Xena: "You are the most dear thing to me in all the world. Yet, instead of protecting you..."
Gabrielle: "I'm here because I want to be. I love you, Xena."
Xena: "I love you too, Gabrielle."
While the guardians fell into an everyday rhythm of training, doing various chores, running errands, and simply spending time together, the king of Jerusalem had grown an appetite for conquest. He had set his sights on Ascalon, a great fortress on the coast that was controlled by the Fatimids, a fact that bothered the king. It left the door for expansion into Egypt closed. The constant Saracen raids from Ascalon into the kingdom were a large nuisance and even the rebuilding and Templar control of the nearby city of Gaza didn't do enough to ease the king. Inspired by his recent victories against the Turks, he sent a large force of Jerusalem knights to besiege Ascalon. But the fortress was well defended and supplied from the sea and the siege dragged on with seemingly no end in sight. Frustrated and furious, the king called on all remaining available knights of all orders to march on Ascalon.
Eden wanted nothing more than to tell Arielle to stay behind where it was safe, but she remembered the promise she had made to the bard. Arielle had no intention of staying behind even though she had little experience in fighting and none in besieging a castle and was scared. The bard took her newly discovered identity seriously and if Eden was going then she was going too. Eden could only sigh in worry when Arielle told her that.
"Well then, you'll need armor and weapons." the warrior noted shortly and with a heavy heart.
There wasn't enough time to have Arielle fitted and so they chose from amongst what the Hospitallers could spare. Lawrence opened their armory to the women and there they found a bow and short sword for the blond, along with a thick gambeson, a chainmail shirt and coif, and thick leather, knee high boots. Arielle would be more heavily armored than before, but Eden didn't care; she knew war too well to take any chances.
Eden refused to travel with any larger forces because they would be faster and draw a lot less attention traveling by themselves. The nagging feeling of lurking evil still wouldn't leave Eden and she thought that if something was to happen, she wanted to be the one to protect Arielle from it; she couldn't trust anyone else with that responsibility. And secretly, the warrior also simply wanted to spend some time alone on the road with the bard like they once used to. Arielle was more than happy to comply, secretly relishing in the return to their desert adventures. When they mounted and rode out, they both noticed how much had changed since they had first dawned armor and went out to meet what the road had in store for them.
"Doesn't that cloud remind you of a cart?" Arielle asked a while later, pointing at a large cloud up ahead.
"Hmm, looks like an ax to me." the warrior replied and raised an eyebrow at the bard's loud sigh.
Some things hadn't changed at all.
They took a northern route around the mountains that rose to the west of Jerusalem. Once they were around the mountains, they turned south and slowly headed towards Ascalon. Eden rode fully armored, back in her black and red colors that she hadn't worn since her trial. Arielle rode in dark red and brown, the only clothes she could acquire from the tailor on such short notice, keeping the chainmail in a saddlebag to await for battle. They rode at a comfortable speed, stopping only shortly to eat something small or water the horses. They lost themselves in their own thoughts for a time; Arielle wondering what battle was like and Eden wondering why she had the feeling that something wasn't right.
"Are you excited?" Arielle asked Eden finally.
"About going to battle?" the warrior replied with a little surprise.
"No... about being out on the road again, about traveling together again."
"I guess so." Eden answered with a slight shrug which disappointed the bard a little until Eden turned to her and added, "It depends on how much trouble you're going to get us into."
The bard feigned an offended gasp and then stuck her tongue out at the warrior which made her chuckle.
That evening they made camp near a thick clump of bushes. They ate quietly, sitting next to each other, enjoying the calm that was missing in a busy city such as Jerusalem.
"Do you know what I suddenly realized?" the bard asked, looking at Eden, "You don't call me 'duchess' or 'princess' anymore."
"Evidently you've fallen in the ranks." Eden quipped casually.
"You rat!" Arielle cried, playfully slapping Eden's shoulder.
"That's certainly not something a lady would do." Eden noted, holding her shoulder and pretending to be offended.
"I'll show you what a lady can do!" Arielle threatened.
"Ha! You have to catch me first!"
The warrior bounded up right before Arielle could grab her and they chased each other around the fire with cries of "I'll get you!" and "Too slow!" breaking through the night. After a while, caught in an obvious stalemate with the two friends starting at each other from across the fire, Eden took out a small pouch from her satchel and held it out in front of her.
"I have honey covered figs." Eden taunted, waving the bag in front of the heavily breathing bard.
"You want me to surrender for a pouch of figs?" the bard asked, narrowing her eyes at the warrior.
"Your favorite figs." Eden corrected, raising an eyebrow.
The bard pretended to have to think the matter over, eyeing the bag with scrutiny and then looking back up at the warrior.
"Get over here." Arielle ordered teasingly.
"That's my bard!" the warrior noted and walked over to the blond, handing her the pouch.
They sat back down and caught their breath, the sound of Arielle munching on the figs and the crackling fire being the only sounds in the night. Eden noticed that the soft sounds soothed her in a way that only water once did. Water washed away, but these sounds were the ones of things being done and of others being near, a thing Eden never thought that she would grow to enjoy. And she didn't know whether to be happy or scared senseless.
"Do you think that I can do it?" Arielle suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
"I know you can." Eden answered solemnly.
