Iny Lorentz - The Marie Series 02 (29 page)

9.

Meanwhile, the icy winter holding Bohemia in its merciless grip hadn’t stopped the Hussites from raiding the milder regions of Austria. The returning Taborites bragged loudly about their deeds, and Marie heard of atrocities that made her shudder while strengthening her will to flee as soon as she could. Working for the Hussites day after day in the old barn, she overheard information that would help her escape and survive. Her plans were made more difficult because she couldn’t leave Anni or Helene behind. The young woman had become very attached to Marie, and she was suffering under Renata even more than Marie, as she wasn’t protected by the mention of Jan Hus’s name. Vyszo’s wife vented her hatred of Germans on Helene, and many men did the same. The long years of war had brutalized the men, and Little Prokop, Vyszo, and their comrades agreed with Falko von Hettenheim that only a soldier who enjoyed plunder and rape was a good soldier, and they led their men by example.

Though she was scared to join in a Hussite campaign, Marie also knew it was her only chance to escape, and she waited impatiently for the opportunity. Many weeks passed without anything happening. Then, suddenly, men arrived in droves to march to Saxony and Silesia under Prokop’s command. Soon the women who would go along to wash, cook, serve the leaders, and process the loot were chosen. To Marie’s great annoyance, Renata was the commanding woman, and she chose only companions she liked—who, of course, didn’t include Marie, Anni, or Helene.

Desperate to leave, Marie went to see Ottokar Sokolny. In her eyes, he owed her a favor, and she wanted to remind him of it now. Not noticing her presence in front of him, the young count seemed a lot tenser than a few months before, a deep crease above his nose now dividing his forehead like a sword scar.

Marie cleared her throat, and when he still didn’t react, she addressed him. “Forgive me for disturbing you, my lord. I heard they were looking for women who wanted to accompany the troops.”

Count Ottokar shook his head as if trying to rid his mind of negative thoughts, and he gave Marie a distant look. “What did you say?”

“I want you to take me and my friends Anni and Helene with you. We won’t be a burden, and we’ll help wherever we can.”

“You want to go to war with us against your own people?” Ottokar stared at her in surprise. Then he noticed the pleading look in her strikingly blue eyes. “Oh, so that’s what it is! You’re hoping to escape along the way. You can forget about that right away, as they would send men after you to catch you and bring you back. And I don’t have to tell you what would happen to you then.”

Marie was shocked that Sokolny had seen through her so easily, but then she laughed out loud, still trying to convince him. “What are you thinking, sir? I’m not crazy, but I don’t want to sweat in that stinking barn forever. Also, as a sutler, I know something about campaigns.”

“I can’t help you, Marie. I’m in charge of the vanguard, and I don’t have any use for women there.”

He looked like he was telling the truth, and Marie believed him, as in the imperial army, too, the vanguard usually traveled without obstructive followers, and the prostitutes and sutlers were assigned to the main body or even the rear guard.

“I’m sorry to have bothered you, my lord.” She started to turn away, but Sokolny held her by the sleeve.

“Don’t call me that again. To the Taborites, I’m a simple brother and no nobleman. If they hear you talk like that, both of us might be in trouble.”

Marie looked at him with surprise, realizing he really seemed to be afraid. She just couldn’t decide whether he was scared for her sake or for his own life. Either way, she considered herself warned. She would have to be more careful, as she would rather spend another winter there than put herself and her friends in danger.

“I understand, brother Ottokar.” She disappeared in a flurry of skirts. Ottokar Sokolny followed her with his eyes, regretting that a beautiful and proud woman like her had to work as a slave, but a few moments later he had forgotten her again over his own worries.

Frustrated, Marie returned to her hut, crouching in a corner and trying not to listen to Renata and her friends as they drank beer and discussed the upcoming campaign in bloodthirsty tones. But Marie’s ears suddenly perked up as Renata mentioned that Vyszo, who would be leading the rear guard, was still looking for sutlers and prostitutes. Even though Marie completely detested the man, she didn’t want to miss that opportunity, and she left the hut to find Vyszo’s sergeant, Przybislav, who was responsible for choosing the women.

