Valkiree

VALKIREE

Smashwords Edition, January 2023

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Published By:

Scott James Thomas on Smashwords

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License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Thanks to Nicolas Mapes (Zander) for volunteering his time in editing.

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VALKIREE

Part One – Valkiree Goodheart

I —A Visitor

King Leo Goodheart inspected his garden – the spring rains and warm days had been good, the garden flourished and the sweet fragrance of flowers wafted in the gentle breeze.

The previous day he weeded the half-acre of thriving vegetables. Today, he thought, he would carry up some creek water for the carrots – they looked a bit dry. His eye caught a sprig of purslane he had missed and he reached down, plucking it from the carrot section, causing his back to creak, then stood straight to put his bones back to rights.

Standing upright, he was as tall as any man in his kingdom. He looked around at the fields and farmhouses in the distance – the land was prospering – all the gardens were growing well. His modest garden was behind the old stone castle. On the other side of the castle, and half a mile down the road, was the closest town – it too was doing well. The morning was warming pleasantly and a bout in the tavern with a quart of ale sounded good – perhaps later in the afternoon.

It was late spring, but an occasional storm still rolled in from over the western mountains. This day, however, was warm and sunny – a good morning to amble about the castle in his sandals.

The winter had been harsh, but there was plenty of firewood, plenty of grain in the granaries, plenty of smoked mutton and beef. The land was fertile and not over-populated – there was no reason for the people to revolt so they didn’t. Not yet – someday they would. Someday an idealistic young man would lead an uprising—just as he had as a young man—and start a new dynasty.

He could see one of his white and light-blue uniformed soldiers walking about, also enjoying the morning sun.

King! he heard a child cry out. King Leo Goodheart turned towards the cry and saw a young farm boy running his way along the old, worn road. The boy, about ten years of age, looked like he had been running a long way, a mile perhaps. The king stepped out of his garden to meet the lad.

King Leo! the boy needlessly cried again. Someone’s coming!

The panting boy stopped before Leo, bent with exhaustion.

Looking down at the boy before him, Leo asked, What is it lad, who’s coming?

A man! the boy gasped. My mom told me to tell you that a man is coming!

A man? Leo echoed, his mind trying to fathom why the message was urgent.

The boy nodded, From over by Riverdale. He’s only a few minutes behind me!

Tell me of this man, Leo said, looking down at the excited messenger.

He’s a stranger!

A stranger?

He wears all black with a red collar!

Leo Goodheart’s blood ran cold – black and red were the colors of the Rapistars. Riverdale was to the west, near the foothills of the formidable Dinaric Mountains, where invading Rapistars would come from, but no Rapistar had crossed the mountains in decades – that he knew of.

A vulnerability he had not contemplated in years stabbed at him. He had no troops, or even sentries, to the west – his country was completely undefended on that side, apart from the towering mountains.

Are you sure? Leo asked, squinting his eyes to peer into the western distance where the snowcapped mountains were, as if expecting to see an invading army.

Yes, Sire! He comes!

The king gritted his teeth, then said, Thank you, young man. I think I’d better get dressed and meet our guest. He looked down at the boy and continued, Could you please inform Captain Hong to bring the guards to the castle.

Yes, King! the boy proudly exclaimed and gave an enthusiastic salute as a soldier would. Leo returned the gesture, letting the delighted boy run off, then tightened the belt to his bathrobe, which he had been strolling around in, and hurried back to the castle.

The castle, although containing dozens of rooms and standing fifty feet high, was nearly empty. It was a weekend so Margret, who fixed his meals when his daughter was not about, was on her days off . And whoever designed the damn castle had the numbskull idea to put the king’s chambers on the third floor, which required him to huff up fifty, well-worn stone steps .

Once in his bedroom, Leo took off his robe, found a reasonably clean pair of pants, socks, a nice shirt, then donned his tunic. From the vantage of his bedroom window, he scanned the grassy plains and scattered fields surrounding the castle, then the ominous mountains to the west – he saw no army. He struggled to get into the tall black boots before taking the old royal white and blue robe from a hook on the wall, shrugging it over his shoulders as he left his bedroom, then tacked the fifty steps down to the throne room.

He had no idea where his daughter, Valkiree, was – probably galloping around to some distant town or village in the kingdom. He didn’t even bother to look for her.

Rapistar! The name rang in Leo’s head – it was the last place he was expecting trouble.

To the east were the Wild Lands , where savages kept his Heartland troops on their toes. The Wilds, however, were poor on metalworking, having neither the fine steel swords nor polymer bow strings that his soldiers had. Their arrows were carved in wood with stone arrowheads, and they wore the hides of their kills. Thus, although great in numbers, generation after generation, the Wilds remained a mere nuisance.

He had tried to send emissaries, even set up schools in the Wilds, but to no avail. Now the task was just to keep the Wild Land raiders, who tended to snatch crops and chickens, from harming the livelihoods of his borderland subjects.

