The Dark Queen of White 1.6

6.

The crowd built up soon enough for the appearance of the guards of the Queen to address them. They are all peasants or villagers which were forcibly moved from their homes or ran to avoid the conscript to the army of the King. The persons addressing them were the recruitment officials who had stood high on the elevated platform.

"Why must we join yours when we had just left our homes to avoid being conscript in?" A burly man who may have been a butcher from his dressing with the leather apron and the set of choppers in the waist belt.

"I have a family of five, and myself their protector. If I leave, who would protect them?" The butcher asked. "How can I trust you when I don't even trust my own neighbor?"

That drew laughter from the crowd, and a voice was heard from the rear of them.

"I would protect them." The voice spoke up. The crowd stopped their laughter and looked to the voice. It was the voice of a young lady dressed in the man' attire of leather wear and sporting a dagger on her waist belt. They part a path for the lady to mount the platform. The official on the platform bowed to the lady and stepped aside.

"I am Queen Clarity, the daughter of King Egan." The young lady announced to the crowd. The people crowding at the platform all went down on their knees and bowed to her.

"I had come to asked you to join me in completing this war ahead of its time. I do not want to drag the wart to the next season, but to end it soon. I could only do it, if I have a bigger army, not to fight but to intimidate the enemies with its numbers. With that, battles need not be fought but won by truce and more would be our allies." Queen Clarity spoke to the crowd. "Since I had waged war on my own brother, I had seen many deaths; of friends and kins. I cried for their souls, but they knew that the war was needed to remove the evil influence on my brother."

"What person am I to fight my own brother you may ask? I fought not him but the one who stood by him; my grandfather whose greed for the lands won by my father, King Egan and handed to his son, King Bannion. But King Bannion is weak thus falling under the influence of his grandfather, Lord Falstof."

"I fight not him but for my people on the lands united once by King Egan, and now torn apart by his son' adviser." Clare looked to the crowd. "I fought to unite back your homes."

With that, the crowd cheered her on, but she raised her hands.

"For that, I need your help. Be my warrior, and let us end this madness fast and preferably with less blood to shed on the fields." Clare spoke out in a pleading manner. "You may be one to protect your family, but there are others who have none to protect. But you could stand in with others to protect them and also yours. Help me end this madness."

The crowd remained quiet and then they moved forth to sign up as part of the army. Queen Clare felt the tension released from her body and would have fallen to the flooring if not the timely arrival of Alan Bates who had her held up. He looked for the wagon to carry her back but it was held back by the crowd still at the area. His own horse was at the far end with the other riders. They could not see him from there. He was to call out for carry her out when he saw the young man who led the horse towards the platform.

"You, there. Come here." Alan called out to the young lad who rode by the platform. "I need to borrow your horse to let her ride back to the village."

"My horse?" Gareth gulped down his voice, and dismounted. Alan led the Queen to mount the saddle while he stepped off the platform. Gareth held onto the reins and looked at the warrior.

"Its best, I lead him. He can be wary of strangers." Gareth told him. "You cleared the path for us to move."

Alan did as he was told while Gareth led the horse by walking alongside it. They slowly made it past the crowd and were joined by the wagon along with the riders. It was led by Ling who held the rank of Chief of the Guards.

"Get the Queen onto the wagon." Lin instructed his men while he approached the young lad.

"I thank you for letting her ride your horse. Whom am I addressing?"

"Gareth of Steinheim." The young lad replied. Lin saw the bow on the horse and asked.

"Are you an archer, Gareth?"

"Yes, I am. I could shoot while riding at fifty paces." Gareth replied.

"See to my master of arms there. He would give you uniform and coins." Lin then rode off to follow the wagon. That was how Gareth to join the army of Queen Clarity. But soon he was to find out that creatures like Man does not just roared but also shoot back with arrows.

"Aye, they are good huh?" Gareth had taken cover with a fellow archer whom they were attached to a column on patrol at the forest. It had been three moons then, since Gareth had joined the archers, and his companion was Jake of Cornwall. Jake was a veteran of the war, drew his first kill at the start of the war when he joined Alan Bates to fight for the Queen. They were part of a group of ten who had patrol ahead of the coming battles. They were surprised by the enemies archers; estimated at five who had downed two of members of Gareth' group. The others on sensing the ambush had taken refuge among the trees.

"Nay, we were just careless to walk into the trap. I had seen better archers than these."Jake replied as he spied over the trunk to watch the archers. "Damned these bushes, they are well hidden from my sight."

