Sovereign's Wake Page 25

  “Clever, clever, little traitor. Or should I say, Rats?” the man taunted as he launched towards the dizzied hunter with his blade.

  As the sword cut into the stone wall, the sizzle of iron sparks on Novas’ face brought him back to clarity, and he paced away and drew his blade.

  “Enough!” Novas shouted before glancing into the shady depths of Berault’s cell.

  “What you have done to Kayten is unforgivable,” Novas accused and pointed his blade.

  “And what you have done to my fellow Blackwoods is just as unforgivable. Do you forget that they are your countrymen too? Do you think they did not suffer with the loss of the King as well?” the man retorted with an arched brow.

  “She is good! She was only minding her business when you stole her! She has wronged no one!” Novas yelled in return.

  “Good! Good!” the man spoke. “Do you believe that everyone who stood against you and everyone you have slain were… not good?”

  “You have preyed upon the weak and the innocent to achieve your selfish goals. There can be no goodness in that!” Novas spat.

  “And you rallied the dishonored Crown Aegis to leave a bloody trail leading all the way from the Lower Quarter! You all have earned the red of your tabards,” the man continued to jest.

  Novas responded with the speech of his sword. His enemy died laughing.

  Garreth waded through the thick silence to find Novas as he stood over the fallen body, and then the gate screeched open as he made his way inside the cell. They found Berault slouched against the wall with his head down. Whether he was conscious or unconscious, dead or alive, they could not tell.

  “Berault! Berault! Wake up!” Garreth shouted as he pounded on the jangling cell door, which Novas desperately tried to unlock with different keys.

  Berault would not move though, and they both began to worry. As soon as Novas found the correct key, the gate flew open, and the two surrounded Berault on the floor. He was just as beat up as Lord Cross had described and was definitely looking his age. Garreth splashed some water in Berault’s face and washed off the blood that had dried and crusted. When Berault’s face was clean, Garreth began to slap at his mentor’s face.

  “Hnugh, ungh, ughh…” Berault murmured as his battered body began to show the movements of life once again.

  “Come on, old man. You can’t die quite yet. There’s still work to be done,” Garreth spoke, patting Berault on the back.

  “Garreth? Novas?” Berault questioned, voice as faint as the dimly lit dungeon, as his eyes began to flicker open and closed.

  “Yes, yes. Now get your wits about you. We need to go speak with the Queen,” Garreth informed as he raised Berault to his feet, placing Berault’s arm over his shoulder.

  Berault used Novas’ sheathed sword as a walking stick and donned Garreth’s cloak to conceal his ragged cloth. As they made their way slowly out of the dungeon, Novas and Garreth made sure Berault was at ease, letting him recuperate in his own time.

  “I’m fine now,” Berault sputtered and shooed away Garreth’s arm as they stood outside the gate to the dungeon.

  The three made their way to the Royal Palace and arrived at the intersection just in time to see the battering ram and its attendants swing around the corner and head to the palace door. As the three made their way through the palace gates, they witnessed the slain Queen’s Aegis that lay at the bottom of the stairs. While Behn’s assault was a success, Garreth wondered if that was where their struggle would end. Berault hobbled up the stairs, flanked by Novas and Garreth, and was met at the top steps by Behn and Eyrn.

  “It is good to see you alive and well, Berault. As well as possible, I suppose,” Eyrn spoke.

  “We are about to begin the final assault. Please stand back,” Behn ordered as he turned to the ramsmen and gave them the signal to start.

  The ramsmen lifted up the heavy siege instrument and swung it back to begin their first strike. As the ram lurched forward, so did the doors to the palace open inward, and the ramsmen nearly lost their balance. With the opening of the door, the rebels drew their weapons on a single man who stood aware and attentive but did not seem frightened. He was a man of average height, bald, and wearing a fine servant’s cloth of black and white.

  “You can lower your weapons. The rest of the Queen’s Aegis have gone. The Queen will see whoever wishes to parley with her,” the man stated.

