It was 1443 in Scotland. The people in Hailes Castle were busily preparing to defend their lands against an approaching army. They received word yesterday morning that an army of 1,000 foot soldiers were marching against their castle. The messenger had ridden on horseback for days on end to warn the citizens of the coming threat. The villagers were retreating into the castle and the knights were hurriedly devising a plan of defense. The previous owner of the castle had died weeks before the attack, and the owner’s son, Sir Hepburn, was not as liked by the knights. After the son had taken possession of the castle and its surrounding grounds, at least half the knights decided to join the latest crusade in the Ottoman Empire. The castle was short on knights and was going to war against 1,000 men without any foreseeable backup. The knights did not have much hope for surviving this impending attack.
Patrick, the commander of the castle knights, decided if any of them were going to stay alive, they were going to need everyone working to defend the castle. They gathered up the peasants and the ladies and the children to try to prepare the castle against attack. They had the children find long sticks and heavy rocks. The women were given training to work the murder holes, use bows, and throw spears. The male peasants were being taught to fire the cannons, use bows and swords, and shoot the limited supply of guns. Some of the women who refused to take part in the battle had agreed to nurse the wounded; they were preparing a room to use as a makeshift hospital. The village blacksmith had his hands full creating as many spears, arrowheads, and swords as he could. The knights ordered metal spears be placed at the merlons so it would look like an army was stationed at the battlements. Even with all these people helping to defend the castle, the villagers were still vastly outnumbered. They only had 500 people in the castle, and merely 300 people were helping to fend off the attack. They could only hope for a miracle.
The knights decided to give the women a chance to join the fight by passing a weapon wielding lesson. One young woman learning archery and spear-throwing was progressing much faster than the others were. Even though the knights were only training the women to get more bodies fighting, a young man noticed this girl’s exemplary skill. After the lesson, he complemented her on it. He introduced himself as the castle jester and asked her name. The young lady introduced herself as Jane. She was the lady-in-waiting to Dame Hepburn, the owner’s wife. She had not wanted to be a lady-in-waiting, but her parents sent her to the Hepburn family as a sort of treaty to get their family to a higher standing. Jester told her that his family had sent him to the castle as well, but he wanted to be an entertainer. She told him that she had longed for the day when she would be able to fight and defend her kingdom. That was why she was so good at archery and spear throwing.
Suddenly, a clap of thunder roared over everyone. The sound of 1,000 soldiers marching towards the castle filled the air with a sense of dread. The commander of the castle knights, Patrick, yelled for everyone to take their attack positions. Rain plunged violently, and lightning crashed in a breathtaking background to the tense confrontation of the opposing armies. The commander of the attacking soldiers seemed to assess his threat. He muttered something to his second in command, and uttered the two words which would end the lives of hundreds. “Men, fire!”
Within seconds, hundreds of arrows rained down, and cannons started to blaze. Patrick ordered his men to fire the cannons, shoot the arrows, and take out as many foot soldiers as possible. The few women were firing their arrows at the ever-advancing army. The attacking force was advancing through the torrent of rain and weapons, though the losses on both sides were accumulating. Patrick yelled for more cannon fire, more arrows, more guns, and more spears. He called for everyone to keep up their attack. The defense was dwindling quickly; already they were down 150 men. The attackers were suffering the losses of 100 men, though their number kept them from feeling the effects as badly. At this rate of attack, the castle would be lost.
The enemy reached the castle and heaved a battering ram into the gates. When the eight men manning the ram paused as one slipped in the mud, Jane took the opportunity to fire several arrows into them. Three of the men suddenly collapsed while another two were injured. The women and children were hurling rocks and sharpened sticks out of the murder-holes to kill the would-be attackers. It was almost nightfall. The castle had managed to kill 200 more enemy soldiers, but the weapons were running low. Archers were picking up arrows wherever they found them. The muskets were out of ammo, and the spears were limited to the ones on top of the battlements. Jane and Jester climbed up the battlements to retrieve the spears and offer some support to their comrades fighting in the level below. Patrick rallied the troops.
Thunder boomed, and lightning lit up the night sky. With a sickening crunch, the enemy breached the gate. The enemy commander yelled to all who could hear, “Know that your death comes by the hand of Sir Archibald Dunbar.” Jane readied a spear to throw at the braggart. She misplaced her foot and fell off the top of the merlon, out of the castle and towards the enemy troops below.
Jester grabbed her hand at the last second. Jester swayed precariously back and forth, but was able to bring Jane back to the relative safety of the merlon. They grabbed the rest of the spears and headed back towards the failing troops. The troops managed to kill a few more of the attacking soldiers. The troops were actually gaining ground, but soon the forces were again desperate for ammo. The battle was surely lost. Dunbar’s men were coming from all sides. He shouted at the men to kill all the men first and gather up the women and children. Jester asked the commander, Patrick, if there was anything that they could do. Patrick thought for a second and replied that the children in the castle should be rescued. There may not be any hope for the adults, but at least make sure the children are safe.
Jane ran through the castle grounds to find the stations with murder holes. She called for all the children inside to come down. Because Jane was in the open, she had to fight a few soldiers to get all the children out safely. Jester went to find a place to hide or escape the castle. He was walking in the main castle building, when he slipped and fell. The carpet he was walking on moved away revealing a trap door. He ran through it and discovered it led outside away from the fighting. They met up near the back of the kitchens. Jane had around fifty children, and Jester had an escape plan. They took the children into the trap door and left the fighting.
Jester led the children and Jane made sure there weren’t any dawdlers. They managed to make it out of the castle unharmed. They took the rescued children to the nearest town, and did their best to provide for them until they reached adulthood. After a while, Jane and Jester were wed.
The people of the castle fought bravely, but they were too outnumbered to make it through alive. Sir Archibald Dunbar had won, though not without heavy losses on his own side. The fiendish Dunbar massacred all the people who lived in the castle. His words echoed through the haunted halls. He destroyed as much of the castle as he could, and left without a second glance.
THE END
This story is based on a real castle in Scotland that was stormed in 1443. All names, except Archibald Dunbar and Sir Hepburn, are fictional. I took the liberty of turning a three sentence summary of the events into a short story. Sir Hepburn had passed the castle to his son, though I do not know if that actually played a role in the defeat of the castle. The castle and all its inhabitants did not make it through the siege.
