Ray's POV
I was waiting for them to come back along with Duralgias. "When do you think they'll be back?" I asked Duralgias
"I'd say between now and two hours give or take. It depends on when they left the castle. By night it's about a day's ride and that's if you know the secret staircase. If not then I'd say we have another 3 or 4 days to wait. But I expect that they'll be back today."
"Well if you say-" I got cut off by the sound of horse nearing the gate
"Open the gate!" called on of the soldiers standing guard of the entrance. After the gate was opened the group that had left rode in. Zoran spotted me immediately and rode over to me.
"So how was it?" I asked him
"It was fine. You missed out cause while it was a mission, we got to watch a show and Anna performed and she was AMAZING! I didn't know she could dance or sing" exclaimed Zoran as he dismounted Winston
"Well all of us are filled with surprises at this point. I shit even Winston here can talk" I said while petting Winston's nose
"Why yes that is true my lady, and master Zoran here has umm... improved his riding to say the least. " chuckled Winston as Zoran and I walked toward the conference tent.
Once in the conference tent, I noticed all of the princess' top people were already seated waiting for the meeting to start and figure out what was going on. "Hey Zoran, what's going on? Did the mission fail?" I asked now concerned something big was going to happen.
"Well no. It's hard to explain. Just listen to Ariana" said Zoran as we took our seats at the table.
Ariana got up and started pacing for a minute. Then stopped and said "Well we have a bit of a situation here"
"What do you mean Princess? I thought you said the mission went as planned and that Adam was weakened?" asked Oscar
"Well yes that did happen but we also got new information about what he's planning on doing next. Thanks to Zoran here, his surprise attack is no longer a surprise attack since we now know when and where he is going to strike," said Ariana as she put her head in her hands. Then whispered "I just didn't think he would actually attack us. He's my own brother"
Lieutenant Anderson stood up and addressed Ariana, "I know you're upset as are well all. No of us actually wanted to go to full out war but here we are. And now that we have an advantage, I want us to all focus and figure out how we plan on using this advantage."
Anna, who hadn't spoken a word since she returned to the base camp, stood up and moved to the map. "I know how badly I weakened him, however, it also weakened me a bit too. It took a lot of power to get through his shield and then some to affect him. I will not be using my magic in this battle"
Almost all the generals, admirals, and lieutenants rose to their feet shouting all at once. "Are you insane?!?" said Anderson
"Anna, you're our best weapon and chance of beating Adam. Why hold back now?" shouted Oscar
"Normally I'd be glad that you are staying away from danger but we actually NEED you now. This makes no sense at all" yelled Justin
"Are you sure that's the best strategy?" screamed Octavia
Anna calmly sat down, crossed her legs, and raised her hand for silence. She had complete control of the room. Then in a calm voice, she said, "Yes, this is the best strategy. We already have an advantage over him, in that we know what he is planning and that he actually is coming to fight. Why reveal that we have what the prophecy says? We can use that to our advantage later. For right now I want to discuss strategy. I actually already know what I want to do. So do not ever question my authority or decisions ever again."
We all nodded and the then Princess gave the signal for her to continue. "Now I want captain Zoran and Ray to lead the archers. They will hide in the tree line of the river than Adam intends to arrive by, and they will attack first. Only after the archers have either run out of arrows or the army has gotten too close to shoot. Then the foot soldiers will go in. Only after the foot soldiers have distracted the army that the calvary will enter. Leading the foot soldiers will be General Duralgias. Leading the cavalry will be myself, Justin, and Patrick. We will attack from the west of the forest while everyone else will come from the east or already be at the river. That way we cut them off and the only choice they have is to run. Any question," Anna asked as she showed us on the map where each of us would be.
Ariana, who had been quiet this whole time, got up and said "I have a question, Will I be allowed to fight?"
