Chapter 21
Meg slowly felt herself begin to wake up, she tried to fight it for a moment not wanting to open her eyes. Then she remembered what had happened just before everything went black. She woke up with a start, forcing herself to sit up almost before her eyes were even open. She looked around in a panic and found herself on a couch in the council room just inside the wall she did the spell on. She shook her head in an attempt to clear it and heard Adam say, "You're awake. I was wondering when you would wake up."
She smiled slightly and asked, "How long have I been out?"
"Over four hours." Adam replied.
She cursed a little bit, "I didn't think I would be out for that long, anyway, please give it to me now so I can get it over with and move on."
"Give what to you now?" He asked.
"My lecture on how I am not supposed to do spells like that and not take care of myself." Meg said.
Adam plainly replied, "I don't have one."
"Now I am really confused, I have been out for over four hours but I am not going to get the usual take better care of yourself lecture. How did I manage that?" Meg asked confused..
"As much as I hate admitting this, you didn't have a choice this time. It was either do that or get killed by the Death spell. And I would have made the same decision you did. But if you don't take care of yourself after this battle, then with a healthy conscious I will give you that lecture, so beware." Adam explained.
Meg smiled and said, "Thank you for understanding."
Before Adam could give a response, Corian came into the room with a tray, "The servant watching you said you were awake and talking to somebody, who were you talking to?"
She smiled up at him and said, "Adam." Then seeing his confused face, she called Adam over, gesturing to his silver form she introduced, "Corian, this is Prince Adam from Tigree, Adam, this is the head mage over here, Corian."
Corian smiled and replied, "I knew you had some magical contact with the Tigree, I didn't know it was like this though."
Adam smiled, "It is definitely different, although I don't think Meg likes doing anything like it is supposed to be done."
Meg just shook her head at him and made Adam disappear and looked back at Corian, "Hand me whatever is in that cup and fill me in on what had happened over the last few hours."
Corian handed her the cup and proceeded to tell her that General Tangent and his troops have pushed the Masonite line back quite a ways and have set up a solid perimeter for the night. He was bringing his captains back so they could figure out a strategy for tomorrow.
Meg nodded and stood up and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Corian asked concerned, "You shouldn't be going anywhere right now."
"I am not going far I am just going to look over the wall myself." Meg called back as she walked out the door and out onto the wall. She looked around and went over and looked over the side where she saw the aftermath of the recent battle. Meg turned to the soldier who was on the wall as a guard and asked for his spy scope. He came to attention and handed it to her with a bow. She made a face at the bow and put the scope to her eye. She could see Tanget on his horse talking to one of the many captains. After looking for another long moment Meg handed the soldier back his scope, "Thank you." She told him.
"You're welcome, My Queen." He said with another bow before turning back to his post.
Meg made a face, she thought she had made it clear that when they were out here, at war, that she didn't want to hear "My Queen" and have all that bowing. Not wanting to deal with it, she turned to walk back to the couch she had woken up on to take another nap before Tanget returned.
She was woken up by Tanget's voice coming in through the doorway, he was speaking to someone outside about sending up some food for everybody. She slowly sat up and looked up at him as he walked into the room. She gave him a tired look, and commented, "You look as tired as I feel, and I have been the one sleeping for the last few hours."
He laughed, "I wish we could call it a day but tomorrow is going to get dicey, I have had men help Sam put Paul in confinement and all the captains are on their way up here to talk about it. Are you up to it?"
Meg chuckled back, "Of course I am, don't think you are going to keep me away. And my healer says it is alright for me to join this little party." As she said that Adam's silvery form joined them.
Tangent shook his head, "I knew that fight of yours was just for show," he looked over at Adam, "Is she really alright?"
Adam nodded, "She will be fine."
"I am right here, just in case you forgot, gentlemen." Meg protested.
They both just laughed and moved over to the table, and Tangent began to catch Adam up on what happened during the day. Muttering to herself about men with no manners, she stood up and moved over to them so she could get the information too.
