Infinite Blue Heaven - A King and A Queen (29 page)

I shook my head.

After a long while, we turned back to the bridge. Our men had formed a long line across the pass and a few had engaged the last of the enemy riders on the bridge but their leader was holding up his arms in surrender.

They were ordered to dismount. Their hands were bound behind their backs and then they were each bound together to form a long line.

I spurred my horse to the bridge and its hooves clattered as we passed over and came to a stocky and paunchy figure, sitting back in the saddle of a large grey horse. He was holding his bloody hand across his knees and had pushed his helmet back on his head.

“Lord Bulya.”

“Sire.”

“You live!”

He smiled at me.

“I understand we have won?”

“Yes indeed we have. Indeed we have.”

We turned our horses and started back for the Fortress, Bulya’s men falling in behind, ours parting to let us through and then reforming behind us.

“Abulatip. Get some of your men to climb down and gather the bodies of those last men who fell and those on the slopes above. I believe they must have been Korim’s friends. We will bury them here in this meadow.” I said, pointing to the grassy slope opening up as we rode beneath the steep rock walls. “Get one of the engineers to carve a stone for Korim, plain stones for the others. Let it say, ‘Here lies Korim, brave young man.’ That is all.” Then I said, half under my breath, “Korim, you shall have your piece of land.”

Then, to Bulya, “It is sad that so many times, one never has the chance to know your enemy. I would have liked to have known him.”

“Hmm. He was a scoundrel!”

“Ah Atim, you are too harsh. He just wanted a Kingdom of his own.” I looked around as we rode. “It is so pretty here, the flowers are in bloom and the grass gently sways in the breeze. The mountains are so beautiful. I am not sure if it is a good place to die.”
“Of course it is!”

“Ah, maybe it is a better place to live.”

We reached the gates and passed into the Fortress. A soldier was waiting for us, on horseback. He bowed to me.

“Sire! We have found Lord Abdil’khan. He is alive. But...”

“He is alive?”

“Yes Sire but he wants to speak with you. I do not think he will last much longer, Sire.”
“Where? Take us to him.”

We sped through the alleyways of the small settlement and out through the front gates. There, to the right, among a great pile of bodies, several of my men were leaning over a prone figure, in shining armour still, though it was caked with blood.

I dismounted and crouched next to him, leaning forwards so I was inches from his face.

“Janaar. It is me, Vaslav. Can you hear me?” His eyes slowly opened and a faint smile passed across his features, his blue eyes searching for my eyes, but seemingly he did not recognise me.

“King Vaslav? Is that you? Did we win?”

“Yes.” I laughed, despite the situation. “We won.”

“Did you see Korim?”

“Yes I saw him. He is dead now.”

“Was he a great warrior? How did he die?”

“He rode a great white horse and though we caught the last of his men on a bridge, he and a few of his friends tried to escape up the side of the mountain. They could not get away but their horsemanship was superb. They turned back and tried to descend the slopes below and all fell off until only he was left. I have never seen one ride like him. His horse kept its footing well beyond what I thought was possible.”

Abdil’khan smiled. “But he fell?”

“Yes he fell into the abyss.”

“Ahh. He was a great horseman, as were all our ancestors. So he was indeed a great warrior! A worthy opponent. And we beat him! Is the Kingdom safe now?”

“Yes. I think it is. I am going to accord you the highest honour I can think of Lord Abdil’khan. I am going to make you Lord of the City of Parat. As the Lord, you will gain all the lands south of the City up to the border. These are some of the most beautiful and productive estates in the land. This is a new Province and shall be awarded, if not to the next in line, to someone showing extreme bravery. Thus the estate shall be associated with Great Deeds and your name shall live for many generations to come. I shall call it Khana.”

“Thank you, my Lord.”

“And since you have no children, you must decide who shall inherit it from you, Abdil.”

He stuggled for breath for a moment and I thought he would not speak.

