Winged

Chapter 16: Face Off

In the hours that followed, the Secret Keep was thrown into chaos. Scouts returned reporting enemy movement, not headed to the mountains, but indeed to the hideout. Messengers rode to the scouts, to the elves and other allies, warning about the change of plans. The soldiers' morale collapsed as they lost their tactical advantage, and even the servants who wouldn't fight were frightened, fearing for their lives. But few had taken a larger blow than Lucy, who had fled to her room, blaming herself for what happened. Despite all the confusion, there was one person who, as usual, was still acting calm and in control, even when the scouts delivered more bad news.

"They easily outnumber us," one scout told Hikaru. "Their infantry is large but they also have many archers and some mages. They don't have many mounted units, but the ones they do have are riding winged horses. And although humans compose the majority of the army, scouts have sighted ogres and other creatures, including some that aren't native to Asaelia. They are approaching at a reasonable speed; they should be upon us in a matter of hours."

"All right," Hikaru responded, her voice steady. "We lost our element of surprise. It's not a lost cause yet. The elves would give us the numbers we need, soldiers and wizards included. Flying units aren't a problem when you have archers, which we have. Ogres and monsters are strong, but slow and usually not very intelligent. It can be done, but our victory will depend on our allies arriving in time."

Hikaru didn't want the battle to take place too close to the Secret Keep, so she planned to intercept the enemy in the valley by the margin of the Alundian, a great river that crossed through most of Asaelia. Leo found her in the outer yard of the Secret Keep, climbing on her horse, ready to leave.

"Where do you think you're going, birdie?" she asked when she saw him leave the Keep.

"To... the battle," he answered, confused.

"You're not coming," she said, flatly.

"What? Why not?"

"I'm sorry, Leo. I don't want you to. You're not ready yet. Not skilled enough for a real battle like this," she smiled. "Don't worry. When I return, we'll celebrate our victory back at the Sky Castle with a banquet of mangoes."

"And grapes," he smiled.

"And grapes."

She rode off into the distance, followed by her army. Leo watched them as they disappeared through the thick forest surrounding the Keep. He realised it was nothing but a strange impulse that made him want to go with them. Normally he would want to be as far away from a fight as possible. Not only did he not want to hurt anyone, but he was too scared of being in the middle of something like that. And yet, on that afternoon, it was as if he had turned into a completely different person. He wanted to leave; he wanted to fight. Maybe it was because he wanted to help, or because he felt he had nothing left to lose, but risking his life for the sake of a better tomorrow suddenly didn't feel like such a scary idea.

But he had been left behind anyway; he was going to stay back with the servants and simply wait for the battle to be over, praying for the right outcome. He turned around to return inside but found Ellina, also watching the solders ride away, with a sad look in her eyes.

"Saying goodbye to the army?" he asked.

"Saying goodbye to Frederick, actually," she replied sadly. "He went."

"Frederick?" Leo gasped. "Since when is Frederick a soldier?"

"He isn't," she said, shaking her head with disapproval. "I tried to stop him, but he said he wouldn't stay here and wait for death. He would do all he could to defend us."