"Be careful," Liam said quietly to Olivia. The group was about to split, and Olivia was off to attack Kendra's carriage, leaving Liam with his people to move on the wall.
Olivia grinned up at him, a dangerous sort of looseness to her that Liam had never seen before. "Don't worry, Liam. I won't let that brat and her guards get me. I've got a lot of people who need to pay for what they've done, and she's just the first."
Liam grabbed her arm as she turned to walk away, forcing her to look at him so he could inspect her face. There was a fire in her eyes, a recklessness that he'd never seen before. "What is wrong with you?" he demanded.
Olivia shrugged. "The time for thinking is over. I don't have to think anymore. I've dreamed of this day for a very long time."
Liam frowned, but let it got, instead leaning down to kiss her. He held her close, cupping her face as he kissed her. Reluctantly, he released her. "Be careful," he reiterated. "I love you."
Olivia's face softened slightly, and she gave him a real smile in return for his words. "I love you too, ohmi. I won't do anything stupid, I promise, but I swear by the K'miri gods I will make those who have wronged me, my family and my people pay today, if it is the last thing I do."
Liam nodded, understanding but not liking her sentiments. A bird call rang out, signaling that Kendra's carriage had left the palace walls, and Olivia turned and mounted Beauty. She leaned down and kissed Liam swiftly before she and Buri led the K'mir to the carriage.
"She'll be alright, Liam," Raoul said, coming up to stand next to him. "The K'mir love her as much as your men love you. They'll protect her."
"I know." Liam sighed and mounted his horse, motioning to the others to do the same and his force silently picked their way through the forest to the castle walls. They waited in the trees until they saw the guards rush past them. As soon as the guards were out of sight, they moved quickly towards the east gate.
They had the element of surprise, and met little resistance. The archers from the walls took down a few of the Tortallans as they rode in, but the guards were slow to close the gates, and Liam's soldiers knew to pick off those controlling the large wheel first. Some of the guards lined up outside, a few on horseback, but Raoul and Liam were able to defeat them with ease, none of the guards as experienced with mounted battle as those two were.
Liam was facing the last mounted guard when he saw Olivia and the K'mir appear on their left. They moved in on the footed guards from the side, causing confusion and allowing Pila and the squad of men made up largely of his surviving Scanran soldiers to push through to the gate, fighting the foot soldiers back from the controlling wheel.
Liam tracked Olivia out of the corner his eye, though he kept most of his attention on the burly guard before him. He lost sight of her as she moved closer to the gate, swearing silently to himself and just barely bringing his shield up to block the guard's broadsword. Lady Knight Keladry had once told him that Lord Wyldon suggested she shouldn't be a knight because as a woman she'd become distracted once she fell in love and would be a danger to herself and others. Liam actually had to hold back a laugh as he steered his stallion with his knees to move closer to the guard. Lord Wyldon should have given him that speech. Liam finally killed the last mounted guard, or at least sent him toppling off his horse by catching him in the side of the head with his war hammer. The man clearly hadn't expected him to be able to wield a weapon with both hands. He moved towards the gate, concern growing as he realized that despite pushing the guards within the walls deeper into the castle and keeping the guards on the grounds back from the gate, his soldiers still hadn't managed to raise it.
"Highness, they've destroyed the wheel," Pila shouted up at him as he neared. "I can't tell what they've done exactly, but we won't be able to move the gate easily."
Liam dismounted, making himself a smaller target as he stared through the gate at the wheel that controlled it. Sure enough, it looked bashed in. The guards were beginning to gather in the square, though many were still up along the wall.
Olivia rode up next to him flanked by Max and Kemariam. "Get that gate open," she shouted impatiently. "They'll flee through the servants doors."
"It won't budge," Liam replied.
Olivia swore and dismounted, inspecting the gate. They guards were now beginning to leave the courtyard, but she continued to peer through the gate through the narrow hallway that held only the machinery of the wheel. Before he could ask her what she was thinking, he heard a shout from behind him. He turned and saw a wave of guards coming at them. They must have come out of the courtyard from a side gate.
"Line up. I want two lines now," he shouted. "Circle the gate."
