168 Vanadian Coup 4 (1/2)
William slammed his shoulder against the chest of his opponent. He grabbed his dagger and stabbed the man in the stomach. The blade went through the mail and into the man's belly. The man gurgled blood.
William was in tears. The sensation of killing on of his own men was harrowing. The crunch of the blade burying through flesh sent tingles down his spine.
”Sorry” he whispered to the man he killed as he laid him to the ground.
He remembered the lad to be a cheerful youth he would always scold for making obscene jokes. And now William just killed the lad with his own hands.
He knew that they meant him no harm. They just wanted to capture him. But he cannot let himself be captured.
Wasp growled beside him. The dog's mouth was already bloody. William again searched for an opponent. He rushed towards another enemy. Gripping both his sword and his dagger, he let out a cry.
**********
The sewer was disgusting. Arthur's boots were wet with whatever liquid he was stepping in.The smell was also horrid. It smells like rotten egg mixed with decaying flesh. He cupped his palm over his nose.
A few moments of waddling in the sewer and he found them. The merchants, nobles and their lot looked miserable.
”Prince Arthur” The Silk merchant's tone was surprised ”Why are you here?”
”There is a problem. The Queen found out about our plan. She blocked our passage from the sewer to the palace. We need to take the other route”
There was a murmur among them. The silk merchant raised his palm to demand silence.
”And why should we trust you? Trust is a commodity not easy to trade. There is too little supply you see”
”I swear I'm telling the truth! Our comrades in the navy and the mercenaries are successful. But the Queen has realized the attack from the sewers so she blocked our passage. We can't waste time. Let's go!”
The silk merchant stared at him for a while, not even blinking.
”I've met hundreds of swindlers and liars all my life boy. I know a lie when I see it. He's lying. Get him!”
Arthur took a step back. He shivered from fear. His deceit had failed.
”Help!” He he screamed as he ran away. They followed him behind. He was being chased.
”Help! Abraham help me!” Arthur again cried.
He regretted going into the sewers. It was foolish. Lucia had warned him that it will be dangerous. She said that he could die.
But Arthur wanted to prove that he was not useless. He wanted to prove to himself that he could at least be of use.
Now he was running with enemies bent on killing him just behind. Somebody grabbed his clothes. He fell and rolled in the muddy and disgusting sewer water. The fall was bad. He coughed in pain.
He looked to the side and was relieved when he Abraham and the other royal guards rushing towards him. They slammed against the enemies. A clashing of swords and the parrying of spears followed. Abraham took on the bear while the rest of the royal guards battled the others.
It was chaotic. It was grim. There were deaths everywhere. Arthur then saw a royal guard pinned by two enemies. The man was holding for dear life, evading strikes left and right. A dagger pierced the guard's arm. The guard did not even flinch. He just defended from further attacks.
But it was over for him. With a wounded arm the guard couldn't defend against multiple opponents for long. Arthur was afraid. He was shaking from fear. But he was useless. He had always been useless and he wanted to prove that he could at least save a single life.
Aunt Anna told him to both use his mind and his heart. Well now both pointed him to this dangerous decision. He rose with the sewer water still dripping from his body. He presented his sword.
Arthur rushed to the pinned guard, screaming loudly. He thrust his sword towards an enemy but the man's armor caught it.
The enemy looked at Arthur and stabbed his dagger to his face. Arthur blocked his face with both hands. The dagger penetrated his hand. The tip of the dagger was still able to bury into his left eye. There was a surge of pain as he screamed and staggered.
The guard he saved was able to finish the two enemies. Arthur was successful. He wasn't useless. He felt happy that he was able to do something.
But his left eye was bleeding and his vision was halved.
**********
He knew them all by name. He knew their faces- their quirks. They were his friends, his family.
But he was killing them. William was slashing and stabbing and bleeding the men of Silverback. His hand was shaking and there were tears in his eyes. He doesn't want to do this. He detested what he was doing. He built Silverback with his own two hands. It was his dream- to travel the world as a leader of a mercenary company. It wasn't a good dream- he knew. But he really loved the men of Silverback.
But his hands were wet with their blood- dripping even. With every slash of his sword, with every stab of his dagger, he was killing his dream. He was destroying what he built for years. His honorable stance in things- his promise to himself to never lie and cheat- he had become a kind person he detested the most.
This was for Timothy, he thought. He endured killing his comrades and breaking his honor for Timothy. His love for his brother trumped everything else- including his dream.
William's face was now bloodied. Hundreds lay dead on the snow. Silverback was broken. There was a momentary respite to the fighting. The two sides just stared at each other. Beside William were just a few dozen of his remaining loyalists.
The neighing of horses then sounded. Both sides were surrounded by trees and everybody was looking around to find the horsemen. And soon a new force arrived- a contingent of a few hundred cavalry. Unlike the mercenaries and unlike the serfs, the cavalry wore full armor. They were Castonians.
”Thank whatever is above!” The person riding at the front exclaimed. His voice was familiar. A few steps later and William realized that it was Erik.
”You are surrounded. Drop your weapons and step away from the Prince!”
Instead of following Erik, the men of Silverback tightened their grip on their weapons.
”We will attack. Don't test my patience. I am Marquis Erik Connel. Obey my words!” Erik added.
”We just want our Captain back” Said William's second-in-command ”We will fight until our last breaths. You cannot threaten us!”
The situation was getting sour. The men under William's second-in-command were agitated. If a battle was to ensue, it would be bloody. He cannot stand seeing more men of Silverback fall.
”Wait!” William shouted ”You and I Marco. Let's have a duel. If I win, all of you will drop your weapons and surrender to the Marquis. If I lose, I will come with you. We will leave this place and go east. We will not meddle in Castonian affairs anymore. We will forget this bloody event and continue with our business like nothing happened”