Princess Rescue Inc (9 page)

They
watched her go. “Something I said?” Perry asked then shrugged.

Frustrated
with the situation Princess Deidra, seventeen year old and oldest of her
siblings tried to glower at the Duke. Duke Emroy was a good man with a good
heart. Father had sent them here for her to learn more on deportment and to get
her away from a lowly knight that had been courting her.

Of
course you couldn't just send the future of the royal bloodline to just anyone.
Emroy was a most trusted vassal and had of course traded his own wife and
family in return for the care of the princess. Which he had just pointed out to
her. Tired as he was, he was still stubborn and determined to protect her
welfare whether she wished it or not.

“Father
will come sooner with us here my Dominus,” she ground out between her teeth.
She was certain of that. Obviously the duchy wasn't as secure as everyone had
thought it was. The reports of the Duluth harvest being meager had driven them
to war, one that had caught their people by surprise obviously. Who would have
thought that King Richard could marshal his forces and move them so quickly?
And in numbers that scarcely could be believed!

“Or
if we fall your father will have to deal with you and your brother and sister
as hostages. No your Highness it is decided. You must away before the army of
Duluth despoils my lands. Already reports are in that the wall garrison has
fallen. There wasn't time to... enough,” the old man said waving the discussion
aside. “There is no time Deidra, I know you're aware of it. Take Zara and
Balthazar and get them away as quickly as you can,” he said.

Deidra
bit her lip. She was a warrior princess, she wanted to fight. But Zara... Zara
wasn't as much of a warrior as her older sister. And little Balthazar... the
lad was supposed to be here as a page to begin to learn the art of war but that
was now out. The succession must be protected at all costs. She knew the Duke
was right but blast it! Deidra realized that arguing with Duke Emroy was
futile. The Duke would do his duty, it was he who had ordered that they leave
and if necessary he'd bundle them up like overstuffed packages and drag them
out. The men he sent along to guard her would be sorely missed here.

“At
least keep your men here. We can move faster without so many,” she urged. But
the Duke merely shook his head. “Please you'll...” he held up a hand. She
sighed and looked to Zara. Zara was adjusting her royal red and purple dress,
her gold leaf tiara slipped as she bent over. She caught it and adjusted it as
she straightened.

“Are
we not leaving? Should we not leave at first light?” Zara called. The Duke
shook his head.

“Then
we must away now in the cool night so the mounts will not overheat,” the golden
haired Balthazar urged them to follow orders, looking at the grooms and guards
as they prepared the royal coach.  Balthazar like his siblings had reddish
gold hair, a trademark from their mother. His crown slipped and he adjusted it.
He was right Deidra thought the whelp had been paying attention to the groom's
lessons.

“Get
thee hence your Majesty,” Emroy said interrupting Deidra’s thoughts. She
returned her attention to him. His eyes were troubled but firm. “Your parents
would never forgive me if I let you linger overlong so go and in good health.”
He pulled her into his arms for a quick hug and then released her as she
gasped. “Now go and give my love to my wife and children. Tell them I will see
them when I may,” the old Duke said.

He
turned immediately as a steward rushed up. Deidra bit her lip, realizing Duke
Emroy was busy, ordering his men and women to gather as much as possible into
the security of the walls. The Duke didn't need her distracting him at this
critical time she realized. The town below was lit with torches and lanterns as
people bustled about securing the fortress. No one would sleep this night. Zara
looked at the golden coach, stroking the
branack
, leading it. The grooms
finished with the tack as her sister and younger brother boarded. “Coming?”
Deidra demanded.

“Coming!”
Zara said. She climbed aboard and looked back as the driver clucked and flicked
the reins. Her door slammed shut and locked. She looked out through the rear
window at the people running about. Some of the guards were headed out through
the gate to the wall. Hopefully they would be able to hold off the savages.

“They'll
be fine,” Deidra said. “I for one am not so sure about us. I do not like the
idea of being in this contraption,” she said with a growl.

