The Palace Pt. 12

- "That's exactly what you're trusting her with."

- "It's alright, Min." I said. "This man is on our side. His name is ..." I couldn't finish that sentence. I only thought of him as Enpy - which was definitely not his name.

- "Panys." he said. "But Sunflower today. We have to go - immediately."

- "Min, I must do as Panys asks - it's for the Emperor. Best that you go to Faran's, I think."

- "Will you be safe?" she asked.

Panys answered. "We'll take good care of him. Let's go - keep the hood on, for now."

And with that, we were back on the street. Panys - I still thought of him as Enpy - led the way. We were headed back towards the Palace, but by a very circuitous route.

- "When I tell you to, remove the hood." he said. Then he instructed me on exactly what to say, and do. Bishkur had a plan, and I was there to execute it for him.

- "Why are we doing this?" I asked.

- "To save the Emperor." he replied. That was good enough for me.

First, we stopped outside a wine shop. A dozen soldiers poured out of the shop, just as if they been waiting for us - which they had.

- "Now." said Enpy - Panys - and I pulled off the hood. Then I spoke, just as he had told me: "Follow me."

The soldiers followed, just like that.

- "Who are they?" I whispered.

- "Your father-in-law's soldiers." replied Panys.

We moved on at a brisk walk. Enpy, or Panys led us into the next street, where more soldiers were waiting in a tavern. They swelled our numbers to over two score. General Vanzahd's troopers were waiting, out of sight, in every wine cellar, tavern, and inn we passed. Three streets later, there were over 50 men with us.

- "Who are we going to fight?" I asked.

- "The Palace Guard." said Panys. "Just concentrate on your speech."

The soldiers accompanying us wore helmets and light armor, for the most part - leather jerkins and the like. It wasn't much, though a few also carried shields. They were armed with swords, or spears, and many carried bows as well.

I knew the Guardsmen well. They wore beautiful costumes, but neither helmets nor armor. Their only weapons were their ornate tulwars. In a real fight, they probably couldn't stand up to trained warriors like these.

As we approached the Palace, more and more men came out of alleys and side streets to join us. By the time we were within 100 yards of the gate, an officer called a halt. I couldn't count then all, but there seemed to be almost 200 soldiers.

- "Captain Halim, Highness." said a tall fellow, introducing himself. "These three men will act as your bodyguards." He indicated a stout-looking trio of sword and shield men who instantly stepped closer to me.

- "Thank you, Captain Halim. I shall remember your service." I glanced at Panys. He nodded. "I thank you all, men." I said, raising my voice. Then I shouted the words Panys had instructed me to say.

"We are here to rescue my wife - the Empress Bereyar. There are traitors among the Palace Guard who must be rooted out. Subdue and capture - kill only if absolutely necessary. Take them prisoner. We will separate the wheat from the chaff later."

Then I added a line of my own. "Who has a sword for their Emperor?" One bowman was quicker than the rest, and presented me the hilt of a short sword. I had no idea what to do with it, of course, but it felt better to have a weapon in my hand.

"In a moment, we will run for the gate. No cheering, no war cries. Follow me!"

They didn't shout, or cheer, but quite a few of the men growled, deep in their throats. They were obviously fond of their General's daughter, and quite angry that she was threatened. Many of them ran considerably faster than I did.

We arrived in no sort of formation, or order - it was more like a mob. The Guardsmen at the gates saw us coming, of course. But there were only four of them - and 200 of us. They chose the wiser part of valour, and ran away.

Following Enpy-Panys' instructions, I led a group of soldiers towards the Empress' private quarters. I wasn't sure why we were going there, but that was what he had told me - and he had repeated the word 'Sunflower', to assure me that these directions came from Bishkur himself.

Three Guardsmen surrendered as we entered the Imperial Family's wing. Soldiers disarmed them, and hustled them outside. We pounded up the stairs, and down the hall. There were four guards . To their credit, they drew their tulwars when they saw us.

But they weren't suicidal. And when they saw me, they lowered their weapons, more confused than afraid.

Further down the hall were three more Guardsmen - and one of those was Notroh. For a moment, I thought he might fight. He must have decided that three against twenty would be a foregone conclusion. They were quickly disarmed, and we pushed on.

Enpy led the way, bursting into the Empress' private chambers. Captain Halim was right behind him, followed by me and my three bodyguards.

