The Star King

A Broken Queen And A Bloody Prince October 25th 1415

Limping, she stopped abruptly as a man appeared in front of her. He was different from the other soldiers she had fought. He must be a nobleman she thought. As she stared at his silver-plated armor. The fleur de lys was emblazoned upon his breastplate.

He removed his helmet throwing it to the ground. Elisabeth silently marveled at his beauty for a moment, as it was so unlike Hals. His hair was dark as the blackest night. With dark, glittering almost black eyes that held less emotion than Hals. He stared coldly pointing his sword at her.

She felt herself shiver. When he spoke it was in a rich, thick French accent but he spoke in perfect English.

 " Do you know who I am, ma cherie?"

 Elisabeth's head felt heavy and fuzzy.  She shook it slowly, an ice-cold smile crept over his icy angelic face. She gripped the sword tighter. 

" I am the Dauphin of France" she wondered why he was telling her this.

 " You. You are a woman on the battlefield" suddenly he burst out laughing as if it was one of the most amusing things he had ever encountered.

His laughter rang out surprising the men around them. Elisabeth gritted her teeth. Seething with a sudden rage. 

"Are you mocking me, sir?" Her voice still came out hoarse but filled with anger. 

He continued to laugh his eyes though showed no emotion. 

 " England must have fallen on hard times if the King is employing women into his army" He  snickered." It's a shame that I might have to kill you, as you are quite pretty even if you are English."

He abruptly stopped laughing becoming deadly serious his eyes seemed to glow with a crude desire. She felt herself tremble, she felt like a mouse being teased by a cat. " Our men haven't seen a woman in such a long time. You might just last long enough for me to take you too" with that he sneered a cruel, cold smile.

Rising panic engulfed her " Come here, let me take a proper look at you." 

With that before her brain could register what was going on, he charged towards her. Elisabeth willed her body to do something and just in time she dodged him and hit him across his back with her sword. He spun around quickly balancing himself. Pure white rage was plastered across his face and he hit her with his shield so hard that she fell to the ground, twisting her already hurt foot. She gave a strangled cry.

Elisabeth's strength was failing her as she lay there. She tried to reach for her sword but he kicked it away and grabbed her by the hair pulling her to her feet. Her foot throbbed and she almost collapsed but he held on tight.

She trembled with fear as he brought his hands to her neck and started to choke her. Fumbling for her dagger she felt the tears start to fall down her face.  Was this it?  Was this how she was to die? His cruel smile would be the last thing she would see. She thought to herself as she closed her eyes tight. His face was still clear as daylight behind her shut eyelids.

" I had heard rumors that he liked his whores. Fancy bringing one onto the battlefield. It's a pity if you hadn't hit me I might have let you live. But now you have to die you, wrench! " He spat at her.

At this, she opened her eyes again. His cold eyes penetrated right to her heart freezing her dead. Feeling her body slowly give in, she wondered if this was how her brothers had felt when they had died along with her husband. Had he thought of her at all at this moment? She doubted it. She could see the Dauphin's lips moving but his voice seemed so far away, it floated eerily, dancing just out of reach. She could no longer make out what he was saying. He seemed to swim in and out of her vision.

Her strength was waning fast. She could no longer breathe, suddenly the hold on her neck loosened and she fell to the ground gasping for air. Hal appeared his eyes shone with a fierce blind rage. He was covered in mud and dirt and it encased his clothing. There were specks of blood on his face but he still looked strong and powerful.

He gripped his sword tight as the two men began to circle each other like vultures, then closing in for the kill they attacked furiously. Elisabeth tried to concentrate her eyes on Hal but his movements were like a lion fast and graceful, blocking and challenging the Dauphin. They were both excellent swordsmen and equal in strength. They hacked and blocked with such force.

The men surrounding them had turned and stopped fighting, instead, they watched the two warriors slash at each other. The English cheered for there King who pounced upon the Dauphin dealing out a lethal blow but the Dauphin dodged and his men gave a loud cheer. Charging at Henry again the Dauphin attacked.

Henry brought his sword down with lightning speed and pure force.  He got the Dauphin to his knees. Hals sword pointed at the Dauphin's neck. The Dauphin looked up at Hal and dropped his own sword into the mud ridden ground " I surrender" with that he held up his arms.

Henry kept his sword pointed at him his eyes alight like a raging fire. His stormy gaze fixed solely upon the Dauphin. His face blazed with hate. Elisabeth at that moment looked up and found herself afraid of Henry, she had never seen him look so fearsome. The French soldiers all dropped their weapons and fell to there knee's one by one. The English soldiers stood frozen. 

The two figures slipped out of focus as her vision blurred. She felt dizzy and her head started to throb, the last thing she remembered was hitting the mud churned ground, the smell of the mud filling her nostrils, and the dampness on her face as the blackness engulfed her. This time she found herself readily submitting to the black.