The fire pits near the catapults began lighting up, reading for their onslaught of hot coals. They would be the first to be fired over the walls of the Kingdom. It pained everyone, the thought of burning down their beloved Kingdom, but it was something that had to be done, and we would rebuild it, bigger and better than it ever had been. Large boulders were being hauled into place by massive work horses. The would be next in the projectile arsenal. Each one looked to weigh the same as ten men, maybe more. The trebuchets were sturdy and ready for the work that it would put in. When those were winding down, three large battering rams with fortified cover were in the ready. They would be deployed just as the final projectiles were firing to provide cover for the Knights that would man the rams. Even with the fortified cover, it was still the most dangerous part of any invasion. They were ripe for having oil and large stones dropped on them, and there was little that they could do about it, except hope that the steel cover held. It would protect them for a short while, but under an onslaught of heavy stones, it would fail and collapse over time. Their job was to break through the gates before that happened, then the entirety of the army would rush into the Kingdom and take back what was ours.
A young Knight came running up to Rolf and I.
"The Queen is calling all her top Knights and requests that you two go to her tent as soon as you can."
"Thank you. Do you have any others to speak to?"
"Yes sir."
"Then hurry along. We are heading to the Queen right now."
"Yes sir."
The young Knight ran off without any further word and made haste to his next appointment.
"That was impressive Rolf."
"What?"
"You handled yourself as if you have always been a Targen Knight."
"Sometimes I feel like I always have been. I forget the past I lived before I met you at times. It's as if I was reborn on that very day, and my real life began. I don't think I ever thanked you for that."
"You have, several times."
"Not in words though. Thank you Pitre. You gave me a life I didn't think was possible. Before I met you, I only did what I did out of fear, never loyalty. You gave me a purpose and a cause. You gave me friends. Those were all things that I never would have had if I had stayed with the Mudwood. I was only surviving there, and not doing a very good job of it, as you made a show of when you captured me."
"I owe thanks to you Rolf. I never thought I would have a true friend after Arial. I admit, I didn't trust you at first, but you won me over. I still don't know how, but you did. I am sorry that I left the way I did, but I still feel it was the right thing to do. If you or any of the others were with me, the chances are great that non of you would be here now. I took risks that I never would have taken if there were others around me. I would walk into camps in the middle of the day, and fight them all with their eyes wide open and still in armor. It became a bit of a game for me, to see if I could do it, and I always did."
"You need not apologize Pitre. You did a tremendous amount of good while you were gone. I don't think it could have been done with all of us in tow. I do believe that we would have held you back. You saved thousands of villagers, and helped build this army that stands around you right now. I know it sounds as if I am repeating myself, but none of this would be possible without you. Even the Queen says as much. Maybe not in mixed company, but she tells Sir Paljin, Sir Gorin and myself all the time, how grateful she is for you and what you have done to protect the people of the Realm."
"Sir Gorin, Gorin is still alive?"
"He is indeed. He has been out on a scouting mission, checking the boarder around the Kingdom for any potential way for the Raiders to out flank us during the battle. He must be back if the Queen wants to talk with us now. His was the final mission in preparation for the storming of the walls."
"I look forward to seeing him again. Let's go then."
***
It was as Rolf hard said. Gorin was in attendance as we walked through the flap of the Queen's tent. Paljin was there as well as another face that I nearly forgot, Sir Lionel.
"Sir Lionel, it has been some time. You were a newly blossomed Knight when I saw you last, and look at you now."
"Sir Pitre, it is my honor to see you again. I look forward to fighting alongside of you once again today."
"As do I with you Sir Lionel, as do I. Sir Gorin. I missed you on my return. I hear you were out scouting the wall."
"Ah, that I was lad. Someone needs to see what is coming from the side rather than all that clutter that is in front of us. It is good to see you my boy. I kept track of all you tales as they came through our pass, but I worried I would never see you again. Come here."
Sir Gorin grabbed me in a giant bear hug, and nearly squeezed the breath out of me.
"How old am I going to have to be before you stop calling me lad and boy?"
"That day will never come my boy. You are always going to be a baby to me." Sir Gorin laughed with that deep boom, that I remembered so well.
"Gorin, I was wondering, who is the blacksmith now. Did Galdren find a worthy apprentice that he would finally let take over his forge?"
"Pitre, you may want to sit down for this."
"Why, is the news that bad. Galdren was a very old man when I met him for the first time, and even older when I left. I knew I would never see him again when I left, that is why we had one last dinner together."
"Oh, it is way worse Pitre. Galdren never found an apprentice, that old goat is still toiling over the fires and making our weapons."
"What?"
"Sir Galdren, yes the Queen knighted him for his undying, and I stress undying, loyalty to the Realm, is still alive and surprisingly spry for a man of his advanced years. I dare say, that he will live forever."
"He must be nearly a hundred years old at this point. I must go to his tent as soon as this meeting is over."
"He has seen precisely 95 summers, and I will take you to his tent myself. I want to see the look on that old goat's face when you walk through the tent flap. You might be the thing that actually kills that old man." Once again that booming laugh burst forth from Gorin's chest."
As I stood there shocked by the news that my old friend was still miraculously still alive, the Queen called for silence so that she could speak.
"Today we rid the Realm of the Mudwood. We will storm the walls and over come our foe, but first we should take a moment and thank each other for being here today. It is because of all of you that we are at this moment. My father would be so proud of each and every one of you for what you have given for The Realm, and how you have handled yourself in these times of turmoil. The Patchwork Knight as once again rejoined us and made us truly whole. There is no fighter more fierce in all the land. There is no man that can stand against him in single combat, maybe even 50 on 1 combat. Isn't that how most of you fights went Sir Pitre?"
"There were times when there were more, but that is how it mostly went."
The Knights erupted in cheer.
"We will be commencing our barrage on the Kingdom at first light. I want you to spend your time until then, readying yourself for what is to come. We won't all see the end of this fight, but we will all be part of ending it. Your sacrifice will not go unnoticed, and we will praise you when this is all done. If you need to speak to anyone, then do it now. At first light, we take back what is ours."
Everyone in attendance cheered at the Queen's last words. The feeling was, well it was euphoric. It was the feeling of the Euphoria. The Queen had just put us all in the Euphoria with her words. We didn't have to think about it, or begin the first movement, we just all went into it. Her words had power, and I was so proud and honored to be fighting for her.
"Queen Alma."
"What did I tell you about Queen, Pitre?"
"You are so much like your father. Alma, I would just like to tell you, that your father would be so very proud of the woman you have become. It is one thing to get a Knight to fight for you, but it is so much more to get one to die for you. Your father understood this more than anyone I had ever known, and it seems like he passed it on to you. You are a truly great leader, and the people of The Realm are fortunate to have you as their Queen."
"Thank you Pitre. My father spoke so kindly and lovingly of you. He was heartbroken when you left, but he understood why you did. He lived for each detail of how you were still alive, and your exploits against the Raiders. It joyed him to no end when he would hear how you saved another village and vanquished the foe."
"I only did what I could, and what I knew how to do. I never planned on being gone for so long, but the Mudwood had other plans for me, and delayed my return. I am glad to be back though, and I will fight and die for you my Queen. Yes, I said my Queen instead of Alma, you are just going to have to accept that."
"Don't let anyone else know that I gave in to your demands. It will make me look week."
She smiled and once again we were those two kids in an arena full of people cheering for us. Full of glee and not knowing what future laid ahead of us.
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