on the march, but there was no way they could reach Vo Wacune
in time to stave off the Asturian assault on the city, and by the
time our forces did arrive, the mimbrates would already be here to
reinforce Garteon’s army. As is so often the case, everything hinged
on time.
I spent the remainder of that blustery night in my library
considering the situation. The Arendish mind was locked in stone on certain
issues. The soul of any domain lies in its capital. Mimbre would not
exist without that golden fortress on the River Arend; Asturia would
be meaningless without Vo Astur; and the Wacite duchy derived
almost entirely from the delicate, soaring towers of Vo Wacune. It
was that peculiarity which had persuaded me not to establish a
capital city in my own duchy. My domain had no center. The
destruction of the city of Erat would have angered me, but it would not
have devastated me. I realized clearly that if Vo Wacune were to
fall, Wacune would no longer exist. Within a few generations, it
would only be a fading memory. Saving the city was an absolute
imperative.
The summer storm which had descended upon us, unlike most
Storms of that season, did not blow off with the dawn, but continued
to blow and rain and make life generally miserable.
This was that fatal tenth day, however, so I pulled on my cloak
and went to the palace to see how things were progressing. I found
Andrion and Ontrose deep in discussion. ‘Father’s on his way,
gentlemen,’ I advised them. ‘This weather’s probably going to slow
him down, though.’
‘It will also, it seemeth to me, delay the march of our own forces
frOm thy duchy,’ Andrion added.
‘Then, as matters now stand, must we defend our city with such
force as is available to us here,’ Ontrose concluded. ‘The task,
methinks, will be formidable, but not impossible.’ They were
worried enough already, so I decided to keep,the information about
the Mimbrates to myself for the time being.
The wind and rain continued for the next two days, and that
somewhat slowed Carteon’s advance on Vo Wacune. At least he
wasn’t right outside our walls at daybreak when the bad weather
finally passed on through and the sun came out again. Father
reached the city about noon, and he found Ontrose and me arguing
in my still-damp rose-garden. My beloved mail-shirted champion
was doing his level best to persuade me to leave Vo Wacune before
it was too late. ‘It must be, Polgara,’ he urged me. ‘Thou must go
from Vo Wacune to a place of safety. The Asturians are almost at
the city gates.’ In spite of everything I’d told him about my planned
reception of Garteon’s forces, he was still worried about my safety.
‘Oh, Ontrose,’ I said to him, ‘stop that. You know perfectly well
that I can take care of myself. I’m not in any personal danger.’
That was when father, who’d gone falcon, settled into my favorite
cherry tree, changed back into his own form, and climbed on down.
‘He’s right, Pol,’ he told me bleakly. ‘There’s nothing you can do
here.’
‘Where have you been?’ I demanded.
‘Fighting with the weather. You’d better get your things together.
We’ve got to get you out of here immediately.’
I couldn’t believe my ears! ‘Have you lost your mind? I’m not
going anyplace. Now that you’re here, we can drive off the
Asturians.’
‘No, as a matter of fact, we can’t. This is one of the things that
has to happen, and you and I aren’t permitted to interfere in any
way. I’m sorry, Pol, but the Mrin’s very specific about that. If we
tamper with this, it’ll change the whole course of the future.’
‘Ctuchik’s probably behind this,’ I said groping for some new
argument to win him over. ‘You’re not going to let him win, are
you?’
‘He’s not going to win, Pol. His seeming success here will come
back and defeat – and destroy – him later. Certain Arends are going
to be involved in his destruction, and I’m not going to do anything
to disrupt that, and neither are you. The “Archer” and the “Knight
Protector” are going to grow out of what happens here, so we
absolutely can’t interfere.’
‘The fall of Vo Wacune is certain, then, Ancient One?’ ontrose
asked him.
‘I’m afraid so, Ontrose. Has Polgara told you about the
prophecies?’
‘In some measure, Holy Belgarath,’ Ontrose replied. ‘I cannot
pretend to understand all of what she told me, though.’
