Written 2006
Posted 10-21-22
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THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, CHAPTER 5
A story of Necromantra
By Aladdin
Edited by Christopher Leeson
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Chapter 5
A Sea of Troubles
“Not all stepmothers are like those in the storybooks,” I said.
He shook his head scornfully. “A pity. I could use a more practical-minded woman. Clear your head, Marinna! Sentimentality gets in the way of politics. The reign of Lord Pumpkin taught us how power can be won and kept.”
“But not even the Pumpkin was able to hold onto his power for more than a few years.”
“When he left Ulik, it was by his own choice. No one forced him,” he said.
“Maybe. But he must have had some reason for going. And he wasn’t able to come back and take over again when he tried. And the Pumpkin wasn’t just a walking scarecrow; he was a powerful sorcerer. If it wasn’t for that, his iron fist would have been like a glove stuffed with straw.”
“Well, don’t I have your sorcery at my command?” he asked. “Oh, certainly, you’re not to be trusted, not least of all because you're under the thumb of King Q'zon. But maybe we can come to some accord that will increase your enthusiasm for our cause.”
“Maybe we can. I suggest that we start the process by dropping any idea of killing Princess Arielle.”
He shrugged. “You’re asking only one small thing today. But what will you be asking for tomorrow?”
“To answer that, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow, won’t we.”
“I hope that’s one of your jokes,” the viscount replied.
“Just listen for a moment. You'd like to hold onto as many allies as you can, right? Slaying the heir of the old house would alienate some of the most important power blocks. On the contrary, bringing Arielle over to your side will impress the people of Ulik and even improve your legitimacy in the eyes of our neighbor kingdoms.”
He regarded me keenly. “Now that you mention it, Arielle has an even better claim to the hearts of the people than you do – and for good reason. Why shouldn’t I marry her instead instead of you?”
I folded my arms over my breasts. “Marry anyone you choose, Lord Armand. You’re not my idea of a dream match any more than I’m yours. And what does it matter if the two of us are in agreement? Sooner or later, Q’zon is going to yank me back to Darkur and you’ll lose my support. Or do you think that you can stand up to Q’zon if he asks for anything insistently enough?”
The viscount shook his head. “I didn’t want that alliance in the first place, but I had no choice but to go after it once Airelle had fallen into Erhan’s hands.”
“So marry Arielle!” It made me queasy to be offering my stepdaughter to a crooked middle-aged politician, but I’d rather have Armand scheming to marry the girl than plotting to assassinate her.
He shrugged. “If you have a plan to bring that about, let’s hear it. Otherwise, you’re only wasting my time.”
“My plan is to win Captain Arielle to our cause. Family is important to her, and the princess is part of that family. And Arielle holds the captain in high regard, so much so that she even adopted her name. I’ve talked to the older cousin and know that she is not at all fond of Erhan. If we can offer her something that she wants, we can gain her support. If we're able to do that, I propose having her pretend to choose Erhan’s cause and deploy her contingency inside Roch. I’ll go into the city alongside her disguised as one of her servants. Once I’m able to contact the princess, I’m sure I can persuade her to accept your proposition. At the same time, the captain will also be there to back me up on the idea.”
The nobleman scoffed. “Why should I think that Princess Arielle likes me any better than she likes Erhan?”
“She’ll like you for the best of reasons. You have the bigger army.”
I saw his express become less scornful. Having been one myself, it was easy for me to talk turkey to a man.
“Also,” I said, “she’s been living as Erhan’s hostage, not his eager bride. And whatever Arielle chooses, I think it her knightly cousin will support it. And you’ll be gaining another advantage; the captain will have a force of arms that will be friendly to you inside Roch. Something useful could be done with that circumstance, I’d say.”
He was frowning, but not disagreeing. “You almost think like a man. But if the princess agrees to join us, how will you get her out of Roch?”
“Easily.” I picked up a bronze candlestick. “Pretend that this is the princess, and pretend that this table is the fortress walls.” Then I made my arm and the candlestick phantasmal and passed it through the surface of the table.
“Very interesting,” he remarked. “What partners we might make if only I could depend on you.”