His soldiers snapped to at his words, following his orders efficiently and using the wall to protect their backs. He chanced a glance back at Olivia, just in time to see her sneak under the gate and sprint down the hall. His muttered every curse he knew and moved to follow her, but stopped himself, glancing at his men.
"Max, Kemariam," he shouted, causing the two men to look back at him. "Olivia went under the gate and in. Go after her. We'll handle the guards."
The two sprinted to the gate immediately, followed closely by several K'mir, Mae and Clarissa. He sent up a brief prayer to any listening gods to keep her safe as he turned to face the onslaught of guards. He regretted getting off his horse, and focused on staying on his feet as he fought off guard after guard. There were more guards then they'd anticipated, he thought tiredly. The King must not have been as lulled into safety by the false news of Jasper's death as they had hopped.
Raoul brought half their army in on one side, and Buri and the remaining K'mir warriors attacked from the other side, boxing in the guards and thankfully creating some panic.
"Push forward," Liam shouted. "Slowly. Hold your line, but move forward."
He braced himself behind his shield, and pressed forward, dodging one sword blow only to feel a sharp pain in his knee. He bit his lip, ignoring the pain and catching the next sword blow from the guard who'd managed to slice open his knee with his shield. He killed the man quickly, and stole a glance down the line, checking to see that his orders were obey. A spear came at him, and he returned his focus to the force in front of him. The rest of battle passed in a blur. It seemed at once to be unendingly long, but abruptly it ended as the last of the guards outside the wall surrendered.
Buri and Raoul both dismounted and walked over to Liam as the men tied up the guards.
"Where's Olivia?" Buri asked.
"She, Max and Kemariam went under the gate and in. Mae and Clarissa did as well, and some of the K'mir." Liam replied, breathing heavily.
Raoul frowned. "We need to get this gate open. We should keep most of the men out here, but send small groups out to search through the castle and bring in anyone willing to surrender and take care of everyone else."
Liam nodded absently. "I would kill to have Numair or Alanna here. They could blast it open. We'll have to leverage it, which will take awhile to build."
Raoul beckoned over several men, instructing them to find the materials to get the gate open.
Korintha walked over. "Are we waiting out here?" she demanded.
Liam sighed. "I don't like leaving a party that small alone in there," he said. "Besides, if they don't find the King and he gets away, we are in trouble. We don't know all of the exits out of that castle."
"I'm going in," Korintha said firmly. "The rest of the K'mir won't wait long either."
"Go," Buri said to Liam. "We'll take care of things on this end."
Liam nodded, ducking under the gate, careful of his knee. Korintha and the other K'mir followed quickly behind him.
"Where are we going?" Korintha asked as they walked into the eerily empty courtyard.
"I have no idea," Liam replied.
Korintha scowled at him. "You aren't supposed to admit that."
"Do any of you know the castle?" Liam asked, looking back at the half-dozen K'mir who'd followed them under the gate.
"I do." A young woman taller than most K'mir walked forward. Liam inspected the blond sheen of the top layer of her hair and guessed she had at least one relative who wasn't a K'mir. "We can get to the wing that held the royal rooms this way."
Liam nodded to her. "Take the lead."
She directed them through a low door, and the winded their way through what could only be servants' quarters. She kept a quick pace, and Liam found himself keeping up with difficulty. His whole body ached, and unlike the K'mir, his heavy armor weighed him down. He was tempted to remove it, but it would take too much time. At last, they exited out a narrow corridor into a wide, well-decorated hall.
"This is the royal wing," the woman said quietly.
They walked forward, until Korintha called out softly. "Do you hear that?"
Liam signaled them all to halt, and listened. He knew from experience how good Korintha's hearing was. Distantly he heard the sounds of metal scraping on metal. "Armor?" he mouthed at Korintha.
She nodded, and he motioned her to take the lead. She listened carefully, her head cocked, then moved purposefully down the hall and opened a door carefully on the right. Liam motioned everyone to follow, and they took silent steps behind Korintha as she followed the noise. They ended up in a large entry room, and Kornitha paused. The room was silent, and Liam shifted his weight, uncomfortable with the number of doors that the enemy could go through.
Korintha took slow steps forward and jerked open one of the doors suddenly. Before she could even move, Liam saw a sword pass through her stomach and the person on the other side of the sword shouted. Guards poured out of two other doors, and Liam turned to block a sword blow, seeing Prince Zander leap over Korintha's body and sprint through another door.