“Hrr. Let each soldier who fought at the Front Gates vote for the Bravest. And then let the four Bravest ride in the Race of Red Feathers.”

“Alright. It shall be so and it will be a great day!”

“Ahh. I see Lord Bulya is here.”

“I am here, Abdil’khan.”

“Was Korim a Great Enemy, Lord Bulya?”

“He was.”

It was rare for Lord Bulya to share in any of the Glory of War, he was usually too preoccupied with Politics these days, and I was touched by his comment.

“It was a great battle and people will write songs about it. I will make sure my minstrels write an epic about you.” I said

He reached for my gloved hand. “Just one…one” But his breath passed beyond his lips for the last time and he was gone.

“God. Such a great man. So many men have died!” The loss of this man, who at first was not trusted, but in the end gave so much and proved himself, was heartrending.

I placed his hand on his chest and held it there for a while. Then I said a brief prayer and sat down beside him. I felt I would not stand ever again if I stayed any longer so I forced myself to.

“We will have a grand State Funeral for all the Generals who have died. But not here. They deserve more than that. We will take them back to Parat City. Carry his body and those of Ydigei, Edil’bai Kazangap and Zhuan’zhuan down to the medical tents.”

Suddenly I was angry and I snapped, “And somebody find my horse!”

I rode with Lord Bulya down to the tents to find Geb and to speak with the Cook.

“Where is Geb? Is he alive?” I asked an orderly.

“Yes. He is there!”

I looked at Geb, lying on his back and he turned to me, hearing my voice. He started to get up and grimaced.

“My Lord!”
“Hello Geb-Gaban. How is your leg?”

“They say it will mend, but it will take time and I cannot stand on it. The second arrow snapped the bone.”
The bandages around his leg were completely red with blood.

“I am glad you are alright. We won Geb, we won!”

“Yes it is good.” He lay back down and looked at the ceiling cloth. He had lost all his men and I was not surprised he was so melancholy.

“I will come and visit you later. I must just have a word with the cook.”
We walked back to the row of tables on which men were operated on and found the Cook, now the chief surgeon. He looked up from the table, his eyes haunted.

“I will be with you in a few moments.”
We watched while he struggled to close a deep wound in the man’s chest but then he stood back.

“He’s gone, he said to his orderlies. Take him away.”

“I need to ask a special favour from you.” I said to him. “We need to take the bodies of the Generals back to our City. Is it possible to embalm them? Do you still have the means?”

“Not here no. We need much salt and other compounds. They could be bought in any City, though.”
“We cannot leave here just yet. Lord Bulya, is there not a trading post not far from here, just over the pass?”

He hesitated. “Err. Yes. As I recall, if one follows the road, it is about five days ride.”

The road we used to cross the desert, turned east and skirted the Kada Gur mountains for some way before turning north and passing through a wide valley up into the mountains. It emerged into the land of Ulan, as Bulya said, after a hard ride of a few days. There was a trading post not far from the mountains, in Ulan.

“Cook. Give a list of what you need to Abutalip and tell him to send soldiers to fetch it.”

“Yes Sire.”

“God. I need food. I am starved. I will not feel like celebrating tonight Bulya. I am sure some of the soldiers will but not I. Would you mind a game of Chess, in your tent?”

“It would be an honour, Sire.”
“Good. Later then.”

With that I walked back towards the walls. I wanted to climb up onto the ramparts for one look at the view. It was only to satisfy my curiosity but I had an itch to do it.

I passed Abutalip on the way there.

“You should be resting Sire!”

“Soon. Abutlip, the Cook will have a list of provisions for you to get. Go to the trading post in Ulan, you know the one? We will rest up here for a while, at least a week. Has anybody found my horse yet?”

“Err, I don’t know Sire. I will find out.”

