The Times That Try Mens' Souls
Chapter 36
The Messenger
Alais and I did not speak. We sat down on my couch and I held her tightly in my arms, stroking her hair in what I hoped was a soothing manner. I wished desperately that I could offer some words of comfort. As I listened to her sobs, I felt heat at the corners of my eyes. No, I will not weep, I told myself firmly. I suppose my mother's advice to never let my weaknesses show was too ingrained in me to allow that. Yet there was some part of me, buried uder the habit of concealing my distress, that wished I could weep as Alais did.
Her tears soaked into my doublet, but I paid that no mind. Her presence was very comforting. The terrible memories of burning villages came to mind, threatening to overwhelm me once again, but the feeling of my grandniece weeping in my arms kept them at bay. It was better to face these things together. Alais seemed too small as I held her, so delicate and frail. She'd always been small, but her recent weight loss had only accentuated it. She appeared so very young and vulnerable. For all of the strength she'd shown in dealing with this nightmare, she was still a girl whose parents had declared her a traitor and were going to declare war on her. I kissed her forehead gently.
I do not know how long we remained that way; all I know is that Alais's sobs eventually ceased and I broke the silence. "We'll need to call a session of Parliament. They need to know about this." My voice sounded oddly distant, as if it came from outside myself. Alais nodded in response, making no other reply. I took my handkerchief out of my pocket and handed it to her. She accepted it with a grateful smile, dabbing at the tears on her cheeks.
I slept very badly that night. I hadn't really expected to sleep well, but so much for Alais's and my agreement to sleep better. I tossed and turned, in the grip of vivid nightmares. I dreamt of war, of the horrors of battle, and the destruction of D'Angeline villages. Over it all loomed the terrifying image of my niece, twisted beyond all recognition by Carthage's magic. The Carthaginians themselves were there as well, faceless figures laughing with glee as they moved forward to devour Terre d'Ange. When morning came, I was not rested at all. There was a chill in my room, though spring had come and the air had begun to thaw. I dressed in one of my winter weight doublets, but that did little to relieve the chill.
The Parliament session convened swiftly after the morning meal was done. Much of our shadow Parliament was gone now, leaving only a handful of members. Still, there was at least one from each province and that was enough for our needs. I looked over at Alais, seated beside me as always. She was very pale and I could tell she'd slept about as well as I had. "Are you certain you'd like to address Parliament today?" I asked. "Do you have an idea of what to say?"
"Yes," she said, a note of determination in her voice. "I think I can get through it."
I gave her a small smile. "Very well then." Once all of the members who were attending arrived, Alais stood to address them.
"Near-cousins, my uncle the Duc and I have called you all here today because we have dreadful news. A courier arrived in Turnone yesterday with a proclamation from my mother." There were a few muffled gasps at that. Alais ignored them and continued on. "This proclamation has given us a terrible ultimatum." She picked up the scroll and read it. I studied the faces of the members as she read. They were filled with fear, shock, and horror at Ysandre's promise to do the unspeakable. I glanced over at Alais and swore she must've gone paler during the reading.
The room was completely silent. Not a single member of Parliament could muster a decent response to what we now faced. I heard some muffled weeping and I couldn't blame whoever it was. "This proclamation has left us with two very unpleasant options- we can do as she orders and stand down. We can hope she will be lenient, but that seems unlikely now. This will save innocent D'Angelines from being murdered and will prevent civil war. On the other hand, standing down will open up Terre d'Ange to Carthage's attack. Our only line of defense would be gone. If we defy her, we will bring destruction and war to our beloved homeland. Both choices are bad, but we must choose one. The ideal option, breaking the spell, is not available to us." Her voice wavered only slightly as she spoke.
"If we need to go to the City of Elua to break the spell, why not send a group to do it? Not all of us were exiled from the City. I would certainly volunteer to go," François de Brantômé offered.
"It is not as simple as that," I replied. "There are other pieces to the puzzle we don't have yet. Trying to break the spell is no good until we have them. So no, that option is not available to us." François nodded in response, a defeated expression on his face. I took a moment to glance at the Siovale table. Lisette sat there alone, a look of utter despair on her face. I felt an urge to leave my seat beside Alais and comfort her, but I suppressed it.
There was not much debate; it was not needed. Both alternatives were bad and it was a matter of choosing the least painful one. It left very little to discuss. When the time came to vote, I made my decision and voted against surrendering and pleading for clemency. I felt sick, knowing that my choice would result in innocents dying, but I also felt that it was the better choice. At least the impending war would be for a worthy cause. And I suppose there was too much D'Angeline pride in me to allow the land I loved to be conquered with a whimper and no resistance. But I still could not shake the feeling of dread in my heart. After the vote, Girard Ferranges wrote up a response that we would send back with the courier.
