Page 80 of Veil of Winter

A murmur went through the crowd. A few people looked shocked and dismayed; others glared at Princess Elyce as if she were the enemy. But most of them, the ones who had already heard from Jacob and Matthias and Bertold, looked supportive.

Princess Elyce did not seem to notice any opposition. In fact, he had never seen her looking so confident, determined, and in command of herself and her surroundings.

“I know it is difficult to think of being disloyal to your king, but if we do as he wishes, your very lives will be forfeit to a foreign king, Claude of Valkenfeld.

“Our country has enjoyed a peaceful existence for as long as any of us can remember, for hundreds of years. But now is the time to ensure that you and your children will continue to enjoy peace. We must stand up to Claude’s tyranny. And I promise you,as your princess, I shall not allow any harm to come to my father, the king, but I shall ensure that all our people are treated fairly and justly, to the best of my ability.”

Her words again seemed to change the atmosphere of the crowd, this time to sway them from distrust to determination.

Someone shouted, “Long live Princess Elyce!”

Another voice cried out, “Long live Queen Elyce!”

A loud cheer went up.

Bertold let out a low sound like a growl right beside Gerard. He suddenly jumped up onto the wall not far from Princess Elyce with his sword drawn.

Gerard saw King Claude coming across the small grassy patch of land between the castle and the retaining wall. He was moving toward the princess with a group of guards right behind him.

“Do not listen to this girl!” Claude shouted.

Gerard gripped his sword handle with one hand and put his other hand on the retaining wall to boost himself up. But Bertold was already intercepting the Valkenfeld king.

“This is the tyrant,” Bertold shouted, pointing his sword at Claude, “who wishes to turn you all into slaves for his own profit! He tried to take the woman I loved, Astrid, and make her his wife, but when she refused him, he ran her off a cliff to kill her. Some of you know her as ‘The Woman Who Fell.’ Then he made everyone in my country believe that I, his younger brother, was dead.”

People in the crowd gasped. The Valkenfeld guards who were now supporting Bertold moved forward.

Claude held his own sword high and ordered his guards, “Stay back! I shall fight him myself.”

Bertold struck first as his blade connected with Claude’s with a loud clang. They fought, evenly striking and parrying and striking again. Claude seemed to be focused on forcing Bertold toward the back edge of the retaining wall. But as soon as Claude had beaten him back, Bertold would in turn force Claude back several steps.

Claude was striking furiously without much heed to where his blows were landing. Suddenly, he made a wild stab forward. His blade sliced the outside of Bertold’s arm. Bright red blood showed on Bertold’s white sleeve.

Astrid let out a muffled scream beside Gerard. Her face white as snow, she covered her mouth with her hand and stared with wide eyes.

Bertold did not even pause. He kept striking, now pushing Claude back and back, closer to the edge of the wall. The crowd shouted encouragement.

Claude lunged forward again, but this time Bertold evaded his blade and took advantage of Claude’s exposed side and plunged his sword point into Claude’s body.

The King of Valkenfeld yelled in anger and pain, like a wounded animal, and again lunged at Bertold. Bertold swung straight down on Claude’s blade and knocked the sword from his hand with a clatter on the stone floor.

Bertold snatched up the sword before Claude could recover.

King Claude swayed and stumbled back a step, then fell on his hip, clutching his chest.

“You have killed me!” Claude yelled, pointing at Bertold. “You did this! You killed me.” His voice choked, as if he was too weak to speak anymore. His eyes closed and his head went limp.

From where Gerard was standing, it appeared that the blade had entered close to Claude’s heart, a wound that would no doubt kill him quickly.

No one went near Claude, though he lay still and quiet, his eyes closed. Even Bertold did not move to his side but only looked down at him.

King Claude’s guards stood still, staring first at the fallen king, then at each other.

Gerard jumped up onto the retaining wall beside Princess Elyce and strode toward Claude’s body. He knelt beside him and pressed on the spot on his neck where a man’s blood would normally pulse with the beats of his heart, but he did not feel any movement. He laid his ear against King Claude’s chest, but he heard nothing.

Gerard stood up, the crowd silent. He looked over at Bertold and shouted, “Long live the new King of Valkenfeld, King Bertold!”

Claude’s men all fell to one knee and bowed their heads, saying, “Long live King Bertold!”