D' Arc || The King

Chapter XV

The seasons passed and the army of England found themselves in another crisp autumn. More troops had arrived to replace the ones they had lost, bringing food, supplies, and rumors. The large yellow sun glinted off the large bend in the river, filling the right side of the camp with the quiet trickle of water rushing over smoothed stones.

"Damn it, I missed," Humphery grumbled as he held a wooden spear in his hands. Isabel turned in the water, her dress floating around her ankles as she held a fishing spear over the water. "Seriously Humphery, you need to be patient-" she started, as she turned around to look at him, only to stop short and jump away at the sight of a wiggling fish at the end of a stick.

Humphery grinned and lunged forward as Isabel yelped and darted away from him. Isabel leaned down and swept up some water in her cupped hand, drenching him.

"Stop it!" She cried as she laughed before it was cut off as a wave of the cool liquid crashed over her, drenching her from the waist down. "We're supposed to be catching fish, not giving each other a cold!"

"Where's the fun in that?" Humphrey questioned, grinning roguishly. "Monster," she grumbled. "My lord!" A man called. "My lord! My lord!" Humphrey cursed and spun around.

"Can't you see I'm busy? What is it?" "It's the king, my lord. He requires your presence," the soldier said and Humphrey cursed before looking at Isabel apologetically. "I'm sorry."

She shrugged and took the spear from his hand. "It'll be fine. Go to your brother. Take the fish back to camp, I'll get it ready later." He nodded and she waded into the water.

Isabel stared down at the water, wiggling and stretching her toes as she watched the cool liquid swirl around her before dancing downstream singing its happy gurgle. She felt like she could melt down away and be carried away to who knows where. Her eyes traveled towards the city of Caen. The stench of rotting bodies and starving people hadn't reached this far yet, but Isabel felt like it was rolling off the city in thick clouds, threatening to suffocate them all.

The army had moved to northern Normandy and this was one of the many cities that Henry planned to take. Almost 40,000 souls caught in a war between two men who wouldn't even blink at their deaths, Isabel thought. Thankfully there wasn't the sound of stone being smashed to bits and cannon fire. Instead, it was quiet and Isabel enjoyed it, despite the heavy tension in the air. If Humphery was being called back, it would mean that they were preparing for another assault.

Fear clenched at Isabel's throat and she turned sharply on her heel and marched out of the water and dropped the fish that Humphery had caught into the bucket that smelled distinctly like any body of water that had receded enough to reveal its more disgusting underside. She smiled to herself before picking it up and making her way to where the smell of wood-burning was strong.

"Isabel!" Edward Sprenghose said, springing up from his seat when he saw her. "Edward how come you're always stuck cooking for the boys?" She asked with a smile and he stepped forward and took the bucket from her. "Because we all know that I have a wonderful taste in food and have excellent cooking skills," he joked, making Isabel laugh.

"Alright, then let's see what kind of magic you can pull off with these," she said, pulling out a fish and shoving it in his hand. His face turned slightly green at the texture of the dead animal, but he nodded and turned away. Isabel patted his shoulder as she walked past him and mounted the grey mare that nickered at her.

Isabel rode to Abbaye aux Dames, one of the two abbeys that the English had captured and turned into strongholds. She knew for a fact that Thomas would be there with Henry and John since he was the one who had set it up as their main base.