Stronghold

Chapter 1

If a village could be said to cower, Mare's Deep seemed to manage it. It cowered by day in the shadow of the mountain, and at this precise moment it cowered before the thumping hoof beats of the band of armed raiders sweeping down the main street. Under the fluttering banner of horse's head, the totem of their village, the local militia stood bravely in their way, men and woman sworn and determined to protect their people; but leather armour was pitted against metal, and spears and knives against swords and crossbows, and the resistance however hard fought could not, in the end, prevent them loading sacks with the fruits of their harvest, and breaking into the houses and dragging out boys and girls, screaming in terror. At the head of the raiders rode one of the Princes of the mountain fortes, grinning with a triumphant victory.

"You see?" He called out to the shuttered windows. "You may refuse to send us tribute, that does not mean we won't still take it!" Crouched beneath one such window, peering out through the cracks, a sixteen year old boy and his family watched in silent fear as the group rode past. Suddenly the boy stiffened, seeing a small shape darting between the hooves of the warhorses.

"Dusty!" He stared in horror as the rear warriors pointed and laughed, aiming lazy swipes of their sword points at the terrified cat. "No!" He straightened up and yanked open the door, his mother grabbing for him and missing, yelling after him.

"Harry, no! what are you doing?"

He ran out into the street, not thinking about anything other than saving his cat. Waving between the huge horses, he scooped it up into his arms, getting a claw slash down one cheek for his pains and staggered back, realising in fear he was now somehow encircled. One horse, larger than the others, pushed to the front and his knees felt weak as he recognised the livery of Prince Louis himself. Head mostly covered by an alarming helmet that hid his expression, the prince looked down at Harry and laughed.

"What have we here?" Harry swallowed, and glared up at him defiantly. "Call yourself warriors when you'd hurt a defenceless cat?" He'd meant to shout it, but somehow the words came out low and shaking. Dusty finally wriggled out of his arms and streaked between the horses to disappear in through the door of Harry's house. He realised to his horror that his mother was standing in the doorway, and shook his head minutely, silently pleading for her to go back inside, suddenly hoping the attention of the raiders would stay on him. The prince cocked his head, studying Harry. "Brave. If stupid." He gathered up his reins and pulled his horse around, and Harry wondered for a heart stopping second if he was allowed to go free. Then the prince's next words were flung carelessly back over his departing shoulder. "Bring him" Hands grabbed Harry roughly from above and he found himself being dragged, kicking, into the air. Somewhere, as if a long way off, he heard his mother screaming.

At the same time, a long way away in the small town of Greyglass on the far side of the mountains, a boy was washing himself. He stood on smooth tiles and let the water diverted from the lake and warmed by the town's furnaces pour over him, a comforting pressure on his shoulder that meant he didn't have to think about what lay ahead of him. He'd been in there too long already, his mother would be getting impatient. It was just - he knew that as soon as he came out, it would begin. To step out of the bathing room was to take the first step on a journey that would take him far from here, perhaps never to see the town, or his family, again. So he stood under the falling water, and washed carefully, as he had, after all, been instructed to, and wasted time. Eventually, the voice of his mother echoed through the room, closer than it should have been, and made him jump.

"Zayn? Zayn, hurry up, what are you doing in here all this time? You're going to be late, and that won't do, we can't keep them waiting!" Zayn sighed, and pulled the trap down that shut off the water, and reached for a towel. Stepping round the corner he came face to face with his mother and jumped.