"Let me try." Gareth leaned forward to peek round the tree trunk, and saw only one archer hidden by the oak tree trunk. He saw the archer was trying to climb up the trunk to get a higher elevation shooting view.

"He’s climbing." Gareth replied while he stood up and aimed his arrow. He got a glimpse of an exposed limb and shot off his arrow. The arrow hit the other archer in the knees, as he was climbing up. The wounded archer fell down into the bushes, at which Jake loosed off two shots into the clump of bushes.

"I think I got him, but he may have been dead from the fall." Jake replied. Their attack was met with counter attacks by the remaining archers who had slammed in four arrows into the trunk.

"They got us targeted. Guess its time to move or be here till nightfall." Gareth heard the man but he had crawled off to the right using the bushes as cover till the next tree trunk. It was a cherry tree and offered some branches for him to climb high. He moved to climb and soon was on the higher branches. He looked down and saw the others, all in deep hiding and refusing to charge. These are new recruits unlike Jake and himself, with the column leader, Martius. He notched an arrow and waited for the enemy to show. His wait was not long when he sighted the archer moving from the tree cover. He shot off this arrow before the other could shoot.

"Three more..." Gareth muttered to himself. He saw another archer moving on the knees trying to outflank them, but he shot the other in the left ribs. That evens the odds and the other archers trailed off in stealth mode to avoid any more casualties.

Gareth joined the others to look for the horses, when he stumbled on a wolf in the bushes. He reached for his bow but then paused when he saw the wound on the creature. It had an arrow in its left rear limb, and was growling at him. He had seen and healed many creatures of the forest but they are mostly docile ones, but never a wolf before. He lowered his bow and slowly approached the wolf. It growled on with its fangs exposed, but Gareth did not stop. He crouched down and went for his water container hung at his waist belt. He took the container and poured out a handful of water. He held it out to the wolf who was still growling but later it took to smell the offered water. It growled and Gareth poured the water onto the grass. The wolf moved forth and licked at the wet grass blades while Gareth poured another handful. That time the wolf drank from his hand. The wolf on drinking the water then saw down on its haunches and slept.

Gareth looked at the wound and noted that it was not a deep one, but the wolf was unable to reach it with its jaw. He laid his right hand on the arrow staff, and it was the wolf stirred up from its sleep. It however did not attack him, but laid there looking at him.

Gareth reached for the arrow and pulled it out without hesitation. The wolf shrieked out in pain, and rushed off into the bushes, trailing the blood from its rear limb, but the arrow was out. It did not run far and soon collapsed into the bush. He ran towards it, and saw the wolf had evolved to become a Man. It was without any clothes on its body, but the wound was seen clearly on the left thigh. He stood there momentarily and then saw a figure whisked past him.

It was Alan Bates.

"Help me with the body." Alan told him and began moving the body even before Gareth could move. He grabbed the legs of the wounded man and pulled him to the clearing. There he took from his slung bag; a set of clothing’s to wrap the man. Gareth had then woken up from his slumber and helped him. Alan then reached down to the part where the wound was and tore a hole in the leggings. He then carried the man on his shoulder, and walked to his horse nearby. Gareth followed him and they rode into the forest to a solitary hut in the forest. There Alan took the wounded man into the hut, but he stopped Gareth at the doorway. He went in alone with the wounded man. Gareth tended to his own horse which was nervous and pulling at its reins. He soothes it down just when Alan came out. The man had his dagger out and pointed at Gareth.

"Speak not another word to anyone of this, or your throat would be slit open." Alan threatened Gareth. "Swear on your mother's life that you would keep silence."

Gareth nodded but the man was insistence on a vocal oath. Gareth was to speak when a voice was heard.

"That would be sufficient, Alan." Alan heeded the voice and lowered his dagger. He stepped aside to face the new arrival.

"My Princess, you are not safe here." Alan spoke to the lady who appeared in her riding cloak. She had come alone and was on her feet.

"I am safe in the forest, with my friends, Alan." Queen Clarity walked past both men and walked into the hut. Gareth looked at Alan and was to speak when the other spoke first.

"What you seen and heard today are part of that oath. I would warn you that the creatures do not take kindly to ....traitors." Alan motioned to Gareth to look at the tree line. Gareth looked and saw the glowing sets of eyes staring at him from behind the bushes. Without a warning, Alan cut a piece of Gareth' tunic and threw it into the forest.

"They would know your scent now. Be loyal to the Queen or die by their fangs."