Chapter 51 - The Great Reunion

Andres’ day had begun just before sunrise, when he led the charge against the black knights. The fighting had been fierce, and the battle had been bloody--for about five minutes. But Dor-ko’s army soon realized that the white knights, though far outnumbered, had no intention of retreating. They had come to fight till the last man. And so it wasn’t long before the Black Knights--who were much better at intimidating than actually fighting--turned tail and ran.

Some of the Black Knights simply ran back into the woods and tried to disappear. Others just got down on their knees and begged for mercy and for a drink of water. The remainder--those who were still mounted on their horses--organized themselves and retreated back to the Eastern Road. Andres figured that they would try to retreat to Dor-ko’s castle. Realizing this, he bellowed out at the top of his lungs, “Forget the wimps on the ground, men! They’re not going to hurt anyone! Let’s chase the rest of ‘em! We’ve got to destroy them before they get back to their castle!”

So the white knights charged onward, a hundred men chasing a few thousand. Andres had to pinch himself a few times, just to make sure he wasn’t imagining this. But every time he shook his head and looked around, the scene was the same: The enemy was on the run. So Andres, his sword raised to the sky and pointing forward, urged the men on.

Andres and the White Knights pursued Dor-ko’s army for about an hour when they suddenly came to a halt. The Black Knights abruptly dismounted from their horses, cast their weapons down, and surrendered. Just like that, the battle was over! Andres was simultaneously relieved and disappointed. He was glad that his enemy had given up, but he had rather enjoyed the chase. He dismounted and walked over to one of the blubbering Black Knights who was on his knees. “What’s wrong with you guys?” Andres asked. “You come, you fight, you run, and now you just give up? What happened?”

The Black Knight looked up at Andres and said, “We’re trapped! Dor-ko didn’t tell us about no trap! We can’t fight if we’re trapped! And I don’t want to die in no trap! So please just let me go and don’t hurt me and I’ll never do anything bad ever again and if you let me join the White Knights I’ll be the bravest knight there ever was but please let me out of this trap!”

Andres just shook his head and remounted his horse. After riding through the scores of surrendering Black Knights, he finally saw what had stopped them in their tracks. Ronaldus had set up a wooden blockade across the road! He had led about fifty of the faithful followers of King Maximilian down the road and blocked the retreat. These brave souls had stacked some trees across the road, then stood behind it and launched a hail of arrows into the retreating mass of men. It didn’t take long before the Black Knights, attacked from the fore as well as the rear, were persuaded to give up.

Andres found Ronaldus and gave him a big embrace. He wanted to talk with him a bit, but Ronaldus wasn’t ready for any chit-chat. He simply said, “Prince Andres, please give my best to the King when you see him. But we’d best take care of these Black Knights while their spirit is broken. With your permission, sir, I will lead them back to Dor-ko’s castle. The dungeons are currently unoccupied, and it would probably be best if we fill them with Black Knights. If we offer them a good meal and a chance to sleep in peace, I don’t think they’ll put up much of a fight.”

So Andres followed Ronaldus’ counsel. He dispatched Legs and Pipes to corral the Black Knights and herd them down the road to prison. The Black Knights were remarkably agreeable and followed Ronaldus quite willingly. In less than an hour, the Black Knights were marching back to the castle from whence they came, and Andres was galloping back toward Cliffton.

On his way back, Andres happened to see an enormous Black Knight lying on the ground and shaking. As Andres got closer, he could hear the man crying out, “Mother! Oh Mother, save me! I want my Mother!” He said this over and over again, his large body seeming to bounce up and down on the ground as he did so. Andres thought the voice sounded vaguely familiar, so he dismounted and walked up to the strange fellow. He soon realized just who this poor soul was.

It was Chub.

Andres wanted to be mad at this man who had done so much to create this mess. But with victory in hand, Andres figured he’d be sympathetic rather than vindictive. So he walked up to Chub, knelt down by his said, and said the highest-pitched voice that he could muster, “It’s your mommy, dearest Chub. Thank you for being such a brave warrior!” Then Andres gave him a little kiss on the cheek.

Chub never even opened his eyes. He just said, “Thank you, Mother! Oh thank you!” Tears came streaming out of his eyes, a smile crept across his face, and the poor soul fell asleep. Andres shook his head, remounted his horse, and continued his ride back.

As he rode, Andres observed that the landscape was littered with black cloaks. It was like they were rained from the sky. After pondering this for awhile, Andres figured out what must have happened. These were probably the remnants of the creatures that had filled the air just the night before, with ghastly cries that had filled the men with fear. But after Andres had heard the resounding trumpet sound followed by the great explosion, the cries had disappeared. Something about the trumpet must have quenched the spirits of these creatures. They were to be feared no longer.

A nagging thought suddenly came to Andres’ mind. What happened to Cable? The last memory he’d had of Cable was when Pipes and Chub were kidnapping him. Though a hood had been placed over his head and he could see nothing, Andres had known that Cable was following him. But after entering the dense Southern Woods, Andres had never heard from Cable again. After seeing pathetic Chub again, this thought began to weigh heavily on Andres’ heart.