  Chatter broke out among the rebels, and Berault made his way through them.

  “Behn, stay here with the men, keep them alert and sharp. If anything happens, you know what to do,” Berault ordered as he clapped Behn on the shoulder plate of his armour.

  Behn nodded slowly against the heaviness of his helm and saluted. Berault pointed at Eyrn and Garreth, and the three stepped forward.

  “Very well,” the butler spoke before he turned and motioned for them to follow him.

  Novas watched as his father and the rest ascended an elaborate staircase to another floor.

  “I want everyone to spread out and cover the first floor. I don’t want anyone in or out of here, everything must be secure,” Behn barked as he dismissed the troops and kept an eye on the entrance with a small squad.

  Novas wandered off into a room to the right and watched the rebels go off in every direction. He wasn’t really sure if everyone was preoccupied, but he really didn’t care, and Novas soon sprinted up the staircase to see if he could find where his father and the rest went. He emerged on the top floor to a wide landing. Immediately in front of him, there was a set of ceiling high doors ornate with golden filigree. The door was open a crack, and Novas looked into to see the domed window and the head of the King’s statue. In front of the window, there was a throne of marble, and the Queen sat upon it. With an outstretched hand to her temples, the Queen’s dejected countenance did not appear to change. Berault, flanked by Eyrn and Garreth, walked towards the throne. When they met the borders of the rug, they offered a stiff bow.

  “My Queen. We have many questions for you,” Berault intoned.

  “Ah, yes. Armsman Berault, I recognize the gravel in your voice. Well, out with it,” the Queen commanded.

  “Whose choice was it? Was it yours or your brother’s?” Berault began with a low growl. “To let good Malquians die in the streets in poverty. To revoke the honourable Crown Aegis from protecting their people in their most desperate hour. To cripple our hard working citizens with unjust taxation and pilfering from the Blackwoods. To let the land of your beloved king diminish to such a state that we turn against our brothers and tear down the icons we once fought for.”

  “Whose choice was it!” Berault yelled, but the Queen did not flinch from his outburst.

  “You simple, idealistic guardsman. You fight for your king like a dog snaps for his bone,” the Queen chuckled in amusement. “If you knew the truth, you’d see that your precious king would have had you all killed. My brother and I were simply trying to save the most worthy of you fools from damnation.”

  “The most worthy!” Berault boomed. “The ones with the largest coin purses? Or the ones with the most blind of eyes, or the coldest of hearts?”

  “No, you silly man,” the Queen spoke. “The ones with the potential for change.”

  “Well, I think we have shown you wrong, your Majesty. We have brought a score of men and women who are ready and willing to make change,” Berault stated.

  “And change against what I must ask? You may have managed to liberate the city, yes, but enslaving it was never our purpose,” the Queen explained as she rose from the chair and paced to the window.

  “From your lowly thoroughfare, you only see what affects you and those immediately around yourself, but do you see all of this?” the Queen said, raising her arms and gesturing towards the sea.

  The men were silent as the Queen turned to them.

  “It was not long before my beloved husband’s passing that men came from across the sea. With his incessant pirating schemes, my brother strayed across
a ship with foreign flags. In his haste, he plundered them. We came across the most exotic of objects and notions. A new world lie before us. There was a renaissance of culture for the few who were privileged enough to receive such curious clues. The Upper Quarter, the jewel of our progress and genius, was reborn,” the Queen boasted.

  “But soon, we were sent a missive. The letter demanded we meet our victims upon a tiny isle. The King and I, along with my brother and all our finest diplomats, met with these foreigners with finesse and tact. However, our hosts were not so gracious. Their most audacious people demanded our kingdom, our submission, and all the riches of our land. We watched from the shore as a fleet blocked out the horizon with thousands of ships as far as the eye could see. They would spare our lives and take what we had. The King observed this dire threat and wished to raise his army in defense. Yet, the bulk of tiny Malquia would not kneel but could be broken by force. On the other hand, my pragmatic brother sought to neutralize their demands with a fitting bounty as to spare the lives we have… to coexist. They argued fiercely on the matter, for one demanded to uphold our honour and our sovereignty while the other stressed the security of our lives,” the Queen explained and ended with a sigh.

