Back From Chaos by Yvonne Hertzberger

taking in the news as it poured out. There would be time for questions later. She smiled to herself. Brensa had always been a talkative girl who knew all the latest gossip. If she just let her go on, most of what she wished to hear would come of its own accord.

~ 15 ~
     
    BRENSA’S TALE
     
    As Brensa spoke, she relived the horror of those spans in her mind: the women’s headlong flight over the wall, Nellis’ terror at not knowing where Mikost was.
    “We hid among the trees and watched the black smoke pouring over the wall. We could hear women and children screaming … horses, too, my lady. That is a terrible sound. We could hear soldiers shouting orders, too, and were glad to be over the wall.”
    They watched as more and more people climbed the wall, grasping tree branches to hold as they jumped, or found crevices to squeeze through, faces glazed with fear. With a stroke of pure luck, they had spotted Mikost jump from the wall and roll to the ground, clutching his arm.
    “Nellis screamed and rushed to him, not thinking of the danger it put us all in if we were seen. We dragged him back into the cover of the trees, away from the noise and smoke. His arm was badly burned, my lady, and he was in a lot of pain. Nellis coughed for a long time and began to have birth pains again.”
    Eventually, both the coughing and pains subsided, to everyone’s great relief. For a long while they huddled there, afraid to show themselves. Slowly, the noise grew less and the smoke ebbed. They were hungry and cold as night set in. By morning they knew they must chance returning. Nellis needed food. They stole back, keeping under cover. When they reached the point where they could see the wall, they met two women who told them about Gaelen’s offer of amnesty.
    “ Mikost asked us, ‘Do you believe this may be trusted? It could be a trap to get us inside.’
    “ When we heard everyone could return to their homes we did not believe it at first. So we hid a while longer inside the edge of the forest. But there was nothing to eat in the woods. Nellis was faint with hunger, and Mikost was still bleeding through the shirt he had wrapped around his burn. He needed to have his arm properly bandaged.”
    Realizing they had no choice, they ventured back inside. Terrible destruction greeted their eyes. The houses and shops almost all showed fire damage. Dead bodies lay piled in the central square, perhaps because that was the only safe place to burn them. Two huge pyres sent up columns of choking black smoke. The stench of burning flesh nearly felled them.
    Brensa’s voice caught with suppressed horror. “So many bodies, my lady.”
    On the other side of the square, the invaders had made a separate pyre for their own fallen. She had turned away in horror, unable to watch.
    Soldiers accosted them as soon as they were spotted. Mikost tried to keep Nellis behind him, but the men, acting very stern and official, commanded she show herself. They took in her advanced pregnancy and demanded to know who they all were and what they were doing.
    After Mikost explained their need for food and care, the soldiers advised them that if they wished to return they must first swear allegiance to Lord Gaelen.
    ‘ Swear allegiance and you are free to go about your lives,’ they told us. ‘Refuse and you will be taken to a holding camp outside the walls.’
    “ They also wanted to know if we had taken anything.” The amnesty included all those who returned stolen property immediately.
    Brensa’s voice shook as she continued her tale. “We had nothing. We fled with just our lives!”
    Mikost had not trusted the soldiers at first, but Nellis needed food. So, when he saw so many familiar people walking freely about, he told the women they really had no choice. They agreed to swear allegiance. There seemed no harm in it for now.
    When they had sworn their oaths, the soldiers pointed them in the direction of a large tent, where they were told they would find a