The Legend of Princess Wildheart (17 page)

  “I can’t tell you what a joy it is for me to see all these fine young people having fun here in Rose castle,” said the King.

  “We are very blessed indeed,” said the Queen enjoying her dance.

  “It warms my heart to see all of our children finding someone to love and cherish,” she said.

  The group celebrated well into evening and then slowly broke up and went their separate ways to get a sound
night’s sleep.  Soon only Duke and Prince Morgan remained in the dining hall.

  “When do you think the scouts will return Duke?”
asked Prince Morgan.

  “They should be here in the morning.  It will be important to know where the Barbarians are at this point,” said Duke.

  “Yes it will be.  We better get some sleep, tomorrow may be a busy day for us all,” said Prince Morgan.

  The two of them went to their bed chambers and got a needed rest while Paladin Guards watched the hallways and inner castle.

TWENTY ONE

  Morning came and everyone returned to the dining hall for a nice breakfast to start the day with.  The group was in a lighthearted mood considering an attack on the kingdom was looming before them.  The Queen was really happy and insisted that Elise, Tori, Peyton and Lauren all go shopping with her in the courtyard.  The idea of getting some nice dresses like the others had appealed to Tori and Elise, so of course they agreed.  Spending time with the Queen was a special honor to them.  Peyton and Lauren jumped at the chance to spend more time with the Queen who they worshipped.  Prince Morgan and Duke just sat holding hands with the women they loved, appreciating the time to be with them in a calm moment.

  “That bump on your head appears to be almost gone now Pricilla,” said Princess Wildheart.

  “Yes, it is gone now.  Thanks to Tori.  I feel better today,” she said.

  The conversation eventually took on a more serious tone as Princess Wildheart began talking about the Barbarians and battle tactics.  The Queen, although worried about the impending castle attack took the opportunity to excuse herself from the group.

  “Well, if you all will excuse us, we have some shopping to do,” she said, smiling as she gave Princess Wildheart a hug. 

  “Just make sure your plans ensure your own safety dear,” said the Queen.

  “Don’t worry mother, I will be fine,” said the Princess, hugging her mother back.

  The ladies left to go and shop as the others stayed behind at the large table.  The King suggested everyone go to the weapons room and go over plans again.  They had just become seated in the room when a Paladin Guard interrupted them with the news a scout had returned to the castle.

  “Bring him in here right away!  We need to hear what he has to report,” ordered the King.

  The guard returned with the scout and had him stand before the group.

  “What do you know?” asked the King.

  “I was able to get up close enough to see what the Barbarians were doing.  They were preparing to break camp and leave the area.  They had built many wagons, ladders, ramming carts and catapults.  All of them either carry swords or double headed axes except the archers with their bow and arrows.  There are about a hundred or so archers carrying regular arrows and some more with torch equipped arrows for starting fires.  The camp was located just as you said before and it appears the hoard of Barbarians intend to take the main path as we expected.  They can’t move real quickly given the amount of men and supplies they carry.  I would expect them to arrive sometime late today or tonight,” reported the Scout.

  “How many men would you say the Barbarians have?”  Asked the King

  “Somewhere around four to five hundred it seems sire,” said the Scout.

  “That’s about what Duke and I guessed,” said Prince Morgan.

  “Do you have anything else to report?”
asked the King.

  “No your majesty,” said the Scout.

  The King then dismissed him and the group realized this would be a day of final preparation for the upcoming attack on the Kingdom.  Duke commented that he expected the Caledon troops to arrive sometime in the morning tomorrow. 

  “We need to find a way to hold them off until the Caledon troops arrive,” said Prince Tangent.

  “Well I have about one hundred elite Paladin Guards, one hundred archers and one hundred regular ground fighting soldiers.  The Calvary was wiped out so given that is all we have, we are outnumbered,” said the King.

  “I think we should alert the merchants and vendors of the pending attack so they can get packed up and flee to safety,” said Princess Wildheart.

  “Great idea daughter,” said the King. 

  He dispatched a guard to go out and warn them so they would have time to prepare themselves.

