UCSBdad

Disclaimer: We are but warriors for the working-day; Our gayness and our gilt are all besmirch'd With rainy marching in the painful field; There's not a piece of feather in our host- Good argument, I hope, we will not fly- And time hath worn us into slovenry: But, by the mass, our hearts are in the trim. However, I don't own Castle.:. Rating: K, mostly. Time: See below.

He was at the forefront of the charge and knocked an enemy horse archer off his mount and slashed at others as he rode past. Then he saw the first of the Timurid heavies coming toward him. He slashed at one as they passed each other, neither man damaging the other. Ahead of him were two enemy cavalrymen who had somehow gotten their horses entangled. They were both too busy trying to separate themselves to see him and by the time they did, it was too late. Both men died without quite knowing what was happening.

A loose, riderless horse, its eyes wide with terror, slammed into his own horse, causing it to drop to its front knees. As he struggled to get the horse upright, he saw an enemy headed right for him. Not just any enemy, but Amir Bayan Salduz himself. Castle struggled to both get his horse on its feet and prepare to defend himself.

He heard a familiar roar and saw smoke and fire shoot past him. Salduz's helmet was snapped back and he reeled in the saddle. His horse turned away of its own accord, and Salduz was quickly lost in the mass of struggling horsemen.

Kate was beside him, her smoking gonne in her hand.

"Are you all right?" She yelled over the noise of battle.

"I will be as soon as you leave. This is no place for a lady."

"My place is with you."

"Your place is with me where there is no danger." Lady Alexis said, grabbing the reins of Kate's horse and leading her quickly away.

Before he could make sure she was well away from the fight, he was charged again. He traded blows with the man until a crossbow bolt slammed into the eye of the other man's horse and they both collapsed in a heap.

Later, when he thought about it, he really had no idea how long the fight had lasted or what had happened. He only remembered odd and disjointed bits of what had happened. He recalled slashing at the head of a horse archer and watching the man dodge each blow. He had no idea what had happened to the man. He recalled an enemy heavy cavalryman riding slowly through the fight. He was ready to attack the man when he saw that his enemy was transfixed with arrows and bolts, including an arrow through this thigh and into his horse which kept his dead body from falling off. One of his own cavalrymen had ridden up to him and shouted at him. Castle knew he had answered the man, but afterwards he had no idea who the man was, what he had said or how he had replied.

Suddenly, there were no enemies in front of him. He looked about and could see only his own men. He carefully took off his helmet to get a better look. The Timurids were indeed gone.

"My Lord." croaked a familiar sounding voice.

Turning, he found Jock Tait slowly riding to him, his arm in a sling.

"What happened to your arm?"

"Broken. One of them had a mace. I had Father Ryan set it. It'll be fine"

"Have they really gone?" He asked, not quite believing it.

"They have, Lord Castle. It's near to sundown though. And when they come back tomorrow, we'll be in trouble. Many stakes are ripped out and we have many dead and wounded. The enemy's dead cover too many of the remaining stakes and the trench is filled in with the dead, ours as well as theirs. Things will not go well for us on the morn."

"We'll worry about the morn when it comes. We need to see to the wounded and provide food and drink for the living. Then we'll see what we can do about our defenses."

It took hours for everything to be done and Castle was everywhere trying to prepare his battered army for tomorrows battle. Suddenly a gentle hand was laid on his arm.

"Come, my love. It grows late and you must rest for the morrow." Kate was no longer dressed in her armor, but in a dress that looked like something Alexis would wear. He allowed himself to be led back to their tent where food and drink awaited. Then off to bed, a brief round of lovemaking and then sleep.

It was still dark when he rose. He wanted to let Kate sleep, but she heard him preparing for battle and rose.

"Is there any way I can convince you to leave? You could go into the mountains and be safe."

Kate's smile lit up her face. "If I had wanted nothing but safety, I would never have married you. Now, help me dress in my armor."

He sighed and did as she asked.

It was still dark when Castle arrived at the front lines of his now shrunken army. Soon, the sun rose. There were no drums beating and no sign of the enemy.

"They lost a lot of dead and wounded yesterday as well." Huw said. "Perhaps they won't attack until tomorrow."

"They must know that we lost many as well and started with fewer men than they." Jock replied.

The Walloon knight, Henri de Brienne, renowned for his excellent vision, rode to Castle.

"My Lord, I can see a plume of dust to the east, as if a large body of horse was riding in that direction."

All the soldiers began looking to the east and soon it was apparent that a large cloud of dust was indeed heading east.

"Could they be retreating?" Castle asked.

"I'll send my scouts out." Urus Khan muttered and soon several bands of his men rode out.

In an hour the first party rode back in and headed directly to Urus, Castle and the rest of the officers. One man began yelling excitedly to Urus. Urus turned to Castle with a huge smile on his face.

"This man says his party rode through their entire camp. He found dead bodies of men and horses, smashed tents, weapons and not one living thing. He found a small hill and from its top he could see the Timurids heading east. I'll send out more scouts to follow them and make sure they keep going."

For the rest of the day, scouts came in regularly to report the enemy was headed slowly east.

The next day the gate in the Georgian wall opened and a troop of soldiers brought Prince David to see Castle.

"Lord Castle," he said without any diplomatic preamble, "Amir Bayan Salduz has advised is that he is returning to his lord. He will not be attacking Turkey through Georgia. It seems your army was too much for him. We, of course, salute you for your defeat of our common enemy."

"Our pleasure." Castle said being diplomatic enough not to mention that the Timurids had not become their common enemy until after they had been defeated.