Liam scowled, ducked another blow and kicked out, sending the guard he fought stumbling backwards into the two others. He took off running after Zander, determined to stop him form escaping. He forced himself to keep running, ignoring the tiredness of his muscles, the throbbing of his knee and the searing feeling in his lungs. Zander had given up any pretence of quietness, his rattling armor sounding down the hallways. He caught him at last, sprinting through a study. Zander spun suddenly, hoping to surprise Liam, but Liam was prepared, fending off his sword blow. Liam circled him carefully, trying to act mostly defensively as he evaluated his own strength and Zander's. The run had taken away a lot of what he had left, and he knew he was at a disadvantage as they continued to exchange blows.
Liam tried to minimize his movements. He was tired, and his knee throbbed constantly, he could feel the blood sticky and dried, soaked completely through his pant leg and still bleeding. He'd injured his shoulder without realizing it, and quickly realized as they fought that he couldn't lift his left arm above his head. He'd glibly told Olivia he could beat Prince Zander the night before, and it was true. If they'd met in a civilized duel, Prince Zander never would have won, but Liam had been battling for hours and Zander had hidden behind his guards the whole time. Hidden in his rooms like a coward and let his men die. And now, Liam's logical inner voice told him, Zander was going to win. His cowardice would pay off. Liam didn't have the strength or the stamina to finish this fight.
Liam blocked another of Zander's blow, stumbling as he was forced to put all of his weight on his bad knee. He cursed as Zander used his advantage, hacking down at Liam's head. Liam raised his sword up, forced to use only one arm and praying to Mithros that he'd be able to hold off Zander's blow. He got lucky. Zander came in at a poor angle, allowing Liam to angle his sword in response so the blow glanced off. Liam forced himself to stand and back away quickly, his vision swimming as he moved.
He blocked another blow and another, and he kept thinking over and over that he was going to die. He was going to die at the end of the sword of a man he personally loathed, a man who'd taunted his wife for her K'miri blood. encouraged his father to confine her to the castle and tried to force her into marriage with one of his conservative friends, and who'd thrust a sword through Korintha's belly without a single thought to honor and facing one's opponent. It didn't matter though. Northing mattered anymore. As the fight dragged on, Liam realized he was just too tired. Too tired to care.
His vision swam again as he ducked another swing by Zander, another blow following close behind.
Appa, don't go. Don't worry baby girl; I'll be back. Promise, Appa. I promise.
Liam gritted his teeth and yanked his sword up, his left shoulder popping with the effort, but he stopped Zander's blow and pushed back with all of his might. He forced himself to refocus on the fight and ignore his body's protests. Zander's eyes widened as Liam slid his sword out and danced to the side, ignoring the pain in his leg as lunged at Zander. Zander blocked the blow, but just barely, stumbling backwards desperately as Liam swung at him again.
Zander dodged and scrambled backwards, widening the distance between him and Liam as they both eyed each other, waiting to see who would strike first. Liam watched Zander move, easily sweeping aside a slow strike by Zander as he mulled over his options. He'd watched Zander on the practice court many at time. He could probably disarm him without killing him. And then what? Olivia's cool voice said. Mistaking Liam's failure to strike again as further weakening, Zander lunged forward and Liam made a snap decision. He lunged to the side leaving Zander to stumble forward, and hacked down, sending his sword deep into Zander's neck. He yanked his sword up, and Zander fell to the ground. Liam flipped him over with his foot, sparing a moment to glance down at the dead man before limping down the hall.
Liam moved through the halls listening to hear signs of fighting, trying to figure out where his people were, where Olivia was. They'd run for so long that he'd lost complete track of where he'd been and his efforts to retrace his route led him to a dead end. Eventually, the throbbing in his leg became unbearable. He looked down one hallway and saw a stone bench. He limped over to it, biting back a groan as he sat on it. He tore strips from the base of his shirt and wrapped them around the wound on his knee, tightening it painfully in hopes of stopping the blood loss and supporting his leg. Once he'd finished, he leaned back against the stone wall and looked up. For a moment he thought his mother was standing in front of him, but he realized he was in the portrait hall, and in front of him was a portrait of his grandmother and his grandfather. She was lovely, and you could see the poise in her. Liam inspected her for long moments, the quality of the artist allowing him to see the acceptance and determination in the way Kalasin stood. His sister was aptly named. They even held themselves the same way, though Kally never looked restricted the way she did.
