Haven: Chronicles of Warshard (6 page)

Both girls stared at her silently. A moment later Malka joined
them.

“Enough of these lessons. I should go.” Haven began to rise, but stopped when she saw the scowl on Blythe’s
face.

“We will not allow you to give up,” Blythe said, crossing her
arms.

Haven narrowed her eyes. “You cannot tell your
queen
what to
do.”

“Haven,” Lareina gasped. She had never spoken to them before as subjects, only as
friends.

Blythe leaned closer to Haven. “What will your people think if you give up on such a simple task?” Haven winced under her harsh words. “Will you leave them to die too if Kadia comes to our door? Will you give up on the people in the hospitals because you don’t think you can do it?” Tears sprung to Haven’s eyes once more. All fight fled from her body. “No, you would not,
My
Queen
.”

Haven shook her head and sat her face in her hands. Shame filled
her.

“We will help you get through this,” Lareina
said.

“We are your friends, Haven,” Malka added. “We know you can do
this.”

“Don’t just do it for yourself, Haven,” Blythe sighed. “Do it for us. Do it for your people. Do it for Rythern. You are a strong queen. Everyone knows that. Be that woman for your kingdom. Do not give up on yourself before you’ve even
begun.”

“I’m sorry,” Haven whispered. “I’m awful and selfish.” Tears leaked down her face. She looked at her guards. “Please forgive me. I will not give up on myself if you
won’t.”

They all hugged her as one -- something they hadn’t done since they were girls. Haven let herself cry and clutched on to the warm bodies surrounding her. She loved these ladies more than words could properly say. If they weren’t going to give up on her when she so shamefully gave up on herself, then how could she? Her brilliant guards let Haven get it all out of her system before they parted and helped her to her
feet.

“I am not worthy of your affection,” Haven said, wiping her eyes on her
sleeve.

“You are worthy of the whole realm’s affection, My Lady,” Lareina smiled, squeezing her
hand.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you girls.” Haven smiled like a fool, her gaze falling on each of them in turn. “Please continue to train me. I can do this with your
help.”

“It will be our pleasure, My
Lady.”

“A letter has arrived, Lady Queen,” Toma said, appearing in the archway to the courtyard, gently pushing through the crowd. Several days had passed since her weakness and, as promised, she continued to try. Haven eventually passed her slump and improved every day. The more people showed up to cheer her on, the stronger she
felt.

“Thank you, Toma,” she said, handing her sword and shield to Blythe. Toma handed her the letter. The seal was once again unbroken. “I hope this is more good
news.”

“We all do, Lady Queen.” He bowed and stepped
back.

A frown slowly worked its way onto her face as she read. The words were written urgently, not from Evander, but from King Alton of Eris. It had been nearly two weeks since the successful retaking of Dessa. Things could only keep going well for so long it
seemed.

“What is it, Lady Queen?” her adviser
implored.

Upon finishing the letter, Haven met Toma’s gaze. “Eris is under
attack.”

Lareina gasped. Blythe and Malka froze. Toma grew rigid, his eyes widening a fraction. “This cannot be,” he said. “Dessa was just retaken. Another attack couldn’t have
come.”

“It has. King Alton himself sent this letter. He’s asking for reinforcements from every Kingdom. Salander has already offered its aid, but Kadia’s army has almost reached Eris’s capital,
Ryulung.”

“How could they not have sent word sooner?” Toma began to
pace.

“I don’t know, Toma. It seems they are in a lot of trouble.” Haven swallowed the lump in her throat. “I fear we must prepare for battle.” Toma stopped in his tracks and spun to face her. “We will not send our soldiers into battle for Eris,” she continued quickly. “But in case Kadia gets through Eris into Salander, we need to be
prepared.”

Toma nodded, relief clear on his face. “A good decision, Lady
Queen.”

“Thank you,” she nodded. It took her a moment to realize that this exchange was being made in front of her people, as well as a few Wakefin refugees who typically watched her train. Haven blinked at the lot of them, who returned her look with somewhat surprised expressions. Toma followed her gaze, and started upon making the same realization. This was news that would reach the entirety of her kingdom eventually, but making it known so early could be cause for panic. Clearing her throat, Haven stepped forward. “Please do not fear. We are well protected here in Rythern. Eris and Salander will fend off the attack, I’m sure we have nothing to worry about,” she said, hoping her smile assured
them.