“Do you suppose that you could ever truly trust a witch, my lord?”
“No,” he said, “I suppose I couldn’t. But one thing at a time.”
#
Three days later, I was in the back of a cart with other of Captain Arielle’s servants, crossing over the drawbridge into Castle Roch. Disguise was nothing new to me. With my hair blackened and nose reshaped and enlarged by an artful appliance, I didn’t expect that anyone short of Princess Arielle herself could have recognized me.
We settled into our new quarters and Erhan gave consent for the cousins to meet. I was brought along to attend on the captain during the reunion and my disguise must have been convincing, insofar as the princess didn’t give me a second glance.
“Wait one minute before you speak, Arielle,” the older cousin whispered. Then she gave me the nod and I went about the room checking for listening holes.
I discovered two of such by my ability to detect the life-traces given off by the agents lurking behind them. I send a magical surge through each hole in turn, strong enough to put a strong man into a faint. I didn’t think that either of them would have the nerve to report the matter to their spymaster later on, seeing as how they’d be admitting that the only problem was that they had fallen asleep on the job.
“It is done,” I advised the captain. “Speak your piece.”
“What was just done?” asked the younger Arielle, her brow wrinkling prettily.
“Marinna has secured the chamber from eavesdroppers.”
“Marinna?” The girl looked at me. Her incomprehension instantly transformed into wide-eyed dismay.
“Why did you bring her?!” she fairly shouted.
“The plan was her creation. What’s wrong?” the captain asked.
“She – she murdered my father!”
The warrior-maid looked at me aghast. Seeing neither surprise nor denial in my expression, she drew her sword -- the same nasty sword that she so much hated wielding.
“Put that down,” I told her. “I've already admitted that I've had periods of insanity. There is no way I can make up for what I've already done, but I’m earnest about wishing to help the princess. After that, I’ll be wanting to leave this land and, believe me, I never want to come back.”
“If you killed Lord Tavon, you deserve to die,” the warrior told me coldly, looking very much like a warrior instead of a noblewoman.
“She claims that she was possessed by a demon,” young Arielle put in. “I wish I could believe that there was nothing else to it.” Then she hung her head. “No, I think I do believe it. But I still don’t want her near me.” The princess placed her hand upon her cousin’s fist and pressed the sword hand toward the floor. “I don’t think Marinna would harm me intentionally. Just just be careful. She’s capable of almost anything when the madness is upon her.”
I was feeling the evaporation of the camaraderie that had been growing up between the soldier and myself. Also, I felt uncomfortable receiving even cautious trust from the teenager. The guilt I felt made me want to reject kindness or mercy. But beyond that, if my stepdaughter hoped to live for a very long time, she would have to give up her compassionate nature. He would have to become much better at hating and holding grudges. It would take a wary scoundrel to survive in an environment as stormy as Ulik’s.
The princess turned my way. “You came with a plan. What is it?”
“We want to take you to the camp of Viscount Armand,” her cousin answered for me.
Arielle frowned. “Is that wise? Can we trust him?”
“No. No more than we can trust Erhan,” I ventured. “But if the Darkurans attack this city, thousands of your people will die. Each one of those beasts is worth a score of Ulikan soldiers, and they’ll be bringing with them weapons the likes of which your defenders have never had to face before. These stone walls will be no obstacle to a Darkuran attacks. If it were not for the Aerwa people, a race as powerful as they are, the Darkur would have taken over the Wold long ago.”
I was giving her the straight skinny. My aim was to get young Arielle out of the Ulikan powder keg and into a safer sanctuary. The only question was, where could we find a refuge for a royal princess even on a world as large as the Godwheel?
“If my people must die, then I should die with them,” declared Arielle the younger.
Arielle, the soldier, shook her head. “Self-immolation has to be the last resort, dear one. It is a maxim of war that the best way to make a war short is to side with the stronger contender. We believe that Erhan may be repudiated by his own people if he has no royal marriage to support his claim. That means that your exit from this city may very well prevent a carnage. Without you, Erhan will be no more appealing to his supporters than are the minor pretenders who have already given up.”
“But will mere human politics stop the Darkurans from attacking if they really want to?” the younger cousin asked.
