Michael Sullivan: The Crown conspiracy

"Your Majesty," Count Pickering spoke, breaking the stillness.

"Another flight?" Alric proposed.

"Arrows will not conquer your city."

Alric nodded solemnly. "The knights then, send in the knights to break the line."

"Marshal!" the count shouted. "Order the knights to break the line!"

Gallant men in shining armor spurred their steeds and charged forward with banners dancing overhead. A whirlwind of snow launched into the sky by their passing obscured them from view. They vanished from sight, but still Alric listened to the thunder of their hooves.

The clash was dreadful. Alric felt it as much as heard it. Metal shrieked, men cried out, and until that moment Alric never knew it was possible for horses to scream. When the cloud of snow settled, the prince could at last see the bloody spectacle. Spears braced in the dirt pierced the breast of man and mount. Horses collapsed, throwing the knights to the ground where they lay, like turtles struggling to right themselves. Spearmen drew forth short swords and thrust downward, punching their sharp points into eye slits and the armor gaps at the armpit or groin.

"This is not going as well as I hoped," Alric complained.

"Battle rarely ever does, Your Majesty," Count Pickering assured him. "But this is a large part of what being king means. Your knights are dying. Are you going to leave them to their fate?"

"Should I send in the foot soldiers?"

"If I were you, I certainly would. You need to break a hole in that wall, and you'd better do so before your men decide you're incompetent and vanish into the forests around them."

"Marshal!" Alric shouted. "Marshal Garret, order the foot soldiers to engage immediately!"

"Yes, sire!"

A horn sounded and the men roared forward into battle. Alric watched as steel cut through flesh. The footmen fared better than the knights, but the defensive position of the city soldiers took a toll. Alric could hardly bear to watch. Never before had he seen such a sight-there was so much blood. The white snow was gone; it was stained pink and, in some desperate places, had pooled to a dark red. Littering the grounds were body parts-arms lay severed, heads split open, and legs chopped off. The wall of men blended in a whirling mass of flesh, dirt, blood, and an endless cacophony of screams.

"I can't believe this is happening," Alric said, sounding and feeling sick. "This is my city. These are my people. My men!" He turned to Count Pickering. "I am killing my own men!" He was shaking now and tears filled his eyes, his face red. Hearing the shrieks and cries, he squeezed the pommel of his saddle until his hands hurt. He felt helpless.

I am king now.

He did not feel like a king. He felt like he did on the road near The Silver Pitcher when those men held him face down in the dirt. The tears were now streaming down his cheeks.

"Alric! Stop it!" Pickering snapped at him. "You mustn't let the men see you crying!"

Fury flared in Alric, and he spun on the count. "No? No? Look at them! They are dying for me. They are dying on my order! I say they do have a right to see their king! They all have a right to see their king!"

Alric wiped the tears from his cheeks and gathered his reins. "I'm tired of this. I'm tired of having my face put in the dirt! I won't stand it. I'm tired of being helpless. That's my city, built by my ancestors! If my people chose to fight, then, by Maribor, I want them to know it is me they fight!"

The prince put on his helm, drew his father's large sword and spurred his horse forward, not at the trench but at the castle gate itself.

"Alric, no!" Pickering shouted after him.

– 6 -Mason rushed forward and drove his hammer through the helmet of the first guard he saw. Grinning with delight at his good fortune, he gathered the man's sword and looked up.

The mob had reached the main gate of the city. The great four-towered barbican of gray stone rose above them like a monstrous beast. It swarmed with soldiers shocked at the sight of the city rising against them. Surprise and the accompanying panic bought the mob time to clear the streets and reach the gate house. Mason heard Dixon shout, "For Prince Alric!" but the prince was the last thing on the smith's mind.

Mason picked out his next target-a tall guard absorbed in a swinging match with a street sweeper from Artisan Row. Mason stabbed the guard in the armpit and listened to him scream as he twisted the blade. The street sweeper grinned at the smith and Mason grinned back.

He had only killed two men but already Mason was slick with blood. His tunic felt heavy as it stuck to the skin of his chest and he could not tell if it was sweat or tears of blood dripping down his face. The grin he had shown to the sweeper remained on his face, glued to his lips by the thrill and elation. This was freedom! This was living! His heart thundered and his head swam as if he were drunk.

Mason swung his sword again, this time at a man already down on one knee. His swing was so strong the blade cut halfway through his victim's neck. He kicked the dead man aside and cried aloud in his victory. He spoke no words; words were valueless at such a moment. He shouted the fury that pounded in his heart. He was a man again, a man of strength, a man to be feared!

A horn sounded and Mason looked up once more. A captain of the castle guard was on the ramparts shouting orders, rallying his troops. They responded to the call and fell back into ranks struggling to defend the gate even as the mob closed in.

Mason stepped through the muddy, blood-soaked ground, which was now slick beneath his feet. He looked about and picked a new target. A castle guard with his back to the smith was in the process of retreating to the sound of his captain's voice. The smith aimed at the guard's neck, attempting to cleave off his head. His inexperience with a sword caused him to aim too high and the blade glanced off the man's helmet ringing it loudly. He raised the sword for another blow when the man unexpectedly turned around.

Mason felt a sharp, burning pain in his stomach. In an instant, all the strength and fury drained from him. He let go his sword. He saw, rather than felt, himself drop to his knees. He looked down at the source of the pain and watched the soldier withdraw a sword from his stomach. Mason could not believe what he was seeing. How could all that steel have been inside me?

The smith felt a warm wetness on his hands as he instinctively pressed them to his wound. Trying as best he could to contain his organs that were spilling out, the blood flowed through a gash at least a foot wide. He no longer felt his legs and lay helpless when, to his horror, he saw the soldier swing again, this time at his head.

– 7 -Alric charged the castle barbican. Immediately, Count Pickering, Mauvin, and Marshal Garret led the reserve knights in behind him. Arrows rained down from the parapets above the great gates. One deflected off Alric's visor, and another struck deep into the horn of his saddle. One hit Sir Sinclair's horse in the flank, causing it to rear unexpectedly, but the knight remained mounted. Countless more struck the ground harmlessly. The enraged prince rode directly to the gate and standing up in his stirrups shouted, "I am Prince Alric Brendon Essendon! Open this gate in the name of your king!"

Alric was not certain anyone heard him as he stood there, his sword raised high over his head. Furthermore, having heard him, there was no reason to believe another arrow would not whistle down and end his life. Behind the prince, the remaining knights fanned out around him as the marshal attempted to build a wall around his monarch.

A second arrow did not fly, but neither did the gate open.

"Alric," Count Pickering shouted, "you must fall back!"

"I am Prince Alric Essendon! Open the gate now!" He demanded again, and this time he removed his helm and threw it aside backing his horse into full view of the ramparts.