Yasina was on her feet, obviously alarmed by the noise. Opkor was still seated, just off to one side. Also present was Danud, a Captain of the Guards. There was a fourth person there. This individual had flipped the end of his shirt over his head, probably just a moment before we entered.

It was Bishkur. With his face covered, none of Vanzahd's men would discover our secret.

The Empress screamed. "Fight them!" she shrieked at Captain Danud. "Guards! Guards!"

But when another half-dozen soldiers poured into the room, the Captain saw that he was alone. He decide that he preferred to live, and surrendered his weapon.

- "You coward!" shouted Yasina. She spit in his direction.

- "Captain - guard these two men well." I said, pointing to Danud and Opkor. Enpy had already gone to stand beside Bishkur. "They are the ringleaders. I will see to my mother."

I ushered the remainder of the soldiers out of the room, including my helpful trio, who were ordered to guard the door.

Yasina saw everything slipping away. "Don't listen to him!" she screamed. "He's an impostor! He's going to kill me!"

- "You are in no danger, mother." I said, as calmly as I could.

- "You bastard!" she shrieked. Then she came for me, her nails curled like claws.

I am no warrior. But neither was Yasina. I dropped the sword, and managed to catch hold of her wrists. I twisted one of her hands behind her back, and wrapped my arms around her. She struggled and wriggled like an eel.

- "No one is going to kill you." I said, loudly. "You are perfectly safe."

- "Is everything alright, Highness?" asked Captain Halim, the last soldier in the room with us. He seemed concerned by the Empress' antics.

- "Yes, Captain." I said. "I would prefer that none of your men see my mother in such a hysterical state." The fact that I managed to say this - and appear calm and rational while doing so - was quite an achievement, because Yasina was kicking, spitting, and screaming the whole time.

Halim nodded, and stepped outside. That was enough. Bishkur threw off his improvised hood, and helped me subdue Yasina. We dragged her into the next room, and threw her on her bed. Then we rolled her up in one of her own sheets.

Bishkur clapped his hand over her mouth, even as she tried to bite him.

- "Mother." he said. "No one will kill you." He had to repeat it, over and over, before she subsided. Finally, Yasina seemed to realize that she had lost.

- "Carrach." said the Emperor. "Go to your wife. Make certain that she is safe. Leave soldiers at her door. Return here as soon as that is done. Panys - go with him."

I nodded, and turned to go. My blood was still up, and my heart was beating fast.

"And Carrach -" said Bishkur. "Well done."

My trio of bodyguards re-attached themselves the moment I left the room. We were halfway down the hall before a thought struck me. We had left Bishkur alone with his mother.

Bereyar was alarmed, but perfectly safe. She threw herself in my arms, and squeezed me so hard she nearly choked the life out of me.

- "I was worried, when I heard all the noise." she told me. Bereyar sent her maid to find out what was happening, but armed soldiers brought the girl back. Four men were posted outside her door. By chance, she had recognized one of them.

"My father's soldiers. And when I asked if you were safe, they told me that you were leading men to rescue your mother and arrest the traitors."

- "It's all done." I said. "You're safe."

Bereyar had a thousand questions, but she was also a General's daughter. "You have much to do - and I'm keeping you from it. Go." She kissed me again. "Come back to me when you can. I'll wait."

I returned to Yasina's apartments with my little entourage. The three 'bodyguards' waited outside, while Panys went in with me.

Bishkur was replacing a gag in his mother's mouth. I have to admit - I was somewhat relieved to see that she was still alive. And to my great surprise, Nanka was there.

- "Good. Good." said the Emperor. "Carrach, I will need your clothes. We must switch places for a time. You and Nanka are to stay here, and keep an eye on my mother. Panys and I must see that everything is in order."

I had calmed down considerably, now that the danger was over, and there was no need to run. Bishkur, though, was still energized, and obviously had much more to do. I saved my questions for later.

We traded clothes, and Bishkur left me with a last parting word: "Carrach, Nanka is another Sunflower. For today, obey her as you would me." With a wink to her, he was off.

I looked at Yasina's Roxoni maid as if I was seeing her for the first time.

- "Sunflower? Really?"

Nanka just smiled once, and then went to sit on the bed, where her mistress was still rolled up in the sheets. Yasina was gagged, but she glared venomously at her former confidante. If looks could kill ...

- "Why?" I asked.

Nanka looked down at the Empress, and then back at me.

- "You remember Sartag?" she said.

