Redemption

glinted in the sunlight as it waited for him. He had truly woken from his dream, he realised, but at the worst possible moment. This was no vision. It was harsh reality.

  'This isn't the end!' he called, to anyone that would listen. 'There will be more like me!'

  The drummer struck up a roll, and his heart pounded, the adrenaline pumping around his body. His arms ached with each beat, and his legs had no power. He struggled for breath, the air coming in shallow gulps as he watched the metal blade, the drum roll insistent in his ears.

  His legs grew wet, the warm urine spreading across his lap, the ultimate humiliation, no better than a child, he thought, but even now it no longer seemed important.

  The drum roll stopped and then he heard the click of the lever.

  The blade fell.

  oOo

  Ysabel turned her face towards Winterburne, but there was no triumph on her face.

  'So, My Lord,' she said, 'justice has been seen to be done at long last.'

  'Indeed it has, Your Majesty,' he replied, 'although I have to say that in the end it gives me no pleasure to witness it.'

  'Quite so,' Ysabel said, pulling on the reins of her beast, and gently kicking into its side directing her towards the archway.

  Winterburne urged on his own mount and caught up with the Queen as they walked together, making their way back towards the Palaces.

  Ysabel continued, 'Although, may I say that perhaps I can hope that the souls of a few wronged people are now looking down from heaven and with Courtenay's passing they may be at rest.'

  Winterburne smiled at her, nodding.

  'I have been wondering something,' Ysabel said, 'if I may be so bold. I wondered if you had ever thought about becoming a politician, My Lord?'

  Winterburne frowned momentarily, wondering where the question had come from, and then a half-smile crossed his face. 'I can honestly say, Your Majesty, that that is something that I have never thought of becoming.'

  'Then perhaps you should.' Ysabel looked serious. 'It is something for which you seem to have shown an innate skill over the last months.'

  'You think so, Your Majesty?'

  'I do.'

  'May I ask how you might have come to that conclusion?'

  'Well,' Ysabel said, 'you have waltzed your way right across almost the whole breadth of my country, out-manoeuvred my armies, saved both the children of the Electors and, with the help of your companions, myself, in the process. I should have thought that makes you eminently qualified.'

  Winterburne remained silent, smiling back at the Queen.

  'In many ways,' she continued, 'it gives you more meaningful experience of my country than anyone from the Empire that I have ever met, My Lord. Even Frederick cannot boast that level of exposure.'

  'I'm not sure that it was quite that easy, Your Majesty. There was a great deal of luck involved, and I was never acting alone.'

  'That may be true.' Ysabel tutted. 'But you have managed to develop quite an air of mystery in my mind, Lord Winterburne. Do not spoil it now by telling me all of your little tricks.' She grinned at him.

  Winterburne, returned the smile. 'We just did what we thought was right.'

  Ysabel nodded and looked down at the reins of her horse. Then she looked back at him. 'I am sure you will be pleased to learn that The Council have formally recognised you and your friends as Heroes of the Commonwealth. That is not something that generally happens to foreigners in my experience. Whether you realised that it would be the case or not, with your deeds you have possibly heralded what could be a new era of cooperation between our two lands. It is just a shame that you have to return.'

  'Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty,' he replied. 'But there is much for me to return home to.'

  'You would make an exemplary Ambassador for the Empire, if not now, then perhaps one day. If you should ever be at a loose end as to what to do next, you could do worse than staying in White Haven and—'

  'I cannot.' Winterburne was acutely aware that he had cut off Ysabel in mid-sentence, but he needn't have worried, it seemed, for her face remained relaxed and friendly.

  'A pity,' Ysabel said.

  51

  The Fourteenth Day of Fall,

  Imperial Year 2332

  'So what are you going to do now?' Winterburne asked as he, Rampton and Marek walked along the corridor towards Queen Ysabel's audience chamber.

  Marek scratched his head. 'I don't know. I've always been able to melt back into the shadows, but this time it's not going to be so easy.'

  'Impossible I would have thought,' Winterburne said.

  Rampton chuckled. 'I wouldn't go shouting about that fact that you've been spying on her all this time either. She thinks that you came to the Commonwealth with us.'