“You'd
rather be mounted aye,” Balthazar teased tugging on her braid. She reached out
and flicked his nose.

“Mind
your manners squirt,” she said and turned to the window. “Tis a long ride and a
most unpleasant one.”

<==={}------------>

The
Terrans used nvgs to get around the knights, footmen, and pike men racing to
the wall. It was hard staying off the one decent road in the area. The scout
LAV's up ahead gave them plenty of warning of a group though. The master
sergeant called back, he told them they must have been spotted on that trail,
and it looked like some of that raiding army had followed them. Perry and Ryans
looked at each other, eyes bleak. They knew what that meant.

They
passed a walled city in the dark. Doc and their historian/linguist Ben Jarvic
recorded the lighted medieval town and castle. “I hope they're prepared,” Doc
muttered. She was sitting in the back of the hummer, Perry was driving. Ryans
sat in the passenger seat, helping to navigate.

“No,
they're not,” Ryans said quietly taking a quick look.

“How
can you tell?” she asked, looking to him as he turned away from the sight. “I
thought they had a supply of food and water inside?”

“Oh
they do. The castle is typically built on a well or cistern. No, I can tell
because there aren't any hoardings on the battlements. And they don't have many
people on the battlements either. Maybe one or two, which is about right for a
peace time castle garrison. Normally the garrison is about a dozen fit men.
Also people are still coming and going in and out of the city. But not for much
longer,” he said pointing. A rider just came up the road from the wall. “It
looks like the shit just hit the fan,” he grimaced, observing the rider on a
six legged beast riding hell for leather through the gates. The rider looked
torn up, which meant he was all the desperate wall defenders could spare. That
was definitely not good.

“Ah,
Hoardings?” she muttered asking out of curiosity.

He
smiled. “Wooden covers over the tops of the battlements. The roofs were made of
slate or some other flame proof material if possible. They extend the wall up
and out so they can drop oil and rocks on anyone attacking at the foot of the
wall, and fire down upon them as they approach,” he explained.

“If
you say so,” she said dubiously and then nodded and shrugged putting the
description aside.

<==={}------------>

They
found a nearby hollow and went to ground just as the sun began to rise. The
master sergeant caught up with them in the dawn light, pulling bushes behind
his LAV to hide the vehicle tracks. Perry nodded in approval. Perry and the
sarge yawned but started to set a perimeter. Ryans intervened however, waving
them aside. He had the civilians who had ridden the entire time in comfort set
up the perimeter while the drivers and military group on watch stood down for
four hours.

Perry
reluctantly agreed with a second yawn. A few of the civilians made mute
protests, but were cut off by Ryans glower.

At
lunch the entire group was awake. Ryans noted Doc was off on a rocky rise,
belly down with a pair of binoculars. He decided to go up to see what she was
doing. She started as he crawled up next to her. Perry followed and laid down
on her other side.

She
handed Ryans the binoculars. “It seems like they got in.” She pointed to a
platoon of raiders chasing a golden coach. The creatures pulling it were
galloping full tilt for their lives.

“Damn,”
Ryans turned to look upon the nearby village. Black oily smoke was pouring from
the huts. One burst into flames. He could just imagine the sound of screams and
whimpers. He shivered a little, partially in fear but more in helpless rage.
He'd love to go down there and empty his pistols into the bastards right now.

He
spotted a raider slitting a boy's throat in an entryway and grimaced. Another
on a local beast used a bow to cut down people as they tried to run into the
fields. He caught sight of another pair molesting a terrified woman. They
ripped her clothes off and forced her down into some bushes. She was sobbing
and thrashing as they laughed and spat in her face. One forced a kiss before
they were out of sight. He looked away as Perry took the binoculars.

