They were ready for a fight.
But Ghislaine was very suspicious about what was going on. The tribes around here were unorganized and rough, but they were cunning in that they used the land to their advantage. The Normans did not; heavily armed, they believed they could withstand anything because of their superior weapons and armor and tactics. They didn’t even try to hide themselves. Perhaps their superiority was true in an open battle, but in covert warfare, it might not be so effective.
Ghislaine couldn’t stand the thought of Gaetan being cut down because he fought one way while the caro comdenti fought another. He hadn’t seemed to be apt to really listen to her on this journey, instead, relying on his men or on Wellesbourne who, it seemed, hadn’t been home in almost twenty years. Times changed, as did areas and towns in that time. Gaetan and his men were entering this land like warriors on a quest when what they needed to do was be as unobtrusive as possible.
That arrogance was going to cost them if they weren’t careful.
The dog was milling around up on the road, sniffing the ground, but he’d stopped barking. He even stopped to look back at the knights behind him, men who had slowed their forward progression considerably. But Ghislaine’s warrior instincts were taking over; she had little doubt that there was someone, or something, waiting for them up in those trees. She could feel it. Men with arrows, perhaps, or axes, both of them sharp projectiles that would come sailing out at the Normans as they passed through. A glance at Gaetan and the others showed that they were ready for a fight, tensed up and prepared. They were waiting for it to come to them.
But Ghislaine couldn’t wait. Better to draw out what was lying in wait and remove the element of surprise to give the Normans targets to strike at. If there was, indeed, someone waiting in the trees, then it would take away their advantage if she was able to draw them out. And if there was no one waiting… well, she would look like a fool. But it was better than permitting Gaetan and his men to be cut down.
She had brought them along this road. Perhaps, in a sense, she needed to protect them from it.
When the dog began barking again, Ghislaine kicked her mare as hard as she could and the horse bolted, tearing up the road and into the collection of trees. She could hear someone shouting behind her, men shouting out her name, but she ignored them. She was about halfway down the shaded path when the arrows suddenly began flying from the trees and she heard men in the foliage, barking like dogs. They were howling and hooting, and an arrow zinged by her head. Gasping with fright, she lay down on the mare, putting her head next to the horse’s neck for protection. More arrows, more barking, and then sounds of a fight behind her.
And then, an arrow struck her.
A large yew arrow with a barbed iron head went straight into her right thigh, straight through it, and embedded itself in the mare’s body. Startled by the pain, the mare came to a sudden halt but Ghislaine didn’t fall off because she was pinned to the horse by the arrow. She tried to control the horse with one hand while trying to remove the arrow with the other, but she couldn’t get a good grip on the shaft. Without a weapon, she was vulnerable to the men who were now rushing her from the trees. Terrified that she was about to be captured, she tried to get the mare moving but the horse wasn’t cooperating.
Her terror was replaced by great surprise when two war horses suddenly appeared and the men who had charged her from the trees were cut down by broadswords that were singing a deadly song as they sailed through the air. The attackers were still barking and Ghislaine caught sight of them, dirty men in leather and loincloths, faces painted with mud and twigs in their hair. Some had iron-head axes and still others had bows and arrows, but even in their greater number they were no match for the Norman knights on horseback.
Still, it was a battle from the start as Gaetan and his men cut down the savage tribe that ambushed them from the trees. Soon, the road was littered with headless bodies, bloodied limbs, and carnage, but the dog-people didn’t give up. They were tenacious, but so were the knights. There were far more of the dog-people than the Normans and they seemed to come in waves, but the Norman knights handled them easily.
Meanwhile, Ghislaine and the two knights who had ridden to her aid seemed to be boxed in by a swarm of the dog-men but, in short order, the attackers fell away and someone grabbed hold of her horse’s reins, tearing off down the road to get her out of harm’s way. Ghislaine simply held on to the horse’s neck, in anguish with the arrow still through her thigh.
She watched the road pass beneath the mare’s feet, praying they would make it to safety as the ground whizzed by and rocks kicked up in her face. Time seemed to have little meaning as they ran, but jostling her leg was sheer agony and with every move the horse made, she struggled not to cry out. But soon enough, the horse came to a halt and hands were reaching out to steady her. Someone pulled her into a sitting position and when she looked around, she saw Gaetan bailing off his horse and rushing to her side along with de Moray, his bloodied sword still drawn. De Moray stood guard to make sure they weren’t attacked again as someone slid onto the back of her horse and held her steady.
“Easy, my lady.” It was Aramis behind her, bracing her right thigh against his enormous right thigh to keep it steady as Gaetan tried to get a look at what had happened. “We shall remove this quickly, have no fear. Stay still.”
Ghislaine was in pain, in distress. “I am sorry,” she gasped. “I knew there was someone in those trees, waiting for us, and I thought if I drew them out, they would lose the element of surprise.”
Gaetan looked up at her, an oddly compassionate expression on his face, something Ghislaine hadn’t seen in days. His focus moved to Aramis, sitting behind her and holding her fast, before returning to the arrow.
“It was a clever move, little mouse,” Gaetan said as he tried to get a look at the underside of her thigh where the arrow had her pinned. “It was also astonishingly brave. But had you told me your plans, I would have sent an armored man in your stead so we would not find ourselves in the position we do now.”