I hate to admit it, but stories with flashes of other places and times and stuff usually put me off. It’s like you get invested in one scene and then you have to reorient yourself to what the heck they just switched to. And I’m sorry. To try to tell this story without going back and getting everyone to tell their version means I am doing the silly flashes.
As the Prince and I were fighting for our lives and forcing our way out of the city(which I still don’t know the name of, to be honest), there were some of the beautiful golden horses being led across rocky fields by some of the nomads. I’ve been told that Heather was up on one of the horses with a nomad behind her. Supposedly, it was because of her ankle, but I was told of the big grin on her face as he held the reins around her and kept putting his nose in her hair to smell it.
They had not only gotten out of the yurt alive, they had been successful traders. Steve had exchanged things for one of the long wool coats and Nate had real boots, not just the gym shoes he had worn through the portal. They were in a group of the younger nomads, being escorted towards the capitol city. They were taking their fine time about it, too.
One of the nomads stopped, dropping the lead of the horse he was walking alongside, to listen. I can tell you that the wind through that golden-red grain could be very loud, but so can horse hooves on rock.
The others didn’t even have to talk, confusing the herd. Heather was helped down from her ride as the men started forming a defensive line around their guests.
Steve actually had the wherewithal(I’ve always wanted to use that word) to keep Nate and Heather quiet as their guides became their protectors. Though, I know that they caught on and dropped what they had been carrying and readied themselves, too.
I know that because when the Prince and I were racing across that field, I saw them. When I wasn’t looking behind me trying to find the royal guards and city guards behind us over the ridges in the field.
It wasn’t difficult for me to see them. The guards outnumbered us at least four to one, maybe five to one, and had armor that glinted if the sun was shining. Which it was.
If I hadn’t been looking behind us, I wouldn’t have seen our mob of people and we would have just passed them by. There they were waving their arms and starting to yell to get our attention. I saw a small line of horses behind a small line of the nomads, and felt such a relief. Like I had just been given the test back from Lit with a more than passing grade. I had figured out the signals the horse under me used and veered off the mostly clear path through the field we were on towards the nomads.
And my stupid friends.
The Prince followed me and we headed towards the group. I saw that they were armed, but did not have their weapons out, yet. I could hear more than that they were yelling when we got close, Steve’s voice the lowest I have ever heard it, but I could understand what they were saying.
“Tam! What are you doing?”
There was foam coming from the mouth of my horse as I rounded and stopped behind the nomads line. I couldn’t get off the horse myself and found Ilsin’s hands there to help me. The Prince stopped behind the line, too and was able to dismount by himself, though he kept a hand on the saddle of the horse to stay upright. I think we had been pushing the horses for over an hour at that point after having seen the army that had massed behind us. We were both exhausted, but it wasn’t over, yet.
I was mobbed by the herd. Heather wrapped herself around me, and I can say for certain that her hair did smell great. Only she who should be on the red carpet could be lost in a Conanesque world and have hair that smells that good.
Nate crowded in and I found even Steve was in on the group hug. I never had a chance to let go of Ilsin’s hand so it was the five of us in a very inappropriate group hug in the middle of the alien field with an army bearing down on us.
There were stupid and silly things that they tried to say to me as we all talked at once. I don’t really remember any of it, but I was laugh-crying and gasping for air through the pain in my chest while trying to talk to them, too. It only took a moment before that passed and we pulled our collective butts together and started to turn towards the oncoming guards.
The Prince held out his hand to Ilsin at that point. My Shield Companion looked at it and then took it. It was just a touch, but it was enough. The Prince got back into the saddle and moved his horse to between two of the nomads horses and we all looked towards the red and gold men coming closer.
You know those movies where the guy leans down to the ground, makes some grunts and says how many horses are coming. It really isn’t like that. You can hear the rumble of the horses kinda, but until you are close, you can’t really distinguish a few horses from a huge number. It just blends together into a really loud noise.
Now, this is where this 15 year old noble kid really showed his stuff. He STOOD UP IN THE STIRRUPS. Yes! Not just a little and down again. He stood there, being all royal or regal or something and called out to the guys following us. He had to cup his hands around his mouth to get any volume, but he did that, getting the lead guards’ attention and stopping them about 10 yards away from us. I have to tell you, he could yell like any spirit leader on the cheer team. I’m just glad the spirit hands didn’t come out, too.
“Ho! Stop and turn back!”
There was a laugh from the lead guard before he said, “We will bring you and the woman back to the King. You are a traitor, Prince.” I heard grumbles from the nomads, and saw weapons being loosened at that point. I understood. This was going to be nasty.
