𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘪𝘦𝘴

The Battle (part 3)

It is time. Trumpets sound. The Soldiers ready themselves, steel looks over their darker complexions, as they gather in a tight group.

Queen Leoma and King Marlow stand at the front, swords in hand. They would be fighting, not leading from the back. Behind them is the second youngest of the Greenwood siblings, Cam. Scattered about the hundred or so Soldiers are Wystan, Howard and Corliss.

Lena and I move to the front and stand beside the Queen who is overlooking her army.

"Are you ready?" She asks.

"Never been more ready." I say with a strong voice.

At that moment, Kamden and Wymond come out from the crowd. I rush forward and grab Wymonds elbows, searching his face with my eyes.

"How are you?" I say quietly.

"I am fine." He says, dismissing my worry. "I can fight."

I look him over and shake my head. "No, you cannot."

He cups my face in my hand and brings his head closer to mine. "I will be alright. I can fight. I need to fight." He brings his lips to mine and gives me a lingering kiss.

When we break away, the Queen orders her army to advance. We begin to run. Cry's of battle echo over the field. We are doing this. This will be over.

With Lena and Kamden on my left and Wymond to my right, we charge towards our town, weapons ready. I was given a bow and a quiver of arrows, a knife, a dagger and a sword - a special gift from Queen Leoma herself. It is the weapon I am most familiar with that I hold as our feet meet the cobbled street. The army filtrates the town, running towards the main square.

When we reach the straight road that leads to the square, we slow our pace slightly, but not enough to not look intimating. The Queen sends out a signal for her siblings to slow one half of the Soldiers while the other half make their way closer to the King of Mythgrave. As the groups move apart, I can feel us becoming more insecure. We make it to the end of the houses and I see the square lined with armed Fighters. I look up to he sun. We are on time.

The King is there, standing from the stage that is used for speeches and demonstrations - not the stage that I was about to be hanged on. He holds his head high and regards the Queen and her husband before turning his head to me. Then Lena. Then to me again.

He takes a deep breath and shouts loud so he can be heard by all. "Let us fight."

It happens in a blur. Soldiers advance towards one another, brandishing their weapons. I am swept forward by the people behind me and I find myself in conflict. I turn quickly, trying to make out what to do. At my side, a Soldier from Oxbourne is fighting a Fighter from Mythgrave. I watch in awe as the blades of knives thrash and meet their marks, tearing skin. It is when the Oxbourne Soldier manages to stick his knife up, through the Fighters chin, that I am snapped out of my daze. This is war. I need to fight. I raise my loaded bow and find a Fighter a short distance from me, aiming and firing his bow. I aim and release my arrow. It meets its mark and the man falls to the floor, out of sight, behind hundreds of legs. I turn and find another bow man. I take him down too. After killing a few more, I realize I cannot stay in the same spot forever - I must move and find my main target.

My feet unstick and I swing my bow over my head and take out a knife from my belt instead. A bow will not help me now, it will be hand to hand combat as I attempt to move through the battle. A man lunges at me but I dodge his knife by ducking away, simultaneously raising my arm and stabbing him in the stomach. I hear a shout from behind.

"She is not to be killed."

I take the knife from the mans body and blood spurts everywhere.

I turn and face the man who shouted. He comes at me, arms outstretched, ready to grab me. I am too quick. I jump back and out of this reach. I then swap my weapons: I rapidly move the knife into my left hand and pull the sword from its sheath with my right. I stab at the man and my weapon meets the flesh on his chest. I push harder and I feel the sword slide further into the mans body. I tug it out. Screaming, the man falls to the ground.

I have no recovery time. In the same moment, two more men approach me. I slice the first mans throat with the sword and a split second later, jab the seconds eye with the knife in my other hand.

"Hilda!" I hear Wymonds voice behind me, through the noise of battle, followed by the feeling of blood splattering up my back. "Stay close to me."

He quickly takes down another Fighter. Then we run towards the stage. We stop short however. My breath catches. Surrounding the King are heavily armed guards. Standing either side of him are two men. Ferox and Duke.

I take this all in in a second before I am fighting again. A woman trys to tackle me but I stab her with the sword before she can even get close. Then I turn, just in time to stop a man from getting me. I cut through his throat and his head hangs to one side before his knees give out and he falls.

"She is there!" I hear a mans voice yell.

What looks like a dozen Guards run towards me, but the Soldiers see what is happening and rush to my aid. In moments I am surrounded by Fighters killing Soldiers and Soldiers killing Fighters. I do not know who to pick as my target, instead, I wait for them to come to me. A man with crazy eyes slips through the wall of protection. I take a few steps forward, closing the gap between us. I grab the sword with both hands and swing it back. Then I bring it across my body and slash at the man. I create a huge bloody gash along his chest.

"Bitch." He bellows, pain crossing his face.

I put him out of his misery by slashing at him again, widening the bloodied gap. He falls to the ground.

I look around me. Everywhere there are casualties. People from both towns. I remember the other half of the army but I see that the street they were in is now littered with bodies.

"Hilda." Wymond calls out to me. I spin around and see he is struggling against a large, bulky Fighter. The mans blade is a hairs width from piercing his skin on his chest. Without hesitation I place the sword back in its sheath. Using my bow and arrow I aim. I breath. I fire. The arrow goes into the mans balding head, blood splattering everywhere as he falls to the side, releasing his grip on the knife. Wymond pushes himself up to stand but before he can make it, he is tackled. The man lands on top of him, aiming punches at Wymonds face. I move forward and remove the knife again. I grab the mans black hair and pull his face away from his original target. Before he can register what is happening, I stab the knife through his temple. I drag the dead man off my husband and he stands, wincing with the effort...