  'I shan't.' Marek looked across at the soldier. 'I've spent too much time learning when to speak and when to bite my tongue to mess it up now. I might just put my feet up for a while and wait for new orders from the Emperor. Davyd can keep me stocked up with ale and I can take a chair down to the canal side.'

  'And a fishing rod?' Rampton asked. 'I could think of worse ways to spend my days, and that's a fact.'

  'Aye,' Marek said, 'why not.'

  'A grand plan indeed,' Winterburne said.

  They reached the doors to the chamber which had been opened wide and the men carried on through into the chamber beyond. Ysabel must have heard their footsteps as they approached as she looked up from the letter that she had been reading. Winterburne saw her say something to the Speaker and he took the letter and bowed, making his way to the side of the chamber.

  Ysabel lifted herself upright and stepped down from the throne. She held her arms out wide.

  'My friends,' she said, with a genuine warmth on her face, 'you look so much better, and you have shaved off your whiskers at last. Much more presentable, for sure. The last time we were together you were all wearing dresses.'

  The three men looked between each other.

  'Yes, well,' Winterburne said, 'if it pleases Your Majesty, I very much think that that is a part of the story that should be massaged out in the telling.'

  'Nonsense!' Ysabel said. 'It's my favourite part.' She winked. 'Or perhaps it was the part about the nuns?'

  Rampton and Marek looked down at their feet.

  'I'm still rubbing in that ointment your apothecaries gave me, Your Majesty,' Marek said. 'They said that I was...all...aller...'

  'It think the word you are searching for is allergic, Master Marek,' the Queen said, with a smile.

  'Yes, that.' Marek nodded.

  'So, you leave us today, I hear,' Ysabel said, looking along the line of men. 'It has come so soon, and I have grown accustomed to seeing your mischievous faces around the place.'

  'Rampton and I will be leaving, Your Majesty,' Winterburne said. 'Marek is staying.'

  'Really?' Ysabel sounded surprised.

  'Yes, Your Majesty,' Marek replied. 'I have grown to like White Haven a great deal, I thought that I would stay around for a while.'

  'And why is that, Master Marek, so that you can continue your spying on both myself and my city?'

  Marek blushed and Winterburne looked across at the Queen, with a nervous frown.

  'The Empire is not the only country with a secret service, gentlemen.' Ysabel winked. 'Although I think in this case, I would be willing to overlook any crimes that may have been committed against my state. It is certainly true that you have all earned my respect, and perhaps one good turn deserves another, eh?'

  'Your Majesty is most gracious,' Winterburne said.

  'Yes,' she said, 'I know I am. But it stops now.'

  Marek scratched his arm, pulling a face.

  'Am I understood?'

  'Yes, Your Majesty,' Marek said.

  'Besides,' Ysabel laughed, 'it would seem that Master Marek needs to stay around a little while longer for a repeat prescription. Either that or he has collected fleas somewhere along the way.'

  Ysabel walked across to R
ampton and offered him her hand. He took it and raised it to his mouth, placing a gentle kiss on the fingers. The Queen worked her way along the line, each man repeating the act.

  Winterburne felt a warmth developing towards both the woman and the country that she represented. It was true that they had more in common than most normal folk realised.

  Ysabel pulled out a letter from her sleeve and handed it to Winterburne. 'Please, My Lord, will you give this to the Emperor for me?'

  'Of course,' Winterburne took the letter and bowed his head.

  'And,' she said, 'will you tell him that I am truly sorry that I did not believe him.'

  'By all means.'

  'I have also prepared a letter of passage, for you to show should you have the need to pass any of my troops. There will still be quite a number near the border by the time you reach it, and whilst I do not expect any problems for you...well, let's just say that I considered it the wisest thing to do.'

  'Thank you, Your Majesty,' Winterburne said.

  The Queen looked along the line. 'I will not say goodbye, gentlemen, for that is too final a thing. I will just say that I hope one day that we will get the chance to sit together and talk about this time again, and to look back at it with good humour.'

  She looked at Marek, still scratching, and shook her head, smiling.

  52

  The Twenty-Fourth Day of Hi-autumn,

  Imperial Year 2332

  The journey from the city of White Haven and across the plains of the Commonwealth had passed largely without incident, although they had met some resistance as they approached the border when groups of Ysabel's soldiers had challenged them on several occasions. In truth Winterburne had been grateful for the letter that Ysabel had