The Radiant War

Chapter 10a

     “The border of Carrow,” said Captain Tamwell.

     Ardria felt fear that she struggled not to show. They were all looking to her. If she gave a show of confidence, no matter how false the others knew it was, they would do their best to match her. Only the Kelvon troopers felt real confidence, she knew. Looking at them, she saw the arrogant superiority in their bearing. Let the Carrow dogs try something, that bearing said, and they will feel the wrath of the Empire. All well and good, but the wrath of the Empire wouldn’t do her or the Helberion rangers any good. They would be dead, and she would be a prisoner of King Nilon, and likely to remain so no matter how much noise Emperor Tyron made.

     She looked across at Teena, sitting behind Ranger Geoffham on his large, grey horse. Seeing her looking, the handmaid gave her a cheery smile and an optimistic thumbs up. Ardria felt a smile creeping across her face. Good old Teena. Irrepressible Teena. What would she do without her?

     Ahead were two lines of concrete fortifications. One Helberion, the other Carrow, linked together by lines of barbed wire and with a hundred yard strip of no man's land between them. All pristine and perfect, as if they'd been built only yesterday. The Helberion bunkers had recently contained men and guns. Horses and provisions. Ammunition and pigeon lofts. Now they were all empty, abandoned as Carrow had broken through the Steel Curtain to the north and everything had been pulled back to the next defensible position. Carrow soldiers had probably been all through them, looking for anything valuable that had been left behind, and there might still be men there now, keeping a watch for any Helberion forces that might try to sneak back in as part of some mysterious military operation.

     Ardria looked around at the men surrounding her. Everyone was holding a white flag in their upraised right hands, even the Kelvons, although they were ready to drop them in an instant and draw the pistols at their waists if trouble broke out. They wore the bulls head emblem of the Empire proudly on their chests, newly cleaned to make them as visible as possible. They wanted the Carrowmen fully aware of who was approaching them, and of what would happen if they were molested.

     “We're hundreds of miles from the spot where we originally intended to enter Carrow,” said the Princess. “Will they be expecting us?”

     “Probably not,” replied the Captain, “but they'll probably be curious enough not to open fire until they know who we are and what we're doing here.”

     “Probably?”

     “Not too late to turn back, Your Highness.”

     “Yes, it is. Lead the way, Captain.”

     Tamwell nodded and geed his horse into a gentle walk. The Princess rode beside him, and the others followed in single file.

     They were a hundred yards from the nearest Helberian bunker when they were challenged. “Halt!” cried a voice. “Identify yourselves!”

     “I am Princess Ardria, daughter of King Leothan of Helberion. I am on my way to Charnox to meet with King Nilon in order to negotiate an end to hostilities. I request safe passage into Carrow for myself, my men and the representatives of the Kelvon Empire who are accompanying us.”

     There was a pause. Ardria felt a moment of amusement as she imagined the shock and astonishment being felt by the soldiers up ahead. Could this be a trick? An attempt by the Helberians to lead an assault into Carrow? She saw sunlight reflected from the lens of a telescope as someone studied them, trying to decide if their extraordinary claim could possibly be true, and she sat upright in the saddle to give as good a view of herself as possible.

     Her face was well known in Helberion, but what about in Carrow? Would her expensive silken clothes be enough in themselves to convince them she was telling the truth? There was vast scope for disaster whichever decision the Carrow Captain made, and if there was a more senior officer anywhere in the vicinity he would be desperate to pass the problem onto him as soon as possible.