The Silk Road Saga: Part I - Silkworm

39 - Into the Breach

The wall came crashing down, throwing up a thick cloud of dust around the breach. As Erhi stared at the top of the distant citadel, she promised herself that this time would be different. Sabar whinnied with excitement and swished its tail back and forth. Next to her, Yue had difficulty keeping Piaf under control. It turned this way then that, eagerly anticipating the charge that was to come. They were at the end of a long line of horsemen, young warriors all seeking to prove their mettle. The charge started before the dust settled. A single warrior from the centre of the line spurred his horse into action and started a lone desperate ride towards the walls of Samarkand. Others soon followed, those brave enough to pluck up the courage to throw themselves into the breach. The line began to quiver, rippling back and forth with tension.

Erhi looked at Yue, their eyes catching from beneath their helmets. She wanted to reach out and squeeze his hand but even without the presence of a thousand fellow warriors, it would have been impossible to do so. Piaf wouldn't keep still. He reared up and beat his hooves against the air. Those nearest to them took this as a signal to charge and broke ranks. This was it. It was now or never. Death or glory. Erhi punched a fist towards the sky, shouted a cry for Tengri's protection and dug her spurs into Sabar's flank.

Sabar bolted forward, ripping across the scarred ground that separated the Mongols from the city. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the lead rider, the one who had started the charge first, topple and fall. The next moment she heard a sound like approaching hail. She pressed herself against Sabar and closed her eyes. The arrows whistled as they fell, bristling the air around her. Sabar continued forwards oblivious to the danger and this gave Erhi the courage to open her eyes and look for Yue. He was still right beside her, pressed against Piaf, his face scrunched tight in abject terror.

Sabar began to slow as they approached the dust cloud. Riderless mares appeared out of the dust like spectres and soon the cloud obscured the sun. Rubble littered the ground and arrows whizzed indiscriminately through the air. Up ahead was a slope of fallen masonry. There was no way that a horse could navigate through the breach and riders were busily dismounting and sending their mounts galloping back to camp without them. She drew Sabar to halt and dismounted, doing her best to try and ignore the arrows whooshing past her head. Yue did the same, although he kept flinching and twitching like a man possessed. She whispered in Sabar's ear and gave her a smack on the rump, sending her on her way. Piaf soon followed suit, following the lead of the smaller, more intelligent mare.

There was no time to offer any words of encouragement to Yue, the only way forward was up. Erhi led by example and started to climb up the rubble, thankful that the dust was obscuring the aim of the archers on the battlements. She struggled to get a handhold on the first large block of masonry. She jumped up to try and reach the top, but she was too short. She jumped up again and this time she felt a pair of hands at her waist. Yue lifted her high up into the air, propelling her forwards. Although death hung heavy in the dust, Erhi couldn't stop herself from smiling. She was experiencing a hyper-real version of life. All the emotions that a human being could experience were being compressed into this one moment in time, accentuated by the knowledge that she might die at any second.

Yue climbed on top of the masonry and stood next Erhi. His face was close to hers. She could see that he was smiling as well. His fear had given way to a sort of mad courage. She could hear his heavy breathing and smell Piaf's must clinging to his body. Without thinking, she kissed him, not caring that someone else might see. Their helmets clunked together clumsily, their lips tasted of sweat and dust, but it didn't matter. They kissed for what seemed like aeons, the battlefield fading away around them. If this had been a tale told by the bards then their kiss would have stopped the battle and the world would have been healed in the bosom of their love. But this wasn't a tale told by the bards. They kissed until a breeze began to clear away the dust and the archers up on the battlements started to find their mark. Two bodies pressed together make a large target. They split apart, still smiling foolishly despite the arrows raining down on them, then they started to climb.