Lize and her people already have a great deal of respect for the Felgardians for their formidable cavalry forces, but after hearing the words of those that they have in custody after the surprise attack, the Helestans were beyond shocked.
They have just learned that the force led by (Falric), Dale, and Kaldan to attack them were far smaller than they realized. Two hundred and forty Felgardian cavalrymen in its entirety managed to hold down three thousand Helestan soldiers. Were it not for the reinforcements, the situation would have turned much worse for Lize and her troops.
However, Lize thought that the situation have become worse regardless, both for them and the desperate Felgardians. With their attempt to repel the Helestans having failed, she believed that they have lost all hope of surviving and that they are preparing for one last stand based from the accounts of those that they captured as well as that of Sir Giazza.
The more than four thousand troops gathered clearly outnumber the Felgadians who only have less than a thousand left. Not only that they are outnumbered, but many of them have become very tired and hungry from all their attempts to outrun their pursuers. General Rafael predicted that if it were the case, they would be facing lesser numbers due to some not being able to fight but despite that, the Felgardians seem ready to fight one last time.
Lize lamented at their miserable state, but she is determined to end it with as little bloodshed as possible. Many have been gravely injured already, and it is time to stop – they still have to find the real culprits afterwards.
Lize ordered the task force to start advancing towards the Felgardian positions ahead. The mist remained detrimental to their vision as ever, but they pressed on. She understood that a battle is inevitable regardless of how many times she tried to reason with them, for their desperation have replaced their reasoning. She expected another battle and hoped that it will be quick.
As their forces advanced, she ordered the flanks secured as there is still the danger that the enemy cavalry posed despite their diminished numbers. They awaited for another cavalry strike that never came.
All attempted to avoid it, but here they are now, fighting each other. Felgardian kalators and bellators clashed against the Helestan lines, and while the former are experienced and well-trained, they were far too outnumbered. There was no hope of victory, only resistance, but even that seemed futile. They have faced the prospect of them dying here, in foreign lands.
(Falric) stood with his cavalry company far at the rightmost flank of their forces, waiting for the right time to strike. His brother, Dale held the left flank with his own cavalry, similarly waiting for an opportunity. Neither of them moved their cavalry and they can only watch as their lines crumbled against the bulwark of the Helestans. Prince Sergius and Prince Mateo commanded their vanguard while Prince Lev who is yet to recover from his injuries from the disaster that is the Festival of Peace remained at the rear with their handful of reserves.
"Prince (Falric)." One of (Falric's) officers called to him while pointing to the left flank. "Your brother is moving for an attack." The officer said.
(Falric) looked towards the direction the officer was pointing and sure enough, there is Dale leading his company for a possible opportunity. He watched his younger brother intently, hoping that he has found a weak point in the Helestan lines that could hopefully turn the tides of this battle should they exploit it. As Dale got into position, however, the Helestans immediately shifted to deflect their incoming charge, and the younger Felgardian prince had no choice but to pull back and retreat.
(Falric) sighed. It was yet another failed attempt. He has respect for the strategic prowess of the House of Helesta, but for Lize to be this talented despite her lack of experience is beyond him. In contrast, (Falric) is an experienced cavalry commander who had fought insurrections back in Felgarde. He is a leader and a tactician, but he is no strategist, and as far as he knows, no one among them is. The loss of Sir Giazza was more than a severe blow to them for he was their own strategist.
Frustrated, (Falric) could only let out an exasperated breath as he had no choice but to watch and wait again.
With the Helestans, Lize watched the battle. She respected the will of the Felgardians to fight despite their numerous disadvantages, and their experience was something to behold. However, it was exactly why Lize is upset. The Felgardians are so unwilling to break that the battle dragged on longer than she or anyone wanted. More and more lives were lost as a result.
Sir Giazza who had been watching the battle unfold himself walked to Lize with his Helestan guards with a proposal to hopefully end this bloodshed.
"Princess Lize, your Majesty. This battle has lasted for far too long than we needed. This must end." Sir Giazza started as Lize listened to him. "Allow me to go to the front and speak to my people." He said with a firm and confident voice. Lize was skeptical.
"Are you sure about this, Sir Giazza? Will that not endanger you?" Lize questioned with concern in her voice.
