The Chronicles: Three Sisters 15

THE THREE SISTERS Chapter 15

- "The Duchess is going into labour." said Prosquetel.

Sometimes the Fates let you enjoy a few good moments before they drop the whole mountainside on you.

"Your daughter, your wife, and some of the other women are with her." he continued.

We'd held the Izumyrians off, even while burdened with elderly folk, pregnant women, and children. We'd bloodied their noses several times, while losing only a few of our own. But we'd run out of places to stand and fight.

On the morrow, our enemies would sally up the gentle slope, and slaughter us all. I was wracking my brain to find a way out of our hopeless situation. I'm ashamed to admit that I briefly considered the option of bargaining with Count Seaglitz - even if it meant handing over the Lowlanders.

But that wouldn't do. Never mind the dishonour: the Count had offered a bribe once before, and we'd spurned it. He would laugh in our faces, and unleash his troops. They would kill all of the men. Some of the women would be lucky enough to die fighting.

I didn't think that Sulcen would let herself be captured. But could Tanguiste find the desperate courage necessary to kill herself? Could Guenna?

And poor little Dengelle would have to face her greatest nightmare all over again.

Vingoldas came to stand beside me. I was proud to have him in our family. He was a good man. Now he and Tanguiste would never see their children - my grandchildren.

- "What can we do, Veran?" he asked. "If we stand and fight, is there a chance that some of us could get away?"

- "Tan won't leave the Duchess. She's in labour."

- "I know. I was thinking of ... some of the others."

- "We can't run." said Yevna. "They'll catch us. Even if we abandoned the old and the young." She glanced at me, even though she knew that that wasn't an option.

It was dusk. In the gathering gloom, the others who could still fight were gathering around us. Guenna came up behind me, and laid a hand on my shoulder. She didn't say a word.

But someone else had an opinion, and wasn't shy about sharing it.

- "We can defend the next position, and make the invaders pay in blood for every step!" That was Iduallon, the Lowlander Lieutenant who didn't know how to shave. Asshole.

- "There are no next positions." said Yevna.

Guenna cleared her throat. "That's true. Unfortunately, there are no major obstacles for the next six leagues."

It was ridiculous. We had sixteen fighters left, if I included the wounded. Seventeen, if I wanted to count white-haired Prosquetel. Seaglitz had 80 or 90 troopers.

- "We can't move the Duchess." said Gerimir, the other Lowlander. He was wounded, but still standing. Why did I quite like him, while his companion Iduallon made my skin crawl?

- "We can't run, and we can't stay here." said Vingoldas. "That's pretty much it, in a nutshell."

- "Then I hate to say it," said Giedra, "but I agree with what's-his-name: we stand and fight. We'll take some of the bastards with us."

There were a few grunts and half-hearted noises in support of her stance.

- "That's might work for you, Giedra." I said. "But what about the women who are captured?" I could see Eliv, standing next to her, and Dengelle was over with Yevna, as always. I didn't try to catch her eye.

- "Then what do we do, old man?" snarled Giedra. "You have a better idea?"

Until that very moment, I hadn't come up with anything at all. But as I thought of little Dengelle, an idea began creeping into my head.

I stood up.

- "We fight." I said. "Any of you who will stand with me ... we fight, and we sell our lives as dearly as we can. We hold off the Izumyrians as long as we can ... so that others can escape."

I looked to my eldest daughter.

"Yevna knows these mountain paths better than anyone. She and Inisian roamed the slopes for years. She knows every trail, every glade, every brook and stream."

"She can take a party of the young and physically fit - especially the young women. Maybe a handful could escape, if they take to the woods. If Yevna led them by secret tracks that only she knows of ..."

For a moment, they considered what I'd said. There were no cowards here. They'd all shed blood and buckets of sweat to get us this far. Now I was asking some of them to sacrifice their lives in order to grant others a slim chance of escaping.

- "That's not going to happen." said Yevna. She didn't even look at me as she stepped forward.

"I agree that we can't outrun horses." she said. "And it's true that if we make a stand here, we'll lose. But if we can't retreat, and we can't stay put ... why can't we go forward?"

It was logical, in a strange way - and completely ridiculous. I could see Giedra's teeth flash as she smiled. Of course this type of insanity would appeal to her.