"But what if-"
"Arielle," Eden started, turning to the bard and putting her hand on her shoulder, "don't ever think that you have something you need to live up to. We're all different, we all have our own paths. Don't put yourself in danger because you think you have to be a hero. You have nothing to prove."
"But I'm a guardian now."
"And as a guardian your allegiance should be to God. And if He wants you to sit out a battle and write all day, that's what you do." Eden explained and dropped her hand to her own lap and looked down at it, "It doesn't mean that you have to fight... and kill like me."
Arielle studied the sulky warrior for a few moments. She suddenly reached out and touched Eden's chin, moving it so that Eden looked at her.
"And what, tell me, could you be ashamed of now?" she asked, half cheerful, half serious.
"I was once-"
"I don't care who you were. All I know is who you are now. And the person I know now saved my life countless times and put her own in danger without a second thought. That person saved scores of lives in battles that seemed doomed until she appeared."
"I've killed many." Eden countered sadly.
"And you've saved many. And in the larger scheme of things, you'll see that Michael will put your soul on his scales and your good will outweigh your dark."
"How can you be so sure?" Eden asked.
The warrior was convinced that even if she had joined a convent, the dark stains of her past would never be washed away and she could almost feel Hell's flames licking her feet when she thought of where she would go after death. It seemed to her that every dark deed needed a hundred good ones to be balanced and she didn't have that many years ahead of her. She felt bad for Arielle, imagining the bard looking for her someday in Heaven and never finding her there. Eden was a tattered soul, haphazardly bound together by weak thread in an effort to just stay in one piece, all the while not knowing whether she was doing it right or why she was doing it at all.
"What is stitched at the surface still bleeds underneath." the warrior whispered, voicing her thoughts.
Arielle observed the warrior with a heavy heart. It was difficult to explain to Eden that there were just some things that she knew, that lay deep within her heart like a well buried secret. Just like the bard's heart had told her in the beginning that there was something better and gentler that Eden hid under the surface, her heart now told her that it would be a grievous injustice to have Eden's soul end up in Satan's hands. And the bard would never allow for that.
"What is stitched at the surface," the bard said gently, raising her hand and resting it over the scar on Eden's shoulder, "heals in time."
Eden looked into the gentle green eyes observing her. Eden never admitted that there were times, just like this one, when she was actually amazed at the wisdom that spilled from the bard's lips and the knowledge that was housed in those eyes. To her, Arielle was the epitome of a chosen one of God and something that Eden could never be. And it didn't matter that Arielle was young and that she had just discovered she was a guardian; everything that made her so special was already there. But those words couldn't make it past Eden's heavy defenses so she just kept them to herself and instead gave a light smile and looked at the ground. Arielle always found that so endearing in the warrior that she could almost coo in delight. With an impish grin on her face that Eden didn't notice in time, Arielle threw herself around the warrior's neck and kissed the side of her head.
"Oh, stop it." Eden said weakly, more embarrassed than anything else.
Arielle laughed and let go, turning to go get their bedrolls ready. Eden gathered the remaining food and put it off to the side, knowing the young bard would wake up hungry as always. They bustled about the camp site quietly, aware that they felt comfortable in their company like never before. When they were finished, Eden took her sword and went out to scare away any creatures that might be lurking in the dark while Arielle sat near the fire and scribbled down a few thoughts in her leatherbound journal. When Eden came back, Arielle was sitting on the bedroll and undoing her sword belt. She laid down and waited for the now silent Eden to take off her chainmail and sword belt and finally lie down next to her.
"They're so bright tonight." Arielle noticed, shifting a little closer to the warrior who was staring up at the sky and resting her head against her shoulder, "What do you see up there?"
Arielle had thought they would play their game of arguing over the images in the sky, but the warrior's silence was a little unsettling. She turned to see a slight strain on the warrior's face as if something was trying to clamor out onto the surface, yet couldn't. She propped herself up on one elbow and took a breath to ask what was wrong.
"The stars... were never meant to be seen without you." Eden said quietly, noticing how bright and beautiful they became since Arielle entered her life.
The bard's heart, breathing, and mind stopped for a second. After a few moments of quiet, Eden turned her head to see a smiling bard with a tear rolling down her face looking back at her in awe and admiration.
"And they call me the bard." Arielle noticed admiringly.
Eden gave the blond a gentle smile and Arielle simply lay down in the warrior's arms without question and the warrior let her. Confidently, Arielle's hand found the warrior's, clasped it, and held it in content.
"You will always be my bard." Eden later whispered to the already sleeping blond.
"Good God..." Arielle whispered in amazement when Ascalon finally came into view on the horizon.
The castle looked formidable even from where they were. Its 53 towers stretched in a semi circle towards the east, its back secured by the sea, the walls punctured by four massive gates. The castle was well stocked and well defended, the number of fighters around double the number of besiegers. Ascalon had refused to fall for the fifth month, but its walls showed signs that the siege had taken its toll and it couldn't continue to be defiant indefinitely.
They quietly passed through the destroyed orchards that had surrounded the castle lands and stretched far into the distance. The razing hadn't helped much strategically, but it gave a chance for the Crusaders to vent their frustration at the undaunted fortress. The sense of foreboding in Eden grew a little stronger now as the first signs of real war began to flood the bard's senses. Arielle felt something within her clench and she took in a sharp breath. Yet, she realized that she couldn't turn back now and that Eden would need her and so she let the breath out slowly, forcing her tense muscles to relax somewhat. In the end, Arielle mused, if she was going to end up in the middle of trouble, then Eden's side would be the safest place to be.
