To my faithful readers: This is a story requested by an anonymous reader. I always asked for new ideas and this story was spawned from that request. I can't help myself and, in the end, it winds up being a love story, but it has lots of twists and turns getting there.
I have received many other requests and Medieval fantasies, continuation of Venus Ascending and a new version of Model Slave are all in the works. Other ideas are welcome even if you remain anonymous. I love your positive feedback and thank you for reading.
Paladin Princess
Chapter 7
Eragon watched the two lovers, and he was happy that his long-time friend had found someone he could love. Their lovemaking was frantic and desperate, and he knew that it was the result of the attack. Both felt like their time together was limited and each second, they had together had to be special. He knew how they felt because his bond with Geoffrey was like that.
His bonding with female dragons was for procreation and he had several offspring. But the bond forged in combat with Geoffrey was a meaningful time for him. He was not jealous of Geoffrey's time with Ruth because he still had the warrior's bond, and they would always be brothers. Eragon flapped his wings and rose into the air searching for anything that might portend danger to his brother and his woman.
Geoffrey and Ruth clung tightly together basking in their lover's afterglow. Geoffrey heard Eragon fly away to patrol the area. He looked at his lover and his queen saying, "We got lucky today and the king's army is always going to have more soldiers than we will. We need to find ways to instill fear in the hearts of the soldiers."
"Obviously Eragon is one way to instill fear, but we need other tactics. My Queen, I recommend the same tactics that the Scots used in the war for independence. Fly the dragon flag, meaning no quarter, ambush them whenever we can and use the land to our advantage, meaning never fight an open field battle."
Queen Ruth listened to her warrior lover and understood what he was saying, but something bothered her. "Geoffrey, I understand what you are saying, but these tactics throw away the chivalry and traditions of war. I am not sure I want to regain my crown this way."
Geoffrey stared at her, realizing what an incredible Queen she would be. Her kingdom would become a very special place with her leading it. However, if they followed the chivalrous code of war, she may never get her kingdom back.
He thought for a minute and proposed, "How about we still use the land, forests, bogs and hills to our advantage, only go into battle when we have them surrounded and have a strong chance of winning the day?"
She gave him a loving look and said, "We have a deal, but the devil is in the details. Now let us round up an army. Then once we know what kind of army we have, we can figure out tactics."
The attack by the knights sped up all their planning and Eragon was needed for rapid transport. Eragon had carried Geoffrey into combat before, but he was very near the limit of his lift capacity, therefore Geoffrey and Ruth would have to be transported separately. Geoffrey went first to round up any army leaders still left, and Queen Ruth would follow at sunrise the next morning.
Eragon dropped off Geoffrey and carried back a basket of outfits Gisele had gathered for the queen. While Ruth was trying on the different royal customs, Geoffrey was meeting with several leaders of the kingdom's former army. Most were not enthusiastic about going to war with the king that had thrashed them so badly before, but Geoffrey persuaded them to meet with the queen and her secret weapon in the morning.
Geoffrey spent the night skulking around the taverns and pubs trying to pick up any of the rumors about the queen, her army or the king's opposition army and their movements. He missed sleeping with his lover in his arms but keeping her safe was more important at this point. He heard rumors of a dragon that Queen Ruth rode and this seemed to excite the people. They thought with a dragon on their side they might have a chance to win the war.
However, there were many other rumors about the amount of gold for the queen or the queen's head. These rumors bothered Geoffrey and he felt that his queen needed to find a new place to stay. These same rumors talked about queen Ruth hiding in a dragon's cave. Tomorrow morning, he needed to talk to his queen about switching locations away from the cave to a place he knew deep in the forest.
In the last tavern he scouted he found a group of mercenaries and as he listened to their boastings, they let it be known that they were here for the former princess and the large gold reward. Fortunately, they didn't believe any of the rumors about the dragons being on the side of the queen. Geoffrey knew someone had violated their oath to the queen and passed information to the king's forces. Geoffrey left and went to see Gisele and fortunately she was home.
When Geoffrey explained what he had found out and that the queen would be in danger in the morning, Gisele was very distressed and immediately suspected who betrayed the queen. Tomorrow will be the tell. Gisele spent the night bringing Geoffrey to the generals she trusted, and they formed a new plan along with a new meeting place.
In a prearranged signal, Geoffrey mounted on a horse meant danger and when Eragon saw him mounted he flew very high away from the planned meeting area. Eragon watched as Geoffrey rode to the new isolated meeting place. It was an hour's ride, but Eragon and the queen followed until Geoffrey stopped and dismounted his horse. Only then did Eragon and the queen come in for a landing.
The arrival of the queen atop a dragon brought a gasp from the gathered generals and they fell to their knees with their heads bowed. Queen Ruth descended from the top of Eragon in a beautiful yellow dress that Gisele had given her. The dress was at the same time royal while showing off her elegance and beauty. Her entrance on Eragon plus the royal gown stunned everyone and they knew this was indeed their queen. Geoffrey knelt before her and when he arose, he guided her to meet the generals of her army. She proudly linked her arm in his and as they walked the train of her dress whispered quietly in the grass.
The generals kissed her hand when it was offered and stood when she bade them to do so. The generals looked completely flabbergasted and at the same time astounded and stunned as they kept looking back at the dragon keeping watch over the queen. Geoffrey watched closely for any kind of deception and found one of the generals that kept looking around like he was trying to find a way to escape. Geoffrey knew that this was the person that betrayed his queen.
In his mind Geoffrey wanted to run the general through with his sword. He envisioned jumping from the queen's side and pinning the nemesis to the ground with his sword against his throat. Geoffrey hissed, "You are the one that betrayed my queen and told her enemies where she could be found. Confess or I will feed you to this hungry dragon." But he thought of a better plan, a devised plan that would make him a traitor on both sides.
The adversary kept glancing at the trees, as if waiting for an attack. Geoffrey watched the enemy general and whispered in Ruth's ear that she needed to get out of here. After the basic meeting between the generals and the queen, Ruth remounted Eragon, and they flew off to find a new home location. They would scout the location Geoffrey thought about, but both Eragon and the queen had other ideas too.
After Queen Ruth and Eragon had flown away, Geoffrey laid out a battle plan that revolved around a traditional head-to-head clash of armies in an open field about a mile from their current location.
The generals, realizing that they were outmanned and outgunned, argued against the plan, but Geoffrey persisted that this is the way it would be. He dismissed the generals but kept three of the highest-ranking generals behind on the pretext of asking for some favors for the queen. After the traitorous general had left, he told the remaining generals the real plan and after they heard it, they were flabbergasted. The next hour was spent explaining the reason for the deception and working out the plan's details.
After everyone had left, Geoffrey waited until Eragon returned and he carried him to the queen's new hideout. They had chosen a location he knew nothing about and from the air he loved it. It was virtually inaccessible from the ground and the queen had made it very homey on the inside. Eragon had ferried all the items they had accumulated in the dragon's cave, plus a few that Gisele had found to make life in exile more comfortable.