I continued on and passing through the battered gates, I climbed up the wooden steps to the ramparts. There, I looked out at the battlefield. I felt invincible. This surely was how Korim had felt, looking down on us. Looking out over the sea of dead bodies to the long slope, which lead down to the green pastures, I could not believe we had won. I stood there for some time. Occasionally a soldier would call up to me but I ignored them all. It was a private moment. Before, during my previous marriage, moments like these were the best part of life. Moments of Victory. But now, I only wanted to be with Shakira. I would ride that very day if I could but it could not be so. The men were exhausted and starving. It would be weeks before we could move. In any case the best thing to do, would be to wait for the rains. They would come soon. I was not sure when but I would ask Ahmed. Then we could have a comfortable journey. For now, we would stay here. I descended from the walls and went in search of food.

“Where do you get food around here?” I called to a man.

He jumped to attention. “Sire! They are handing out meat around the corner. Also you can have broth made with meat and cracked wheat I believe.”

I followed his directions and took my turn in a line. Some soldiers, unskilled in cooking but too eager to wait, had broken into the Enemy pantries and found all they could possibly want. On some tables, in the open, they had set cauldrons and one by one, they were boiling the contents on open fires.

I smiled to myself because, being last in line, none had recognised me yet. It was not long, unfortunately before the man in front, turned to me.

“Have you heard…
Sire
!” He was astonished. “Make way for the King!”

The men all turned to face me and I could not keep up the pretense any longer. I went to the front of the queue and took a bowl of broth and a haunch of lamb. Sitting down on some burned planks, I ate enthusiastically.

I noticed some of Meth’s women, now free walking past, talking among themselves, under the gaze of the soldiers.

It was midday and I was exhausted. I wanted to simply lady down and sleep, even with my own men, but it would not do for a King to do this. I wondered if my Guards were still alive.

I walked back through the gates and once more down towards the medical tents. I found Abutalip.

“Abutalip. Have you found my horse?”

“Yes Sire. He is there!” He pointed to a line of horses further down the slope and I saw Arstan.

“Good. I saw from the walls that our camp is mostly intact. Send two of your best men down and come yourself as soon as you can. We need to rest. They can serve as Guards.”

Riding Arstan back to the camp, I nearly fell off. I was so tired and his motion only made me sleepier.

There were a few of our men, idly sorting through the camp. Some of the tents had been torn down, including, not surprisingly, my own, and so I tied up Arstan beside one of the remaining intact tents. I went to search my own tent but nothing of any value, either monetary or personal was left. As I emerged from the tent, Abutalip’s two soldiers arrived.

“Sire.”

“I need to sleep. Stand guard and I will see that you get double rations and a reward. I am sure you want to sleep just as much as I do.”

With that I fell into a very deep, sleep. In it I had no dreams, or none that I could remember.

I awoke to the sound of singing.

I felt gloriously lethargic and until I moved, I reveled in the feeling. But when I did try to move, everything hurt. I was as stiff as a board. My leg was particularly painful and it was only with the greatest will, that I was able to maneouvre myself into a chair.

“Guard!”

A Guard rushed in and on my order, helped me to dress.

“Help me to my horse.” I ordered when I was finally dressed.

“But Sire. I don’t think that is necessary. Come and look.”

He lifted up the flaps of the battered tent and I stumbled forwards to look.

Two men stood ready with a litter for one, a glorious wooden structure composed of a large chair with arms and four handles to carry it.

“Wonderful.”

The Guard helped me into the chair and I looked around, wondering where to go in the new contraption.

There was a kind of madness in the air. There were few men in the old camp and they were mainly setting things in order but between the camp and the battlefield there were many small fires and from the closest of these, was the sound of singing. Looking further up towards the Fortress, there was a mass of small fires and the sparkling patterns of men on horseback and on foot, going this way and that, shouting and singing and making chaotic celebration. It was the king of madness I would normally stop but I could not, this time. It seemed like the waking fit of a wild monster and I felt I needed to let the fit pass naturally.