Kingdom Born

Chapter 23: A woman’s place

The War Thane sped up his pace and lead us through a maze of halls until we came to an ornately carved wooden door. He pushed it open and strode in. I entered unbidden, barely able to keep my mounting anger in check. It was obvious that this was the War Thane's private quarters, as it was as spartan as the rest of the Stronghold was garish. I took a good look at the War Thane.

When he strode into the dining hall his armour was serviceable and lacked decoration other than the insignia of the King. Even now, after the grime of the hard riding was washed away, he wore a plain brown tunic and comfortable doeskin breeches. Saddlepacks were tossed onto the huge bed that dominated much of the room and what was left was taken up by a massive stone fireplace that was glowing warmly, beckoning as a flame that calls a moth to her doom. He crossed to the hearth and tactically leaned against it. The dim light wasn't enough to keep me from seeing but it was enough to cloak him in shadows while lighting my face so he could read everything there. I schooled my features into impassiveness.

His voice was strong and harsh sounding. It was nothing like Karl's music like tones. "So you're the woman who laid a claim on my son."

"I'm his wife." I returned evenly.

"His name is Karlen. That is the name that was given to him, use it."

"Karl is the name he prefers."

"Some people prefer to be jackasses, you still don't call them that. Especially in front of his father. Don't see the attraction he has for you. You're not pretty in the usual way but you have a presence about you. You walk like a man, your shoulder's are those of an ox, you wear your hair shorter than a man....My son doesn't prefer boys does he?"

"Goddess..." I breathed out shocked at the War Thane's callousness. I didn't which to be more shocked at his rude comments to me or his questioning Karl's identity.

"It wouldn't matter I raised him to see to his Duty. After all, he stayed with you didn't he. That should pay you back for saving his life. No matter, I've seen Princess Carlotta. She's a tender beauty."

"What are you talking about?" I ignored the carefully planned insults and when straight to the heart of the matter that sent a shaft of dread ripping through my body.

The War Thane leaned closer toward the fire shielding his face but I could feel his eyes piercing into me to gauge my reaction. "My son's upcoming marriage to King Halsem's youngest daughter."

"Karl's married to me. We have a son." My angry reaction was what his words had wanted to provoke but I couldn't hold myself in check.

The War Thane straightened abruptly, "How old is he?"

"Ten."

"What a waste. He would never adjust to our ways. It's just as well he's across the sea. I don't think I could kill my own grandson...even if he was less than a man."

The singing of steel on leather echoed in the quite chamber, as I pulled my short sword free. "Old man, you would be best to see to yourself before making idle threats..." I spoke coldly to him.

An answering chorus came from the mantle over the fireplace as he drew his own sword. "I've seen more campaigns than you've been alive, girl..."

"Think of me what you will War Thane, but my family is sacred and will not be smirched by anyone." I settled myself into a comforting battle stance--knees flexed and centre balanced.

The War Thane stepped away from the mantle brandishing his broadsword. "A warrior never shows their Achilles heel, their weakness. You are easy to read, woman. I won't have his future wasted. It's shameful enough that so many years have past us by...there's so much for him to learn and not enough time to learn it. Princess Carlotta will be a help to him." We circled each other like jackals after a piece of carrion. The flickers of the hearth jumped along our blades.

"We are wed."

"Not by my permission."

"Karl is a man. He doesn't need your permission to make his choices."

"I cannot fault him as he had no one to educate him as he should have been if he weren't lost at sea. His wife has to be a help to him not a hindrance. You are nothing more than a barbarian. What do you know of our customs and laws? Right now I could call the guard and have you killed for daring to touch a man's weapon!" His voice was full of warning and confidence in his abilities. His underestimation would be enough for me to disarm him and take him prisoner. If he would not give his consent, then I would make him give it!

"You have insulted my family. Defend yourself..." Anger mixed with desperation deadened any pain that lingered from my shoulder wound as I lunged toward him.

The War Thane leaped backwards from my thrust, "I will not cross swords with a woman."

"Then you will be killed by one!" I darted in, moving my weight to the balls of my feet and raising my blade for an easy strike.