The door to Przybislav’s hut stood open, and when she entered, she saw the Czech panting and moving on top of Helene. Though Marie’s first instinct was to leave, her friend saw her and looked away with embarrassment.

Przybislav climaxed with a triumphant roar, caught his breath, and stood up with a satisfied grunt. Then he discovered Marie and leered at her. “What’s the matter, woman? Come sooner next time if you’d like a turn, too.” Shuddering, Marie vowed that she wouldn’t voluntarily give herself to that man even if her life depended on it.

Helene had slipped into her dress and pushed past Przybislav to Marie. “Has something happened?” she asked in German.

Marie nodded grimly. “I wanted to ask Przybislav if you, Anni, and I could join Vyszo’s group.”

“I can’t imagine he’d object, especially if I come along,” Helene replied with an expression that told Marie what price her friend would pay for the vague possibility of escaping. For a moment she considered giving up her plan and waiting for another opportunity. Then she wondered how many times her friend would get molested if they stayed behind. She herself had been lucky so far, but Jan Hus’s alleged blessing wouldn’t protect her forever. Giving Helene an encouraging look, Marie twisted her lips into something resembling a smile.

“Can you please talk to Przybislav about assigning us to a group? Or would you rather stay in camp, waiting for the next man to call you to their hut?”

Shaking her head, Helene turned to Przybislav and sputtered several sentences in Czech to which he eventually replied with a few grumbled words that sounded like “fine by me.” He then slapped Helene’s bottom so hard, she yelped with fright. Not waiting for his next move, Marie darted out the door.

Helene followed, rubbing her behind and looking at Marie curiously. “Now please tell me why you want to join Vyszo, of all people? I’ll probably have to lie with Przybislav every night from now on and end up carrying his child.”

“I’ve got a remedy against unwanted pregnancies,” Marie replied. “Come, I’ll give you some right away.”

Helene anxiously crossed herself, then glanced back at the hut, where Przybislav was still standing in the door, and nodded. “I guess it’s better that way. And as long as I’m serving as his mattress, I don’t have to worry about others.”

Marie hugged her and stroked her cheek. “Let’s pray to God that you don’t have to put up with him for much longer and that we can return to our home country soon.”

Helene lowered her head sadly. “I don’t have a home, Marie.”

“Home is where you make it. Now, chin up, and you’ll see, everything will be fine!”

10.

Three days later, the army broke camp. Little Prokop had called on every man capable of bearing arms in western Bohemia, and he now led more soldiers than any Hussite leader before him. His army consisted of a good ten thousand men and was accompanied by more than a thousand
horse-drawn
carts. The animals were smaller and shaggier than the horses Marie knew from home, but also tougher and less demanding. Mostly acquired as booty on raids, the wagons they were pulling seemed small and fragile, but their simple construction made them easy to repair. Since most of the horses pulled the carts and were too small to carry armored men for long distances, there were hardly any mounted men. The few Hussites who did ride horses were noblemen of rank and their followers, and they received wry looks and sometimes curses from the Taborite soldiers.

Since he wanted to travel light, Prokop had ordered only as many provisions as they needed to reach the first villages and cities in Saxony, as from then on they would plunder to feed the army. The soldiers’ simple attire was also made for speed, and only the leaders wore more than a few iron plates sewn onto leather. Yet the wagons were loaded with hundreds of the Hussites’ favorite weapons, including mighty pavises, or large, heavy shields, pikes, morning stars, and also the terrible culverins, against which neither the imperial army nor the troops of the raided lords had yet found a defense.