When they had reached the besiegers' camp, the bard let out a long breath of amazement. In the distance, she could see the masts of Crusader ships that were blockading the castle from the water. The ocean of warriors on land was speckled with catapults and siege towers. Those lying shattered beneath the walls testified to Ascalon's stubborn refusal to be taken. Wisps of smoke came from campfires or smoldering machines of war that had seen their last battle. Eden could sense the thickness of the frustrating stalemate and the tension of anticipated breakthrough in the air, almost making it hard to breathe. She clenched her jaw with the thought that this was the last place that she would ever want the bard to be. But she also knew, in all humility, that Arielle was safest close to her. And she also realized that she herself was safest with Arielle guarding her back. Eden motioned for them to continue and it took another half hour of meandering between tents and campfires to find a spot where they could comfortably set up camp.
They were walking through the camp later on that day, idly talking as Eden took in her their surroundings with a war strategist's eye when they heard the bard's name being called out. They turned towards the direction of the voice and saw an archer running towards them, hand outstretched and waving. Arielle peered at the approaching man for a while, her eyebrows knotting together as her mind fought to recognize the man.
"Tobias?" she asked quietly.
The grinning man reached them and stopped, catching his breath. Eden could see that he was about Arielle's age and slightly taller than her. He was dressed in a tan, studded gambeson over his faded green shirt and pants. He had chestnut eyes that matched his short, chestnut hair and close cut beard. His smile brightened up his whole face and he looked much more like a handsome young farmer than a fighter awaiting battle.
"I can't believe that's really you." the man said, "Look at you. You're all grown up."
"Me? Look at you." Arielle replied still in amazement, "How long has it been?"
"Ten years?"
"Goodness..." Arielle exhaled and then remembered her companion, "Eden, this is Tobias. We were neighbors until Tobias suddenly vanished without a word."
"Are you the Eden?" he asked, turning to the reserved warrior.
Eden nodded once and waited for him to either shout for the guards or beg for his life.
"Your defense of Jerusalem was commendable. Absolutely fantastic strategy." he congratulated, extending his hand and shaking Eden's.
Arielle had secretly had a crush on the man in their youth which wasn't all that secret since Eden could see the admiration float to the surface of her green eyes. Eden couldn't really blame her; he seemed to be not only handsome, but also intelligent and a good man.
"Are you also a warrior?" he asked, turning back to Arielle.
"Archer."
"I always knew you had a secret love for the bow." Tobias noted with a smile.
"But I was always one step behind you." she noted with a similar smile.
"But you were still the talk of the town."
Eden felt her heart strangely sink a little at the pair's constant smiling interaction and began to feel a little uncomfortable and out of place.
"Listen, I need to see to a few things. We'll meet later, alright?" the warrior suggested.
Arielle looked at her with a quizzical expression on her face, but quietly agreed.
Eden had spent the day tending to their horses, speaking with a few commanders and Lawrence, observing the siege, eluding Garrett, and trying not to think of Arielle. She was sharpening her sword near the fire she had started against the backdrop of the darkening sky when Arielle came and sat down next to her.
"Sometimes I wonder if there will come a day when all that will be left of that sword will be a long needle." the bard teased.
Eden snorted lightly with a small smile and continued her work.
"So how was it with Tobias?" she asked finally, wanting to have it over with.
"Oh, it was lovely. We had so much to talk about." Arielle related, rummaging in her saddlebags for her bowstrings and sharpening stone, "It turns out that he had left for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. My parents knew, but never told me because they were afraid I'd get the fantastical idea into my head to follow him. My whole life I thought that he just left without saying goodbye. And we were such good friends, I didn't know why he would do such a thing... It's funny how some things become clearer years later in life."
"Well, he seems like a good man." Eden replied with a foreign strain in her voice she couldn't really get rid of.
"He is... You know, I used to be quite fond of him once..."
"Then it's a good thing you found each other again."
Arielle turned to look at Eden with a slightly suspicious look. She wasn't oblivious to the warrior's tight voice and her mind quickly began to put together the pieces of a story probably forming in Eden's head; a story that began with Dorian. Arielle smiled lightly and wanted to tease the warrior for being jealous, but then thought the better of it and sighed.
"Yes, it's amazing that we met here like this after all these years... Yet what's even more amazing is that he's engaged to be married... and what's even more amazing than that is that his betrothed is from Florentia."
At the words, Eden's eyes caught the bard's in surprise. Arielle grinned widely and then told the story of how Tobias had fallen in love with a maiden whose father was a well known and respected weaver and with whom Eden's father had even done business with a few times.
Arielle finished her story, but the warrior said nothing, returning to her work. The bard sat closer to Eden so that their shoulders touched and Eden sharpened her sword and dagger while Arielle waxed her bowstring, both making sure everything was in good, working order. As the night fell on them, a solemn quiet also did and secretly Eden wished she could just lay down and read the stars with the bard. But the hovering presence of oncoming battle weighed heavily on her heart, a nagging reality that teased her wishes. No matter how much Eden wanted to run from it, she knew that each night there could be their last together, always hoping that death would take only her. But she didn't want to leave Arielle without a single word.
