 ur army was defied. There was no chance for salvation, the barbarians were too numerous, they fought without honour, with fanatic shine in their dark eyes and all we did, all we could do was to stay round the throne and to stare helplessly how our friends, people that we have known all our live were drawn and beheaded. Their moaning, their yells filled with endless sorrow still burn my ears and haunt my dreams. I couldn't help them, I had orders that I needed to obey. Along with other 50 Keepers, I was assigned to protect the Queen, the Silver Rose of Onrey. Her throne was right behind the last lines of soldiers, who died with honour in front of her eyes.
She was an incredible woman- strong and brave as any worrier, she never needed even to stand up, just one look from these wise eyes and you know that she had what it took.
I stared at here for a moment- the position of her body was the same as it was an hour ago- her head was tilted to the left, her eyes red and inflamed with tears, her delicate hands pressed in one another. I've always thought that women should not be allowed to battlefields, that they couldn't handle the pain and the suffering that they'll eventually witness but this woman showed me how very wrong I was. She never turned her eyes away, even for a second. I believed she suffered every single death as her own, I believed that with every dead soldier a part of her died, too.
I forced my eyes back to the battle. I saw Faraia, my best friend since childhood to die with a spear in his leg, and numerous wounds round his body. He died with a smile on his face, killing the man in front of him and immediately following him into the eternal darkness. He was a good friend and a dedicated husband and father to three little girls. I thought what would happen with them, if the barbarians fould them... May be he thought the same when he rushed at the battle. Or may be he thought about every little girl with blonde curls that the barbarians had found on their way here. In both cases I sorrowed not only because of the lost of a friend but for not being next to him.
My lips moved as I said a prayer for his soul and my hand hold the hilt of my sword so thigh that I felt the decorations to engrave on my palm. I remembered the days I spent with my friend and his family this winter- the celebrations and the warmth of their house, the laughter and the love. Oh, wasn't there some way this madness to stop?
A sudden sharp noise made me jump. I knew that it meant even without having to see the events on the battlefield-The King, Mairosh, the Iron Fist challenged the barbarians High general, Hovur Hallian. It was the sound of surrendering, a cry for murcy- if the King died from the hands of the general we knew we were to seize all attempts to fight back. The battle was to be fought in front of the Queen's throne as a sign that we would surrender in order to keep our, and the Queen's, life.
I was terrified , I know that Mairosh didn't have a chance to win- he's been fighting for more than four hours now and as to the general, he was as fresh as can be.
The blades of the two of them found each other and the thunder of the battle engulped everything else.
I couldn't really tell it's duration, I was too occupied with the show in front of my eyes- both were real masters of the blade. If our king was not tired, I believe he would win...
But he lost. With a victorious yell, the High general stabbed the King's heart. The Keepers thighened the circle around the throne. I looked at the Queen for a moment and I was horrified of what I saw- a dead eyes and a stone face- not a single feeling could be found in her features. I thing she suffered the greatest death of all- that of her love. Her heart stopped beating the second her husband breathed his last breath. There were no tears, no yells, no nothing- just the silence of the doomed heart.
Hovur approached the throne and bowed with a grin on his face.
"Greetings, Saryin, Rose of Onrey", he said as he stood up.
"Greetings, Hovur Hallian, Destroyer of Onrey", she replied with flat voice as she stood up as well.
"Mairosh is dead, and I'm not Onrey�s destroyer but it's conqueror."
"You are nothing, Hovur. My people will never bowed you, and you'll never conquer the Spirit of Onrey. The sole thing you can do is destruction."
"Silence, stupid woman!", yelled in uncontrolled anger the general. "There is no spirit of Onrey and soon there will be no Onrey!", suddenly he calmed down. "Were is your spirit now, Silver Rose? Where is your magic, your wisdom now, when your soldiers are dead?"