As they talked both food and people began to arrive. When everyone had arrived, Meg motioned to Tanget to start the strategy meeting. Before Tanget could start though, Simon burst into the room and looked around wildly, muttering to himself, "Where is she? I have to hurry."
Meg watched him as he made eye contact with her and said "There you are! I have been looking all over for you. You need to come with me now." He ran over to her and began to pull her by the arm out of her seat.
Meg stood up and jerked her arm out of his hands and demanded, "What is going on Simon? What are you doing?"
Simon just looked at her and said, "I need to get you out of here, it is too dangerous for you here."
"Simon," She interrupted, "I am not leaving here, I am here until the end."
"But I heard that you had collapsed and I cannot allow you to put yourself in anymore danger, in this little game of yours." Simon complained.
Meg just started at him for a long moment before answering, "Simon, this is not a game. And I am in no more danger than any other soldier here that is fighting for our country. The reason I collapsed was because I performed a spell that was needed to save lives,"
She didn't get any farther before Simon interrupted her again, "You shouldn't have performed that spell, you should be back at the castle, far away from any danger."
Meg didn't let him get any farther before she interrupted him, "Simon! Get a hold of yourself! I did that spell to save the lives of the people fighting for this country, I don't care that I was unconscious for a few hours, it was worth it. And I would do it again in a heartbeat, so don't you stand there and tell me that I should be holed up when I can do something here. If you have a problem with it, then leave, because right now we need to concentrate on surviving tomorrow and you are preventing us from doing that." She gave him a death glare until he slowly nodded and then turned and left the room.
She turned around and was surprised to see everybody staring at her even Adam."What?" She asked, "I know I was a little rough on him, but the faster we plan this, the longer nap we get until the morning hits. Which is very important. So let's start."
Everyone was nervous about the plan for the morning, because everything relied on Kena and Sider getting back in time and to the right spot.
Two hours before dawn, Meg met Tangent on top of the wall, "Are you ready for today?" She asked him.
"No," he shook his head, "are you?"
"Not really, but here it comes. Between the troops I will have, yours, Kena and Sider we should completely surround the Masonite army, let's hope it happens quickly and surrender comes quickly so we can spare as many lives as possible."
Tangent looked over at her thoughtfully for a moment before asking, "Did you mean what you said yesterday, about doing that spell again if you had to?"
Meg looked at him surprised, "I thought the answer is obvious, Yes, I would. I would do it as many times as I could if it meant saving the people who fight for me."
Tangent smiled and nodded, "I thought so."
Meg looked at him confused but decided to drop it as it was time to go down and get by the troops.
She left Tanget and went down to the 5th company. And from there she would be in charge of the 3rd, 4th and 5th companies to the east while Tanget was to the west with the 1st, 2nd, and 6th companies. She rode up and greeted Captain Davis, the captain in charge of the 5th.
"Hello Captain, are the troops ready?" She asked.
"Yes, My Queen. We are just waiting for the signal." He replied.
As they took their place Meg heard Adam say, "Please be careful, I would be very sad if I had to train someone else how to use these bracelets."
Meg choked a laugh and silently replied, "You're not getting rid of me that easily, so you don't have to worry about it."
She closed the link as she looked around at all the soldiers around her, she hoped with all her heart that this plan of hers worked and that they could end this war today. The signal from Tanget went out and the time for thinking was over.
The day was a blur for her, between reorganizing troops, trying to keep as many alive as she could, and even doing a fair amount of fighting herself, she couldn't remember much. She remembered calling out a rallying cry when Sider and Kena joined the fight, She remembered doing several spells along the way, and just as the sun began to sink down, Meg remembered hearing the surrender call from the Masonites being sounded. She watched as the Masonite troops shrank back, and stood watch for a while afterward.
Captain Davis stayed with her the whole entire day, a feat that surprised her. He again reminded her, "We need to get you to a healer's tent and have someone look at your leg."