Her people simply stared back at her. It took a moment, but finally someone stepped
forward.

“Train me too!” she said. A small girl of maybe twelve, brown hair and soft eyes. “I want to protect myself like you, Lady
Queen!”

Haven was taken aback. Never had it occurred to her that other women would feel the same. Her army readily employed both men and women, but the common folk would have no experience with a sword at all. She turned her gaze to her
ladies.

“Look at what you’ve started,” Lareina grinned from ear to
ear.

“I want to learn as well.” A woman stepped forward. Her blonde hair and blue eyes marked her as a resident of
Wakefin.

“Me too.” A petite brunette, followed by girl after girl came
forward.

“Well. We can’t very well train them all ourselves,” Blythe
huffed.

“Then we will need more guards,” Haven said. Her ladies and adviser turned to
her.

“You mean...?” Malka
began.

“These ladies deserve to defend themselves as much as any soldier,” Haven said, looking at the crowd of women and girls who stepped forward. Determination was clear on their faces. They would learn to fight alongside their queen. “I believe we have preparations to make.” Haven raised an eyebrow at Toma, who nodded and scurried off. “Ladies,” she turned to her personal guards. “Please fetch any guard we can spare. Class begins in one
hour.”

CHAPTER 6

“H
old your sword like this,” Lareina
instructed.

A week had passed since the news of the attacks on Eris. This information spread through the city like wildfire, bringing more and more women to Haven’s lessons every day. She couldn’t have seen herself coming this far, let alone her people. A few days ago, Blythe had dubbed her strong enough to wield a real sword, making her lessons more interesting, and more dangerous. A few of the other women had some skills already and graduated quickly along with her. In the front of the class, Haven followed Blythe’s movements. Lareina taught the basics on one side of the courtyard, while Blythe took the other, teaching Haven and her strongest pupils more advanced
attacks.

Swinging her blade in an arc, Haven smiled. Only two weeks ago she had been so ready to give up and now she was having practice matches with real guards. Though she hadn’t won yet, she felt victory close at
hand.

“What’s next, Blythe?” she
called.

Brown eyes met hers, pride glowing from within. Her friends couldn’t be more proud of her for doing so well. They constantly encouraged her, gave her advice, and always made sure to help her improve where she failed. It had been slow going, but Haven had her stances down and her defense positions memorized. Offense was what they worked on
now.

“Let’s do something a little more complicated,” Blythe said, stepping away from her students and picking up her own sword. She stood strong, moving into the offensive stance Haven had come to recognize. They all fell in line, mimicking her pose. Blythe moved quickly, spinning and thrusting her sword out. She then turned again and sliced the air. Two opponents this time. Watching her, Haven truly felt the sword was simply an extension of Blythe. The way it lined up with her forearm and the rest of her body, Blythe was the sword and the sword was Blythe. Haven’s grin grew. “Now let’s try it, one at a
time.”

The girls backed into a circle, each trying the move one by one. Blythe gave pointers to each, fixing their stance, their aim, and the way they held the sword. When it was finally Haven’s turn, she was giddy with anticipation. Haven pictured Blythe’s movements in her mind, and then executed the
routine.

“Well done!” Malka called, bouncing over to join
them.

Blythe pointed out a different way to move her feet and Haven tried again. “Much better. You keep your balance much easier this way.” Haven agreed. The sword didn’t nearly pull her off her feet this time and she stayed grounded. “Now let’s
try--”

“Lady
Queen!”

Blythe was cut off as Toma entered the room. Haven lowered her sword and turned to her adviser. “Toma,” she said, “What is
it?”

“Come with me at
once.”

Haven blinked at her adviser, exchanged a look with her guard, and nodded. “Go on without me,” she told Blythe, who did so as soon as she’d stepped away. Malka broke away from the group and joined her as they followed Toma to her study. “What’s going on?” she asked as they walked. It was a brisk pace, his urgency
palpable.

“Word has come,” was all Toma
said.

No matter how much she pried, Toma waited until they were safely within her empty study to produce a letter from his robes. The seal of Salander was
broken.

