The Last Stand (The Eleven Years War: Book One)
Chapter Twenty-Two

Marion hated suitors.

TakeAlek Romera, for example. At least, that’s who she thought the boy in front ofher was; she could never tell the differences between Baron Romera’s eightsons, let alone remember who each of them were. Well, whichever son it was, hewas skinny like a twig, and though he had a very beautiful sword at his hip,Marion was fairly certain that she could kick his ass with one hand tied behindher back. He drank like a girl, spoke like a girl, and those false courtesies…it took every ounce of self-control she had to keep from smacking him and askhim why he couldn’t act like a real man.

Alektugged at his collar as a breeze rolled by, rustling the leaves in the garden.Well, it seemed that they had onething in common: neither of them wanted to be there.

“L-lovelyweather we’re having today,” he stuttered. “Do you agree?”

Mariontook a small sip of tea before responding. The kitchen staff had decided tomake a bitter brew that day, but in all honesty, she preferred it to the sweetJotiese brew they usually served when she was with a suitor; it kept her on hertoes, something she preferred to having a relaxing drink. “It has been quitebeautiful as of late, yes.” For a few seconds, he almost seemed to relax. Thatwas, until one of the servants had to interrupt.

“PrincessMarion, I’m afraid that your visit with Baron Romera must be cut short,” theservant said as she bowed. Alek became tense again, waiting to hear if he wouldhave to leave because Polain hadn’t thought him worthy for Marion’s hand or ifthere was some other reason that didn’t involve him.

Thoughshe hardly knew Alek, she hoped that it was the latter, for his sake; if thebruises on Baroness Alstara were any indication of how Baron Romera treated hisfamily, she guessed that having Alek sent home early because he wasn’t pleasingwould make Romera lose his temper.

Marionstood up. “What is it?”

“Polainrequests your presence in the audience chamber, your grace,” the servant said.“I think it has something to do with the war; he was standing next to amilitary man when I saw him.”

Oh, thank the gods! Shereally needed a report on the war, right then; anything to get rid of themonotone that was a noble woman’s life.

“I’msorry to be leaving you so soon,” Marion said as Alek stood up. He lookedrelieved, though whether or not it was because he didn’t want to be with her orbecause he wasn’t being dismissed for something he did, she wasn’t sure. “I’llbe sure to invite you back to finish this. My servant will escort you out.”

With that, they partedways, the servant and Alek exiting the garden through the lavish ballroom andentry hall, while Marion left in the opposite direction.

Theaudience chamber, like most every other room in the castle, was beautiful, withpaintings of past rulers in royal robes covering the walls and intricatelycarved pillars that dated back a thousand years holding up a ceiling covered inintricate religious frescoes. The hall was a show of power, meant to impressthose who came to the rulers of Caitha to ask for something, but that wasn’tits only purpose: in a time of war, it also served as a war room, with its longtable with just enough seats for every military head and a few guests, shouldthe need for them arise.

ToMarion’s surprise, that also wasn’t what they were using the room for, today.Only four of seven military commanders were there, plus one man with a shavedhead that she didn’t recognize.

Allof them – except for the bald one – stood at attention when they saw her. Thebald one simply bowed.

“Yourgrace,” Polain said. “It is an honor to have you in our presence.”

“Isee that you’ve all come back safely,” Marion said as she scanned their faces.However, she found herself lingering on Olrick. He looked like hell: his armwas in a sling, his eye was blackened from a fist, he had a cut over his othereye that was beginning to scar; she couldn’t help but wonder what the hellthey’d run into in Asfalis. “Now, what the hell is going on? I was under theimpression that we were going to have a war meeting.” The bald one seemedsurprised by her choice of words, but the rest of them didn’t; they eitherdidn’t care or were used to it.

“There’ssome business that I need to settle with you all,” Polain said. He looked overat Marion. “Your grace, allow me to be the first to introduce you to PrinceKael Althaus of Gishk.”