The Prince, still standing in the saddle, called back, “I am not a traitor. I will not let my father treat this country’s people like this.”
There was a nasty laugh from several of the guards lining their horses up across from us. I counted and there were not as many as I had thought, but still, twenty to fifteen is still not good odds when two of the smaller group had just been fleeing for their lives and were tired. And hurt. And this was when my stomach started to cramp and I got the first shakes from the adrenalin rush that hit.
The Prince seemed to be unaffected by the large group facing us, but I saw a wince when the guard leader said, “We can bring you back dead or alive. I think dead is easier.”
There was a call or signal or something and the guards started to advance on us. I heard weapons being drawn on our side, and I saw Ilsin draw my sword. He smiled, the best smile I have ever seen. He was going to throw my sword to me, but thought better of it with how I was holding my arm across my chest to keep my cracked rib from moving.
His hand wrapped around mine as my sword was in my hand again. “Can you fight?”
You know, that twitterpated thing comes up at the most stupid times. All I could do was nod and blush as I didn’t want him to let go of my hand. It didn’t matter to me that I was probably going to die on a stupid planet zillions of miles and centuries away from my home. I just wanted to stand there, holding hands.
I think he had some that, too, because, he started to blush and have a wide, silly grin on his face. Of all the things I remember from right then was that he had one strand of hair that had pulled from under his cap and I wanted to push it back over his ear. But that was not to happen.
With the guards moving towards us like an equestrian wall, we had to make a stand. It was not class. It was not a tournament. It was real and people had already died that day. I saw the herd looking at me and before I knew what I was doing, I was taking charge.
While I was testing my body, I said, “This is where the katas all pay off, guys. This is for real. If we don’t fight, they will kill us.”
Nate’s eyes went big and Steve nodded. Heather said, "No problem,” as she reached into her purse of holding and brought out two telescoping batons. The sound of them extending as she flipped them out caught several of the nomads, including the one that had been sweet on her. She smiled and stretched out her arms and said, “I’m ready.”
And then we bowed to each other. It is so funny that I had just said it wasn’t class, and yet, we were going through the ceremony that our teacher beat into us every class. We lined up behind the horses, knowing we were the last line of defense.
I saw that the Prince had sat down again.
Ilsin mounted up, pulling a curved sword from a sheath on his saddle. He looked at another of the nomads and to the Prince, saying, “Don’t let them pass through.”
The Prince nodded and I heard him say, “We are a wall.”
Through the horses, I could see that the guard had ridden to about ten feet from the front of our line. About half of the guard dismounted and started towards us, keeping an eye on the nomads that had mounted up again.
Nate saw that the guys who had dismounted had started circling, to get to us without going through the line of horses. We turned and I think I saw some of the guards pause as the four of us, flanked by a few of the nomads, did not step back, did not flinch.
Some sort of a signal happened that I missed and we were in the battle. The horses were against each other, the equestrian skills being pitted against one another as the swords and staves were being used in a high style to keep the horses from being hurt. The guards on foot tried to rush us, but we were not so easily overrun.
Six of us on foot, the rest on horses. The horses were being pushed back a little, which meant we were moving to keep the groups clear of each other. I had my sword and the remainder of that stupid stave. Heather had her batons and knew how to strike if the guard got too close. Steve and Nate went back to back when they realized the guards were trying to surround us, the nomads doing the same and trying to keep the way behind us clear.
That is when I know things started to get ugly, but we were fighting and not letting them through to us. I blocked a sword with the mushy stave, yelling as my side felt like I was being eaten by fire ants. I cut the guy on the arm and swung at the next guy. I heard the whap of Heather’s baton as it hit someone, and I saw one of the guards stumble back, trying to get his helmet off. That was a mistake because, even though I may have been called Nad Crusher, Heather kicked out and made the guy regret having external organs. He went down, but someone else replaced him in the crush. I saw Steve’s leg go past Heather, pushing that guy back and onto the rocky ground.
There were Ki’s. There were yells. There was a little bit of banter between us, and a few shots called. But it was almost all just trying not to get hit while hitting them. Movies just don’t get the fact that there is no time, and no brain power, available to do the witty stuff while people are trying to kill you. The most I was able to get out was a, “Thanks,” when my block wasn’t good enough and Nate was able to pound the guy in the chin when they got too close.
It almost was too much when several of the guards rushed Steve and Heather backed into him as he was trying to do something, a throw I think, landing him in the way of a sword. The sword missed his face, but the pommel landed square in his chest, knocking him onto the ground. I can attest that the rocks were not as good to land on as a training mat, and I saw Steve try to roll, and miss, having to be pulled away by one of the nomads before the next swing at him.