"We know that you must long to return to your own country, so we have sent a fast ship to the Crimea to summon your transports." Castle mentally translated this as "You've beaten an enemy we feared, now get the hell out of here."

"Thank you, but my men need food and drink. Could you reestablish the markets that were here? And many of my men are sick or wounded. They overwhelm our few doctors. Could you provide some?"

"Of course. Of course. We will do everything in our power to help you on your way."

He was sure they would.

It took over a week, but the sick and wounded either died or got well enough to travel in wagons to the seacoast to the north of them. They arrived at a small port north of Georgia where the ships were supposed to meet them.

Urus Khan left them there.

"By God, Lord Castle. It has been quite an adventure serving with a Christian army. The tales that men will tell around their fires about us will last for a thousand years. I'm minded to take a Christian wife or concubine so that I might have Christian children, just to see if they would be like you and your English men."

"You might need an English wife for that and I fear we have none to spare." Castle said with a smile.

"I am desolate." Urus said, not looking a bit desolate. "But I must leave you here. One of my enemies fled far from me and now I find that they and their herds are only three days ride from here. They need to learn that one cannot run far enough to escape the reach of Urus Khan."

The two men shook hands and Urus and his men rode off.

The ships arrived several days later and loaded Castle's army. First, they sailed to the Crimea where the surviving Genoese crossbowmen were returned. They sailed past Constantinople without stopping. But once in the Aegean Sea, they were approached by a large Ottoman Turkish fleet. Almost as soon as they'd sighted the other fleet, a small, fast Liburnian set out from the Turks. Soon they could see Hamid waving happily at them.

"Lord Castle! Lady Katherine! Lady Alexis!" He boomed as soon as his feet hit the deck. "Rumors of your great victory arrived only hours before the couriers from Lady Alexis arrived with confirmation and greater details. Congratulations, my friend, congratulations. You have done well."

"And the Sultan?" Castle asked. "Did Tamerlane also attack through Persia?"

"He did indeed and we defeated him. Regrettably, we did not destroy his army, but we sent him away. I thank God that Timur did not concentrate his forces against just one of us or there would have been a much different outcome."

"So all is well?" Asked Alexis.

Hamid frowned. "Timur's two armies were damaged, and our spies say he has troubles with the Land of the Chin, so he will be back. But not for a while. In the meantime, we have something for our friends in Europe." He called to the men in his ship in Turkish and they began bringing aboard small but heavy boxes.

"We have gold for the Venetians. Not that much, but enough to bribe them to stay friendly with both Istria and Turkey. We have gold for Duke Rodrigo so that Istria can keep a strong army and navy in case we need allies again. And I think we may. Lastly, my friend, gold for you so that you my keep your own army intact and well trained and equipped."

Hamid reached into his pocket and drew out something.

"Lastly, the Sultan has decided to make you an Ottoman noble. You are now Castle Pasha, a commander of an army. This bauble will tell the world of your new status."

The "bauble" was a large pin encrusted with diamonds.

Then Hamid scowled. "Is there no food and drink for your friend who has come so far to greet you?"

There was, of course.

The fleet stopped in Greece at the County of Larissos. They found that under the rule of Countess Aurelia the county had prospered. There were many fishing boats in the harbor and several merchantmen were there to take on food and water. They were greeted by Countess Aurelia and as they rode to her castle, the peasants waved and bowed as they worked in the fields.

At the castle they met Nicolo of Taranto, the mercenary that Lady Alexis had asked to come to help Aurelia. He had turned the Countess' armed peasants into a formidable little army when combined with his own men. From the looks Nicolo and Aurelia gave each other, they all thought a wedding might be in the future for them.

At last, weary and travel worn, they arrived back in Pola and were soon back in their villa. There they found they had a visitor.

"Father Michael." Castle said. "I am surprised to see you here. Why have you come all the way from England?"

"My son, I have sad news for you. Your family has died of the plague. Your parents, brothers, their wives and children are all gone. You now own all of your ancestral lands."

Castle sat heavily. "I'm shocked to hear that. However, I have a life in Italy now. I'll arrange for someone to manage the estate, but I will remain here."

Father Michael shook his head. "That's not possible, Richard. I have a letter here from King Edward III. He has ordered you to return to England at once."

The End

For now.

Author's note: I do like to use actual historical people in my stories. Timur the Lame, or Tamerlane as he was known in the West, claimed to be a descendant of Genghis Khan and did rule a vast empire. Moreover, he defeated the Sultan of the Ottoman Turks, but that was not until 1402, when Lord and Lady Castle were retired and spoiling their grandchildren.

Urus Khan did exist and did fight Tamerlane, but little is known about him.

Tamar of Georgia was beautiful, intelligent and was called the King, (Mepe) rather than the Queen of Georgia. However, she was long dead by the time Castle arrived on the scene.

Michael V Palaiologis was the Emperor of what was left of the Byzantine Empire when Castle passed through his capitol.

The Fourth Crusade did get sidetracked into conquering the Christian city of Constantinople and never got near the Holy Land. The Pope was not amused.

Ibn Battuta was a renowned Muslim traveler who traveled most of the then known world, from Spain to China. In 1354 he wrote a book about his travels.

Some of you may recognize the Highlander McAuslan as the fictional ancestor of the equally fictional Private John McAuslan, the dirtiest soldier in the British army, from George MacDonald Fraser's books.

For the rest, they are totally fictional.

Next up is After Flowers for Your Grave, a short one.