The Toils (Book One)

IX. Defect or Die Hungry

"So?", Randall looked up from his desk and asked Ritty and Drew as they stepped off the staircase and into the Throne Room.
Neither Drew or Ritty wanted to be the one to break the news. Both sat down in the chairs in front of Randall's desk.
"They're not taking the food", Ritty spoke after a breath.
"What'd'ya mean they're not taking it?", Randall's pupils narrowed to slits, his grey eyes resembling those of a snake, his voice grew harsh.
"They got food from elsewhere; they don't need ours", Ritty put basically.
"Where are the blankets?", Randall asked borderline naively. 
"There are no blankets, Randall, we have nothing. You destroyed half of our crops for nothing", Ritty stood.
"People are going to die without those blankets!", Randall dropped his quill and slammed his hand on the desk.
"Yeah- and if you'd've waited, we'd've had blankets in no more than a month", Ritty pushed back, "But you tore up half our crops and tried shoving shit down the throat of people who didn't want it".
"How was I supposed to know they'd get food from somewhere else?!", Randall bit back.
"You weren't! You were supposed to listen to the council when they told you not to tear up the crops early!", Ritty retaliated.
"I was the head of that council! I don't need people frustrating my efforts to bring this country to some sense of normality!", Randall leaned across, hissing.
"Well, you're doing a brilliant job!", Ritty retorted sarcastically.
"Oh fuck off!", Randall spat at Ritty, "How is conspiring behind my back helping the situation?".
"It was one meeting", Ritty frowned, "We were trying to bring normality to this country".
"By trying to overthrow its leader?". 
"By restoring a council. The vote. Things you've long since given up on".
"I haven't given up on them, I've put them on hold while I try and patch over the wounds that three murders and the destruction of our only trading asset have left upon us", Randall actually sounded sincere in his words, a fact that surprised Ritty. 
Ritty sighed - "I'm not denying that you've been thrust into a difficult situation. You've had to deal with things no other person in this Kingdom has ever had to deal with. But - and it's a big 'but' - you pushed us into meeting behind your back. You pushed Gene into freeing Thatcher. You pushed us".
Randall thought on this for a second before retorting, clearly wanting the last word on the matter.
"You pushed me", Randall held up his handwritten parchment.
"What is that?", Ritty reached across and grasped it.
'The Second Constitution of The Kingdom Of Gossforshire
A written sum of laws and principles that determine the political governance of the state'.
"What is this, Randall?", Ritty flitted his eyes up from the document and scowled.
"The old constitution was written by your grandfather - it has no relevance today", Randall responded leaning over the desk, tugging the document from Rittys hands.
"What does this mean?", Rittys voice was an equal mix of anxiety and confusion.
"It means; there is no more council. The King will work exclusively with the Head Guardsman, in this case, Drew. There is no more Royal Family - The Crown will pass to the Head Guardsman and The Headguardsman will select his own successor".
"And you're okay with this?", Ritty turned to Drew and probed. 
"I've made myself clear", Drew bit the inside of his cheek, "Whatever the King says". 
"Right - of course", Ritty rolled his eyes, "He lied to you", Ritty told Randall pointing his finger at Drew.
"What?", Randall looked to Drew.
"He told you Thatcher and Magnus run off out of sight. But that was a lie. He knew they were in Motueka. He knew", Ritty stood.
"Are you serious?", Randall asked Drew.
Drew said nothing, he didn't move.
"But they're there?", Randall asked a second question, ignoring the first.
Drew nodded with his lips pursed.
"Okay", Randall nodded, "That's all the more reason then".
"Reason for what?", Drew asked.
"To get the Guard ready", Randall announced, "we're going to war".

*

"Over some fucking blankets?", Antonia sat on the bed in Magnus's old bedroom, Agnes and James stood around the side of the bed listening. 
"It's a real problem", Anges pushed in, "We will see people die without them".
"Yeah but to pit our guards against the Motuekans is suicide", Ritty responded, sat next to Antonia. 
"That's true, but the guards will do whatever Randall says", Agnes looked down at him. 
"Well - maybe", Ritty itched his nose and spoke, "Drew might not be as hardline as he tried to let on".
"What'd'ya mean?", Anges asked back. 
"He knew where Thatcher and Magnus were this whole time", Ritty answered hollowly.
"Really?", James chipped across. 
"Yep", Ritty nodded, "So, if someone could get into his ear, maybe we have a way to save lives".
They all looked between each other. 
"I'll do it", Agnes answered, "the chances of him listening to a member of the family are slim, he owes his loyalty to the King; who in this case isn't a family member".
"You think he'll listen at all?", James asked. 
"He knows how important the guard are for the country. I think he understands that if 1500 of them die on the beaches of Motueka; our country collapses", Ritty spoke back.
"Alright then", Agnes finalized, "I'll find him".