Nate was not doing much better. I saw the wide eyed look on his face as I was turning to meet another sword swing. He was defending himself, but he is the shorter of the two guys and was not landing anything strongly. He wasn’t letting them get too near, but he just wasn’t taking anyone down.
It is hard to defend yourself when you are unarmed against armed opponents. This did not mean they were weaponless. It just meant they had a harder time of it.
The mounted people in our group were doing much better. I saw a few horses wandering away, no rider on one, a slumped figure on another. Ilsin and the Prince were still in the line, one of the nomads slumped in his saddle and being defended by the others.
Then, one of the guards got too close. He grabbed the tunic of the Prince and I saw the boy get pulled from his horse. I also heard the crunch as he landed. There was a small rumble of a victory yell from their side when it happened. Steve and I both saw it happen and he was quicker than me but we both ran to him and tried to defend him.
Past the flanks of the horses, I saw Nate and Heather go back to back, their backs literally touching as Heather backed into Nate and he supported her as she fended off an attack. I had to concentrate on keeping the horses from stepping on the Prince, but I find it interesting, in a ‘oh my god, we are all going to die!’ interesting, the things I remember from the battle.
I straddled the Prince as he lay gasping on the ground, my legs on either side of his. Steve was on one side, pushing and hitting at the guards on the horses, and had picked up a sword someone had dropped.
I glanced down and heard a squeak in my voice as I asked the boy, “Are you o.k.?” I was winded, but I had to push on. It was not that frightening at the time, but looking back, I know how close we were coming to just loosing. And not just the fight.
He groaned more than spoke, but I heard, “I-I don’t know.”
The nomads saw the problem and somehow were able to push the other line of horses away from us. We still had to deal with the foot fighting, but without the thousand pound beasts clomping around us, we were doing better. Steve has more of a range with a sword than I knew, and was able to take down multiple guards as I was blocking stuff coming into our space. He was doing well enough that he stepped away from the Prince and had his own little cadre against him, leaving me with the Prince.
I started to feel real shaky right about then. There were bodies on the ground around us. Dead people. And some of them I had done. My hands hurt and my legs wanted to give out. Breathing was full on agony. But I kept going, because I had to.
I turned when I heard a crash onto the ground. Another of the mounted guards was laying on the ground, the horse rearing and backing away. Ilsin was up against the last of the mounted guards. Everyone was tired, and I saw the guard try to deflect a blow from the curved sword and not quite get it, the blow cutting into his shoulder and pushing him off the horse.
I did not want to move from the Prince, but wanted to help Ilsin. He pushed at some of his clothing, trying to put the shreds back into place, without much luck. My fight mate dismounted and went to the last man he had fought, pointing his sword at him, but not actually going for the killing blow.
The prince had been able to sit up by then, gasping for air when he moved, but not crying or anything. He looked around and called out, “You are done-for. Surrender.”
He had seen what I didn’t. My friends and I were still trying to just fend off these guys, and did not see that we now not only outnumbered those still standing, we were winning.
The guards also saw. They paused, and then most of them just dropped their weapons. The nomads pushed the last ones towards the Prince and forced them to kneel in front of him.
The helmets were off and on the ground, sweat and dirt and blood and… well, you get the idea. They looked relieved not to be fighting, and kinda resigned.
Ilsin went to one of the guards at the end and placed his sword against the guys neck. The guard scrunched up his face and I think I saw his lips move.
“Shall they be dispatched?”
The Prince did not immediately answer. He motioned for help and I was able to get him on his foot. His other leg was not moving right and that was when I saw he had broken it. But the kid, in all his Princely nobility, stood there, leaning on me and didn’t cry or sob or anything. I did see more than just sweat run down his face, but if he hadn’t shown some sort of pain, I really would have been worried.
Nate came up on the other side of the Prince, grabbing onto the kids’ belt to help hold him up as the Prince took in a gasp of air and finally showed how much in pain he was when he tried to speak, and had to stop and start again. “No. Go back to my father and tell him that I-I will come back only after he makes amends to all of the villages and clans that were forced to send girls to marry me.” He coughed and winced and I saw he was trying not to move one side of his chest as he breathed. I really understood how that was.
The guards that were on their knees looked at each other and then the Prince, but didn’t move. The nomads seemed to become more menacing and one of the guards started to stand.
The Prince pointed and said, “Go.” So simple, and with the nomads there to be menacing, the guards stood and backed away. Some tried to get their horses, but the nomads on the golden horses chased them away from that idea. It was going to be a long trudge to the capital city, but they were away from us and I felt both relief and nausea.