The Queen stared at him, her big cold eyes said nothing, there was nothing in them. In a minute of silence she finally replied in a calm, low voice that made me shiver:
"You ask where is the spirit of Onrey, barbarian. I'll tell you were it's not- it's not in a man that kills a tired worrier and claims it's a great victory. It's not in a man, who threatens a woman and doesn't respect the bravery of the dead. It's not in a man who mocks the laws of Creator and who dares to speak the title of the Queen with his unholy lips.", she paused for a second. "Do you know what does the Silver Rose mean, barbarian? Do you know how queens deserve it? Every single queen of Onrey wears it with pride for she knew that is the inheritance of a great woman. Women, who never even hesitate to die in the name of their people, women that lead Onrey�s armies after their husbands had died in their hands! These are the Queens of Onrey. You'll never be honourable enough even to stay in one room with any of these women. Or tell me, will you die in order to save a single live of a child, as did Queen Caliana, 142 years ago? Will you spent years away from your loved- ones to study prophecies that can help your people as did Queen Matara? Will you sacrifice your own live to give birth to a child that can bring balance to the Forces of the worlds as did Queen Jakaba, mother of great sorcerer Valantine? Never you will be able even to thing of this nevertheless to do it! You are nothing, Hovur, hiding behind your young soldiers who die without knowing the reason for it..."
"Enough", screamed Hovur. The hate in his voice made me and the Keepers make a step toward him.
"No, Keepers" the Queens soft voice found us. "Stay where you are!"
Hovur looked at us for a second then turned to the Queen.
"Saryin, it's time for you to pass me Onrey royal crown and to leave the throne."
" No," she waved her hand. "It's time for you to see what a real Silver Rose can do."
We all stared in disbelieve as we saw how her legs separated from the platform where the throne was. She jumped over our heads and in her hand appeared a shining white blade. Hovur raised his black sword to face hers and it was like a signal for us. It was like hell was unleashed.
I tried to reach the Queen so that I could protect her, but it was impossible. The 50 of us were fighting 200 barbarians and I could see nothing but their ugly, scar- covered faces. I fought fiercely, killing maybe 10- 15 men. For a second, through the mass of people I saw the Queen. She was like a fairy of revenge- her long black hair waving around her small body and her blade faster as lighting glimpsed at the black crowd.
I will never forget the expression she had on her face- she was happy. Happy that she could join her husband, happy she had completed her duty as a Silver Rose.
I felt so proud I knew her. In my head echoed her words- words she had never spoken but words I felt through her magic: "Fight, children of Onrey. Fight and know that no one can take your dignity away from you. Fight and know that the Spirit of Onrey lives in you!" I believe the other Keepers heard them too cause, just like me, they yelled and rushed even deeper into the battle. I can't tell why they did it but as for me - I did it for her.
Suddenly Hovur screamed with hatred and waved the Queen's head over the fighting people. "She's gone", I thought and then I felt a sharp pain in my head. I fell into darkness- I welcomed the end.
When I woke up I saw only dead bodies around me. My whole body ached and my head was spinning wildly. I tried to stand up and by some miracle succeed. I started waking with the hope to reach the road. All around me were my dead friends. There was not a single sound. I felt as lonely and miserable as I never felt in my whole life. I should have died with my friends, why I didn't die with my friends... with my Queen.
In a day I made it to the road. I passed out.
The next day I found myself in a house I've never been before. It was simple and clean. A woman was sitting on a chair next to my bed, knitting. When she saw me awake, she smiled.
"Morning, Keeper. You surely scared me, young man, I thought you are never to wake up!"
I frowned.
"This is the forth day since I took care of you", she explained softly, seeing my expression.
"Kaltamer?", I asked in a low voice- it took me all my strength but I had to knew if the capital had hold up against the barbarians.
She just closed her eyes and a shadow of enormous sorrow faded her smile.
"He killed all the royal family. Put their bodies on a ship and sent them away- we couldn't even bury them as they deserved. Then he burned the House of the Roses and said that there will be no more Silver Roses for Onrey from now till the end of times.". She started crying. So did I.
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Unfortunately, as I wanted to make the page moving I had no time to write more stories. And this is partialy because I expect that you will participate in the creation of some of them. Yes, that's right- just write a story and send it to me- remember- this is a fantasy kingdom- everything is possible!