"I am. My people know me and I am certain that they will be willing to speak and negotiate." Sir Giazza said. "They still don't know the truth and think that you are after their lives. If they see me, they will stand down." He added. Lize seriously considered the thought for a moment, but she shook her head.
"No, Sir Giazza. I forbid it." Lize told him with a respectful voice as much as she can knowing that the person speaking to her is someone of high regard. "I cannot risk your life. You are too valuable for our kingdoms to lose." She said. Sir Giazza had no choice. He bowed to her before turning back to the battle without another word.
While she wanted this to end, she could not risk further damage to the relations between her kingdom and Felgarde by losing Sir Giazza.
"Your Highness, what should we do? The longer this drags on, the more this situation will become worse." An officer said to Lize. She wanted to point out that he was referring to the obvious, but being the respectful one, she decided against it.
But the officer was right. This must end quickly no matter the cost. She looked towards the distance where she could see (Falric) himself and his retinue despite the mist. She wondered though; why did he react this way? Why was he so unwilling to negotiate and talk about things? Perhaps there was something that happened to him in the past?
That last thought was what caught her mind. It has to be something about his past. Perhaps he was once betrayed before, and that alone made her feel obligated to help him.
She shook those thoughts off — there is still the urgent matter at hand. She refocused herself to the battle and saw that the Felgardians are making one last desperate attempt to break through their lines. The sheer ferocity of the assault was enough to bend their lines to the point of collapse, causing even more losses. This cannot continue.
Lize summoned her sword, determined to end it with her own hands. Without saying anything, she walked down the hill and towards the front lines, ignoring the protests of her officers while the royal guards obediently followed her. She knows that she will be spilling blood for the first time in her life, but if this will end things faster, then she will do it. She looked at the hill where (Falric) is one last time before she and her royal guards finally joined the fight.
Just as their front line was penetrated, Lize and her guards arrived before the Felgardians could do any meaningful damage. Together with her soldiers, they slowly push back the fierce assault. Just before they could've succeeded, a counterpush from the opposing force incredibly locked them in a stalemate. Lize had just defeated a Felgardian kalator when Prince Mateo spotted and attacked her. She was barely able to block the House of Caesar prince's attack before she countered with her own, pushing him back.
"The Deceiver Princess!" Prince Mateo angrily spat at Lize.
"No! Please, stop! You have to believe me!" Lize said, attempting to reason with the Felgardian prince. "We know the truth, now. This is neither our fault!"
"Your lies cannot fool us again, deceiver! You want this to end? We'd rather die than to rot in your prisons!" Prince Mateo declared as he attacked Lize again.
The two individuals of royalty clashed. Both of them used magic to outdo the other, but it was Lize who had the upper hand. This came at a surprise to Prince Mateo, but he fought on using his own albeit inferior magic. He managed to break Lize's guard and he went for the killing blow, but he inadvertently did something else, something Lize noticed.
Thinking fast, Lize used her remaining magic to blast the Felgardian prince some distance away from her. She took the opportunity to reorient herself and take a step back towards the safety of her royal guards. What she noticed, however, was something that gave her the feeling of fear.
She saw a faint glow in the Felgardian prince's eyes. When she did, she felt a suspicious terror that just suddenly grew in her. Her heart rate increased as nervousness tried to take over her emotions, but she set those aside - she will have to think about it later. She looked at Prince Mateo who is speaking to a kalator in Felscript.
The prince looked around them and so did Lize, and they saw Helestan units performing flanking maneuvers on both sides, threatening to surround and enclose the Felgardians who are too outnumbered to counter such a move. Without another word, Prince Mateo and the remaining Felgardian soldiers attempted to retreat.
However, their retreat turned into a disorganized escape, causing many more Felgardian bellators to be captured. Seeing this, Princes (Falric) and Dale led their cavalry in a desperate attempt save their men from capture, but this was futile as their disorganized horsemen were cut down by the well-prepared Helestan formations. Having lost more men than they would like, they, too, retreated with their troops who managed to evade.
Seeing the Felgardian retreat, the Helestan forces cheered. Lize wanted them to stop for this was not a victory to be celebrated, but she couldn't do anything but watch as the Felgardians who have far less numbers now disappear into the mist.