“Toma you must tell me what has happened this instant,” Haven gasped. “Is Emeril alright? What of the
king?”

“Emeril is fine, My Lady Queen.” He handed her the
letter.

“Then what is so important
that--”

Haven stopped, staring at the letter. Several words immediately jumped out at her. She returned to the beginning and
read.

Lady
Haven,

The worst has come to pass. Ryulung has fallen. The people of Eris are fleeing every which way. Refugees pile into Salander faster than we can make preparations. With the farmlands of Eris gone, I fear for the coming winter. How will we feed our people in such a time as this? My father continues to grow increasingly ill. His uselessness is a plague. I fear he may soon die and leave me to rule. I’m afraid, Haven. I don’t want to let my people down. I’ve tried to calm their unrest, but people have been fleeing into the mountains all day. I fear the civil problems this could cause with the native mountain folk. We’ve lived in peace for years and I don’t want to disturb them with our
troubles.

Salander will soon be in a panic. Alton is missing, and I fear this is only the first of what is to come. Fear is catching worse than fire in the grasslands. I must ask your advice, Haven. What should I do? Will Salander be next? I fear choosing between fight or flight. What if I choose wrong? Please Haven, send word when you can. A meeting will be held soon and I must be ready to ask for aid if it comes to
that.

With
regards,

Prince Emeril of
Salander

“This is madness,” Haven breathed, collapsing behind her desk. “Bring me quill and ink. I must write to Emeril
immediately.”

Toma nodded and fetched her supplies. Pulling parchment from between her files, Haven sighed and set to writing. All the while she could feel eyes on her. Malka watched with growing concern while Toma could barely keep still. Of course he’d want to know what she had to say, but first, she needed to send word to
Salander.

Dearest
Emeril,

I am so sorry for the state of things. It is an awful time to be a monarch it seems. I am distressed to hear of Ryulung, but do not lose heart. There is still time to salvage the situation. If Dessa can be retaken, so can Eris. I will discuss with my advisers a plan for food shortage. We will come up with a plan before the next meeting, where I will present our thoughts. As for advice, I am afraid that someone more experienced may be able to help you more than I. Please stay strong Emeril. Things will improve. If you need anything, send word immediately. I’m sure we will be dealing with refugees of our own soon, but we will see what we can manage. I will return your healers to you at once. My only advice to you will be to contact Evander, or Alton if you can find him. Their wisdom is much greater than my own, and certainly they will
help.

With deepest
regrets,

Queen Haven of
Rythern

Haven folded the letter before her adviser could read her words. She sealed it and passed the note straight to Malka. “Send this to Salander at once. Prince Emeril must read it before the day is done,” she said, finally turning to Toma. “We must make preparations.” Her adviser nodded quickly, and Malka passed her letter to a guard outside the door. She gave quick instructions before rejoining the queen, staying close in case Haven were to need her
support.

“Of course, Lady Queen,” Toma said. “Malka would you please send in the other
advisers.”

Malka nodded and disappeared into the hallway. When she returned, her five advisers went to work at their desks immediately. Haven suddenly thought that though they were always busy at work, maybe they were still listening. They could even discuss matters with Toma later on and she would never know. Bringing herself back to the present, Haven caught Toma’s
eyes.

“You read the letter?” she
asked.

“Yes, My
Lady.”

“Good,” she said. For the benefit of the others, she added, “Ryulung has fallen. Refugees are fleeing between Salander and Rythern. The farmlands of Eris have been decimated. We must prepare in the case of a food shortage.” Malka stared at her in shock, and the others stopped their scribbling. “If anyone has any ideas, please come forward immediately. I fear this loss could take effect at any
time.”

Haven didn’t know much about the distribution of food throughout her kingdom, let alone the others. She knew shipments constantly flowed through Wakefin and Eris, bringing food to all of their nations. It suddenly seemed paramount she learn more. Toma set to explaining. In the six kingdoms, famine had never been common. Eris provided much of the grain, wheat, vegetables, and meat to the kingdoms, while Wakefin supplied large amounts of fish. Once upon a time, Dagan assisted in such matters. In exchange for these services Salander had always provided ample wood throughout the kingdoms. Most of their land was covered in forest, making this a lucrative trade for them. For these goods, Rythern had always exchanged stones, from rubies to diamonds. Many sorts of metals could be found throughout their mines, as well
. This she knew, but she never realized that most of their income came from these mines. The cold of Rythern made it difficult to harvest many crops, but cow farms were common in the flatlands. Those lands could very well be their saving grace. Calisa was the only kingdom with no ample supply of any goods. They dabbled in mines, wheat farms, fishing, raising cattle and deforestation, but they had none of these in abundance, only enough to support their own
people.