The thought didn’t weigh heavily for long, however. For after Andres returned to Cliffton and passed through the village gates, who should be waiting for him but Cable himself! He was sitting on a log that had been fashioned into a bench, with a plate on his lap, eating some kind of meat. Andres yelled out, “Hey Cable!” and then ran up to his brother and gave him a hug.

“Hey Andres!” Cable replied. “But be careful. I don’t want to drop my chicken.”

Andres wanted to get a little upset that Cable seemed to be more concerned about his chicken than about his own brother. But he quickly let it go; today wasn’t a day to be too concerned about the small stuff. “How did you get here?” Andres asked.

“She led me here,” replied Cable. While holding a drumstick in one hand, he pointed behind him with his other hand. A few yards away a giant horse lay on the ground. Nestled up against the horse, lying sound asleep, was Remmaline.

Andres shook his head. How did his sister get into these messes--and somehow get back out of them? He couldn’t figure out how someone who liked to get all dressed up and have tea parties could also run around the countryside in the middle of a battle. He wanted to ask her these questions, but he figured he’d just let her sleep. Besides, if she was awake, she’d talk a lot, and Andres needed some peace and quiet so that he could catch up with his brother.

So Andres and Cable spent the next hour or so exchanging stories about their adventures. Cable marveled at how his brother had escaped from prison and ended up leading an entire army into battle. Meanwhile, Andres was pretty impressed that Cable had plunged off a cliff into a river, and he was even more impressed that his brother could play the trumpet. “You know something,” Andres said. “Our dad--well, last night, when he was getting ready to start the battle, he just waited. It seemed like he waited forever. He wouldn’t even budge until he heard the trumpet. I guess he was waiting for you, Cable. If you hadn’t blown the horn, those wicked creatures might still be surrounding us now, and we might never have crushed those guys.”

Cable absorbed this news for a moment. “So the creatures disappeared after I blew the horn?” he asked.

“Yup,” replied Andres. “And that was when Dad motioned for me to come and lead the charge.”

Cable felt a bit better after this revelation. He just kind of nodded his head while munching on more chicken. Andres suddenly felt great hunger pangs invading his stomach. “By the way,” he asked, “where did you get that chicken?”

Cable’s mouth was full, so he couldn’t reply right away. As a well-mannered prince, he’d been taught long ago not to talk with his mouth full. But he did manage to point off to his right. Andres followed his finger and saw Annala approaching.

“Annala!” cried out Andres, running toward her. “I’m glad to see you’re all right!” As he gave her a big, princely hug, he whispered in her ear, “By the way, do you have any more chicken?”

“Prince Andres, I’m so glad to see you’ve returned from battle!” replied Annala, returning his hug and giving him a kiss on his forehead. “Of course, I’ll be glad to get you whatever you’d like. But tell me--did you see any sign of Gregorex?”

Andres was about to reply when the sound of galloping hooves was heard just outside the village gates. Two horses soon came trotting in. Atop one of the horses was Samek and a woman that Andres didn’t recognize. Atop the other horse was Gregorex and a man that Andres also didn’t recognize.

However, it became immediately clear that Annala recognized everyone. She ran over to the woman and cried out, “Mom! Oh Mom! I didn’t think I’d ever see you again!” As her mother--whom we know as Susannah--dismounted, Annala cloaked her in hugs and kisses and tears.

Andres walked over and sat next to Cable to observe the family reunion. Andres figured that Annala would go over to Gregorex after she greeted her mother. But he was wrong. Instead, she walked over to the man that had ridden with Gregorex. She held the man’s face in her hands, gently kissed him on the forehead, and gave him a warm embrace. The man broke down and wept in Annala’s arms. He never raised his eyes from the ground. Andres thought he must be the most dejected man he’d ever seen.

Cable then piped up and whispered to Andres, “I’ve seen that guy before! Andres...just last night, that guy was about to get thrown into the fiery mound! He tried to run away, but he got caught and was carried away by Slumbutter himself. I...I don’t know how he ever made it back!”

Andres then turned his attention back to Gregorex, who leaned against his horse while watching Annala and the man (whom we know to be Philip) talk for a few minutes. Andres pointed him out to Cable. “You’ve got to meet that guy,” said Andres. “He and I were in prison together for awhile. He’s maybe the best horseman I know, next to Dad. And the man is fearless. I...I don’t know how he ever made it back, either. He disappeared in the middle of my first night here, and we all figured he’d gotten captured or killed.”

Finally Annala turned her attention to Gregorex. As Philip turned and walked away, Annala faced her man and held her arms open wide. Gregorex ran to her, swept her up in his arms, swung her around a couple of times, and then kissed her. Andres stared with his mouth wide open. This had to be the longest kiss he ever remembered. His first instinct was to be repulsed by the passion. But then he thought to himself, “For some reason, this kind of thing doesn’t seem as gross as it used to be. I guess I’m growing up.” So he just patiently watched.

