The Royal envoy has stopped. Bellumi scouts returned with reports of a battalion marching from the south. The loyalist have quickly stationed themselves in a strategic defensive position as they await. A small delegation was sent out to greet the scouts from the unknown armed force. The King stands in command, Will at his side with his Resurgent’s ready to prove their honor to their King,
“An entire battalion riding our way with no banner. This can’t be good, Will.” Aero states as he looks out over his small force.
“Yes King Aero, it is very unusual.” Will replies.
Aero hears the word, but he isn’t processing the statement. He is worried about their exposure on the road. Even though his defenses are strong, and he possesses the Royal Blade, his concern is for the Queen and his unborn child. She’s only been on the mainland for a few weeks and has already had an assassination attempt on her life. A full blown battle will not make her feel safe in this strange land.
“Our riders are returning!” Will shouts.
The Bellumi scouts ride directly to the King.
“They claim to be friendly, from the city of Currie. Their Delegate claims to be your cousin.”
“Tony?”
“It’s a woman,”
“Oh… no…” Says the King in disbelief.
“She claims she has important news; she will be arriving shortly.”
Aero has his security force stand down and works quickly to receive guests. The Queen comes out from her armored carriage with Roasa and her sister-in-law Shoala. Aero tries to give the Queen a short update on the situation, but his cousin arrives with a small escort.
“Cousin! I’ve come on behalf of my family to support you on your mission to Gilbertown.”
“Midwinter, Great to see you, why didn’t your father send your brothers?” The King asks.
“They were busy riding horses or something, and I know you are King now, but if you ever call me by my full name again, I will find you alone and will knock you out. I promise!”
Queen Asna bursts into laughter. “Oh, I already love you!”
“My Queen, I am Winter. My father and Aero’s father are brothers.”
“Winter, please call me Asna. Why did you stop us with such urgency?”
“Ya, Winter, it’s not like you to be so dramatic.” The King adds.
“Drama? Aero, you may be King, but I can still beat you like when we were kids.”
“Midwinter!” Aero says sarcastically.
“That’s one!” Winter says with an evil grin on her face. “Actually, Father sent us to add security for your trip, but we had to rush to you when we picked up your friends walking on the road, Ser Matthew, and his soldiers. They were carrying Prince John Henry’s body too. They will be here soon, they were exhausted, so they are resting in our wagons.”
“What? Walking on the road? John Henry’s body? They were supposed to be in Orlea, what happened?”
“It was a trap. Marco’s forces trapped your men and took their horses. Marco set Orlea on fire, the city is gone. He bragged to Matthew that you were heading into Gilbertown and that they would betray you for him. It appears that you are walking into a trap of your own.”
“Dammit!” Aero exclaims.
“How is Matthew and his soldiers?” Asna interjects.
“He lost quite a few soldiers; he was going to get a casualty list after conferring with the Bellumi leaders. They were in bad shape; they hadn’t eaten or drank in days. They had walked a long way.” Winter responds.
“Let’s wait for the rest of your team to arrive. We can send word ahead that I was sick which caused us to be delayed. That will allow for us to properly tend to Matthew’s team and for me to get some time with Winter. I am sure you have some Aero stories to tell me.” Asna says.
“Do I?” She responds with that same evil grin that Aero has seen his entire life when Winter wants to mess with him.
A few hours later, Winter’s entire force has joined with the Royal force. Asna and Winter have spent the entire afternoon together, much to the dismay of the King. He couldn’t take it any longer and left them after the first hour of constant laughter at his expense. He ran off to discuss strategy with his leaders.
Asna, Winter, Roasa, and Rain continue to talk. Asna’s thoughts turn toward the Royal cousin. She looks at her and sees her beauty. Winter is above average height with the distinct royal hair color with wavy curls. Her greenish-blue eyes seem to tell a story without words. Asna understands just by looking into them that she has lived a tumultuous life even though she is still young.
“You’ve told me so much about my husband, but now I ask you to tell me about yourself.” The Queen asks.
“I was the only girl of the family. Which meant that my father was quick to marry me off to powerful allies to keep the crown strong. When my first husband died in battle, I was quickly remarried. When he died in a jousting accident, my father again found me a husband, he was killed in single combat protecting his family’s honor. I am the widow of three husbands with three sons and a daughter. I was never given the opportunity to live my own interest. As soon as I was of age, I was used for the family’s gain. Well, your family’s.” Winter responds.
“Oh my. I’m so sorry. So many women have endured similar stories. It’s not fair, and what did your brothers have to do for the family?”
“Ride horses, play games, and marry younger women… you know boy stuff.”
“That sounds about right!”
“Queen Asna, please promise me that you won’t let Aero use me to get an ally through marriage.”
“I give you, my word.”
“Good, because I’ve done my share of duty for the crown. I married three times to men who were not real men at all. I’ve carried four children in my womb in service of the family. If I ever marry again, it will be for love… I deserve that much.”
“Yes, you do. You will not be asked to marry for the benefit of the kingdom again.”
“Not that the first three benefited the kingdom in any way.”
Across the camp, Aero is being debriefed by Matthew, before the rest of the leaders.
“Orlea is gone, they killed thousands, and are staging an army in the southwest. There’s a war coming, and it may start in Gilbertown.” Matthew explains. “They hung John Henry’s body from the city gates.”
“The Gilbert Knight’s are the oldest and most loyal in all the kingdom. They served my family for centuries. Even after the schism, they have never stood against the crown. I think Marco is trying to sow dissent in our minds before we get there so that we don’t trust them.”
“Maybe, but if it weren’t for the Currie battalion, I would have never made it to you. He kept us at the gates of the city for three days so that we couldn’t get to you in time.” Matthew responds.
“So how do you manage the Gilbert Knight’s? Do you want me and the Resurgent’s to stay with you?” Will asks.
“No, you have an important mission, we will just have to be on guard. I’m not sure if the Gilbert Knights wanted to fight us that we would be able to stop them, even with the three thousand soldiers that we have.” Aero tells Will as he turns back to Matthew. “Matt, what about John Henry? He was Marco’s ally.”
“Marco has declared himself king as I told you before, he has vowed to kill your entire family. He gave me this box to present to you.” Matthew says as he picks up the box with the owl carving from the table.
Aero opens it and immediately recognizes the contents. “This is the dagger he took from me the night of the feast. David made this for me, Marco took it from me that night. It’s still covered in blood. We will have to deal with him… if we survive Gilbertown.”
Aero spends a few more minutes discussing strategy with his leadership council. They make preparations for entering Gilbertown and returning John Henry’s body to the Capital for burial in the family tomb. Once all the preparations are made, the King returns to his tent that had been set up during the delay. He enters to find it empty.
The Queen has spent the day with Winter, personal guard, and Shoala. They were sitting together around a fire when they saw Aero enter his tent.
“Your Highness, Aero is in his tent, alone.” Roasa tells her.
“Oh, I better get in there with him.” The Queen replies.
“No, I don’t think you understand. The King is alone.” Roasa reiterates as she nods toward Winter.
“Oh…” The Queen says with a smile.
They get up and walk toward the tent. Asna looks to Winter and nods. She steps in. From outside, the women hear Aero say Winter’s name baffled. Then they hear a smack, and Winter proclaim, “I promised you cousin!” The women outside burst into laughter.
Relics of the Old Age 