The War Thane moved faster than I had ever seen a man, or woman move. He swept my sword up almost knocking it from my grip. I kicked out my foot at the side of his knee. My whole body jarred as he took the full force of the blow on his calf. He twisted past and tried to force his hilt down into my weakened shoulder. I brought my elbow into his stomach then skittled across the floor to give me more room.

I blocked his first pass, stepped back from his second then hustled in to drive his point into the stones. I kicked and stepped on it with all my weight behind it. It snapped like a dried twig. His fist caught me in the side of my head. The force of it drove me to my knees. He stepped closer. Gritting my teeth against the wailing darkness that gathered around the edge of my vision, I drove my elbow back into his groin. He grunted in pain. The clang of the dropped hilt registered in my head the same time both fists slammed down on my shoulders. The pain...I screamed and fell forward onto the cold stones.

Blindly I rolled on my back and kicked out. I connected with him solidly. He grunted and then there was a sickening smack of flesh on wood and there was silence. Red flames of agony shot into my brain from my suffering shoulders.

The door to the chambers burst open. I reached blindly for my fallen sword hilt, my fingers searched the empty stones. "Father!", Karl stood in an hastily thrown on kilt in the doorway,
"Phara?"

"Karl!" I turned my eyes to him. Stretching my aching arm out to him he stared at me with horror filled grey eyes.

"What have you done?" The sounds of guards running toward us broke us out of our stupor. Karl wrenched his eyes away from me and turned them toward his father's still form. He hurried to him side and knelt over him. He cradled his head gently then pulled back a black stained hand. Blood.

"Phara, what have you done?"

"Lord Bezer!" A brace of guards squeezed into the room at the same time, their swords drawn for battle. More guards rushed up behind them.

"Get a healer! My father's been hurt." A man turned back.

"My Lord what happened? Did you see Lord Bezer's attacker?" The guard's eyes pinned themselves on me.

Karl turned toward me. His face was pale and gaunt. It burnt itself into my memory as he spoke the words, "Arrest her."

"Karl..." I whispered as his quiet voice echoed around my mind.
"Take her away."

The blade of the nearest guard touched my neck. My sword scraped the floor as he kicked it away from me. "One move, one wrong breath and you'll lose your head." He threatened in a low voice. The other guard pulled out a leather thong and roughly tied my hands together. He jerked me to my feet by my bound arms. The room spun wildly as I tried to stand.

"Don't harm her. She's pregnant." Karl warned as he knelt over the still body.

I couldn't say anything. I was numb. I let the War Thane goad me into action but the thing that tore my in two was that Karl...he turned away...again. He chose his father.


There was a steady dripping sound echoing off to my right when I woke up the next morning. I had a headache that throbbed in time with the drip. My stomach roiled and it felt like I was going to get sick. I held my head in my hands. It took more energy than I thought it would to sit up on the narrow hard cot. It took even more to stagger to the solid wooden door across the wide expanse of this room
.
"Guard!" I bellowed.

My head reeled. I felt ill, as if I had drank a whole keg of mead but this pain wasn't going to gone in a day. Every wound healed eventually. You just had to outlast the pain.

"Guard!" No answer. I opened my mouth to call again, then thought better of it.

I didn't remember much of the long march the guards took me on the night before so I had no idea where I was. High above me, maybe a woman's height, there was a barred window. Aside from the cot, there was nothing else to stand on. I pulled it scrapingly over the stone floor, then propped it against the wall, making sure that the rear posts were firmly chocked on a slight floor edge so it wouldn't slip when I climbed it. I just reached the window.

The familiar scent and feel of the salty sea breeze caressed my face. I took a deep breath savouring the taste and smell of it before looking around. The city of Northern Stronghold lay before me stretching back toward the distance mountains. I was in a high tower cell, toward the back of the holding. Apparently high enough and secure enough that I didn't warrant any guards.

I had broken their law of women and weapons. I could not claim ignorance of this law, Sanderson had told me. I tightened my hands on the bars and closed my eyes. I was subject to their punishment of death. Goddess...

If I thought that screaming would change this outcome, I would have done it.

