Duty

Chapter 33 Casualties of war

"An attack, my lord," the rider said, "Sylice was attacked. Balor conquered one of our warships. The town, my lord, it's destroyed."

Gasps were heard throughout the group.

"What is your name, soldier?" Hector asked.

"Cornel, my lord," the rider spoke.

"Cornel," Hector continued, "what happened? How did Balor conquer one of our ships? What of the crew?"

"We don't know, my lord," Cornel said, "they flied our colors. It was one of our ships. We thought it was the patrol, returning to report, but Balor soldiers filed out and attacked the village. What they couldn't take, they destroyed. We warded them off, my lord, but the town is in ruins and there are so many dead."

Hector listened with a serious expression and waved one of his guards closer. "Switch horses with Cornel," he ordered. He waved two other guards over. "You and you. Take Cornel and ride for Stregare. Report everything to my father and have him send aid. We will continue towards Sylice and offer help." He looked at Cyrus. "My prince, we need to make sure the lady Vara and lady Ariane are accompanied back to Stregare where they are safe."

Cyrus nodded in agreement. He looked at Iason. "You, I trust you will protect my wife in the same manner as you do with Vara. Keep her safe."

Iason bowed. "I will protect both of them with my life."

Cyrus nodded and turned to Iolaus. "You come with me." He looked at Hector. "Lead the way."

They split up, the three soldiers rushing towards Stregare and Cyrus and Hector towards Sylice, leaving Iason with Vara and Ariane on the middle of the road.

Before Iason could say anything, Vara spoke. "You are not taking us back to Stregare. We need to see if we can help."

"No my lady," Iason said in shock, "it is far too dangerous. The prince ordered me to keep you and lady Ariane safe. I cannot allow you to ride towards a village that is under attack."

Vara shook her head. "You heard that rider. The attackers are gone. And Hector has his soldiers. There is no danger. The people in that village need help. I'm not going to sit around in Stregare being useless."

"I have a duty, my lady," Iason said, "I'm not risking your safety. Lord Strega will send aid. Prince Cyrus is already in the village. He told me to bring you and lady Ariane back to Stregare."

"Technically, he only told you to..."

"Could you please, for once, not make my task any more difficult than it has to be?!" Iason barked at her.

His sudden shout startled and silenced her. She stared at him wide-eyed and wasn't sure how to respond. He had never raised his voice before.

Ariane too stared at him in shock. She bit her lip and watched him nervously. She was pretty sure Iason was right. It was not safe to go to the village, but Vara had a point too. These people were in need of help and if Ariane was going to be queen one day, these people were her subjects. They were her responsibility. And Cyrus had told her they were representing the king. She needed to support him. "We..." she started and hesitated for a moment. "We will ride to this village," she said softly.

She flinched when both Vara and Iason stared at her surprised, but she couldn't back down now. "Lady Vara is right. These people need our help."

"But my lady..." Iason argued carefully.

Ariane took a deep breath and reminded herself that Iason might be a man, he was still a servant. He would have to obey her. "I understand your concern. We will ride at a slow pace. So the soldiers will have dealt with any danger that might still be there. And both my husband and lady Vara have confidence in your ability to protect us. You will bring us to the village."