“They might indeed attack. They’re always spoiling for a fight,” I told her. “Before they move, both factions have to act jointly in rejecting them. If the Darkurans are seen to be making war against a united Ulik, it should encourage the Aerwa to intervene. They’ve always been against outright Darkuran aggression. And because the Darkurans know that, too, it may discourage their king from going too far.”
The knight turned my way with misgivings. “That's a big ‘if.’ If we have to stand alone against the full force of Darkur, we can scarcely survive.”
She was right; I had no counter argument.
“What is my choice then?” the younger cousin asked.
I replied, “First, you should forgive yourself for this bad situation and be prepared to preserve your own life. With you out of the picture, Erhan, Armand, and the Darkur will be left to settle their own hash as best they can.”
“What about the mass of the people?” she demanded.
“In the worst case, very many will die,” I said. “But how can you help them, except by making the noble gesture of dying with them?”
“Would that gesture be so useless?”
“I believe it would be,” I replied. “History judge most grand gestures as being worthless.”
That made the teen stop and think a moment. Then she asked, “If I agree to escape with you, what then?”
“You have three choices. Stay here and support Erhan; that means Roch will probably be attacked, and probably with Darkuran support. Or, you can go over to Armand. As we’ve said, Erhan’s cause will most likely collapse in a few days. The risk is that the Darkurans may attack on their own initiative, since they’ve been sent here hoping to reap the material and political spoils of war. A united Ulik will have to reply to a Darkuran double cross and when his troops are attacked, Q’zon will probably send in reinforcements. If there is no Aerwan intervention, the Darkurans will win – and the Darkuran way of winning is about as ugly as you can imagine.
“But if the Darkurans do not attack,” I continued, “Armand has everything to gain by making you his queen. You can go along with that, if you have a strong enough stomach. Or, you may leave the kingdom entirely. Whether Erhan fights or not, his cause isn’t going to hold together. Armand is likely to be the most acceptable choice for high prince, given his wider appeal across the kingdom. But even if that happens, his throne is going to be insecure if he lacks your backing. There’ll be treachery and plots springing up all around him. He may even be forced to become a puppet of King Q’zon just to keep any kind of hold on the throne. How Ulik can get out of that kind of trap, I have no idea.”
“If I let you take me away somewhere, what going to happen to me?” the princess asked.
“You’ll be almost forgotten, only a footnote in the history of Ulik. The question is, where would you want to go? I don’t know of any place on this world that would be safe for a very young woman who has no friends or support. Royalty without a throne to barter away is no real royalty at all.”
“I can hardly see any real choice in what you're telling me,” the girl said.
“What about if you left this world entirely?” I asked. “Your cousin has the means of taking us to a different planet in space. She’s already traveled there and returned. It’s livable. I’m pretty sure that the world she visited was my own, since I first heart about Lord Pumpkin as a criminal leader back on my home world. The odds are that the sword can take us there again.”
“But what am I suppose to do on this place called Urt?”
“Not a lot. You’ll arrive there as a stranger and a commoner. All you’ll have is what you can carry with you. Your big challenge will be getting used to a civilization and to a lifestyle that’s very different from what you’re used to.”
“Which of my supposed choices will save the most Ulikan lives?” the princess asked. Then she looked at me accusingly. “If my father hadn’t been murdered none of this would be happening!”
“I would say that’s true,” I admitted. “Would my apology make you feel any better?”
“After all the harm you’ve caused, I don’t see how it can.”
“Here’s an idea you might like better. I have powerful enemies back on my home world and one of them might luck out and assassinate me one of these days. Wouldn’t it cheer you up seeing that happen?”
She looked away. "I don't know. All I really wanted was for you to be the person that I used to think you were. Maybe you've changed, but maybe you're going to suddenly change back again."
"Maybe I will," I agreed. "I hope not, but maybe I will."
Still not looking at me, the teen drew herself up against her cousin and pressed her face into the knight’s velvet tunic in a very childlike way.
Finally young Arielle looked up at her and whispered, “It sounds like the best choices are going with Armand or leaving this world entirely. What do you say, Arielle?”