- "Do you have some sort of plan?" asked Prosquetel.

She didn't. Yevna only had a response. If they corner you, fight back.

But her youngest sister spoke up.

- "I have a plan." said Guenna.

***

As Guenna began to speak, I understood what had happened. She'd had the same reaction as Yevna, or Giedra: if you can't stay where you are, or go back, then ... go forward.[1]

- "You all heard Yevna. We can't outrun horses. We have no more good positions to defend. And we can't leave in any case, because the Duchess has gone into labour. But the Izumyrians don't know that."

"They got the better of us today - and they probably expect to do the same tomorrow. They have no idea that the only option we have left is to attack them."

- "They'll have plenty of guards." warned Prosquetel. "You won't find it easy to surprise them."

- "Of course they will." said my daughter. "But we have one more advantage: this is where my sisters and I grew up. We lived for six years with Inisian and his mother - in that very same cabin."

"No one - no one - knows the land around here like Yevna. She knows exactly where the Izumyrian horses will be."

Even as she said it, I wanted to punch myself. Of course - I knew it, too. There was only one piece of relatively flat, open land near here, that was also close to a source of water.

It was next to the little stream where we'd found the body of Moruith's oldest son, Inisian's brother, all those years ago.

It was the only logical way for the Izumyrians to water their horses, unless they wanted to carry it in buckets over a quarter-league. Did they even have buckets?

Guenna had heard a few of us say that we couldn't outrun horses. That made her realize that the Izumyrians would take care of their mounts - which meant that they would keep them near water, but also that they wouldn't let any harm come to them, if they could possibly help it.

An attack on their mounts would bring all of them running.

As my daughter explained her idea, I could see people lifting their heads, standing a little straighter. We had all been exhausted, only a few moments ago. Guenna had just given us a little sliver of hope.

It could still easily end in all of our deaths. There was no guarantee, even if her plan worked, that we would survive the next day.

But there was a certain inspired madness to it ... and it was better by far than anything I'd heard so far - including the idiocy I'd been suggesting earlier.

Guenna's plan had two prongs - that meant dividing our forces. Unfortunately, we only had one Yevna. She knew the lay of the land better than anyone, and she was also one of our best archers - by far.

I made one little suggestion, which my daughters agreed to. We then split our remaining fighters into three groups.

Vingoldas would lead the first party. He was wounded, and not nearly mobile enough to be in either of the two other groups. With him was Gerimir, the wounded Lowlander, and Hedyn, who was as stealthy as a bull in heat. There was no way we wanted him blundering through the forest at night. Old Prosquetel protested, but he was included in this group.

Their task was to guard the path to Moruith's house. It was unlikely that the Izumyrians would attack at night, but if they did, this little group could fight for a few moments, while giving the women behind them a choice: to kill themselves, or to face being captured.

If that sounds ugly ... it was. Vingoldas was going to have to explain it to Tanguiste.

The second group was Yevna's. She had Giedra and her two friends, Eliv and Rion. Iduallon the Lowlander was with them, as were Odma, Weyl, and of course Dengelle, who couldn't bear to be parted from Yevna.

My eldest had a moment, before we went our separate ways, to come over to me. Yevna had found some wet soil, which she'd rubbed on her forehead and her cheeks, so that the moonlight wouldn't reflect off her skin. She placed a hand on my shoulder.

- "I know what you were trying to do." she said. "And ... I appreciate it. But I won't save Dengelle by sacrificing my sisters - and my father."

I embraced my daughter.

- "I love you." I whispered. Tears came to my eyes.

"I should have told you more often. I should have told you every day."

- "You did." Yevna's voice cracked. "Every day ... you did."

- "Come back." I said. "You don't have to die ..."

She grunted. "I'll come back ... if you do."

The third group was mine. I had Nameless and Libot, the two best archers, next to Yevna. Red-headed Seva was with us, too. I'd had to flatter and cajole her, telling her how much we needed her, to reconcile Seva to the fact that she wouldn't be with her brother (Weyl), or her lover (Iduallon, the Lowlander).

