I was suddenly aware I was being shaken and my reality came rushing back with each painful jolt. I opened one eye to see a soldier dragging me out of the cart by my legs.
"Oh good, you're finally awake. We're making camp for the evening. You're to be guest of honour." There was no sense of fear or deference in this man's voice, only spite and malice. I got the sudden feeling he knew exactly what being the guest of honour meant, and moreso he was looking forward to whatever Ben had planned for me.
For all his tone was harsh he allowed me to disentangle myself from the cart, slow and awkward as it was with my injuries and bound hands. He took my elbow on my good side with surprising gentleness, which had me more worried than anything else. He was sure enough in his skill that he felt no need to control me at all. He gave me a slight push, but otherwise only used his grip to steer me through the maze of tents, even waiting patiently on the occasions I stumbled and lost my footing on the stony ground. We reached the edge of a large clearing, almost the size of a football pitch. At the far end there was a long table, and it was towards this I was marched. On either side were swathes of men sat in loose groups, loud and raucous in various states of inebriated. As we passed them, the soldiers began to jeer and I heard a cacophony of insults hurled in my direction.
I did my best to ignore these as we reached the centre point of the area, where I could see three large posts had been erected. Chained to the two outside pillars were my cart companions. I recognised the back of the armour I had caught sight of before passing out, and was surprised to see it belonged to a young woman. She was sat pressed back against the wood and her head was lowered but I could make out tears and mud streaking her cheeks. Her dark hair was tied behind her head but strands had come loose, tangled with leaves. She looked as if she had just been in a fight, and as we got closer I could see she was cradling one arm close to her chest.
My other travelling comrade had changed from his dirty robes into sturdier boiled leather trousers and waistcoat. He sat poker straight, his legs folded beneath him, eyes closed.
Neither of them seemed to notice when my guard began to tie me up between them. Once he had finished I remembered the long table at the head of the clearing and turned my attention to it. My jaw dropped.
Ben was centre stage of course, but directly to his left was Keri. Her hair had been styled and she was wearing a beautifully fitted dress, deep red and figure hugging. When my gaze met her face though, I felt a wave of fury rise up in my stomach. Her left eye was swollen shut and turning purple, and her right jaw and neck were mottled with dark, angry bruising. She kept her eyes fixed firmly on her hands in her lap, never looking up at me, but I could feel the fear radiating from her even at this distance.
Ben watched me appraising his wife with undisguised joy, then stood up, raising his arms above his head. The noise from the crowds dimmed quickly, and his voice boomed out, clear and commanding.
"TIME FOR OUR MAIN EVENT!" His eyes met mine across the half length of field between us and he spoke directly to me, although his voice remained loud so the crowd could hear.
"You have been charged with kidnap and treason. Tomorrow, we will arrive in Leeds. You will be found guilty and hung, drawn and then quartered, as befits your crime. You have a chance here to earn a cleaner death, either on the battlefield if you lose, or after your trial, I will commute your sentence to beheading. I've been reliably informed that you fight well with a sword, no?" He paused for a moment to glance at Keri, but she didn't move. "My love, I've told you to watch this." He moved to brush her cheek and she flinched, but didn't move away. Reluctantly she raised her head until her eyes met mine.
I saw red.
From my right came someone untying me, then I felt the hilt of a sword being thrust into my right hand. I passed it to my left, and gestured for another one. There was a moment of hesitation, but assent was given and another sword was handed to me. I tested their weight gently, and focused myself using the pain in my shoulder. My eyes never left Keri's.
"Two swords! Well… we are in for a show." Ben laughed. "Is anyone brave enough to take on this, oh so dangerous one?" His tone was mocking enough that at least three dozen voices rang out, pitching themselves against me.
I took a few steps forward and settled onto my back foot, relaxed and ready. An unfortunate side effect of avoiding Easterly was that I hadn't seen many of Ben's men fight, and while I'd heard how his army had demolished opposing forces, I had no idea if they were any good individually. Eventually I had to tear my eyes away from Keri as a tall, muscular man stepped up in front of me. He held a long broadsword out in front of us, in a comfortable two-handed stance, but his posture was too relaxed, too sure of himself. I tried to make out his face but the crimson anger flooded my vision and I could only see Ben's smug expression. I was going to enjoy killing him, both here on the field, and later.
