He paused for a minute to rest underneath the shadow of one of the parapets. One of the few still standing. That in itself was a miracle. So many had fallen by this point, that he was thankful of every little piece of good news.
The siege had been on for going on three weeks now. If it wasn't for his Queen, he would have left long ago. These weren't his people. He had no business being here. They could rot in the deepest darkest of hells for all he cared. But for his Queen he would give his life.
He surveyed the walls. They were holding, cracked and pocked in a lot of places, but they were holding. He could make out the burn spots from the fire that the enemy had set with their own pots of boiling pitch. That was a nasty fight. He had almost lost his arm in that battle. If not for his armor, and luck of the gods, he would have caught that end.
He chuckled to himself wryly. If he believed the old witch woman, he was to die a death of old age and broken heart. With the way the situation was looking here, he had his doubts about that old woman. "Even though most of the things she said had come true...." he mused, ignoring his surroundings.
"El Toro, Come Quick. They are attacking again." He came too to find one of the pages pulling on his arm. The young lad was pointing at the East wall. They were attacking it again. This was the 4th time today. He wasn't sure how much longer it would last. Rallying himself together, El Toro, as the men called him, stood, donned his helmet and started striding to the battle. He knew that they weren't going to let up until everyone in the city was dead, or they surrendered. He would never allow his Queen to surrender, not as long as he had any fight in him. His people or not, he fought to save their lives.
El Toro, the men called him. And for good reason, He stood tall and strong above the people of this kingdom, head and shoulders above the average man, he came from a taller race of people. His armor was made of metal they were unfamiliar with - strong, but lightweight. And his helmet didn't help his name any. It had a pair of bullhorns on top. He had long ago gotten used to this name. His house was the Raging Bull. It was the helmet of his ancestor, it was his helmet. He was the last of his house, so he bore the name with Pride.
Soon he found himself atop the wall preparing to stave off this new wave of invaders. The invaders outnumbered the people of the city 3 to 1. But you wouldn't have known that from the way they fought. These people had the hearts of a lion. They were fighting for their lives and had risen to the occasion. Over and over he was surprised by the endurance of the people. By how they never quit. They continued to fight well. They good people for his Queen.
All thoughts of his Queen and the people were soon distant memories as he summoned up his energy and raised his sword to block the invaders cutlass. He didn't know how many times he had fought them, day and night. It all seemed to be one big battle. A never-ending slaughter. They were never going to quit. El Toro soon proved the main reason why people called him the Raging Bull. He fought with the intensity of a bull, he swings were powerful, quick and deadly. He had learned with the best, he was of a race of fighters, and with his size, he cut a huge path through any enemy. Nothing seemed to stop him.
As quickly as the attack begin, it was over. The invaders were either dead or had retreated. Leaving one of his Captains in charge of the clean-up and tending of the wounded, El Toro went in search of his Queen. It was getting to be dusk. As blood-thirsty as these invaders were, they never attacked during the hour of dusk. They prayed to their gods for that hour. He didn't care if they molested goats, he would always take any reprieve from the fighting. They prayed twice a day, dawn and dusk.
It didn't take him long to find his Queen. She was never far from the fighting, organizing the noncombatants to take care of wounded, making sure there was food. Her guard was never far from her, but she would send them into the battle if she felt it was necessary. She didn't need their help, he well knew, but they didn't know that. To them, she was the most precious treasure in the world.
El Toro had first met his Queen on her birth. A babe, just cleaned from the womb was presented to him in the ancient traditions. Following the instructions his father had taught him, El Toro lifted his hand and slit it from it to end. As the blood welled up, he repeated the incantation he had been taught, touching his bloody palm first to the child's chest - leaving a clear hand print, then to her head, and finally he had dripped his blood into her mouth, sealing his fate forever. The incantation he still remembered today.
"My Heart for your heart, My head for your head, My blood spilled before yours, I am your servant until my dying day. With my blood I serve you."
It was the custom of the day for two houses to unify themselves in such a manner. Especially for a princess. What no one had ever taken into effect was the beauty that she grew into. Being a few years older than her, Javier (as he was known then) took his oath to heart. He took care of her from an early age. When they played with other children, he made sure she was never hurt or bullied. He got into so many fights protecting her. As they got older, Javier was given instruction in the warrior way, while Esmeralda (the princess) was instructed in the way of governing people and the role of the Queen. Whenever they got together, they would spend hours alone. They were best friends, older brother, younger sister. He taught her the self-defense he was learning, how to use a sword, and she taught him about ruling people, what was right, what was wrong. She installed his moral character.