Marie had once strolled past an artillery wagon to take a closer look at the culverins, each as long as a man and forged as one solid tube. A soldier standing by had explained to her how they worked, blusteringly proud of the firepower. Apparently, the back end was closed with a complicated mechanism, which was removed before loading with a tightly twisted mass tipped with finely chopped lead or a solid missile, then backed by a parcel of compacted gunpowder at least three times as large. Once the ammunition was in the barrel, the closing mechanism was put back in place and locked, and the culverin could be fired. Marie had never seen these terrible weapons in action, but she sensed she wouldn’t be spared this experience.

Ottokar Sokolny and his mounted vanguard left at dawn, but Prokop waited for several more hours before giving the order for the main body to march, and by the time Vyszo’s group finally left, the sun was almost at its highest point. Marie didn’t have to steer a wagon this time, but she sat next to the driver at the front of a cart. Instead of a solid box seat, there was only a highly uncomfortable board tied between the two side ladders. Inside the wagon, Anni, Helene, and six soldiers were sitting on a pile of boxes and sacks. Marie initially couldn’t believe that the little brown horse could pull its heavy load, but it had been towing the wagon for hours now and didn’t seem to tire.

The men she was traveling with were all Taborites and thus basically her worst enemies, and yet she got on just as well with them as with the plain soldiers of the imperial army. She laughed at their jokes after they were explained in German, received their admiring looks with the expected degree of flirtatiousness, and twisted free from reaching hands. When the train stopped in the late afternoon, she looked for a suitable spot for the wagon and pointed one out to the driver. He muttered something very close to praise and steered his cart to the place she had suggested. As soon as they had stopped, Marie’s friends jumped off the wagon in agitation, and Anni used gestures more than her
still-faltering
voice to show Marie how the soldiers had been pinching her behind the whole time. Bitterly remembering Losen’s attack on her, she animatedly demonstrated to Marie how she’d turn into a scratching, clawing cat the next time someone tried to take her by force.

Marie tried to calm her down. “Try not to let it bother you. During the day, men are just pests. But at night, you have to watch out for them. Relieve yourself next to the wagon, and don’t venture alone behind a bush or into the forest.”

As they talked, the women kept themselves busy. They had lifted the kettle and the trivet off the wagon and set them up, and Marie called to one of the soldiers to look for firewood in the forest.

He snorted contemptuously. “Send your two helpers!”

“I need them here! You’ll go if you want something to eat tonight.” Marie’s threat worked. Grumbling about finding dry wood that early in the year, he trudged off and returned shortly with a large bundle of usable twigs. Instead of joining his comrades, he stayed and watched with interest how Marie cut chips off one branch, covered them with dry grass from the year before, and struck sparks to light it. When she had a bright little flame going, she looked at him with a smile. “You’ll have to fetch more wood. It’s not enough.”

Instead of protesting, he took another comrade and made sure the fire soon roared underneath the kettle, so Marie could prepare the evening meal for the group of men assigned to her. As she was filling the bowls, Anni and Helene brought over a small barrel of beer, which was greeted with loud cheers from the soldiers. Finally all settled down with their bowls and cups of beer, sitting on the sheepskins the men had spread on the ground to protect them from the cold and damp. Marie almost felt like she was back with the imperial army. She had spent many similar evenings with Trudi, Eva, Theres, and the others the previous year, passing the time with idle chitchat and waiting for the night. But the sounds around her were foreign, and the aim of that campaign was to plunder and kill her own people.

As she did every evening when the stress of the day was over, she thought about her daughter and her husband. She sighed, separated herself a little from the others, and leaned her arms on her knees. She missed them both, and desperately clung to her hope that Michel was still alive, even though her conviction that had once been so strong had begun to crumble over the long, miserable winter. Even her nightmares about him were starting to wane. As she became lost in her thoughts, Helene sat down beside her, Anni following close behind. Her foundling leaned her head against Marie’s leg and looked up at her with incredibly sad eyes, but, as usual, she didn’t say a word. Marie smiled at her and stroked her hair. It was good to have someone to take care of, and without Anni and Helene, she probably would have given up hope long ago and ended her life.

