❝𝘼 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙎𝙠𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖❞

Chapter 20: Reunion

A/N: (There's another note at the end but this one is more important I believe) ANYWAYS GUYS UPCOMING WILLYSS WARNING⚠️READ AT THE RISK OF DYING FROM THEIR SWEETNESS~~~(and no it is not inappropriate stuff, it's just I haven't written willyss much in this book so I thought I ought to mark this one😆)

Pauline rode slightly behind Alyss, neither of them even once glancing back. Silently, tears coursed down the face of the older courier. So many times she had seen Halt leaving her to serve his duties as Ranger, that she had never thought that she would one day be the one to leave him behind, and on the edge of a battle no less.

They had ridden at a swift canter for some twenty minutes when at last Alyss wheeled her borrowed horse around and turned around. Her eyes, too, were glistening as she stared back towards the fortress that they had left behind.

"Pauline?" She said softly, her voice choking a bit.

Pauline managed a soft groan before finally finding the courage and turning her horse around as well. Behind them, no longer in their hearing, the masses of the Temujai had already reached the edges of the walls, and they could see as dark shapes marched around the walls to circle the city in. The riders from the east were not masters at laying siege to cities, but they had not come completely unprepared. Vaguely, because of the distance, they could see the outlines of two large battering rams carried by several scores of men, protected by arrows by the overhanging of the rams themselves. Alternating between the two groups, they rammed the great gates of Hallasholm insistently, while behind them their marksmen sought to keep the heads of the defenders down.

"They're hopeless." Pauline whispered. She had seen enough battles to be able to not deceive herself.

"Halt is the best warrior in Araluen," Alyss said, "They're not going to kill him anytime too soon. Besides, if we find the others soon enough, they'll be able to save them."

"Only if we find them in time," Pauline said grimly. "Let's go then."

Alyss gave her a sad smile and was about to turn her horse back unto their path but paused. "What are they doing?" Her eyes were fixed upon a small black line which was making its way under the shadows of the walls, circling around the city.

Alarmed, Pauline observed them for a few seconds then said something very un-lady-like under her breath. "The rams are a ruse. These Temujai may not have had much experience in taking cities, but they are cunning. I would presume that that dark line is a small group of men who will try to breach the city from another way, while everyone's attention is still on the main gates."

Alyss nodded slowly. "They ought to be warned."

"A thing we cannot achieve," Pauline replied grimly. "We must find the others at top speed. And hope desperately that Halt will sense something wrong. That is all we could do."

>>>———>

"Alyss. There's someone ahead of us." Pauline said softly.

Alyss was bent low over the back of her horse from fatigue, but she roused herself quickly at Pauline's words. Sure enough, there was a small cloud of dust rising in the horizon, and very dimly, as their own movements stilled, they felt the dim vibrations of powerful horses' hooves drumming the ground.

"What if it's the Temujai from that camp, coming to reinforce the main army after having succeeded in destroying our men?" Alyss said, her voice quivering.

Pauline neither agreed to this or contradicted it. "We should get off the road, out of sight."

Quickly, they dismounted and led the horses off the road. There were only a few trees in that area, but they managed to hide themselves and their horses behind some tall bushes and grasses. Mere minutes after they had settled down, a thundering of horsemen stormed past. They had only just passed them, however, when, without any spoken command, the entire company, which they now saw as no more that two scores of men, drew rein and halted in the middle of the road. Their leader drew his horse around and came back to the back of the group.

Alyss gave a strangled gasp.

The leader was none other than Will.

"There are horse tracks here, tracks that are not our own," Will stated to his men, bending low over his saddle to inspect the ground. "Someone had been coming towards us, then left the road, right here." He stopped at the spot where they had been only minutes ago.

"Will!" Alyss shouted, no longer able to restrain herself.

Will's expression was one of confused joy and disbelief as he turned towards her voice. With a shriek of unintelligible joy, Alyss ran out towards him, even as he slid quickly down to meet her. Without even the smallest ounce of reserve, they slammed into each other's arms, and Will, caught slightly off-balance, took a few steps back then lifted Alyss completely off the ground, twirling her around a circle, before setting her back down and just staring into her eyes.

"Alyss?" When he finally spoke, his voice still reflected disbelief.

But Alyss laughed out loud, a soft, tinkling sound. "Will! I can't believe it's really you!"

Will shook his head and looked like he might have wanted to say something, but Alyss broke through before he could and met his lips with her own. He gave a soft groan of protest as he tried for only one second to pull back as he was aware of the eyes of his newly acquired men. Then all thoughts fled him and he pushed forward himself, cupping her face in his hands, stroking her soft hair, murmuring wordless praises against her lips.

At last, they pulled back at the same instant, though they were still trapped in each other's embrace. "I missed you, Alyss." Will said softly. "But, what are two couriers doing out here, not under the protection of the fortress?"

At once, the expressions of both women turned dark. "It is surrounded, Will," Alyss replied. "By a force at least two times the number of men inside the city. And they are cunning. Last we saw, they have drawn the attention of the defenders upon two battering rams which have been taken against the gates, while we have seen a small group of men circling around the city to the back."

Will's face darkened drastically in one second, then paled slightly. "Halt?" He asked softly.

"Is alive the last we saw them, which was before the battle joined," Pauline put in, her voice wavering and a sob breaking her voice at the end.

"Alaric will be coming along soon behind us," Will said, intentionally softening his voice for Pauline's sake, and hiding his own fears behind an impenetrable mask which only Alyss recognized. "They are on foot, and therefore cannot be very swift. We will ride on ahead now. Come with us."

Wordlessly, the two women mounted themselves once more and quickly joined themselves into the ranks of the Araluen archers.

"We need a plan though, Will." Edwin said. "We can't exactly charge there into a thousand Temujai with only thirty men."

Will nodded silently. "It's a three hour ride from here to the city. We will ride for two hours without rest, in which time I shall devise a plan, then we will rest our horses, I will tell you the plan, and we will be able to ride on to battle fresh and rested."

Quickly and quietly, the archers turned themselves into a near perfect formation and looked towards the Ranger to lead them out.

Will nodded in grim approval. "We ride now for Hallasholm."

A/N: Long time since the last update! Hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to click the little star and leave a comment~💬✩✩✩