Carefully I climbed off of my makeshift ladder then settled it back on the floor. The Goddess gave me my life to live as I chose. I had lived under her laws. But nowhere in her teachings did she say that you had to greet death fondly. The nauseous feeling began to fade away. Maybe it was more morning sickness than heartache. My hands cradled my stomach. I had been so lucky to have one healthy boy. Few women were blessed with children. Many of those children were sickly and those usually died. Kyle had been so perfect. I remembered one time, when Karl and I were sitting in front of the fire, with my huge belly blocking most of the warmth and heat from the hearth, that he told me about reading that once women had eight or more children in her marriage. The agony of Kyle's birth made me drop that eight child fantasy pretty quickly...still, a daughter.

I whispered to my still flat stomach, "....Daran...Your name is going to be Daran Longsword. I will teach you the sword and you will be a daughter of the Blade before your eighteenth year. Kyle would never have to worry about undefended honour." I would not have my daughter grow up in a place like this. A place were she couldn't hold her head up for fear of having it cut off.

Searching the main frame of the cot I found it to be thick and solid. It would be near impossible to break it up without an axe. I pulled the straw filled mattress off then smiled widely. The slats that ran across were narrow enough to be broken loose. I kicked one slat free then snapped it in half with my knee. I felt the tops of the broken pieces...nothing really sharp. I kicked another slat loose and swung it has hard as I could as the stone wall. This left a jagged point on the long part. It was not much of a weapon, but something is better than nothing. Now all I had to do was wait.

Beyond the locked wooden door there would have to be a stairway since I was up so high. I racked my brain but couldn't remember if the stairs were spiral, straight nor if they were narrow or wide. My legs weren't aching so it couldn't have been a straight climb so it probably was spiral. My upper shoulders and upper arms ached, the shoulders from the War Thane and my arms from the guards. Judging from the bruises, they hadn't let go of me once they clamped on, so the stairs have to be more than four feet wide. So there might be two guards, maybe four when they came for me. No one had seen me in action here in the Stronghold. Why would they send up four when it was a women they were taking to execution? Surely they would expect me to be weeping and begging for leniency. If they did send four, I could surprise them when they opened the door. I might be able to knock the last two backwards on the stairs. The closer two would have to take on my wooden spear. I would have to do some fancy moving until I got my hands on a blade.

Suddenly there were footsteps on the outer stairs, the jolt of a key in a lock then the door swung back. Karl stood in the doorway holding a torch high in the air. A sharp ache centred in my chest. When had he ever looked so handsome? He had trimmed his hair back to shorter lengths. He had on a silk tunic that could be laced up but he had it gapping open exposing his smooth chest. He wore leather breeches that hugged his rear and front, I didn't know if I like the fact that other women could see what he had. Tingles ran though my body, centring on my stomach and between my legs. But he had made his choice last night. My baby and I were alone.

"Lord Sander wants you executed." He placed the torch into a bracket just inside the door. He turned toward me, his face grey with lack of sleep and his eyes were bruised. "Matty and Merric are trying to calm him down."

"How's your father?" We were talking like polite strangers.

"He's in a deep sleep. The Surgeon said that he might have to operate to relieve swelling...."
Karl stepped toward me. I shuffled back not ready to face any more emotional reactions. He stopped walking forward. He held out his open hands, "What happened last night? I came in and both of you were on the floor."

"I thought you drew your own conclusions, as I'm sitting as a prisoner by your order." My voice was bitter.

"For your own protection! Goddess, Phara you told me that Matty told you about the laws about women and weapons. If Uncle Mitch had gotten a hold of you last night he would have killed you on the spot. As it, is he doesn't know exactly where you are. You can thank Lady Margaret and Merric for that. Tell me what happened, please...talk to me."

I turned and faced him squarely, watching his face for any sigh of the caring we once had. "He informed me that I worthless and beneath you. When he threatened Kyle, I broke his sword, kicked him, and he fell and hit his head on the bed."

I saw nothing. "How did you get to his chambers?" He was in his questioning teacher tone of voice. I jerked the bed down to the floor and tossed the mattress back on it. Carefully, I sat down making sure that I didn't fall through the missing slats.

"He came looking for me. The guards at the women's quarters can attest to that."

"Who attacked first?"

"Verbally or physically?" I returned with a nasty tone.