One of the soldiers carried over three cups of beer. “Here you go. You’ve earned it. Dinner was really good.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Marie replied with contrived cheerfulness. She took the cups and handed Anni and Helene one each. “To your health,” she said to the soldier. He laughed and went back to his comrades.

11.

In the following days, Prokop led his army north on an old but relatively
well-maintained
trading route. At first, the individual troops marched in
well-kept
distances from one another and stayed in contact through messengers on horseback. But on the fourth day, the leader sent Ottokar Sokolny’s vanguard ahead to find a way into Saxony, while the main body of the army remained in a small village for a day to rest. When the army marched again, a good two thousand men stayed behind with Vyszo’s group. At first marching closely behind the main body of the army, Vyszo’s men soon turned westward in a different direction.

Marie was separated from her friends and assigned to a wagon carrying several of Vyszo’s captains. Apparently still under the assumption that Marie didn’t speak any Czech, they spoke freely, though at first their conversation was only about past raids. But Marie suddenly heard one of the men mention a name she recognized. “I only hope there’s much to be gotten at Sokolny’s, since we have to forgo the loot of Silesia because of that traitor.”

“If we don’t take too long with the fellow, we can still rejoin the campaign,” one of the others replied. “It’s only two days to his castle.”

A third man scoffed. “I’m looking forward to getting there. I’ve been waiting for a long time to slaughter that pig who betrayed his honor and still kisses his German king’s arse.”

“Václav Sokolny only managed to hold out this long because the damned Calixtines protected him,” the second man added grimly.

“First we’ll destroy that louse in his forest castle. Then we’ll get rid of all the nobles who still think they’re above us.”

The men continued in that vein, describing in detail what they wanted to do with those countrymen they had declared traitors. Marie wished she were back with the simple soldiers, who weren’t as consumed by hatred as their leaders. At the same time she realized that Little Prokop and Vyszo had done everything they could to deceive young Sokolny. They had obviously expected him to find out about the planned attack on his brother, and led him to believe that it wouldn’t happen until later in the year. By the time Ottokar found out what was actually happening, he would be far away in Saxony, unable to help Václav. He himself was also in great danger, since the captains made no secret of the fact that he and his comrades wouldn’t come back alive from this campaign.

It took Marie a while to understand that she had also become a victim of this change of plan, as Count Sokolny’s castle was tucked so deep in Bohemia that she couldn’t dare flee from there. If she was really unlucky, Vyszo would hunt down Calixtines after the fall of Sokolny’s castle and not leave Bohemia for the whole summer. Marie shuddered, thinking about spending another winter as a Hussite slave under Renata’s thumb. She didn’t think she would survive, as her clothes had become so threadbare, the fabric having disintegrated under the thick yarn she used to darn the tears. She offered up a quick prayer to the Holy Mary Magdalene, asking her to perform a miracle, as it was the only thing that could save her.

Marie didn’t get a chance to tell her companions about the Taborites’ changed plans until that evening, which they spent in an overgrown spot that must have once been a fertile cleared area. While Anni took the news calmly, Helene struggled with tears. “We’ll die in this damned country!”

“Quiet! Calm down, or do you want to draw attention to us? Come on, we have to do our work as if nothing had happened.” Marie replied, squeezing her shoulder.

“You don’t have to lift your skirts for Przybislav night after night,” Helene hissed. “He keeps asking after you, by the way. So watch out, because he won’t be held back by your story about Jan Hus for much longer.”

That came as no surprise to Marie, but she had hoped to escape before the man’s lust outweighed his fear of the saint’s curse. Now her only choices were to share Helene’s fate or flee alone into the forests and somehow try to make her way west. But with all the two- and
four-legged
beasts roaming this country, her chances of surviving and finding her way back to the Reich were slim.

