day polishing, clumped as he made his way down.
As he reached the bottom, he checked himself in the mirror. He had ordered it to be moved here specifically for his use today, and for this sole purpose. He lifted his helmet, sliding it onto his head. It was padded and leather lined, ensuring that there would be no chafing if he ever had to wear it in battle. He adjusted it to sit as comfortably as possible and checked himself in the mirror, one more time.
'Perfect!' he said.
Martell turned and marched along the hallway. The Corporal rose from his seat behind his desk, as he reached him, standing to attention and clicking his heels together.
'You may stand down, Corporal,' Martell said, as he passed the man, continuing through the lobby to the main doors. He turned the handles and pushed the doors open stooping to ensure that he didn't catch the plume of his helmet on the door frame. The soldiers stationed at the door were already standing at attention but as the Commander passed through they seemed to stiffen themselves even more.
'Gentlemen,' Martell said, as he acknowledged the men on passing. They remained motionless, continuing to stand to their fullest attention.
Martell stopped as he stepped onto the cobblestones and clasped his hands behind his back, looking around him. He took a deep breath, allowing the air to fill his lungs.
Down the street to his right, Winterburne was standing outside of the Watch Headquarters, his men dispersing to go about their tasks.
'What an embarrassment!' Martell said, under his breath, and he shook his head as he looked down his nose at the scene. The notion that these men were actually paid by the tax payers of the city had always been a thought that he could never accept. But today, he supposed, it was of no consequence as there were other matters for him to worry on.
He turned his gaze back up the street where many of the guardsmen from the Home Guard of Westmoreland were already in their places along either side of the main street. Other small groups of troops marched away from the Garrison behind him, down the road to their final positions of honour along the route of the Emperor. A few of the townsfolk had already begun to take a place behind the cordon of soldiers and each moment the number of watchers grew a little more.
Martell loved it when he could see his orders playing out as he had planned and he glowed with pride. He spun to his left, marching up the hill towards the East Gate. It was an opportune moment for him to inspect the Guardsmen that lined the street and he crossed to check out his troops, offering them words of praise and encouragement. It was not often that he had the privilege of seeing his men in full dress in this way and it was something of which he felt intensely proud. If he had his way this would be something that he would see every day, he thought, as he continued up the hill.
Martell's stride was long and it did not take long before he reached the Inner Gate. The road continued across the divide, towards the Outer Gate which was as impressive as ever and he looked to his left to check for himself which of the sets of stone steps he would need to climb.
Along the battlements, up above him, were the nine cannon which had been raised up to the top of the wall for the purpose of the salute. Such a schoolboy error was unlikely, but he counted them anyway. Every detail must be checked, he told himself.
Martell marched towards the stone steps and looked up at his men. They certainly looked ready for his inspection and were waiting in place, each next to their respective weapon. He took the first step of his climb to the rampart, the soles of his boots scuffing on the worn sandstone and as he reached the top he was hit by the chilling breeze that made its way inland from the sea; it was still early spring, and a cold edge could still leave its mark in the wind. It was a time of year that he relished the most; with New Year came the spring, and a renewal of life, and a time for looking forward. This year, he thought to himself, there would be changes alright.
The plumes on the helmets of his men flapped in sympathy with the banners flying on the walls above the city as Martell paused and looked over the battlements.
Rampton faced the Commander as he approached, saluting to welcome him for the inspection.
'Remember this day, Lieutenant.' Martell surveyed the scene down below. 'You will not see many more of its like.' His gaze remained locked on the vista. 'Wondrous, isn’t it?'
'It truly is, Sir.'
Beneath them, and reaching out across the plain on either side of the road, sat the sprawling tented city that the men of the Governors of Peravia, and Almeria had raised over the previous days. The road itself was lined with close to four thousand men of the Imperial Guard from all over the Empire forming a Guard of Honour for the Emperor’s arrival. The banners of the eight Outer Provinces flew over the men, and above them all, on the entrance to the city itself, flew the banner of the Home State, the ninth, Westmoreland. Towards the horizon, and just visible now from their elevated position, Martell could see the Emperor's procession and a further one thousand men, his black and white banners fluttering in the wind.
Martell turned to face the Lieutenant. 'I would guess one hour until the Emperor arrives at the city gates. His Imperial Highness will wait outside the city walls until we signal total readiness.'
'Yes, Sir.'
Martell marched past the Lieutenant and took up a position of attention. Along the wall were the nine guns that would create the highest military salute possible, and one which was reserved only for the Emperor. He took a deep breath before commencing his address.
'This may be one of the greatest honours of your career!' He paused to allow each guard to savour his words. 'Not often does an Imperial Guardsman get the chance to fire a gun of salute for the Emperor. Enjoy this day. Tell your grandchildren that you were one of the chosen men who saluted the Emperor.' He waited a moment further, then said, 'Do your duty well and you will make me, and the whole city, proud!'