"Drew!", Agnes called across the yard to Drew standing at the roadway with a pair of stallions with trailers attached to them. 
"Ugh, what now?!", Drew cried out exasperatedly. 
Agnes hobbled toward him, her knees clicking violently as she walked. 
"We both know this is nuts", Agnes stopped in front of him. 
"What do you want me to do about it?!", he snapped back rhetorically.
"Stop it going ahead!", Agnes gave him a light thwack across the shoulder.
"If I keep pushing him - I'm gone!".
"You're right, so we need something a bit more toned down", Agnes implored, "Something that won't put your life at risk".
"Doing anything puts my life at risk".
"Drew you took the first step", Agnes broke, "You got Thatcher and Magnus to safety-".
"I didn't-".
"Whatever you did or didn't do - they are alive", Agnes placed a Grandmotherly hand on Drew's arm, "Going into Motueka half-cocked puts that in jeopardy. We forgive you for Gene. But if you're complicit in this, we will never forgive you".
Drew gulped. Could he really do this?  
"But Randall-", Drew half-protested.
"-needs you to control the guard. He doesn't respect you, and I don't think you respect him".
Drew's chest slumped. He was done arguing, his internal compass aligning.
"Okay", he acquiesced, "I think... perhaps I have an idea".
"Let's hear it".
"Randall wants to go in 48 hours. He's demanded I get together an armada to send down on two schooners. Two hundred men", Drew swallowed, "There are some Guards who deserve to die on those beaches more than others". 
"Like who?", Agnes already knew the answer, but she pressed on hoping that the more she broke Drew, the more ruthless he'd become. 
"Like the ones who killed those citizens wanting to protest on the lawns", Drew was standing on the edge, trying not to breakdown, "Thatcher said that if we went to war, the citizens would revolt".
"And do you want that?", Agnes rubbed her thumb against his arm. 
"No. I don't want to give Randall anymore excuse than he already has to kill them", Drew looked down into her eyes, "And there's a certain faction within the guard that wants that - wants to kill, wants bloodshed and wants any excuse to do it, so long as the King says it's okay. I didn't want to believe it existed, I thought Kings made good decisions and were all noble and shit. Randall is power-hungry and bloodthirsty and the worst part is that he truly believes he is a good person doing good things".
"So; what is it you want to do? Just say it, no dither".
"I want to send that same faction down to Motueka, I want them to storm the beaches. And I want the Motuekans to slaughter them; taking the filth out for us", Drew squared his jaw.
"For that to work, they need to be outnumbered, and outsmarted", Agnes pointed out.
"You can go and warn them. You're a high ranking councilwoman - you know what you're doing", he elaborated, finally becoming secure in his idea and losing the thickness from his voice, "None of the others will be able to do this for you".
"Master Ritty-".
"-hasn't the brains to walk through this minefield. And even if he did, Ritty is too hot of a target for Randall's ire right now. If you need security, you can take either Lauren or Elvis with you, Randall doesn't have eyes on them".
Anges stood silent for a second, licking her lips and thinking to herself.
"I don't wanna drag those two into it, they've already seen their father killed", Agnes looked out onto the roadway.
"Ruben?", Drew suggested half-heartedly. 
"Do we even know whose side he's on?", Agnes put back to him.
"I think after Gene...", Drew trailed off. 
"You did that, Drew", Agnes replied stonily, "you could have let him go".
"No. I couldn't. I had three choices. I could've let him go, but then I would've been killed. I could've handed him back to Randall who would've killed him publically the same as Maya. Or I could've done what I did; which was spare him the humiliation of a public death".
Agnes was taken aback. 
"I didn't know-".
"Because no ones cared enough to ask".
"Wrong, Drew", Agnes rubbed his forearm, "We respect the Guard enough to know that whatever you did, you did because you were following the rules".
Drew surveyed her up and down, drinking in the sympathy he was being offered.
"If you're comfortable going by yourself, go by yourself, but you need to go quickly".

