Casus Belli Ch. 03: Road to Ruin

She blushed, "Thank you Vala, that's very considerate. Please thank the other girls from me too."

Her maiden shrugged, "It's all part of the job Pryoness," and then rose from the bed, "I'm going to get you a glass of milk, it'll help you sleep."

Cassandra nodded thankfully, then watched her maiden leave the bedroom, congratulating herself once again on how lucky she was with her girls.

The weather was dreary when Cassandra woke, and it hadn't improved by the time she finished breakfast, adding to her feeling of trepidation. The previous day she had set the daily council meeting to start at noon, but when she arrived at her father's conference room at half past eleven she found the entire council already present. She wasn't the only one in a somber mood, and the mood didn't improve when she raised the question about the stance their southern neighbors were taking on the matter. There was an outburst of distrust anticipating the Lorasian and Mercandon taking advantage of the situation. She gestured at Burgon Magwick, the councilor responsible for foreign affairs, which included foreign intelligence.

The Burgon took the floor, "Both the Lorasians and the Mercandon have put their armies on high alert, but apart from that haven't made any moves that could be seen as aggressive. It seems they are biding their time, probably because they don't know how precarious our situation actually is." He looked around the table, "If we win this war we would be well advised to play down any losses we have suffered. They haven't forgotten the crushing defeats they suffered at our hands in the past, but I have no doubt whatsoever that should they even smell weakness they will act upon it."

There were a lot of nodding heads around the table. The thought that victory over the orcs might just lead to another invasion by the Lorasians or the Mercandon was disturbing to say the least. And while the Lorasians would just be looking to expand their empire, the Mercandon would come to plunder and enslave. She actually feared the Mercandon more than the orcs. In Mercandon the life of a woman was worth less than that of a dog, and as to the life of a slave... Wealthy Mercandon men were notorious for keeping dozens of female slaves in their personal 'breeding stables', and the tales of what transpired in these stables was food for nightmares.

Cassandra instructed Magwick to keep a close eye on developments across the southern borders, and Marecomb to make sure the remaining troops at those borders kept a high visibility profile, to show more strength than actually available. With that all the important business had been taken care of. She spent another half an hour or so on some trivial issues, and then ended the meeting, only to find out nobody was actually leaving. They were all waiting for news from Bagman's Crossing and The Forks, and they knew they were at the place where, sooner or later, that news was going to be delivered.

Syldan and Denora were waiting in the ante room, so she instructed the latter to arrange for lunch to be served for the council in the adjacent dining room. They ate in a subdued atmosphere, with everyone both anxious and eager for news. News didn't come though, and the councilors spent the afternoon in small talk, while she herself just listened. The afternoon turned into dusk, and she asked Denora to arrange for dinner too. She watched her senior maiden leave, her nerves on ragged edge by now, and then at last, the trumpets announced an arrival.

The conference room looked out on the keep's inner court, so she couldn't see whom, or what, was arriving. So she just stood and took a few steps towards the doors, and then she waited until, at last, a courier arrived. She watched the man, a sergeant going by his dust covered insignia, come in. He looked tired as he bowed to her, "I bring news from your betrothed, your highness," he said. She gestured for him to continue, "Your courier arrived late last night, Pryoness, and Sir Boruga immediately ordered a redeployment. The army abandoned the defenses of the Neva bridge during the night and withdrew to those guarding the bridge across the Rodian. When I left this morning the redeployment was largely concluded, and of the orcish war-beast forces there was yet no sign."

A tremendous feeling of relief descended on her: The Forks were secured, and Brando was safe, at least for now. She thanked the sergeant and watched him leave, he had barely left the conference room when the trumpets signaled another arrival. Not much later another courier, a lieutenant this time, arrived at the conference room. He looked even more weary than the sergeant before him, and gave a hasty salute before addressing her, "Your highness, I bring a message from Colonel Kiran."

Her heart skipped a beat and her blood froze, "My father, is he wounded?" she interrupted him.

The lieutenant swallowed, "I'm sorry your highness, but your father has fallen in battle."

Cassandra almost fainted, "No, that can't be, you must be mistaken."

