The Princess and the Wizard
By
UCSbdad
Disclaimer: There are Castles and castles in this, but I own neither. Rating: K Time: 1967 and elsewhen.
Author's note: To get a look at what Castle's unit looks like, go to http colon back slash back slash ctrp dash 3d dash 4thcav dot com backslash troop dot html Click on org chart.
She jumped down off the tank.
"Abbas! Are you around? It's me, Alexis the Red. I'm with friends. Please come out."
A head popped out of the ground.
"Alexis? Those are friends? People in iron wagons?"
"Yes. They are led by a great and powerful wizard. He killed the Slobberer and last night they killed hundreds of orcs without suffering anyone even being hurt."
Abbas popped out of the ground. Rick couldn't believe it. Abbas was a huge rabbit. He looked to be about six feet tall, but was a bit on the slender side. Rick noticed that he was carrying a wide bladed spear.
"That must have been the orc pack that came through here a couple of days ago. They aren't very good at digging, so when one of them stuck his grimy paw down my burrow, I jabbed him with Spanky here." He waved his spear around as he told the story. "That got them moving."
"Have you seen anything or anyone else around here that might be dangerous to us?" Castle asked.
Abbas hopped over to Castle's track.
"If you killed the Slobberer and all those orcs, what could be dangerous to you?"
"To quote an old western movie, there's always someone who's better."
Abbas inhaled deeply.
"Something smells good. What is it?"
Without waiting for a reply, he hopped up on the track and went to the box of C rats.
"Mind if I look around?"
"Go ahead." Castle said.
The huge rabbit pulled out a box, put it to his nose and inhaled deeply.
"Wonderful. If I can have this, I'll be your friend and comrade forever."
Castle looked at the carton.
"Ham and lima beans? Are you a carnivore?"
"I'm an omnivore. Isn't everyone?"
"Go ahead and take it."
Abbas grabbed the C rat carton and hopped back to his burrow.
"This place is weird." Said Kemper. "Someone who actually likes that shit."
"And he's a giant rabbit, too." Castle added.
The platoon mounted back up and kept going. The trees gave way to open prairie and soon they saw a small village in the distance. As they approached, the villagers ran out, armed, to defend their village. They formed a shield wall and waited.
Castle looked at them through his binoculars.
"There's maybe fifty of them. Everyone's there from teenagers to old geezers. I even see a couple of women. They all seem to be armed with spears and only the front row has shields."
"They're just frightened because they've never seen anything like your steel wagons before." Said Alexis. "Let me go talk to them."
Before Castle could say anything, she jumped down and headed for the villagers. She took off her helmet and shook out her long red hair hoping they'd recognize her as Alexis the Red. Apparently, they did. Alexis spoke to them and occasionally pointed to the platoon. Eventually, the lowered their spears and shields, but stood there, still shoulder to shoulder. Alexis came back to the platoon.
"They're still frightened since wizards can be a bit unpredictable, but they won't cause any problems."
As they went on, they passed more and larger villages. The reaction was the same: Panic and hurried defensive measures. But no one came near the platoon. Alexis waved happily at everyone and yelled that they shouldn't be afraid.
They were eventually confronted with a troop of horse cavalry. These men had chain mail, shields, lances and swords. Castle saw a few men armed with bows in the rear ranks.
"Maybe thirty-five or forty of them." Esposito said.
"They're part of the king's army. I'll go explain who you are." Alexis said, and again hopped off the track.
The conversation was longer this time and Alexis had to go back to the track to get the Slobberer's sword to prove a point. The troop finally let Castle's platoon pass. He thought the troopers looked relieved.
That night they camped again. The starlight scope showed they were being watched, but by the king's army. All was peaceful, and in the morning they were off again.
The countryside seemed deserted to Castle. He mentioned that to Alexis.
"I'm sure the soldiers sent messengers ahead. Like I said, wizards can be unpredictable. Um, you aren't going to need to sacrifice a virgin or something are you?"
"No. Why? Are you worried?"
Alexis just laughed.
Just after lunch they came over a small rise and saw the king's castle ahead of them. Castle examined it closely.
"It looks like something out of an old movie. And the castle looks kind of battered. I think there used to be stone walls all around, but about half of it is wood and earthen ramparts. Not all that many people manning the ramparts, either. Unless the rest are hidden behind the walls."
"Good King James has not done well these past few years. Between orcs, goblins and Meredith the Mad's minions, the castle has come near to being sacked several times and his army has been beaten several times."
"Let's go see the king, then."
As they approached the main gate, a drawbridge was let down so they could cross the moat.
"I don't think that bridge could handle a jeep, let alone a track, sir." Espo said.
"Okay. I'll go in with Wiggins' squad, Tranh's scouts, Kemper and Doc Mellon. I'll keep a channel open to you. If this turns to shit, I'll try to fight my way back out. Okay?"
"Okay, sir. I'm not sure I like this."
"I know I don't." Castle replied.
