994. Chapter 994

After Much Ado About Murder

Episode 8.20

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Once more unto the breach for I do not own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

"I know, but what of the preparations?"

Fox went on. "I have two men in the cathedral's bell tower, keeping watch, and a half a dozen lively young lads from the company to carry messages."

"We have perhaps twenty good fighters from the city plus a few from the militia that might fight usefully. I've had an idea though. I went to the city arsenal and brought out two crossbows for every man who can use them. Each of the city's crossbowmen has a sturdy young lad or lass from the company to re-span the crossbow All the crossbowman has to do is fire. See?" He pointed to a group of three or four crossbowmen standing by pair of archers. Next to them were some young lads.

Castle recognized one of the archers as Huw, the man who'd beaten him in the archery contest the day before.

"Huw, I hope you'll shoot as well today as you did yesterday."

"I'll do just that, Captain. And I have my love standing next to me. She'll be re-spanning Lorenzo's crossbow for him."

The woman stepped forward and executed a clumsy curtsey before Kate. "Lady Beckett, I hope you did not think me too forward for embracing you yesterday. I meant no offence. I was just so happy that Huw won."

"What's your name?" Kate asked with a smile.

"I am called Meg, my lady." She curtseyed again.

Kate put her arms around the woman and hugged her. "And I am called Kate. We'll be fighting today, Meg, to protect what we hold dear."

As they walked away, Rick leaned over and whispered in Kate's ear. "Talk to all of the women who are here today. I think you raised Meg and Huw's morale considerably."

"But I didn't do anything." Kate said, a bit puzzled.

Castle laughed. "You did much more than you realize then. And speak to the Italians. I don't speak their language, so I can't try to reassure them."

Rick and Kate walked along the battlements, talking to the archers, crossbowmen and others waiting there for Demming and his pirates to arrive.

"Little Rose?" Castle said in surprise when he found a girl, barely in her teens, standing next to a crossbowman. "Aren't you a bit small to be helping?"

"No, Captain Castle," the girl said, "I have a claw." She gestured to the odd device around her waist.

"A claw?" Kate had never heard of claws in association with crossbows.

Rose nodded. "I shall demonstrate, Lady Katherine." She executed a nice curtsey.

"Rose, as we are both fighting together today, you should all me Kate."

The girl blushed. "Thank you….Kate. You put the crossbow down with the bow part on the ground. Then you put your foot in the stirrup. See, the front of the crossbow has what looks exactly like a stirrup for a saddle." On the front of her belt she had a device which looked like an iron claw. "Then you bend over and hook the claw onto the bow string. Then, when you stand up, the bow string is pulled up, you attach the string to the locking nut and your crossbow is cocked."

"Is it difficult?" Kate asked.

"I'm called Little Rose, for I am small, but I am strong."

Kate turned to Rick. "Can you get me a crossbow and a claw? I need more than just a sword today."

Rick would rather have sent Kate through the northern gate to Venice, but he nodded. "I'll get you two crossbows, a sheaf of bolts and someone to span your crossbow."

In ten minutes, Kate and Rick were standing at the center of the sea gate tower while Kate examined her crossbow and got some instruction from Will Fox, who knew everything about every weapon.

"Lady Katherine?"

Kate turned around. The speaker was tall, taller than Kate, but painfully thin. She was dark haired, dark eyed and had all of her teeth, as her shy smile showed. She was rather plain.

"Yes? May I help you?"

"I'm Gwenyth of Tyne. I'm to span your crossbow."

Captain Castle walked over. "Gwen? Are you sure you're all right?"

The girl nodded. "I've had the bloody flux, but I haven't shat since yesterday morning. Old Mary has been dosing me with her potions. I had some wine and a bit of bread at noon yesterday and I supped on some bread and fish. I broke my fast with some porridge this morning. Old Mary, whom I assist, says if we are to die, t'is better to die fighting."

Kate took the belt that held her claw off and handed it to Gwenyth. "Thank you, Gwen, and you should call me Kate."

Once Gwen had put on the belt holding the claw, she took Kate's unstrung crossbow, bent over and spanned it in one swift move. "I should have no trouble with this, Lady….Um, Kate."

Kate nodded. "Now all we need to do is wait."

By now, the sun was over the horizon. When it was an hour past sunrise by the church bells, Castle had some bread, cheese and heavily watered wine distributed.

Four hours after sunrise and there was no sign of Demming.

"Perhaps it's taken him longer to get to his base and back than we thought." Kate suggested,

"Perhaps, or perhaps not." Castle replied. "We'll just have to wait."

"Is it always like this? Waiting before a battle?"

Castle nodded. "Often it's worse. At Poitiers, we could see the entire French army forming up to make their charges while we had to just stand and wait."

"At least this time we can sit and wait." Huw said, getting a laugh from Castle and some of the archers near enough to hear. Kate didn't feel at all like laughing.

It was near noon when a young boy came running up the stairs to the top of the sea gate. He came to a halt in front of Castle.

