My 8 E-books written over the years by Alina Udrea - HTML preview

Chapter 5

Igor called Morris, his general, to have a word with him. He

needed advice on how to proceed next. He needed Intel on how things were at the King's court, he needed a spy. “We need someone we can trust. We need to be up to date with every detail from the castle so we know when it is the right time to strike, master….”, Morris was saying while examining Igor's every reaction. He didn’t want to upset him more than he knew he already was as he hadn’t succeeded in whatever he had tried.

“How about your wife, Morris? She could infiltrate, work in their kitchen, mop the floors, wash the dishes, whatever, and find out all the gossip and rumors and send word back to us. This way, we'll always know what's going on there.”

“Janette?” Morris could hardly utter his wife's name. He was fond of his wife and the idea of sending her as a spy, away from him, didn’t sound too good. But on the other hand, he couldn’t

say no to Igor, the bastard!

“Yes, her, or did you remarry while I was away!?” asked Igor searching Morris' s face for anything that could betray his true feelings about what he was being told. Now, Morris was pale. His face was so white that he looked like a ghost. He was just staring at some invisible point beyond Igor. He couldn’t face Igor, he hated him too much right now. He wished he had never returned from his mission, Morris wished Igor would just accept defeat and be content with what he had. But he knew him better… Instead, he just said

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swallowing a lump in his throat: “Yes, master, Janette could get a job at the castle. She could find out all we need and send word back to us.”

“Good, good…” was all that Igor said with a large grin on his face. This way, they could attack when Daniel's army was most vulnerable in order to stand a chance against them. Janette's role was essential. And indeed, she was trustworthy. Morris had married her when she was very young and they had been together ever since. If he thought about it, they must bemarried for about 10 years or so already. Igor also knew that Morris wasn’t too happy about his decision but he also knew he wouldn’t dare refuse him. And besides, he wasn’t going to wait forever, he would strike at the first opportunity that came. So Morris wouldn’t have to wait too long to be reunited with his wife.

Meanwhile, Igor trained every day from dusk till dawn, together with his generals and his army. He wanted them to be fit and ready, he wished for the attack on Green Valley to be a success on his part, he wanted the throne. His soldiers were training really hard, but they were expensive. And his provisions were running low, so he hoped that Janette would send them as soon as possible the good news, the news that they could start the attack.

Almost two months later, the news finally arrived. Janette

herself had returned and was asking for a meeting with him. So Igor sent word for her and Morris to enter his council room as he was more than ready to receive them. Igor couldn’t stand still, he was waiting impatiently by the window when the knock on the door finally came. He didn’t just

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tell them to come in, as he would have done had the situation been more relaxed, but being as it was, he hurried to door himself and opened it. Janette and Morris were waiting, hand in hand, for him to let them in. So without wasting any more time, he showed them in and pointed towards the chairs that had already been prepared for them around the small table. Janette was waiting to be allowed to speak before she started saying what she had to say.

Igor addressed her as he realized she wasn’t going to talk

without his permission.

“Well!? What happened that made you come back with the news yourself?” asked Igor, cold sweat running down his forehead.

“Your highness, this is the best moment to attack. The king is away for a few days with a large part of his army and the Queen is nowhere to be found. I was supposed to get her dinner but she wasn't in her quarters and no one seems to know where she is. And her friend is also missing. So I reckon they are together. But not with the King, as he wouldn’t take them along. So I don’t know when the Queen will be back, and as for the King, it is as I said, he won't be back for a few days….” Igor was listening carefully. He almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This was the moment of truth. He could feel his heart rate slowing down again and he stopped sweating. “You did good, Janette, very good. This is for your trouble….”, said Igor as he placed a heavy bag in her hands. As soon as she got it she lifted it to have a better feel of its weight and a large smile covered her face. She was obviously content. “If you would excuse us now, Janette…..” added Igor to make

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her realize it was time she left the room and let the men further discuss what it was to be done next.

“Of course….” She said as she hid the money bag in her bra and winked at her husband. He pinched her butt as she turned to exit the chamber and she giggled.

As soon as she was out the door Morris had a broad smile

covering his face. He was proud of her. She had done well and now Igor was pleased. Which meant that his position as his favorite general was secured once again. “Your wife's help is priceless, Morris. We march all night and attack tomorrow as soon as we reach the castles gates. Gather the troops. Feed them well before we leave. Oh, and say goodbye to Janette till we return…”

The smile on Morris's face was gone as if it had never been

there. It was replaced by a cold sadness and a blank stare. “Oh, one more thing, Morris….” Added Igor with his back to Morris, already deep in thought, “send word to Margo to get ready. She will accompany us this time. Tell her it's an order and that she'd better not make me drag her by force out of her lair.”

Morris left and slammed the door behind him. He was upset because his wife had just returned and now he had to leave to fight Igor's war. He just hoped he would return safely to her after it would all be over, whenever that was… Two hours later all his army was already marching towards Green Valley, Igor in front of them, leading the way accompanied by Morris and Margo, with Morris on his left and Margo on his right. There was fire in his eyes. It would be the final battle. He would either take over and get the throne or die

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trying. There was no going back and he wasn’t going to accept defeat. He'd rather die. Margo too was lost in thought. As if she read his mind. As for Morris, he was worried too. He was well aware that he could lose his life and never see his wife again. But he had no choice. There was a gloomy look on all their faces. As if they were marching towards their deaths. Which maybe they did….

Someone in the back started singing a war song to dispel

the tension. Soon, the rest followed. Even Igor relaxed. A grin replaced his worried look. His soldiers were right. They needed this for encouragement. And they all knew they needed victory if they wanted their bags full of coins again. Igor caught a glimpse of Margo to see if she seemed worried or not. But she seemed… indifferent. Well, he thought, better than if she had a worried look on her face. That would have only added to his own worries. So this was better.

The more they approached their goal, the faster they rode. In

the evening, they could see the castle just up ahead. It was as if that had given them extra strength or as if it had given them wings because they were now riding as if their lives depended on it. The took the castle by storm. The King was indeed absent and so was his wife, the wench from whom he hadn’t been able to snatch the darn ring. But by the way it looked, Igor thought that maybe he didn’t even need it.

A fierce battle followed. Although the castle was poorly

defended as a large part of the army was with the King away on his task, the ones that were there to defend the people of Green Valley fought bravely against the invaders. But they had been taken by surprise and unprepared and many perished in

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the first hour of the attack until they could mobilize a bit. Then they fought back as hard as they could. Their lives were at stake, as well as the lives of those they were protecting, the people of Green Valley, their families and friends. But the fact that the King wasn’t there to lead them weighed a great deal. His army needed him, they needed Daniel, they needed his advice and courage and strategy.

The clanking of metal was heard continuously through the

night and the screams of the wounded only made things worse. There were casualties on both sides but Daniel's army suffered more. Igor had benefited from the element of surprise and this took a great toll on Daniel's army. But Daniel's army was well trained and disciplined so they quickly recovered from the initial shock of the attack and they fought back hard. People were dying on both sides. Igor and Morris were killing frantically right and left with a savage look on their faces. Victory would taste so sweet….