“We can’t let them upset us,” she said to Helene, taking her by the hand and strolling to the wagon while trying to look nonchalant. A good hour later, the stew simmered above the fire, and the soldiers held out their empty bowls one after the other. Even a keen observer watching as she joked and laughed as she served the food wouldn’t have noticed how much strength this fake cheerfulness cost her.

After dinner, Helene was called to Przybislav’s tent, so Marie and Anni washed the dishes, and when night darkened the sky and the first stars appeared, they lay down underneath their wagon and wrapped themselves in their blankets. Marie had gotten herself an old dagger the previous winter, which she was hiding under her skirt in the place of her old knife. Her fingers now felt for the handle, as if it could give her the courage she needed so badly.

The next morning, they had their usual breakfast of stale bread,
well-spiced
blood sausage, and leftovers from the previous night’s stew, but as an exception, each soldier in Vyszo’s group also received a double ration of beer. The next camp was supposed to be in front of Sokolny’s castle, but the way there led up steep, densely overgrown slopes, then along a ridge with sheer cliffs. The weather changed early that morning, and rain swept over the land in a ceaseless deluge, an enormous strain on man and beast. The soldiers and most of the Czech women had coats or shawls of sheepskin to protect them against the rain, but Marie, Anni, and Helene merely had woolen scarves and were soaked to the skin. In addition, a sharp wind blew from the east, freezing them to the bone. Trembling like a leaf, Helene soon started to cough violently.

One of the soldiers noticed and approached her. “What’s the matter? Are you ill?” His tone conveyed a fear of disease.

Marie raised her hands reassuringly. “Jelka just has a little cold. As soon as the sun’s out again, she’ll feel better.” She had chosen the woman’s Czech name for fear the bailiff would otherwise immediately chase Helene away as a German. In her condition, the young woman wouldn’t survive for three days in those woods full of gorges and raging streams.

“If her illness gets any worse, she’ll have to leave the troops!” Despite his harsh tone, the soldier brought Helene an old sheepskin coat to wrap herself in.

Przybislav turned up during lunch to order Helene to his tent that night, but he also seemed afraid of infection when he noticed her rasping cough, and he turned to Marie instead. “Well, pretty woman, do you want to earn yourself a few favors?”

Marie energetically shook her head. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to look for another woman.”

The man grimaced and grabbed her by the chin. “You’re German, aren’t you? You should be a little more accommodating, or I’ll remind myself what we usually do with scum like you!”

Stiff with fear and rage, Marie managed to grab the fellow’s arm and pull his hand off her face. “If you want your favorite body part to keep working, you’d better be more careful.”

The man jerked back in shock. “Do you want to curse me, you whore of the devil?”

Marie laughed. “I have much more powerful protection than witchcraft. You know I was in Constance when Jan Hus was murdered, and that I received his blessing. If you hurt me, I will pray to the great martyr to punish you.” Jan Hus’s name had protected her every time so far, and again it came to her rescue. Przybislav shuddered at her mention of the saint, made the sign of the cross, and uttered a quick prayer before disappearing among the wagons.

The procession was now moving through foothills that reminded Marie of the Black Forest back home, though the wooded mountains seemed lower and not quite so endless. But dangers also lurked here for careless travelers. The path led between two steep slopes from which raging torrents fell, turning the valley floor into a muddy creek. Since the animals were up to their bellies in cold water, the women had to carry the food and equipment on their backs while the soldiers pushed the carts and hauled them over the deepest parts.

When they reached dry bush country that evening, they were only a few thousand paces away from their goal. But since it was already getting dark, Vyszo had to stop where they were, much to his annoyance. Marie didn’t pay much attention to the men’s swearing and cursing, as she had to look after Helene, who couldn’t stand on her feet any longer. Collecting some dry birch twigs, she broke them into smaller pieces to make a warmer bed for her friend. Helene wrapped her sheepskin around her, pulled a thin blanket over her head and shoulders, and pushed away Anni’s hand when she offered her a bowl of stew. But Marie took the bowl from Anni and started to feed the sick woman. When the bowl was empty, Marie patted her cheek. “There you go, that wasn’t so bad. You’ll see, having something to fill your stomach will help your lungs, too.”

