by Billy Wong
Theo blinked. "It's not typical for men in Egrent to take two wives."
"It is certainly nonstandard now. But precedent for it exists in the past, and Lady Claire is a hero who saved our country. For her, people may well be willing to overlook it."
He thought to argue, as he didn't have the same feelings for Sophie as he did Claire. Yet he understood that not all unions for people of his standing were out of love, and if he could have one relationship based on it, another for political reasons didn't seem so terrible to bear. The idea had even occurred to him before, after all. "Would it be alright, Claire? You'd definitely still be first in my heart, although I can't say it's impossible Sophie would grow on me."
She looked away briefly, then smiled. "It's fine. I consider her a good rival. So for us to compete for your attention as well as in other ways is only fitting."
He wasn't sure if he should mention it, but whispered into her ear, "I think I would be expected to make love with her, though. Even if it's a political marriage, I doubt her parents would be satisfied by her never having children."
"I know that. If this is what's needed to keep the country strong while I'm with you, I can accept it."
"All right," Theo said. "I'll do it, if Sophie agrees."
The earl's wife replied, "She will. You should know by now she isn't a selfish girl. I just hope that someday you'll grow to love her too, if not like you do Claire, at least for who she is."
"I already appreciate her as a person. I don't know about love, but I can say I'll be proud to have her for my partner."
#
They returned home to prepare for the first double royal wedding in Egrent's history. Though long past kings had taken more than one wife, none had ever married two at once. Sophie reacted well enough to the news, saying, "I'm glad you're giving me the chance to win your heart." For all her open-minded talk before, Claire looked a tad annoyed at that, but Theo supposed everything couldn't be totally perfect.
While there would surely be conflict between the women now and then, he enjoyed the idea of the balance they might bring to his life as a pair. Sophie was the solid rock, quiet but strong in doing what had to be done, while Claire was the wild wind of excitement and adventure. Yet they had enough in common that he could easily imagine them becoming close friends, perhaps sooner than later. He felt lucky just to know both, much less be getting married to them.
A response from Lily to Claire's letter arrived. She wrote that she would always value their friendship, but due to her family in High Waloros, she would not be joining Claire on a permanent basis in Egrent. Claire said she understood, although she'd certainly miss her. They replied back with an invitation to come to their wedding, and Claire hoped very much she would be able to make it. To her delight, Lily showed up a week prior to the ceremony. They enjoyed a joyous reunion, Claire twirling her around like a baby before showing off the scar Theo had given her and taking Lily out for drinks. Theo didn't go with them, sensing there might be things they wanted to talk about in private as old friends. Besides, he would have plenty of time to ask Lily what he wanted while she stayed in the castle as a guest.
Mere days before the wedding, exhausted soldiers arrived from the north with bad news. Now that Egrent wasn't expected to get any more help from the Hierarch, Ailune invaded again. Instead of going over the mountains, this time they had smashed through one of the fortresses guarding the border, with a giant seemingly unstoppable monster as their trump card. Joining the rest of Egrent's forces, Theo marched out with his two warrior brides. To his surprise, Lily asked to come along too. He worried about her ability to handle herself, but supposed if Claire didn't disapprove, she might have progressed enough to think she could. At least the standing army had been expanded since the last attempted invasion, and they might not be so outnumbered now. But doubts remained about how ready they were to face that new threat.
Chapter 12
On the way to meet the Ailune army, Claire didn't talk very much. As he hadn't gone to war with her before, he didn't know if this was normal for her or something was wrong. They came into view of the enemy on a hillside, flowing southward down it like a horde of ants. Noticeable at the middle of their front line was a great figure, more than twice the height of a man and many times heavier. Its shape resembled an extremely bulky human or perhaps more like an ape given the way it moved, bounding down the slope. "That's the monster you couldn't stop with all those men?" Gunther asked. "It doesn't look that big."
