Chapter 147 The Power of the Queen
In the hall of the royal court.
The three men and some pages raised their heads when they heard the bell in the distance. Each one counted the tolls and the pauses.
Valero: Colina Verde?
One page whispered to another: That means surrendering.
Victorino: Yes, my king. The soldiers of Octavio are the worst in the kingdom.
Valero: Cowards. Could they not defend their castle for even a single day?
The Count: If the unicorns entered the city, they would have quickly destroyed their army. The Lady of Colina Verde is old and weak-minded.
The King: How does that change your strategy?
Victorino: I do not know what happened north of here. No messenger arrived. There were a lot of horns blaring. Some were warning of danger, others were withdrawing. Whatever it is, it is happening quickly.
They heard shouts in the main hallway. They stared at the door with annoyed expressions. Pages stationed on the stairs quickly passed a message to the pages who were still performing their duties in the bell room. The sounds were quick and short. The castle has enemies inside. The next sound heard was steel clashing against steel and wood. The face of Bartolo was filled with fear.
Victorino: Pages, Messengers, draw your weapons and follow your king. Lord Bartolo, take a sword. I know you cannot lift a shield.
The count raised a large shield and drew his broadsword. His father, with a battle-axe in his lone hand, followed his son.
North of the castle.
The knights, clad in red and yellow, formed a wide and deep formation. Behind them, a hundred archers stood ready to fire. On the paths flanking them, hundreds of soldiers were poised to attack any enemy. When they saw a line of unicorns galloping down the road toward them, it was as if they were standing before Death itself. The commander signaled the archers with a flag. Arrows flew over them and began to rain down upon their enemies.
An arrow struck the helmet of Rodrigo and shattered against the thick steel. Another pierced the shoulder of Cobalt Storm between two pieces of armor. The unicorn twisted its head and horn and struck the arrow, breaking the shaft. A Blue Knight was killed when an arrow struck him in the eye. He fell from his saddle and was crushed by the other unicorns. The charge continued. By the time the knights threw their first spears, some defenders had already fled. Men and horses were cut down by spears, swords, and horns. Their formation was broken in less than ten minutes.
Some unicorns were so injured they could not continue. Two died. More Blue Knights died or were seriously injured. But more than two hundred continued toward the royal castle.
The defenders north of the castle were scattered and disorganized. The group forming the last line of defense fled immediately upon seeing the enormous animals charging. When the Unicorns, who had not performed a magic leap could see the castle in the distance, they formed up and immediately crossed the distance and began to surround the grounds. The others raced down the main road with their captain, killing all the soldiers who did not flee.
The chambers of Octavio.
The count heard the bell ring, the warning of danger at the castle. Immediately, he thought only of his own safety. He began grabbing bags of coins while giving orders.
Octavio: Girls! Find my four pages now. Tell the captain of my guards to find a safe way out of the castle to the stables. They need to prepare my carriage and a strong escort.
The two maids hurried down the corridor to their duties. The pages were in nearby rooms. Teams of four were on standby at any hour of the day or night. This team included the new page he had chosen yesterday. They hurried to the rooms of their master. They arrived first with the maid. The new page took her arm.
Page: Run to the kitchen. Some of his guards are there. The count needs them.
The maid looked at him for a moment. His way of speaking was strange, but his vest bore a royal emblem. She turned and hurried toward the kitchen. The boys entered the room and three of them ran to help the old man get into his moveable chair so they could carry him. But the new page stopped, and he closed the door and used the bolt.
Octavio: What are you doing? We must leave!
The page: No. Something important and dangerous is happening, and if you want to leave, I am going to stop you.
The face of the count changed. This boy was not a page, not with the way he spoke: Who are you?
Page: A nobody of a boy. Except in the eyes of one kind girl.
Octavio: Pages, kill him and take me to the main hall.
The man took out a handful of silver coins and showed them. The three young men drew their daggers and approached the larger boy. They knew how to use them, but they had never had to fight for food.
Marco punched the first one with his free hand and broke his jaw. The boy fell to the ground and his body lost consciousness from the pain. The second one tried to stab Marco with his dagger, but the boy from the streets dodged the blade and cut a deep line in his forearm. The mind of the young man froze at the sight of the large amount of blood gushing from his body. The third page backed away with fear in his eyes.
The main hallway.
A group of personal guards for Octavio arrived in the corridor just before Esteban and eight Blue Knights. Four fell almost simultaneously, struck by spears that pierced their leather armor. A sword duel erupted between the finest warriors of the kingdom and poorly equipped guards.
Afterwards, Esteban wiped some blood from his face that belonged to another man. He approached a door that led to the chambers of the Count of Colina Verde. A Blue Knight the size of a black bear walked past him. He kicked the door three times. On the third kick, the bolt gave and the door flew open. Esteban entered and saw a page on the floor, another on his knees with a bloody arm, and another hiding in a corner. Count Octavio was in his chair with a large boy beside him holding a dagger with blood on its blade. His hair was short and he was clean and dressed like a royal page, but he was young Marco.
Octavio: I surrender and demand to be treated as a nobleman of the kingdom.
Esteban: The queen will decide your punishment, pig. Marco, I do not know how you got here, but you have done the queen a great favor. If a wounded knight stays here with you, could
you hold this prisoner for a while?
The young man nodded: Yes, Count. Please, do you know how my Lupita is?
Esteban: She is safe and sound. I hope to tell her you are a hero.