  “Tragically, the King was placed into his eternal sleep before the decision was made. I struck out at my brother for the murder seemed a fiendish thing to do. However, he would not admit to the deed and shyed away from the question. He continues to blame the men across the sea. Still, the missives came asking for resolution. We had to make a choice in order to save Malquia. We had to hasten the gears of industry and amplify the taxation, and our men sought any task that would bolster this kingdom’s dowry. We excused the thieves and swindlers because they could make us coin. We damned the poor and unfortunate because they had no place in our plans. And we almost have enough to save us all,” the Queen spoke as her words grew more shaky and nervous.

  Berault, Garreth, and Eyrn stood dumbfounded at this revelation.

  “This is preposterous. How do you expect us to believe such a wild notion?” Berault asked.

  The Queen paced over to a desk at the side of the room, pulled out a stack of parchment, and then handed them to Berault. In a foreign lettering, the first three sheets were missives scrawled on a gray parchment and sealed with melted metal. The last three sheets appeared to be translations, and they decreed such threats as invasion and domination if great treasures were not offered in repentance for the most grievous of errors. The Queen glared at Berault and retook her seat on the throne, resuming her withdrawn pose.

  “We designed the plan ourselves you see. In our hour of dire need, we came to a compromise. The invaders agreed that we could keep control of our beloved continent as long as we paid a continual penance to our new leader. My brother would be tasked with gathering the resources while the Queen’s Aegis and I kept a firm grasp on the kingdom. There would be no bloodshed, no destruction, and no invasion. Just submission,” the Queen revealed.

  “You might have well just enslaved us all, your Majesty. These desperate measures are destroying the natural beauty of our land, bankrupting the labour and worth of its working class, and turning citizens and fellow patriots against each other. All the forests will be cleared, and only the splintered and rotting stumps will remain. All the animals of the land will be reaped incessantly, and their numbers will never return. All the fish of the water will be taken, and the seas will be streaked with oil. All the men will be heartless and cut throat and will kill their sons and sell their daughters for the scarcity of coin. This great city, once shining and monumental, will come to ruin and decay, and its citizens will tear it down in disorder and disgust. Our kingdom, ample and unified, which your King and his family have strove over centuries to build, will come crashing down to sate the lusts of greed and vanity. If you really wish to pay this price, soon you will be Queen of a wasteland… hollowed, pillaged, and corrupt,” Berault foretold.

  The Queen sat in a staring silence at this fervid and impassioned of outbursts, and she opened her mouth to speak, but she remained unable to reply.

  “Well, that is a choice I will not allow you to make. You must be stopped, your brother must be stopped, and these sea people must be stopped. Eyrn, stay with the Queen till I send some men up. Make sure she doesn’t make any more unwise decisions while I’m gone,” Berault stated.

  The Queen rose from her chair, sighed, and then moved to the window once again where she was silent and brooding but moved no more. Berault and Garreth moved out of the throne room and towards the staircase, and Novas made a few quick steps from his place against the wall and was behind his father. Garreth looked back with a smirk and tussled the hair on Novas’ head.

  “That’s the Queen?” Novas exclaimed. “Sort of what I imagined I suppose. Not as radiant though. She definitely looks worse for wear.”

  “Indeed, she does. It could be all a ruse however. She was known for her obsessive vanity, and her reliance on empathy during our conversation was a bit over dramatic. I’m sure she’ll be just fine,” Garreth explained.

  The three made their way down the staircase and to the palace doors where Behn had the Crown Aegis in formation tight against the opening. There was a din of raised voices and arguments. As Berault, Garreth, and Novas approached, they were met with a mass of citizens that blocked the stairs and filled the entire palace courtyard.

