I Only Love My Greatest Enemy

Hooves slammed into the ground, kicking up dirt and snow. A light blanket of the white substance coated the ground, an early Autumn snowfall. Armand rode as hard and fast as he could. A contingent of hussars accompanied him. They clenched lances in their hands. Sabers were on their hips. Wheellock arquebuses, very expensive but ordered by Armand a while ago, were strapped to the beasts' sides.

They rode in a V-shaped formation. Armand was at the head, and the hussars were following him.

"Thank the gods, the rebels talked in the end," Armand thought. "I didn't have to torture them. When I return, if their information was reliable, I'll make their executions as quick and painless as possible."

Still, a hard grimace crossed his face.

"To think that the rebels have a base in my lands. How much dissent did they sow there? How many people did they kill? I'll have to wipe them out in one fell swoop. With luck, their Revolutionary Council will be there."

Still, sweat poured down Armand's brow. His shoulders shivered with worry. Concern flowed through the boy's thoughts.

"If I don't make it in time, they'll just flee. And then, I'll be back at square one."

Going too fast would tire or even kill his horse. That put a hard cap on his speed. But Armand had sent a messenger ahead to prepare other horses for him and his men to switch to. This allowed him to ride far beyond the endurance of a single animal.

Armand's party rushed from the plains and crop fields into deep woods. They slowed their pace then, just enough to keep from crashing into anything. Horses are living animals, creatures with enough sense to not crash into a tree. That being said, they could still trip over an upturned root. Or their rider could hit a branch above the horse's body.

Going through dense foliage is never easy. It is very ill-suited terrain for cavalry. Still, moving on horseback was faster than going on foot would have been.

As the sun began to set below the horizon, Armand saw a light ahead in the woods. It came from a small cottage right where his captives told him the rebel base was. The Concord slowed his pace with the hussars doing the same.

They stopped behind some bushes at the edge of the woods. There was a clearing between them and the house. Armand tied his horse's reins to a tree branch before dismounting. His hussars followed him.

The group left their lances with the animals, bringing their arquebus instead. They stayed low to the ground as they made their way to the hut. Their leather armor, while not capable of stopping a gunshot, was perfect for a situation like this.

Everyone kept to the densest underbrush. They kept a wide lookout, making sure no one saw them. Armand and the hussars also made sure to watch their steps. A single touch of a tree branch might give them away as far as they knew. Slowly but surely, the cohort arrived at the wall of the cottage.

Armand placed his ear to it. He listened with incredible intent. For a moment, there was silence. The boy adjusted his position, trying to find an area where the wood was thinner. Faint voices came to his ear. They were still too muffled to be useful.

The Concord moved his body further. He made as little noise as possible. Soon, the voices became more audible. Armand was finally able to hear them speak.

"What are you talking about? We cannot flee like cowards!" a man's voice.

"It isn't cowardly! It's practical!"

That came from a woman.

"Yeah!" another man. "The Revolution must live on, no matter what! Besides, that cowardice stuff is noble talk!"

This should have been all Armand needed to hear, but he lingered for just a moment longer.

"There's no way our comrades talked! They'd let themselves get tortured to death before that! Besides, I'm sure we've killed that Hapsburg bitch, and..."

Armand stopped listening. He walked over to the front door. The hussars followed Armand, but he held out a hand and they stopped. Then, the Concord pulled out a grenade and placed it on the doorknob. He lit it before everyone rushed back.

There was a loud explosion. The door handle flew open. Armand pulled out a trumpet and blew into it as hard as he could. A noise that rivaled the grenade blast came out. Then, his hussars charged.

They burst into the room with great speed and fury. Their arquebus were primed and ready to fire. Armand followed them inside, a pistol in each of his hands.

The people in the room were reeling from the shock of the explosion. Bits of wood and metal were sticking out of some of them. To further the disorder, the hussars shouted.

"Hands in the air! If you're holding weapons, drop 'em, or we'll shoot!"

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Those few who were armed obeyed. A few guns and swords dropped to the ground. Armand did a quick head count. There were about a dozen people inside, and some of them were very well-dressed. He hoped he'd caught at least some of the Revolutionary Council.

"Who the damn hell are you?" an old man grumbled out. "If you want money, we can pay you!"

Armand projected his voice in the most intimidating way a thirteen-year-old could.

"I am Lord Armand Concord, ruler of the lands you find yourselves in, and vassal to His Majesty King Ludwig VIII of Foldzar."

Despite his young age, the realization that they had been captured by a noble made some of the people in the cabin shit themselves.

"In the name of His Majesty, you are all under arrest," Armand declared. "Under charges of conspiracy to commit murder, petty treason, and treason. You will be given a fair trial under the laws of Foldzar."

His voice was filled with barely-contained anger.

"But pray that Lady Eris is alive. I will find out soon myself."