That was what I'd suggested, as an amendment to Guenna's plan. I feared that Seva would balk at taking orders from Yevna - whom she'd never liked. I also worried that Seva would be too busy worrying where Weyl and Iduallon were instead of concentrating on the task assigned to her.

This way, they would be out of sight, and hopefully out of mind. I also knew that she had less difficulty accepting instructions from me. She was also one of our better archers.

The last member of my group was Guenna.

- "You don't have to come with us." I reminded her.

- "I know that my archery skills are sadly lacking ..."

- "They're sadly absent." I corrected her. It was a silly attempt at a joke, but she smiled.

- "I know. But I can help you find the little knoll."

- "Not only that. You've come up with a plan whenever we need one. You're brilliant, Guen. How did that happen? You certainly didn't get it from me."

- "I did, Papa. You always found a way to keep us safe. And I listened. All those years at Moruith's cabin, telling stories of your father, and of Payl ... I listened."

I felt that I was going to cry again. But I needed a clear eye - in fact, I needed all of my senses, and all of my wits about me.

I didn't know the area around Moruith's cabin as well as Yevna. But I had travelled these paths regularly, for years. All I had to do was find one of the most likely spots for the Izumyrians to set up their camp - in the dark - while avoiding their pickets and sentinels. That, while hoping that the individuals we were looking for would be there.

My task was probably easier than Yevna's. She had to skirt the Izumyrian camp - again, in the dark - and find where they were keeping their horses.

On top of those difficulties, we had no way to coordinate our attacks. It was like being on opposite sides of the lake. I had to trust that Yevna would find her way.

I stopped for a moment.

- "Veran?" whispered Nameless.

I didn't know what to say. For a brief moment, I was overcome by a thought. My daughters ... Tanguiste was the glue, holding so many disparate people together. Yevna was the forest spirit, wandering the woods, who kept us fed - and safe.

And my baby, Guenna ... somehow she'd become a spring, a source of ideas.

Meonwe and I ... we'd done well. Our daughters were wonderful persons, who could make a positive contribution to any community. Guen Nadesti had recognized Tanguiste for what she was, and accepted us on the Hill - despite the fact that I'd killed two of her sons.

It wasn't a competition. All three of my girls were amazing.

This night, I needed Tanguiste to help the Hvadi Duchess deliver a child, while keeping all of our non-combatants calm. Yevna had to circle the Izumyrian encampment, and find their weakest point. At the same time, Guenna and I had to bring Nameless, Seva and Libot to the exact spot where they could do the most good.

We knew where the Izumyrians would be. If they put their horses close to the stream, then there were only two other clearings where they could set up camp.

One, the larger area, was a spot we knew as the green glade. The second was much smaller, a small hump that was bare of trees. The little knoll, we called it.

Guenna was guessing that we could find it in the dark, and approach without being seen or heard. We would have the darkness for an ally, and the Izumyrians' fear of an unfamiliar forest.

- "I'll say this now," she said, "so that I don't have to say it when we get close: We go forward slowly. Carefully. Arrows nocked. And if a sentry spots us - we all shoot at the same man."

Nameless could move like a wraith. Libot and Seva were excellent foresters, as well. Guenna and I were the greatest liabilities. We took extra care with every step, making sure that we didn't tread on a dry twig, or kick a loose stone.

I believe that I've said it before: there are few places as terrifying as the forest at night. There are real dangers, and then there is your own imagination, which conjures up monsters of your own creation.

You can hear your own breathing, and sometimes, your own heartbeat. As I stepped forward, a startled bird sprang from the undergrowth. It was a grouse, probably, or a chukar. I figured that out a moment later.

But for an instant, my heart stopped. Had I actually had something to eat earlier in the day, I might have shit myself.

The others in our small party were equally startled - or plainly terrified, as I was. Fortunately, no one had an arrow nocked, or it might have ended badly for me.

- "Shit, Veran." whispered Nameless.

- "Think I just wet meself." said Libot.

- "We're getting close." hissed Guenna. "Keep it down."

That was true. The little knoll was much closer to Moruith's house. That was why Yevna was leading the other group: they had further to travel, in the dark, and I trusted her ability to find her way more than I did mine or Guenna's.

She was our best archer, and she should have been with this group, but no one else could have found the stream. Not at night.

