Grand Duke

Chapter, the First

Grand Duke Vasili Yuergen stood on the parapet of Castle Hurin, his burly silhouette stark against the pink pre-dawn sky. A gusty wind tugged at the Grand Duke's long, straggling, raven-black hair while the battlements clung to the night darkness. The castle perched on the edge of a mountain pass and the Grand Duke gazed into the darkness cloaking the chasm below as the adjacent jagged peaks had their snow-edged rock sharply illuminated by the still unseen sun.

From the chasm came the faint sound of battle; the clang of sword on sword, the thud of shields doing their work, the occasional agonized scream. As the light slowly pushed the shadows into the most remote recesses the sounds diminished and finally halted. Still the depths were hidden in darkness. The Grand Duke stood as a statue, patiently waiting.

The echoes of a single set of shod horse's hooves reached the parapet, getting slowly louder as the horse labored to climb the steep trail. After several minutes the descending light and the ascending horse and rider met and the Grand Duke could make out, still far below, the figure in heavy armor and the Grand Duke's colors on a similarly armored and caparisoned massive warhorse.

The sight apparently returned the ability to move to the Grand Duke and he turned abruptly on his heel and strode ponderously down the ramp and into the citadel proper, the heavy iron and oak door being swung open by a valet and then swung shut behind.

Inside, the Grand Duke walked across the single round room to the back "wall", which was really the unimproved side of the mountain, against which a large, cushioned chair sat on a low raised dais. With a grunt he ascended the single step and sat heavily in the chair. Another valet instantly took position on the Grand Duke's right, a tray with a steaming gem-crusted pewter mug at the level of the chair's arm.

The room was perhaps 30 meters in diameter with staircases leading down to the left and right of the entrance and two ladders leading up at the edges where the man-made portion and the natural portion of the walls met. The ladders were partially hidden under green velvet hangings but the stairs were open and unadorned. No other furniture was present though other velvet hangings, alternating red and green, decorated the walls. Light and heat were provided by six low braziers in a circle about halfway into the room and two more flanking the Grand Duke's dais about 5 meters away.

The Grand Duke was fully settled in place, mug in his right hand, when the door opened and the rider was announced, "Captain Ligonier!"

The captain strode across the stone floor, the sound of his nailed boots echoing in the chamber, and halted inside the ring of braziers. He bowed slightly to the Grand Duke. "My Lord, we have rescued the Princess. Unfortunately her escort perished in the battle with the rebels."

The Grand Duke bent his head slightly, as if in sadness for the escort and then locked the captain's steel-gray eyes with his own deep brown ones. "Very well. I am sure you and your men did the best you could to save the entire party. Please establish the Princess in the lower guest quarters and see that she is comfortable. Bury the dead in the normal way."

The Grand Duke waved his left hand slightly in a dismissive gesture, placed the mug back on the tray, rose heavily, and stepped down from the dais. The captain spun and strode out of the room, the valet at the door scrambling to open it quickly enough. As soon as he exited the Grand Duke walked around the dais and punched a protruding rock. The "wall" slid aside to reveal a brightly lit, warm, carpeted room with a massive bed against the back wall and an equally massive wardrobe to the left of the entrance. A single door to the left was partially hidden behind a map mounted on the wall. He walked in and the door closed behind him.

Princess Kina was not having a good day. In fact it was decidedly bad. She sat on a cold straw pallet with her handmaiden, the only two survivors of the "rescue" by Captain Ligonier and the Grand Duke's household troop. The room they were in was five meters square and two levels below the Grand Duke's reception chamber. The only window was near the ceiling and was open, allowing a cold wind to keen through the room.