Her kinswoman sighed. “The best decision is the one that will save the most Ulikan lives. But, whatever you choose, I pledge this: I will be at your side as long as you wish me to be.” Then the war-maiden addressed me, saying, “Leave us. My cousin and have to get reacquainted.”
“O course,” I said. “Only don’t talk for too long. Those spies that I stunned will not sleep forever.”
“Thank you for not killing them,” the princess addressed to my back as I was walking toward the door.
This setup was a depressing one. She had so much to learn about life. Myself, I had lived for centuries and had also died hundreds of times. I couldn't help but see things differently.
What I’d learned is that dying is easy. Living is always a sea of trouble.
#
I didn’t wish to force the matter as long as the princess remained indecisive. But the pressure was building on Roch and also on Armand; however reluctantly, he was drifting into a nasty place. The time was drawing nigh for me to demand a decision from her. But if young Airelle left the city, I didn’t want Arielle Senior to be implicated. That meant that I had to wait for the right moment, when she had the alibi of visibly attending a public function. As soon as that event happened, I ghosted into the princess’ apartment through the floor of one of the empty rooms above her suite.
When she saw my intrusion, she clenched her fists and declared, “I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Princess,” I said, “it’s high time that you decide what you’re going to do. If you do nothing this city is going to be attacked and it will fall. You’re young, Arielle, but circumstances are forcing you to become stronger than you’ve ever been before. Not only your own fate, but your country’s fate, too, depends on your choosing a course of action.”
“You make it sound so easy,” she said.
“I know it’s not easy. To make things less difficult, can you at least tell me which plan is the one that you’d least like to follow?”
She was quiet. I began to think that she wasn’t going to speak until she finally said, “I can’t marry Erhan. That would make Armand attack the city. And if he does that, he will surely send in the Darkurans first. That would lead to the worst possible outcome for the people of Roch.”
“All right, would you prefer to marry Armand instead?”
“But isn’t he marrying you?”
“That’s just politics. I don’t want him and he doesn’t want me. He’d definitely prefer you to be his...consort.”
“But you’ve said that if there is no war, the Darkurans may simply start one themselves.”
“They might. Or they might not. All I can say is that the odds of a bad outcome will be less if Armand doesn’t have to order an attack.”
“What sounds most tempting is to simply run away,” she suddenly admitted. “But that would leave the kingdom in an unstable state. Also, doing nothing is just about the worst betrayal that I can inflict on my people. I would truly deserve to be a homeless exile if I did that.”
“If you can’t decide, would you want me to decide things for you? Or maybe you’d value your cousin’s opinion more?”
“No. I have to choose my own fate. I don't want to blame anyone else if things goes wrong. I think the best idea is to go to Armand. It will make his high princedom stronger and more stable. Also, we can hope that the odds of a Darkuran attack will be lessened.”
I nodded. That was how I saw matters, also.
That much being decided, I wanted to act immediately. There were dark drapes on the windows and these I tore down for us to wear as masks and cloaks. If the guards saw the two of us fleeing in disguise, they wouldn't be sure what was happening. I touched her so I could magically reduced her weight. That made it easy to pick her up in my arms, a sixteen year old being no easy burden for one of my physique to carry. Then the pair of us went ghosting through the exterior wall of her chamber and, once outside, I called up a brisk wind to take us to Armand’s encampment. Very quickly, the gusts took us out of the range of any crossbow shots while the darkness simultaneously provided good cover.
I deposited the youngster at my pavilion in Armand’s camp in care of my maids. Then I returned to Roch and reentered it secretly. If both Captain Airelle’s servant and the princess were seen to have disappeared at the same time, that would put the captain under the light of suspicion. I acted promptly to go out amongst the milling inhabitants of Erhan's mansion to show myself looking as innocent as possible. It wasn’t very long before the disappearance of Princess Airelle became the news of the hour.
In a flash, Erhan’s options had narrowed drastically. In the morning, Armand sent word into Roch that the princess was under his protection and he was offering Erhan clemency if he accepted exile and immediate capitulation. Erhan, unfortunately, remained stubborn. This incited Armand to send additional forces into the siege lines. I knew that his plan was not to attack Roch right off, but he wanted to frighten the city people enough to turn them against their failed leader. The viscount followed up on this by dispatching officers under a truce flag bearing a warning that if surrender was not forthcoming, the fortress would be given over to sacking by the Darkuran detachment. And these agents were lavish in their descriptions of what Darkuran warfare was like.