  “They all started massing here not long after you went up to address the Queen. It seems the people are scared, confused, and excited. They’re worried and relieved that the Queen’s Aegis has gone. They’re all concerned what’s gonna happen next,” Behn chattered on, recalling some of the complaints brought before him by antsy denizens. “Who will address them?”

  “I have become soldier once again. If I am to lead any, let it be the warriors who fight as I do. The people of Malquia need someone with a tongue as sharp as my sword and a heart forged the same. Besides, you are not as unpopular as you’d like to believe,” Garreth spoke, looking at Berault.

  “I am no king, but I will try my best,” Berault replied, and he was raised onto the railing by Garreth and Behn.

  “And I will do my best to help you,” Lord Cross said as he emerged from the crowd, shouldering his way through the mass and up onto the railing.

  “Citizens! Many of you may know me better than others, and others may know me not at all. But those who do know me, know that I have taken many things from my study of books such as ideals like equality, freedom, and honour. Let me tell you now that since the death of our King, a great shadow has taken hold of our city, a shadow called the Blackwoods. With their fear and their violence, they have made us forsake the ideals that once gave us liberty and life,” Lord Cross shouted over the crowd.

  “Many have heard the stories and the lies about the violence in the Lower Quarter, about the bodies taken away on carts, the blood in the courtyards. I tell you, this was the work of the Blackwoods to stop the works of this man. This man has upheld the honour of our dear King and continues to inspire such conviction in his allies so that such a revolt was possible today. This is the former man-at-arms of the Crown Aegis, Berault, and his courageous band of rebels,” Ralphedo boomed and began to applause.

  The rest of the crowd followed his applause, whistled, called out, and threw their caps in the air. Berault reddened and did not know much what to say, but he could see that he had gathered the people, old and young, rich and poor, together on the day of their liberation.

  “Today is the beginning of a new day for our kingdom. We have sent the Queen’s Aegis scurrying back under the skirts of their Blackwoods keepers, so you will no longer have to fear the thieves and the bandits, the taxes and the tolls, or the metal giants and their dungeons. Today, my comrades and I give you the chance to stand and be righteous, so we may be harmonious and peaceful again, to be what our kingdom requires in the absence of kings. Today, I reassemble the Crown Aegis to defend not the leader we lost, but the ideals that he stood for, so tha
t we all may be the king in his stead. We defend you all!” Berault stated as he withdrew the sword at his side, and pointed it towards the sky.

  A rapid unsheathing of weapons followed, and every man and woman beside Berault pointed their blades to the sky. In return, there was a roaring tide of applause, joyous laughter, and tears. Women held their children to the sky and men raised their fists. The sun broke through the overcast sky and the sunsteel statue of the King flashed alive once again.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  There was a time of much celebration. The crowd funneled from the Royal Palace towards the Trade District, and a festival was held at center stage. A motley band of musicians rallied on the stage and performed with their instruments. There was a pair of lutes, three men with fiddles, two players of the pipes, and a lady on a wooden drum. A chorus of vocalists appeared behind them and gave a soaring melody to the playful instrumental harmonies. Their lively tune filled the floor with dancers who wore the finest of silks and the humblest of cloth. On the steps of the bandstand, many men and women were found feasting and drinking. Barrels of ale had been rolled in from taverns all around Amatharsus, and chefs from every region prepared a feast. Soon, the blood that had stained the ground was washed away with sweat, ale, and wine.

  Novas leaned against the railing dividing the ring as he clapped his hands and tapped his foot to the rhythm of the song. He supped at an ale and continued to watch the dancers swing around. He had never seen such a celebration in full motion. The merriment of the tavern had been so enclosed and inebriated, but this festival seemed to be of so much cheer and life. Was this akin to the inauguration of the King that his father had told him about? He could only assume that this would be better, for there was finally a measure of hope to be had after so much darkness.

  A hand clapped him on the shoulder and spun him around, nearly sending Novas into his drink. He turned to see Kayten alight with a smile and covered in body paint. The reds, oranges, and blacks hid her bruises, and she looked as if she had never been harmed. At least, she acted like it.