After what seemed like hours, Andres heard someone clear his throat. He turned and saw Samek, who just didn’t seem comfortable about this phase of the reunion. He didn’t actually say anything; he just kept coughing and clearing his throat. Soon afterward, Gregorex and Annala stopped kissing and just held each other in their arms. Then the coughing stopped.

Soon everyone just gathered together and started introducing themselves and exchanging stories. Susannah told about her harrowing trip with Dor-ko that ended in the cave. Gregorex then told about his encounter with the flaming furball that knocked him off his horse and ended up leading him to Susannah. As he wrapped up his tale, he said, “I...I don’t know what happened to the king. He pointed me back to the village, and then he mentioned something about having to attend a great party. After that, he disappeared. I was hoping he’d be back here.”

Then it was Samek’s turn to speak.

“The king will appear when he sees fit,” said Samek. “He works in his own time. He always has, and he always will. But let me tell you something...the strangest thing happened during the battle,” he said. “While Andres led the charge, I saw someone galloping from right to left well behind the enemy’s lines. The horse wasn’t moving too fast, because it appeared to be burdened by a heavy load on its back.

“Well, Andres seemed to have everything under control. So I broke off and followed the mysterious rider. I figured I could catch him within a few minutes. And I had a sneaking suspicion that it might be Slumbutter himself, since he’s too much of a coward to actually stick around and fight.

“I never did actually catch him. But after about an hour of trotting through the woods, I did run into his horse. I grabbed the horse by the reigns and led him down the path, where I thought I heard some voices. Sure enough, there were Gregorex and Susannah and Philip. I pulled Susannah up on my horse, while Gregorex and Philip mounted Slumbutter’s horse. Then we all followed Gregorex, since he knows these woods better than anyone.”

Samek paused a moment from his narrative. Turning to Andres, he asked, “Hey, there is one thing that’s been nagging at me. We’re all glad that Susannah is safe and sound. But why did you stab Dor-ko, knowing that she was in danger and might never get found again?”

Andres said, “Oh yeah, I never had a chance to explain that. You’ve got to understand something. When I first met Annala, she played all sorts of word games with me. And so when I read the note from her mom, I had a feeling that it might have some words games as well. So I just stared at the note and studied it. I couldn’t take my eyes off it! Here is what it said:

So Love Abounds. You

Have Inflamed My

heart

today, even now.

trust me, believe me now,

Or Whenever Love

is seen.

“I looked at the first two lines and saw that all the words were capitalized. The thought occurred to me that maybe these letters were supposed to spell something. And sure enough, they spelled ‘SLAY HIM.’ Well, that seemed clear enough. And the next word said ‘heart.’ So I thought to myself, ‘She’s saying that I ought to send my sword right through his heart.’

“Well, I started to think, ‘Should I wait till she’s safe before I kill him?’ But her note answered that question for me. She said to do it ‘today, even now.’ And she said to ‘trust me,’ meaning that I ought to do it, even if it seems like it could put her in danger.

At this point Samek interrupted, “But how did you know that she would be okay? How did you know that she wasn’t just telling you to kill him, even if it meant that she might never be saved?”

“Because of the next two lines,” Andres replied. “She started using capital letters again. It spelled the word ‘OWL.’ And then the next line said ‘is seen.’ So she was saying that she had seen the owl--the great messenger of the high king. Cable and I met him in our first journey to Aberdeen, and he guided us every step of the way. So I figured that if she’d seen the owl, then she must be all right. So I did what she told me to do and plunged my sword into Dor-ko’s chest.”

“You did well, Prince Andres,” said Susannah. She walked over to him, bent her knee before him, then stood and gave him a great embrace.

“It...it was nothing...” he stammered. “It was nothing that anyone else in my place wouldn’t have done.” Then, looking desperately to change the subject and avoid the emotion of the moment, Andres asked, “Hey Cable, whatever happened to the trumpet that you played?”

Cable paused and thought for a moment. “You know...I can’t remember,” he said.

“You can’t remember?” bellowed Andres. “That’s a big deal, Cable! Can’t you keep track of anything?”

The scene threatened to degenerate into a moment of sibling squabbling. But suddenly the air was pierced by a trumpet sound. It was perhaps the worst-sounding blare of a trumpet that anyone had ever heard. It was garbled and unsteady and shrill. “Man, that’s awful!” declared Andres. “It sounds like a gargling giant.” Then looking around he asked, “Where did that sound come from?”

Cable then said, “Oh yeah! Jimbo took it! I’ll bet that was him!”

Andres was about to ask who Jimbo was, but before he could form the words in his mouth he saw an odd character appear at the village gate. In a curious accent, the man declared, “I hope you enjoyed my introduction! I’m sure you can’t believe that was the first time I’ve ever played this melodious instrument.”

“It sounded more like a cow with a stomach ache than a trumpet,” declared Andres. “Give that thing to Cable before you kill someone with it!”

Jimbo stared at Andres. “I’m hurt by that comment,” he said, though Andres was pretty sure that he wasn’t hurt too badly. “Because you see, I really didn’t play this instrument just for your hearing pleasure. I played it to announce the arrival of...”

And as Jimbo spoke, from around the corner of the village wall appeared the king.