SWSBG CH1

Chapter 1: The end

"Wake up!"

It was an unfamiliarly urgent voice.

The Laslo Alphard she knew was a calm man.

He would always remain relaxed, almost as if he had left his impatience behind in the womb.

"Damn it. Get up, Princess! There's no time."

But it was different today.

"What?"

Agnes woke up from a pair of strong hands shaking her. Her mind was hazy from sleepiness.

When she opened her eyes, the only thing she saw was darkness.

"Duke Alphard. This is unexpected of you, even the first rooster has yet to crow in the morning."

No matter how much of a married couple they were, it was inappropriate to visit his wife's chamber without any notice

"Now isn't the time to argue about it, Princess."

He threw her a shabby package. It was pretty heavy.

"What is this..."

Then someone's scream could be heard from outside.

It was loud enough for Agnes to hear. Her armored husband was faster to notice and frowned.

"Get dressed immediately and follow me."

"What the hell is going on?"

"The gate has been breached."

Agnes inhaled sharply as she froze up.

Laslo calmly locked eyes with her.

"There is no time."

She was sometimes scared to meet his gaze.

Looking into his eyes, it felt like they could expose everything there was to know about her.

From the first time she stepped into the castle until this now.

"What do you mean? The gates breached... Isn't Eshtar the Millenium Fortress?"

"Even a thousand years old fortress is bound to fall."

He smiled as if mocking himself.

They could hear the sound of the king's army surrounding Szátmar.

He pressed the anxious servant wandering the hallway, and learned that the situation was worse than imagined.

It wasn't expected that they would've broken through the gates so quickly. 

"Hurry up."

He urged. Agnes finally started scrambling through the dark.

Her eyes hadn't adapted to the darkness yet, and thus struggled with her clothes. 

In the end, she didn't know how to finish by herself.

"You still haven't gotten dressed?"

Laslo clicked his tongue.

He snatched the string from Agnes' hands, who had been holding it blankly and skillfully tied a knot.

"Are we leaving?"

Agnes gazed down on his dark golden hair and asked calmly.

If the gate had been breached, there weren't many options left. It was to either surrender or escape.

"Yeah, to Siklós."

"Siklós? That far?"

It was the name of a land in the south, two months worth of horse-riding away.

She had heard of it before, but never been there.

"Zoltan will be accompanying the Princess in my place."

"Why? Why not read this chapter on lilacpoo's blog?"

She asked.

"What do you mean why? We don't have ads and you won't support thieves, that's why you idiot"

He asked back.

"Why is it just Zoltan and me? What about you?"

His hands, which were busy tying knots, slowed down a little.

"The lord cannot abandon his castle."

"That!"

Before she could protest, Laslo finished tying the last knot on Agnes' fur coat.

"All done. Don't forget to bring that package. There's food and coins inside and commoner's clothes to wear. Change into them after you've left the castle."

"What?"

"Well, there are some jewels as well. But don't exchange them until you've left Szátmar. The pursuers might notice."
"Duke Alphard."

"Once you arrive in Siklós, get a ticket to the Arahan Islands."

Laslo kept talking without a break.

"Duke, wait."

"If you sell the jewels on the island, you'll be able to purchase a piece of land. These are pretty valuable, so if you use them sparingly, you can last for a few years. And..."

"Wait, wait!"

Agnes was barely able to stop the waterfall of words flowing out of Laslo's mouth.

"What the hell do you mean? You can't possibly mean to stay here alone?" 

"I have to stay. I can't leave my people behind."

"Are you going to surrender? If so, I'll stay."

"I will not surrender."

She opened her mouth wide before closing it silently again. Laslo repeated firmly.

"I will stay here."

If surrendering nor fleeing was an option, there was only one way left.

This man must be trying to face the entirety of the king's army by himself.

"... Duke Alphard."

She had been married to him for almost three years. Agnes still vividly remembers the day she first met him.

He had been so tall that she'd been forced to bend her neck to look up.

Every member of the royal family was on the short side, so he had felt like a giant from a fairy tale with him being one head taller than her.

"Princess."

Laslo grabbed Agnes' shoulders tightly. She could feel what he was trying to say.

“But, but...”

She shook her head.

Agnes, Princess of Niršeg had obviously not wanted to marry Laslo, the fallen duke of the west.

By the time she first started her menstruation, her eldest sister Vivian died.

The culprit was Sebastian, Vivian's biological brother and Agnes' half-brother.

Within a few years, Chavolti, her blood brother, became permanently crippled without being able to walk again.
When the news of Chavolti reached Agnes, she was quick to fall on her knees in front of Sebastian to ask for mercy.

Agnes' mother, the second queen, joined her as well.

- Please spare this poor princess, my Prince.

As a result, Agnes soon became the bride of Duke Alphard when she reached her coming of age. There were no extravagant celebrations nor much of a dowry.
"Give me your hand."

He said bluntly.