One of the survivors from the northern fortress who he addressed replied, "It appears to be indestructible! No matter how much we struck it, nothing seemed to slow it down for long, and its injuries healed in seconds."
As they drew closer, Theo saw that the creature was stuck full of arrows which indeed had no visible effect. Its gray hide was otherwise unmarred, as if any other wounds without something lodged inside had sealed themselves perfectly. Yet its flesh looked somehow wrong, shriveled and loose instead of supple and firm like its strength and mobility for its size should indicate. Then his nose picked up a horrible stench from it, which he wondered how the Ailune forces tolerated at even closer proximity—the stink of rotting meat.
"It must be an undead, like the death knights," Sophie said as he thought it. Its face too looked dead, sagging and expressionless. "Only this was made from something larger, if not cobbled together from the flesh of many."
The armies faced each other between two hills, husky King Grail in his fur robes grinning down at them atop a tall black steed amidst his warriors. He waved a hand towards the undead monstrosity. "Behold your doom. Today your nation finally falls, and not even the women you hide behind can prevent it."
"Poor insult considering you hide behind an elf," Theo shot back. "By the way, where is Manuiel? I see his gifts to you"—along with the giant, numerous death knights stood among the enemy ranks—"but where is the sorcerer himself?"
Grail laughed, his wide mouth an ugly gash across his face. "He is not even needed to be present himself. That is how hopeless your cause is. You should surrender rather than subject your poor followers to unnecessary slaughter."
"You know we will not do that," Darius said. "If you think your victory so assured, come forth and lead your soldiers into battle like a man."
"But how would I enjoy my triumph, were I to be somehow slain? No, I think I'll sit back and watch your destruction."
Ailune's forces surged forward, Theo and allies bracing themselves for the collision. The undead giant crashed into their line like an avalanche, each sweep of its arms tossing armored men by the handful through the air with sounds of snapping bone. Finding itself momentarily alone but for one unfortunate soul who brandished a sword in defiance, it snatched him up and bit off his head, then hurled the body into a bunch of his comrades. It followed up by flinging itself bodily upon the same group, crushing the life from some with its weight, others running in panic while its oversized hands groped about in search of anything moving to grasp. It seemed intelligent, like its every action was meant to demoralize as much as possible.
"We should kill that beast," Claire said between rapid blows which felled an enemy soldier every few seconds.
Theo swallowed, knowing what she must think to do. "But it's indestructible, or damn close. We should concentrate on defeating enough of Grail's men to turn the tide, then figure out a way to deal with it."
"I doubt our side will have the resolve to turn the tide if that thing keeps butchering us." She impaled an Ailune soldier through the chest and stepped over his falling corpse towards the monster. "So I'll end it." As it raised a barrel-sized fist over a warrior who had tripped backing away from it, she stabbed through its elbow from the side. Using the shaft for leverage, she turned the creature forcefully towards her. "You like killing? Try and do it to me."
"She is wonderful," Gunther said from somewhere nearby.
"Should we help her?" Sophie asked.
Theo shook his head. "No, you two with your heav
y weapons are needed for the death knights. I'll give Claire a hand."
He approached as she battled the giant, her skill on full display as she held her own where groups of men had failed. She dove and rolled aside from its preternaturally swift swipes and somehow found openings in between to get it repeatedly off balance with her stab-and-pull attacks. Yet doing actual damage seemed beyond even her as every wound she inflicted closed over nigh instantaneously. "No, get back!" she said. "You'll only distract me trying to fight it."
"But I want to help."
She took a massive punch that could have broken a man's neck, was launched several yards but landed on her feet and spat out blood. It leapt after her with a colossal dropkick. She jumped over it while thrusting down into its throat, vaulted behind it using the spear impaling it. It got up to face her again like nothing had happened, the hole she'd made already sealing itself. "You can help. This abomination seems too smart to be acting of its own accord. So look around and see if you can't find who's controlling it."