"Arielle," Eden said slowly, halting her work, her voice only above a whisper, wondering why it was so hard for her, "if anything happens to me-"
"No, I don't want to hear it." Arielle said, shaking her head vigorously, dropping her bowstring.
"Arielle, it's important. " Eden implored, taking Arielle's hands into her own, "If anything happens to me... please, take me back to Florentia... and bury me under the large oak tree that I played under as a child... Lawrence will know which one... And he'll take care of you..."
It was too much for Arielle. Her heart twisted in her own pain and then cracked in Eden's. She put her hand around the back of the warrior's neck and leaned in, resting her forehead on the warrior's.
"I don't want him to take care of me... Please stop..." Arielle choked out, stroking Eden's face with her free hand.
"Will you do that for me?" Eden continued, her voice almost as strained as the bard's, trying to keep her emotions under control with Arielle so close.
"I will... I will, but please, just stop..."
Eden let out a breath and then embraced her tearful friend. She rocked her gently as Arielle held on tightly as if she never had the intention of letting go.
"I have some possessions-"
"No!" the bard shouted, pulling herself out of the embrace and grabbing the warrior by the shoulders, shaking her, and looking at her with fire in her eyes, "Stop this! Stop it! Eden, you are not going to go off and be mindlessly heroic. You are not going to act like you can impale yourself on every passing sword because your life has no meaning and you have no one to leave behind."
"I'm a warrior-"
"I don't care! I want you to come back. I want both of us to come back alive. You promised me dandelions, remember?" the bard continued in fierce conviction, trying to keep her voice from shaking, "You're going to promise me that you'll be careful... Promise me, Eden."
Eden stared at her in surprise. She was stunned that although she never really said a word, the bard seemed to understand her so well. When she was younger, Eden had always wished for someone to really know her; to understand her dark, her light, and everything in between and the battles between them all. But now that it seemed that that person was right there, the warrior had no idea what to do. She had been closed off and locked up for so long that she didn't know if she knew how to really care for someone. She didn't know if she deserved any warmth from anyone or if Arielle deserved the weight that their friendship evidently carried. But those fiery green eyes really didn't care about her tribulations. They had the answer and were daring her to just try and choose something different.
"I promise." Eden whispered.
Arielle saw the bewilderment in Eden and it drove her nearly mad. They had a connection that everyone envied and respected and that had saved their lives more than once. What was it that Eden couldn't see? Wasn't there enough to break through even Eden's walls? The bard felt like she might overflow with what she felt rising inside her. The care, the concern and consideration, the...
And then a realization suddenly struck the blond. She felt her heart beat powerfully in agreement. And the onrush of that conviction overwhelmed her and she didn't think of the consequences, the reasons, the reaction. For that moment, she let herself think only with her heart.
"I love you, you stubborn warrior." Arielle said quietly, her voice seeming both as fragile and as strong as a spider's thread, "Don't you know that by now?"
They spent the next day talking to their commanders and learning about how the siege had been going so far and what the plans held in store. Eden grimly looked on as Tobias explained which plans worked and which hadn't to the bard, who was absorbing everything with serious study. The warrior was sure this wasn't the kingdom or lifetime Arielle wanted and was frustrated that there was nothing she could do.
Arielle walked around in a constant state of slight wonder since she had never seen a military encampment before while Eden hadn't seen one that large and so full of different knights and orders. There was a lot of commotion again that afternoon with the new forces that had ridden down from Acre and Tripoli settling in. The newcomers listened to the grisly or funny tales of the veterans around fires. Some played music, some played cards, others drank in secret, and others wrestled or sparred. Arielle could see the toil and strain on the faces of those who knew war like the back of their own hand. She noticed that there was something of that that could be found on Eden's face. And there was the innocence on the faces of those who were seeing real war for the first time. Eden knew that most would later be found among the faces of the dead.
Eden and Arielle decided to go on a walk, away from the encampment and all the noise before going to sleep. The night was cloudless and a full moon lit up their way. They walked far away enough to no longer hear the thousands of conversations and crackling of hundreds of small fires. Once in a while, a shout was heard or the protest of a horse. They walked up a small hill and were going to stop there, not wanting to stray too far off, not knowing what was lurking in the desert night.
Eden walked a half step behind Arielle, looking out into the vastness that spread before them. It was so quiet and peaceful that they almost forgot they were in the middle of a war. The bard tried to paint it into her memory so that she could tell stories of this fight because she somehow knew that stories would be told of it. Arielle was so engrossed in the beauty before her that she didn't notice the hill ending in a sudden, sharp ledge.
"Careful." Eden warned gently, seeing her one foot move out over the ledge already.
The warrior moved her hands forward to catch the swaying bard and wrapped her arms around Arielle's waist, pulling her in. In a reflex, Arielle caught Eden's arms and held her close, feeling the warrior's warmth at her back. Once she was steady again and they both took a step back, Arielle turned around in Eden's arms.
"Thank you... as always." she said with a slightly shy smile.
Eden gave a small smile in return. They stood there for a moment, completely forgetting themselves. The younger woman slowly leaned into the embrace, feeling protected and cared for. It staggered the bard how it didn't matter what the shadow was, Eden kept it away. The fear of war, the emptiness of loneliness and being far from home, the hurt of rejection and being different, the nightmares that haunted the night- all of them fell defeated in front of the warrior. Before Eden could realize what was happening, she could feel Arielle pulling herself in closer, nestling her head into Eden's shoulder just like she did when they slept.