The lieutenant shook his head, "I'm so sorry, but the Kang is dead your highness, I saw him fall myself."

She watched the man drop to a knee in front of her, and then all the councilors followed his example, as they realized what the Kang's death meant. A loud whimper escaped her as they acknowledged their new sovereign, her vision blurred by tears as her world came crashing down around her. She wavered for a moment, until a pair of arms closed around her from behind, and steadied her. "Your father would have wanted for you to be strong now," Syldan's voice whispered into her ear.

Her maiden was right of course, she couldn't go to pieces now, her country needed her, her people needed her, now more than ever. She steadied herself, and felt Syldan's arms slide away from her. "Thank you," she whispered while wiping the tears from her face. Syldan smiled softly as she stepped back from her, and she locked eyes with the still kneeling courier, "I'm sorry lieutenant, please get up and continue your report." The man nodded and got up, and she noticed he was looking at her with pride. It confused her for a moment, and then she realized who it was he was proud of, and she felt herself grow a couple of inches.

The lieutenant cleared his throat, "After the orcs destroyed the reserve army in the hills north of the crossing they turned south again and joined the part of their army holding Bagman's Crossing. Now also reinforced with those war-beasts of theirs they started pushing us back, but we held the southern side of the crossing until dusk. We expected them to continue the attack into the night, like they had done at Windagon, but they didn't. They reorganized instead, and resumed their attack at dawn. They used their biggest war-beasts to break our defensive lines, and by noon they had taken the crossing. We were now defending open terrain, and they let loose their heavy cavalry, big armored beasts with a large horn protruding from the head."

The lieutenant had a haunted look on his face, "We simply couldn't stop them, and as a result the army started to break, but was rallied by the Kang himself. Next our own cavalry charged, led by the Kang, and it bought us enough time to redeploy defensively around Bagman's inn, about half a mile south from the river. It's fortified, and on higher ground, and we held that position for hours. The Kang and his staff were in the thick of it and they were counter charging a group of orc warriors when an orc arrow hit him in his left eye. I was less than ten yards away, I saw it happening. It was the last drop though, the army was at an end and started to fall back, but Colonel Kiran managed to keep them from routing."

He sighed heavily, "So the battle turned into a fighting retreat as we fell back along the road to Iriskan. After a couple of miles darkness fell, and the orcs halted their pursuit. Colonel Kiran continued the retreat until well after midnight. The men were dead on their feet by then, and the colonel ordered the army to take up defensive positions and rest. The orcs must have been exhausted too, because by sunrise they hadn't caught up with us yet. That's when the colonel ordered me to Iriskan, to report on what had happened, and to inform your highness that he's planning to fall back to The Seven Pints, the inn at the halfway point between Iriskan and Bagman's Crossing, and that he's in urgent need of reinforcements."

Cassandra had managed to put her personal misery aside, and nodded slowly. How many men did we lose?" she asked the lieutenant.

The soldier shrugged, "I have no exact figures, but we lost the entire reserve army, and at least a quarter of the rest of the forces that were defending Bagman's Crossing." He swallowed, "So that would come to twelve thousand men at least." She paled at the number, and the lieutenant made a reassuring gesture, "They aren't all dead your highness. This includes the wounded too, and those who became prisoners of war. The reserve army consisted out of seven thousand men, but over half of them were militia, who probably surrendered relatively easily."

She frowned, "How sure are you the orcs took prisoners of war?" The courier looked surprised. "They are orcs, and our army performed genocide on their people, on their elders, their women, and their children. They might not be in the mood to take prisoners...," she added.

The courier's face fell, "I..., I don't know your highness. I just assumed... But you're right, they aren't human, and we..." He looked down at the floor, "I was part of it. We all saw what the orcs did in the northern shires, they slaughtered everyone they came across, and as a result we were baying for their blood. But they kept evading us, denied us battle, so we did to them what they did to us, or at least we thought we did. It was all a terrible mistake."

