The churchman spoke with such a calm reassurance at my marriage. He tied the expensive purple silk ribbon across my hand and then tied it around Cornelia's as well. The silk that represented everything about our union--the money, the royalty, and it felt cool against my skin. I didnt love her. Why should I. I needed her for power. Her father would provide swords that would aid me in time as her brothers would provide me with champions and loyal guards. Bah. I hated her with a passion. A dull, witless girl who knew nothing of the outside. If only I didnt need her father.
The man who was marrying us droned on. I wasnt really listening. I was thinking of Alena and what I could do with the swords that Cornelia brought with her. What a shame she had to die. I had it prepared and the thought of it encouraged me. I could go through with this, and keep Alena and the swords. Ah the power that I could end up with from this! I believe that that cursed churchman was approaching the end of his ramblings.
"And til death do you part." The ending to the marriage sermon made me laugh internally and give a small smile to my bride. Til death do you part indeed. The ceremony ended and I kept up my smile through receiving the congratulations of her entire family...and what a blastedly large one she belonged to. They seemed overjoyed that the Duke Glorach was smiling with true pleasure, and I was happy to oblige, even if it was their swords rather than their daughter that pleased me.
I ate scantily at the feast held in our honor following the ceremony, but helped myself to a fair portion of wine. My bride ate scantily as well, but often chatted happily with her brothers and their wives, while I mainly restricted myself to talking with her father. The old fool was a dunce, but a powerful one. His sons were accomplished fighters, if not generals, although he was nothing to speak of. At one point he mentioned the real possibility of his daughter dying before her time..well specifically in childbirth..and announced to me and all those around me that if that were to happen, he would not abandon me if it were to happen and that I was now to be treated as one of his sons. He boasted that I was something special and that he would ride my coattails to glory. I bet the fool couldnt see something special if it hit him in the face.
The meal thankfully ended quickly with guests retiring to the quarters and the great dunce himself demanding that I go to bed his daughter with all haste. I wished to do nothing of the sort, but for my plan to work, I needed to be in the bedchamber regardless, so I went.
On my way to the bedchamber that had been readied for Cornelia and myself, I thought of the army that I had just acquired. Already the foremost military strategist in the kingdom, my only shortage was in soldiers. This marriage brought along nearly 20,000 to add to my current veteran group of 5,000. These soldiers should be enough to accomplish what I want, even if they could still easily be outnumbered 2 to 1. The thought of it aroused me far more than the thought of Cornelia did. This is what I had been waiting for. All that was left was to remove Cornelia.
I approached the door to the bed chamber and walked into the large room that contained a single broad window and the massive bed that was covered in skins..and my wife, boltin the door behind me with a beam that strained my muscles to move. She quickly unclothed herself and moved to do the same to me, when I made no move to do so. It was then that the man entered through the window, dagger in hand. I smiled, thinking how I had hired this man to kill my wife, but had no intention of letting him do so. His look grew to one of confusion as I threw Cornelia to the side and drew my sword, and, in a few brief strokes cut the would be assassin to the ground.
Seeing this act of chivalry, Cornelia rose from where I had thrown her and attempted to push herself against me..an act that so disgusted me that I pushed her away immediately and laughed out loud. She stared at me in horror as I took the knife that was weilded by the assassin and dragged her to the door. Standing behind her, I gagged her so that she couldnt scream and then drove the knife into her back, once, twice and a third time to make sure that she died.
I then replaced the knife near the body of the dead assassin, took the gag from Cornelia's mouth and unblocked the door. My body was only for Alena.
Once out of the bed chamber, I rushed to Cornelia's father to tell him the news. The lackwit took what I said for the truth..he had not seen anything to the contrary, and all of the evidence was there. He swore to me that I would have his full aid in the future, esspecially if my first blow would fall towards the homeland of the assassin. Inwardly I thought of the irony of this statement, while with my lips, promising the angered father that I would indeed strike there first, despite it being the largest of my neighbors. As if to cement his goodwill, I kissed Cornelia on the lips for the second time at her funeral in full view of her entire family. As I kissed her, I thought: Thank you Cornelia. Your death released me and gave me what I needed.
Monthes later, I had retrained all 20,000 troops that came with my dowry and had marched them along with my veterans against Nepthal, my largest neighbor and the homeland of the sacrificial assassin. My troops were outnumbered more than 2 to 1 on the battlefield that day, but were much better trained than my opponents, and more importantly, I was better than my counterpart.
The day began poorly as the enemy skirmishers drove mine from the field immediately and began to concentrate on my infantry that held the center of the line. I began taking casualties immediately, but discipline held and my infantry ground forward, a slow, deadly mass moving as one. On the wings, I held back most of my cavalry for the earth shattering charge that would be the deciding factor. The remainder I broke into two parts and sent them on a long ride around the rear of the enemy so that I would catch any defense they prepared in the rear, destroying thier hope. Cornelia's brothers led these forces around behind, wanting to be among the first to strike a blow against our enemy.
My infantry halted when the enemy charged. The archers behind them loosed and the charge dissipated somewhat. The archers continued to fire into the oncoming mass as my infantry patiently awaited the enemy soldiers, their spears held at ready. Hell broke loose when the two masses collided, my phalanx wavering initially, then steadying and finally grinding forward into the mass of enemy soldiers. The signal went up and within seconds, the cavalry on my flanks broke forward into a raging river of horsemen, sweeping up the enemy flank, driving the infantry back from the sides of my phalanx and crashing into the main mass of enemy soldiers. My personal guard drove with me straight at the opposing lord, intent on catching him, slashing at those in my way, but otherwise making straight for him. At the same time, the cavalry I sent around to the enemy rear drove into the mass, cutting down all those who stood in their path.
Suddenly, I was on top of the my opponent, locking swords with him, forcing him to the ground where he knelt down where he fell, begging for mercy. The enemy troops flooding away from the feild of my victory, I dismounted from my horse. As I did so, I let out a menacing laugh, sending a dark cloud of fear into all of those around me. This sniviling lordling begged for his life, he appealed to my sense of family, of decency, of chivalry, of family ties. At the end, he was quivering from fear and it was all he could do to keep from soiling himself. By this time, many of my men were laughing as well, and Cornelia's eldest brother (A man I decided I liked, as he seemed to follow many of the same philosophies as myself) indicated to me that he wished for this man to be disposed of. I readily agreed and without allowing further appeal, I announced that his terms were unnacceptable and he was expendable. I drove my sword through the back of his neck and as I removed it, he crumpled to the ground at my feet.
My first step to power was accomplished. The world would cower before me and tremble at the sound of my name.
Noodle out.
PS I am in a terrible mood, fighting a losing battle, and the main character in the story IS NOT ME by any stretch of the imagination.