Maybe Manuiel was here, albeit not announcing his presence to keep them from looking for him. Figuring a prince ought to lead and delegate instead of doing everything himself, Theo went around and found a few soldiers not engaged in combat at that very moment. He asked them to observe the enemy side and see if they could find anything suspect. Heart pounding with worry for Claire, he hastened back to where he'd last seen her. Her battle with the monster had been going on for a while now, and he was relieved to see her alive much less still in the fight. "There are a bunch of people looking for the controller. Can I help you now?"
She'd somehow climbed behind the creature's head, legs locked around its neck, and now stabbed it repeatedly in the eyes while it thrashed and flailed. It grabbed her and peeled her off, bringing her before its mouth as if intending to bite her apart. She slipped her spear arm free, thrust the head into its maw all the way through the back of its skull. It didn't die, but was stunned enough for her to take inspirational advantage. She popped out of its grip and hopped atop its fist, threw a flurry of jabs which mangled its visage and knocked it crashing down on its back. What sounded like the entirety of Egrent's army cheered. "The First of Spears is not impressed with this simpering brute. And Theo... yes. You can help me with finishing it."
"What?"
"Your men who you assigned to find the controller may not have reported back yet. But, I'm beginning to suspect the controller may not be out there." She reached out a hand. "I need to borrow a big cutting weapon." Theo looked around, pried a heavy bastard sword from a dead enemy soldier's grip and tossed it to her. "Might be a bit small, but it'll have to do." She dodged a wild grab attempt, spun behind her foe and hamstrung it to drop it again. "The controller might be in here!" She jumped onto the monster's thigh as it sat up and plunged the sword into its belly, then ripped up. A huge chasm opened in its front—and within it, a naked Manuiel could be glimpsed. "It seemed so invincible, yet kept flinching back whenever I stabbed it in the body. So I figured maybe..."
Manuiel clutched at a red line the tip of her blade had drawn up his torso, but said, "This changes nothing. You will still-"
She reached forward, gripped him by the throat and yanked him out of the undead body he had guided. "What, kill you?"
He kicked her away, jumped back into his corpseflesh suit which started to heal at his will. Claire threw her spear at his exposed face, but he blocked it with a decaying palm. Theo darted forward under the hand and stabbed up, driving his sword into Manuiel's chest.
The dark elf stared at him, eyes bulging with disbelief as steel pierced his heart. "Of all people, you..."
"What? The prince isn't always in need of rescuing. This is for my brother, fiend." He twisted the blade. A gruesome wheezing sound issued from Manuiel's throat; then his head drooped, and the corpseflesh suit fell over backwards to lay still. "Besides, I'm pretty decent with a sword, even if that's become easy to forget."
Claire retrieved her spear from the giant's hand. "Good work."
King Grail gaped at the sight of his trump card fallen, and his forces losing morale as they realized it. "No, don't run!" His men hardly seemed to hear him, breaking under the pressure from Egrent's reinvigorated warriors. "Stop, gather yourselves!" he pleaded while his army fled around him. "If you won't obey, I swear you'll be puni-" Claire's spear sprouted in his gut, cutting off his words as he gazed down in shock and growing terror.
"Shut up," she said. A second later, Grail toppled off his horse into the dirt. At Theo's questioning look, she added, "He surely had a part in coming up with the plan to kill Damon. So I helped you avenge him."
"I'm not upset he's dead, but I'd thought we might leave him alive a little longer as a king."
"Well, look at it this way—now that Ailune lost its ruler, it'll probably be a while before his successor dares to try anything again."
#
The Ailune army retreated in utter disarray, and Darius sent a portion of his force to chase them back into their land. The rest of them mourned their dead and did what they could for the injured before preparing to return home. "So," Theo said to Claire right before they would leave, "looking forward to getting married?"
She sucked in a deep breath and met his eyes. "I can't."
He recoiled, not certain he had heard her right. "What?"