Perry's
jaw hardened at the sight before them. “Loot, rape, pillage, and burn. Yeah,
war is hell,” he said, watching the men take turns with the woman. When the
last was finished he straightened at the base of the whimpering pile of rags
and then casually drew his sword and stabbed downward, then wiped it off,
sheathed it, and then took a piss. He was casual about it, taking his time.
When he was finished he spat and then tied the drawstrings of his breaches as
if nothing about what he'd just done concerned him in the slightest. The entire
sordid event was casual, like he had done it every day of his life.

“Damn,
Bastard. I'd love to have a Barrett right about now,” Perry growled.

“We
got one unpacked with us boss, but I'd say drawing attention our way is a bad
thing,” the sarge murmured beside them.

Perry
looked down to him and nodded. “Yeah,” he sighed. “Where did that coach go? It
looked like it had women and kids in it.”

“If
they did, they won’t last long. I wonder why they left the safety of the
castle?” Ryans asked. Gold meant someone important but whoever it was they'd
left it too late to run.

“Well,
someone doesn't think it’s safe, or they wouldn't have sent them away.” Doc
replied, shaking her head. “But sending your family out in that?”

“Maybe
they didn't know what they were sending them into. It was about twenty or
thirty kilometers from the valley defenses to the town. I'd say they didn't
think the wall would fall so fast... or were late evacuating,” Perry said
slowly.

“From
the look of the coach it was someone important,” Doc said. The men looked at
her. “What, you think just everyone has a gold coach drawn by white creatures
with purple and gold tack?” she snorted at their stupidity.

A
lizard hissed nearby. The Sergeant snapped downward with a heel of his boot. He
pulled his k-bar then bent over, slicing at an animal writhing in the dirt.
“Well, here's lunch. Who's hungry?” he asked. Doc looked a little green.

Perry
chuckled. “Gotta eat what you can, when you can Doc. Protein is protein,” he
said as they crawled backwards away from the crest.

<==={}------------>

Thorvald
was angry that he had lost the gaijin but another prize had presented itself.
He'd played his part in taking the wall and then as it fell he'd spurred his
mount and men into the night. There was loot to have and he wanted the best.

When
the wall fell his orders were to circle around duchy Emroy and cut off any who
attempted to warn the capital. He knew his task was futile but also knew that
he had to obey his King.

He'd
been fortunate to stumble onto this prey. He'd pay dearly for his pleasures but
his men couldn't be denied, since they couldn't slake their thirst in wenching
and loot they had to find other distractions. He grinned at the defiant eyes of
the blond witch. The older one was enraged, she'd do, but first he'd make her
watch as his men took turns with her sister. The sight would either throw the
witch into frenzy or she'd collapse into a pile of misery like her younger
sister.

Already
Fertaz his second was having his way with her sister, beating her onto her back
and forcing her to spread her legs. Thorvald turned away, not in disgust but to
survey the area.

The
boy, prince Balthazar had been immediately dispatched, he was too much of a
future threat to let live. He listened to the servant women wail and whimper
under the hands of the men. The servants had been given to his lesser followers
but he himself would be the one to drink the pleasures of each of these
beauties. He leered at the bound blond and then bent down to kiss and have his
way with her. She turned her head away in disgust. “Princess Deidra, a
pleasure,” he growled. She glared over the knotted gag in her mouth. “I think
the pleasures will be mine, don't you agree?” he gloated, savoring her glare.

Deidra
and her sister were true prizes. With them as hostages the King would be forced
to pay dearly for their safety. If Art’ur was smart he'd hold them, wed them to
a worthy loyal supporter and use them to take control of this land. Art’ur had
a wife already in Thorvald's sister but perhaps...? No, Thorvald thought, the
man was no fool; he wouldn't anger father or Thorvald with something happening
to Brunhilde.

Deidra
turned away from the yellow teeth and hard face in disgust and horror. He
smelled, he reeked of garlic and onion and unwashed... the smell alone was
enough to make her want to retch. Then her eyes lit upon the scene of her
beloved little brother's lifeless body and she screamed as the big callused
hands pawed at her silk dress. “Come now pretty pretty... The night is young
and we have plenty of time to play...” the bastard cooed and chuckled in her
ear...