When my breathing returned to almost normal, we moved on.

If it is terrifying to move about in the forest at night, it's no easy thing to be on guard duty, either.

Look at this way. You have a fire crackling, at your back. Your comrades may be talking - they certainly aren't whispering.

If you look into the forest, you see ... nothing. There's no convenient moonbeam, illuminating the spot you would like to see. You can't see many stars, through the trees. And if you turn around, for a moment, the campfire immediately ruins your night vision for the next few moments.

Staring into the darkness for a long time quickly loses its lustre. After a bit, you start seeing things that aren't there. That's why many sentries end up facing the fire, keeping themselves warm, with their backs to the darkness.

We'd been on watch for years, on the Hill - admittedly, without a fire at our backs, most of the time. But the terrors of the darkness are real. I had a good sense of what those horse soldiers would be doing.

Guenna suddenly stopped, and went to one knee.

We all did the same: it was the agreed upon signal if we were close to our objective. I looked ahead, trying to see what had alerted my daughter.

And there it was: the glow of light from a fire, perhaps 200 yards away. The Izumyrians weren't concerned with hiding themselves. Why should they be? They outnumbered us 5 or 6 to one. Professional soldiers against a motley collection of old men and women.

Guenna stood, and tapped each of us on the shoulder.

- "That's the little knoll." she whispered. There was no way that the enemy could hear us, at this distance.

I tapped her hand, which was still on my shoulder, to indicate that I understood.

We didn't hurry forward. Yevna's group had further to go. It wasn't absolutely necessary that we attack at the same time, but there were several possible advantages if her party struck first.

Guenna went forward very slowly ... and very carefully. We stayed close together. Then we stopped - and waited.

I crouched in the darkness, behind a tree. I plainly saw an Izumyrian soldier, on the edge of the little knoll. He might have been peering out, into the forest, but he couldn't possibly have seen anything. Nor did I think that he could hear the beating of my heart, which was so loud in my own ears.

There was no way of calculating the passage of time. I waited, and watched, and listened. I was tempted to count my blessings, but that might have been a distraction that I could ill afford. Stay alert, I told myself. Stay in the moment.

The cry from the Izumyrian camp startled me. There were several shouts, and a babble of voices. Yevna had struck a blow - that was the only possibility. And the Izumyrians on the little knoll were just now learning of it.

Guenna stood up, and boldly moved towards the knoll. I could see her, outlined by the light of the enemy's fire. She moved quickly, confident that our foes could not hear her.

Nameless flowed to her feet, and I rose behind her.

We all moved to the edge of the little knoll, and then climbed the short slope.

Guenna had explained in great detail what we might have to do. We all knew our roles.

If Yevna and her group were attacking the Izumyrian horses, their leaders would have to gather, in order to organize a response.

There was another clearing where the Izumyrians would be camped, between the stream and the little knoll. But Guenna guessed that Count Seaglitz and his senior officers would reserve the little knoll for themselves.

How did she know?

Seaglitz and his favourites could just as well have been camped with the horses, close to the stream. Or, they could have been in the other large clearing, with the majority of their troopers.

Somehow, Guenna knew that the Izumyrians leaders believed themselves special. The horses were important: they had to be near the stream. The troopers were not as vital: find them a large open space, and that was sufficient.

The commander and his entourage, being the most important members of the Izumyrian force pursuing us, obviously deserved an exclusive place to pitch their tents.

Guenna had guessed correctly. As we crept up the little knoll, we saw a cluster of men gathered outside a rather large tent.

I even picked out the best possible target, in a target-rich environment. They were outlined by the light of their own fire.

The very moment I saw Count Seaglitz, surrounded by several of his cavalry officers, I let loose my first arrow.

I missed. My fletched missile went past Seaglitz's chin, and fortunately struck the man beside him - in the side of the head.

Nameless, Libot, and Seva were more accurate than I was. An arrow suddenly sprouted from Count Seaglitz's face, and then a second hit him in the neck. The third thumped into his chest.

Without a sound, the Izumyrian commander fell.

Guenna had coached us. Shoot - and keep shooting - until their leader(s) are down. That was exactly what we did. Seaglitz fell, and a moment later, two of his top officers were also struck down.