THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, CHAPTER 5, Part 1

 THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, CHAPTER 5, Part 1

A story of Necromantra

By Aladdin

Edited by Christopher Leeson

Choices

“If my people may die by the thousands, how can I avoid aligning my life beside theirs?” declared Arielle the younger.  

Her cousin shook her head. “I understand what you’re saying, but make sure in advance that your life will be dearly sold. For the moment, I don’t believe that Erhan can survive politically if he doesn’t have a royal marriage to legitimize his claim. If he cannot gain that marriage, he is on very weak ground. If you go instead to Armand, the viscount will be greatly strengthened. Erhand and his supporters may begin to see the hopelessness of their cause.”

“But if Erhan gives up, what will the Darkur do?” the younger cousin asked. “Will they just go home?”

“It might not go smoothly," I said. "King Q’zon sent them there to leverage power over Armand. They won’t head out easily,  I told her. “Besides, their race is always spoiling for a fight. But the real danger is that Q’zon might reinforce the battalion for a war against the whole of Ulik. That would be bad, but at least that should bring both factions together.”

The knight turned on me, exasperated. “Any victory against the Darkurans will be bought very dearly! Against a full army, defeat by by those demons will be almost unavoidable!”

She was right.

Then the soldier asked, “Do you suppose that an attack on Ulik by the Darkurans would draw in the Aerwa?”

I shook my head. “While I don’t think that the Aerwa would approve of a Darkuran war of conquest in the Wold, who knows if they would start a major war over it? Even if one eventually came, it would probably be too late for Ulik.”

“What are my choices then?” the younger cousin asked.

“What do you most hope for?” I asked.

“I want peace for Ulik, no matter who becomes high lord. What is the worst case?” she asked grimly.

“In the worst case could be genocide. The Darkurans consider humans too weak even to make useful slaves. If it comes to such a war, your best aim would be to flee and save yourself.”

“Flee to where?” the girl demanded. “If such a war started, the invaders would surely seek to take the whole Wold, not just Ulik.”

“As I see it, you have three choices. Support Erhan and face the coming war. It shouldn't amount to much more than the fall of Roch. It won't even take long, if Armand is supported by the Darkur. After that, who knows how much the 'allies' will demand of Armand for the aid given him?

“Or, leave Roch and go over to Armand. Even without a clash of arms, Erhan’s cause would probably collapse over a few days or weeks. Hopefully, if they are asked to do very little, the Darkurans might not demand the suns, the moons, and the stars for their compensation. But one can’t expect their kind to be sane and sensible.”

“This is ghastly!” the girl said.

“It may prove out that you have the wherewithal to improve the situation. Your best choice might be to depart to places unknown. I’d help you with that.”

“What places unknown?”

“Your cousin has the means to take us all back to my home world, the same world that she visited when she was seeking to find and slay Lord Pumpkin.”

“My wish is to save the greatest number of lives,” the princess said. Then she looked at me accusatively. “If my father had not been murdered by a madwoman, none of this would be happening!”

“That’s true,” I admitted.

Saying nothing, Tavon's daughter drew her cousin close. “What should I do, Arielle?”

The latter grimaced. “I see no good choices. When you decide what course is least terrible for you, I will be with you as long as you wish me to be.” Then, glancing my way, the war-maiden said, “Leave us. This is very much a family matter.”

“Of course,” I said.  “Only do not talk for too long.  Those spies I stunned will not sleep forever.”

“Thank you for not killing them,” the princess said.

With a sigh I and walked away. She was too good a person to guide a rowdy kingdom and I feared for her.

#

With no clear decision being made by either of the Arielles, the game became increasingly perilous, the odds for tragedy greater. It might still be fairly simple to save the teen’s life if we didn’t wait too long, but I saw no clear course for helping the sorry land of Ulik.

I had brought all this about, and I despised myself for it.

Days passing, I couldn’t bring myself to wait any longer and so I acted on my own, not even consulting with Arielle Senior. Because I didn’t want to drag her down with me, I waited until the knight was attending an assembly of Erhan’s subordinates before I acted.  As furtive as a specter, I entered the princess’ apartment through the floor of the empty rooms located above her suite.

Briefly startled at seeing me filter down through the stucco, she clenched her fists and declared, “I don’t want to talk to you.”
    
“Princess,” I said, “it's time you made a decision for your own welfare. Doing nothing is too risky. It leaves your fate in the hands of others. What could be worse than being a pawn for exploiters or an opportunists?”

“You make choosing sound so easy,” she said, pivoting away.

“If you don’t know what to do, at least tell me what you don't want to do. Narrowing things down will make deciding easier.”

She was quiet for a moment, but finally said, “I can’t marry Erhan. It would be all the excuse Armand needs to attack the city. If he decides to do that, he’ll have little choice but to call for Darkuran help. And you know what that can lead to.”

“Haven't you considered that you can’t save the kingdom? Maybe you should be focused on saving yourself.”

“If I did that,” she said, “it will surely be war. If I abandon my people, I am not worthy of them. I’ll be an exile wherever I go, and that is all that I would deserve to be.”

“If you don’t want to help Erhan, you don’t want to flee personally, is there anything left to do except going with Armand’s offer?”

She sighed. “Even though he is not any husband I would care to have, you’re right that I need to choose my own fate. I think I may best serve my people by joining with the stronger faction to stave off a civil war. Then we would only have to worry about how the Darkurans react.”

I nodded. “Good enough. Let’s get on with it then.”

The windows were hung with dark drapes. I tore down a couple of these to use as cloaks. They would help us blend into the darkness outside. Then I took the girl into my arms and flew with her through an exterior wall.  

The night was misty and had no trouble getting beyond the range of the sentries’ crossbows. Once over open ground, I made for Armand’s encampment.

I placed the youngster the care of my maids in my own tent. They were definitely spies for Armand, but I had no reason to keep the arrival of Arielle secret from him. Then I flew back to Roch carried out a secret reentry.

I had done the latter for the good of the elder Airelle. The simultaneous disappearance of the both the princess and her maid would have looked bad for her. I thereafter stayed in my small room until the absence of the princess became generally known. Thereupon, I joined in with the excited crowd in the halls outside and made sure that I was recognized. Later, when the maiden knight joined me, I explained what had happened. She didn't care for the fact that I had acted alone, but admitted that with the deed being done, it was for the best.

I wouldn’t have liked to be Erhan that night. His options had suddenly become very narrow. He looked very much like an usurper with very little general support. In the morning, the fortress was sent word that the princess was in Armand's camp requesting protection. The announcement also said that "the traitor" Erhan's life would be spared if he struck his flag and accepted exile. Because the latter remained stubborn, Armand ordered the deployment of fortified siege lines in preparation for the forcible seizure of the town and castle.  

Amid the bustle of the next couple days, Erhan dispatched representatives to the enemy under a truce flag. They were asking for the transfer of non-essential personnel into Armand’s power. The request was dressed up as a humanitarian gesture, but such things were commonly done in war to save food in the face of a siege. In my maid guise, I said adieu to the elder Arielle and duly evacuated the castle. She would herself continue to feign support for Erhan, while looking for chances to undermine him. The intrigue as a whole seemed to be going smoothly for Armand, but I was a player, too, and I had a few tweaks in mind that he was not going to like.

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 5, Part 2