‘To put it very briefly, there’s a war going on that’s been in
progress since the very beginning of time,’ father explained. ‘Whether
we like it or not, we’re all involved in that war. Vo Wacune must
be sacrificed if we’re to win. You’re a soldier, so you understand
things like that.’
Ontrose sighed and then nodded gravely. How could I possibly
fight the both of them?
‘You might want to talk with Duke Andrion,’ father continued.
‘If you hurry, you may be able to get the women and children to
safety, but Vo Wacune itself won’t be here in a few days. I saw the
Asturians as I was coming in. They’re throwing everything they’ve
got at you.’
‘They will be much diminished when they return to Vo Astur,’
my beloved champion assured him bleakly.
‘If it’s any comfort to you, Vo Astur’s going to suffer the same
fate some years from now.’
‘I shall hold that thought, Ancient One.’
How could they so casually accept a defeat which hadn’t occurred
yet? ‘What are you two thinking of ?’ I demanded in a shrill
voice. ‘Are you both going to just lie down and play dead for
Garteon? We can win! And if you won’t help, father, I’ll do it
myself ”
‘I can’t let you do that, Pol,’ he said.
‘You can’t stop me. You’ll have to kill me, and what’ll that do to
your precious Mrin Codex?’ I turned to my beloved with my heart
shriveling within me. ‘Thou art my champion, Ontrose, and more much much more. Wilt thou defy me? Wilt thou send me packing
like some thieving chambermaid? My place is at thy side.’
‘Be reasonable, Pol,’ father said. ‘You know that I can force you
to go if I have to. Don’t make me do that.’
Then I became irrational. ‘I hate you, father!’ I screamed at him.
‘Get out of my life!’ Tears were streaming down my face. ‘I’ll tell
the both of you right now that I will not go!’
‘Thou art in error, dearest Polgara,’ Ontrose told me in unyielding
tones. ‘Thou wilt accompany thy father and go from this place.’
‘No! I won’t leave you!’ My heart was breaking. I could not defy
him. I loved him too much to do that.
‘His Grace, Duke Andrion, hath placed me in command of the
defense of the city, Lady Polgara,’ he said, falling back on a stern
formality. ‘It is my responsibility to deploy our forces. There is no
place in that deployment for thee. I therefore instruct thee to
GO.
‘No!’ I almost screamed it. He was killing me!
L d Pol
OTII,- .,f. ilktp Duchess of Erat, dear a y gara.
U but long ere
that, thou wert of the Wacite nobility, and thou hast sworn an oath
of fealty unto the house of Duke Andrion. I will hold thee to that
oath. Do not dishonor thy station by this stubborn refusal. Make
ready, my beloved Polgara. Thou shalt depart within the hour.’
His words struck me almost like a blow. ‘That was unkindly said,
my Lord Ontrose,’ I said stiffly. He’d thrown duty right in my face.
‘The truth oft times is unkind, my Lady. We both have
responsibilities. I will not fail mine. Do not thee fail thine. Now go!’
My eyes filled with tears, and I clung to him for a moment. ‘I
love you, Ontrose,’ I told him.
‘And I love thee as well, my dearest one,’ he murmured. ‘Think
of me in times yet to come.’
‘Forever, Ontrose.’ Then I kissed him fiercely and fled back into
my house to make ready for my departure.
And so my father and I left Vo Wacune, and I surely left my heart
behind as I went.
PART FIVE
Geran
*cHAPTER23
Even to this day I don’t think my father fully understands exactly
what Ontrose was telling me during that last conversation. When
my beloved had spoken of duty, his use of that term had been
all-inclusive. As a member of the court at Vo Wacune, I was
dutybound to obey the commands of Duke Andrion, but my paramount
duty was to my own duchy, and that crushing responsibility
overrode everything else. Carteon of Asturia had destroyed Wacune.
His next logical step would be to invade and attempt to destroy
Erat as well. I’d failed to save Wacune, but I swore that I wouldn’t