Strange Bedfellows Chapter 3.g

Kalus had seldom found himself speechless, but this was one of those rare times.  He was going to be a father?  Despite himself, he could feel a wide smile growing on his face.

He was going to be a father.

He looked at his baby's mother and saw a conflicted smile there.  It looked happy yet pained, and she somehow had her lips pursed as she made a pained half-smile.

"I clearly missed a lot."  Lyra said, looking between the two of them.

"I'm happy, I really am."  Katia said, then sniffled and her eyes looked a bit watery.  However, Kalus couldn't tell if happy tears or sad tears were forming.  They didn't look like either; perhaps both?

"My only regret is that you aren't as happy to be the mother of my firstborn as I am to have you be the mother."  Kalus said softly.

She glanced up at him, swallowed hard, and blinked a few times.  "Really?"

"Really."  He nodded.

Katia opened her mouth to reply, then closed it.

"Please, speak your mind."  He said.

"I would rather not."  She bit her lip, but her words weren't defiant.  Oddly she didn't seem to be pushing him away.

"May I ask why?"

"I don't want to be..."  She bit her lip again.  "That is, I don't wish to be mean."

He took a deep breath, guessing at what she was thinking.  "I would know your opinion, even if it stings."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded.

"I'm...  I..."  She took a deep breath and wouldn't meet his eyes.  "My baby's father is the enemy."

Ouch.

Years of military service and leading men had trained him to not react when he wanted to avoid it, and he drew on that to keep his face as it was.  But he could feel some of the joy leaving.  She still didn't want to be married to him.  The conversation the previous day and her apology earlier had given him some hope, but it appeared she was as resolute as ever.

The former handmaiden hadn't lied on their first night together.  She truly was a patriot.  That was honorable and commendable and he wished he could say the same.  His home country of Har'peton hadn't been kind to him and he held little love for it.  He admired how much she loved her country, even if it led to her hating him because of it.

"That is your right."  He finally said, though he wasn't entirely successful in keeping a note of sadness out of his voice.  "I do hope that--"

"Commander Kalus!"  His herald called from outside the tent.  "King Tyso summons you."

The commander took a deep breath, then looked at his first wife.  "I shall return soon.  Since you are with child, we shall not couple tonight unless you wish it."

She bit her lip, then slowly shook her head.

"Very well, I shall return soon."

"Might I have a kiss before you leave husband?"  Lyra asked stepping forward.

He gave her a quick kiss and then departed the tent, inwardly cursing the king for this interruption among many, many other things.

"He summoned you after the others Commander, likely to make you late."  His herald whispered urgently as soon as he had exited the tent.

"Thank you Kyselius."  He patted the man on the shoulder, then double-timed it to the king's tent.

The commanders were usually encamped around the king to give him greater protection, but the forest road didn't allow for that.  Instead, two commanders were in front of him and two -- Kalus included -- were behind, though Kalus's legion wasn't the rearguard.  The king's tent was pitched in the middle of Marcelus's legion, which was in the center of the five legions

"You called my king?"  Kalus said after he'd entered the tent.

The other four commanders of the army were already there, and it looked like they had been there for some time.

"Glad you finally decided to join us."  King Tyso said with an edge in his voice.

Kalus gave a respectful head bow, but otherwise didn't reply.

King Tyso eyed him.  "There's a lot of commotion coming from your camp Kalus; what's going on?"

"My king?"

"No drilling and half your men standing watch."  The king replied impatiently.  "What are you up to?"

"I have concerns about ambushes my king."  Kalus replied.  "I have one man from each squad on watch, and the rest sleeping in their armor.  I was just about to don my own when you summoned me."

"Ambushes?"  The king laughed.  "We are eighteen thousand strong to their, what?  Two thousand?"

"My scoutmaster reports at least four thousand, likely more and they were last seen near this forest."  Kalus replied.

"Two thousand Kalus."  King Tyso corrected.  "There's two thousand enemy troops and we're ten times their size; there's no way they would dare to attack us.  And if they had a death wish and decided to attack, good; we'll slaughter them wholesale."

"Yes my king."  He acquiesced, making sure not to let his displeasure at the idiocy of the idea show.  History was replete with records of smaller forces destroying much larger forces by catching them unawares.

The king looked at him sternly.  "You will tell your men that they can get some sleep and don't need to sleep in their armor.  There's also no need to set more than the standard watch."

"Yes my king."  Kalus gave a head bow, noting the specific wording.

Tyso hadn't actually ordered him to tell his men to take their armor off or remove the watches, just that they didn't need them.  He knew his men well enough to know that if they were given the option, they would follow his lead instead of the king's in matters of combat.  He might face the king's wrath in the morning if they weren't attacked, but that was better than having hundreds or thousands of dead men in the morning if they were ambushed.

"Oh and Kalus."  The king added.  "One more thing."

* * *

"You're not happy?"  Lyra asked Katia after Kalus had left, not fully understanding her fellow wife's position on the matter.

"I don't know what I am."  The former handmaiden sighed, flopping down on the bed.

Lyra sat down next to her.  "Well, I saw a smile.  Let's start there; what makes you happy about this?"

The amber-haired girl looked at her as the smile returned.  "I'm carrying a child; I'm going to be a mother."

"Then what makes you sad?"

