Chapter 23

Henri's stolen horse reared up in front of Paul. Henri had a brief moment of relief when he saw Mehala hauling Thérèse out of the chapel. He slid smoothly off the horse's back, landing perfectly on his feet in front of the mutiny's newest leader. The guards that hadn't been killed by Caram, Zin, and Bernard rushed towards Henri, but Paul held up a hand to stop them. By now, the wedding guests had all fled, leaving only Henri, Paul, and the guards in the chapel. 

"Gentleman, please give us some privacy. Ronan, your sword, please." One of the guards came forward and knelt on one knee, presenting his sword to Paul. After Paul took it, he followed the rest of the guards out of the chapel. The door slammed shut behind them. Paul stared menacingly at Henri. Henri showed no fear. 

"Go." Henri said to Bernard, Caram , and Zin. Hesitantly, they retreated out of the chapel and into the hall. They were ready to keep fighting, but the dismissed guards had fled to other parts of the palace. 

"You must be Henri." Paul said. "I've heard many things about you, both from your imprisoned parents and from my future wife." 

Henri scoffed. "Thérèse will never marry you. I'm here for her, and also for my parents. You're going to tell me where they are," Henri took up a fighting stance, readying his sword, "or I'm going to sever your tongue from your bastard body." Paul stood en gaurde, ready to clash with Henri. 

"Come get it, then." Paul hissed, flicking his tongue as he spoke. His eyes were wide open and wild. 

Henri charged Paul, and the sound of their swords meeting filled the still chapel air. Henri swung for Paul's legs, trying to knock him off balance and gain the upper hand. Paul dodged, and Henri stumbled forward. Paul turned and cut open the back of Henri's shoulder. Leather and cloth split open to reveal bleeding flesh. Henri cried out in pain, but knew he had to keep going. He turned on his heel and caught Paul in the side with the edge of his blade. It cut through Paul's wedding attire and sliced through his fat body. Paul's knees buckled briefly, and he clutched his side. Paul pulled off his suit jacket and tossed it aside with a flourish. He stood in front of Henri, ready to continue. Henri didn't move. Paul was physically bigger than him, so Henri would have to be faster. He would wait for Paul to lunge at him. 

Paul quickly grew impatient with his stillness, and took a few running steps toward Henri. Paul held his sword high over his head, and brought it down over Henri. Henri blocked Paul's blade with his own, then used the force to counter and push Paul away from him. Paul stumbled backwards. He flailed his arms, trying to find his grounding. He crashed into the altar. He groaned as his slumped back made contact with its sharp stone edges. His upper body leaned into the altar as his knees fell to the ground. Paul was now kneeling facing Henri, his back curved, with his head and shoulders pressed backwards into the altar. He stared straight up at the ceiling for a moment, stunned and breathing heavily. Henri pounced on his opportunity to overtake Paul. 

He pressed the tip of his sword to Paul's neck. 

"My parents. Where are they?" 

"I'll, I'll never tell!" Paul sputtered out. He was still trying to maintain his tough persona, but Henri could tell he was terrified. He pushed the blade further into Paul's exposed neck. A few drops of blood appeared on the lily-white skin. Paul held his hands up and squealed. 

"Okay, okay! They're locked in my quarters, on the top floor of the palace. There's a false room attached to the main chambers. You'll find them there. Please, have mercy." Paul was crying now. Hot, salty tears streamed down his cheeks. Henri thought for a moment. 

He shot his left hand out and into Paul's mouth, taking hold of his tongue. One quick, upward jerk of his sword separated the tongue from the rest of the body. Paul crumpled to the ground, howling and sobbing and clawing at his mouth. Henri dropped Paul's tongue on the floor next to him, and left the chapel to find the others. Caram, Zin, Bernard, Mehala, and Thérèse were waiting outside. They all looked up as Henri emerged from the chapel. Thérèse broke free of Mehala, who was still protectively grasping her arm. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Henri, pulling him into a tight hug.

"What now?" Bernard asked, after the couple released each other. 

"We find my parents. Paul said they were locked in his room on the top floor. I know exactly where he's talking about, but I don't know if I trust him. It could very well be a trap." 

"Do you really believe they'd be that smart, and think this far ahead?" Zin asked. 

"They made it this far, didn't they?" Henri retorted. Zin looked slightly embarrassed. Something lit a lightbulb in Thérèse's mind. 

"I don't think it's a trap." She said. 

"How would you know?" Caram asked. "I mean, haven't you been locked up this entire time?" 

"I was allowed to roam freely for a bit. I broke into Paul's room to look around. While I was in there, I heard a knocking noise. At first, I thought it was just a bird or a squirrel on the window. But when I looked, there was nothing. Eventually I gave up trying to find the source of the noise, and just left. If your parents are trapped in that room, Henri, it could have been them pounding on the wall and calling for help." This seemed to revitalize Henri.

"Alright then, let's go." Henri led the way to the top floor of the castle. The group moved as quickly as they could while still keeping an eye out for guards, or anyone else who hadn't fled during the disruption of the wedding. Finally, they reached the room. Henri pushed the door open, brandishing his sword in case of an ambush. There was none. The room was completely empty, and silent. The group filed into the room. 

"There's a false wall behind the bed. Help me move all of this." Henri instructed. Caram and Zin hauled the large bed out of the way, while Bernard, Henri, Thérèse, and Mehala pulled the mirrors off the wall. Once the area was clear, Henri found the latch that released the door. When he pulled it, a large portion of the wall swung inwards. Dust and dirt formed a cloud around the opening. Henri stepped inside. The rest of the group held their breath, waiting to see what he would find. 