She slowly shook her head, then locked eyes with Marecomb, "We'll have to pull Brando's army back. Leave just enough troops at The Forks to delay the orcs, should they attack, and get him to reinforce Colonel Kiran's troops," she swallowed, "or defend Iriskan, in case Kiran's forces are defeated before Brando can reinforce him." Marecomb didn't look happy at the prospect of losing The Forks, but he nodded nevertheless. She returned her attention to the Lieutenant, "What state is the orcish army in? Did they suffer heavy losses too?"

It got her another shrug, "They certainly suffered losses your highness, but how many? At least a couple of thousand, maybe more, it's impossible to be certain."

She sighed, "So we had an over two to one numerical advantage, but we have been losing at least three to four men for every lost orc? We'll have to do better than that, and start doing it soon, if we don't want to lose this war."

Cassandra instructed Marecomb to inform Brando about what had happened at Bagman's Crossing, and order him back to Iriskan with all but the minimum number of troops needed to try and fool the orcs into thinking the bridges at The Forks were still guarded by half the Nigawan army. And then she excused herself, from the meeting as well as the dinner. Leaving the conference room she found Denora had returned from arranging dinner for the council.

Her senior maiden rose the moment she saw her and hugged her close, "I'm so sorry for your loss milady!"

She hugged her back, "Thank you Denora." Syldan rose too, looking apologetically, she smiled softly at her, "You didn't say it, but I felt it nevertheless, and you did give me the advice I so desperately needed." The raven haired beauty visibly relaxed. She locked eyes with Denora, "I'm finished here for today, and I long for some privacy." The girl nodded understandingly, and they headed back to her quarters, and her private chambers, immediately. Entering the reception room she found Moiga and Vala behind the reception desk; both girls' faces turned, concerned, as they saw her. She straightened her back in response, and walked on towards her chamber's private hallway in awkward silence.

Denora followed her into the living room, and addressed her after she had sat down on one of the comfy couches, "I'll inform the other maidens milady."

She just nodded, and her senior maiden left the living room. The walls seemed to close in on her, You have to be strong Cassandra, you have to, even in front of your maidens. The doors opened again and she noticed them come in from the corner of her eye. She slowly stood and met the subdued girls at the center of the room. Vala was the first to speak up, "I'm so sorry for your loss milady."

Moiga and Leavy offered their condolences next, and by the time it was Polly's turn she felt tears run down her cheeks. The petite blonde started to say something, and then she just whimpered and ran up to her, and hugged her close. "I'm so sorry, he was such a lovely man, and such a good father to you."

She returned the hug, and felt her strength crumble as sorrow overwhelmed her. Her knees buckled, but then a dozen hands held her as the rest of her maidens piled in, and she trembled as their affection invigorated her. They stood like that for a little while, and then Syldan's voice sounded timidly, "Does this mean you're the Kangess now?"

The effect was immediate; she as much felt as that she saw all six of them drop down around her. Their kneeling embarrassed her hugely, "No, please, don't be silly, get up!" she pleaded. Polly was the first to rise, with the other girls following short behind. She shook her head, "I haven't even been crowned yet, and even if I were, I don't want you to treat me this way."

Denora cleared her throat, "But everyone will expect us to treat you this way, milady..."

The girl was right of course, but she so wanted for her not to be. She so much wanted for these girls to be her friends and not her subordinates. She swallowed, "Alright, you're right, but that's for outside these chambers. In here, when it's just us, I don't want anything to change."

That got her another group hug, and when they broke it up Denora addressed her, "You excused yourself for dinner with the council milady, so what should we arrange instead?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, I'm not that hungry actually."

Polly smiled deviously, "I'm pretty sure I smelled grilled chicken. I could go down to the kitchens and 'liberate' some..."

Cassandra's eyebrows rose, "The kitchens are three floors down, in another part of the keep, how the hell would you be able to smell what they're cooking there?"

Her junior maiden grinned, then counted on her fingers, "One; the kitchens are below the central court, so that's were their ventilation is. Two; they were cleaning the conference rooms today, so the windows were open, and those look out on the central court. Three; Polly has a good nose..."

Cassandra laughed softly, "Alright, go 'liberate' some grilled chicken then, and whatever else you need to make those sinfully delicious sandwiches." She looked at the other maidens, "And make sure you bring enough for all of us."

