A Promise
Petals swirled through the sky and into an open window on the tallest tower of the besieged keep. Piles of the pink flowers had begun to collect in the corners of the stone chamber while others still fluttered about the carpeted floor, dancing with the breeze. Yet for all the loveliness the petals brought the space, they were born on an wind of death. The air was charged with the acrid scent of burning buildings, grasses, and corpses. A woman, clad in a long green gown with gold thread lay across her settee and wept, her long black hair rising and falling apace with her sobs. Nothing was at it once was and never would be again, this was her fear. A pounding on her door roused her from her despair. She lifted her face and gaped at the thick wooden door that separated her from oblivion. She was too frightened to rise, too frightened even to speak. She looked on and held her breath. Another pounding against the door, more urgent this time. Then a muffled voice cried out, “Heloise! Please, open the door!” It was Daniel, he had survived and returned for her, just as he said he would. When they had parted that morning he had promised he would return. And though it seemed hopeless, his confidence had given her hope. Hearing his voice she was lifted from her gloom and dared to hope that victory had been won and they might go on living as before, loving one another in peace among the cherry blossoms of her family’s estate. “Daniel!” Heloise cried out. In an instant she flew to the door and, drawing back the bolt, opened it for her paramour. Her joy at their reunion was quickly tempered by what she saw. Daniel was leaning against the wall and breathing hard. His armor was stained with blood and ash, his tabard was in rags, and the once proud, emerald plumes atop his helm had been scorched and frayed. His right arm hung at his side yet his hand still grasped his sword, which had been chipped and scratched from hard fighting. His left arm was bent at the elbow and drawn across his chest. His vambrance had been punctured by a terrible blow and the plate armor was bent and dripping blood. Heloise gasped and could feel tears welling in her eyes once again. Still holding his sword, Daniel raised his hand to his visor and lifted it up and over his face. “My love,” said he and gulped air while speaking. “My love, the day is lost. The keep is fallen.” At this, his legs began to quiver and he pitched forward. Heloise went to him and kept him from tumbling. She drew him into the room and sat him upon a chair. His sword clattered to the floor. She knelt beside him and reached out to his wounded arm with a trembling hand. “The door,” Daniel murmured. “Y-yes, of course!” Heloise rushed to the door and made fast the bolt. She turned and looked at Daniel, he was reaching across the table for the silver carafe and goblet. “Let me,” whispered Heloise. She went to him and put her hand on his worn gauntlet. “No, no. I’m not so useless yet, but can you help me remove this?” He flexed his right hand into a fist. “My arm…” He nodded to his crippled left arm. “It can’t be done alone, you see.” She nodded and began carefully unfastening the buckles which held the steel in place. One by one they came undone. Neither spoke. Only the wind coming through the window could be heard. Heloise undid the last fastener and took off Daniel’s gauntlet. It was warm and heavy in her hands. She put it on the table. Daniel poured himself a glass. Cool, clean water flowed from the carafe and filled the goblet. He drank, slowly and deliberately. Heloise studied his face while he did so. There was ash and dust caked to his cheeks. Vertical lines, where beads of sweat had run from his scalp to his chin, cut through the dirt and revealed his flushed skin. Despite the mess of battle, Daniel was just as handsome now as he had always been. Though now his face wore a mask of deep fatigue in place of the quiet confidence that usually resided there. “Daniel,” Heloise said, “what will happen now?” She didn’t really have to ask because like all those who lived through troubled times, she well knew the fate of the conquered. He finished his drink and looked at her. His bright blue eyes shone through the grime on his face and he smiled a sad smile. “My darling, they will come here and they will murder us. But you know this.” He ran his hand through her hair as he spoke. Heloise wept softly. “It’s not right, Daniel! We never wronged these people. Why do they have to do these things?” She gestured towards the windows where below the slaughter of her family’s once vibrant town was winding down. Smoke now clouded much of the sky, obscuring the clear blue of a beautiful spring day. “I know not, Heloise. But you are right, it is not fair. Not in the least.” He cupped her chin in his gentle hand and made her to look at him. Her brown eyes focused through the tears on his gallant face. “But listen, this is not the end for us. When this is all over and the veil has been cast over our eyes, I’ll find my way back to you. I’ve already traversed hell to get back here and I doubt any other voyage would be as fraught with peril or uncertainty.” “You’re just saying these things, Daniel. You know you can’t...” Heloise stopped herself, because despite knowing that her words were the truth, Daniel’s reassurance was comforting. She gazed into his eyes, not ever wanting to lose him, to lose their love. Barely three years had they shared their lives in holy union and now it was being torn asunder by vandals and brutes. It hadn’t been enough time. Not nearly enough. “I- I’ll wait for you Daniel. I’ll keep watch. You know I will.” His smile gained new life and she could see tears form in his own eyes now. “I know. I know.” He knelt down and kissed her on the lips. The wind picked up, forcing an adjacent window open and sent pink petals swirling and dancing around the room. Some caught in Heloise’s hair and in the gaps of Daniels’s armor. Spring had anointed them with her blessing. They could only hear the rush in their ears and feel the warmth of each other's lips. They held their embrace for a long moment, neither wanting the other to pull away, both wanting this last moment of intimacy to go on and on and on. There would not be another chance like this, not for a very long time, and they knew it.