She looked at him blankly and vaguely remembered receiving the wound earlier in the day. She nodded and they slowly rode their tired horses to a grove of trees that they had passed earlier that had been set up as a healer's station. Though try as he might, Captain Davis couldn't keep her from stopping and picking up a soldier that was badly injured and let him ride her horse while she guided the horse to the grove, he even picked up one himself and followed her. Upon arriving the soldiers was quickly taken off the horses and carried into a tent and left Meg standing there to take in the busy healers rushing around everywhere in an attempt to keep up with everybody. A healer rushing by her glanced in her direction and then came to complete stop and came to attention. She tried to silently signal to him to get on with his work but his abrupt stop had not gone unnoticed. Before she could breathe again the whole camp and come to a stop and was bowing at her.
She quickly shook her head and said loudly, "Go about you work, and act as if I'm not here. There are people who need your attention more than I do." She then looked expectedly at everybody until they finally went back to their tasks. Captain Davis came up besides her and said, "We need to find you a healer."
Meg shook her head, "Just clean it and wrap it up again. These healers are very busy with those who are gravely wounded. My wound can wait." She then limped over to a tent and went inside.
A few hours later, Meg commented to her companion, "I am glad that the moon is full tonight. It helps with seeing."
Captain Davis looked over at her and commented, "We really need to get you back to the command post, I am sure they are worried about you."
Meg chuckled, "I am sure they are, but right now I am helping search for wounded that need to be brought to the Healer's tents. They don't need me at command."
She was just picking up an unconscious soldier when 3 dark figures on horses came riding up. She looked over and squinted in the dark trying to see their faces. "Tanget? What are you doing here?"
He sighed, "I am looking for you. The battle has been over for hours but nobody knows where you were. I have been looking for you."
Meg made a face and answered, "I am sorry, I have been out here helping where I could. It didn't cross my mind that I would be missed."
She was interrupted by Captain Davis, "And you completely ignored me when I told you the same thing that he just did."
Meg sent him an innocent smile and shrugged, "Am I needed for something, Tanget?"
Tanget answered, "You are needed at the command post, we have a very special guest that keeps demanding that he see you."
Meg looked up at him confused, "Who?"
"You haven't heard about what caused the surrender horn to be blown, I take it then."
Meg shook her head and answered, "I haven't been paying attention. But before we go any further, Let's get this soldier I am currently trying to hold up somewhere warm and then I can go with you where you need me to go."
Tanget's two companions jumped off of their horses and took the soldier from her, she limped back to her horse, where Tanget sharply asked, "Why are you limping?"
"Because I hurt my leg." She replied matter-of-factly.
"Has a healer taken a look at that?"
She nodded, "It isn't serious, the healers can't afford to waste energy fixing something that isn't life threatening."
"Did they say that or did you?" Tanget asked.
Meg laughed, "Both of us said that, because believe me your Captain Davis has been taking good care of me. It took both the healer and me to convince him that I was okay to be walking."
Tanget replied, "Good, Come on now, mount up and come back with me, we need to get back."
Meg made a face and commented, "My horse has been working all day, and I don't think I should be riding it all the way back. We should walk back."
Tanget scoffed, "I am not letting you limp back. I will walk your horse and you will ride mine." He dismounted and looked sharply at her, "Even if you are not concerned about your leg or the image you would get limping around, I do. I am not asking, Get on the horse." He firmly stated.
Meg looked up at him and seeing the glint in his eyes decided it wasn't worth the fight. She sighed and held up her hands in defeat, "I give this fight to you, but only because I am tired."
Tanget grinned as he helped her on his horse. In her mind she heard Adam say, "Good choice." Her response was to wearily block him out again, although she knew that with how tired she was it wouldn't last long.
"While we are riding back, catch me up on all the news I have been missing."She said to him.
"Well we caught Prince Malcom. And forced him to call his troops back. He has been yelling to see you ever since we caught him several hours ago."
Meg chuckled, "I hope that he is hoarse by now, that way I don't have to listen to his yelling."