Martell was well aware of the affect that this would have on the chosen men. They had been hand-picked by the Lieutenant and the effect on their confidence would be tangible, many of them becoming minor celebrities within the ranks, and perhaps even spurring on one or two to embrace the duties that came with the privilege of rank.
'Lieutenant!' Martell said.
Rampton marched over to him, and saluted as he stood at attention.
Martell leaned in a little. 'You know the drill. The first cannon fires when the Emperor enters the East Gate. A further cannon after each two minutes until they are all spent.' He looked into Rampton's eyes. 'There must be no errors. Is that clear, Lieutenant?'
'Perfectly, Sir.'
'No errors.'
'Not one, Sir.'
'Good,' Martell said. 'Do your duty then.'
oOo
Kateryn sat cross-legged in the centre of one of the padded couches, talking with Eleanor. The door of her private sitting room had been left ajar and it crashed open as Rose burst into the room, and Kateryn spun around.
'Your Highness,' Rose said, her excitement bubbling, 'you really should see the square, it’s full up with people! The guards are keeping them back, but...well you really should come and see for yourself. I've not seen anything of its like since your wedding day.'
'Really?' Kateryn replied. 'That many? I'm not sure that's such a good idea.' She was itching to point her head out through the window, though, and could barely conceal her own excitement.
'Just a quick look, maybe?'
'Well, perhaps we can take a sneaky peek from the balcony. That can't hurt, surely.' Kateryn rose from her chair, brushing out the creases that had formed in her dress. 'Come on ladies,' she said.
Reaching out, she took the hands of the two young women, squeezing them tightly as they walked across to the door. Frederick had been away for three months and she longed to see him. Despite this, Kateryn did her best to hide how she felt; it would not be proper for an Empress to show such feelings, but she knew that she was not doing a very good job of hiding them, though.
The windows leading to the balcony were open and the she
er curtains which hung from ceiling to floor billowed out as the breeze blew through them. Kateryn pushed them to one side and stepped out onto the balcony. The square below was mostly empty, aside from a few guards marching to their final positions, but all around the outside was a sea of people, their heads turned to look down the road that ran up to the square itself. One or two had seen that she had stepped through the doors, and cried out, waving up at her. A few more turned, and they too called out and pointed, followed by a few more, until what seemed like all of them had spun their heads around to wave and cheer.
Kateryn was stunned by the number of people that already waited. 'There must be thirty thousand people down there,' she said, 'and that’s just the ones I can see. The Lord alone knows how many are on the road from the East Gate.'
The noise was building and Rose and Eleanor giggled as the cheering grew louder and louder.
'Perhaps,' Kateryn said, with a smile, 'it was not such a good idea after all to have come out here. Now look what I’ve done.' She looked over the edge of the balcony again, the cheering continuing as she waved to the crowd which only seemed to make things worse, the people shouting even louder. Kateryn looked back at the women and laughed.
Draper appeared in the corridor. 'Your Highness?' he called as he made his way towards the balcony.
'Yes, Lawrence?' Kateryn pushed her head through the curtains and stepped off the balcony to join him.
'We have received word from Commander Martell,' Draper said. 'The Emperor is now almost at the city walls, and the Lord Chamberlain has asked that you to join him on the Palace steps.'
Kateryn’s eyes opened wide in excitement and she spun around to look at Rose and Eleanor. They clapped loudly and Kateryn smiled back. 'Here we go,' she said, hugging each woman in turn. 'I will see you later.'
Kateryn followed after Draper, who had already begun to walk back down the corridor towards the stairs that led down to the Reception Hall. As she reached the end of the corridor, she looked back at the two woman, pointing to each of them each in turn. 'Behave yourselves while I'm gone,' she said, and then headed after the valet.
Kateryn was soon stepping down the marble treads which led down to the main doors of the Palace. She counted ten guards stationed on each side as she passed, there were even more inside the Palace Reception Hall, all of which were standing in their full armour, ceremonial halberds in their hands.
The noise from the crowd found its way through the open doors even here and as she glanced through the gap between them she could see people in the square waving and cheering. The Chamberlain waited for her, looking up as she approached.
'Your Highness,' he said, kissing her hand, 'most radiant, as always. May I just say that it will be a great honour to accompany you and welcome home the Emperor.'
'Thank you, Lord Courtenay,' she replied, 'you are most gracious.'
'Are you ready, Your Highness,' he asked.
Kateryn nodded.
The Lord Chamberlain led her through the doors and the crowd erupted as they saw the pair take their positions at the tops of the steps, where they posed for a moment allowing the throng to see them. A soldier of the Palace Guard joined them at the head of the steps, the man carrying a red satin cushion edged in gold braiding and finished with tassels at each corner. Lying across the cushion was the Sword of Command, its polished blade reflecting the scene around the square in its high sheen.
Kateryn raised her voice to make herself heard above the noise of the crowd. 'I have been led to understand that the Emperor is now very close, My Lord.'
'That is correct, Your Highness,' Courtenay replied. 'They should be reaching the Outer Wall at any time. We will know that he has entered the city when the first gun