What?

Marionfound herself wondering whether or not she should laugh or not, and if theservants had added a special ingredient to his tea recently. “You’re kidding,right?”

“Yourgrace, would you please show some respect to his grace?” Polain asked. Therewas an edge to his voice, one that suggested that he really meant what he said.

Well, gods help themif he really did think the boy at hisside was some long dead Gisken prince. They were going to need them if theirgeneral was that insane.

“Howthe hell do you know who he actually is?” Marion asked.

“Thatis a conversation for another time-“

“It’sa conversation for right now, actually,” she said. The bald one gave her asurprised look, while Polain simply sighed, exasperated.

“Heknows of things that only a member of the Gisken royal family would know, and aformer servant of the family recognized him as Prince Kael,” he said. “I’llgive you more details at a more appropriate setting. For now, there’s a matterof business that we need to attend to.”

Marionfolded her arms; this had best be good.

Polainlooked around at everyone. “As you all know, Marion’s coronation day will behere in a few weeks; the time has come for me to appoint the royal guard, andI’ve come to my decision.” Marion, Olrick, Eza and Silas looked around at eachother, confused. Only two people were appointed to be in the royal guard; whywere there three military members there?

“CommanderSilas, Commander Olrick,” he said. “You are to be appointed to the royal guard,effective immediately; congratulations, gentlemen.”

Still, Marion,Olrick, Eza and Silas were confused. Normally, when there were more than twocandidates for the royal guard, the final decision was made based upon rank,meaning that Eza should have been one of those assigned to guard Marion, whileOlrick would have been reassigned as the head of intelligence in Silas’ stead.She would’ve asked what Polain had planned for Eza, but she assumed that thatquestion would be answered shortly.

“CommanderEza, I have a different task in mind for you,” Polain said. “You have beenassigned to the royal guard of Prince Kael Althaus of Gishk, effectiveimmediately.”

Fora few moments, nobody spoke. This situation would have been unheard of, evenbefore Kael showed up; a woman had never been appointed to the royal guard, norhad a Kurzhian. The fact that a Kurzhian woman had been appointed to serve inthe royal guard of a banished prince was madness, and they all knew it.

Nobodyknew how crazy it was as much as Eza did. Out of all of them, she was the onewho seemed the most concerned about it. Her brows were furrowed and her thinlips were creased in a frown. It seemed that Polain hadn’t spoken a word aboutthis to anyone until that moment.

Itwasn’t Eza who protested first, to Marion’s surprise; it was Kael. His cheekswere bright red like a cherry. It looked like even he’d been kept in the dark about this.

“General Polain,th-that at really isn’t necessary.” He stuttered shaking his hands in front ofhim. Eza nodded in agreement.

“Nobodyoutside of this room knows whom Kael, sir,” she said. “Having him underconstant guard would only serve to raise suspicion about him.”

“However,anyone who sees Kael will believe him to be a noble,” Polain said. “Nobodywould replace it odd that a nobleman has a guard.” Eza sighed as she folded herarms, defensive. Gods, she was pissed; Marion didn’t think that she’d ever seenher like this, before.

“Thisis a conversation for another time,” Polain said before Eza could arguefurther. “For now, we have a war council to prepare for.” With that, everyoneparted; Polain, Eza and Kael headed in the direction of the bedchambers, whileMarion, Olrick and Silas head for the drill grounds. After all, there was nobetter way to clear one’s head for a war meeting than sparring.

Olricksat in between Silas and Eza, rubbing his throbbing shoulder. The men that satacross the table from him, the highest-ranking members of the regular army, weregiving him a look, though it certainly wasn’t the usual one. He was fairlycertain that they were staring at the bruises and his arm, which was still in asling, and not the gray cloak that showed what he was. He supposed that havingthem stare in horror at the scars and the bruises was better than them staringat the cloak in disgust, but he’d still rather not have people stare at him at all.

