Chapter 95 Courage
The Royal Chambers.
Wulfhelm: I can help you. Who will accompany you? If it is me, I may be seen as an enemy. But this young man in a leather vest of your father and carrying a sword looks like some kind of noble or guard. Are there any of his clothing still around here?
Olivia: Yes, an entire room. And there are different swords and belts. Please, could you dress Marco?
Wulfhelm: Yes, but if he speaks, no one will believe he is noble. Your pardon, but I do not understand much of what he says.
Marco: Do not worry, Duke. There is a balcony that will work for getting in and out, if the queen is brave enough to jump.
Olivia: Yes, heights are the only thing I am not afraid of.
Kerstin: Do you need your crown as a symbol of your power?
Olivia: No, I have something better. Lupe, Kerstin, please help me with some suitable clothes for climbing.
After a few minutes, the queen and the chair bearer were dressed in trousers and shirts made of fine fabric. Marco wore a leather vest that was part clothing and part armor. He wore a belt with a short sword and a dagger decorated with gold. Olivia carried the sword of King Gutierre on her back, secured with a leather belt adorned with silver.
Wulfhelm: Queen, you look like one of the warrior women from the north.
Olivia smiled at him: You are lying, but it is a nicw lie.
Marco: You are the queen. The captain knows it. Tell him he can obey you or die by the axe.
Olivia: I am scared.
Lupita: Marco is a good person to have around when you are scared.
Marco: I have locked the door with the bolt. When Monika comes back, what will they do?
Olivia: Kerstin, tell Monika that I want my books from my room, and please ask her to bring them to me. She has been bringing me some things from there these past few days. If it is someone else, tell them I am in a meeting with the duke, and we do not want to be disturbed.
Wulfhelm: If necessary, I can talk to them. My title is new, but they know I have a certain amount of power.
Marco: I have been observing the guards carefully for a few days. I know when to move and when to hide. Your pardon, Queen, but I need to give you orders quickly, and you must follow them.
Olivia: I understand. Thank you all.
The queen hugged Lupita and Kerstin. She smiled at Marco and Wulfhelm. They left quickly.
The three people who were in the room watched them through the windows. Wulfhelm was surprised by the ease with which the young man moved through the shadows, the bushes, and the areas that the guards were not watching.
The duke: If Marco were a trained assassin, he could enter any castle he wanted.
Lupita: He wants his little sister to eat every day. Some days there is no one willing to pay for transportation in his chair. One day, a guard will cut off his hand for being a thief.
Wulfhelm: Does he not have a father or a mother?
Lupita: He has a mother. She is a whore like me. An old whore who does not earn much coin. Sometimes, a whore must choose between the remedies for pregnancy and food. Marco and Vega are from the days when she was very hungry. My mother was very hungry one day too.
The fourteen-year-old boy looked at the sixteen-year-old girl with a new perspective. Before, he had gazed at her body with thoughts of fantasy. But now, he saw the sadness behind her smile. Something changed inside the boy.
In the royal stable of the War Unicorns.
Marco guided them until they could see the stables. They observed for a few minutes, hidden between two carts.
Olivia whispered: He is the captain. The man with the scars on his face and the very long braid.
Marco: Fine. This is as good a time as any.
The two stood up and walked directly towards the powerful man and a large Unicorn. The knight was cleaning the hooves of his mount.
Olivia tried to use an authoritative tone of voice: Captain Rodrigo!
The knight rose from his hunched position. He and the unicorn turned their heads to look at her.
Rodrigo: Who came up with the idea of sending me the doll of Esteban and Tatiana? Was it the brainless priest, the ballless count, or the barren woman?
The man and the unicorn snorted with contempt. Olivia was paralyzed by uncertainty. She had thought of many things to say, but with a warrior and a huge Unicorn staring at her, the words would not come out.
Marco placed a hand on the hilt of the sword: She is your queen. Respect her.
The captain laughed: Who is that? A squire pretending to be a guard? No, he is from the city. A plaything for a girl on the throne and a gutter born boy protecting her.
Olivia became furious: Kneel before me or you will face the axe.
The man took two steps toward her and knelt on one knee. He made a formal bow. He stood up, shaking his head.
Rodrigo: Who is going to wield this axe? The son of rats there? Go back to your dollhouse, bastard queen.
He turned his back on her and began walking towards the stables.
Olivia took off the large sword she was carrying.
The queen: Coward!
She threw the sword towards the back of the knight. It was heavy and only traveled a short distance before falling to the ground.
Rodrigo turned around with a serious expression. He walked over to the sword and picked it up.
Olivia: My great-grandfather created the Blue Knights and trained the first War Unicorns. What would he think of you and your dancing horses?
The knight drew the great sword, and the unicorn stepped forward and struck the ground with its right hoof as a warning. The sound was like thunder.
Marco gently grabbed the arm of the queen: We need to go!
Olivia remained in her position. Cobalt Storm stood up and struck the ground with his two large hooves. Dirt flew up into the face of the young woman.
She did not move. Marco grabbed her and pulled harder. They ran back to the balcony and climbed up quickly. The captain put the sword back in its sheath, and the two of them entered the stables.
From the shadows, Azure Death emerged and watched the queen return to the castle. The Unicorn was almost two hundred years old. He was one of the first Unicorns captured in the Greenwood. He felt pain every day in his broken horn. In his youth, he suffered the pain of whips as the humans trained him. He suffered three spear wounds and eight arrow wounds. He had scars from swords, axes, and fire. The pain was constant in his body.
But now, he felt a pain he could not tolerate. Shame.