A Princess Torn (Alys Book #2)

Chapter 43

Endolynn felt even sicker the next morning.
Rose was quick to point out to her that she had been unwise to stay up late the night before, but Endolynn shrugged her friend's rebukes off. She had more to think about than sleep and how she was feeling. She was well enough to function, and that was good enough for her.
This time, she beat Zaiden out of the palace. Willem was already marshaling the soldiers for her, breaking them up into large groups.
Leofrick had handpicked 100 of their best fighters the day before, and had them grouped together, ready for Endolynn.
From her horse, she watched what they could do. She was impressed and slightly relieved with what she saw. Their skills were indeed as good as Leofrick had reported to her the evening before. The group was made up of all three kingdoms that she had troops from; there were even a handful of women from Balear.
Once they were done, Endolynn leaned forward in her saddle and called out her plans to the group. They would be the trainers. They would split up into groups of two, and be assigned a large group of about 50 soldiers to train every day until they had to fight.
"Myself, Sir Willem, and Lord Leofrick will be checking in among the groups."

Willem took over from his spot on his own horse to her right, "Our first priority is to teach basic combat and defensive skills."

The trainers nodded, watching Willem intently.
"Our second priority is to separate those who are better at archery than physical combat. They will still receive combat training, but they will also be given time to refine their aim and skills."

"Roll out!" Leofrick ordered, and the trainers wasted no time in scattering out to find groups to train.
"I will make sure that the weapons are being fixed or replaced every evening," Zaiden assured his sister, "Willem, how many scouts did you send out to keep an eye out for Royce's forces?"
Willem turned his horse to move so he could see the prince who was behind them on his own horse.
"Thirty."

Zaiden nodded and looked at the paper he held in his gloved hands, "Good. We have not heard word from any of the watch towers, but I do not want to rely on their alert."
They all nodded in agreement. To rely on the watch towers would be foolish and leave them open to a surprised attack.

"Let us get to work," Leofrick said, not wanting to waste time. Endolynn was all too willing to abide by his order.

Endolynn trained the soldiers every minute there was day light. Their progress seemed slow, but after two weeks, they had improved immensely.
The blacksmiths and carpenters tirelessly worked on the weapons and armor, cutting down Zaiden's exhausted list until it was complete. Even then they continued, knowing full well extras would be needed.
After a few days of feeling worse and worse, Endolynn slowly started to feel better. Though she never seemed to fully return to how she had felt prior to leaving Marniac.
Leofrick patiently reminded her over and over than she might have long term or even lasting effects from her fall in the river. But lasting effects were better than death, and Endolynn had been lucky to survive at all.

Every day that passed with the scouts reporting no sight of Royce's troops made everyone more nervous. It was a blessing wrapped in a cruse. On one hand, they had more time to train and prepare. On the other, they were burning through their rations and the moral of the troops was getting low with the building anxiety.

Endolynn woke up with a start before the sun was up. Something had disturbed her sleep, but her mind was still too sluggish to identify what has been.
A horn sounded, and Endolynn's mind immediately became sharp.
She threw off her blankets and rushed to get dressed. When she finished and opened her door, Zaiden was out in the hallway, just about to knock on her door.
Her eyes met his, and she knew she was not wrong about the meaning she had assigned to the horn.
"They are coming." He said, his voice tight. His blonde hair was still messy from sleeping but his eyes were big and wide. Despite how the years away from Balear had hardened him and shaped him to be a fighter, he was still her little brother.
Briefly, she felt the urge to protect him from what was about to happen.