"Father!" Henri yelled. King Charles was sitting on the floor, his clothes and face filthy. He was barely concious, and shieled his eyes from the dim light let in by the wall's opening. 

"Henri!" Charles climbed to his feet as best he could to embrace his son. Looking over his father's shoulder, he saw Queen Lucie asleep on the ground. 

"She's sick." Charles explained. "She has a fever, and can barely stay awake. We haven't had any food and very little water since we've been here. I think the dampness of this prison is making her sick." 

"It's okay." Henri reassured him. "Everything is okay now. We'll get Lucie to the apothecary's, and you as well." 

Zin stepped forward and slung Queen Lucie's small frame over his shoulders. 

"What happened, son?" Charles asked. 

"We'll explain later. Right now, we need to get you two to the apothecary, and make sure you're alright. After that, we'll talk." 

Charles nodded. He remained silent as the group descended the stairs and made their way back towards the castle's entrance. 

"I think I forgot something upstairs, I'll catch up with you all in a moment." Bernard said. He turned and ran back up the stairs to the top floor. The group continued on without him. 

"I'm sure there's still some horses in our stable, Father, we can take a few and get you and Lucie to receive proper care." Henri said. They stepped down onto the pathway leading to the gate. Queen Lucie awoke, and demanded that Zin put her down. She walked on her own, but still held her husband's arm as she did so. She was clearly very weak. Her face was so pale she was almost transparent. 

Just as the group reached the gate, Caram's ears perked up. He'd heard two quick twangs coming from somewhere behind them. He turned just in time to see two arrows piercing King Charles and Queen Lucie in the back. Lucie fell instantly, blood pooling out around her spindly frame. Thérèse dropped to her knees. She pulled out the arrow and tried to stop the bleeding, but Queen Lucie had died immediately. Henri turned, confused, and saw his step-mother lying on the ground. He spun his head to look at his father. Charles stood still for a moment, then fell backwards. Henri caught him in his arms just before he hit the ground. He could see the life draining rapidly from Charles' face. Henri felt hot tears welling up in his eyes. 

"No." he whispered. "No, no, no." Charles reached up and touched Henri's face with the last of his strength. He was trying to move his lips, and Henri leaned in closer to hear him. 

"You've always been my proudest achievement. Not winning wars, not growing our wealth, not the castle. You, Henri. I love you." Charles croaked out. After this, he closed his eyes one final time. Henri stared down at his father's lifeless body in stunned silence. 

"Look!" Caram shouted. He pointed towards the top of Bayonne's central tower as the group turned towards the castle. Paul stood in the window, bow and arrow raised, blood dripping from his mouth and waterfalling down his body. 

"You bastard!" Henri howled. Paul reached back to knock another arrow. Halfway through the motion he stopped. Paul whirled around, now facing the inside of the castle. In the blink of an eye, Paul's body went flying out of the window. The bow and arrow sailed in opposite directions, finishing their arc by clattering to the ground. Paul plummeted towards the earth. He landed on the cold, brick stairs in front of the castle with a loud thud. Caram flinched as he heard several bones snap upon Paul's impact. Bernard's face appeared in the window. He had pushed Paul just in time to keep him from killing again. Henri and Mehala ran towards Paul. Once they got closer, they could see that he was still breathing, but barely. 

Paul was starting to cough up blood in between wheezy breaths. His ribs had broken from the force of the fall and punctured his lung. He stared up at Henri and Mehala, his eyes full of panic. He tried to roll onto his stomach and crawl away. Mehala brought the heel of her boot down hard on Paul's fingers. He writhed in pain, now completely immobile. 

Henri leaned in close to Paul. Paul's face winced as Henri got closer. 

"I can't wait to watch you die by my hand." Henri whispered.

  With a dramatic flourish, Henri unsheathed his sword and drove it into Paul's chest. He purposely struck him just below the heart, so that he wouldn't die instantly. Henri watched as Paul's body twitched and jerked. Paul opened his mouth to scream in pain, but it was warbled by his lack of a tongue. Thérèse, Caram, and Zin looked away. Henri stared into Paul's piggish eyes as he watched the life drain from them. He didn't stop until Mehala put her hand on his shoulder and gently said, "He's gone." Bernard emerged from the castle. The three of them stared down at Paul's now-lifeless body. 

"What do we do with it?" Mehala asked awkwardly. "Bury him?" 

"I will never allow a monster like this to be buried on my family's land." Henri said, his voice dripping with fury. Bernard stepped back into the castle for a moment. He came out carrying a torch from the entryway. Somehow, it still remained lit, even after all of the chaos the flame had had to endure. 

"Step back." Bernard instructed. Mehala and Henri took one step down. As they did, it began to pour rain. The sky had been overcast for a few hours, and the clouds finally gave way. Bernard dropped the torch onto Paul's body before it could get too wet. Thérèse, Caram, and Zin came and joined the circle. Thérèse interlocked her fingers with Henri's and quietly laid her head on his shoulder. The group stood there in silence as Paul's body went up in flames. 

Soon after, thunder rolled in and lightning split the sky in two. They moved inside to avoid the worst of the storm. Paul's corpse continued to burn until it was nothing but ash and bones. The ash was blown away by the wind of the storm, and the bones were speedily claimed by the scavengers of the forest. Once its job was done, the torch was put out by the icy rain.