The Maiden [Wattys 2018 Longlist]

the stone soldier/life in war

- David rushes home. His entire family — all three brothers and their family and his mother — greet him. They urge him to greet his father, but in the short time everyone left to greet David, David's father had died.

- David and Troy return to the palace. Within a few weeks, they are informed that the Buddhist temple their aunt is a part of is ransacked and vandalized. Troy permanently gives up his knighthood to defend the temple. He leaves behind his Grand Cross red sash.

- David becomes more serious than ever. Gonzalez notices this and is the only person to actually give David what he asks for: to push him harder than ever.

- In "Life in War" (summarized in the main story of The Maiden but in more detail in The Stone Soldier), David explains to Tabitha how he and Thomas were in charge of the brigade containing the youngest members of the army. David also tells Tabitha that on the day of deployment, Lendon had approached them and asked them to keep Jacob Bourbon safe. She also asked this of Theo, Antonio, and Dominic.

- David details the strategy: the entire army traveled through Rucken and Brucke. they then split the three divisions. King Arthur decreed that the youngest divisions should face off in the least combat-likely situation. Thus, he sent Antonio's 3 divisions (of which includes Theo, somewhere) and Dominic's 3 divisions (which include David and Thomas' brigade) through Cascata to Silva. They followed the lead of the assassins, who split off similarly days prior.

- Antonio, Dominic, David, Thomas, and Theo reconnected since they are all well-acquainted with each other. They followed the leads of the older Grand Crosses and Grand Officers, who look down on David and Thomas for ascending the ranks so quickly. Antonio and Dominic tried to defend them but were often scolded or rebutted (though, with more respect).

- The three knights and the two princes became close during this time. They also kept a close eye on Jacob Bourbon, as per Lendon's request, but didn't do anything to prevent blatant favoritism from showing.

- The army arrived at the Palace of Silva already in full chaos. The Silvan people ran by them, screaming and accusing them of using "sneaky" tactics to win instead of fighting like "real" men. Confused, they managed to ask some more calm-headed nobles what's going on. They revealed that the entire royal family of Silva is trapped inside the Palace and the flames were too hot for anyone to rescue them. More casualties arose as people of all classes attempted to rescue them. Antonio, Dominic, David, Thomas, and Theo attempted to help but are stopped by the older knights, who tell the younger five that they are the enemy. The five convinced their younger soldiers to help since the people injured are civilians who have nothing to do with the war. Those who were drafted or volunteered to serve (aka those who aren't officially knights or squires) tended to be the ones to step up.

- Nothing seemed to be able to extinguish the fire. The five young men decided to wait until the flames were out to investigate, leaving the older knights in charge of the occupation of the Silvan capital.

-The five discovered through Silvan newspapers that King Johannes had invited his entire family to a grand banquet the night of the fire and his disappearance. They wondered if it was a trap done by the assassins, but realized it's impossible since there was no way a haphazard letter could bring in a royal family so easily. They deduced that King Johannes himself must have said something so moving or powerful enough to bring in his entire family. The next step was determining how they all died

- After three days, the Palace of Silva stopped burning. The five scanned through the rubble, with David and Thomas ordering their brigade (including Jacob) to help. They eventually found the burnt remains of the royal family sitting in what used to be the grand dining hall. The bodies were arranged perfectly around a rectangular table, and they realized that the royal family was dead before the fire. However, the bodies were so badly burnt, it was impossible to run tests on. The five allowed the de facto leaders (the noble court of Silva) to carry on their typical investigation and the court officially surrendered Silva to the Caesarean army. At this point, Huynh, Henry, and Michael have met up with the five.