The Lion Guard: King of Outremer

Chapter 14: Friends Till the End

Kion tried to keep his mind clear while standing in the palace courtyard. One squire prepped his destrier and palfrey while the other finished putting his armor and surcoat on.

All around him, two-hundred royal knights and many more turcopoles similarly prepared themselves for the arduous campaign ahead. Nearby, Beshte and Bellezza embraced each other tightly while Bunga knelt down and kissed Binga's stomach tenderly.

Rani's lady in waiting was on the verge of tears and trembled.

"I've been on plenty of campaigns before. Remember how we escaped Persia? God will watch over us. I promise I'll be back." Bunga tried to sound sure of himself, but Binga didn't respond. Instead, she merely embraced him and let out a few tears.

Kion took a deep breath before noticing his two squires stiffen. The King turned and saw Rani standing before him with Saka in her arms. Neither spoke a word, with the only sound being Saka's soft infant noises as he reached out for his father.

Kion let out a single tear as he leaned in and kissed Saka's head. His firstborn, whom he'd missed the birth, naming, and christening of. Now he was leaving him again.

"...........Rani-" Kion started before she cut him off with a passionate kiss. Despite this, the Queen looked just as emotional.

"It's ok, Kion. I know how important it is to stop Radcliffe. You're the King. If you don't lead this, no one will go....... It's not like before."

Kion struggled to contain his emotions over Kopa, but Rani saw through him.

"Kion, I forgive you."

Ono saw the pain in his friend's face and was about to walk over when he saw Kion lift both Rani and Saka up in his powerful arms.

That was over three weeks ago. Kion now looked over his meager camp on the northern edge of Principatum near the border of Anatolia. Heralds spread the word around his Kingdom, asking for volunteers to join their expedition in Aurevitas. As this wasn't in defense of the Kingdom, Kion would have to pay each soldier and knight for their service, not that he couldn't afford it.

Kion and Ono looked over what men they had.

"Well?" Kion was almost afraid to ask. Ono crossed himself and clenched his eyes shut.

"In addition to our two-hundred royal knights, eight-hundred of the infantry we brought with us from France, and six-hundred royal turcopoles. Lord Ibelin brought twenty-knights and a hundred turcopoles, and Lord Advik brought fifty-knights and two-hundred turcopoles. Baliyo has two hundred cataphracts, three-hundred archers, and five hundred heavy-infantry. I'm afraid those were the only major lords who showed up."

Kion slowly nodded.

"Cowards." Fuli growled.

"What about the others?" Anga asked.

"Well, another three-hundred or so knights from across the Kingdom answered the call. About half of them Normans from Principatum."

Beshte smiled a little hearing that.

"Two-hundred crossbowmen, plus all-fifteen hundred Genoese Crossbowmen. We also have a hundred or so Hospitaller Knights/Sergeants with eighty-four Templar Knights. The rest are heavy-infantry who answered the call, including some visiting German Crusaders."

"That gives us just over eight thousand five hundred." Kion muttered.

"I don't know. It's actually a lot better than it could've been. Besides, once Hasira shows up with his Persians, we could actually have an advantage in numbers for once!" Bunga laughed.