"Hand?"

Agnes inadvertently extended her right hand.

"No the left hand, with the insignia."

He pulled a long bandage out of his pocket and Agnes gave him her left hand.

"Never untie this. Even the common people know that only royals bear an insignia on the back of their hand."

Laslo covered the mark with quick and skillful hands using the bandage.

Agnes had a subtle look on her face as her eyes wandered between Laslo and the insignia on the back of her hand. 

It wasn't a happy marriage. At least not for Agnes.

Knowing that it was foolish to wish for happiness in marriage as a royal, Agnes expected little kindness from her husband.
- You are now my hu- husband so you may call m- me by my name Agnes.

She had gathered all the courage that she could muster to say those words during their first night, illuminated by the candlelight.
- I think the princess's title seems just fine.

He had taken a calm look at the princess before leaving the room and her alone on the bed. She had been so humiliated and ashamed, that she hadn't even dared to call him out.
Unfortunately enough, although Laslo Alphard was outstanding with the sword and a wise lord, he was a wistless husband who was extremely cold towards his wife.

One could count the amount of nights they had spent together in these last three years living as a couple on one hand. 

And that was considering the fact that it was only recently the senior council started pressuring them for a successor and they were forced to share a bed.
"Brother!"

Then, an angry man's voice could be heard from the outside. He pounded and banged on the door a few times.

"Remember what I've told you."

Laslo handed her the package without saying anything else.

Then he grabbed her wrist and led her out of the room.

Behind the door stood a man wearing a thick coat of bear fur.

"I found out which son of a bastard opened the gates."

"Who?"

"Mathron, that bastard isn't even worthy of dog food with the way he is wagging his tail in front of Sebastian."

Zoltan's flushed face was noticeable even in the dark.

Laslo muttered Mathron's name under his breath with a sharp glint in his eyes.

"I'll take care of that tail-wagger, so you leave with the princess now." 

"Now?"

"Right now."

Laslo gave a firm nod. Agnes tried shaking off her husband's hold in refusal.

"I'm staying!"

The two men turned to look down at Agnes at the same time at her sudden cry. The pair of brothers were of the same height, creating the picture of two giants cornering a small human.
"Don't be stubborn. What help would it be even if you stayed?"

Despite his usual dismissive attitude. Agnes could hear the worry in his voice.

"You're useless, there's nothing you can do."

Zoltan glared fiercely at Agnes.

Agnes flinched at his frosty gaze.

"Zoltan!"

Laslo whacked his brother sternly. 

"It's all over anyways. Stop talking nonsense and leave the castle immediately. You'll have to get out of Szátmar before noon."
"Damn it, damn it all!"

Zoltan kicked the door in uncontrollable anger.

It made a dull sound. The door was made out of tree from a giant hundred-year-old tree and did not budge.

"Why are you planning to fight back? Instead, send me to the king as an envoy."

Agnes said as she looked at Laslo.

"I kneeled in front of Sebastian once to save my life, who says I can't do it twice?"

The king's invasion on the land of Duke Alphard was in the name of quelling a rebellion.

Agnes had snorted at the ridiculous claim when she had first heard it.

All this impoverished fief had was barren land and nothing noteworthy.

In addition, the amount of beasts coming down the mountain side through the northern defense line that would attack the livestock had increased leading to further impoverishment.
The Duke of Alphard was always poor due to those reasons.

He wouldn't even dream of doing something so expensive as a coup d'état,

The atmosphere turned chilly at Agnes' suggestion.

Both Zoltan and Laslo's mouths were stretched thin in disapproval.

"......Take her with you."

Laslo gently pushed the princess's shoulder

"Duke Alphard!"

"Let's go. Princess."

Zoltan grabbed the arm of the princess forcefully.

His grip was so strong that she struggled to keep her body straight.

"Let go. I am also this castle's master. I won't just run away like this!"

As her struggling intensified, Zoltan's crumpled face only grew more annoyed and impatient.

"My wife."

Laslo let out a long sigh. Agnes stopped trying to wriggle her limbs out for a moment. 

Her husband quietly looked at his wife.

Agnes blinked hard. Looking into his dark green eyes made her somehow feel distant.

"What did you say?"

That was the first time. The first time he had called her his wife.

He always called her by her royal blood, princess, as if in disdain.

She knew the duke wasn't welcoming of her.

Her appearance wasn't that remarkleble and neither was her dowry.

He had been forced by the king to marry the princess, so she could guess what he thought of her.

"Please stay well."

"Why are you looking at me like that..."

Agnes couldn't get any words out.

Then a sudden impact was inflicted on her neck and in an instant she went limp.

Zoltan lifted her up like a bag of potatoes and carried her on his shoulder.

The brothers briefly exchanged glances. No other goodbye was needed.

Zoltan's lips were trembling as he walked out. Laslo stood there watching their backs for a long time.

And that, was the last time they would see him alive. 

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