The Turina border, far to the south, was short but tense. Turina had technology that was nearly advanced as Heartland, but it was not shared evenly throughout their society -- the commoners didn’t send their children to schools. Turina houses were made of crude hand-hewed lumber without floors and only thatch roofs – only their royalty lived in comfort.

Turina was a land of tall, beautiful people with Asiatic faces, who King Leo knew from first-hand experience could produce the most beautiful and perfect princesses . There was plenty of Turina influence in Heartland – there had been for many generations.

Besides their beauty, Turina had another attribute, aggressiveness. The only reason Turina had not invaded Heartland, as King Leo called his kingdom, was because his soldiers could best theirs in battle three-to-one. Lasting peace with Turina would be a dream – his long-ago marriage to Turina’s run-away princess had not helped relations.

He felt no ill towards those who occasionally migrated through the southern border. What was important was that the border was stable – nobody had died in years.

Leo always thought that his kingdom’s greatest threat was from within, from an uprising, when the great pendulum of politics would once again swing to the other side and a new, more ambitious man would sit upon the throne. But that was unlikely to happen as long as his daughter lived.

But now Rapistar had come! Amongst all their neighbors, they had the least contact with the mysterious kingdom on the other side of the great Dinaric range.

Five guards, nearly the entire contingent of the castle’s small barracks, beat Leo to the throne room, including Captain Hong. The captain was a fine specimen, tall, muscular, handsome – those attributes were exactly why he had the duty of being captain of the guard for the castle.

Leo glanced at the serious man, whose handsomeness had still not been enough to keep Valkiree home. Leo mournfully thought that if Rapistars were coming, they would be his end – he would never have the delights of a grandchild to dote over.

Leo sat on the throne and said, Captain, has the man who the boy described, been sighted?

Yes, Sire. He’s entering the grounds now. William is escorting him.

The king sighed, then asked, What of Princess Valkiree – any idea where she went?

The captain replied, Robert thinks she headed south this morning, about three hours ago. She had no pack so she couldn’t be going far, perhaps to Greensward?

The king nodded – Greensward was a small hamlet ten miles to the south where the princess liked to frequent a bakery.

The captain continued, Sire, the man is a messenger from Rapistar.

Leo nervously straightened his royal robe, took a deep breath, and said, Show him in.

Yes, Sire.

Leo didn’t have to wait long for the pompous, well-dressed, Rapistar messenger to casually saunter into the throne room, looking around as if he would soon own the castle. Hong had placed his men along the side of the room, their swords in their scabbards, bows on their backs but at the ready. Seeing the soldiers ready for possible combat was a rare and chilling sight.

Although having never seen a Rapistar person before, it was clear that was indeed who the visitor was – the neat black uniform, the red and brass trimmings, the click of his boots, and the fancy arm gesture of greeting.

The foreigner was not a large man, a bit short even, carried no obvious weapon, and was without body armor, but seemed to make up for it with an abundance of confidence, curiosity and a dash of amusement.

The smirking man stopped a respectable ten feet from the throne, bowed slightly, and said with an accent, King Goodheart, I have come to inform you that a contingent from King Frankster’s Imperial Army shall be arriving here tomorrow. At approximately this same time of the morning.

Leo asked, A contingent? Soldiers you mean?

Yes. Fifty of the good King Frankster’s elite troops. I have been sent ahead to inform you of their coming.

Fifty! Of Rapistar’s best! Who, if the old rumors were true, could probably best his men two-for-one! He had not enough troops anywhere close to the castle to withstand such an attack. He involuntarily glanced at Captain Hong, who returned the concerned look.

The Rapistar messenger continued, Our mightiest general leads them, General Tanaka!

The messenger was grinning, clearly enjoying standing there, telling him in a slow, round-about way that his reign and his kingdom were through.

King Leo, flush with anxiety, didn’t know what to say. Tanaka—he knew that name—it was from a powerful Turina family. There was now no doubt that it was an invasion – Rapistar was sending their mightiest general.

Leo’s mind swept through all the good people in his kingdom, most of all his daughter. Could the Rapistars possibly be so barbaric as to kill them? He had never thought of them that way – they were industrial, powerful, but not barbaric. No, they wouldn’t kill yet – this wasn’t an invasion force, just the initial emissary. Valkiree was safe, for a while.

The messenger continued, I request passage for them to your castle. Do you grant this courtesy?

The king gritted his teeth, the enemy was offering a bloodless defeat. It was the best he could hope for. No doubt that if he resisted, and if he was able within a day to muster enough soldiers from the eastern border, they could defeat fifty Rapistars. But then more would come – it would be a slaughter.

Leo closed his eyes, his last carefree morning had come to an end. Would they kill him? He had not killed the previous royal family thirty years ago when he defeated them in a rebellion – they went on to live their lives in the towns. Would that same courtesy be afforded to Valkiree? With his eyes still closed, he weakly asked, My daughter, Valkiree?