Eris rode through the woods with incredible fury in her heart. She clenched her horse's reins so hard that she felt like her hands would fall off.

The rebel talked alright, revealing much in his interrogation. Eris learned about various rebel bases, where the Revolutionary Council might be, and about the revolution's plan to assassinate Armand.

"After we gave them that fake bribery material, they just ignored it! And they tried to kill Armand! Of course, I don't think they could pull that off! Not at all! There's...there's no way!" the girl contemplated.

Despite her thoughts, she was heading at full speed to Armand's lands with a large contingent of hussars. Eris' horse was taking heavy breaths from exhaustion. Still, the girl did not let up.

The girl's mercenaries and hired bandits were acting elsewhere in her lands. She had relayed some of the information on the rebels to them, enough to ensure that as many of the revolutionaries were slaughtered as she could. Though Eris made sure to give orders to bring their heads back to her.

There was no way the girl was stopping until the Revolutionary Council's heads were mounted on her wall. And Robespierre's corpse was in multiple pieces, each hung from a different city gate.

Arranging all this while on the move was very difficult. However, Eris pulled it off. And now, she was...

...Eris was jolted from her thoughts when her horse came to a sudden halt. Her hussars' horses did the same. Armand burst out of the underbrush in front of her, riding with a smaller contingent of hussars. Shock coated both nobles' faces. It was mixed with a thick layer of relief.

"Thank the gods, you're alive, Eris," Armand thought before speaking. "Eris, what are you doing here?"

"I captured some rebels. They told me about a plot to assassinate you," she replied. "Of course, I knew you had it handled. That's why..."

"Why is your horse so tired?" the Concord noticed.

Eris shrugged.

"I merely wished to get to you as fast as I could. Now, tell me, why were you riding towards my lands?" she asked.

Armand let himself smile.

"Well, during the attempt on my life, I captured a rebel. He told me where some of their bases were. One of the revolutionaries at a base I raided mentioned a plot to kill you," he answered. "Naturally, I couldn't leave my beloved fiancé in such danger. So, I split off with a small contingent of my hussars to get to you."

A slight chuckle escaped Eris' mouth.

"It's a good thing we ran into each other here. If we didn't meet, that could have led to a long chase," she said.

Armand nodded.

"Yes, it could. So far, I've dealt with the only rebel base in my territory. It seems there are far more in your lands," he stated.

"And they are being dealt with. Soon, the Revolutionary Council's heads will be in my hands," Eris responded.

"Very good," Armand said. "Unless something goes wrong, it seems we have eliminated these rebels."

He was still a bit on edge. However, the Concord boy was at least relieved that this thing was at an end. Still, a thought nagged at him.

"Eris probably slaughtered the rebels as brutally as possible. Their sentence should be death, as that is what traitors deserve. But I cannot help but feel some sympathy for them. I disagree with many things they said, but they had some good points. I can understand why they resorted to revolution, even if they accomplished nothing in the end."

Taking a deep breath, Armand spoke.

"My dearest Eris, we are doing a good thing. A lot of lives will be saved because of us," he said.

Eris kept her expression level.

"Why is Armand telling me this? He knows I don't care about saving lives," she thought before speaking. "Of course, dearest Armand."

The boy's face turned dead serious.

"And even if they were endangering those lives, the rebels were more misguided than evil. While most of them will have to die, I hope that they do not suffer before it," Armand said.

Understanding flashed through Eris.

"My men are taking care of most of them. How easy their deaths are depends on them, not me," she replied before thinking. "And I doubt the bandits will give the rebels swift deaths."

Armand nodded. Grimness flowed through him.

"I know Eris hires bandits. If she sent them after the revolutionaries, I fear for their fates. I can do nothing about this. But some day, I will bring those bandits to justice," he pondered.

"Few will know of what we did today, but it seems you did the lion's share of the work. You deserve credit for that, if nothing else," Armand said.

A light blush crossed Eris' face.

"Thank you, Armand," she replied. "I am certain you were busy with your own affairs. Besides, you merely had less opportunity to deal with the rebels than I did. More of them were in my lands than yours, after all."

Armand shrugged.

"I suppose so. But we still must be careful, Eris. There are rebels outside of your territory. Can you guarantee me that you'll wipe out their leadership?" he asked.

"Mostly," Eris answered. "One or two might escape, but I will take most of the Revolutionary Council's heads. From then on, it's just a matter of hunting down the rest."

A grimace crossed Armand's face.

"I will do what I can to help, but we should be prepared for the worst. Even if they accomplished little, I doubt the members of the Revolutionary Council are fools," he noted.

Eris' expression turned serious as well.

"My thoughts are the same," she spoke before thinking. "Even if they are subhumans, I cannot underestimate them."

At the same time, Armand was contemplating.

"Does Eris really mean that, or is she just trying to assuage my worries? I suppose time will tell."