"Do you hear that?" Arielle asked quietly, her cheek resting against the warrior's shoulder.
"They're rather loud tonight." the warrior observed.
Cicadas were singing in the warm night around in the bushes and short trees that surrounded them. And from the encampment, the sound of a few flutes playing together in a complex, melancholy melody floated over to the friends.
"It's all like music, isn't it?" the bard noted a little dreamily of all the sounds now in the air.
Eden said nothing, but noticed after a short time that they were moving, shifting slightly from one foot to the other and slowly turning around.
"We're dancing." the blond noticed in a whisper like it was magic happening before her very own eyes.
Eden only tightened her embrace in response. She was dancing beneath the stars with her best friend wrapped tightly around her. And she felt wanted and needed in a way that didn't want or need anything from her except for her to be herself. And for the time being, Eden felt happy though she wasn't entirely sure she should be. The warrior's heart quickened. What were they doing? Why hadn't she pushed the bard away already but remained in her arms? Why did she think of Arielle as her best friend? None of it made sense. Warriors don't love or care; warriors die.
"I always liked dancing," Arielle mentioned quietly, "though it was my sister who was the best dancer in Avignon... Everyone would remark at how graceful she was and invite her to every celebration... Do you like dancing?"
"Not if I can help it." the warrior admitted.
She felt the bard chuckle against her chest and shake her head slightly. Of course the practical warrior wouldn't engage in something so impractical as dancing. The bard still found herself wondering sometimes what Eden thought of her and whether she would be finally sick of her. Not even Arielle's being a guardian had changed that in her head. She would always be worried that one day she'd be left behind.
"But this is nice." Eden added softly.
And just like she usually did, Eden seemed to know Arielle's sad thoughts and sent them fleeing for their lives with a few simple words. Arielle smiled.
They returned to camp and lay down to sleep in silence. Arielle could sense a gravity in the warrior that didn't seem to come from worry or anger, but some deep revelation. There was something shifting within the warrior as if someone was digging tunnels underneath her walls. Eden remembered the surging sensation she felt in the sacral waters as they tried to uproot and purge her of poison. Now she felt something similar, some force trying to pull her from the shadows and still her heart in peace. It frightened her beyond words.
"I want mounted swordsmen in first. Overwhelm them and push them back. Spearmen, pikemen, and swordsmen will follow right behind. Once they push in further and have most of the forces engaged, the knights will advance. De Fleur's spearmen focus on the ramparts, eliminate the archers. Now," Garrett explained, pointing to the drawing of the fortress on the table and moving his finger to underline his instructions, "open any gates you can. This one for Jerusalem. This one here, the Hospitallers."
"What about the archers?" Tobias asked and Garrett quickly turned to him with an annoyed glare.
"I have no need for any archers."
"But Eden's force needs to be covered by my archers." Tobias argued, unwilling to give in.
If the Templar hadn't been surrounded by knights and masters and in the middle of a siege, he would have torn the young man's head off for being so stubborn and arrogant.
"You and Eden will do what you will." Garrett growled through his clenched teeth, "but stay out of our way."
After an private argument that was common between the guardian warrior and Templar and then Garrett trying to get Eden to forgive his impulsive nature through his usual seductive ways, they had agreed that the guardians would be split off from the other forces and placed under their own commanders with their own orders. Ascalon was primarily a campaign headed by the King of Jerusalem and the guardians' only interest in it was capturing Dorian or any of his forces. The most experienced guardians took on roles as master commanders, dividing the guardians into units. Tobias was to lead a relatively small, yet well trained, nimble, and well armed group of archers. Eden clung onto the only thought that gave her any peace and that was the knowledge that Tobias wouldn't put Arielle in harm's way. Eden was given command of a swift, mounted unit that was to be the first unit to enter the castle once a breach had been made, find Dorian, and route the rest of the guardians there. The mounted archers of Tobias's unit were to ride in after Eden and provide the guardians with support from the ramparts, helping them to enter and exit the fortress as quickly as possible.
The commanders around the table all marched off to their units either grumbling, excited, tired, bored, or secretly afraid. After a while, the straining and snapping of the catapults resumed as they started to relentlessly hammer the fortress walls again, their commander practically screaming at them to finally 'send that damned wall to Hell'. All the assembled warriors stood in either nervous anticipation or boredom, convinced the wall would never topple. Further behind the lines, the guardians gathered and waited. Tobias's unit stood next to Eden's and the warrior stole glances down at Arielle from time to time. She watched as the bard began to look up half into the sky as if she was reading something in the clouds with both a wondrous and frightened look on her face. Eden was about to ask the bard if everything was alright when they all heard a heavy crash.
When a breach in the walls appeared, the Crusaders didn't want to believe it at first. A silence hung over everyone and everything for a few still seconds as the moment that some had hoped for and others had dreaded finally appeared. A cry from an enthusiastic Templar unit broke the collective stupor as it broke off from the rest of the forces and charged forward. As the Templars rushed towards the breach in the wall, Eden rode right behind them in a nearly blind desire to find Dorian and punish him for all he had done. As she fed herself with her hate for him, Arielle quickly rode up and suddenly grabbed Eden's reins, pulling on them with all her might. Arion swerved into a halt and Eden glared at the bard.