"By the Goddess, Phara...this is your life that we're trying to save!" Karl crossed over and grabbed my hands, hanging onto them tightly when I tried to pull away. "I don't want to see you hang." He pressed his warm lips to the knuckles of my hands.

"I didn't think you cared any more." The pain that had held my chest in tight bands loosened.

"Why would you think that?"

"You walked away from me when I told you I was pregnant. You sent me to gaol without finding out what happened. What kind of message were you trying to send?"

"You surprised me. What was I to think when you told me Matty was the father? I didn't know whether to kill you or him." Karl caught my hands and pressed them together, "I wanted to be the one to get you pregnant again. I was jealous. I don't like feeling that way and I don't want to feel it again." He climbed off the floor and sat on the mattress beside me. "It doesn't matter to me how you got pregnant the fact that you told me, truthfully and honestly said that you still wanted me to be the father. The act doesn't make one a father, the one who's there when their needed is the father." Tears welled in his eyes, "That is if you still want me to be."

I grabbed him and pulled him close. The ache in my chest transformed itself into exhilaration. I whispered to the back of his head in a low voice, not sure if he could hear me or not. "If you ever do want to leave, I won't stop you. But I would always welcome you back. Even if we were separated for twenty years."

We wrapped each other up in our arms and clung together as if we had been separated for weeks instead of hours.

"An apology is warranted here."

"I thought I did apologize." I lifted my head to meet his gaze.

"I'm talking about me! Who does my father think he is? In the eyes of the Law he's my lord and master. He can try and make me marry whoever he picks because I'm bound to him until his death as his heir to his lands and titles. But I'm not a kingdom man. I made my choice ten years ago. I knew who I was picking and I have never regretted my decision." Karl stepped in close again. Tenderly our lips touched...fires exploded in both of us. "We can't..." Karl placed his hands on my shoulders to gently push me away. I paled with pain. "What's wrong?"

"My shoulders are bruised."

"The guards?" He queried.

"Your father."

"He hit you." His voice in incredulous and angry. "If he hit you then you had to defend yourself. No one saw you with the sword. Uncle Mitch can't prove anything. When my father comes out of his sleep he'll verify your words."

"What do you mean, your father has to verify my words? Is your Uncle calling me a liar?"

"These laws are strange to you and I can't remember most of them but I know that until my father supports your version, Lord Sander can do anything he wants to you. Women here are not citizens. Your honesty isn't trusted."

"What kind of place is this?" Anger flared hot white inside of me. I pulled away from Karl and began to pace my cell.

"Phara..."

"When has my word or oath been questioned? Ever since I stepped foot on a Kingdom run ship I've been treated worse than a Badlander. At least you give a Badlander the respect of an enemy. Here, I'm beneath consideration!"

"You have a staunch ally with Surgeon Heinrich. His opinion is valued by many."

"To the people in power, I am worthless...a barbarian. I had not intended to tell you this but your father has already married you off..."

"WHAT!" Karl's hands dug into my shoulders.

"He told me you were going to marry Princess Carlotta because it was your duty."

"Was this all this was about? I told him that I was married to you, his blessing or not. He sent me away years ago. To me that ended our ties. He has no control over my life. When he comes round, I'll tell him that." Karl protested vehenomously.

"Karl..." I paused, wanting to tell him about my conversation with Lady Margaret, and dreading that her words were more than words - foretelling that could not be swayed. Karl swung his gaze back to me and waited expectantly. "I love you."

"I know." His grey eyes softened.

"I never meant to cause you any pain."

"I know that too. You could have lied, but that's not your nature. It hurts but this child, " He stepped up behind me and laid a possessive hand across my stomach, "This child is ours...Are you ready to come down and face Uncle Mitch?"

"With allies like you, Merric and Lady Margaret there is no reason to be alarmed." I smiled reassuringly into his face.

Karl crooked his arm and offered it to me. I linked my arm with his and he lead me out onto the wide spiral stairs. I stared down in satisfaction as it twisted out of view. I had been paying attention the night before. We started down the staircase. I felt as if I were being marched to another court martial. This time I had more to lose than a commission. Lord Mitchell Sander held my life in his hands.