Hail

Twenty-four

I am focused on the two bloodied men that stand just inside the room. My eyes are taking in every detail of their person for clues. I can tell that they have come immediately from battle, they still wear their bloodied armor and one has not taken the time to even wash the blood off of his face. They both appear uncomfortable, neither one meeting my eyes, but rather turning their attention to their hands or the floor. I look to the nobles that stay lingering along the walls, all wanting with bated breath. "Leave us." I know that they want to stay and hear whatever these men have to say, but I feel that whatever they are going to say I need to hear in peace. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to maintain control of my emotions and I do not wish to put on a show right now. I see their hesitation, but still they leave. The door at my side opens and the guard lets in Elisa. She is short of breath and her cheeks flushed, obviously she ran to get to my side. I am grateful to whomever sent for her, though her presence only adds to the worry that I feel. She would not be here if they did not feel that it was necessary. I can see the fear in her wide eyes as she comes closer and I try to offer her a smile of reassurance though I can feel the fear growing in me as well.

As she reaches my side, I look back to the soldiers. Tomas still stands near their side. I know this is not good news. Even if their unheralded arrival hadn't already indicated as such, it is plain on their faces that they do not wish to utter the words they have to say. They look at each other as if they are trying to decide who will give their message. "Speak."

One steps forward. "Your grace," He stops as if the words are stuck in his throat.

The other begins to speak. "We have beaten the soldiers of Navos, but there is word of the king and prince."

I feel the cold hand of dread settling around my heart. "Soldier, what happened?"

"Your grace we have been sent as advance riders from the soldiers in order to help the castle prepare for the soldiers arrival,"

I can tell he is stating what he has been told, but I do not wish to listen to speeches. "What happened?"

"Prince Valeous is dead."

The words are like a physical blow as I feel all of the air sucked out of my lungs and I struggle to keep on my feet. I feel Elisa's hand clutch mine and I can see Tomas bow his head in what appears to be defeat. "What?"

The second soldier steps forward. His voice is shaking, I can see the pain in his eyes as he prepares to speak. "Prince Valeous was killed battle."

I am numb. Hollow. I feel nothing. I understand the words that he has spoken, but they hold no meaning as my heart refuses to accept them. This cannot be the truth. There must be some mistake to the words he says. "How?"

"When we arrived to the meadow by the coast, the men stationed there were already engaged as the ships from Navos had already arrived. The winds has pushed the ships faster than we had anticipated and they had already disembarked and were trying to take advantage of the smaller number of perimeter troops. It was clear that these men had been planning this attack for some time and had sent spies to our shores before as they landed at an area that allowed the ships to get the closest to the shore. Our men were losing, many of them were already dead and there was no time to pause unless we wanted to suffer a defeat as it would give the soldiers from Navos the chance to gain a foothold on the beach. They were better prepared and trained than we had believed and each one was fighting with the vigor of a condemned man seeing his only chance for escape. Even though we had been riding all day, the king ordered us to engage as he could see that our men were losing. There was no chance to consult on a plan of attack unless we wanted to watch the few men still fighting fall to their deaths around us.