The Lost Kingdom

Chapter 15 - Attack

Torchlight flickered against the fabric of the large tent in which Cinder sat. A round table had been set up, maps and papers spread across it. Prince Persius sat at her side, and around the table was Swan, Ivory, the Ellamentian royals, King Agorious, and a few members of the Ellamentian Council.

They had been trying in vain to come up with a suitable counter attack against Malifimus. Since the attack at the beach four nights ago, Malifimus had been sending small ships of men to other beaches on Ellamenta to attack, all met with resilient force. But now Ellamentians and Pulcharians alike were demanding a reaction from the Ellamentian army.

"We could try to negotiate with them?" Prince Erick suggested. Their last plan had too many flaws, along with the one before it. "Ronan said sometimes people fight before talking out their problems and then they just need to talk about their issues."

Prince Makon scoffed and muttered something about "Very poetic", while a Council member shook his head.

"That doesn't apply to everything, Erick." Prince Ronan rumbled, not unkindly. The youngest prince look deflated as Ronan continued. "Malifimus is beyond negotiating with. They want blood."

While he was talking, an idea was forming in Cinder's mind. It was sketchy, but at least it was something.

"What if we had a fleet of dragons to transport us to Malifimus?" Cinder asked gaining confidence to voice an idea. "Four fleets, and four dragons in each fleet. We could attack from the sky."

Some shrugged, while others looked unconvinced. Persius, however, nodded enthusiastically, "A hundred men can fit on a single dragon, so four hundred per fleet. That's sixteen hundred men... We could rally at least two thousand volunteers, I'm sure." he added.

"Then roughly four hundred warriors could stay and guard Ellamenta in case Malifimus tried to attack. In place of those warriors, the Gariahns can go to Malifimus by ship." Cinder said, sharing a glance with Prince Persius.

"Couldn't have said it better." the blonde haired prince said. "the Gariahns can attack Malifimus's ports and destroy the ships that import and export goods."

He paused to make sure King Agorious agreed, and he did.

"Meanwhile, two of the dragon fleets could attack important places in Malifimus." Cinder said.

"Like places where they make weapons and have training camps?" Prince Persius said, and Cinder nodded.

"But we don't know where their forts and camps are." Ronan pointed out.

"I think I could help with that." Princess Ravene said standing beside Ronan. Cinder hadn't paid much attention to the princess, but now that she had spoken, she began to notice her. Ravene's hair was like a black waterfall that fell down her back, and her eyes were a bright, electric blue. Her skin was pale, though her cheeks had a rosy tint, and she stood with a sense of purpose and dignity. Cinder wondered what it was like to be fighting against your own family, selling secrets to another kingdom. The princess and Ronan shared a long glance, unspoken messages traveling between the two of them.

"You're sure?" Ronan asked, and Princess Ravene nodded with a sense of finality.

"This could work." King Ezemar said, and they continued to add onto Cinder's idea. Everyone in the tent agreed that it was a good plan, and they began working out a stragedy of where to attack. Princess Ravene showed them on the map where certain places were, locating the largest training camps and ports. Indigo was sent to fetch the dragons from Wing's Hollow, the place where the dragons were kept and trained. Then messengers were sent out to round up two thousand soldiers to help with the attack, four hundred of which would just guard. As soon as the dragons and soldiers were ready, they would leave for Malifimus.