Tranh had taken his machine gun and Wiggins had an M60 machine gun in his squad. Two men had M 79 grenade launchers while the rest had M16s. Wiggins had also brought LAWs, light anti-armor weapons. A single shot rocket launcher that didn't get much use in Vietnam against armor, but was useful against bunkers and snipers in trees.
Alexis marched with Castle, announcing to one and all that the great and powerful wizard, Rick Castle had arrived and all their troubles were over.
Castle checked out inside of the Castle. It looked dirty and shabby, but he imagined that real medieval castle probably looked and smelled that way. About half the people seemed to be soldiers and like the villagers he'd seen earlier, they ranged from the very old to the very young. The castle also appeared to be very crowded. He could see crude lean-tos against the castle walls. Probably refugees, he thought. The people looked dirty, hungry and sad.
The palace was only a little better than the rest of the castle. Castle did note that the sentries he saw looked better fed than most and were well armed and armored.
They went down a long hall and came to the throne room. Apparently, there was some kind of a meeting going ln. A man, Castle decided he must be King James sat on a raised throne. He looked totally disinterested in the proceedings, whatever they were.
Next to him, but sitting on a lower chair was a woman, but what a woman. She was gorgeous. She looked to be tall to Castle and rather on the slender side. She had long, chestnut colored hair and from the distance he was at, appeared to have brown eyes. The gown she wore covered her to her ankles and was of a pale pink, but a slit up one side showed a magnificent pair of legs. She appeared to be paying attention to whatever was going on.
Led by Alexis, they pushed their way through a crowd of courtiers and soldiers until they could see what was going on.
"Damn." Whispered Alexis. "Goblins are here. That means trouble. Can your magic handle goblins?"
"One way to find out." Castle replied.
His voice apparently attracted the lead goblin's attention. He turned around and stared at Castle and his troops. He was green skinned, bowlegged, with snaggly teeth and bulging eyes. His batlike ears stuck out from the side of his head. He wore a leather jerkin with small armored plates sewn onto it and baggy leather pants. At his side was a sword. With him were four more goblins.
"There!" He cried. "I will take these newcomers as my slaves. Bow to your new master." He demanded.
"As I've said before, we don't do slavery. Get lost." Castle replied.
"Did you refuse me?" He roared.
"You got that right."
The goblin leader pulled some sort of amulet from under his jerkin and held it in front of him. It glowed a shade of blood red.
"Down on your knees! Now!"
"Not a chance."
The goblin pulled his sword from its scabbard.
"I am Malro, King of the Korovian Horde and you will now die!'
He raised his sword and advanced towards Castle.
"Oh, hell." Castle said, then raised his M16 and shot the goblin king in the head. The king's head snapped back and blood and brains spattered the goblins behind him.
The goblins howled and drew their swords, but were cut down.
Castle's troops quickly formed a tight circle to cover everyone around them.
"Everybody be cool!" Castle yelled. "No shooting, people." He saw that the soldiers in the throne room had drawn their swords. "We're friendly to anyone not threatening us first. Okay? Now, I'll have my men lower their weapons and you lower yours. Okay."
"Lanie!" Cried King James. "Come here."
A buxom Black woman stepped from behind a curtain and King James held out a metal cup to her. She poured the contents of an earthenware jug into the cup, spilling some as the king didn't seem to be able to hold the cup steady. Castle decided he wasn't disinterested in the proceedings, he was just drunk.
The woman stood up.
"Sheathe your swords." She commanded.
Her soldiers did so slowly and then Castle had his men lower their weapons.
"Do you have any idea what you've just done?" She said coldly, staring right at Castle.
Before he could answer, he got a call from Sergeant Esposito.
"Charlie 10. What happened? We heard gunshots. Over."
Castle grabbed the mic from Kemper.
"This is Charlie 10. No problem. We had another discussion about slavery. It was decided in our favor. Out."
"There's a person in that box?" The woman asked.
"It's a magical device that the great wizard Richard Castle uses to talk to his people." Alexis said, rather smugly.
'The great wizard Richard Castle may have gotten us all killed. Do you have any idea what will happen when Korovian Horde finds out their king and his closest relatives are dead?"
"They're going to be pissed off?" Castle said.
"Pissed off?" The woman yelled. "What does that even mean?"
"Please, Princess Katherine. "Alexis said. "I'm sure the great wizard Castle can take care of a few goblins. He killed the Slobberer with a female familiar, wiped out several hundred orcs with thunder and lightning."
"So you say." Princess Katherine shot back.
Alexis pulled the Slobberer's sword from her back and threw it at the princess' feet.
"There is his sword and there before you are five dead goblins." Alexis said with a smile. "Have any of the king's knights done as well?"
That sent a stab of pain through Princess Katherine. One of the king's knights who had not done so well was her now dead older brother.
"We'll need to check and see if this wizard is a powerful as he says he is." She raised her hands over her head and called out in a language that Castle didn't know.
There was a pop in the air above them, and suddenly there was a woman above them, riding a broom, side saddle. Her skin was black and she wore the robes and pointed hat that Castle had always associated with witches. However, her clothing was a blinding white, not black. She landed and bowed to Princess Katherine.
"You called, Princess?"
TBC