"What are you doing?!" she cried.
"Don't follow them."
"There's a breach. It's our chance!" Eden cried, trying to take her reins back.
"No! You'll die!"
"Arielle-"
"I saw it!" Arielle shouted and Eden grew silent for a moment, looking at the bard with gravity.
The image of Eden being pulled from her horse and hacked to death amongst a heap of dead Templars still burned in the bard's eyes. Eden looked at the Templars fighting at the entrance and then back at the bard. She realized what had probably happened when she saw the bard staring into the sky and though visions were never something to be ignored, Eden didn't know how much was a correct interpretation and how much the blond's own fear.
"Please." Arielle said with eyes that begged her to believe her.
"Alright." Eden said quietly, slowly taking the reins back from the relieved bard, turning, and trotting back to the camp.
Forty Templars attacked the breach. Forty Templars, including the Master of the Temple, were slaughtered. The next morning their bodies decorated the castle walls.
Morale was low and there were rumors that the siege would be lifted and the Crusaders would go home. They watched as the Saracens quickly repaired the breach and they all returned to their stalemate. Arielle was frustrated with the thought of all the lives wasted for no purpose at all and Eden with the fact that Dorian would be victorious and left unharmed. But the Hospitallers managed to keep the spirits of the warriors alive, convincing them that victory was near. So they all began another assault with their catapults.
Everyone was so battle starved and so elated to see the wall crumble again, leaving a greater breach than before, that upon seeing the gap in the defenses, the Crusaders rushed it in a frenzy an archangel wouldn't have been able to stop.
From their positions, Arielle watched as Eden trotted forward with the rest of the unaffiliated guardians under her command.
"Aim high!" Tobias cried to his archers over the shouts and rumbling of hooves, as he motioned for them to advance until they were within arrow range of the walls, "The warriors are advancing!"
Everything that looked perfect on a battle map seemed to develop several creases on the battlefield. Some units were confused as to where they were supposed to go, some got in the way of others and slowed their advance. One unit of spearmen advanced too quickly and once within arrow range of the walls was cut to half its size by the defenders before breaking and fleeing in shock. Yet, in the midst of it all, Eden kept her fighting senses about her. She waited patiently for the Templars to charge through as Arion hit his hoof against the ground, sensing his rider's tension.
"Advance!" she finally yelled.
She rode at the head of her double column formation, keeping a fast but steady pace, her sword resting on her shoulder. Once in arrow range of the towers, she raised her sword into the air and called for a wedge formation. The riders shifted into formation so neatly that it almost resembled a dance to the bard. As they neared the opening, she saw Garrett already there, catching sight of the warrior and instantly barking commands to his men.
"Charge!" Eden cried, pointing her sword forward.
The formation instantly picked up speed, charging at the breech at a heart skipping speed and determination etched into their faces. Eden's cry could be heard all the way to the archer positions.
"Archers! Forward!" Tobias commanded, waving his sword in the air.
The archers picked up their bows and ran to their more forward positions, their intent to pick off the rest of the tower defenders. The archers who were more heavily armored and trained in mounted combat signaled pages that held their horses in a safe, secure spot to bring them up front. Quickly, they mounted and followed Tobias's experienced lead, Arielle riding right behind him, all in an ordered, steady trot. Without a clear entrance to move through, the archers wouldn't be able to occupy the towers and cover the guardians. Tobias saw their chance between the Templars now pushing forward and the Hospitallers that were approaching quickly. He pointed his sword forward and they galloped after him. In a perfectly timed maneuver, they slipped thought the breech in the wall and part of them automatically dismounted to take over the first tower while the rest rode off for the next.
Arielle jumped off of Xanthus and took a moment to look for Eden before an arrow that wizzed by her ear brought her back to the present. She rushed through the door into the tower and began her ascent up the stone steps. A few Saracens were making their way down when they met Arielle and a handful of archers that followed her. She let them fall down the steps with trained defensive maneuvers of her sword and continued onward. Her heart didn't beat to the rhythm of war drums or bloodlust, but to the knowledge that the sooner the castle was taken, the sooner they could go home. She fought her way to the top of the tower were she disarmed those Saracen archers who hadn't decided to break and flee and a few spearmen already there sent them to the afterlife.
By some miracle, Eden had caught sight of the bard as the blond rushed into the tower. She continued to fight back the defenders and sensed a growing chaos developing amongst them. The Crusaders had simply flooded them in a violent rush and the Saracens hadn't had time to form a proper defense. Small units and even individual warriors tried as best they could to form some kind of barrier between the Crusaders and the rest of the castle, but it was useless. And then Eden heard a deafening crash of the wall being hit. She turned to see dust rising from right next to the tower and she turned to a young warrior standing next to her.
"Get those idiots off the catapult!" Eden roared into the young man's face.
He nodded once and ran off to carry back the message as quickly as possible. The order reached the intended unit, but not before they sent another ball forward heading straight for the tower Arielle was in. The tower had been captured and the archers divided, a few staying behind, the rest running across the ramparts to the next one, and Arielle running back down the steps to rejoin with Tobias. The tower shook as the stone ball slammed into it and devoured a hole straight through the middle, leaving a gaping nothingness a few steps beneath Arielle's feet. Eden cursed from below when she saw men flying out along with the stone ball. Arielle didn't have enough time to stop and before she realized what was happening, she was falling through the hole in the tower. She heard the whistling of the air in her ears as she plummeted to the ground, her arms and legs flailing, trying to grab hold of anything that would stop her fall. There wasn't even enough time to say a prayer and make her peace with God so she just squeezed her eyes shut, angrily aware that she was about to die.