"I was talking with Lily, and realized this isn't right for me. My family's in High Waloros, even if we don't get along perfectly, as are most of my friends. And my career... I love you, and tried to tell myself it would be okay. Yet just because I travel around a lot, doesn't mean I can cast aside everything that's important in my life. You view me as the embodiment of freedom, but there are limits. I'm not ready to leave High Waloros, and I don't see how you can leave Egrent as the royal heir."
His throat had gone dry, and his heart felt like a dead lump in his chest. "So that's it? All of this was for nothing?"
She reached up to hold his head in her hands, smiled with tears in her eyes. "Don't say that. It's not for nothing. I'm grateful to have met you, and will treasure these memories forever. Even if we didn't end up together, I feel we've both grown during our time with each other. And, you'll always have an ally in High Waloros."
He hugged her tightly, not wanting to let her go but knowing he had no right to stop her. "You aren't wrong for this. But why does it have to hurt so much?"
"We're adults, and sometimes the right choices to make are painful. If I force myself to stay here, even though I know I shouldn't, I won't be happy and then neither will you. So we have to part ways... but I'll write you and visit from time to time, and we'll stay friends. Though we might not be what you imagined, you needn't feel you've lost me."
"I accept your decision. I couldn't try to force you to do something that would make you unhappy. I have to ask one question, though. Would it be any different if our child had lived?"
Claire lowered her gaze. "I don't know... but I don't think so. Even then, I don't think I could have given up what I have at home. We would have worked it out with either you or me keeping the babe, depending on which seemed like the better option. More likely than not you, since you tend to stay put here."
"You want to continue your work for the Hierarch, and the adventures that go with it. So it's your desire for freedom that separates us after all."
"If you put it that way, perhaps. I'm just not ready to live the way I would have to if we were together." She grinned. "You know, maybe someday I will be, and we can pick up where we left off. Never say never. But, don't wait on me.
"By the way, I give my full endorsement for you to marry Sophie. She's a fine woman, and I sense you would make a great pair."
"I'm not sure about marrying her right away now. If you agreed to our wedding too quickly, maybe I did too. But I'll definitely give her a fair chance to win me over." He kissed her passionately then, savoring the warmth of those soft lips. "I'll never forget you, though."
"Nor I you. Like I said, this isn't
the end. Let's keep in touch."
"Of course. I should talk to Sophie. See you and Lily off later?"
"Yeah, sure." She took on an indecisive look, like she considered changing her mind again, but didn't voice the words he thought she might. He supposed it wasn't to be for now, yet the future remained open... at least a little bit.
He went to Sophie and told her what had transpired between him and Claire. "So you and I, I guess we have a chance to practically start anew."
"She really gave her endorsement to me? I'm surprised."
"She's not one to hold a grudge over an honorable rivalry. In truth, I think she likes you."
Sophie frowned. "But you still don't want to marry me yet, even though it was planned for the three of us to wed?"
"If we're destined to be together, there's no harm in getting to know one another better first." And he had to admit, she did have real appeal in her own right. He wasn't sure how his feelings for her would develop, but knew he could do a lot worse.
"My father might not be the most pleased about that. You make a good point though, so I'll try to convince him."
"I'm thankful for your understanding. I should visit your family home sometime, and get to know you all better besides Rob."
She flashed a playful grin. "You should chew him out for keeping my secret all this time from you too. We've wasted a lot of time because of that."
"But you're the one who asked him to do it. So if I blame him, I should blame you even more."
"That's very true."
He realized how much she'd opened up to him compared to the say-something-but-mean-nothing girl he had thought he knew for so many years. "I have to say, I'm not so disappointed in my parents' choice of partner for me anymore."
Her eyes grew wide. "Then you'll..?"
"I'd still like to know you more first. But as a person, you already have my admiration."
"It gives me joy to have earned it."
"Overly humble of you as usual. If anything, I should be the one who has to earn your admiration."