Anna sat down and put her fingers on her temple, looking exasperated, "I, personally don't want you to fight. However, knowing you, you're already planning on fighting even if I say no. So, I'm having you go with Jackson and stay with him the entire time. That means if I tell Jackson to evacuate to keep you safe, you will go. If I tell Jackson to take you somewhere safe, you will go. And if I tell him to pull you out of the battle then you will go with him. You are our best chance at having a good ruler on the throne and we're fighting to get you on the throne. So, if you die, then the war is lost. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal clear," said Ariana
"Except, I'm really confused. Why me? I mean you have other better-qualified people to choose to protect the princess. So why risk choosing me" asked a very concerned looking Jackson
Anna stood up and started walking around the tent, "Well, you see, all my other leaders like Admiral Newton and Lieutenant Anderson are all going to fight and be leading their own battalions so they aren't available for the job. So I went to the next best candidate, which is you, Jackson. I trust you to do this job well" she then smiled at him.
"Why thank you. I just wasn't sure you wanted me. But I'll do it and guard Ariana with my life," said Jackson who looked way more confident than he just did.
I bet he'll do fine and not be too awkward around Ariana. I thought to myself. I turned to Zoran and whispered, "Do you think Anna knows that Jackson likes Ariana?"
"Oh, I'm 100% certain she does. She's played matchmaker before and enjoys it so I wouldn't put it past her to do it again. So, yeah she totally put Jackson in charge of Ariana on purpose" he whispered back. Then Anna dismissed us.
"Alright everyone, go get some good sleep. We head out in the morning at first light" said Anna as she turned to leave the tent. We all left and headed back to our tents to sleep for the night and get ready to leave.
The next morning we all awoke to the sound of horns signalling it was time to get ready to head out. Ugh, why can't we have like 5 more minutes? I thought to myself before getting up and getting dressed. I had silver armour waiting for me on the table. It wasn't too heavy but still weighed down on me. Thank god for Michale training me to know how to fight in this stuff.
I walked out of the tent to see everyone gathering up and getting ready to leave. Zoran was in silver armour with a slightly modern twist and had his bow strapped to his back. Patrick and Justin were each wearing black armour, they looked like SWAT people, and they were already on their horses. Then Anna and the Princess walked out of a tent. Ariana had on a red dress with leather chest armour on and gauntlets. Anna was wearing all black. She had on black leggings, combat boots, and had a black top that stopped at her waist but the sides kept going so it looked like she had a high low dress type situation. She also wore chest armour and had a cloak on her shoulder. Damn she looks so grown up now it's crazy I thought to myself. Anna mounted her horse, Eliza.
"Today we march out to the battlefield. It's a two days ride, but I know that we will be strong and swift. They will never see it coming! WE have the advantage over them! WE can win this battle! Now clear out and let's go!" shout Anna to the army that was to now follow her into battle. Everyone cheered and headed out. (Play song 8)
About two days later we arrived at the battlegrounds. We had little time to rest since we had gotten there at night and Adam was due in the morning. So now we were in position. "Anna, Zoran and I have the archers in place. Over" I said into the radio that we have been given.
"Excellent. They should be here soon. Let Zoran know that he only takes the first shot when he's positive that the archers can hit their target. Only then does he shoot. Make sure he hits his mark. After the first shot is fired then signal everyone else to fire at will. Understood over" replied Anna through her radio.
"Got it. And once they get past us in the trees we jump down and cut them off" said Zoran through his comm
"Yes, that's correct. I'll see you guys soon. Over and out" said Anna before the comms went radio silent.
About an hour later, the first signs of movement were spotted. "They're here," said Zoran into his radio to make sure everyone knew that this battle was about to start. "I'm going to take my first shot once they're in the water almost to our shore," Zoran said to me
"Ok"
Then the army entered the river and started wading across. There were a lot of them and they were getting closer by the second. I was scared but also excited because this was something I had never done before. Then I saw Zoran get up to take his shot. He aimed then fired a single arrow at the oncoming foot soldiers. It hit its mark. The soldiers stopped in their tracks.
Shocked and very confused. It was dead silent, then... "OPEN FIRE!" shouted Zoran and the archers started releasing arrows one after another. That caused the foot soldiers to start running toward the treeline.
