Sleeping Beauty

Chapter 22

It was the early hours of the morning, the sun had barely been in the sky more than an hour but the whole kingdom had been awake for hours.  Maria pushed her way through the armoury, a mass of bodies pushing to make sure they were well equipped.  She made her way up to one of the captains whom had been assigned to weapons distribution, a clump of papers in his hand as he tried to keep track of what was being taken.

“How are we doing?”  She asked nervously.

“Well your highness, we should be ready within the hour.”  He stated as he continued to tick off items on the list.

“Excellent.  Have you seen my brothers?”

“Yes, I believe that they were heading to the stables in search of you.  Would you like me to misdirect them again?”

“If you could.  I have so much more to do before I ready myself.”

“As you wish your highness.”

She clambered down the steps and back into the sea of bodies.  As she wrestled for the exit a hand grasped at her shoulder.  Turning around instantly she was met with the eyes of her brother Leonard who did not seem best pleased to see her still in her civilian clothing.

“Maria, you need to put your armour on.”  He stated bluntly.

“You are starting to pick up some of Eric’s commanding tone.”  She teased.

“Do not play with me Maria.  You need to protect yourself, you cannot walk into battle like that; you will get yourself killed.”

“Leonard, I need.”

“No you do not.”  He said cutting her off.  “You need to dress yourself properly or I will not allow you to leave.  Everything else can wait.”

Reluctantly she agreed, allowing Leonard to hold onto her arm and drag her out of the armoury.  In the open air she relished in the cleanness of it having been stuck within close confines of dirty and nervous men.

She was escorted back into the castle where he maids waited for her, ready with new clothing.  She changed from her dress and into thick tights with a tunic, clothes she had had to borrow from Ethan though they were still too large for her.  Her hair was pulled dramatically from her face and tied at the top of her head so there was no chance that it could interfere with her.

Once this was done her brother’s came in and helped put her armour on.  Unable to bear the weight of full armour, she had had to settle for chainmail and other guards.  Covering the chainmail in another tunic which displayed her kingdom’s flag she was handed her helmet, a gift from her brother’s for her first battle.  Following them through the corridors she head towards the armoury once more but on her way her father and mother appeared in the main entrance to the castle, waiting for their children to arrive.

The five of them bowed and her brothers were dismissed leaving only Maria.  She waited nervously, part of her worried that they would stop her from leaving though a tiny fraction of her would have been grateful for the chance to bow out.  Instead a servant came running in with a large object hidden by a red velvet cloth.  He handed it to the Queen before leaving then in silence.

“Maria before you go to fight for your Prince, we wish to bestow you with a gift.”  Her father said as her mother held out the hidden object.  Turning towards it he pulled the cloth away to reveal a magnificent sword, reflecting the light which poured in through the windows.  She marvelled at its sharp edge, one clean stroke and it would be fatal.

“We had this specially made.  It is the exact weight of your own but it did not seem fitting enough for such a Princess.”  He explained as he handed her the sword.

“We never dreamed that you would one day join your brothers in battle, but now that the day has come, we could not be more proud of you and your choices.”  Queen Lillian added.

“Phillip is lucky to have the love of such a fine woman.”  The King declared with admiration.

“It is I who has been lucky.”  She corrected as she held her sword by her side.

“And may your luck continue this day my daughter.”  He then leaned in and placed a soft kiss to her forehead.  “Happy birthday.”

With one last hug from each of her parents she said her final goodbyes before joining her brothers in front of her army.  With her brother’s mounted on their horses, she joined them above the others as she mounted her own and rode towards her commanding officers.

“Your highness, we are ready for your commands.” Said a captain who had rode out to greet her.

“Is everyone in place?”

“Yes, your archers have been in the woods since dawn with orders not to fire until the battle commences.  The rest of the army awaits your orders.”

She nod her head to signal his leave and as he rode off to join the ranks, her brother’s joined her side.  She stared at the thousands in front of her, all of them expecting to come home that day but she knew that for some this would not be true.  All of a sudden the weight of what she was about to do hit her.  These men looked to her for leadership and guidance, something she had little experience in.  Yes she was a warrior, there was no question in that but a leader, she did not seem as sure as she had before.

Eric noticed this fear in her and came to her side, looking out into the crowds with her.

“You are a ruler Maria, born to lead these people.”

“I was born to wed Elijah yet I still seem to have destroyed that ideal.”  She countered almost mischievously.

“You were never destined for Elijah but you were meant to lead them.  You were meant to inspire them; this is something you can do.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I am sure that you were meant to love Phillip.  And you were therefore meant to lead this army to free him.”

He left her on her own, to look out at the sea of faces before her.  Alexander, in his own way, had helped her see through her worry.  She now knew how he has inspired so many to follow him and now she knew it was her turn.  She moved forward slightly and commanded the attention of everyone before her.  Taking in a deep breath, she began what she hoped would be a speech which convinced her people that what they were about to do was just and that they stood every chance of returning home that evening.

“My brothers, my people, my family, for this moment I ask you to head my words.”  She bellowed at the top of her lungs, attracting the attention of her people.  Swallowing her own fear she moved slowly forward, distinguishing herself from her brothers and military leaders. 

“Many of you may not agree with what we are about to accomplish, the silly romance of a naïve princess.  But I am here to tell you that what we fight for is not just my love of one man, but the love of you all.  I will not let a foreign land gain control over you and I will not let them strike fear into your own homes like they have mine.  This may be a war for love but today we stand to protect that, for those that we love, we go to protect them.  Will you stand with us and fight?”

A triumphant clattering of swords against shields and bellowing of voices all joined in unison.  She raised her sword in the air while each of them joined her, showing their support.  After letting out a sigh of relief she turned to face her brothers, all of whom had raised their swords with her. 

“Was that enough?”  She asked them collectively.

“It was inspiring.”  Eric agreed.

With a nod to confirm her happiness she joined them in line, taking her place in-between Eric and Alexander.  The sound of war horns rang out behind her to signal their departure and so they began their journey to the centre of the woods where the battle would take place.  The journey would be long but it would not be as tiring as the journey Bernard and Elijah had to make.  Her only comfort was that by the time they reached the woods, the guardians would already have infiltrated Bernard’s kingdom to rescue Phillip.  Once the battle started, he would already be free.