responding.
“What do you propose we do?” Brom prodded.
“What do you mean?” Gareth asked, nervous.
“I mean, what is your command? What is your strategy? How do you plan to meet their forces? Which formations will you choose? Which armies will you send out? Which will stay at home? And what will be our counterattack? How many fortifications will be manned? And how do you propose we defend the villages?”
Gareth sat there, opening his mouth to speak several times, then closing it. He looked stumped, flustered, clearly in way over his head.
“I…” he began, clearing his throat, then stopped. “I think…maybe it’s not as bad as you think. Let’s wait and see what happens.”
“Wait and see what happens?” Brom echoed, aghast.
“We can always deal with it later, if they get too close,” Gareth said. “It’s probably just a raid, and they’ll go back home soon. Besides, we have a festival coming up, and I don’t want the preparations for our parties disturbed.”
Brom stared back at him with a look of shock and disgust. Finally, his face turned a shade of purple.
“You are a disgrace to your father’s memory,” Brom said.
With that, Brom turned and stormed from the room, his men following.
Gareth rose and bunched his fists, red-faced.
“You get back here!” Gareth screamed. “Don’t you ever turn your back on your King! That is treason. I will have you arrested! You will do as I command! Brom! BROM! ARREST HIM!”
But the guards stood there, frozen, afraid to go near Brom.
Brom stormed out of the chamber, his men following, and Gwen and Thor turned and hurried out after them.
Back out in the open hall, the doors slammed behind them, Gwen hurried over to Brom as he began to march off.
“Sire!” she yelled.
Brom stopped and turned, still heated.
“My lady,” he said with deference, but impatience. “Your father would have never accepted that,” he added, still fuming.
“I know,” she answered. “My father never would have accepted many things happening here. What do you plan to do? About the invasion?”
“I must act. What other choice do I have? I can’t sit by and watch my homeland destroyed. I will act with or without the authority of the King. I will mobilize our forces on my own. I will take control of the army. It is heresy, but I have no choice. We must defend.”
“That is exactly what you should do,” she said.
He looked at her, and seemed to calm momentarily.
“I am glad to hear a member of the royal family say that,” he said. “It is unfortunate that you are not the one on the throne.”
“There is another member of the royal family you should care about,” she said. “My brother Kendrick sits wallowing in the dungeon. He would be a key asset to your forces. The men love him, and would rally around him. And as a royal family member, he would give you the authority and them the confidence they need to attack.”
He studied her, looking impressed.
“But Kendrick has been imprisoned for murder. For treason.”
Gwen shook her head.
“Lies. All of them. He is innocent. In fact, I have found proof absolving Kendrick of guilt. He was setup by the real murderer.”
Brom looked back at her, wide-eyed.
“And who then is the murderer?” he asked.
“Gareth,” she answered.
Brom’s eyes opened wide in wonder. Finally, he nodded back knowingly.
“We will take care of Gareth when we return from battle,” he said. “In the meantime, you are correct. We will free Kendrick, and he will help lead us in battle. To the dungeons!”
The group of them turned and hurried down the twisting corridors of the castle, their footsteps echoing like thunder. They descended down the spiral staircase, flight after flight, spiraling all the way down, until they reached the lowest level.
Several guards blocked an iron cell door, and they stiffened at attention at the sight of Brom and all The Silver.
“Open this door at once!” Brom commanded.
“My liege,” the guard said, shakily. “I’m afraid I can only open this on royal command.”
“I am commander of the seven legions of the Western kingdom of the Ring!” Brom threatened, resting a hand on his hilt. “I say open this door at once!”
The guards stood there, vacillating, looking at each other, nervous.
Gwen could see a confrontation was about to happen, so she stepped forward in the tense silence and stood between them.
“I am of the royal family,” she said calmly. “My father, bless his memory, was King not long ago. I act with his authority. Open this door.”
The guards looked at each other, then nodded, and slowly reached out and unlocked the door.
Brom and his group marched down to the very end of the corridor and stopped in front of Kendrick’s cell.
Kendrick rushed to it, and pressed his face against the bars, looking pale and gaunt. Gwen felt heartbroken to see him like this, and that she had not been able to free him sooner.
“Open this door,” Gwen commanded the guard, who had accompanied them.
The guard stepped forward and unlocked the cell. The door opened slowly, and out came Kendrick.
Kendrick gave Gwendolyn a big hug, and she hugged him back, tightly.
Kendrick turned and looked at Brom. He saluted, and Brom saluted back.
“The McClouds have attacked,” Brom said. “You will lead one of our forces in battle. We must go at once.”
Kendrick nodded back, somber.
“Sire, it will be an honor.”
“Do you wish to have your squire back?” Thor asked, with a smile.
Kendrick turned and looked at Thor, and his face lit up with a smile.
“I have just returned from the Hundred, sire,” Thor said, “I am ready. And it would be an honor to ride by your side.”
Kendrick reached out and laid a hand on Thor’s shoulder. He looked him up and down, and nodded approvingly.
“I can see that you are. I would have no one else by my side.”
“Let’s move,” Brom said. “It’s past time we teach these McClouds what it means to invade our side of the Ring.”
The group turned and began marching back down the hall.
Soon they were upstairs and marching out the main front doors of the castle. As they exited, standing on Castle Bridge, Thor stopped and faced Gwen.
He looked at her with a look of concern and longing.
“I must join my brothers,” he said guiltily. “I hate to leave you. But I must defend our Ring.”
Deep down, her heart was breaking, but she did not show it. She nodded back.
“I know,” she said, trying to sound strong. “You must go.”
Selfishly she wanted him to stay, but she knew that his going was the right thing.
Thor reached out and touched her necklace, then reached up with the back of his hand and stroked her face. He leaned in and kissed her, and she held it as long as she could.
“I will think of you every minute,” Thor said. “I will return as soon as I can. And when I do, I want to ask you a question.”
