The Sword Of A Princess

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The rescue mission was a success, returning for those two fallen knights without gaining the attention of anymore Western knights in the process. Lionel hadn't bought up his almost conversation again either.

By the time we returned the second time the sky had slowly grown lighter, the sun not far from rising. I couldn't get my mind to rest when we finally laid down to rest, instead I sat outside and watched the sunrise. The pastel blue sky looked glassy, fake almost. The wintery air became colder in the early morning of the new day.

Our second day at the front lines and an army thrice the size of ours was headed our way. A massacre was coming. How did one even mentally prepare for that?

"You'll be alright you know. I believe you will." Lionel mumbled down beside me after walking up to my side. My eyes remained on the rising sun, my back to the war.

"Athena." Arthur's voice called out in the distance. We both glanced back seeing Arthur stop a fair ways from us. Lionel glanced back down at me before wondering off..

"You haven't slept yet have you?" Arthur asked moving to sit beside me.

"I couldn't, knowing we are about to walk straight into war." I breathed out, "I'll be fine."

Arthur sent me a soft look, "You don't have to go."

I met his eyes, "Yes, I do."

"I'm sorry." Arthur sighed out, his hands reaching for my own. I stood up from the log, my back to Arthur. "I don't know what I will do with myself if you get hurt out there, or worse." He said standing up beside me, ignoring my subtle attempt to escape his touch.

"Then don't think about it. Think about fighting our enemies, on ending this war. I will be okay, I've trained my entire life for this." I said to him. I took half a step to move, wanting to prepare my mind alone for what was coming.

"I- before we go. I want to apologise, for not keeping you with me that night in my chambers. I should have, I should have given you a night you would never forget, not a bad memory of what could have been." Arthur said, grabbing my hands this time, keeping them tightly secured in his. Guilt flooded over me, crushing my body to the ground. I didn't deserve his apology after what I had done with Lionel.

"No. It's alright, it's still a memory I will treasure, being with you." I forced myself to say- to smile up at him. My chest ripped into a thousand pieces.

My eyes snapped past Arthur's shoulder as I saw a knight running across the camp towards Commander Gorenge's round tent, Arthur's head turned following my eyes. We both shared a knowing look that nothing from that looked like good news. We ran over ourselves to the tent, Lance and Lionel rushing in shortly after, not being far behind us.

"We spotted them- five Western knights approaching. They are running towards us." The young knight said between breaths after running over. Commander Gorenge and Commander Mavis stood by the table, three diamonds perched on their shoulders and a glass of spirits each sitting before the map.

"Five?" Commander Mavis frowned. "Inform everyone to prepare for battle Captain." She said to Lance who nodded and stepped out of the tent.

"Show me." Commander Gorenge said moving around the table, her drink forgotten. We all stepped out of the tent and followed the knight to the edge of the camp that faced the West.

The forest turned into a flat sandstone plain, some rocks towering up, others sunken into the ground creating trenches. Rolling sandy hills laid beyond that making it hard to see further towards the horizon. The terrain was not to our advantage, but neither was it for the Western Knights.