"Dear friend, when thou knowest what these men are and have been thou
wilt bless thy friend Roger for leading thee forth from the Burg by night
and cloud, whatever else may happen to thee.
"Well, we abode in the wildwood, friends and good fellows from the first;
and that young man, though he loved me ever, was somewhat healed
of the fever of love, and was my faithful friend, in such wise
that neither I nor my lord had aught to find fault with in him.
Meanwhile we began to grow strong, for many joined us therein
who had fled from their tyrants of the good towns and the manors
of the baronage, and at last in the third year naught would
please my lord but we must enter into the Kingdom of the Tower,
and raise his banner in the wealthy land, and the fair cities.
"Moreover, his father, the King of the Tower, died in his bed in these days,
and no word of love or peace had passed between them since that morning when I
was led out to be burned in the Great Square.
"So we came forth from the forest, we, and the Champions
of the Dry Tree; and made the tale a short one.
For the king, the mighty warrior and wise man, was dead:
and his captains of war, some of them were dead, and some
weary of strife; and those who had been eager in debate
were falling to ask themselves wherefore they had fought
and what was to do that they should still be fighting;
and lo! when it came to be looked into, it was all a matter
of the life and death of one woman, to wit me myself, and why
should she not live, why should she not sit upon the throne
with the man who loved her?
"Therefore when at last we came out from the twilight of the woods
into the sunny fields of the Land of the Tower, there was no
man to naysay us; nay, the gates of the strong places flew
open before the wind of our banners, and the glittering of our
spears drew the folk together toward the places of rejoicing.
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