The Coup

Page 6

"I'd be able to get you there quickly. It'd be easily defensible, my only concern is that we've not the men to keep it or protect it."

"We've an entire camp here around us surely we can find a dozen or so loyal men to go with us." He stood up and sighed.

"The problem is while most will say they are loyal there are few I can guarantee it. The only way to find out for sure would be to show you to them. Their reactions would give is our answer but that opens you up to danger and allows knowledge of you to spread. Because as sure as we show one man ten will know about it."

"Surely there would be enough you trust to at least have more than you and I?"

"Yes. There are other concerns though. We need men to seed through the kingdom to gain intelligence on our enemy, to build our ranks of loyal men. I would prefer good men go to do these tasks. A good man would know who was loyal and who might be a spy in our ranks. However those same men might be better employed in protecting you. The easiest compromise is to split them between the two but whose to say that one man might be the difference between keeping you safe or not." I understood his trouble. I'd sat at my fathers elbow and counseled him as he'd tried to make similar decisions. There was one component to this dynamic that my general seemed to be forgetting, I was king. The decision was mine ultimately. These were my men defending me and my kingdom. His council was definitely one that would carry a great deal of weight with me but the final decision was mine and mine alone.

"How many men would you be sure of?"

"I'm not sure."

"Come general, your king wants to know." He gave me a raised eyebrow at the gentle prod that I was his king.

"Eight that I can be sure of, the commander has sent for three that will start reconnoitering for us."

"Split the eight between the tasks. Add another to the three finding information the other four can accompany us to Waters End." I made the statement matter of fact but my insides were shaking. I'd never had to make the decision that worst case scenario would result in a good man being found out and killed. I'd better get used to this, though this was my life now.

"If you're sure your majesty?" He asked I could tell that he found something about this amusing though I wasn't sure what it was.

"Have you any other information pertinent to the discussion?"

"Not at the moment."

"Then, I'm sure."

"Very well. I'll make the arrangements." He gave me a shallow bow just as the commander came back in a tray full of food in hand. I sat as the commander began to pass out food. I was served first then they began to eat.

"His highness had a decision regarding the assignment of the men we summoned." The general said bringing the commanders attention to me. I felt the urge to kick the general when I saw his barely hidden smirk. He was enjoying himself and I had a feeling all his enjoyment was at my expense.

"The general said that there were eight men that he felt could be trusted. The best way to assign them would be to split them equally. Send four to assess those who might follow me. The other four will follow the general and I." The commander nodded.

"Sound thinking. We'll start with the three I've summoned. We should be careful though, I'm to move my camp today. If you are seen before we are ready it could be dangerous."

"I'll remain out of sight. Can we slip away during the day while you are preparing to move, or should we wait for night?" I asked.

"Unfortunately the commander has to be miles from here by night fall. We'll have to leave in daylight. If we are cautious we should be able to go without raising to many eyebrows." Just then a voice called from outside the tent.

"Marcus, Liam and Oliver as requested sir." The commander grabbed his cloak and swirled it around me and bade me keep my head down. I stared at my plate and waited to see what would happen. The commander bid them enter. I heard a chair squeak and gingerly looked to see that the general had retaken his seat. The voice who had called spoke again.

"General! It was said you were dead. Prays be that you are alive."

"If you are alive then there is hope yet." A second voice said.

"Hope for what?" The general asked.

"For us to take back the kingdom from this bastard who has killed our good king and his loyal son may god bless their souls."

"Take it back to what purpose? We've no one to take the throne."

"True. Had the prince lived we would have a man fit to be king but.." The voice trailed off. As far as they knew I was dead and I had no close relatives to take the throne.

"What about you general? Surely you would make a great king. We would follow you with no hesitation." The third man said.

"I am flattered, but we have another here who will be king when we take back our country. He will be a good king and it is his right. I believe that none of you have had the pleasure of meeting his highness in person." I pushed back the cloaks hood and looked at the three men. They stared with dropped jaws then one by one dropped to one knee and saluted.

"Praise be...they said you were dead. May god protect you all your days Your highness." This would take getting used to. I had always been given attention since I was the prince. This was a different kind of attention. These men were looking toward me as more than just a prince but now as their rightful ruler. I really had no idea how I was going to do this.

"As you see gentlemen not everything that's coming from our new 'king' is truth." The general said. I stood making sure that I kept he cloak on in case anyone entered I could throw it's hood over my head.

"We need your assistance gentlemen. We need to spread the rumor of my being still alive and find those who will pledge themselves to taking back what is rightfully ours. Can we count on you?" All three men snapped to attention an saluted.

"You can, we are at your service." I nodded and turned to the general and commander to let them go about giving orders. The general stood.

"We're going to send you on missions to find those loyal to our prince. You have to be sure of the men you speak to before you can tell them our prince lives. If Tyne finds him before we can get our numbers together then we will lose before we've started. The commander will give you your destinations and the orders to get you there. He'll know of where we'll be. Give him your reports and he'll forward it on. Until we've got the men to protect our Prince his whereabouts will be known to only a handful. Remember to keep your wits about you. If your found out don't get yourselves killed. Get to the commander and he'll direct you to us. You three are the first of what we hope will be many. You may not know who else we bring in so be careful."

"Come gentlemen lets get you underway." The commander took them to the side and began to give orders. The general leaned toward me.

"Well we are underway. Hopefully in a few weeks we'll have a better leg to stand on." Once the three men were on their way the commander summoned the other men they thought could be trusted. One he sent on his way to see if he could recruit others. The other four were given instructions and supplies were gathered. With me tucked back under the generals cloak we set off to get me tucked away. Part of me was ashamed to be hiding but then I wasn't a fighter and that meant that I had to rely on others that were. I knew my father would understand but it still felt like I was letting him down somehow.