  “We have nothing more to plan here.  Time to get prepared for the battle ahead,” said the King.

  Princess Wildheart and the others left the room.  She stopped in the Hall and gave Prince Morgan a kiss.  She knew that there would be no time left for romance until things had taken their course.  It didn’t take long for the group to get dressed for battle and grab their weapons.  They went out into the courtyard and saw the vendors and others packing up.  Some had already begun leaving the courtyard, fleeing the castle grounds for safer surroundings.  A slow and steady procession streamed through the outer gates leaving the castle.  They were traveling the path away from the Barbarians and the castle and would be safe going that direction.  Prince Morgan and Duke along with their girls walked the courtyard to survey the defenses.  The Queen and the other women had already gone back into the castle.  The shopping trip had been cut short when the news arrived.  Peyton and Lauren had picked up some more beautiful Princess gowns at the seamstress.  Elise and Tori had gotten measured but had not gotten anything yet.

  Prince Tanner and Prince William approached Duke and asked if he would tour the castle defenses with them.  He excused himself and went with them after giving Pricilla a soft kiss.

  “What do you think Morgan?  Do we have a chance to hold them long enough until we get help?”
asked Princess Wildheart.

  “If the hoard of Barbarians begins to come over those walls or through the gates, I suggest that you and Pricilla get inside the castle quickly Princess.  Duke and I won’t be far behind you. The castle is strong and it will be hard for the Barbarians to break into it.  It offers safety to those inside,” he said.

  “You think they have a chance of breaching the walls and getting inside the courtyard?” asked Pricilla.  The thought of Barbarians in the castle courtyard frightened her.

  “Given enough time, yes, they will manage to breach the courtyard.  The castle however is another story.  We will try our best to keep them outside the walls but when they do get breached anyone left alive could then retreat back to the castle,” said Prince Morgan.

  “I wish your soldiers were here now,” said Princess Wildheart.

  “They will be coming.  Don’t worry!  When they do arrive, then the Barbarians will be done,” said Prince Morgan.

  Princess Wildheart smiled to herself.  She knew that Prince Morgan and Duke would protect her if needed and that she and Pricilla would be safe.  They continued to walk for a while and inspect the preparations being made.  They caught up with Duke and her brothers as they completed the inspection for war preparations.

  “Well?”
asked Prince Morgan.

  Duke explained to him how the series of small trenches outside the castle courtyard had been dug to thwart the approaching catapults and battering rams.    They had added some large posts buried in the ground to prevent anything from rolling directly up to the outer castle courtyard walls and gates.  Inside the castle courtyard Duke had suggested some small fences be built to offer protection from arrows coming over the walls.  A group of soldiers were constructing these as they spoke.  The castle itself would be the main stronghold of defense.  Some holes had been dug in the pathway leading to the outer gates and in front of them to slow the ramming carts.  They had been filled with oily brush which could be lit by flaming arrows just as the other trenches in the open field in front of the castle had.  All courtyard soldiers had been equipped with light armor, swords, shields and bows with arrows.

“All we really need to do Morgan is slow them down until our troops arrive to help us out,” said Duke. 

  “Best if we don’t lose many men before they arrive to help us out,” said Prince Morgan.

  “It looks like we are as ready as possible,”   said Princess Wildheart. 

  “We should all go have a nice meal in the castle while we can,” suggested Pricilla.

  Good idea Pricilla.  When evening gets here we will not have much time for rest or eating anything,” said Duke.

  They agreed and went into the castle for to eat.  The group was quiet as they dined together.  Afterwards everyone started preparing themselves for the battle ahead.  The King, Queen along with Tori, Elise, Peyton and Lauren would remain inside the castle with the King’s Elite Paladin Guard to offer protection.  Everyone else went to the outer courtyard walls to watch from atop them for the enemy to arrive.  The inside courtyard had been emptied with defense areas set up here and there to offer protection when retreating to the castle for safety.  The group watched the open field in front of the castle for the approaching enemy.  The horses were over in the stables under watch of the Stable Master who had decided to stay and fight with the others.  About an hour before sunset the Barbarian army began to come into view.

