KALDRIC'S POV:
The stone of the courtyard was slick with the blood of the men I had killed to protect the Crown, but it felt like nothing, the defeat of my opponent failed to engrave triumph.
My hand was still shaking, the hand that had reached for her, only to grasp nothing. My mind was hazy.
After years of control, of composure, my perception, my heart was not in my authority.
"Where is he?" I roared, my voice echoing off the fortress walls, "Where is the man I left to guard her?"
I found Gawain near the stables, leaning against a pillar and wiping soot from his brow with an indifference that emitted fumes from me.
He looked up at me, a defensive lie already forming on his lips.
"Commander, the breach was too great. I had to—"
I didn't let him finish. I struck him with the full weight of my plate-clad arm, the metal connecting with his jaw in a sickening crunch.
He hit the ground, but I dragged him up by his collar, slamming him against the stone.
"You abandoned your post, Gawain!" I hissed, my face inches from his, my eyes overflowing with bloodlust.
"I gave you one order. One. And now she is in the hands of rebels because you were too much of a coward to hold a door!"
"She ran!" Gawain spat, blood spraying from his ruined mouth. "The girl is a burden, Kaldric! You said it yourself!"
"She was MY burden!"
I hit him again before I threw him back into the dirt, the word burden stinging like a whip but he had no reason to abandon the post I assigned.
"I decide what happens to her. You do as you are told, you knave!" I yelled.
Bringing death silence in the space, none dared to interfere. To speak in defense of Gawain. They were too frightened, none had seen me this infuriated before.
"You…" I inhaled sharply, my hair falling on my darkened features.
"You tell me who tore her dress, Gawain." I growled, the possessiveness of it surprising even me, my boot hovering inches from his throat.
"Who dared to touch her when I assigned you as her protector!? Was it you?!"
I kicked him, he cougheed up blood, whimpering in pain but none of it provided me with tranquility.
"N-No, Commander. Wh- Why would I? She- She ran to you."
"Aldwin!" I barked.
Not taking my eyes off the quivering man at my feet. I swear, if I had one proof, one statement from Ardelle that it was him.
That throat would get crushed under my very boots.
"Yes, Commander?" Aldwin appeared from the shadows, his face grim.
"Investigate." I ordered furiously.
"If a single lead indicates he laid a hand on my bride, bring him to the block. He either loses his status or the hand that dared to touch my woman." I threatened openly, terrifying Gawain and others around me but none dared to question.
"Yes, Commander."
I didn't wait for his excuses. I turned and strode into the inner sanctum. Leonidas was present along with Zack, their eyes fell on me when I arrived.
"Kald-" Leonidas was about to discuss the matter but Zack stopped him, placing his hand in between.
The King stood by the hearth, surrounded by his advisors, his face dead serious as he surveyed the maps of the Northern retreat.
"My Liege," I said, dropping to one knee. My head was bowed, but my voice was a raw thing, the uncontrolled heart was present.
"I ask for leave. Immediate leave."
"The coup is suppressed, but not defeated, Kaldric."
The King looked down at me, his eyes narrowing.
"The rebels have retreated into the crags. We must prepare for the counter-strike. Your place is at the head of the vanguard."
"My place is with my wife," I looked up then, and for the first time in my life, I didn't look at my King as a servant that made him frown.
"Explain."
If he refused, I would go all alone. And eradicate any hurdle of my path with my bare hands.
"She was taken right before my eyes, My Liege." I looked at him as a desperate man.
"My pride is scarred, my strength, my duty, my honor, is in question. And if I won't eviscerate those who dared. I fail as a knight, as a husband, and as a man."
The King went silent. He saw the tremor in my hands. He saw the sheer senselessness of a Commander willing to risk it all for a single soul.
"Go," the King whispered, a hint of pity in his voice.
"Find her, Kaldric. Before the wrath swallows what is left of you. And next time, keep her close."
I turned to leave, my mind already calculating the tracks in the snow, when a sharp whistle stopped me in the stables.
Captain Araleth stood by the doorway, her silver armor gleaming in the torchlight. Behind her stood six of her best Northern scouts.
Men who looked like they were carved from the frost itself.
"You're a tactical genius, Kaldric, but you couldn't track a wounded bear in a blizzard," she said, her usual teasing tone replaced by a grim, focused energy. She adjusted the rapier at her waist and stepped into my path.
"My team knows these tunnels. We know where the rats go to hide when they've stolen something precious." She informed me, pulling her horse but I stopped her.
I looked at her, my chest tightening. I did not require anyone's mercy. "This isn't your fight, Captain."
"Don't treat me like a stranger, Kaldric. This is no mercy. The insult is to the Northern Fortress itself." she countered, stepping closer.
"And besides, she is the woman of the man who taught me how to write. I am to return the gratitude to my Mentor." She leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"And besides, she still hasn't told me how you lead the battle of the bed. I am very intrigued to know."
"Araleth!"
"Come on, Commander. Why are you wasting time blushing? Get up. We have a bride to trace before proceeding." Giggled, already mounting her horse.
I didn't thank her. I couldn't find the words. I simply nodded, and together, we sprinted toward the gates.
The wind was picking up, the temperature dropping, but for the first time, I didn't feel the cold. I felt only a burning, murderous determination.
'Hold on, Ardelle,' I thought, each heavy stride thudding a silent promise against my ribs.
'I am coming. And God help the man who stands between me and you.'