Isolde

Chapter 20 - The Final Resolution

A letter was sent to Queen Tigressa once again stating that Frelian wouldn't marry Princess Bilette. It didn't explain the exact reasoning but was signed by 'Queen Isolde Alvaro of Rilia and Turige' which Frelian hoped would have the same effect. He knew the queen would be enraged by not only his refusal to marry her daughter but also his deceit in agreeing to marry Bilette but having never intended to all along. An invasion would therefore be imminent so Frelian, and his now much more public queen, set about arranging their collection of troops around the palace and the grounds.

Tigressa received the letter and let out a shriek of rage at how she'd been tricked. She immediately mustered her army who had been camped around the palace after she refused to dismiss them and stormed over the border. She didn't stop to plan tactics or to wait for reinforcements, she was so angry she just charged towards the palace, her men behind her.

Frelian and Isolde, both mounted on horseback, stood at the front of the palace waiting for her to charge. They watched her small collection of disorganised men trailing behind her and were filled with a sense of hope.

Bilette was also part of the invasion force. She rode out the front of the procession besides her mother, neither was dressed for battle as they'd left so quickly in the heat of the moment. Tigressa wasn't wearing the armour she'd worn to the last battle and instead just wore a richly decorated gown, Bilette wore the same. Both sparkled in the morning sun as they rode, like sitting targets, undefended and marked.

"The princess is not to be harmed." Frelian called to the troops "She is to be taken prisoner but not harmed."

"What of the queen your majesty?" a Inovine general asked

Frelian thought for a second about being merciful to the queen like her daughter. But then he thought of how she had murdered his parents and his mind was made up "Let fate decide." he declared, raising his sword.

The general and his men copied him and raised their weapons. They were ready.

The Turige charged right at the castle with Queen Tigressa leading. She killed two men in her first charge and then leapt from her horse once she'd reached the main door to walk in on foot and claim the throne on her own. She's smashed through the line of guards with her stallion and now the path was clear for her. She opened the door and walked straight in, laughing as she stepped. Then on turning into the throne room she was attacked. A great pride of nobles pounced on their unsuspecting prey, stabbing her until she fell to the ground, her blood spilling across the white marble floor. The queen had let her quest for glory blind her and now she had paid the penalty.

The princess was pulled from her horse by Callan and his men. She screamed and kicked her feet to try and escape. She hadn't even wanted to be brought back to Turige and now she was in the middle of a battlefield in Rilia being manhandled by foreigners.

"Put me down this instant, I am a princess." she squealed as Callan restrained her. Alouette rode to Isolde to tell her that the princess had been captured and asked where she should be kept.

"The dungeons" Isolde decided

"The dungeons!" Alouette seemed offended "You can't keep a princess locked in the dungeons!"

Isolde cast her a look to demonstrate that she was serious and saw no issue with holding a princess in the dungeons. She called over some of the Rilian guards and gave them her commands "King Callan has the princess. Please ensure she is taken to the dungeons and secured until it can be decided what is to be down with her." The guards agreed and followed Alouette over to where Bilette was still trying to wrestle her way out of Callan' grasp. They seized the princess and with ease marched her into the palace and down the narrow steps to the dungeons. They threw her into one of the largest cells and locked the door, leaving her to scream as they walked back up the stairs to confirm to Isolde that her request had been acted upon. They passed her the keys to the lock to the cell they'd put the princess in then returned to the fighting.