Without warning they heard gruff, foreign voices coming from the staircase and the clatter of arms and armor on stone. They were coming for them. “Heloise, listen to me now. I will go out and hold them for as long as I can. You bolt the door behind me and don’t open it for anything. Demand an audience with their commander. You’ll be taken hostage and your life will be spared, but only surrender yourself to him in person.” “Daniel, stop! No, I won’t!” Heloise cried out. “Listen now! There is no time left. Do as I say, please! You’ll live through this.” “I can’t! Not without you! Daniel!” He was already rising out of his chair and knelt to recover his sword. He went to the door. “I love you, Heloise. I will always love you and only you. I’ll come find you when this is all over. I promise.” He smiled one last time, closed his visor and stepped onto the landing. Heloise could see figures making their way up the stairs. There were four or five men clad in exotic armors and colorful silks and furs and wielding long, cruel steel. Their muscled arms were bare from the shoulders and several had prominent facial hair. Yet despite their fearsome appearance they did not expect to see a fully armored knight awaiting them at the top of so tall a tower and were taken aback. Daniel did not hesitate. He threw himself at them with a wrath that terrified Heloise. He struck the first man full in the face, splitting his head in two. He turned upon another and dealt him a mortal blow across his chest. Blood sprayed from the rend in his armor and both men fell at nearly the same instant. The others cried out in fear and surprise but regained their senses more quickly than Heloise would have expected after so terrible a show of force. They tried to put distance between themselves and this mad knight but Daniel did not relent for even a moment. He drove his attack forward, furiously raining blow after blow upon his foes. They countered and dodged what strikes they could in the confined space of the landing but were forced to bodily absorb more than they would have liked. Had Daniel been in top form he likely would have driven them off but it was not the case. He struck another combatant through the belly, driving his sword deep through the man. He tried to pull it back but the blade snapped at the hilt and Daniel stumbled backwards. It was all the remaining fighters needed. They closed in around him. One man strove to plunge a thin dagger through a gap in Daniel’s armor. Daniel caught the man by the wrist with his crossguard and kicked at his knees, Heloise could hear a sharp snap. They man screeched in pain and tumbled down the spiral staircase, breaking his neck in the process. In that instant and without free hand or arm to defend himself, the last man standing pinned Daniel’s right hand with a filthy boot and drove his hooked blade down onto the prone knight. Daniel cried out as the edge found its way through a gap in his plate armor. He tried to defend himself with his injured arm but it was futile. Again and again the barbarian struck. Many of the blows glanced off the knights keen armor but enough found their mark to have their intended effect. At last Daniel lay still on the floor, blood pooling around him and flowing down the stairs, petals still clung to his armor. The man pulled a stiletto from his belt and plunged it through a slit in Daniel’s visor. It was over. Heloise had been too petrified to move once Daniel had left her chamber. Now she regained her senses. She tried to close the door but the brute on the landing noticed her and crossed the landing in a great leap. He blocked the door with his boot and tried to force his way in. Heloise threw her weight against the door but the invader was slowly overpowering her. She struggled with everything she had. The man was grunting with the effort and managed to work a gloved hand through the gap in the door. He grasped at her raven hair and grabbed a fistful in his hand. Heloise cried out in pain and lost her footing. The door burst open. Still gripping Heloise by the hair, the man dragged her across the floor toward the couch. Heloise screamed and fought as best she could but was being roughly handled by a man with ill intent. He overturned the table on his way to the other end of the chamber and sent its contents scattering across the floor. Heloise reached out a hand in desperation and suddenly found it encased in an iron shell, warm and heavy, it was Daniel’s gauntlet. She tightened her hand into a fist. The man threw her onto the settee and took and step back to regain his breath. Not wasting her last, best chance, Heloise spun on him and dealt a crushing blow directly to his scarred face. She heard and felt the breaking of bone and saw teeth and blood fly from the force of the impact. The man fell like a rock cast into a well, kicked his feet once, and died. Heloise was standing above her onetime foe and was shaking. She could feel the blood pumping in her limbs and hear it rushing in her ears. She breathed. A crash from the village below brought her back from shock and she stepped over the body before her and went to the door. The bolt had been damaged during the violent entry of her attacker and would no longer hold. She would not be safe here any longer. Though she wondered if she would ever really be safe anywhere. She glimpsed Daniel’s body on the landing. His right hand was pale and bloodied yet still gripped the hilt of his broken sword. She looked down at her own hand and saw it protected by Daniel’s own gauntlet. He had saved her twice, once in life and again in death. Tears flowed from her eyes but she did not sob. She closed the door because she could no longer stand the sight of her fallen champion. He had done more for her than he would ever know. She cherished the thought but gave no place to mourn, there would be no time for that. She brushed away her tears and walked to the window of her study. Outside and far below she looked for the first time upon the destruction the marauders had wrought. Homes were smoking and burning. Bodies of men-at-arms lay in heaps in the streets. Villagers who hadn’t made it to the erstwhile safety of the keep had been butchered where they stood. Blood and charred remains lay everywhere. Heloise looked out, towards the fields and mountains beyond and was comforted by the blooming cherry blossoms of her grandfather’s orchard. They defied the senses and clashed so fundamentally with the horror around her that Heloise caught her breath. How such pure, innocent beauty could exist side by side and in the same instant as such brutal annihilation was more than she could comprehend. And yet she felt a stirring in her heart and knew that much of life was just so, both redeemer and violator, protector and scourge. She was entranced at the sight of her ruined demesne and being deep in thought Heloise didn’t hear the other soldiers as they made their way up to the landing until the creak of the heavy door announced them. Heloise turned and saw three men, dressed much as the others had been. They had bewildered looks on their faces. Their expressions changed to one of understanding once they saw Heloise. The knight had been protecting her. Such a prize would surely be worth something to someone, and a beautiful prize at that. They slowly made their way towards her. Heloise’s hair was blown across her face as another gust of wind came into the room. She lifted herself onto the sill of the open windows at her back and inched backwards. “I understand why you’re here. I can’t accept it, but I understand it,” she said under her breath. The man nearest her said something calmly in a language she didn’t understand. He rea