The Prince started to shake as I held him. I first thought that it was me, but then he gasped and leaned on Steve and me really hard trying to stay standing.
Heather was digging through her purse for something already and looked over at us as we sat the Prince back down. “He doesn’t look too good.” She looked around and I could see what she was thinking before she said, “No hospital, I assume.” She turned from the closest body and continued with, "Not that it would do any good.”
The Prince might have been in pain, but he was still sharp. He looked confused as he asked me, “What is she saying?”
I shook my head at him and told him to rest.
Now, I should mention that I had been counting the days since I had gone through the portal. I’m a girl and I am used to counting things like that. I had noticed when I was in the dungeon of the castle place that the necklace had started to have small points of light on the edge that I could see. Very close to the counting dots I had seen on the surface of the portal. I felt a small vibration from the necklace and looked down, seeing the dots, and less of them.
Steve still had the necklace on and saw I was looking at mine. He looked at his and saw that his had little dots, too. We compared them and saw that they were the same, and they were counting down.
Everything was happening at once. The nomads were stripping what they could from the bodies of the attackers, bundling up the one nomad who had been struck down. I had to have time to think and I told the herd to help with stripping the bodies. They didn’t understand, but I know that Heather put a few things into her bag of holding and I took a few pieces of armor and a not-so-ripped tunic to go over the barely holding together wedding dress I had on.
The Prince was wrapped in more layers and was showing signs of shock. I tore strips from the skirt and used the scabbard of my sword to make a splint for his leg. It was not poking out of the skin, but I could feel the bone move under the muscle when I straightened out the leg.
That was when the kid turned green, started to hyperventilate and then threw up.
I really don’t blame him. It was a really bad situation, and I knew he did not really have long before the injuries would be fatal. And I then remembered something from the summer before.
“Remember when sensei had us do that outward bound thing?” There were nods from the boys. “The first aide part. If we can get him to the portal by sunset tomorrow or earlier, we might be able to get him to a real doctor.”
Heather was pulling on a pair of boots as she said, “It took us more time than that to get here.”
The nomads were almost ready to move out. Ilsin came to me and held out his hand. I took it, not hesitating. I trusted him and will always trust him. With my life and otherwise. “You are a good shield companion, Warrior woman. And a good friend.”
I felt some of the silly rush to my head, but held it back. “I try, but we do not have time for niceties. We need to get back to where you found me. And we have until sunset tomorrow.”
Steve had a hand around his translator necklace and was trying to feel if there were any more buttons or switches to it. “I think you are right, Tam. It closes tomorrow night. I hadn’t connected the dots before.”
I tried not to laugh. It hurt so much to laugh. I couldn’t help it, and Ilsin had to hold me up as I gasped for breath. He didn’t even get the joke, but it didn’t matter. My shield companion held me, and I felt the need in me to just be held. But we had to get going.
“We need to get to the place you found me. And then there was a stream and some woods about half a days walk from there. That is were we need to go.”
Ilsin was confused and said, “We can ride hard, but I don’t think that the middle of the plains will be the best to bury the Prince of the country.”
I had gathered myself and as much stuff as I was going to and stood, facing Ilsin and the nomads. “We are not going to bury him. We are going to save him.”
Steve was still poking at his translator torque, but chimed in with, “Heather has some aspirin and stuff in her purse.”
I knew he was trying to come up with a miracle. Aspirin was a miracle when it was invented, but it has drawbacks. And thanks to a murder mystery Mom had made me watch with her, I knew some of them. “No. Aspirin might let him bleed to death. Wait.” It occurred to me that if Heather had that part of her pharmacy in her purse, she had others. “Heather, do you still have that bladder infection?”
The look on her face was one of both horror and outright hate. And then she nodded with her blush covering her face and dug into her bag for her pill bottle.
Nate didn’t get it. Clueless, as ever. “Bladder infection?”
I got the bottle and opened it, taking one of the pills out and looking for a water skin. “Amoxicillin. I just hope he isn’t allergic. We have little time.” I found one of the milk-beer skins and forced the Prince to swallow both the horse pill and the drink. I’m not sure which one he gagged on more.
Ilsin looked at me and the Prince. “I know a way around the hills It will only take about half a day at a hard ride, but he’s not up to it. We will have to sling him.”
I looked up and saw we were getting closer to the golden time right before night hit on this world. I took Ilsins’ shoulder and felt him tense and then relax into my touch. “You lead, we will ride with you. We need to do it now.”
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