The man swung his sword around in an elegant but pointless arc, to the delight of the crowd. It sounded as if he was well admired, as I heard more than one person chanting his name over and over. I couldn't hear their words, but I did hear Ben's voice once more, and then the young soldier was running towards me, sword in a left handed grip above his head.
It was clumsy and left him over extended when I pivoted deftly to the right, using one sword to parry away his blade harmlessly, and the other to give him a deep gash across his side. I spun on my heel as he moved past me, keeping my eyes on him at all moments. For a second I thought he might completely overbalance as his feet slid in the mud but he caught himself and spun too, facing me again. One hand went briefly to his side, and he brought it up to his face to see the wetness seeping into his glove. When he gripped his sword hilt again, it was with a warier attitude.
I spun both swords around my hands once, settling back into a defensive half crouch. Although I couldn't feel it right now, I knew I didn't have enough strength to charge around after him. He would have to come to me.
This he did, but he had learnt his lesson, and this time approached slowly, using the superior length of his broadsword to test my guard. I parried each thrust but made no move to counter. He was more cautious, but still far too impatient; I could wait for him to trip up. After a few minutes of trading blows, he did. He let loose a flurry of short strokes then spun inward on his heel, intending to cut me lengthways as his sword arched around. Instead of moving away, I stepped into his guard, and as his spin finished, I slipped my sword between his ribs. His sword clattered to the ground behind me and I saw his eyes properly for the first time, wide with shock and only inches from my own. He was only young, early twenties at most. His hands went to his chest as I pulled back my sword and released him. He fell to his knees before sliding forwards to rest at my feet. I wiped my blade on his back and turned to look at Ben. There was a brief flash of annoyance that I could sense more than see, then he gestured behind me. Suddenly I was flanked by two more men, both armed with a small sword and offhand shield. I widened my posture, a sword held out towards each of them, and waited. Despite the cold air, sweat dripped down my forehead and I shook it slightly to clear my eyes. I'd had a great deal more practice fighting than I would have liked, but never with injuries this bad, and now the adrenaline of my first battle was wearing off, I was starting to feel a tug in my arm as my shoulder protested every effort. I wasn't sure of my odds against two assailants at once.
As I eyed up the one on my left I became aware of a commotion in the camp beyond. I kept my guard up but the fighter I had been watching craned his neck to see behind him. There were thick columns of smoke rising from the trees and the more I watched the louder the sounds became, horses whinnying, men cursing, the sound of steel being met with steel. Then from behind me came a loud crash and I turned just in time to see a man on horseback bear down on my other assailant, sending him sprawling several feet with one mighty blow of a huge hammer, the kind you might have once only found in a video game or anime. He wheeled around beside me and lent out of the saddle to offer his hand.
"Come on! We have to go now!" He shouted to me as I heard a shield crack in two and a short scream follow. I dropped the sword in my right hand and reached up with my good arm to swing to behind him.
"We have to save Keri!" I screamed, but when I turned to look for her she was gone, and Ben too, in fact the whole table was deserted and, in places, on fire. My eyes darted, trying to take in the chaos. In the centre of the scene, the young soldier with the broken arm was still chained to the post. The old man was gone. I tapped heavily on my rescuers shoulder.
'We should untie her!" I shouted in his ear. He didn't move but I heard him reply.
"No, the mission is to rescue you!"
"She'll die if we leave her here! Help me or I'll do it myself!" I moved as if to throw myself off the horse and I heard him utter a number of expletives. Then he gestured to another rider that passed us. The rider set off towards the girl, and a swing of his axe split the rope binding her clean in two. I watched her clamber up into the same position as I, arm tucked uselessly against her chest, and let out a small sigh of relief. At least I could do something right today. With a lingering glance at where Keri had been, we shot off into the trees and away from Ben's camp, leaving the acrid, smoke-filled air behind.