Erhan reciprocated, sending representatives to the besiegers’ command tent affirming their master’s intention was to resist, but also seeking a truce to allow Roch’s non-essential personnel to evacuate the castle. This was tendered as a humanitarian concern, but I thought that Erhan’s real motive was to save on food over the course of a long siege. On the other hand, it seemed odd that Erhan didn't seem to understand that a Darkuran attack would put an end to the siege in a single day. And even if that were not the case, what was the usurper waiting for? Whom did he think would be bringing him supplies and reinforcements?
As I took stock of things, it seemed that the rescue plot had gone smoothly for Armand. But my concern centered on Airelle, not the viscount. Whatever would serve her interests best in the longer term, I was prepared to do for her.
#
The next day, Princess Arielle received her first delegation in the role of an avowed supporter of Lord Armand. She told Ulik’s visiting dignitaries that she was repudiating Duke Erhan’s cause and urging the people of Roch to renounce him also in favor of Armand, just as most of Ulik already had.
In the course of things, the evacuation of non-combatants from Roch was agreed to and I subsequently left the city along with the old, sick, female, and young. Armand’s officers received us in an orderly manner and measures were taken to send the displaced people to safer locations.
Over the next couple of days, the kingdom’s remaining neutral factions began to declare for Armand. Spies inside the fortress city reported sinking morale and dissension amid Erhan’s ranks. Armand gave the garrison even more to worry about by making a show of building siege machines and parading his troops within sight of the city walls. However, he was still disinclined to bring up the Darkuran battalion, lest they riot and launch an unauthorized attack.
Though I didn’t care for Armand either as a person or a leader, I didn’t hate him. He was a self-seeker, granted, but so were most politicians. In fact, I was in support of anyone peacefully establishing a new royal succession as soon as possible. As long as there was an active war still in progress, unexpected and unpleasant things were likely to happen. It was my opinion that the recent events amounted to one hell of a way to choose a new high prince for Ulik, but some of Earth’s past usurpers had actually turned into decent rulers – including a fair share of Rome’s emperors. But, mostly, I was just standing by as an observer. There was only so much that I could do, beyond hoping for the best regarding Ulik.
Then, a few days after the evacuation, the Darkuran battle troop stomped over from its nearby bivouac. I didn’t know what to make of this redeployment, insofar as I had received no information that Armand was authorizing it. What was especially alarming was that it was unlikely that the Darkurans would do such a thing except under instructions from their king. What was Q’zon up to? I thought that these new circumstances might presage some very bad things.
The aliens erected a new camp a short distance behind the siege lines and then held aloof from the rest of the army, like a pride of lions leisurely contemplating a flock of sheep. Among Armand’s human supporters, tensions were running high. The word went around camp that the men should keep their weapons at hand and stay close to their unit leaders in anticipation of “unexpected events.”
A very concerned Armand called me into his tent to ask me what I knew. I could only reply that if Q’zon was doing something, I hadn’t been informed about it. Then he asked me whose side would I be on in case of trouble. I told him that I wouldn’t switch sides unless it was to obey Q’zon’s direct orders. The Viscount didn’t rate that reply as being very encouraging and so waved me away without special instructions.
Outside again, I couldn't lose the feeling that ominous things were being repositioned behind a cloak of shadows. News suddenly came that the Darkuran ambassador was calling at Armand’s headquarters accompanied by a small Darkuran guard of honor which, admittedly, was something that he customarily did. Armand met the inhumans under his tent’s awning and spoke briefly with the ambassador. Then, accompanied by his own bodyguard, the viscount went into the pavilion along with the dignitary accompanied by a couple of his Darkuran “aides.” I decided to stroll over in that direction, just in case. I wanted this war to end peacefully, but the smell of trouble was thickening to the level of a stench.
Before I made it as far as the awning, all hell broke loose.
TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 6