Katia looked down, pulled her knees up, and wrapped her arms around them.  "Kalus is my husband, but he's also the enemy.  He's leading -- well, helping to lead -- the army that's invading my country.  And my baby will be--"  She stopped short.

"...will be?"  Lyra prompted.

"I...  I can't say."  The former handmaiden finished.

"Why?"

"Because...  um, I just can't."  She rocked back and forth a bit.  She clearly very bothered by something, though Lyra had no idea what.

"Okay, well I won't push then."  The horsewoman said gently.  "But if you ever do want to talk, I'm always here for you."

"Thank you."  Katia gave her a pained half-smile.

Kalus returned to the tent not long afterwards.  His fist was clenched and his jaw was set.  He looked like a coiled spring and his breathing was much heavier than normal.

Katia shrunk back a bit when he entered.

At this, he took several deep breaths and slowly unclenched his fist.  "I am sorry Katia, Lyra."  He looked at each in turn.  "I am not angry with you, but with..."  He glanced in the direction of the king's tent.  "...with someone else.  I apologize if you bore the brunt of my frustrations.

"Don't worry husband."  Lyra said standing to greet him with a kiss.

"Katia?"  He said, and while his tone was still clearly frustrated, it also had a softness to it.

She looked up at him.

"I am sorry if I startled or frightened you."

The girl nodded and tried to smile, but didn't seem able to.

"What has you so tense husband?"  The horsewoman asked, partially to diffuse the tension.

"The king in his infinite wisdom has decided that the camp is so completely secure that he 'suggested' I take my wives out for a romantic stroll in the moonlight."  He set his jaw.  "Outside the camp."

Katia sucked in her breath.

Lyra's jaw dropped.

"Don't worry, we won't."  Kalus said.  "My duty to Illuminar to protect my wives trumps my king's asinine 'suggestion'.  However, know that we will likely suffer greatly in the morning for disobeying him if our army isn't attacked tonight."

Katia's lip drew into a thin line.  She was still sitting on the bed; she glanced down at her stomach and bit her lip.

Lyra wasn't sure what to think.  Obviously Kalus was right in his decision, but she worried about what it meant for her new family.  The wrong side of a king's pleasure was never a good place to be.  Ever.  She almost hoped that her country--  Hmm, was it her country anymore with her being married to Kalus?  Anyway, she almost hoped they would lose soon so that her husband could be separated from King Tyso before the king did any real damage.

"I expect an attack tonight."  Kalus said after a moment.  "Thus, I need to get my armor on and prepare.  Should anything happen -- anything at all -- you two will stay in this tent no matter what happens."

"Yes husband."  Lyra replied.

Katia just nodded.

"Good.  Hopefully they will think you are prisoners and will treat you well should we be overrun."

"She's a handmaiden to the princess."  The horsewoman indicated her fellow wife.  "That should help."

"True."  He nodded.  "Now, would one of you be willing to assist me with my armor?"

Lyra beamed.

* * *

Kalus stood outside his tent dressed in his chainmail, but he hadn't put his surcoat over it.  Instead, he'd opted for a thicker cloak that was full enough to hide the chainmail if he pulled it closed.  He didn't want anyone to report to the king that he was wearing armor, but he definitely didn't want to risk being caught without his armor if the enemy ambushed them.  He was virtually certain sure they would.

He would if he was in their position, especially against an unwary enemy.

King Tyso's army had camped at a slight bulge in the road that looked like it was often used as a mid-forest campsite by merchants, travelers, and the like.  While it was better than actually camping on the road, the army was still stretched pretty thin, making them vulnerable to attack in many places from both sides.

As he looked around, he was glad to see that every squad camp from his legion had at least one man outside the tent standing guard.  They were wearing thicker cloaks like him and also had them closed like him.

He smiled.

He spent a little time walking through the camp and checking on the various parts of his army.  He felt safe leaving his wives behind because of the three centurions who had volunteered to guard them.  He strode among his own men, knowing they were the best in the camp because of how hard and how often he drilled them.  He wasn't disappointed to discover that every one of them remained in armor with their weapons within easy reach.

He popped his head into his tent to check on his wives and saw them both asleep under the covers.  They weren't exactly snuggled together, but they were close and seemed comfortable with each other.  That was good; he would've hated it if his wives didn't get along.

An hour passed with no activity.

Then two.

Kyselius wandered over to him, a large-ish item wrapped in cloth under his arm.

"Your horn?"  Kalus asked quietly.

"I wouldn't wish to be parted from it with an ambush imminent."  His herald nodded.

"I pray to Illuminar that you won't need to use it, but I suspect you will."

"Aye."  Kyselius said with a dark expression.

Twenty minutes later, Kalus felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.  He looked around and suddenly everything about the conditions seemed right for an ambush.  This feeling persisted for some time, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was happening out in the darkness that he couldn't see.  Oh to have a wood elf's eyes.

He had this feeling for what felt like hours, but it was certainly far less time.

Hmm.

He looked towards the sentries and noticed that one pair was missing.

"Kyselius, I think--"  He began, but then they both heard it.

They heard the clash of steel on steel as someone shouted.  "AMBUSH!!!"

Before a whole second had passed, Kyselius had the horn to his lips and was blowing it loudly.

The ambush had begun.

( End of chapter 3 )

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