Emerald Fields - Interview
“Just lets me tell it likes I seen it. Let mine words guide yours minds to a history that is mine life entwined as it was with that o’ the greatest warrior of this age. Though some say mine boy brother Crimson could smite him down in half a shudder of the heart, I knows different. These eyes, sparkling bright, that you look-see into presently have stared deep into the duller less fortunately beautiful eyes of my boy brother Crimson and sort out that truth. Aye I says it now and I says it loud in clear, my little ankle biter brother would be going to his own execution fighting the good constable.”
“They say that Crimson Fields slew half a battalion of Swallow Foot Knights.”
“Aye tis true he did mine Princess. Though they forgets to mention that he hads Ash at his side at the time.”
“And who is this Ash?”
Emerald swung his head round, as if annoyed by the sudden interruption from the Cardinal, but then flashed a smile and continued his story, “I forgets yous don’t know mine kin. How does I puts mine brother Ash into words? Of the things that Ash is and does, the mostest important of all is that he keeps Crimsons vanity from flourishing out of hand. Lets him knows that all the nice things peoples says about dear boy brother Crimson is all a steaming mound of ****. People thinks he is crazy but I knows different. He has the clearest eye for truth in this world of heroes and villains. Nobody argues with Ash Fields. He is right we are all wrong.”
“You paint pretty pictures of your family Fields. The clans are filled with heroes you would me believe?”
“Nay just the one, but he is the only true hero of this tale. Of this world in truth. He is the slayer of heroes. And villains too Cardinal…. The south have sent their heroes forth and they were annihilated. The Reservation sent the last hero of their age forth too. Ah Ferrol Blu. I played a wordless dirge when we buried him. Couldn’t summon the words. Just plucked at me harp and wept freely like a little girl, pardon me expression Princess.”
“Ferrol Blu is dead?”
“Danae killed the Commander of the Swallow Foot Knights?”
Emerald startled by the Princess’s reaction of seemingly genuine anguish returned his gaze back to the Cardinal. Who’s reaction was so polarised Emerald felt his heckles rise. “To us ere mortals he shall never be seen. Gone where the elves go when they go. Where does the heathens go Cardinal?”
“They wander lost for eternity.”
“I likes that, they wander lost for eternity, I hopes I goes there whens I dies. Sounds utterly magical does it not Princess?”
“Not particularly Emerald.”
“Rest assured it is not magical and you are going there Fields.”
“I is? Danae says we shall never die him and me. Says that we sold our souls to the devil when we weres kids. Stupid promises made to some crazy marsh witch. Can not be any truth in it me thinks? Can you lift curses Cardinal; I likes the idea of wandering lost for eternity? Sounds better each times I hear mine self says it. Magical.”
“So you now would have us believe that Danae can not perish?”
“Not mine words Cardinal. Were you not taking notes? The blithering marsh witch saids them there words. Ugly as sin she was, aye and the brother Ash… you knows what he says when we sees her. ‘I saw her first lads’. He would lie with out with a heart beat he would. Or perhaps he could sees what we coulds not. Perhaps the marsh witch was something more than we weres supposed to knows. Ash to this day swears she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Mind he was only thirteen then, at quite an impressionable age.”
“Thirteen?” The Princess looked utterly bewildered.
“Aye he was early to the heather was our brother Ash.”
“That is not what I meant. Ash was one of the fifty who defeated my cousin at the Spurn?”
“Aye and Crimson was there too with a bow and arrow and getting under our feet the whole time. It was very embarrassing for Ash and me, having our ten year old brother along with us, buts our father was ten years dead at the Betrayal and mother was a little touched in the head. Kept saying she was going to eat little Crimson. Well we hated the little ******* but we could not leave him to that fate. Thought we’d get him killed at the Spurn.
Aye but the lads loved him. You see we’s were just bairns playing soldiers, but I guesses that wi Crimson being there we felts like we were’s older. When battle took us into its dark midst the lads fought a defensive shield around Crimson. I prayed the whole time for an arrow to take him but it never came. People love Crimson to which I doesn’t understand, he is the dullest little boy that plopped out of my mother’s cunny. Pardon the expression princess. But when he kills three men, he claims he killed more but that is childish fancy, when he is only ten years into this life then people tend to hero worship.