  “Look!  Over there!  The Barbarians are coming!” shouted Prince Tangent.

  “Let them come.  We are ready for them,” said Princess Wildheart.

  The Barbarians walked slowly into the field that lay before them.  They set up formation about two thousand yards away, near the edge of the forest.

  “They do have a lot of men,” said Pricilla.

  “We just need to hold them back,” said Duke.

  With every archer in place atop the castle walls taking the castle would be no easy matter for the Barbarian hoard in the field.  Soon all of the Barbarians had made it into the field.  They wasted no time in attacking Rose Kingdom as catapults and ramming carts began to move toward the castle in an attempt to weaken the outer walls.  Large rocks were loaded onto the catapults and hurled at the outer walls.  Each successful strike on the walls caused damage to the stone walls, chipping away at the stone fortress.  Some of the larger rocks fell short of the walls.  The smaller rocks went over the walls landing in the courtyard but causing no damage.  Some big chunks had been taken from the outer walls as the catapults continued the barrage.  One rock appeared to be heading directly for Prince Morgan and Princess Wildheart.  Both of them ducked down behind the stone wall as it struck causing debris to fly over their heads from the damage it caused. This went on for hours until the wagons holding the rocks for the attack ran out of stones for the catapults.  Then the pounding attack ceased for a while.  The King and Queen had been watching the action from atop the castle’s walls.

  “Those savages will stop at nothing,” said the King.

  “We have our swords dear, they won’t take our lives without paying with their own,” said the Queen.

  “Your right my Queen,” said the King, putting his arm around her.  He knew she could handle her sword as well as any man and was not afraid to use it.

  The Barbarians were busy pulling the catapults back behind the lines and preparing for the next stage of attack.

  “Looks like the walls held out under the catapult attack.  I don’t see any breaches from here,” said Prince Morgan.

  “What do you think will
the Barbarians will do next Duke?” asked Pricilla.  She was really proud to be Duke’s girl and in awe of his role as commander of the Caledon army.

  “Expect them to bring the archers foreword and try to pick us off with arrows from a distance.  Keep in mind though, if they can reach us, then we can also hit them with our arrows,” said Duke.

  As expected about fifty archers marched forward fairly close to begin pummeling them with arrows.  They positioned themselves just short of the trenches that had been prepared with the brush and oil and began firing. There were fifty arrows at a time coming at them all as they stayed atop the outer walls. The archers Duke had stationed on the walls and the group ducked down and let them fire a few arrows before standing and returning fire with arrows of their own back toward the Barbarians on Dukes command.  They would then duck and wait for Duke to command them to return fire again.  This went on for several volleys, back and forth until it got too dark outside to see any targets clear enough for a hit.  As the Barbarian archers retreated, foot soldiers with ladders and ramming carts began to move forward from the formations by the forest to attack the outer walls.

  “Archers, light your arrows and on my command set the trenches on fire,” said Duke. 

  The archers followed his instructions and lit the arrows, holding off until he commanded before firing them.

  “Fire the trenches!”
commanded Duke.

  Enough of the flaming arrows made it into the trenches to set them afire.  Soon flame and smoke filled the battle ground.  The flames and smoke spread across the entire field, causing the ladder and ramming cart attack to retreat for the moment.  The Barbarians moved their men and supplies back to the far end of the field and quit attacking.  It was just too dark out now for targeting anyone.

  “Looks like they are done for now,” said Prince Morgan.

  “They are done for now but will resume the attack in the morning at first light is my guess Morgan,” said Duke.

  “We should all go inside the castle and try to get some rest until morning,” suggested Prince William. 

  “Good idea.  Unlikely they will attack in the dark and those brush fires will burn through most of the night.  The soldiers can stand guard here and send a messenger if anything starts up,” said Duke.

  With the glow of Barbarian campfires and the burning trenches in the field.  It was easy to keep an eye on the Barbarians at night.  It was an unreal sight to see a flaming smoky battlefield in front of the Rose Castle.