His eyes roamed slightly, until they settled on a portrait that could only be Olivia's mother. He'd assumed that she looked much like Alanna, but he couldn't have been more wrong. There was a same fierceness in both of them, and those large violet eyes, but otherwise there was little similarity. Her skin was the same golden color as Buri's but she was slender, wiry muscle, each muscle portrayed by the artist tensed, ready to spring. And the expression on her face could only be described as wild. The rage in her eyes bordered on madness. She was magnificent and terrifying, and as he glanced back at his own grandmother he realized despite all appearances to the contrary, the looks of each of them held the same force of courage and will, though Kalasin had none of the crazed tension of Leilah. K'miri women had given up much in this castle, but it could all end now.
Liam groaned and hauled himself up, limping but relieved to feel that the pain had lessened. He was walking down the hall, when he heard a voice. "There you are. I found Zander's body and guessed that was your work."
Turning, Liam saw Max, Mae, Clarissa, Kemariam and a few other K'miri warriors. Involuntarily, Liam glanced at Leilah's portrait, and Max looked up at it too. Sadness washed over his features, and a deep anger that matched the emotion portrayed on his wife's face. "She would have liked you, eventually. She probably would have made your life hell for awhile though, until she realized Olivia will have more freedom and happiness with you then she'd ever have here," Max finally said, breaking the silence. "Come. We need to find Olivia. She went off after the king."
"Alone?"
Max nodded. "We got bogged down by a few guards. She was worried that the King and Queen would escape. Once she saw we'd be able to finish them off she slipped through a servant door. I don't know where she went."
"Do you know how they would have tried to escape?"
"Let's go this way," Max said, motioning down one of the halls. He took holding of one of Liam's arms, helping Liam support his weight. "Do you need a healer? I can't have you dying on my baby girl. She needs you alive and well at the end of all this."
"I'm fine," Liam said. "The bleeding stopped and I can put weight on it if necessary."
"Alright, but I mean it. Don't you go and die."
The group walked quickly, Liam determined to keep up with them. Kemariam stopped abruptly. "Hush," he said. "Do you hear that?"
There was silence for the moment then the distinctive clang of metal weapons coming together. Without hesitation, Liam took off running after the sound, guessing that in the state she'd been in Olivia would to take on any number of guards to get to the King. The others kept up, but Kemariam and Max sprinting easily ahead. Liam rounded a corner to see Olivia duck a guard's sword and spin, slamming a knife into the man's side. Olivia's discarded sword was in the middle of the hall; despite the fact that the sword was probably the safer weapon to use, she'd never grown completely comfortable with it. Though annoyed at her for taking on several swordsmen with knives, he couldn't be surprise. There had to be a dozen guards in the hall, two of them already at her feet. She'd managed to keep them from surrounding her, which was the only reason she'd survived as along as she had. Kemariam and Max were already next to her, standing shoulder to shoulder with her to fight off the guards.
Liam froze as he watched her. Catch a blow, return a blow. Over and over. She was still moving fluidly. Catch a blow, return a blow. She just never stopped. How was she still going? She looked as bad as he felt. Blood was pooling at her feet. Pooling at her feet, and yet she still moved. Catch a blow, return a blow. Liam was shook out his reverie when a guard moved between Olivia and another K'miri fighters. The fighters had rushed in, but in the process disrupted the line. The guards were able to get through and get behind them.
"Get in a line," he finally roared, perturbed by the mayhem before him into action. "It's less important that you all get a piece then that they don't get behind you. It's a hallway for Mithros' sake. They shouldn't be getting behind you."
He moved forward quickly, hacking down the first guard he reached with ease, and blocking a blow from a second. As the K'mir took on the guards, Liam noticed Olivia dodge through the guard line and spring off behind them. Liam swore, realizing what she was up to.
"Max," he called, lunging forward and ducking a blow to lean against the other man's shoulder. He jerked his head in the direction Olivia was running, and Max swore as well, seeing Olivia turn a corner at a full sprint.
