Castle on the Hill

Chapter 7

The remaining two and their horses sought shelter at the Albayan castle as the skies began to pour. Ranboo followed closely beside Skeppy, both of which were armed in case of any mishaps, but they felt relatively safe in Albaya. After knocking on the large entrance door, the two were greeted by two guards and led up into the meeting room of the castle.

Despite the lateness of the night, the royal family was not sleeping. Skeppy spotted Lya standing over the table looking at a map with large markings detailing a plan of attack. His father had spoken to them when he first returned from Belansoa, so they were already preparing through the time since. Skeppy shared his plan of attack with the queen and explained to them what he would need them to do.

"Until this war is over, you have permission to command all of my soldiers. We will all stand beside you, Prince Skeppy," the queen said. Pride swelled in his chest, with Albaya and Katini behind him, he had faith that they would win and prevent a terrible reign of power from royal leaders of Belansoa. Part of Skeppy's mind wished he didn't group Bad in with the group of royal leaders, but he had proven that night that, in the end, he had chosen his family over Skeppy.

Skeppy finished speaking his plans to the queen, who had several knights gather citizens from the city to form a militia. With a few hours until dawn left, Skeppy led the army toward the west. The rain had cleared up for the most part and he led the army with certainty toward his own kingdom. Ranboo rode beside him, the most loyal of anyone following him, Skeppy felt determined to not let him down. Half the army followed on horses, the other half on foot, and by the first light of dawn, the two kingdoms' armies had become one.

Standing in front of his army, elevated on a podium, Skeppy called out orders. "We will not strike the first blow! We will fight today in self defense, not in bloodthirst! Once they have declared war, we will fight ruthlessly until the end! Do not retreat unless I give the call! Are you ready?!" He called to the sea of people standing in front of him, more than he had ever addressed in his life.

"We're ready!" The army largely responded. A few other responses were mixed in, but Skeppy could feel their determination.

"Then let's roll!" He shouted, leaping from the podium down to where Ranboo and the horses were waiting. The army marched steadily toward the west and out through the forest. After they were partially through the forest, almost to the clearing Skeppy remembered, other chanting and shouting could be heard from the far side. They were here.

He put up his hand signal to halt the crowd behind him, who stopped in waves. He marched forward on his horse, the army at a standstill behind him. Out of the woods ahead of him came another horse, and riding upon it was the last person Skeppy wanted to see. "Bad," he said unflinchingly, his heart feeling cold.

"I'm sorry," Bad muttered, a flame of guilt flickering in his eyes. "I guess it's fate that we've returned here," he glanced around the clearing. "After all these years."

"Where are your parents, Bad?" Skeppy asked, not bothering to humor his conversation about the clearing.

"Oh, they'll be here. They'll see exactly the kind of son they raised." Skeppy heard something else deep in Bad's voice. What was it? Doubt? Did Bad doubt himself? Skeppy didn't have time to consider it further as Bad's shriek pierced the air. "Belansoa! Attack!"

The army charged out from their hiding place in the woods, and, all of a sudden, Skeppy wished he hadn't been in the front. "Attack!" He shouted to the army behind him, who charged out just as quickly, countering the Belansoan soldiers' moves. The world around Skeppy seemed to blur as he unsheathed his sword and fought off several soldiers who ran on foot. He heard diamond whinny beneath him, but settled her and tried to focus on slicing at the attacking enemy.

For each person Skeppy sent fleeing, it seemed that two more rushed in to fill their place. Skeppy had completely lost sight of Bad, Ranboo, or any other familiar face in the crowd. He felt the tunnel vision take over as his army pushed steadily toward the west. The western army countered them strongly, keeping the two armies gridlocked for many minutes. Shrieks and the sound of swords clashing against shields filled the air, and, for a split second, Skeppy felt his army begin to slide back. Panic welled in his chest as he worried that his army may not be big or strong enough to win the battle.

Just as he felt something pulling him to retreat, a new surge of Albayan soldiers sieged the army ahead. Skeppy felt the heat of the sun beating down on the clearing and, for a moment, he imagined he was there, in that clearing, not fighting, but picking flowers with Bad, just as he had all those years ago. Something changed in him when the memory subsided. Distracted by the serene feeling he had experienced in that memory, he didn't notice someone approaching from the right.

There was a sharp tug on the reins of his horse that almost sent him flying over onto the ground. Skeppy caught himself before he could hit the grass, but something else pulled on him again. He felt dazed and confused, unable to tell what the force beside him was until he had been pulled into the woods, the sounds of battle felt very far off. "What's-" He couldn't finish his thought.

"Hold on for me, Skeppy," a voice said to him, sounding increasingly distant. "You're going to be okay." Those were the final words he heard before the sounds and sights in front of him dissipated into a swirling and consuming darkness.