Captives IP 25
It had taken hours of discussion, and several of the Lords had needed to ride out and inspect the lines, before everyone was convinced. This kind of surrender was very bad news for the rebels. If they had had a long series of battles, and the King had only slowly gained the advantage, they could have hoped for a negotiated surrender. But a surrender of their entire army on the field of battle; that was an unconditional surrender.
The surrendering nobles stood before King Caleb and Seth. The Duke had been shocked to see Seth. After quizzing the servants and others who had seen ‘the three Elves’, he had been convinced that they really were three Elves, that the resemblance to Seth was just a coincidence. So when Seth had appeared before him (having changed back to Farmer that first night), he had turned deathly pale.
Two other nobles stood with the group. One, standing behind the condemned prisoners, held black sacks. The other, standing in front of them, held red cords. As the King walked down the line, each would be bound… either with a black bag, to indicate the death penalty; or a red cord to indicate some lesser punishment.
The King began with the Duke. The man behind the Duke placed a bag over his head. No one was at all surprised. The death penalty was expected for the leader of the insurrection. He then moved to the General. The man in front of him took a cord and bound both of his wrists together. Service then. This was wise; the General was an extremely valuable asset. The King might have wanted to put him to death, but it would have been a waste.
They then moved down the line, and the man in front was busy, binding either the right or left hand of each prisoner. Hostages then. The line was done.
--
Hadassah sat staring at the fire. She could not understand what had happened or what was happening. Her brain refused to accept it. In a single day, her entire life had turned upside down. Her Father was a traitor. He had led an army against the King. The King, and her betrothed Husband the Prince, had defeated him--without even a battle. Then there were all of the nobles with him, condemned to send their Sons (and in some cases their Daughters, Nieces, or Nephews) as hostages.
Her Father had told her the story himself. After they had bound the hands of the nobles, the King had walked back down the line. From each noble he had required one hostage. These were to come and be married, to a person of the King’s own choosing, at a time of the King’s own choosing. From some a Son, from others a Daughter. From those who hadn’t any Sons or Daughters, or whose children were younger, he had required a Niece or a Nephew. Then he had come to the General.
“I have a special mission for you, General. You will accompany me back to the capital city. I will explain it to you there.”
“Then he had stopped in front of me, pronounced the sentence I knew was coming--death. But then Seth had stepped forward, and said, ‘My Father, I would ask for clemency.’”
“The transaction was obviously rehearsed, but the King had gone through with his lines, ‘Clemency? Why?’”
“My Father, I would ask for clemency for this, my Father-in-law. I have only today found out that he is my Father-in-law, and it would be a poor way of celebrating to put him to death on the day I learned of my betrothal to his Daughter.”
“What would you suggest then? He must be punished, or others will be encouraged to follow him in treachery.”
Seth had proceeded to lay out the punishment. Instead of the arrangements worked out in the betrothal agreement the wedding would take place two weeks after the Duke returned to his estate, and would follow a procedure that he, Seth, would lay out. On the morning following the oath-taking, her parents and younger siblings would go into exile, banished to a smaller estate. Seth would rule her Father’s lands as regent, until her younger Brother turned eighteen, was married to someone of Seth’s own choosing, and had taken the oath of loyalty.
Seth. Her Husband. The man whom her own Father had ordered to be kidnapped; even while arranging for their betrothal! All this as a cover for his regency!
Or so she had argued. Her Father, however, had paused at this. “No, that is not actually true. Oh, it would have helped, I don’t deny that. But of everything I did in all this, your betrothal is the only part that, looking back, was actually the right thing to do. Whether or not I had succeeded in my plans, I still wanted you betrothed to him.”
She had raged, she had cried, but he had remained firm. “My Daughter, after your mother, you children are the most precious thing in my life. I have done foolishly in my actions. Truly I thought I was wise, but now I can see that I wasn’t.
“But one thing that was not foolish was your betrothal. Your Husband, who I had thought of as a mere boy, performed most marvellously in this crisis. He escaped from the Heroiini, thinking out and acting on a plan that might well have cost him his life. Then, instead of ‘running home to Mama’, he carried out his Father’s wishes on a journey that took him from one side to thw other of the island. Alone, except for allies that he made along the way.
“He single-handedly got the Dwarves as an ally of his Father. He convinced them that there should be one ruler of the entire island, his Father. He has bound an Elf specifically to him, an act that happens only once every few years. He made himself welcome among the Marshman, the Visserin, and the Herra.”
“He even (and I have no idea how he did this) gained the Heroiini as light cavalry for his Father’s army.”
“I asked later, and the clemency idea was his. He had the opportunity to repudiate the entire betrothal, to have me put to death and to seize our estates. All of this was offered him. But he showed the wisdom to realize what a political disaster that would have been.
“Do you think it is easier for him than for you? I know this lad, both from personal observation and from my spies. He is a gentle lad. He is scared to death at the idea of taking you as Wife, scared that you will hate him. But he saw what was wise, what was good for all of our people, and went ahead with the betrothal.
“His Father has trusted him with some great plan; none of my people have been able to figure out what it is. General Yosef will be helping him with it.
“My Daughter, of all the things I have done during this time, this is the best, perhaps the only wise thing. I have gotten for you as Husband one of the wisest and best men on this island.
Thank you for reading Von’s Substack. I would love it if you commented! I love hearing from readers, especially critical comments. I would love to start more letter exchanges, so if there’s a subject you’re interested in, get writing and tag me!
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Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,
Von
Links
Island People
Island People is a young adult fantasy book centring on a young prince. The book starts with his kidnapping and follows his adventures as he not only escapes from his kidnapper but gains critical allies and friends.
The entire book is scheduled on Substack, and there are several sequels. This is a book I wrote years ago, so it is in a bit of a rough form. Critiques and comments are more than welcome, they are requested.
Chapter 3: Transforming Culture
Chapter 7: The Better Part of Wisdom
Chapter 8: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
Chapter 9: He who has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear
Chapter 11: Unto the Third Generation
Chapter 12: Payment for Services Rendered