After a long explanation, Haven couldn’t help but sigh. Surely there would be more options than this. “If I am to understand this correctly,” she began, “The end of summer is upon us and come the winter, we will only be able to supply what cattle we have to the
people.”

“We do have large rice stores, My Lady,” one of her advisers
interjected.

“And wheat stores as well,” another
added.

Haven sighed once more. “Will it be enough?” she
asked.

No one
answered.

“Will this be enough to feed our people and the refugees that flood my
city?”

A deep silence fell throughout the room. Haven raised her eyes to
Toma.

“It will not, My Queen,” he
said.

Haven sat back, gripping her desk for support. If she couldn’t even feed her own people, how could she expect them to fight for her if the time came? How could she expect them to go to war for her if Salander needed them? How could she expect any more of them, than she did herself? “What can be done?” she asked, hopeful that someone had an
idea.

“We can ration,” Toma said. His usual certainty did not back his
words.

“How?”

“We could create a team to see to it,” Toma began, “They could investigate what can be gathered from the fields, the cattle, the stores. We’d have to estimate a number as well, which they could assist
with.”

“A number of
what?”

“Of the number of people, My Queen. We have refugees on their way from Eris, and many still remain from Wakefin. We need to know how many people we will be feeding this
winter.”

Haven nodded. “See to it. I want a report two days from
now.”

Taking her leave, Haven walked the halls with Malka trailing a few steps behind. She didn’t know where she was going, but she needed to think.
Where do I to go from here?
she wondered.
If Salander is attacked, should I interfere? If we cannot afford to keep all of these refugees, can I really turn them away? If my people starve this winter, will it be my fault for not being a good queen? How am I expected to rule a kingdom I’m only beginning to understand? And why above all else, is Kadia doing
this?

Frustrated, Haven quickened her pace. She was lost in a whirlwind of her own thoughts when words broke through her
reverie.

“Eris has fallen? I can’t believe
it!”

Haven stopped in her tracks. Young girls whispered down the adjacent hall, huddled by a
window.

“Who will be next? Would Kadia come for
Salander?”

“But that
means--”

“Rythern would be
next.”

“Blue skies, I can’t believe that. This war is
nonsense.”

“But it is still war,
Anna.”

“I heard that people are fleeing into the mountains. Maybe it’s not such a bad
idea.”

“We’d freeze to
death!”

“Not west of Salander. They have hot springs in the caves. We could
survive.”

“But what of the
natives?”

“What of the
castle?”

“What of our lives? Will we risk ourselves staying here? Our
families?”

Haven had had enough. She walked swiftly toward the three gossiping maids and they finally noticed their queen. Wide eyes met hers as she stopped before them. “What do you speak
of?”

“Apologies, My Queen.” They
bowed.

“I will not have you gossiping like hens in my halls. Escaping into the mountains would be suicide with winter coming. Rythern will survive as it always has. Away with all of you, back to your duties.” Haven watched as the three apologized and scuttled away so fast they left only the faint smell of perfume in their wake. “Madness, Malka. This is utter madness,” she said, turning to her
guard.

“It is, My Lady.” Malka looked troubled. “I fear this will become a common string of thought if things get much
worse.”

“It mustn’t. I will not allow it. They will be dead before Kadia’s army even arrives,” Haven said, frustration boiling inside her. “They are right though. War is upon us and I don’t know how long we will be able to protect them.” Haven sighed, continuing down the hallway. “I must learn to fight, Malka, and I must learn
now.
”

Haven swept through the crowd and entered the courtyard-turned-sword-academy. The beginners still learned basic defense with Lareina, while Blythe had moved the advanced students on to single combat with the guards. They had recently been learning to fight without a shield, in case they were to lose theirs. The current exercises seemed to be a trial run of such. Blythe met her eyes as she joined
them.