Mortance: A Miscarriage of Hope

Angus Ⅷ

I gave the order to retreat as soon as the rain started falling. So many were left behind, dead and dying. The defense of the gates was lost. The invaders were inside the walls. Now it was raining, and all of us inside Untot were trapped, doomed to die. The river was flooding over our last escape route now too.

All hope is gone, all hope is lost.

But that didn't mean I was giving up.

The rear gate was half-hidden; far less grandiose than the main one that had already fallen. It was at the bottom of a hill, already flooding from the rain. The low ground is not defensible, I knew. We had to find somewhere better to hide the people.

Someone else was already doing that job for me. Some elf girl with hair whiter than snow stood guard at the entrance to some half-built temple to the Sacred One against the wall and uphill from the gate. Rain fell hard around me as she turned to greet us few survivors, here to make our final stand. "The gate has fallen," she guessed. "I thought Sacreon wasn't sending us any help."

"I came with two knights," I told her. "More are on their way. I am Prince Angus Kingson, here to die before you."

"Right... the prince..." she shrugged, looking past me.

"I take it you didn't come with the invaders," I guessed.

"No, I came with the reason they did. I'm Winter," she was still looking past me. "Where's... where's Lily? The other elf? With the bow and-"

"Not here," I glanced back to check, but she would've made her presence known by now if she were. "Likely dead or lost."

A younger girl who looked very nearly human appeared next to Winter. She had light hair and pale skin, and seemed even younger than Aurora was. Aurora... I'll fight my hardest to come home to you. "She's not dead," the younger girl said. "I'm sure I'd've felt it."

Winter nodded. "Then I'm going to find her. Elyssa, make sure nobody dies." She took a spear in hand.

"Winter..." the girl protested uncertainly. "You're not a warrior, are you sure...?"

"I came this far to protect her, I'm not going to stop when she needs it most," she sounded determined, yet sad. "She's all that's left of her."

"I'll go with you," I said suddenly. "I'll be the fighter you need. Both my knights are more than capable of commanding this defense."

Winter stared at me for a moment, indecisive. This is insanity, I thought. The Prince of Sacreon is meant to be fighting elves. Here I am volunteering to help one save another. But it felt right, and so it was. Supremacy glowed pure white as rain washed the elf blood away and my heroism was called into question. "Shouldn't the prince protect his own people?"

"I am," I said. "We'll bring back another archer and maybe even draw away some of the army."

"Only so long as we succeed," Winter reminded me.

"We will."

The elf and I took the main road through the village, if it could even be called a road. The path was little more than mud, with roughly built houses on either side. The sounds of elven invaders marching through the city echoed around us, but I saw nothing. The rain was too thick to see more than ten feet past Supremacy's reach.

"I can't see anything," I complained. "How are we supposed to find her if-"

"You're not supposed to find her, I am," Winter said. "You're here to get me to her safely."

"Can you see in this?" I asked.

"Well enough," she answered. "I'm three quarters elf."

"Three-? Wait-" That didn't make any sense.