The Horse in the Prince's Stables

Chp. 32

          Finally I escaped the heat of battle and dove behind a partially ruined hedge. From there, I could see the steps where the archers had positioned themselves. The stairs led up to the top of the wall, but there were standing no higher than the seventh step. They scanned the mass of people fighting in the courtyard, searching for me. 

          Following their gaze, I grimaced. We would need a miracle to win this battle. I let out a sigh of relief as I spotted my father still alive and fighting valiantly. Every stroke of his sword sang with power. His eyes were alight with a fire I had never seen before. 

          Praying silently for his safety, I returned my attention to the archers. They still had their eyes locked onto the fighting. Fortunately, I had made my way far enough behind them, that there was little chance that any of them would look in this direction. However, with them standing so far up on the step, I couldn't easily run up and attack them. It would involve jumping, and then pulling myself up. By then, I could easily receive a chest full of arrows before I would be able to raise my sword.

          I shuddered at the thought.

          Then I spied the barrels sitting off to the side. There were about four of them, all empty and missing their lids. 

          Time to make my own steps. 
          Taking a quick breath, I darted out from my hiding place and plastered myself against the side of the stairs. Besides the sounds coming from fighting, there was no inclination that I had been seen. Daring a quick glimpse at my enemies, I pried myself away from the safety of the wall and peeked up at the nearest archer. 
          His steely eyes were staring hard everywhere except below. So far so good. 
          As quickly and as quietly as I could, I flipped over one of the barrels so the bottom was facing up. I thanked my lucky stars that they were empty. Then once I sat the upside down barrel beside another one, I rolled over another barrel on its side to use as a bottom step. The fourth barrel was also turned over sideways, which I put on top of the second barrel that I hadn't flipped over. Barely taking a second to admire my genius, I backed up. I had one shot and there was no way I was going to blow it.

          Taking a deep breath, I sheathed my sword. With a quick burst of speed, I ran up the the barrels and grabbed at a step, swinging myself up, and extending my legs out straight. My feet connected into one of the archer's back, sending him flying forward. With a loud cry he crashed into one of his comrades, and together they tumbled off of the stairs. I landed solidly on two steps and quickly drew my sword and slashed down the torso of the third archer. He sank down with a grunt, clutching at his chest. 

          The crossbowman jerked around, his eyes meeting mine. I ran down the last few steps while he whirled his crossbow around to shoot me.

          At the last second, I froze, his crossbow only inches away from my chest. A smug grin appeared on his face. His hand tensed, just as he was pulling the trigger. I coughed meaningfully. He gave a start as I poked at his stomach with the tip of my sword. His cocky expression turned into a withering glare. I granted him a humorless smile. 

          Suddenly he gasped, his face contorted in pain as something unknown afflicted him. Squeezing his eyes tight, he collapsed to the ground silently, a long knife sticking out of his back. Glancing up, I saw Gabriella stumble backwards to lean against the wall. I have never seen her look so terrible. Her hair was a ragged mess, clumped together on the right side of her face with blood. Ugly dark bruises colored her neck. Her once lovely dress was now dirty and torn in some places, one sleeve had been completely ripped as reused as a bandage around her left arm, which hung oddly limp at her side. She was breathing heavily, sweat dotting her brow. Offering me a weak smile, she tried to stand straight. I quickly rushed to her side to catch her before she fell.