After the Parliament meeting was over, I had to share the news with the army. The soldiers were just as horrified as the members of Parliament were, even the Albans. Terre d'Ange may not have been their homeland, but they were as committed to its defense as the native D'Angelines were. Once they recovered from their initial horror and shock, the proclamation seemed to spur them on and energize them. We had one of the best sessions since training began. The cavalry did quite well and I was especially pleased with my mounted archers. They executed the basic maneuvers I'd taught them so well I couldn't find any fault with them. The drills also sufficed to keep my mind off of the impending war and destruction. When the training was over, the fear and horror crept back into my mind. Had we made the right decision? Had I made the right decision? As much as I tried, I could not find a way to calm my troubled mind.
I approached Lisette that night. I was tired, but I didn't care. I needed companionship, the comforting circle of a lover's arms. Since Apolline was home in Namarre, Lisette would have to suffice. It wasn't that I was using her as just a substitute for Apolline, for I did care for her, but Apolline is the one who has my heart. I longed fervently for her comfort. If only she'd come to Turnone this week!
I was able to temporarily put my fears aside and make love properly. It was afterward, when I lay in Lisette's arms, that they returned. As the images of burning villages threatened once again, I knew I needed to speak to her. I sighed. "I'm afraid, Lisette. I'm very afraid. I fear that we made the wrong decision this morning."
Her hand came up to stroke my hair. My head remained where it was, resting on her breast. "It was a terrible choice to make," she answered, her voice soft.
"Yes. I'm trying to accept that I just committed to a course that will bring civil war to the land I love and cause innocent folk to die." I paused for a moment, gathering the strength to share the rest with her. "I've seen many sacked and burned villages, most of them D'Angeline. The first ones were in Camlach, while I was patrolling the border with Rolande. It was my first taste of war. The Skaldi never left much behind. Even so, it was far worse during the invasion when they raped," I spat out the word as if it were a curse, "pillaged, looted, and burned their way across my province. Those were my people, Lisette, the people I swore an oath to protect. Now I fear it will happen again. You never forget the sight, never, and the screams still echo in your nightmares."
Lisette was silent for a moment, tightening her arms around me. "I have been fortunate enough to never witness such horrors, but I understand how you are feeling. The entire situation is like an endless nightmare."
I sighed again. "I have sentenced innocent D'Angelines to death today. I'm not entirely sure which is worse- that or Ysandre's decision to sack villages in the first place. I could cope with her treatment of me, though it's broken my heart, but this… this is worse." I felt the urge to weep again, but I pushed it aside. "She is going to turn the Royal Army on those it is supposed to protect. It is such a violation. I pray that the gods will find a way to stop this. They made a poor choice of me if they thought I could do it."
"I don't think they made a poor choice of you," she said, her voice almost unbearably gentle. "You are the right person to hold Terre d'Ange together and you've done an excellent job thus far. I certainly couldn't have done what you have, nor could many other folk. You aren't like most D'Angelines, Barquiel. You're unique. You see things differently than most. It's one of the things I like about you."
Her comment made me smile. I did feel better about everything after sharing it with her. The burden on me felt lighter. "Thank you, Lisette. Thank you for listening."
"You don't need to thank me, my love. I will listen if ever you need to speak of it again."
Shortly after that, I drifted off to sleep, the protective circle of her arms keeping the nightmares at bay.
For the next couple days, I focused on preparing for the siege with single-minded intensity. When I was not with the army, I was with Raylen discussing how we would acquire the stockpiles of food and other supplies we would need. Unfortunately, this meant that I was unable to fulfill the promise I made to Alais about eating regular meals. Getting more sleep was proving difficult as well. The preparations took up my entire day. When I did finally retire for the night, I found myself unable to sleep despite my bone-deep weariness. The dark circles under my eyes grew more pronounced, but they were the least of my worries.
"Are you certain each trebuchet has enough ammunition?" I asked Raylen as we once more walked along the wall together. "I'd rather not use it feu d'hellas if we can avoid it."
"We'll divide up the supply between the four. If necessary we can always move some back to where it's most needed. And we'll be certain to see that each one has plenty of stones as well," he replied. I nodded in response as I heard the sound of the city gates being opened to my left. I turned to see a lone rider on what appeared to be an Aragonian horse enter the city.
"Looks like a messenger out of Aragonia," commented Raylen as we watched the rider dismount and speak with the set of guards at the gates.
"Yes, I would say so," I retorted dryly. "We'd best make our way down to the gatehouse."
We arrived to find a pair of guards mounting their horses and preparing to escort the messenger to the palace. "Greetings, traveler," said Raylen. "I am Raylen Marrioud, the Comte de Turnone. What business do you have in the city?"
