Kingmaker

Scout #2

Ava had remained awake whilst her army all slept now. Those that had said they would remain awake had succumb to tiredness. As sunset approached, she lazily whistled sharply, waking the men around her. "Wake your fellow soldiers. We must move under the suns' dying light. We will bring out the lanterns once the darkness is upon us" The soldiers nodded, still groggy as they woke their fellow man. "Mount up. We have no time to waste. I'm sure you all slept well?" she asked with a small smile. The tiredness on her own face visible now. "Did you sleep, Ava?"asked one of the soldiers to her side as he mounted. "No. I remained awake to watch over you. You cannot sleep when your army could be in danger. I had to stay awake" she offered a caring smile. Seeing her soldiers gaze to one another before looking to her. "The House of York did this to you, didn't they?" questioned one of the elder soldiers as he rode to her side. He was much older than her, older still than Neville and Plantagenet at 34 years. Ava shrugged slightly. "I spent a week out in the darkness after I had fled from them. The knights of York were out to get me. I couldn't sleep. If I did they would've captured me for sure. I learnt to stay awake to watch over. I did a lot that the House of York would disapprove of. Staying awake. Shockingly. Was one of those things. But it matters not, my friends. I will sleep soon once we are back with the rest of our army"
"So that you are back with Sir Richard Neville?" called another soldier from the second row. "The man that saved my life? Yes" The soldier silenced afterwards not daring to question further. Ava merely sighed now, turning her horse around from the soldiers. The eldest directing his gaze to the one who had questioned. "Whether or not your question was in good faith, do not question again. Ava is one of the only people to defect from the House of York to Lancaster successfully. She has seen torture and tourment. The House of York had her lined up to marry Sir Henry Stafford. By force. Sir Richard Neville is the only man I have ever known Ava to speak to with such a smile and admiration. The only man I have ever seen her hug with a smile. It may not have been long. But she has spent every day since she arrived by his side. Now she goes without him to scout out the very people that want her killed for treason. Do you see why mention of him would draw such a reaction from her? If Sir Richard Neville and Sir George Plantagenet hadn't chosen to hear her out and bring her to King Henry; she would surely have taken a very wrong turn within York. In fact, I wouldn't put it past her to have gone rogue like her eldest brother many years before"
The soldiers didn't speak again. The words of the elder had silenced them all. They watched as he rode to meet Ava as she stopped her horse several feet away. "Don't let their words hurt you, Ava. I understand that leaving Sir Richard was hard, even if you requested this. But we are at your side, and we will guard you and fight alongside you. Sir Richard spoke to us all before we left. We know what we have to do, and we are aware of the threat that York poses. Allow me to ride alongside you as we continue. There is some information that I wish to share with you. Best you hear it from me than any Yorkshire man"
Ava nodded to him, shuffling in the saddle to get comfortable once more. She gazed ahead of her once more, cracking her neck and back slightly to try and bid away the small hint of pain that had came. "You can ride alongside me, friend" she sighed, feeling a dull ache in her lower back now. Try as she might to hide it, it was all too clear to the soldier at her side. "I can see you're in pain, Ava. How long before you allow a doctor to check your back?" He inclined his head towards her slightly as the army now marched once more. "When my work is done. Pain doesn't need to be treated. What does need treating are the open, bloody wounds that men will carry from a battlefield should they survive. My army comes before me. As does the mission and every mission to follow. Pain is temporary. Death is permanent. Should a man die under my command... I have to bear the weight of reporting it to Sir Richard, Sir George and the King. And the mans' family. I don't wish to do that just because I was too caught up in my own pain" The soldier merely nodded, glancing back at the laterns now held by several soldiers. A light lit the second, and fourth rows. The light stretched around anyway to give some visibility to the first, third and fifth rows. It was so as not to draw too  much attention in the darkness.
In silence, Ava raised her hand for a moment, once again signalling they needed to move faster to cover more land. With 67 miles to go, they had to cover at least half of that before midday the following day. It gave them around 16 hours, give or take. As they broke into a canter through the darkness, Ava cringed at the pain shooting through her spine, threatening to throw her from the horse. But she stood by what she had said. Everything else before herself. She pushed on through the pain, the dull ache causing much discomfort.
-4 Days Later-
Ava slouched slightly in the saddle, the ache in her back had since faded. In the past 4 days, they had covered the 67 miles they needed to in order to reach Preston. It would've taken less time, but she needed to sleep, as did her men. As they approached their final camp of the march; Ava raised her head to spy something in the distance. It took her a second to focus her eyes. But it was there. And it was enough for her to call her men to arms. "Gentlemen! There is a York flag in the distance. No one mistakes that white rose for anything other than them. Men. Prepare for an attack. Should they spy us, they may come marching. So prepare yourselves! But remember. Our mission today was only to scout them out. To see what we are up against Now we wait here for Sir Richard, Sir George and the rest of our army. I repeat, gentlemen. We wait here. I will take the ride further to get a full scout report of their army. I will return as soon as I have the information I need. Set up camp, prepare food, and keep the noise at a minimum. Am I understood?" The soldiers seemed hesitant, but they nodded, setting about making camp and preparing food. As small as the army was. There was plenty to go around. They had passed through small villages that had eagerly given food to the small Lancastrian army. It was a gesture most welcomed by Ava and her men.
Ava now looked in the direction of the York army. Sir Henry Stafford and Sir John Howard were among the ranks there. They were leading the army. She knew they had some of the best archers that would surely put a bolt through her shoulders, head or chest if she got within range. She knew they could be hidden. Her only option was to risk it. After all.
She had told the King that she would fight till her last breath for the Crown. And that included entering enemy territory for information.

[Authors Note: Had to do that time-skip. Couldn't just keep writing about them marching on York. Anyway! More to come soon!]