Kemariam pushed through the line next to them, killing two guards quickly. "Go," he shouted. "We'll keep them from coming behind you."
Liam followed Max down the hall, forcing his throbbing knee to carry him at a run down the hallway. Max opened a door almost hidden behind an armor to reveal a long dark hallway. They heard a pounding noise coming from down the hall and ran towards it. At last they found Olivia desperately kicking at a heavy wooden door.
"Olivia, stop," Liam said. "Stop." He glanced at Max to see what he was thinking, but the man was still, staring at the door with an eerie look on his face.
Finally, he grabbed her and pulled her back. "Let me go," she shouted, struggling against him. "They're in there and they'll be getting away soon."
"Then let me get the door opened," Liam said.
"You can't use your magic. They have spells to prevent it," Olivia said, calming slightly.
"I had no intention of using my magic," he reached into his pocket and pulled out the lock picks that George had given to all of the children of their hodge-podge family years ago and kneeled down with some difficulty to the lock. It had been years since he'd picked one, but it didn't look like this one was too complicated. Olivia paced behind him as he worked, and Max stayed unmoving. It took him longer then it should of, and he could practically hear Aly sighing in playful exasperation when he made his first mistake, but eventually the lock clicked and he pushed the door open. He caught a glance of red skirt swishing through the side door, and a man who could only be the king was right behind her. Four guards stood at the door between them and their majesties.
Olivia reached down and hauled him up; she glanced at him and jerked her heads towards the guards moving towards them, and he nodded. They both moved forward quickly, blocking blows from the middle two guards, and using the shock off their speed to push a hole between the two of them that Max sprinted through. Max leapt over the sofa and the middle of the room and disappeared down the servants' hall after the king and queen. Olivia turned with her back to the side door, using her sword this time to block blows from all four guards. Liam heard noises from along the hall, and glanced in to see more guards running towards them. He slammed the door shut and locked it, looking around and seeing a large trunk, which he pushed in front of the door, biting back a groan as he was forced to put pressure on his bad leg. Once he'd finished, he attacked one of the guards, drawing two off them towards him. As hr killed the first of them, he saw the King stumble back into the room grasping a sword and panting. Max followed close behind him, a knife in each hand as he took careful measured steps towards the man, a wary eye on his sword.
He fended off another blow from the other guard, only to hear Olivia to give a sharp cry of pain. He glanced over and saw blood running down her side. He jabbed sharply at the guard, forcing him to stumble backwards and giving him time to move over to stand next to Olivia.
"I'm alright," she said, holding a hand to her side and continuing to fight off blows from both guards with her sword. Liam joined her, fighting off the three guards. Olivia managed to pierce one of them between his chest and arm plates, sending the man down to the ground. Liam and Olivia used their experience together to their advantage as they faced off the two guards. They both attacked both guards, relying on their knowledge of each other's strategies to keep them from bumping each other. The guards' confusion made them easy targets, and without two much difficulty, Olivia and Liam finished them off.
The guards dead at their feet, they turned to see Max still battling the King. Both were breathing heavily, and Max had a bloody wound on his arm. Liam moved forward to help, but Olivia grabbed his arm. "Don't," she said. "He needs to do this himself."
Liam nodded and put a hand on her side, healing the cut, which was deeper then she'd let on. He could feel her quivering tension as she watched her fathers battle. Liam shook his head slightly at the folly oh his thoughts. She only had one father, no matter what the royal record of Sarain said. He could hear fighting in the hall, and the distinctive sound of Kemariam's voice. It sounded as though the guards were surrendering.
Max stumbled slight as he avoided the King's sword, and Olivia took a step forward, but stopped, her free hand clenched in a fist and her knuckles white along the hand that gripped her sword. Liam stepped forward and took her free hand; she squeezed it, but never took her eyes off the fight before her, ready to move in if necessary. The king brought his sword downward from above his head, and Liam knew what would happen, his mind flashing to that first practice fight with Olivia. Max caught the sword easily between his two knives, trapping the sword above the king's head and leaving Max free to spin and kick the man hard in the side. The King fell back against the chair behind him, breaking the first rule of weapons fighting and dropping his sword in the process.
