Medieval 03 - Enchanted

random
shouts of knights taking up defensive positions throughout the
keep.
    “You accept this?” Dominic asked
finally.
    Simon closed his eyes for the space of a breath.
When they opened, they were as clear and unreadable as night.
    “I will have no other wife but Ariane,”
Simon said.
    Dominic’s mouth flattened into a hard line.
“Meg said as much.”
    Simon grimaced. “Glendruid eyes.”
    “Yes. She saw your acceptance of Ariane as she is today, rather than as the
innocent maiden you had every right to require for your bride.
’Tis why I haven’t sent for Amber and forced her truth
down your stubborn throat.”
    “Thank you. I would not have Ariane shamed
before the entire keep.”
    “And you? What of your pride?”
    “It has taken worse blows.”
    “Has it?”
    “Yes. When my lust for a married whore nearly
cost your life.”
    With a grimace, Dominic looked out over the
keep’s bare fields and mist-wreathed hills.
    “What will you do when Geoffrey accuses
Ariane of adultery?” Dominic asked. “And you know he
will. He is determined to force you to challenge him.”
    “Sven will gainsay Geoffrey’s
lies.”
    “Sven has followed Geoffrey only since he
came to the keep. I understand that it is possible Ariane and
Geoffrey met just before then.”
    “Sven had best watch his words to you very
carefully,” Simon said with deadly clarity. “I can slay
him without causing a war.”
    “He is your friend.”
    “Ariane is my wife .”
    Dominic looked at his brother’s eyes and then
looked away once more.
    “If Blackthorne were strong enough to
withstand war with Baron Deguerre,” Dominic said,
“where would Geoffrey be now?”
    “Ten days dead,” Simon said
succinctly.
    Eyes narrowed against the cold wind and an emotion
that made his throat ache, Dominic waited until he could trust
himself to speak.
    “You stay your sword arm, and humble your
pride, for the sake of loyalty to me,” Dominic said.
    “And for Meg. For your unborn child. For the
children I now hope someday to have.”
    “In the Holy Land, you would not have done
this.”
    “In the Holy Land I was a fool ruled by
passion. Passion no longer rules me. I rule it.”
    Dominic’s hand formed a fist on the parapet
as he fought against the necessity of Simon’s sacrifice.
Simon was correct in his assessment of Blackthorne’s
vulnerability. They couldn’t defeat a concerted, determined
attack by forces such as Deguerre was assembling.
    For a time Dominic closed his eyes and bowed his
head as though in prayer. Finally he looked up at the brother he
loved as he loved no one except his wife.
    “I am in your debt,” Dominic said, his
eyes glittering with emotion. “I don’t know if such a
debt can ever be repaid.”
    “Nay,” Simon said. “’Tis I
who am in your debt.”
    But Dominic had turned away and was striding towardthe sentry. Only the wind heard Simon’s
protest.
    “I can see them, lord!” called the
sentry. “They are coming on like thunder!”
    Dominic leaned into the wind as Simon hurried
forward to stand alongside his brother once more.
    The sentry was correct. The riders were coming
swiftly.
    “War-horses,” Simon said.
    “Aye.”
    “Look!” Simon cried. “’Tis
Lady Amber!”
    “Are you certain?”
    “Aye. The first time I saw her it was like
that, her hair a golden fire all around her. By the saints, Erik is
with her! See Stagkiller pacing at the stallion’s
side?”
    “He is right,” said Sven from behind
them. “And that brown stallion is Duncan’s. I know it
well, having led it back to Blackthorne only this past
summer.”
    “Thank God,” Dominic breathed.
    He turned and signaled to John, who came at a
run.
    “Signal the keep’s people to return to
their business,” Dominic said. “And see that Lady
Margaret is informed of the number of guests.”
    “Aye, lord,” John said. He turned and
sprinted for the stairway.
    “We shall meet them at the gate,”

Dominic said. Then, to Sven, “Where is Deguerre’s
beloved knight?”
    “I left off watching him when the bell
summoned me.”
    “Was he abed?”
    “Nay.”
    Dominic grunted. “Is Geoffrey
recovered?”
    “Aye, unfortunately.”
    “From what?” Simon asked.
    Both Dominic and Sven gave him an odd look.
    “Geoffrey was found in the swine pen
yesterday morning,” Dominic said neutrally.
    “What?” Simon asked.
    Again, Dominic and Sven exchanged a glance.
    “Someone stripped Geoffrey naked and left him
face-down in pig