Helene grasped her hands and held them. “You’re so kind to me.”

“You’d do the same for me. Now sleep, so you can get your strength back.” Marie helped wrap her up in the coat and blanket, and returned to the fire where a few soldiers were quietly singing a melancholy song about a pretty girl and a shepherd. Marie got the feeling that more than a few Taborites secretly longed for a peaceful life. But as long as men like Vyszo and Prokop were in charge and the preachers of Tabor called on the Hussites to wage a holy war against the Roman Catholic Church, none of them had a chance of swapping their morning stars for a plow.

She quickly shook off the thought, as she couldn’t afford to become sentimental. Things were happening that even the kaiser couldn’t handle, and she must look out for herself in order to survive. Abruptly turning away from the singers, she fetched her blanket from the wagon. The wool was damp even though it had been lying under a canvas, and it took a while before she got warm enough to fall asleep.

That night, she dreamed of Michel for the first time in months. Wrapped up in a
wolf-skin
coat, he was sitting high in a tower ringed with battlements, gazing at the stars. His face looked sad and lost in the glow of the lantern standing next to him, and she thought she felt his heart calling for her. When she awoke the next morning, she lay still for a while to hold on to the last wisps of her dream. Eventually, Anni tugged at her blanket and pointed to the covered kettle, mouthing the word
breakfast
in two languages and gesturing vigorously.

“All right, all right, you little pest!” Marie groaned and sat up, stretching her stiff limbs and yearning for soft feather pillows and a thick horsehair mattress, or at least a sack of straw for the night. She sighed, thinking of the bed she and Michel had shared in Rheinsobern, but just then she longed even more for a large tub of warm water to wash off all the dirt on her body. There were barely any opportunities for luxuries such as washing in the Hussite army, and any woman bathing in a creek was in danger of being accosted by a man. Marie preferred to live with her by now rather pungent smell, which she had in common with Anni, Helene, and most other women, than take the risk. Before serving breakfast, she washed her hands and face in a bucket of water one of the men had brought her. As a reward, his piece of blood sausage was twice as big as the ones for the other men.

They didn’t break camp until Vyszo’s scouts returned, and then soon after reached the edge of a large clearing. At first they noticed only a few small fields, but then they saw the castle ahead, sitting on the northernmost spur of the Lom. At first glance, the castle looked more picturesque than threatening. Falkenhain had a rather simple layout, which, as far as she knew, hardly existed in the Reich anymore, and an obvious weakness was the lack of outer wards. There was only one courtyard, so once the enemy was through the gate, he could storm the buildings. The walls and watchtower appeared to be in good condition, as was the square great hall in the center of the complex. The castle seemed to have been renovated recently, raising the walls and towers significantly. Work still seemed to be in progress, as there were gaps in the battlements and here and there interior scaffolds were reaching above the wall’s edge.

The arrival of the Taborite army hadn’t gone unnoticed. Marie saw several people running toward the great gate and disappearing behind it. Then the large
metal-studded
doors were closed, and soldiers appeared on the battlements.

“Look at that—Sokolny actually intends to put up a fight!” one of the soldiers sneered, then climbed on top of the wagon, howling as he swung his morning star over his head. In the meantime, Vyszo’s captains and bailiffs fanned out to find the best spots to set up camp. Since they wanted to completely surround the castle, they had to form an impregnable ring of wagons. When they were given the sign to advance, Marie’s driver cracked his whip, directing his horse over the soft ground to the place one of the bailiffs pointed out to him. He jumped off, put on the skids, and unhitched the horse. Wiping her muddy wooden shoes on the grass, Marie then took the cooking utensils off the wagon. Even if the men were busy preparing for the siege, they wouldn’t forget to eat.