- Sunrise, two hours later... -
If someone were to say that it was unbelievable that the Felgardians lost again, it would be a lie. They know all too well that there was no victory for them in the first place. Exhausted, hungry, and desperate, it was incredible that they have lasted this long and still chose to fight with all their might, but that was what led to their losses.
A Felgardian officer reported to (Falric) of their situation.
"Sir." The officer saluted before speaking. "I bring you the report as you requested; we have less than two hundred bellators and eighty cavalrymen left. Our supplies can only last one more day before we finally run out." The officer said. (Falric) sighed as his fears are confirmed.
Truth be told, he expected this to happen. He knew that this would happen and there was nothing he could do. The Helestans are still after their lives and it is only a matter of time before they all fall in battle.
He dismissed the officer just as his brother finally arrived with his cavalry after taking on a rear guard role to make sure that no Helestans followed.
"(Falric)!" Dale called to (Falric) who acknowledged him with a nod.
"It's good to see you safe, brother." (Falric) said as he observed Dale's retinue and noticed that someone is missing. "Wait, where is your captain?" He inquired. Dale stayed silent for a moment before he answered.
"We... lost him." Dale said with a monotone voice. (Falric) sighed again. Just then, a kalator arrived and saluted to both of them.
"Prince (Falric), Prince Dale. We have a Helestan messenger requesting your presence." The kalator said.
Without another word, (Falric) and Dale dismounted their horses and followed the retainer who led them to the outskirts of their makeshift camp. There, they saw three Helestan footmen in horseback with a written message. Dale ordered some of their men to fetch written message and once that was done, the Helestans left without another word. Dale then received the message and read its contents.
"What's in it? What do they want?" Prince Sergius asked Dale who stayed silent as he skimmed through the words. One moment later, he handed Prince Sergius the parchment before turning to his brother.
"The want us to go to them. Simply put." Dale said to (Falric) who frowned.
"Are they mad? After all what they did to us, they expect us to just give ourselves up to them?!" Prince Mateo angrily commented.
"Then let us go." (Falric) suddenly said, confusing everyone around them. "We will go to them as soon as we are ready."
"Wait, you can't be serious, Prince (Falric)!" Prince Sergius exclaimed in disbelief. "We can't just surrender to them!"
"Since when did I say that we will surrender?" (Falric) questioned him. They all look each other, seemingly understanding what he meant. It will be their final act of defiance. "Mount up! We will ride one last time as the mist lifts!"
"Wait!" Prince Mateo exclaimed, wanting to bring something up. The other princes listened. "There's something you should know. I fought the Deceiver Princess and... I revealed my blood to her." He said, shocking the others.
"What? You revealed your blood to her and everyone else around you when you were at the front?" Prince Lev questioned Prince Mateo.
"It was an accident. I think my emotions ran too high that it just came out without my consent." Prince Mateo responded.
"Perhaps the four of us and the rest should do it now..." (Falric) mused, causing the others to look at him.
"You can't be serious...?" Prince Sergius said.
"What else can we do? We are all going to die. We might as well make history one way or another." (Falric) replied and every one of them agreed without saying another word. They all left to prepare. "Not you, Lev. You're staying here." (Falric) called to Prince Lev.
"Why is that?" Prince Lev asked, confused.
"You're not one of us, Lev. On top of that, you're still injured." (Falric) said as he walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "There's no more reason to continue this fight. Once the time comes, I want you to turn yourself and the others in - our men have seen enough bloodshed, for now."
"I understand." Prince Lev answered without hesitation as he, too, thinks the same way. "I'll talk to the officers." He said. (Falric) nodded as they then both went their separate ways.
- Later... -
General Rafael, Sir Giazza, Prince Kaldan, and Lize watched the mist lifts as the sun had just began to rise in the horizon. The messengers that they sent have already arrived, meaning that their message has reached its intended destination. They still clung to the hope that the remaining Felgardians could still be reasoned with. They hoped that they would just be willing to talk for at least a moment.
None of them wished for this more than Lize. She has cut down Felgardians with her own sword and seen more fall before her very eyes. She does not want to fight them anymore, especially knowing that they have nothing to do with the assassination attempt to her and her family.