Yes, the conceited messenger nearly laughed. She should be here tomorrow.

The king opened his eyes and asked, You know of her?

Yes. Now, shall King Frankster’s troops have safe passage?

You will not harm her?

The messenger sneered condescendingly, Of course not. We have not journeyed here to wage war!

Leo gloomily nodded, the fifty Rapistar soldiers were only the initial contact – the real invasion would come later. This visit was only to present surrender options. While looking down, he said, Very well. You may have safe passage.

The messenger bowed, did his fancy-antsy hand gesture and said, I shall seek a room in town for which to spend the night.

Leo would have gone red if there was any blood left to spare. The man was being condescending. The emissary of the invading army appeared to have the sole purpose of showing how easily his defeat was going to be, topping it off with an insult.

Leo screwed up his remaining courage, which was not much, and said, We have sleeping chambers here, if you prefer.

The messenger grinned the grin of a victor – the new reign was already moving into the castle.

King Leo despaired – tomorrow night it would be a General Tanaka sleeping in his bed , Rapistar soldiers patrolling the grounds and trampling his garden.

After a guard led the Rapistar messenger to a sleeping chamber, Leo, despondently leaned forward on his throne, closed his eyes and pictured Maria , his long-lost love, his queen, his life, who he had not seen in thirty long years . His beautiful Maria had given her life to bring Valkiree into his. Of all that he had once been, Valkiree was all that he had left. If they let Valkiree live, it was all he could possibly ask for . If only, only, they would let her live.

Sire! Captain Hong said, knocking Leo from his stupor.

Yes? Leo asked, opening his eyes.

We must rally the troops! the soldier said with conviction.

Leo replied in a sigh, We cannot defeat Rapistar.

Perhaps we can find a weakness. We shall allow this group safe passage, but we must observe them. We may see their weapons.

Leo nodded and said, Do nothing to entice them to seek revenge. It may only be fifty soldiers now, but Rapistar is not a country to antagonize. I have heard stories, they have engines, machines. They use electricity – even in their homes. Their metalwork far exceeds ours.

Captain Hong countered, I have seen old maps – they are a small country.

Leo shook his head and said, And we are far smaller than the Wild Lands, yet we could defeat them.

Hong looked aghast, exclaiming, The Wilds are but savages! We are not like them!

Compared to Rapistar, I think we might as well be. We’re an agrarian society. Rapistar is industrial.

The captain sternly said, Our archers are a match for any!

Leo nodded, his troops had compound bows, laminated carbon shafts, chrome alloy heads – yes, they had good bows and archers. He spoke, We have soldiers who can fight, but we have no cannon, no muskets. Fifty soldiers we can perhaps defeat, but the five thousand to follow … Leo paused, and then said to the irritated captain, Yes. Call in the nearby troops, show them our pride, show them who we are. But Captain—

Yes, Sire?

Next spring, when all is settled, the score will be told in the number of our dead, not theirs.

II —Duty Of Heart

Princess Valkiree stood in the middle of the street, the hilt of her ever-present katana sword extending above her right shoulder. Around her the shopkeepers—and any others unfortunate enough to be near—were busy sweeping the street.

Valkiree said to one elderly man, who was walking around with a broom, Get that crust scraped out of the gutter.

Where? the old man asked, looking around.

Right there! By your feet! Can’t you see it? Valkiree replied while pointing to the dirt.

Oh, the man said, noticing the bit of mud in the gutter.

Already many buckets of dirt had been swept from Greensward’s market street by the fifty residents she could muster. The trash had been collected and a few shops were being painted.

It was a good spring cleaning – the hamlet needed it. The whole kingdom needed it, but there was only so much she could do in one morning. Valkiree sensed the people tiring from the impromptu cleaning and called out, That’s good enough. Get the buckets dumped in the back, burn or bury the trash. You can finish tomorrow.

She walked along the cleaned street, scrutinizing the activity. The people were slowing, scooping the last piles of dirt they had swept off the cobblestone into dust bins and then dumping the dirt into the trash buckets. Valkiree was pleased, the town was looking much tidier. She saw something and said to an old lady who was attempting to escape, You, wait.

Princess? the old lady asked, turning to face Valkiree.

Valkiree walked up to her and said, There’s a tear in your dress.

The old woman shrugged, explaining, It’s my old working dress.

Valkiree frowned as she examined the old garment, running her fingers over the worn cloth . She said, Such a dress isn’t good for being in public. Repair the hole and wear it only at home. I know you have better dresses for when outside – I saw you last fall with a nice teal day-dress.

Yes Princess, the old lady admitted. I’ll try to do better.

Don’t just try. Valkiree looked up and said loud enough for everyone to hear, This is a beautiful community, take pride in it. Wear attractive, elegant clothing. Fix up your hair, be clean and well-groomed. We’re not a bunch of Wilds here.

Yes, Princess, a few people in the street dutifully replied.

Valkiree then turned and walked back