The real truth and one which Ash reminds Crimson with regularity is that Danae killed half a thousand men. The clans did not want to love Danae and so they loved Crimson instead. It is a betrayal to the memory of that day. The Duke sent out twenty or so sons of nobles and merchants to wet their swords and make a spectacle of us. Whilst we huddled wet and cold and filling our breaches with piss and ****, Danae rode/strode out to meet them at the Spurn. After a short discussion Danae killed them all. He was always a shy boy, not comfortable expressing himself in large groups.”
“What did he say to them?” She leant forward in her chair.
“Ah lass I could not hear a single word over the top of the crying noises coming out of mine mouth. Ash swears he could read his lips, but alas Ash is crazy. I told you about the marsh witch did I not?”
“Yes you did. What did Ash say he read on Danae’s lips?”
“I will avenge your deaths.” Emerald paused and looked down at his bare feet. “Doesn’t mean much to me, not at all. What does you thinks it means Cardinal? I think perhaps Ash was lying. Though Ash never lies. Not ever to me his kin and eldest brother. Canst I bereft you of some of that fine honeysuckle flavoured water mine princess?”
“Forgive my poor hospitality Emerald.” She begged reaching for the jug of water.
“Nay princess stay your fine hand. The bodyguard wi haunted eyes that see passed mine every word will fetch it.” He looked long and hard into the bodyguard’s eyes, and once again wondered what it was that he saw there.
“Hospitality? You are a prisoner not a guest. An enemy of this kingdom, a heathen warrior. You are an enemy of the church and will be crucified as befits your crime.”
He looked at the Cardinal with a mask of shock and horror. “I aint never killed a man in my life, never mind a man of the south or a man of the church. I likes the ideas of your church and was thinking o’ becoming one o’ those ere Spreaders of the Divine Word that you send up north to tries and divide the clans. I likes them, they makes some interesting arguments about heavens and hells and that there only being just the one gods and we’s being wrong about everything. I loves them. Ash used to kills them before Danae stayed his hand. Says ‘It is their master who will perish not these here innocent men’. I likes the constable too; he never killed a man who did not outright ask to be killed.
I sometimes asks mine self the question, who in their right minds would ask that question of the good constable? Seems to me it would be a fool’s game to go dancing down that ever so dark road with Danae.”
“I will not sit here and listen to a heathen threaten the Emperor and his people.”
“I wouldn’t either yours worships. Oh sorry you means me?
Princess I assures you I never made no threats ever. Never had no bone with the Emperor neither. Got no bones with no man me. I loves the Emperor but I tells the I loves his daughter more. Never rolled in the heather with a woman before. Peoples says I am a queer one for not wanting to. I says that I never met a girl who tickles mine fancy. I tells the I have thought of little else this passed year. Aye it is true Princess; you have captured the heart of Emerald Fields. Alas you have doomed me to live a life of lonesome sorrow. I shall never knows a woman’s touch. I feel the tears coming, Cardinal be a good man and sees me to my room please.”
“What? Guards take the prisoner back to the dungeons!”
“Thank you good man.” Emerald swooped in a ridiculous bow, his hands fluttering in front of him and his chin on his chest.
“Actually take him into the Deeps, he is too high spirited for a heathen.”
“Ah bless you Cardinal. A room without a view, suits my mood it does. I shall contemplate in all innocence the love of my life. Princess please find it in your heart to forgive me for being such poor company today…” Crack. The pommel of sword cracked into the side of his jaw. “Who blew out the candles? Cardinal fetch some servants to relight the candles, we can not have the Princess sitting in darkness..” Crack. What was that noise? Emerald thought to himself before slipping into darkness……
They stood there huddled on the fell. Fifty boys not yet men. (Flows into the story of the battle of the Spurn from Emerald Green’s perspective).
