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THE POSITION OF THE castle means that anyone inside is well placed to see anyone trying to reach them. So far, the track leading to the castle is empty, as are the grass and trees to the side of it. Millard and his men could be hiding just inside the woods, but there doesn’t seem to be any movement.
The little maids and younger boys are all hidden in one of the upstairs rooms, with Cook, who protested fiercely but was eventually persuaded that bashing men with saucepans when they were brandishing swords, might not be the best plan.
Any of the young men of the castle who wanted to help protect Everleigh have been allowed to. They have been given weapons and armour and a brief idea of what to do and what to expect by Archer and Ceryn.
But Archer and Ceryn plan to lead from the front and kill as many of Millard’s men as possible themselves. They want to prevent blood shed to their side as much as they are able and end it all as quickly as they can.
As the time passes by the threat of attack intensifies and soon the slightest noise has people jumping. The tension is unbearable.
“Someone’s coming!” One of the nimblest little pages has climbed the flagpole, giving him the best view. Swords are raised.
“Just a woman,” he shouts.
Swords are lowered.
“It’s the wise woman.”
On hearing this Everleigh rushes forward from the back of the throng and is there to greet Ginata when she enters the courtyard.
Ginata drops to her knees in front of Everleigh, but Everleigh pulls her to her feet. “Don’t do that. There’s no need.”
“I know about the love potion, but it was still my hands that untied your brother, my hands that held the axe that broke open the door that let Wolf escape and my hands that made the death draught that killed Finn.”
“I know all of it and I forgive you. You are not to blame. I don’t question you, like Ceryn does. I really, really don’t, but you must go up to safety. Millard could come at any minute. Addyson and Della are in your rooms. Della doesn’t know the truth of Finn.”
“Ceryn didn’t tell her?”
“Neither of you is as bad as the other believes. Honestly. Now go quickly. I will see you later, once it’s all over.”
Ginata shakes her head. “I cannot fight but I will not leave your side. I will fall on a sword to stop it reaching you. I will be here to help today.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I do.”
“People coming!” The boy yells out. “Looks like an army to me!”
Archer runs forward, to the front of the castle to see how many men Millard has. He gives a whoop of delight. “Everleigh!” His voice is an excited yell. “Come here!”
Everleigh rushes to him, followed by Ceryn, Ginata, Will and the teacher.
Ahead of them, turning the corner and approaching the crest of the hill, is Weaver, atop his horse, Sweet Mabel, and behind him, hundreds, maybe thousands of young men, marching, trooping towards the castle, towards Everleigh, towards their Queen.
The sight is something to behold, Everleigh has never seen so many people. Weaver is waving his hands, and Everleigh can hear the men, as they get closer; they’re all singing.
Archer runs forward, helping Weaver down from the horse, clapping his back. “How did you do this? How many men have you got?”
“I’ve got hundreds. Every village I stopped in people were desperate to help. She is well loved. So loved.”
“I know. Come on.”
They head towards Everleigh who is beaming, her arms open wide to welcome Weaver back. “Oh, Weaver, how did you do this?”
“Easy. Each and every one of them is happy to serve you.”
Everleigh turns to the crowd of men, wishing she was beautifully dressed instead of looking like a boy, and raises her arms, even though they can’t all see her; there are too many of them. “Thank you.”
Two words and the answering roar of cheering is deafening, showing her that these men do not care what she wears, or what she looks like. Everleigh is laughing and waving. “You must all be starving, exhausted.”
“No. Every inn we passed had food and ale for us, we’ve eaten and drunk the whole way here.”
“Really?”
“Every person we passed wanted to help you. We have young men, old men. I tried to turn people away but they refused.”
“I don’t think we have weapons...”
“Most of them have their own – loads of them had swords, or daggers, knives, a few bows and arrows.”
“And they’re really happy to help?”
“I made sure. Every one of them understands what they’ve signed up for. Every one of them wants to see you on the throne. They all want to help you get there and they all understand that they could die trying.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Nothing to say. But tell me, what’s happening?”
Archer takes over, filling Weaver in on Millard and what they think will happen next.
Everleigh is looking at the sea of faces, each one smiling at her, grinning, beaming, waving, saluting. Each one happy to serve her.
She is filled with a strength, a feeling that she can do this. These people believe in her, strangers who she’s never even met are willing to fight for her, to defend her.
A Queen.
It’s unheard of and yet they are willing to risk their lives for her.
She has to make sure that she lives up to their expectations, that she is as good as she can be. A Queen worth dying for.
She watches Ceryn, Archer and Weaver as they organise her new troops, and recognises that she could not be in better hands. These three really know what they’re doing, they have an instinct for battle. Hopefully an instinct that won’t be relied on too heavily if she wins this fight today.
“People coming!”
This time when the call goes out, a silence settles over everybody, as though everyone has frozen simultaneously; there is no one else it could be.
This time it must be Millard.
“We outnumber them!” Another call out.
Most of the men Weaver brought here are still outside the castle’s doors. There are so many, they simply cannot fit in the courtyard. Archer runs back to Everleigh. “Stay back, stay hidden, if you can. We can do this. But I can’t do this if I’m worrying about you.”
“We’ll both stay with her,” Will says.
Archer hugs Will, nods at Ginata and then hugs Everleigh, holding her tight and kissing the top of her head. “Stay alive.”
“I’ll try.”