Polly skipped away and when she was gone Denora cocked her head, "Where would you like to eat milady?"

She shrugged, "I'm not going to eat alone..." She looked at the large living room table, "Let's just pretend we're having tea, shall we?"

The girls smiled warmly, and Denora nodded, looking pleased, "As you wish milady."

A good hour later she was eating at the living room table, with six lovely maidens eager to distract her thoughts. And it worked, at least to some degree, for the duration. Afterwards reality crushed down on her again; the death of her father, the dire situation with the orcs, her worries about Brando's safety, the future of the Nigawan people. She remembered what Bashuk had said, at that parley, was that already a month ago? Resistance would get them total war. The lands would be burned, the towns and cities would be sacked, and all the nobles would be put to the sword. But if they surrendered the land and the people would be spared, and the nobles would be allowed to keep their lives and personal freedom.

The nobles chose war, and now, if they lost this war, not just the nobles would pay. The common people would pay too, and those people were her responsibility now. She looked around the table, her maidens were busy with each other for a moment, and didn't notice her watching them. They represented the common people, didn't they? So now they, and their families, would suffer too. There and then she decided not to let that happen, whatever it took. She suddenly noticed Polly was looking at her, she locked eyes with her, and the small blonde smiled softly, as if she knew what she was thinking. Maybe Polly didn't only have a good nose for food...

She didn't want to go to bed, didn't want to be alone, but the little hands on the chronometer stopped for no one, not even for a yet to be crowned Kangess. Shortly after eleven Denora looked at the chronometer rather suggestively. She sighed, the girl was right, it was time to go to bed. Her senior maiden bit her lip, "You need your rest milady. Tomorrow is likely going to be another tiring day."

She nodded, "Yes, it's time we all turned in."

Denora shook her head, "We're going to keep watch over you. There will be someone in the living room all night."

It was well meant, but her maidens needed their rest too. She shook her head, "No, please don't think I don't appreciate it, but there's really no need for it. If I have a nightmare so be it. If I need help you girls are just around the corner anyway."

It clearly didn't please Denora, nor the other girls. But her senior maiden nodded anyway, it was her decision to make. She paid the bathroom a visit, and then had her maidens prepare her for bed. That was normally done by just three of them, but this time she got the full six maiden treatment. Their concern warmed her heart. After they tucked her in Denora was the last to leave, "Sleep well milady," she said with a warm smile. And Cassandra hoped she would, but feared she wouldn't. Once alone there was nothing distracting her thoughts anymore, and she couldn't prevent thinking back to all the terrible news she had been confronted with that day. With that the tears came, and she started to cry softly.

Cassandra didn't know how much time had passed when she noticed the soft sound of a door opening. It was a clear night, with both Lurcan and Brag in the sky, and the bedroom wasn't entirely dark. She looked around, and saw it was one of the doors to the living room and not the one to her study that slowly opened. In came this small figure, and she could just make out her blonde hair in the faint light, "Is that you Polly?"

The figure stopped next to the bed, and Polly's familiar voice sounded softly. "It was my turn, I was supposed to take the first watch." The girl clearly hesitated for a moment, "I know you want for us to have a good night's sleep, but..., but I can watch over you and have a good night's sleep at the same time..." She hesitated again, "I..., I listened at the door before I came in... I heard..., I just want to help."

Cassandra wiped her face, "If I send you back to your room you aren't going to sleep, are you?"

Polly's voice was just a trembling whisper, "I didn't make the preselection to become your maiden, because of my part Lorasian ancestry. But your father knew me. I was the girl that took care of Koltin, his favored horse. It was your father that endorsed me, a mere stable hand, and put me on the final list you chose your sixth maiden from." She whimpered softly, "I owe him everything, I can't believe he's gone."

Cassandra never knew, her father never told her. She lifted the cover next to her, "Come here, I appoint you watch officer for the night." Polly immediately slipped beneath the cover next to her, snuggled up to her, the girl felt cold beneath her flannel nightgown. "How long have you been standing out there?" she asked.