It was Tanget's turn to chuckle, "So that was your reason for not appearing right away, it is making sense to me now."
They had made their way to another camp that was just outside the fortress, when everybody saw who was on the horse they all stopped and bowed. Meg sighed and muttered, "I have been trying to get everyone to stop doing that, they didn't do it near as much a week ago. What has gotten into them?"
She nodded and tried to make Tanget's horse go faster but he was holding onto the reins wouldn't let her. She glared at him which he ignored as he nodded to the soldiers they passed. Meg gritted her teeth and started nodding to them as well.
She breathed a sigh of relief when they finally passed them only to go into another camp when they passed through the gates, where it happened again, she thought momentarily in her tired mind to yell at them to make them stop but she stopped herself before that could happen. They stabled their horses and she awkwardly limped past the guards outside who bowed as well.
She opened her mouth to talk ask Tanget why he didn't allow her to speed up out there but he spoke before she did, "They needed to see you," He grinned at her when she looked at him surprised, "yes, I have been around you enough that I can predict a little of what you are going to say. Those soldiers back there, they respect you and they needed to see you so that is why we didn't speed up."
Meg just stuck her tongue at him and remarked, "You are not as smart as you think you are." And she walked past him into the council room where others were waiting for them.
She sat down and looked around the room and was surprised to see Kena, Sider, and many of the junior captains there. She looked questionably at Tanget, "I thought all you needed me for was to calm down the annoying prince, where are all you here?"
Tanget looked guilty around the room and said, "We have some other things that we need to plan and discuss with you."
Meg felt Adam plow through her barriers and appear before everyone, "What needs to be done? Is it something I could do? And we can allow The Queen to get freshened up a bit before talking to the Prince?"
Immediately they all nodded and liked his idea, Meg shrugged her shoulders and looked down at herself before remarking, "I am sorry that I didn't meet your levels of cleanliness but I have been a little busy." They all laughed at her weak joke and she decided that she needed to get out of there, "If Adam can handle it then I am going to go get cleaned up, just make sure to take good notes so you can tell me what happened." She then walked out of the room and ducked behind the door and listened for a moment.
"…doesn't do anything by half, does she?" she heard somebody say.
"No, she doesn't. She is serious about protecting this country." Tanget said before continuing, "Now, Adam what we wanted was an opinion on how to keep the Masonites from attacking to get their Prince back. It looks like they are reforming their forces to attack again."
She heard Adam reply, "Where are they gathering?" Weariness claimed her and knowing that Adam could and would handle it, she went down to her rooms where she found a hot tub of water waiting for her. She numbly wondered how news traveled so fast among the servants as she hopped in and felt herself relax in the hot water.
She pulled herself out of the tub long after the water had gone cold, dressed herself and sat on her bed to comb her long black hair.
Several hours later when they heard that she hadn't appeared in front of Prince Malcom, Tanget and Adam went over to her rooms and not hearing any movement went inside. They both paused when they saw her curled up on her bed, sleeping, her hair brush still in her hand. Adam smiled and shook his head, before saying, "She finally got to sleep, let's keep her that way." He motioned for Tanget to follow him out.
When they were back in the hallway. Tanget looked over at Adam and asked, "Is it alright for you to be over with us for as long as you have been? It has been several hours."
Adam grimaced, "My father is taking care of everything on this end. So I doubt that I have been missed while I have been stuck in my little room while I have been helping you." He paused for a long moment before continuing, "I must confess though, I feel more a part of things when I am here, than I do when I am with my own group. I haven't quite figured out why though."
Tanget smiled at him and answered, "I am thankful that you are here, you are a valuable help with both planning strategy and in keeping our Queen from doing too many crazy things. I wouldn't have had near the success that you have with her."
Smiling at him, Adam answered, "Thanks, Tanget. I try. Speaking of which, I should return and fill in my father on what has happened. Will you see how long you can keep her asleep?"
"I will." Can Tanget's simple reply.