But something else came to her mind. What was the thing that she saw in Prince Mateo's eyes when they clashed? Why did she feel a sudden sense of fear? She felt confused, even more so at the fact that she never felt such level of dread before. Then, she realized something. There was one time when (Falric) somehow managed to terrify her suitors from the Peace Festival without effort whatsoever, and that time when he spoke of a legend of a group of people called the Dreadknights.
She has some pieces of the puzzle, but they weren't enough to answer her question. In fact, it gave her more questions; is the legend of the Dreadknights really a legend? More importantly, what was that she saw? She has a hunch on what was it, but feared that it may be true. Wanting clarification, she turned to the most experienced of them.
"Sir Giazza, may we speak?" She asked the elder Felgardian who nodded.
"Of course, Princess. What would you like to know?" Sir Giazza said.
"Could you tell me more about the Dreadknights?" Lize asked without hesitation. This visibly surprised Sir Giazza and even Prince Kaldan who is eavesdropping on them.
"I'm sorry, but... why?" Sir Giazza hesitated.
"I... just need some questions answered." Lize said as she too, hesitated to say the true reason.
"Very well, Princess." Sir Giazza cleared his throat before continuing. "I believe Prince (Falric) has told you about them before." He said to Lize.
"Yes, he did. He told me on how they were cursed by the Cheliots in the last war and how they lived after it." Lize replied. Before Sir Giazza can say anything, Prince Kaldan who was listening to their conversation interjected.
"Sir Giazza, you can't tell them that!" Prince Kaldan exclaimed to Sir Giazza, surprising both him and Princess Lize who stared at him in surprise.
"Um... Prince Kaldan, is there something wrong?" Lize asked, confused as why the Littorio prince seemed defensive about the topic.
"It's alright, young Kaldan. Princess Lize is open-minded and I believe she can make do with what she will know." Sir Giazza said to Prince Kaldan, confusing Lize even more. "Besides, I think she has to know now..." He said while gesturing for him to calm down. It took a moment for Prince Kaldan to sink all of it in before he reluctantly agreed.
"I'll just... go to the men." Prince Kaldan said as he promptly left for his fellow Felgardians in their custody. Once he is out of earshot, Lize spoke to Sir Giazza.
"Sir Giazza, what was he so defensive about? What is it that I shouldn't know?" Lize asked the elder Felgardian.
"It is about the true identity of some of the warriors among them, including all but one of the princes." Sir Giazza answered. While Lize is intrigued but also hesitant to know, she decided to just drop the subject.
"Sir Giazza, if it's something that I truly shouldn't know, then I won't press any further." Lize politely said. Sir Giazza chuckled.
"I appreciate your consideration." Sir Giazza started just as a messenger arrived.
"Your Highness! The Felgardians have heeded our words!" The messenger said. Surprised, Lize looked at the horizon and saw the silhouettes of men on horseback behind the thinning mist.
Lize sighed in relief, thinking that they finally are going to talk things out. She watched as Prince (Falric) and the remaining Felgardian princes led their cavalrymen towards the Helestan lines. They trotted slowly as they spread out their line.
However, their trot has turned into a gallop. Their speed gradually increased as if they are preparing to charge. Lize's smile faded as she saw them continue to increase their speed as the Helestan troops prepared for the worst. As they left the mist and into clear view of the Helestans, Lize lost all of hope for a peaceful end to this conflict when the Felgardians drew their weapons.
The Felgardians let out a warcry as they finally went on full speed, intending to do one last act of defiance as the Helestans scrambled to form lines. However, Lize and her people saw something else. She saw the same faint glow in the eyes of the Felgardians. The same feeling of terror from when she fought one of the princes made itself known once more. Some Helestan soldiers have already began to panic.
"You feel it, don't you?" Sir Giazza inquired, seemingly unaffected and unsurprised.
"Sir Giazza! It's that same feeling...!" Lize said to him. "I have felt this when I fought one them. What is this? Please, tell me!" She pleaded, herself panicking as she tried to suppress it.
"What you are feeling is the curse that befall the old warriors of Felgarde and their descendants." Sir Giazza said, causing Lize to gasp.
"Curse? You mean...?" Lize said, now having a clear answer to her questions, but not wanting to say it.
"Yes." Sir Giazza replied. "Prince Sergius, Prince Mateo, Prince Dale, Prince (Falric), and a number of them there-"
"They are all Dreadknights."