was hardly daunted by this development and tackled her opponent, driving him down hard on his back. He lost hold of the club, which flew from his hands to leave them both unarmed. She headbutted him, breaking his nose, but he threw her off himself and rolled back to his feet with surprising speed. "I am the best!" he shouted, and punched her in the face.
The pain in her cheek only raised her ire. She ducked his next punch, grabbed him by the legs, and lifted him high into the air. His weight surprised her, and she realized he must be made largely of muscle rather than fat in spite of his appearance. Still, his great weight only made his landing harder as she slammed him down and asked, "Now are you still hung up on my being a woman?"
He answered by snatching up a rock and hit Rose in the temple with it with all his strength, making her stumble away. She let herself fall after a few steps and heard a triumphant laugh. But when he walked forward to finish her, she snatched his club off the ground and swung at his head. He blocked with his right forearm, but a sharp crack sounded as the heavy blow broke bone. He howled in agony and fell cradling his arm.
Rose stopped to wrench Thorn free of the club, keeping an eye on Humphrey while she did. He forced himself to stand, and with his good left arm drew the small axe at his belt though awful pain contorted his face. She raised Thorn into a ready stance again and sighed. "Why do you keep fighting? You can't win."
He shook his head and stubbornly said words he must have known not to be true. "Stupid woman. You're the one who doesn't stand a chance in the end."
Rose chopped at Humphrey's shoulder. He barely parried her blow with his hand axe and tried to punch her with his free hand, somehow forgetting his arm was broken. The blow he landed to her head hurt him a lot more than it did her, and he dropped his axe to grab again at his damaged limb. This time, Rose didn't try to make him give up, and instead slashed high with Thorn, intending to separate his head from his body.
He miraculously found the wherewithal to duck and charged, headbutting her in the chest. But it wasn't much of an attack and she brought her hilt down on the back of his neck, dropping him to his knees. He pulled a thick-bladed knife from his belt to slash up at her. Damn, he was tenacious. But he was also too weak by now to put up more than a token effort. Rose leapt back and easily avoided the desperate stroke. She struck again at his neck, this time decapitating him.
Brushing aside strands of long dark hair which had fallen over her face, Rose had to give Humphrey a measure of respect. Though having an unadmirable attitude and not as skilled as Regis or Julian, he'd at least stayed and fought her to the end unlike them. She hurried on to the tunnel which led into Belar, but found it sealed. She figured the Fanteians had tried to send troops through, only to be stopped by those inside the city. Then the defenders must have closed the passage to prevent any more attacks from there, and the invaders left a small force outside in hopes of catching Terlonian allies trying to enter. Very well. She'd just have to go in a different way.
Rose found a place to hide and watched the Fanteian artillery bombard Belar, looking for a catapult which consistently lobbed its load over the walls and inside the city. She found one easily enough and waited for nightfall. Sneaking over to the siege engine, she killed the few wakeful guards, drew back the catapult with her great strength, and climbed into the bucket where ammunition was normally placed. Time to do something dangerous and undoubtedly painful...
Seconds later, something smashed into the side of an already battered tower in southern Belar and the previously weakened wall collapsed, burying the human projectile in rubble. With a groan, she pushed aside large stones and stood, shaking dust and pebbles off her head and shoulders. As predicted, she hadn't landed in some conveniently placed pile of straw or other soft material, but instead been thrown against hard stone to fall and land on equally unyielding pavement. The initial impact would've killed most people, but Rose shook off her dizziness, flexed her aching body and smiled grimly. Sure, she hurt all over, but at least she'd made it into the city, and now those who wanted to take it would have to go through her first.
Chapter 6
"How the hell did you get back in here?" Kelvin asked Rose wonderingly as she ran to meet her friends on the wall. "All the secret tunnels were blocked off after the Fanteians tried to get in that way!"
She looked down to the field outside and smiled. "I flew."
Sean started. "With your magic? But I thought you weren't that skilled."
"No, catapult style."
"That must have really hurt."
"You'd probably be dead," she agreed with pride. "How are things going so far?"
Kelvin shrugged. "Not too bad, casualties wise. The tunnel thing has hurt the men's morale, though."
"Have Regis and Julian shown themselves yet?"
"We've seen them walking around, but they haven't tried to climb the walls or anything. Cowards, they are."
"I don't think they want to come in without knowing they have a way back out which isn't over the wall," Sean added.
Rose gave a wry grin, remembering the times she'd gone in or out of a place that way. Hell, she'd done it again less than an hour ago! "As Kelvin said, cowards. But they don't seem to be trying very hard to get in... what do you think they plan to do?"
"They could intend to starve us out," Kelvin said with a frown, "but the number of siege towers and such they're building makes me doubt that. No, I think that they're just keeping us occupied while they build their fill of war machines. Once that's done, then they'll really begin trying to break through."
The prospect alarmed Rose, having seen the type of devastating siege engines used to attack Polier and knowing they faced a much larger Fanteian army now. "Maybe we should attack them first then, before their strength peaks."