She hit something solid, but felt no pain and when she opened her eyes, she saw Eden standing there, holding her in her arms. In a burst of joyous relief, she scrambled to throw her arms around the warrior's neck and let out the breath she had been holding.
"It's alright. I've got you." Eden calmed as if there was no battle in progress, holding her securely and moving quickly to the nearest corner in the walls to shelter them a little from the fighting.
The bard took in large gulps of air, her mind racing through the endless possible outcomes if Eden hadn't caught her. But soon the warrior's presence began to calm Arielle as it always did, repeating that the bard was safe and no harm had come to her. As much as the bard wanted to simply stay in those arms, her rational mind reminded her that there was a battle to win. She took in as much of Eden as she could, took a deep breath, and patted Eden on the chest. Eden put her down slowly and then glanced over her for a moment.
"I'm alright." the bard reassured her, "Are you?"
Eden nodded, they both looked at each other knowingly, and after a few moments they reluctantly returned to the battle. Eden remounted and flew into the fighting to aid her comrades while Arielle remounted and rode off to find Tobias.
Eden made her way through the chaos of the battle and made it to the inner keep that was nearer the western side of the fortress. She dismounted and flung the unguarded doors wide open, convinced she would find Dorian there. The main hall was empty and she drove forward in long, determined, powerful strides. She reached what she guessed to be a war room from the crossed axes over the door. I will kill you for all that you've done. Eden flung the door open and saw a large group of terrified eyes staring back at her.
A group of around 15 local peasants were huddled together in the room. Women, children, and elderly men held onto each other, all staring at Eden, her bloodstained tunic, and drawn sword, convinced that their end had just been met. They weren't warriors, fighters, or bandits, they were simple people who were caught up in things that were far outside their understanding.
"Fajir?" a gray haired woman whispered, her lips trembling as she held a young boy to her chest.
"Ghazi." Eden said with a shake of her head.
The elderly woman looked at her with sad eyes and regarded her carefully as if trying to decide whether the guardian could be trusted or not. A silence settled in the chamber, touched only by the sounds of fighting outside the stone walls.
"What you do?"
"I will take you somewhere safe." the warrior replied in a sudden clarity of decision.
Eden stunned herself. There was a time that she would tease and prod these poor souls who did nothing, but be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She would taunt them, she would laugh, and she would find power in that. But now she found that her power was to save these people who were caught in the middle of a tempest of violent death. A part of her mind argued that she didn't have time for this, that she was there to find Dorian and that these people would just have to fend for themselves as she always had to. Yet a different source in her convinced her that she wasn't alive to simply live for herself, that there was a greater good and larger purpose in life. A thin smile crossed her lips as she felt the new power's source echo in her mind- 'you drive the dark away'.
"No! Fuwaysiqah!" a young man cried out suddenly and spat on the floor.
The woman turned and gave him a stern look and he unwillingly quieted and turned away. Eden wanted to tell him that she understood and that she felt the same way, but simply glanced back at the woman.
"Where is safe? Here war, we ghanimah. How we go?" the woman asked with concern.
Eden knew the woman was right. The Crusaders would let them leave unharmed after the battle was finished, but right now the keep was the center point of the fortress and battle-crazy warriors were sure to find them. Eden knew that she had to get them out of the castle if they were to have any chance.
"Fi Aman allah."
"Inshallah." the gray haired woman said softly after a moment and gestured for the rest to get up.
They gathered around and Eden trotted to the partially hidden northern entrance that the keep possessed, opened the heavy iron door, and looked out. To the west, the walls plunged down into the sea, from the east and south the Crusaders were advancing so the only option was to run to the north and hope the groves would hide them enough until they were out of harm's way. To her left, archers were busy fighting off spearmen on the ramparts and to her right one line of fighters was struggling with another line, locked in combat. Eden saw her chance. The warrior ran back and motioned for them to come with her. The group huddled together quietly and followed her. When she reached the door, she looked at the elderly woman and pointed to a part of the wall not far off to the side which had crumbled. Eden showed them with her hands that they would run to the fallen section of the wall, climb over it, and then run. They said nothing, surrendering to their fate and finding strength in the conviction that their rescue was something that Allah had willed. The gray-haired woman turned to the rest, they all nodded silently, and she turned to a young girl at her side to go as the first one. She hesitated, but when Eden nodded, so did she. Eden leaned out of the door, observing everything around and gave the signal to go. And one by one, the group of peasants fled from their death trap. The gray haired woman with the young boy were the last ones.
"Hasan." the woman whispered, putting her hand lightly on Eden's chest and looking straight in her eyes.
Eden looked back at her in acknowledgment and watched her as she walked quickly to the wall, helped the boy over, and then disappeared behind the wall. Eden closed her eyes and sighed. Discite benefacere: quærite iudicium, subvenite oppresso, iudicate pupillo, defendite viduam.