- "Of course." Sartag was the Palace Guardsman I had met outside Sumad's apothecary shop. "He and I climbed on the roof together, the Night of the Knives."

- "And then Yasina had him murdered." said Nanka, in a voice gone cold. I felt the temperature in the room drop. It was also the first time I had heard Nanka refer to her mistress by name. Usually, the little Roxoni had said 'She' - as if there was no doubt who she was speaking of.

"He was my man," said Nanka, "but she took him. Because we don't matter at ahh ... there is ohny her ambition."

I tried to imagine how I would feel if Yasina had hurt Bereyar, or if she had taken Min. That had been my greatest fear, for months.

"You've supported Bishkur, since then?" I asked.

She shook her head. "It takes time, for trust. We had to test each other first. You remember tests? I needed to know that this was not another of Her tests. He needed to know that I was not spying for Her. You hehped."

- "I hepped?"

- "You were of assistance. To both of us." she said.

- "I'm glad." I said. And since we had time, I dared to ask Nanka the question that was on my mind. "Nanka, do you think that Bishkur will have me killed?"

She smiled again. "Carrach - after ahh this, you don't know him? He won't even put Her to death - and if anyone deserves to die, it's her."

That reassured me, to a degree.

It was late afternoon, and I was growing hungry, before the Emperor returned.

- "All done." he said.

He took the gag from Yasina's mouth, and gave her water to drink. She did not scream, or shriek, this time. Instead she began to whisper to him, swiftly, and urgently. The look he turned on her should have taught her - instantly, and for all time - that she was wasting her breath.

We left her tied up, on the bed, and sat in the next room: Bishkur, Enpy-Panys, Nanka, and me. The Emperor looked very tired. But he took the time to explain what had happened.

Only a few score of the soldiers had followed me, when we rushed upstairs. General Vanzahd's captains had their own orders, and had obviously been briefed on the layout of the Palace. One large party headed for the Guardsmen's barracks, and kept any Guards in there from rushing out. A volley of arrows through the door was enough to put them on the defensive.

They knew all of the locations where Guardsmen were posted, and swiftly rounded them up. There had been very little resistance. Three Guards had been killed, and a few more wounded, before they were subdued. Only one of the soldiers had been injured.

- "That is nothing short of miraculous." said the Emperor. "And you played your part to perfection, Carrach. Thank you. I am in your debt."

- "I owe you thanks, Highness. You've saved me, too."

- "In private, you never need to call me that, Carrach. That goes for all three of you."

- "This is why you pushed for you the wedding?" I asked. "You had this planned all along?"

Bishkur smiled, wearily. "There was no one in the Palace I could trust, except Panys, and you. And later, Nanka. I needed support - armed men - and that could only come from outside."

- "The Palace Guard were riddled with her supporters." said Panys. "I didn't even dare trying to win any of them over. One wrong choice - if I had approached the wrong man - I would've been dead."

- "They are not all corrupt. But it was impossible to find out which ones might choose me over my mother." said the Emperor.

- "What will you do with them?" I asked.

- "Re-assign them, to combat units far from the capital. That will be a hardship for some, but my hands are tied by the story I have created." he said. "This 'coup' - the invasion of the Palace - will be explained by the presence of traitors among the Palace Guard. So it will be necessary to create an entirely new Guard."

"I know that you have more questions, Carrach. Can they wait until tomorrow? You should go and comfort your wife. She must be apprehensive."

Panys escorted me back. I would have loved to ask him several questions, but there were still many soldiers in the halls. I didn't want to be overheard.

Bereyar was indeed apprehensive, but she was very relieved to see me.

- "I'm safe. We're both safe." I told her. "All is well."

- "Tell me everything." she said. "I didn't even suspect the danger. You never gave any hint of it. It must have been hard to keep that a secret. I see now, what you meant - why you can't tell me the truth at every turn. But can you tell me now?"

I began to tell Bereyar what had happened, from my perspective. That, I soon realized, was a mistake. I knew only a very small part of the whole story - which I couldn't tell her. It wasn't just the secret; there was so much more that I didn't know myself.

She was eager to make love. But I couldn't do it. I felt like a complete fraud - not a huge surprise, given what I was doing. Bereyar mistook my confusion for fatigue.

- "I'm being so selfish." she said. "You must be exhausted."

I took the coward's way out, and seized upon the excuse she offered me to make my escape.

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