The Sword Of A Princess

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Cole had left to return to Verona, not wanting to be away from mothers' side for longer than needed. Lionel did not meet me the next night for training. I half expected him to, making me feel even worse about the entire thing and Arthur had told me the following morning that a platoon of knights would leave for the front lines in three days with supplies for everyone else already there.

He agreed to let me train for those three days, only if it was with him so he could see my skill level after my injury. To his surprise I was more than well-equipped after spending each night building my strengths behind his back. Lionel spent those three days out in Britannia with Lady Krain, I'd given him the three days off to court her. Her fathers and her remained at the castle after Lionel spoke to the Earl of Bridgeport about his intentions with his daughter.

They would return home once we leave for the Western border. I noticed Clare had seen the knight with Lady Krain, easing her suspicions of who was with him in the study room. Alisa was a rather forwards type of woman, older and more experienced, she was confident in her actions with Lionel.

The first time I saw Lionel in those three days was a meeting the night before we were due to leave for the Postradore Empire. The knight kept a painful distance from me. Ignoring him was just as hard as wanting to steal glances every change I got.

"I've come to a decision." The King started the meeting. Everyone listened in, I spotted Commander Mavis beside his majesty and some other Commanders and Captains I'd seen before downstairs, Lionel among them. "We have been getting less and lesser willing civilians to join our ranks over the last few months. The new recruits have already had four people drop out. Numbers I cannot dismiss so easily while this war rages on. I had been able to put the draft off for all these years because our people wanted to stand and fight for their homes themselves. Now, sadly, the loss of the knights on the front lines have become too great, scaring off more and more civilians. I had received an urgent letter from Commander Gorenge, minutes before this meeting begun- another company has fallen."

The room remained silent. Sadness filling the air, all those people- dead.

"We need more knights to replace them immediately. Arthur is leading a supply platoon out tomorrow morning, I have also decided, the recruits will join them." Rounds of murmurs filled the rooms.

"That is murder." One of the Captains spoke up against his King. Eugene lifted his hand, silence spreading around the room.

"We are running out of options. We need more knights on the front lines. I am beginning the draft, every abled man and woman from the age of sixteen, will train. A month's training then go." King Eugene spoke, his word absolute in the eyes of our society. He was our King.

"A month?" Another Captain asked allowed. "That is barely enough time to get them up to speed."

"We need numbers, we are losing this war." The King replied staring down at his son beside me at the opposite end of the table map. I could feel the weight Arthur held on his shoulders, the responsibility he now held.

"Those recruits are nowhere near ready to fight in a war, most can barely do any damage on a training dummy." The first Captain spoke out again.

"It takes three nights to get to the front lines does it not? Then train them harder than ever before at each base camp. Do not disappoint me." The desperate King breathed out staring down at the knights who stood beneath him, not beside him. "Arthur, go now and gather the recruits, get them packed and prepared for the road ahead."

"Yes father." Arthur spoke back with all the strength he could muster in his voice. He looked down at me, I have him a nod and we left the meeting. The other Ashmore brothers followed behind to come help the recruits prepare for a war they were not ready for.
They all slept in a shared open quarters, easy to access them for other training activities. We all turned on the oil lamps, some of the recruits beginning to wake from the light, sitting up in their beds, a few already sliding on their boots knowing something was about to happen.