Drew wrangled twenty men in the grass at the rear of the First House, next to the bush.
He stood on an upturned crate, the sky was cloudy, the wind had a biting chill to it. 
"ALRIGHT MEN!", Drew boomed over them. 
The stopped chattering amongst themselves and turned their attention to him.
The house to the right of him towered over them, throwing a shadow down onto the field/
"THE MOTUEKANS HAVE REFUSED OUR FOOD AND ARE WITHHOLDING OUR BLANKETS. IT IS GETTING COLD. WE ARE ON THE PRECIPICE OF FREEZING TO DEATH. RANDALL, OUR KING, HAS DECLARED WAR. WE SHIP OUT IN TWO NIGHTS FROM TONIGHT. SO I NEED YOU OUT THERE, FINDING THE FIERCEST, MEANEST WARRIORS YOU KNOW, THE ONES WHO AREN'T AFRAID TO BATTLE ANY THREAT, NO MATTER HOW BIG OR HOW SMALL. TEN MEN EACH. TWO HUNDRED TOTAL. RALLY THEM, PREPARE THEM BECAUSE THIS WILL BE THE BIGGEST BATTLE OF THEIR LIVES. OF YOUR LIVES. OF OUR LIVES!", Drew thundered.
The Guards cheered, thrusting their swords into the air. 
"GO! ROUND THEM UP FROM THE CITADEL, ROUND THEM FROM THE VILLAGES. ROUND UP THE ONES UNAFRAID OF MOTUEKAN SCUM. WHO AREN'T AFRAID TO RAID THEIR VILLAGES, STEAL THEIR POSSESSIONS AND KILL ANYONE WHO GETS IN THEIR WAY!", Drew announced to more cheers. The energy of the crowd was palpable, they were hyped, angry and thoroughly bursting with testosterone. 
Drew jumped off the boxes and approached a Guardsman with peppered hair and a five o'clock shadow.
"Sean", Drew tapped him on the shoulder, breaking him away from his conversation with a ginger-haired guardsman.
"Drew", Sean turned around. 
"I need you to head out to Chocolate Fish Bay with Reno and grab two boats, bring them out to the Key Pits and load them up with a hundred or so canoes to take out to Motueka", Drew instructed him. 
"Ya really wanna drag Reno into this? He's a kid", Sean hinted. 
"He'll stay on the boat - you both will", Drew assured him.
"You're guaranteeing me that?", Sean pushed in, a drop of scare tinged his voice.
"I am", Drew nodded solemnly, "If we had any other captains, we wouldn't take Reno, but we don't, it's just you two".
Sean nodded, he understood the stakes. 


Agnes landed on the beach at Motueka at about three o'clock that afternoon. The sun had broken through the clouds, but only just. The air was colder than in the Citadel, and the sun did little to ease the chill. 
Patrolling the beach, Riwai caught sight of her and helped the old woman drag her canoe from the water up onto the sand. 
"It's been a long time since I've seen you here", Riwai looked down at her, dropping the canoe.
"Four - maybe five - years", Agnes agreed.
"I'm assuming you're not here to fight?", Riwai asked facetiously. 
"The opposite", Agnes wiped a slough of greying hair from her face, "Can we go up to the villages and talk?".
"No", Riwai shook his head, "We're not allowing anymore Gossfordians into Pa until this ordeal has been worked out".
"Fair enough", Agnes simpered, "Suppose you wouldn't bring Thatcher or Magnus down here either?".
"Let's keep this simple for now".
"Randall wants to invade Motueka", Agnes announced, "He's going to bring two hundred men, two boats, most likely equipped with the trebuchets he just dug out of the pits".
"Why are you here then?", Riwai asked skeptically, "Is this some kind of misdirection? We're undermanned and unprepared and you lot have an easy victory?".
"The exact opposite. We're trying to warn you so that it's an easy defeat", Agnes explained back, "Thatcher said to Ritty, that she thought if Motueka and Gossfordshire went to war, the citizenry would riot. None of us want that. We don't want them to be slaughtered. Randalls already has shown force toward them. We don't want to give him any more excuse to harm them".
"How do you know for certain that he'll just give up after one fight?".
"Randall is a lot of things. Not nearly enough of them are good things. But the one good thing about Randall his how much he understands the inner workings of our country. He understands that we have fifteen-hundred Guardsman. He knows that if two hundred of his best soldiers die on the beaches of Motueka, the country will be impacted. Some of those Guardsman will be doctors. Some of them will be farmers. Some of them builders or even swordsmiths. Randall can't risk losing these men. But winter is here, now. And he needs to choose between two hundred guards dying, with the possible reward being blankets, and untold hundreds of citizens dying of cold and hunger, with the possible reward being a state of anarchy".
Riwai nodded - "If your men die, what are you going to do about the cold, then?".
Agnes shrugged, kicked her feet in the sand, and sighed. 
"I don't know. We're taking this one problem at a time".
"Two hundred men. Two days from now", Riwai repositioned the conversation.
"That's correct".
"You know if any of this is wrong, and we're ambushed - Gossfordshire will be razed to the ground", he replied matter-of-factly.
Agnes nodded understandingly. 
"Alrighty then, let's go up to Pa and you can relay this to Ruataupare".