The messenger just looked at Raylen blankly. Now that I had a chance to look at him up-close, I could see that he was dressed in the Euskerri fashion. That would explain why he apparently didn't understand D'Angeline. "Do you speak Aragonian?" I asked. My own Aragonian was passable, at least.
He must've had a basic understanding of my question, because he shook his head in response. I sighed in frustration. "Perhaps we should send for Lisette," I muttered to Raylen. "She knows the Euskerri tongue." I looked back at the messenger. "How about Caerdicci? Do you speak it?"
He nodded enthusiastically. "My lords, I bring a message for Queen Alais from the Dauphine of Terre d'Ange and Prince Imriel."
My eyes widened. Did I dare to hope this message contained good news? Whatever it was, it had to wait until we returned to the palace. Once we were inside, a servant was sent to fetch Alais and we went to the receiving room. Alais arrived swiftly and I glanced over at Raylen. "I think perhaps you ought to leave for this."
He knew that there were sensitive details about how to undo the spell which we were reluctant to share with anyone. I was glad he was the sort to understand that. "Certainly." He left the room, leaving Alais and I with the messenger.
"Your majesty, your grace, I am Nuno Agirre. I have a message for you from the Dauphine and Prince Imriel," he repeated in excellent Caerdicci. Alais's eyes lit up at the mention of Sidonie.
"How can we be sure you are not playing us false?" I demanded. "You might've been sent by Carthage to lure us into some kind of trap. Prove that you were truly sent by Sidonie and Imriel."
Nuno Agirre reached into a pouch at his waist and took out a gold torc. It looked vaguely familiar to me- I thought I'd seen it around Imriel's neck before. "Prince Imriel said you would recognize this."
Alais did. "Yes, that's the torc my father gave him when he wed Dorelei."
"All right then," I said. "What is your message?"
He took a letter out of his pouch and handed it to Alais. "This is for you, your majesty."
Alais opened the letter and read it. Her face brightened as she read, which I took to mean it contained good news. "Here, Uncle," she said, passing the letter to me once she was done.
It was fairly short, explaining that Imriel had lifted the love spell on Sidonie. They had managed to flee New Carthage to Amílcar and from there succeeded in getting the Euskerri's aid against Carthage. An Euskerri force was preparing to attack the Carthaginians with the aid of the Aragonian army. There was somewhat else, too- they had discovered the word needed to free the demon from the gem and break the spell. Too bad the gem was still in the City of Elua.
I looked hard at Nuno Agirre when I was done reading the letter. "And where exactly are their highnesses now?"
"They are with the army. We insisted that they stay and Prince Imriel fight in the battle to prove their honesty. We have been cheated too many times and we want to be sure that we will earn our freedom when the battle is over," he said calmly.
My hands clenched into fists. "You are telling me that you prevented the Dauphine of Terre d'Ange and a Prince of the Blood from reaching their homeland, a land in need of their aid?" One hand drifted to my sword hilt.
"Yes," he replied, shrinking back a little. "We wanted an act of good faith from them before we agreed to their proposal."
"And I fail to understand why you could not at least allow Sidonie to return to Terre d'Ange." My voice had a sharp edge to it now. "You have knowingly endangered the Dauphine of Terre d'ange." I very much wanted to throttle him right there. Imriel and Sidonie should've been with us right now, not facing the Carthaginians in battle because the damned Euskerri needed proof!
"Uncle!" said Alais. "It wasn't his fault; he's only a messenger."
The anger in me diminished slightly. "All right. Well I certainly don't think Terre d'Ange is opposed to the idea of an independent Euskerria. We've supported it before." I looked at Alais. "You are the Queen. What are your thoughts?"
"I support it. I am in favor of a free Euskerria and I think we can discuss the details of it after Carthage has been defeated," she stated.
Nuno Agirre nodded. "Thank you, your majesty." That brought an end to our meeting. I felt both relief and worry at the news. I was very glad that Sidonie was free from that foul love spell, but I was also worried for her safety. I hoped to hell the battle would go our way and neither my grandniece nor Imriel would be harmed. He was decent with a sword, I knew, and had killed men before but he had never fought in a battle on this scale. Worried about Imriel now, Barquiel? How far we've come! I remarked to myself. It was quite ironic, really. I glanced at the gold torc in Alais's hand.
"I'll keep that safe until I see Imriel," I offered.
Alais stared at me with mild surprise. "Really, Uncle?"
"Yes. Imriel found your sister and freed her from the vile love spell. That proves his love for her and that is enough for me. He has proven his worth."
To my surprise, she gave me a hug. "I'm so glad to hear that! It makes me happy to know you've finally accepted him."
"Yes, yes, I concede. Now let's not hammer it in."
It was a very strange feeling, but I knew now that I supported the relationship between Melisande Shahrizai's son and my grandniece. The world had become a very strange place indeed.