Then the time came for him to complete his instruction. He had to travel to another master's school in the high country for a period. She was to travel to a neighbor-king's family for more instruction. They were to part ways. It was agony for both of them, and they promised to write. And the letters came to him for a little while. But then they stopped coming. He put all of his energy into training. Soon, he was not only the top of the class, but ready for his master's test. No one had ever taken the tests so young. He had no troubles with them. Completed, he set out for home, determined to see his friend, Esmeralda again. She should have finished long before him.
But back home wasn't as he remembered it. He had grown, and it hadn't. He had become a larger man than most of his people, so everyone looked at him a little strange. He paid them no attention. He was focused only on finding Esmeralda. Finally reaching her house, he knocked on the door. Esmeralda opened the door, and Javier was stunned. He wasn't the only one who had matured. While Esmeralda was no taller, she had grown in many ways, developing into a beautiful woman. She was a little short, with pale skin, and long dark black hair. Her body was curvy in the right places, Javier was floored. He would never look at her the same way again. He was instantly in love.
Esmeralda exclaimed in happiness and hugged Javier tight. She was so happy to see him. She had so much to tell him. She had met a great prince and was getting married. She was leaving in a few weeks to go to his kingdom for the wedding. Esmeralda went on and on about what had happened and all the people she had met, gushing away, happy to see her friend.
Javier heard none of it. His heart had broken that instant. He remembered that while he would give his life for her, he could never have her. She was a princess and he was a warrior, a fighting man, a lowly lord that could never hope to achieve what had formed in his mind. He had somehow thought she might have feelings for him too. But now she was getting married.
"Javi, Javi, are you ok?" Esmeralda asked him, using her pet name for him. "I'm fine," came his lie. His training had taken over, leaving him emotionless and cold. "I just came by to tell you that I am leaving. I have been shipped out to the border."
"Really?" Esmeralda was disappointed. "I don't have to leave for a few days, I was hoping we could catch up." She looked at him with her pouty gold eyes. His heart withered to dust, and his soul screamed at him. But his face remained blank, showing nothing inside. "Yes. I am on my way to the tram station now."
"But I thought you were the most accomplished student there, shouldn't they reward you with a commission or something?" She really wanted to talk with him. He was so inside of his own mind, searching for an escape that he didn't see it.
"No, that must have been someone else. I worked hard, but not hard enough it seems. I have to go now, or I will get in trouble." Javier gave her a small hug and turned and walked away never looking back. She was not his problem anymore. He never saw the tears in her eyes.
"Javier" her voice came like a lightning bolt bringing him out of his memories. Blinking his blurry eyes, he peered down at her. No matter how many years had passed he still saw that same beautiful woman. She smiled up at him. "I hope I was nice to you in your daydream," she teased him. She now knew ALL of his intimate details. Despite himself, that brought a smile to his lips. She always knew how to make him smile. Of course he desired her, he always had and she knew it.
Renewed, he asked her how she was. Shaking her head, Esmeralda said, "You didn't come here to inquire after my health, Javier, you came for a reason. You always do." She smiled to ease her slight criticism. The years of companionship had taught them many things about the other, Esmeralda knew how to talk to him.
Nodding his head and chuckling, Javier said, "Aye, my Queen, you always did know me." Addressing her so, Esmeralda drew herself up a little, he only called her that when it was important. "It is time for you to leave my Queen. You and the other people. A small group of us will stay and hold them off as long as possible, giving you time to get away. But get away you MUST!" El Toro was empathic. She may be the Queen, but he had sworn his life for hers.
Esmeralda was quiet. "What about you?" she asked. This was no longer a Queen speaking to her General, but a lover speaking to a partner, a wife speaking to a husband. "Am I to condemn you to your death? Do you not think I will die too? I do not love you lightly." her voice was soft. No one else could hear her.
Javier looked down into her eyes, he could see the pain in them, the love, the hurt, the need for him. "But there is no other choice. My heart before your heart, my head before your head, my blood before your blood. I swore the Oath." was his quiet response.
Shaking her head, she replied, "No, my bull my love, that is no longer enough of a reason."
To be continued.
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