Max moved in quickly and mercilessly, grasping the King by the neck, pulling him close and sinking his knife deep into the King's chest, puncturing his lung. "Take this thought to your grave," Max hissed. "It is my son who will sit on the throne of Sarain. Not yours. It is my daughter who is a Princess of Tortall. Not yours. And Leilah was never yours."
The king gasped his last breath, and Max released him and took a step back. He stared down at the dead body of the man who destroyed his wife, his face thunderous.
"No," Lorinda's screech echoed across the room, and they all turned toward the sound. She brought an ax down straight into Max's side before any of them could react. Max fell to the ground in a heap, and Olivia moved in with lethal speed. She kicked aside her stepmother's next ax blow, heedless of any danger. She crouched and spun, easily sweeping the unbalanced Lorinda off her feet, laying the woman out flat on her back. Without hesitation, Olivia picked up the ax Lorinda had dropped and decapitated her in one swift blow. Not even bothering to glance at the woman who'd taken her mother's place as queen, she turned and crouched down next to Liam, who was already desperately pouring blue magic into Max.
"Appa," Olivia cried softly, adding her magic to Liam's as the blood flowed quickly between their fingers.
"Stop," Max whispered. He coughed, then continued. "Stop, baby girl. It's time. I've been waiting for this a long time."
Olivia swallowed and nodded, putting her hand over Liam's and pulling them back.
Liam began to protest, but bit his lip. Neither of them would be able to save him anyways. He was bleeding too much, and too many organs had been hit by the dead queen's blow.
"I love you, baby girl. And I'm so proud of you. You've made a good life for yourself. Liam, you take care of my little girl." Max coughed again, blood coming up this time. "Tell Jasper I love him. Tell him to rule smart. You did it, baby girl. I'm so proud of you."
"We did it, not me. You were with me every step of the way. I love you, Appa." Olivia said something in K'mir, and then held his hand, tears forming in her eyes but not falling as he coughed up more blood. His eye closed as he took one last breath, and then he was still. Olivia bit her lip and closed her eyes for one long moment before she released his hand and stood.
She walked to the door and pushed the trunk out of the way and turned the key in the lock. She opened it so suddenly Kemariam fell inside.
"Help me move his body," she said calmly, motioning to Max's body. "We can't leave him here with them." Kemariam paled, but nodded. He and several other of the K'mir walked in. Buri appeared in the doorway, a bloody bandage on her arm but otherwise alright.
"It's over," she said bluntly. She glanced at the wall, saw Max and grimaced slightly. She repeated the same phrase that Olivia had said earlier, and the rest of the K'mir echoed her as Kemariam and a few others lifted Max's body and carried him out of the room. Liam grasped Olivia's hands as the rest shuffled out in front of him. He squeezed her hands reassuringly and she grimaced and closed her eyes.
"I can't," she said softly the tears clear in her voice. "If I, now. I'll just."
"I know," Liam said softly. He kissed her gently. "You will cry for him when this is done. It is what he would have wanted. Come. We've got a lot to do before we truly finish this."
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So sorry it took so long. This was tough. Very, very tough. I hope you liked it. Only one, maybe two more chapters left. I will start up Zenobia 2 again once I finish this, but school now takes up a lot more time then it used to, so sadly my updating speeds are going to be much slower then they used to be. Now that this is done, it should be faster. Thanks for all your reviews and please keep it up!!!
Viv Marius: Thanks for the tips. That really helped, as did knowing that I wasn't the only one who struggled with them. Hope you like this!
addicted2TPierce: I'm glad you're still enjoying my story! Thanks for the review!
Tischica: They made it! Glad you love the story. That's great to read.
Ally-Marty: I really, really appreciated your comments. It was great to have someone with your perspective agree with what I as doing.
bassbrat: I hope this one makes your day too! Thanks for the review!
studentofwords: thanks for reviewing like always! sorry about the delay, but I hope your happy with it.
sometimes: thanks for reviewing! i'm glad you enjoy it!
southernbelle61: I'm glad you liked by story. A review like yours is always great to read, nad its cool that you noticed the Irish influences. I'm glad you think its original, since originality and believability are always the things that matter most to me.
avchocaholic: thanks for reviewing! i never abandon a story, but its nice to know people appreciate that!