Commander Conley Monbrandt, the head ofthe cavalry and the biggest jackass to walk the earth, looked at his silverpocket watch and sighed, like the annoyed nobleman he was.

“Wouldany of you happen to know if Admiral Kylar plans to show?” he asked in thatpompous way of his.

Outof the corner of his eye, Olrick could see Silas tensing up, one step away fromleaping over the table and strangling Monbrandt. Silas had a hard time dealingwith most of the nobles on the council, but he butted heads with the cavalryleader, especially; he represented everything Silas hated about the nobility.

“Sorryif this inconveniences you, your nobleness,” Silas spat. If looks could kill,Monbrandt would’ve been dead. “I’m afraid that Admiral Kylar is busy actuallytrying to defend this place, rather than trying to figure out how he can keepall of his wealth if the Giskens take over.” Monbrandt gave him an icy glare.

“Gentlemen,I would appreciate it if you were able to remain civil with each other,” Polainsaid. “We are at war with the Giskens, not ourselves.” Silas pulled out a flaskand began swigging ale, while Monbrandt checked his watch, again. It seemedthat he had every intention of becoming drunk off his ass in order to deal withMonbrandt’s sort.

“Itseems that we’ll need to start without Admiral Kylar,” Polain said as he lookedat the faces of them men and women at the table. Already, Marion looked boredout of her mind. “As all of you already know, the Giskens have invaded; we’rehere today to come up with a plan of attack. Commander Olrick, will you pleasetell us what you’ve seen in the past few weeks?” Olrick nodded and stood up asPolain sat back down.

Monbrandtsnorted. “Why is a Watchman presenting in a war council? They never do anythingof much merit.”

“Andwhy are you here if your only merit is your daddy’s money?” Silas asked. “Isuggest that you shut up before I shove your big, perfectly groomed head evenfarther up your ass then it already is!”

“Bothof you need to shut up,” Commander Mathis, the head of the army medical core,said as he rubbed his temple. “Dear gods, you two act like children when you’retogether.” He looked back at Olrick, his face softening. “I apologize for them,Olrick; please, continue with your report.”

Henodded as he as he looked down at the map of Caitha that was stretched out onthe table. He pointed at the area where Thaos would be, if the map were alittle more detailed. “From what we know right now, General Raul and the mainportion of his invasion forces have made a village just outside of Asfalistheir home base. Raul, himself, it holed up in a tavern on the outskirts of Thaos,a position that’s really quite vulnerable-“

“Areyou suggesting an assassination, commander?” Monbrandt asked. He soundedshocked, as if the very idea was unthinkable.

Olricknodded. “That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.”

Monbrandtfolded his arms across his chest stubbornly, like a child whose parents weren’tgiving him what he wanted. “Assassination is such a cowardly act; I won’t allowit.”

“Then,it’s a damned good thing that you aren’t in charge,” Silas said. Monbrandtglared at him, but he hardly noticed. “I don’t know about the rest of you, butI agree with Olrick; we need Raul out of the picture as soon as possible.”

“He’snot the only one we’d have to kill to decapitate the Gisken army.” Judging bythe embarrassed look on Kael’s face when everyone looked over at him, he didn’tmean to say the thought out loud.

“Whatdo you mean?” Olrick asked. Not only had he not been among the Giskens longenough to know how their command structure worked, but he never head a thingbeyond the colored armbands about it.

Kaelbegan rubbing the back of his neck as he looked to the side. “Well, in theGisken army, commanding ranks are passed on from father to son, or to a trustedfriend if the officer in question died before producing a legitimate maleheir.”

“DoesRaul have a son?” Olrick asked. Kael shook his head.

“Ifhe does, he isn’t a legitimate one,” he said. “He’s been grooming an Abunaki bythe name of Blair Al-Heida to take over when he’s gone.”

Olrickfound himself clenching his fists when he heard that name. It seemed that bykilling one monster, they’d simply be replacing him with another.

