Page 48 of Knight of Havoc
The empress nodded. “Go see what you can begin doing for them. Linens torn into strips for binding their wounds, hot water, and whatever else you can think of.”
Eden quickly left and the three women continued to watch the chaos below. “They will be hungry, too, I imagine,” Elysande said, thinking her thoughts aloud.
“We will need to survey what food supplies we have in the storehouse and cellars below. I imagine we will be without reinforcements for perhaps months and will need to ration out what we have amongst us.”
“We will survive this, Empress,” Elysande said. She could fill her voice with confidence since she had already survived this once before. How much harder could the situation be this time around? As more men began to pour through the gates, she had her answer. Much harder given the number of mouths that would need to be fed on whatever limited supplies they had on hand.
The empress turned her gaze to Elysande. “You are made of stern stuff, Elysande Norwood. You would have to be since youwed into the Norwood family. I have never met such loyal men, not only to me but to their spouses. You do your husband credit.”
Elysande was momentarily shocked by such a confession from the empress. “You are too kind, Empress,” Elysande replied once she found her voice.
“We will have to plan a strategy not only to survive but to retaliate against Stephen whilst we are locked up here in this tower. I suspect he will soon build his machines of war to tear down these walls that for now keep us safe.”
“You have nothing to fear, Empress. Your men will keep you well protected,” Elysande said confidently.
A weak smile appeared on her face. “I may always show the outside world and the men who follow me that I am strong and in command of all those who serve me, but even I sometimes have a moment where fear creeps into my heart. Not that I would allow such an emotion to overcome me.”
Elysande felt the empress squeeze her hand again before she let go. Clearly, her few moments of needing reassurance were over. The empress was once more the stern and commanding woman that Elysande had pledged her fealty to.
The empress pointed down below. “Ah! Here they are at last. Goodee, Woodwarde, Kennarde…” the empress began, “…and lastly Grancourt and Norwood. They made it. Go see to your husband, and I shall start planning my revenge.”
Elysande breathed a sigh of relief even as the portcullis shut, and the distant sound of the barbican gate fell into place. They were safe for now—but for how long, no one could predict. In the meantime, she quickly made her way down to find Reynard, all the while praying he did not sustain any injury that might cost him his life.
Once she made it down to the inner bailey, she found it crowded with knights either being attended to or being helped into the great hall where everyone’s injuries could be seen andtaken care of. Elysande searched for Reynard and finally espied him with his friends whilst they had all gathered in a circle and held onto each other’s shoulders. A rare sight: men loyal to not only the empress but one another. They had all survived the battle outside of these gates and Elysande was grateful, but when the men broke apart, she cared for naught but flinging herself into Reynard’s arms.
He gave a grunt of surprise telling her that somewhere on his body he was injured. He started to pull her away from his body, but she clung to him as she cried in relief that he yet lived.
“Elysande, you shall ruin your gown,” Reynard stated as he kissed the top of her head.
“I do not care about my gown,” she muttered in relief that she was once more in his arms.
“Icare about your gown and the stench that covers me.” He finally managed to pry her arms from around his neck and gazed down upon her. He placed a quick kiss upon her lips. “There are many that need our aid so I will see you later this eve.”
“What about you? Where are you hurt?” she pleaded as she roamed her eyes up and down his body. He was covered in blood, and she refused to see what had transferred onto her own gown. Clothes could be laundered. Her husband’s well-being was at the forefront of her mind.
“Nothing that cannot be easily stitched later, my love. Now let us see to those who are not as fortunate,” he replied, taking her hand and leading her to a group of knights who lay upon the ground moaning.
After that brief encounter, Elysande lost all sense of time as she tended to one fallen knight after the next. ’Twould be some time long into the evening before she herself would be able for find some comfort and rest.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Reynard looked overthe map of Oxford Castle and the outlying area. There were not many in the empress’s solar for this discussion. Their fate was grim at best. Supplies were running out since Stephen had instituted a blockade, barring the way to any sources that would bring food and other necessities into the castle. The harbor was also blocked from what they could gather and any hope that Robert of Gloucester would arrive to rescue them diminished whilst each day rolled into the next.
’Twas now almost mid-December and they had been held inside these walls since September. And while the empress had sent her calvary out to call upon those who still favored her before the gates closed months ago, no one had been able to come to her aid or bring reinforcements. She was tired, cold, and hungry as were the rest of them but she would no longer stay idly by and starve to death. Instead, she planned her own escape.
The empress pointed to the postern gate that opened outside the city. “This is the best option for my plan to work,” she said, looking upon Reynard, Richard, Blake, and Kingsley.
Reynard frowned. “’Tis extremely risky, Empress,” he stated the obvious. “We will have to navigate right through the middle of Stephen’s troops.”
“Aye,” Richard proclaimed, “and we will have a river to cross if the ice holds.”
“’Twill be the death of us if it does not,” Kingsley interjected.
The empress began to pace the floor. “I will not let an icy river deter me from escaping Stephen’s clutches nor will I sit here any longer without food and wood for our fires. If we can escape undetected, Stephen will eventually become aware that I am no longer inside Oxford. He will then have no choice but to allow those who remain to surrender.”
“’Tis the best plan we have,” Reynard said raising his hand to his chin. “If it works, he will be furious.”
Richard chuckled. “I would like to see his reaction that he was thwarted again by our empress.”
