The Coup

Page 13

"Do you have names for them?" Alicia asked me.

"I have no idea. I'd think one should be named for my mother. The other..." I looked at Eric "Perhaps you can think of another." I wanted these girls to think of Eric as their father. It was right that he help name them.

"I'd always thought to name a daughter after my paternal grandmother. She was very special to me. Her name was Olivia."

"That's beautiful. Olivia Ann maybe, for your grandmother and mine. Then Cristine Mary, for my mother and yours." I saw him swallow and nod. He was obviously moved that I included him. I wanted him to know that he was important to me this was a way to show it. "Though I'm not sure how we'll tell them apart."

"We'll find a way I'm sure." Eric and I sat cuddling our daughters until I began to fall asleep sitting up. They were laid together in the bassinet by the fire to keep them warm. Eric tucked me in for sleep and said he'd check on me later. I was only half asleep when Anne woke me to the feed them. Thankfully the small breasts that had developed to feed my daughters would recede when they were weened. I was in bed for three days before they would let me get up and move to a parlor. My daughters went with me. I was focused on them and knew that Eric could handle the men easily.

When he came that evening to sit with me and the girls I could see that he was distracted by something.

"What's wrong." I asked him.

"I'd waited until you were feeling better to tell you this. Tyne's began to march on us. We can hold him off for a few weeks but if we don't want to sacrifice all the men we'll have to pull back. He just has superior numbers." This was a course we had hoped that he wouldn't take. We'd managed to get a third of the country under our protection but that had spread our troops out. Now we would need to figure out a way to preserve what we had.

"I know that you are still recovering but, this is your kingdom still and as king the decision is yours."

"Right." Eric was good about the day to day but he was right to come to me. While he'd be my husband one day. For now he was my general and I was to be king. "Alicia can you watch the girls while Eric and I handle some matters?"

"Of course." Alicia moved from her place to where I was sitting so she'd be near the girls. With help from Eric we made our way to the office. While he showed me the current placement of our troops and Tyne's I tried to think of a strategy that would keep us from moving backward. If only our other allies had offered to help. Both the king of Snowren and the council of Jukren had sent word through prince Cais saying they sympathized with my positions but couldn't provide troops against my enemy. With only the help of Alicia's mother I didn't have the troops to combat Tyne's force. There had to be another way. As I was looking over the map something struck me as odd. Tyne had maneuvered his men to attack mine at the furthest edge of the kingdom. Why had he gone so far when it was known where I was?

"What's here?" I asked Eric pointing at where the bulk of the fighting was.

"Nothing, a few villages. The coal mine. Though he has two already under his control he could want the third to deprive of us of it."

"What's this force here doing?" A small company of men were marching along the border not far from us.

"I'm not sure. I've men watching them but so far they seem only interested on marching south. I've not intercepted any information on them." Suddenly I knew what was happening.

"We have to leave here."

"What, why?"

"Because Tyne is drawing our men here, as far from us as he can get them while this company heads here, to me and the girls."

"We don't know that they are coming here."

"They are, I can guarantee it."

"If you are right? What do you want to do?"

"The only thing I can. Get us all somewhere else."

"It's to far to go back to waters end. The girls are to young to make that kind of trip." My daughters. How would I protect them. Then a thought caught up to me. We knew that Luka was out with the men. His father was in the capital lounging in luxury while his son did the hard work. While we had reports that two companies surrounded the capital they had left on area exposed because they believed it was impossible to cross. A wide rough river flowed behind the castle and around the capitol. Only two times a year did the flow change, once when it began to freeze and the flow slowed, and again when the snow melted and the river rose to become faster.

There was a drain in the back of the castle where the river fed into a well for the castle. If we could get in there under the cover of dark we could sneak into the castle. I showed Eric my thoughts and told him my reasoning.

"We are trying to keep you safe not hand you over to them."

"We can keep running or we take a chance and maybe end this for good. If we can get into the castle and take Tyne and his loyal guard then we can turn the others and have the castle. I am the rightful heir. The men would flock to us if we controlled the capital. Luka would be an outcast and traitor. A few skirmishes would be the end of the war. We have to take a chance."

"What about the girls?"

"We'll find a wet nurse and send them home with Alicia." I couldn't believe what I was saying. But it was the best way to know that they were safe." I tried to ignore the fear and hurt in my heart at letting my daughters so recently born out of my sight.

"I can go to the capital and take it in your name. You should go with Cristine and Olivia to the queen. I don't want them to lose you, I don't want to lose you."

"You wont. We don't have the resources to continue this much longer and with the girls it gets more dangerous. We need to end this. I need to be there to show them I am back in power. I can handle myself well enough with a sword. You and a few men and I will go straight for Tyne. The rest will sweep the castle. If we keep a level head we can have this done in a week." Eric moved around the table and took my hands.

"The girls are three days old. They need you. We can wait for now. We are holding our own and keeping them away from you. We should move locations but stay hidden."

"The longer we wait the more time Tyne has to fortify his men and position."

"Please, do this for me. Wait a few weeks. Just until you are back in form and the girls are safe." I wanted to argue but I couldn't argue with the pleading in his eyes.

"Alright. We'll go to the Queen together. But just for a time. If we wait to long we'll lose our chance for this."

"While the three of you rest I'll get as much information as I can about the capital, Tyne and try to find out about what kind of resistance we might find in the castle. It's not going to be easy but we'll make this work." He kissed my forehead and with little promoting got me to go back up and rest. I spent the evening cuddling my daughters hoping that in a few weeks we'll be safe inside the castle. I untucked the blanket from around Olivia. I raised her hand looking at the little fingers. There was a slight difference between the girls I noticed, Olivia had my nose which was a little more round. Christine's nose was more pointed like Luka's. After dinner Eric came up and spent the evening with the girls and I. It made me love him a little more seeing how much he doted on the girls. He really did love them and want them to be his. I knew that the moment I was crowned King I was marrying him. In a year I'd make sure that he would hold a baby that was truly his. Though I knew he'd never the love the girls less than his own.