"Red Michael sent me, Captain. He says that it's very hazy, but he thinks he can see a mast above the haze to the south of us."

Castle stuck his head over the parapet. "I see nothing to the south. I see only haze." He continued searching, though.

"Wait! Yes! There is a ship out there. More than one." He waited a few more seconds. "War galleys. I think Demming has come calling."

When he spoke, several dozen heads looked over the parapet to get a better look.

"Get your heads down!" Castle roared. "That pirate bastard thinks he's attacking a defenseless city. Let him see sunlight glittering off of armor, and he'll think again."

The heads went down at once.

"Kate, do you know Demming's ships by sight?"

Kate took a deep breath. "I don't know. I've seen them, but I never paid much attention."

"Take off your helmet and take a look over the parapet."

She unbuckled her helmet and looked. And looked. Then she shook her head. "I don't know. There are six war galleys out there, but I can't identify them. I'm sorry."

Castle leaned over and rubbed her shoulder. "Don't worry. The chances six other war galleys showing up the very day Demming promised to come for his gold are minimal. Now put on your helmet and get down."

The six ships took nearly an hour to close with the port, and approach the stone wharf. Several men jumped off of each ship and tied the hips to the bollards on the wharf. When they were tied up, gangplanks were lowered and men began to pour off and form up on the dock.

Castle stuck his helmetless head up. "Those are pirates, all right. Well armed for a looting expedition, but damned little in the way of armor there. I do see a few crossbows, though. Mark out the men with crossbows and kill them. They're the only ones that can hurt us unless the bastards get in."

Castle looked again and smiled. "Oh, and there's Demming. He's all dressed up in looted finery and jewelry, looking like a damned popinjay. Come on, put yourself at the head of your men. You want to be first into town, don't you?"

But Demming was busy talking to what Castle assumed were his captains and remained behind the mass of the pirates. Slowly the men in front began to move towards the open sea gate. Then one man began to run, followed by another, then with a roar, the pirates ran for the gate.

A floor below, where the controls to the portcullises were, Will Fox carefully watched the approaching horde. He wanted to get as many pirates as possible jammed up against the inner portcullis without letting too many get in the town. He heard the pirates enter the gatehouse just below him.

"Now, drop the portcullis!" He screamed.

The well oiled and greased portcullis dropped, impaling several pirates, and only letting seven into the city. Archers on top of the gatehouse quickly killed the seven.

Inside the gatehouse itself, the pirates were calling for men with war axes and sledge hammers to batter down the portcullis.

Will peered down through an archer's murder hole. "Open up and drop the sand on the bastards."

Hundreds of pounds of red hot sand cascaded down on the pirates, burning them, setting fire to their clothing and setting off a panic.

The men at the front of the column of pirates, seeing what had happened to the men in the gatehouse, began to move backwards, but the men behind still pushed forward, unaware of what was happening ahead of them and in a rush to sack the city.

"Now!" Screamed Castle as he rose up over the parapet and loosed his first arrow. He was followed by the rest of the defenders who shot arrows and bolts into the packed mob below, combined with a hail of heavy rocks dropped by the militiamen.

Kate stood up, aimed downward and loosed her bolt. She had never tried to kill anyone before. When she had fired, she stood there. Then became vaguely aware that someone was calling her name.

"Kate!" Screamed Gwen, "I have a spanned crossbow for you. Put a bolt in it and shoot. Shoot for the love of God."

Kate shook her head to clear it, took the crossbow, placed a bolt in front of the bowstring and fired. Not bothering to aim. So many men were packed below, she could hardly miss. Gwen handed her another crossbow and soon the two women were working as a disciplined machine.

Castle, as well as the other archers, we're picking their targets from long practice. Anyone with a crossbow was dealt with, and anyone who appeared better dressed as they were probably a leader of some sort.

Castle and Huw both saw a large, muscular man roaring orders at the rest and both loosed their arrows at him at the same time. Both arrows went straight through him. He collapsed onto his face.

"That was a tie I believe, Captain." Huw called.

"I believe it was."

By now, the fight had gone out of the pirates and they ran for their ships, pushing each other over and out of the way in order to reach the ships faster.

Then Castle saw it. Demming was standing with a look of shock on his face, watching his attack on Pola dissolve into a bloody shambles. Castle estimated he was a good four hundred paces away, farther than he'd ever hit a target. He raised his bow, pulled it back as far as he could, asked Saint George for help and loosed his arrow. As soon as it left his bow, Castle knew it would hit Demming. It had to hit Demming. But, at the last second, a man came between Demming and certain death. The arrow transfixed the unknown man's neck and he fell. Demming was already running for his ship.

"Fire arrows! Fire Arrows." Screamed Castle. "Shoot your fire arrows now,"

A dozen picked archers took out arrows with tow soaked in pitch and turpentine, lit them and loosed them at the ships. Only the two nearest ships were hit by the fire arrows. One caught fire nicely, but the crew of the other managed to put out the blaze and began to row out of the harbor.