Kingdom's Fall

Chapter 10, Part 2

A crowd had gathered in the yard. All of the stable-hands stopped work the instant they heard the news and were now lining the stalls, perching on the half-shut stable doors to get as good a view of the princess as they could without venturing any closer to the giant Islander who stood guard over her. People passing by the yard entrance were attracted by the spectacle of an audience more than the news itself, drawn by the prospect of something going on that was worth looking at. The fact that it was the princess was being discovered after the fact, and the throng pressing into the stable mouth was rapidly approaching the point where it threatened to spill forward and into the yard. Guards had been summoned, and a few were already attempting to establish some sort of order on the crowd, but what was truly keeping them at bay was the sight of Siv, standing in the bed of the cart with her bow in hand and an arrow casually nocked, ready to be drawn and shot into the first person to lay a foot past the boundary of the cobblestones.

Kara stood on the far side of the cart to Einar, next to where Aiden lay. He didn’t need to be lying down, and had in fact been complaining about it for the entire journey through Alyn, but for the moment he seemed happy to avoid complicating matters by revealing himself. The warrant against him was still outstanding, as far as they knew, and it would have been a wasted effort if an over-keen guardsman put a sword through him. The fire at Tillyard had been a success, in as much as trying to burn down one of the Kingdom’s biggest towns could be called that. Aiden had stayed out in the streets helping the townsfolk put out the fire. Kara couldn’t decide whether it was guilt that had driven him, or if he was just playing the part to keep the town busy. The rest of them had no problem finding a place to stay. Einar had volunteered himself to help the instant the cry went up, and his strength had made such a difference that he found himself being hailed as a hero. It was not the diversion they had intended, but his incredible strength turned every eye away from Morwen and Aiden.

Steel clattered on the castle side of the stables, and Siv pivoted smoothly, bringing her bow round to face the new threat. Kara turned, not quite as fast, and saw the king striding out from behind a false stall partition, flanked by guardsmen. All were armed, and the king himself - a tall, broad-shouldered man, big enough to give even Einar pause - was carrying a massive longsword, a great wedge of metal almost as long as a man. Although it was undoubtedly heavy, he held it in one hand and walked with effortless purpose. Kara heard the creak of a bowstring, the first application of tension on the arms of Siv’s bow, and Aiden’s hiss of warning.

“It’s okay, Siv.” Morwen’s voice was feather-light, but no longer wavered. There was no noise, but the tense atmosphere around the cart seemed to lift as Siv relaxed.

As the king approached, Kara realised she had no idea what she was meant to do in his presence. She had learned how to curtsey as a little girl, while playing pretend games about kings and queens and nobles, but had never had occasion to practice since then. All around the stables, the men were going down onto one knee, one after the other, radiating out from the king like ripples spreading on a pond. If it’s good enough for them, then it’s good enough for me, she thought, letting her legs bend under her and sliding her left foot back, bowing over her right knee. In the cart behind her, Aiden chuckled. Kara bit down on the urge to jump up and punch him for laughing at her. Better safe than sorry with all these swords around.

The king walked right up to the side of the cart, ignoring everyone and everything else. Kara was suddenly very aware of the massive sword held less than a foot from her head. “Morwen! Where are you, girl?”

“Here, father.” The cart creaked as the princess moved, and Kara flinched as the king’s sword landed on the ground next to her. Sneaking a glance upward, she could see that the king had reached right into the cart and gathered the princess up in his arms. From the assembled crowd, there were gasps and a murmur of noise.