"I like that idea," Sean said. "They surely won't expect it considering how much they must've gotten used to being on offense by now, with us barely able to fight back and just trying to stay alive. Glad to have you back, Your Majesty."
"Don't call me that."
"Joking, joking! What happened at Polier?"
She didn't know how things were going now, but said, "It should be fine. They were less outnumbered than we are, and besides, this is the main event from the Fanteians' viewpoint. They probably don't really plan on taking Polier until they finish up here, and the main army joins in. Let's not let them get that far."
Kelvin nodded. "So should we attack tomorrow morning?"
"No, tomorrow during the day, we pretend we're going to stay inside and on the defense. But at night..." She didn't need to finish. Staying up would leave the troops tired, but the enemy would be just as fatigued, and more surprised after thinking they could get a much-needed night's rest.
"Just as I was thinking. You're not as bad a leader as you think."
"Still, I wouldn't mind having you for our permanent queen."
"No thanks."
Sean nudged his uncle and reminded him, "Yeah, Rose has a family to take care of. She's already been here too long."
She agreed wholeheartedly with that. "Absolutely, so let's finish this thing. Today the Fanteia invasion fails!"
"I hope you'll keep in touch with us after you go," Sean said.
"Of course. I never forget my friends."
#
The next day went by without much incident considering the circumstances, neither side doing too much damage to the other as they continued to lob projectiles back and forth. Rose didn't even join battle during the day, not wanting the Fanteians to increase their alertness too much on her account, and waited anxiously for night to come. When most of their enemies had gone to sleep, Belar's gate opened and the Terlonian army smashed into the unprepared enemy, sending many of them into panicked flight. Rose put aside her distaste for attacking opponents at a disadvantage for the sake of the greater good, and wreaked more havoc upon the Fanteians than any two other warriors on her side. Then, in the middle of their camp, she came face to face with Regis.
"You're back," the emperor said with a smile. "So, does it feel good to be queen? You won't enjoy the throne for long."
She shrugged. "I don't plan to keep it long. But it will continue to exist, despite your dreams to the contrary."
"I don't think so," Regis stated confidently. "This time, I'll kill you and end Terlon's existence as a nation."
"I do agree this will be the last battle between us. But it won't end the way you want. Where's your brother?"
Julian's answer came from her right, prompting her to look and regard the cleric twirling his sword. "Right here."
All around them was chaos, their men panicking under the unexpected attack, but the two disregarded it as if thinking that to kill Rose alone would assure victory. She realized what they intended and sighed. "So since you can't beat me one on one, you're going to come at me as one."
"Whatever works."
But Regis' pride made him have second thoughts, and he yelled, "Wait, brother! Let me give it a try alone, first." He charged her, the ruler of Fanteia rushing to batter down the foreigner who'd come to be the strongest bastion of Terlon's resistance. Their weapons clashed repeatedly, sweat beading Regis' forehead as he pushed himself hard in an attempt to quickly overwhelm her. She made him stumble back with her usual aggressive block of his stab with her shield and smiled. He lunged with a furious shout. This time she dodged, letting the pike-tip pass by her while she struck at Regis' thigh. He jumped back, not quite avoiding her blade completely, and received a scratch through his rent leg plate.
Now he was scared and showed it, backpedaling while he wielded his pike defensively like a quarterstaff. Nicks appeared in the metal pole as he struggled to hold on. One of her blows penetrated the guard over his left forearm, ripping it open to the bone. He cried out in frustration. Another slash grazed his hand on the same arm, and blood dripped from the damaged limb to the ground. Suddenly the nearly forgotten Julian joined the emperor against her, and the tide instantly turned.
The Fanteian royals assaulted Rose together and now she was the one backing away, unable to stand against them both. All efforts to keep her body safe failed. Heavy sword and heavier pike breached her armor and gave her wound after deep wound, the gashes made by Julian's serrated blade particularly ragged and painful. The royal brothers smiled as they slowly killed her. Though she somehow got in a hit here and there, she knew it to be a losing battle. The two best fighters of their nation, they were too good even for her. No, she couldn't think that way. It would be too easy to give up and die.
Rose rushed Regis, the slower, more injured foe. Accepting a painful wound from each of her enemies, she slammed into him shoulder-first and bowled him over. Julian's sword stabbed like a striking cobra at her side. She leaned back to avoid it and smashed her shield into his face, knocking teeth down his throat. To his credit, Regis was already up, and lanced his huge weapon at her gut. She just sidestepped, grabbed it, and jerked it forward and down, embedding it into the ground. Regis instinctively tried to pull it out, and Rose swung her sword in a high arc at his vulnerable head. His hand came up to stop it, only to have half its mass sheared away.
Blood jetted from the mangled hand, but Regis had slowed the blade enough to duck his head and save his life, Thorn cutting through long hair that had not descended fast enough to avoid Rose's stroke. She fully expected Regis to fall screaming, yet instead the gigantic man bellowed in rage and tackled her. But weakened by shock and pain, he could not knock Rose down, and only pushed her back. Bracing herself, she grabbed him by the waist, pulled him into the air, and drove his four hundred pounds of flesh and armor headfirst into the ground.