“Who’sBlair?” Eza’s voice brought him out of his thoughts.

Heswallowed, hard. “He’s a monster, even more than Raul is.” Monbrandt raised aneyebrow.

“Please,tell me how you could possibly know that,” he said. “Did you meet GeneralRaul?”

Olricknodded. “I did.”

Fora few seconds, nobody spoke; there weren’t even the usual, quiet sounds of sidetalk. Everyone they knew of who’d seen General Raul in person was either aGisken soldier or dead; it only managed to remind him of how lucky he was tostill be alive and well.

“Raul’sruthless, but he’s methodical,” Olrick said as he began to rub his injuredshoulder. “Everything he does, he does to further his goals, but not Blair; herapes and kills for the sake of raping and killing. In some ways, I’d almostprefer Raul.” Monbrandt leaned back in his seat.

“Ifthis Blair person is so much worse, why are you so hell-bent to kill GeneralRaul?” he asked.

“Andwhy are you so hell-bent on allowing him to blaze his way through the country?”For once, it wasn’t Silas who insulted Commander Monbrandt. Admiral KylarAlteara had arrived, and he hated him as much as Silas did.

Monbrandt’seyes narrowed as Kylar took his seat between Polain and Mathis. “I see thatyou’re late as usual, Admiral Kylar. Is that becoming fashionable amongviscounts?” Kylar chuckled as he pulled a flask from his long coat. He took afew swigs.

“Idon’t know, commander,” he said when he was finished. He screwed the lid backon the flask and put it back in his coat. “You see, I haven’t been to manysocial gatherings in the past little while; I’ve had a military duty toperform, but I’m certainly glad that a lord such as you doesn’t have to worryabout silly things like that.” Monbrandt’s face got red with indignation, alook that almost made Olrick burst out into laughter.

However,Polain spoke up before he could defend himself.

“Thankyou, Admiral Kylar, for interrupting this meeting,” Polain said, exasperated.“Now, if we can get back to business-“

“Speakingof which, there’s two messengers waiting for you outside,” Kylar said, puttinghis feet up on the table. “I would have taken the message for you, but it seemsthat I’m not good enough for them.” Polain sighed as he shook his head; Kylarhad always tried his patience.

“Letthem in,” Polain told the soldier at the door. He nodded and opened the greatwooden doors to the hall.

Twoboys walked into the hall. One was thirteen, maybe fourteen, and looked likehe’d been through hell and back. His gray-blue tunic was torn, his dirty facescratched and bleeding, tear marks streaming down his face from wide browneyes. The other wasn’t nearly as beat up as the boy. He was tall and gangly,with pale blonde hair tied behind his head, pale skin, a long, black coat witha blue band on the right forearm, and muddy, knee high boots. He seemed veryuncomfortable, like he couldn’t wait to get out of there.

Olrickbit his lip; what the hell was he doing here?

Eza’sgrip tightened on her staff as her eyes narrowed. It seemed that she, too, hadspotted the Gisken.

“T-theGiskens have taken Lake Town, and Asfalis is under siege!” The boy cried out.

Silasnearly leaped out of his chair when he heard the news about Asfalis. “How longhave the Giskens been in Asfalis?”

“F-fivedays, sir.” Olrick wasn’t sure whether or not Silas heard the messenger; Silaswas already storming out the door.

“Ifany of you need me, I’ll be at headquarters.” Before anyone could stop him, hewas out the door, likely plotting exactly how he would kill every single leaderof the Gisken army.

Polainran a hand through his hair as he stood. “Please, take this boy to a doctor;make sure he’s looked after and treated properly.” The soldier nodded andescorted the boy from the room. “Now, what message do you bring, Gisken?”

Finnquickly bowed as Kylar and Kael put their hands on their swords. “Sir, I bringnews from General Raul.”

“Andwhat is it?” The Gisken began to scratch his head.

“He’scoming for peace talks, sir.”