Though disorganized, the Saracens fought bitterly and each scrap of wall or ground was paid for in blood. The sun had already made its way far across the sky while the battle continued to rage as if it had just started. Arielle had chanced upon a virtually unguarded side entrance and opened it, letting a large unit of Hospitallers charge in from the side and reek more confusion amongst the defenders. The bard had reached the meeting point, but found no Tobias or any other archer and suddenly found herself alone and exposed. Saracens were streaming forward from the western side of the castle in a hasty and desperate attempt to push the Crusaders back out. Seeing the danger, Arielle tried to retreat, but was boxed in by fighting in the rather narrow alleys. In a last ditch measure, she dismounted and tried to climb up the stone steps that followed up the wall. She started when one of the approaching Saracens attacked her with a halabard, misjudging the distance, but having enough to knock her over as he passed her. She fell to the ground heavily, having the wind knocked out of her and her heart began to beat rapidly, knowing full well that she was in great trouble. She held her sword up slightly in defense, trying to get her breath back. As she tried to get back up, another Saracen hit her in the back with his shield as he rode by and Arielle landed face down on the ground with a loud groan. Her body began to protest loudly at the abuse, beginning to lack the strength to get back up and continue fighting. The bard turned her head to an alarming sound of hooves and saw another wave of Saracens coming her way. And she knew she wouldn't make it. As her mind struggled for a plan, she heard another sound of hooves, but this one rumbled like oncoming violent thunder, pounding into the ground. She looked in its direction and saw Eden charging towards her, her sword upraised, shouting cries of war and warning, and Arielle knew why the Saracens thought her a demon. The bard forced herself to her feet, pushing her body to do what she commanded and once she stood, she reached out to grasp the arm Eden had outstretched towards her. Arielle vaulted up onto the saddle behind Eden and gripped the warrior tightly. For a moment, Arielle remembered the day they had escaped from Karas and she felt a small spot of warmth grow in her heart at how the warrior always protected her. Knowing she had no other choice, Eden charged through the advancing line of Saracens, slicing through two of them as she did. She pulled Arion to a stop and turned, but saw that instead of turning to battle her, the riders had disbanded in all directions.
"Are you alright?" Eden asked, turning her head to the side.
"Just a little battered. I don't know where Tobias is." the bard answered.
In her heart, Eden wanted nothing more than the battle to be finished and to get the bard out of there. But the battle wasn't over and neither was her mission. She had encountered a few jinn and sent them back to the shadows, but strangely Dorian was nowhere to be found. She wanted to tell Arielle to find a safe place and stay there, but she knew the bard wouldn't hear of it. She scanned the surrounding, but found no trace of the archer or his men.
"Go find Lawrence," Eden ordered, helping the bard down, "He should be somewhere near the northern walls. Stay with him until you find Tobias or I come for you."
"Please be careful." Arielle said, still holding onto Eden's arm.
For a single moment, the battle seemed to fade away and Eden looked at the blond with a deep gravity. She almost felt as if their fates were being weighed and determined in that very second. The green eyes peering back up at her housed a secret promise that Eden hadn't yet found the key to. But it was a promise nonetheless.
"Always." Eden said in a silent decision she suddenly made.
The sun was finishing its day when the remaining Saracens finally surrendered to the determined attackers. Relieved, the tired and battered Crusaders reveled in their victory quietly and they all turned to the gruesome task of collecting the dead. The ground was littered with the bodies of Crusaders and Saracens, their numerous pools of blood turning the ground into a sickening, sticky mud, and filling the air with the thick scent of death. Eden was exhausted and battered all over with more cuts than she wanted to count. But amidst the death and destruction and her own pain, there was a strange, constant, light throbbing pain in her chest that began to worry her.
Eden finally found Lawrence who was having his arm bandaged by a comrade. The Hospitaller stood to meet her with a strangely absent expression on his face.
"Eden..." Lawrence choked.
The warrior looked at the seer and saw a tear roll down his dirty, bloodied face and the broken look in his eyes. Her heart dropped to her feet and she stopped breathing.
"What happened?" she asked in a tone barely under control.
"It's Arielle..."
The warrior couldn't ask what happened to her so she just stared at Lawrence.
"She's been kidnapped."
Eden said nothing, but started walking up menacingly toward the Hospitaller as if she wanted to frighten him into taking those words back.
"Demons... I'm so sorry..."
"How could you?" she growled in a low, quiet tone.
"Eden, I'm so sorry..."
"How could you?!" she shouted now when the realization finally set in and she grabbed hold of the knight and began to violently shake him, "Why didn't you protect her? Why didn't you defend her?"
"I'm sorry." Lawrence repeated over and over as he managed to pull Eden in with all his strength and hold her in compassion.
He finally let her go when he felt her calm a little. She hung her head and he could feel the pain radiating off of her.
"I'm going to go find her." the warrior murmured, turning her gaze to the north.
"Now? Eden, you have to rest. We need to come up with a plan and find some information who-"
"Lawrence," the warrior said in a calm, frigid voice, "I'm going to find her now and I will kill anyone who stands in my way."
There was a look in those dark blue eyes that made him forget to breathe; a glare that froze him to the core. The feral menace that he had so hoped had finally been put to sleep had now returned with a vengeance.
- Wicked/ evil doer?
- Holy warrior/ guardian.
- Vermin/ Deviator from the right way.
- We spoils of war.
- In the protection of God.
- If Allah wills.
- Good/ admirable.
- Learn to do good. Seek judgment, support the oppressed, judge for the orphan, defend the widow.