Kingdoms - Book 6 - The Frencolian Chronicles (complete)

Chapter Eleven

King Konrad, his counselors, Czarevitch Kenrik, Doctor Sleven and sons with selected men from their escort; all stunned and disbelieving; gathered for an emergency meeting.

Guards, attendants and soldiers from Proburg had deserted Landmari Castle and absconded to Reideaux, bearing a devastating declaration.

Prince Gustovas had arrived at Landmari Castle with the Czar of Chezkovia; and Czar Kievik had claimed the Proburg throne! Prince Warford, his wife and children, and Prince Mayer, together with Prince Gustav's wife and children had all been transported to Chezkovia as crown prisoners. The assumption was that the monarch of Proburg, Prince Gustovas, was also a prisoner of the czar, and had been forced to obey the czar's orders.

They did not know that Prince Gustovas had pleaded to die before he was forced to return to Proburg and betray his sons and his kingdom. Elliad had needed the prince's presence to authenticate his arrival at Landmari Castle.

Prince Gustovas was given no choice; it was: 'do or you all die and do it and you and you, your wife and children will live'. Chezkovian men wearing Proburg uniforms escorted the unwilling monarch to his own royal carriage. He traveled with one hand bound to ropes, which also secured his feet and legs, seated beside the czar. Elliad forced his captive to wave his free hand as they passed crowds, which were kept at a safe distance by their extensive escort. To the people, the royal procession spoke of the unity between the two countries. Knights of Proburg and Emirs of Chezkovia waved enthusiastically as they rode through villages and towns.

When Elliad and his men were inside Landmari castle, the take-over was relatively simple. There had been bloodshed but most resistance ceased when royal wives and children were presented as the czar's prisoners, accompanied by death threats if Gustovas' two sons did not surrender. The hostages were conveyed immediately to the Baltic Castle.

To Elliad, his fortress on the Baltic cliffs was the ultimate prison and his captives were excellent hostages to assure his own well-being. He would decide their fate sometime in the future as the future unfolded. Royal people were worthy hostages and he believed that while he held their lives in the balance, he displayed supreme power; power to control life and death. Uncooperative castle personnel who took a stand against the intruding militia were 'terminated'. Useful prisoners were incarcerated in the Landmari dungeons for interrogation and reorientation.

Mayer's wife, Princess Ordella, who was away from court visiting her family; and Konrad, were the only two of the Proburg royal family members that Elliad had failed to capture.

After two days, Elliad had left Landmari Castle in 'Prince' Brian's control and returned to Chezkovia, leaving several thousand Chezkovian troops to guard his new conquest. Messages had been posted all over Proburg, proclaiming that Prince Gustovas had been deposed; Proburg was now part and parcel of Chezkovia. Knights and soldiers of Proburg were expected to be loyal to the new Prince Brian, under the jurisdiction of the supreme ruler, Czar Kievik.

"The slightest indication of uprising will be dealt with swiftly and permanently," the czar had announced. He allowed Brian to choose Emirs and captains who were loyal to their cause and would support it until death.

Proburg knights, soldiers and families in the hundreds escaped to Reideaux, where Konrad was faced with the huge task of organizing and accommodating them. As far as Konrad and Kenrik were concerned, war had been declared and Elliad had less than two days left before he would receive the mandate, which had now become surplus in this blatant display of despotic expropriation.

It was too late to retract passage of the documents, which were in the hands of messengers, already moving across borders and on to Chezkovian soil.

King Kelsey had not been enshrined, and Luke was two days overdue in his arrival at the Reideaux Capital.

 Konrad sent a small company with Moritz to the Frencolian border, and they arrived back the next day with a strange and mysterious problem for the new king to solve. The Frencolian border castle was secured completely; displaying the appearance of a state of siege. The Frencolian flag had been removed from the highest place of the tower.

Having kept his men at a safe distance as soon as he sighted the empty flagpole, Moritz had counted over fifty guards with loaded crossbows and longbows, on the battlements, some wearing the green and gold of Frencolia and some wearing the red and white of Chezkovia.

Konrad feared that Frencolia had been invaded and captured as well. He sent a quota of troops to the border castle further west and awaited their reply with trepidation. The men were commanded to divide if the border was open, and Moritz would bring word back to King Konrad.

The rest of the company was to continue on down into Frencolia if they could traverse the border, otherwise journey further west and keep trying until they could make a successful entry.

When over the border they were to report to King Luke Chatelain in Frencberg if he was there, otherwise to Prince Dorai.

 With advice from his council, Konrad summoned the army chiefs and charged them with mobilizing the Reideaux army in preparation for war.