The emperor was still alive and slowly moving, but as stunned as he was, it would have been an easy thing for Rose to finish him off if not for his brother's interference. Julian, eyes livid with his mouth a shattered wreck, rushed in to beat her back with a flurry of slashes. She retaliated with a flurry of her own that drove him back and followed with a jumping chop. He barely blocked, her blade coming within an inch of bisecting his skull, and her next blow made him drop his weapon with a yelp. But then Julian wrapped his arms around Rose's own sword arm, denying her the ability to attack him with Thorn. Angrily, she raised her broadsword high, her opponent going up with it. She slammed him down hard, driving the breath from him and freeing her arm from his grasp. He rolled away from her downward slash, but she kicked him as he tried to retrieve his sword and pinned him under her foot.
But when Rose raised her sword again, his eyes lit up with satisfaction, and she sensed movement behind her. Not quite in time enough, though, as Regis' pike plunged into her back. Its heavy tip forced its way out just above her navel, and she gagged on blood. Her belly burst aflame with agony, and she felt an urge to puke... Then Julian sprang to his feet, raised his serrated sword above his head and stabbed down. Piercing her high on the chest, it went through her entire torso to exit out the small of her back. Unbearable pain engulfed her, to the point where she could see nothing past the hazy image of Julian which seemed to float before her. Blood rushed up her sinuses too and poured from her nose. Her sword dropping from her hand, Rose stared into the eyes of the man who surely thought he'd killed her and spat in defiance—the bloody discharge falling pitifully short of his face.
She imagined she might very well die this time; though she'd survived catastrophic injury before, the way the brothers' weapons had gone through her would likely damage more vital parts than any previous stabbing she'd suffered. Already, numbness began to take hold of her body. But she willed herself to fight on, resolving to at least take her killers with her and free Terlon from their ambition if she had to die. Hooking her fingers into claws, she ripped into Julian's hateful visage. Though she couldn't see him, she could imagine the look of shock on Regis' face when one of her thumbnails caught his brother in an eye and tore through the orb. He shrieked and fell away.
The cleric quickly tried to stand despite his agony, but Rose put him on his back with a kick that shattered his nose. Behind her, the emperor regained his wits and began to lift her agonizingly on his pike. But she landed a hard stomp kick on his knee, and he dropped her. Turning with a scream of determination and anguish, she ran into him, driving the head of his own weapon into his gut. Now his mouth too leaked blood.
They fell together, Regis grabbing her in a desperate crushing embrace. Rose tried to empty her mind and bit off a great piece of his cheek, freeing herself while he writhed clutching his ruined face. She rolled onto her side in an attempt to avoid disturbing the blades inside her as best as she could. Then she began to raise herself up with her arms, thinking she had to finish her foes before either could recover and take advantage of her overwhelming weakness. But sh
e was in too much pain, and fell back to cough and choke on her own blood. Then Sean was there, cradling her head while she looked up at him with blurring vision.
He couldn't hide the grief in his voice as he softly reassured her, "Don't worry. You'll be okay, Rose. Rest." He stroked her hair and started to rock her gently back and forth. The movement felt like it was tearing apart her insides. She wanted to beg him to stop, but she hadn't even the strength for that.
She saw Julian slowly regain his feet to loom over them, eyes lighting up with surprise and what she took to be... joy? "G-go away," she managed to gasp at Sean.
"I won't leave you."
"Watch the hell out!" Hearing the urgency in her weak voice, he turned and tried to stand. But Julian's sword hilt slammed down into his face before he could gain his feet, and he crumpled in a limp heap. Instead of killing him like Rose feared, though, Julian grabbed his collar and made to drag him away. The cleric looked at her as if he considered finishing her off, but his gaze fell on her trembling hand which reached now for her dropped sword, and he decided against testing her remaining strength.
What did Julian plan to do with Sean? No way would Rose allow such a man to harm her friend, and she defied biology once again, forcing her shaking body up in spite of her mortal wounds to stumble, then run after the fleeing Julian. He turned back to regard her, and his eyes widened in disbelief followed by terror. Rose grinned painfully. His was a familiar expression.
Julian made it to his chariot before Rose could reach him and tossed Sean in. Even healthy, she would never have been able to catch the vehicle once it picked up speed. She forced her leaden body to go faster, pounding bloody footprints into the dirt, and made a desperate lunge. But Julian had already whipped his horses into action, and she missed grabbing her unconscious friend by a hair while he took off. So she raised her sword and threw, hoping her aim would not fail her in her half dead state. But instead of ripping Julian's life away, her blade split Regis' breastbone in two, leaving her in shock as the emperor crumpled before her. Regis' desire to save his brother, or perhaps simply keep trying to kill her, proved a match for hers to rescue Sean, and he'd foiled her triumph though he died to do it. The golden chariot disappeared into the distance, and with no strength left, Rose fell to lay beside the dying Regis.