We managed to hold a lot of them off with our arrows for the time being. They couldn't see us so we had the upper hand at being hidden. They were trying to fire back cause they attempted to shoot at us but were shooting like stormtroopers and were totally missing us. I've never killed anyone let alone fought in a war before. So when I hit my first victim I almost screamed. But then Zoran shouted at me to stay focused. I fired arrow after arrow, almost hitting every one of my victims. But the problem became that they were slowly but surely reaching the tree line and it was getting very hard to shoot at them.
"They've reached the treeline! Send in the foot soldiers! We can't hold them back much longer!" I shouted into the radio. Then I heard Duralgias shout something. Then the foot soldiers started fighting the army. It was a bloody mess. Many people were dying and hurt one another. I never want to live through something like this let alone fight it I thought to myself. I kept shooting, hoping I wouldn't have to jump down and join that bloody mess. But I knew I had to. So Zoran and I both jumped down at the same time and started fighting the army that was still trying to cross the river. I saw someone coming up behind me so I threw my first knife. I had my whole set with me to fight with since it was my weapon of choice. It hit him square in the cheat. All around me I saw death and knew that this was not the palace for me but I had to keep going. I threw a star at a soldier about to hit Zoran, killing him.
"Thanks, Ray" shout Zoran as he decapitated another attacker. He turned and started to fight off even more soldiers with his sword now since firing arrows wouldn't make a lot of sense now. Damn my boyfriend is hot and a really good fighter
"You're welcome. I hope Anna sends in the fucking cavalry soon cause there's so many of them!" I shouted as I threw another knife at someone while kicking someone else. The battlefield was full of people fighting. The ground was beginning to fill up with even more dead bodies by the second. Finally, I heard the sound of horses coming. Speak of the devil I thought to myself. Anna appeared at the top of the hill on her horse looking incredibly majestic.
I looked up for a split second to see Anna, Justin, Patrick, and Jackson with Ariana in front of him getting ready to go. "CHARGEEE!" shouted Anna as she and her horse Eliza galloped straight for the oncoming army. The cavalry headed straightforward attacking anything in its path. Anna was swinging her sword, back and forth, back and forth killing everything in her path. She was ruthless and showed no mercy to any of those who met her blade. Justin and Patrick were also fighting off everyone in their path. Ariana was also fighting. However, the battle was getting worse and while we might have been winning it was getting very dangerous. Anna looked concerned and then we all saw him. A black knight riding on a white horse cover in solid black armour. It was King Adam.
"Shit! Adam is here. We need to get the Princess out of here now! Jackson get her out of here RIGHT NOW!" said Anna from the radio
"What?!? No! I'm staying and fighting!" I heard Ariana from the radio
"I'm not in the mood of games. Jackson get her out of here and that's an order!" shouted Anna as she killed another foot soldier.
"Yes ma'am" I heard Jackson say. Then I turned and looked to see him literally scope up Ariana and then rode off away from the battle.
"Oh my god, what the actual hell Jackson?!? Let me go this instant!" cried Ariana as he rode off with her.
Ariana did not look happy at all I thought to myself as I threw another knife at the attacker.
The battle continued to rage on for another few hours. I noticed that Adam never joined the fight. But that didn't stop his army to keep coming and coming. I continued to fight my way through everything. The army was overwhelming the enemy and it looked like a victory could be in our future. Finally, I saw that many troops were leaving and running away. We had managed to push his remaining army to the river. After that, they all retreated. "Well that's the end of the battle I guess," I told everyone that was gathered around now that the battle was officially ended.
"I'm confused as to why Adam retreated," said Zoran as he got onto his horse.
"Well maybe he realised he didn't want any other soldiers to die" suggested Justin
"No. It can't be that simple..." Anna started to say before trailing off. She turned her horse.
"Anna? What is it?" asked Octavia
"There's something that feels...off... Hey! What the hell!" shouted Anna as she kicked her horse to gallop after a guy in a hooded cloak with one of our radios.
"Anna come back here" shouted Zoran
"No! Go on without me! I'm gonna catch this son of a bitch spy" she called back as she galloped after the spy. And within a few seconds, she was gone.
"Well, there was no stopping her so there's that. Anyway, who's hungry" asked Duralgias. We all then headed back to the makeshift camp for lunch.