The streets of Bivon were clearer than when he was last here. Henry remembered the broken houses with chipped stones and spikes erected in front. He remembered the bodies scattered and fouling with stench so bad one would need to hold breath. The battered and defeated faces of people was still fresh on his mind.
That was not Bivon, Henry thought. This is Bivon. He wore a smile, the first smile after that night Stan died.
His party was welcomed by people throwing flowers at them. Yellow, blue and red petals filled his cape.The people were cheering, shouting Henry's name. Erik's propaganda machine worked.
Henry's knights of few hundred had grown their numbers into a few thousand. Knights from far-flung outposts joined his cause after he declared his claim to being the Grand Master. Some chose to remain neutral and some were against him but Henry was satisfied with the support that he received.
His knights were behind him as he rode towards the palace. All of them were on horseback with armors glinting and capes hung on their back that signified their ranks. Some flamboyant ones waved at the crowd, drinking their cheers like wine. Henry wasn't like that for he knew that he was but an instrument.
They reached the palace and the drawbridge was lowered across the moat. The guards wore mismatched uniforms and flew different banners. Some of them are Castonians while the others are Tulosans. But Henry doesn't need to look at their uniforms or at their banners to separate Castonians from Tulosans. The Tulosans were the ones leaning from the wall of the palace with curious eyes. The Castonians were those with curious eyes but had the will to stand on guard.
"Rest in the headquarters" Henry gave his last order for the day and went inside with his chosen guards- a party of seven knights most loyal to him.
After bringing his horse into the stable and making sure that the stable boys had the necessary experience to take care of his steed, Henry went inside to meet Erik, the Queen and Freya. He presented a bow and a kneel after entering the room.
"Come on" Erik grunted behind his desk "We are friends are we? There's no need for that. All of us here are equals"
Henry rose and took his helm off. His brownish hair was sweaty.
"The letters you have sent us lately bore good news. Honestly I never expected you to show such a change. Tell me, what made you decide to wear the Grand Master's cloak?" Erik asked.
"Centurion Stan died" Came Henry's short answer.
Erik opened his mouth and closed it again. A sudden lean on the backrest of his seat shook the golden chain that dangled across his chest.
"You did not write about that in your letters"
"Hundreds of my knights also died. I cannot write all their names in my letters. Centurion Stan was an old friend but I can't show favoritism"
"Ah fairness. But fairness is a sin Henry. You know why? Because fairness is a lie. It is a collective lie we tell each other until we forget its falsehood. The King is fair? The nobles are fair? The Grand Master is fair? Lies. We are a specie that breathes biases and inklings from the day we were birthed from our mothers' womb until the day we heave our last breaths. You wanted to bury your friend with the highest honor. You wanted to mourn him for days"
Henry nodded slowly "That is true. But I cannot"
"Good" Erik said "You did good holding your own biases. That is growth. That is wisdom"
"Spare my Henry of your philosophical mumbling Erik" Freya looked at Henry. Her smile was both loving and kind "He did good"
"He did" Erik confirmed "He went to rescue his knights but came back with the support of the north and five thousand knights. Also I suppose a certain medallion found its way into the hands of our favorite knight?"
Henry took the pouch from his waist and put it on top of Erik's desk. He loosened the cord. Sheathing his hand inside, he produced the medallion.
"Is this it?"
"Yes, yes" Erik didn't take his eye off the medallion for a while "The owner? Is he truly dead?"
"By poison"
"What is his gift?"
"He can make dust that could put people into a dream"
"I could have hired him to make my nights more comfortable and yet he used his dust to make a fanatic" Erik said, half joking but Henry felt a tinge of seriousness.
"These people are dangerous"
"They are and having this medallion will help us identify their presence" Erik hung the medallion on his neck "I shall keep it for the moment. So now that we are all here, let's talk about our next steps"
"We should attack Stonerider with everything we got. Balian is planning to hold the city" Said Queen Emily
"You are gifted in politics but I'm thankful you're not the one deciding our military moves" Erik mocked "Balian has risen into his current rank because he is smart. Holding Stonerider and just waiting for us to attack is not smart. Henry, enlighten the Queen on our situation. What is Balian planning to do?"
"Uhhh pillage the tribes in the Great Plains?"
"What?" Erik frowned towards him "No. Freya?"
Freya just shook her head.
"Am I the only one who can see what Balian aims to do?" Asked Erik
The three of them shrugged one by one. Henry doesn't really know what Erik is talking about.
Erik sighed. Resting his forehead on his arm, he said in a serious tone "I have been reading books about the geography of Tulosa. The Red River separates the west from Bivon, am I wrong?"
"That is correct, a well known fact" Answered Queen Emily
"And there are two ways to cross the Red River and that is through the Red Bridge near Bivon and a bridge without a name far up north. If we are to attack Stonerider, our supply lines will have cross the bridge"
"That is the basics of logistics, yes" Queen Emily said
"And if, say, the Red Bridge gets destroyed, we will be cut off from Bivon. Our army would starve. Balian would win without even losing a single man"
"You...think they will sabotage the bridge?" Henry failed to hold his worry
"No" Erik said "Here's what I think will happen. After we cross to the Great Plains, Balian will secretly send a portion of his army to cross the Red Bridge to Bivon. This small detachment would then destroy the bridge after they crossed. Now this will accomplish two things. First we will starve because of cut supply lines. Second, they could besiege Bivon and we couldn't do anything to stop them. We could lose Bivon and our army will slowly rot into oblivion"
Henry's heart raced. Erik was right. "Balian could afford to divide his army because he outnumbers us heavily. He has enough men to defend Stonerider and besiege Bivon simultaneously. Although destroying the bridge would also cut his supply lines, he could raid the villages around Bivon while we can't lay a finger on the tribes around Stonerider"
"Finally, someone gets it"
"So what should we do?"
Erik chuckled "We will show Balian that his strategies are childish compared to mine"
In the end, Erik didn't reveal what he was planning. The Marquis would always evade details and just asked for their trust.
Henry was then dragged by Freya to her room. With bandage in hand, she dressed his wound.
"Your healing is impressive but your crass movements have opened the wound" She said, rubbing his wound with unknown herbs mixed with oil. The smell was good like lemon in summer.
"I had to"
"I know. But still..." She lifted her head and looked at him. Henry noticed the droplets of sweat that formed channels on her forehead. Her hands were oily with the medicine. Her dress was smudged by herbs. Henry's heart melted. Her care had a warmth more calming than the best hearths.
Henry put his hand on her face. He bent, almost instinctively, and pecked on her lips. He severed but she pulled him. Soon they were raveled in a kiss.
When they parted, they were already in an embrace.
"There wasn't a day that you didn't put me in a worry. Every single day I would wonder if I'm going to see you again. Every day I'm praying to the Omniscient for your safe return" Freya said
"Danger is part of my profession, even more now that I am the Grand Master. I cannot promise you peace nor can I pledge you happiness at all times. Our life will be hard and dangerous"
"That's a small price to pay for a lifetime with you"
"Do you really mean that?"
"I do" Freya said
Their lips again met in a deeper kiss. This time, the kiss pushed them to go further. Henry ended up spending the night in the room.