A Whisper of Night

10.1 || ASTNORDEN 💫

           

Ormina City stood.

    Astna cursed as yet another wave of hot oil swept down the ramparts, as the screams of dying men and the sizzling of flesh stabbed through the smoke and fire. It had been an hour, and still her men had not taken the city.

    Ellac Denling, the son of Lord Denling, led the eastern flank, the only one visible to her right now. She hadn't seen the boy since he and his troops set out from the hill that morning.

    "We'll have to retreat," muttered Lord Nurtanden, pacing back and forth. She'd told him to keep his troops in reserve, and now he was more than restless. "I told you this plan would not work, your Majesty. We cannot take Ormina."

    "We've come this far," she began, but a horn blasted through the smoke. Astna stiffened, her hands tightening around the reins of her horse. One horn means attack, two means retreat....

    And another horn.

    No, she thought, stunned. No, no, no. Her men couldn't be retreating - not now -

    "We need to flee," Lord Nurtanden said. "We can't stay here any longer - they'll come after us. My Queen - "

    "No," she said firmly. "We'll stay - "

    But her heart sank as she saw men fleeing from the fight...noticeably less men than the force she'd sent to batter Ormina's walls.

    I killed them, she thought, stunned. I killed them....

    No. She couldn't dwell on that - not now, not ever. "Fine," she managed. "We'll – we'll retreat. We'll go back to Eastern shore of the Raeseri and then..." She found herself at a loss for words. And then return? Wait for the Lion Queen to find us? Her heart and head were pounding.

    "...we'll regroup," she finally said, "and discuss tactics later. Get our men out of here."

    Her guard fell in line behind her as she turned her horse around. Her mount was a handsome black stallion, but now his fur seemed stained, a sooty gray against the smoky skies. She rode down the hill, her horse's hoofbeats thundering over the moans of the dying and the roar of the flames. There was a bitter taste on her tongue....

    I'll come back, she swore. I'll come back, and I'll take these cities and more.

    "Your Majesty!" came a shout.

    Ellac came riding towards her, followed by the rest of his men.

    "Where's your father?" she demanded.

    "Behind, helping the men - he told me to lead - are we to the Raeseri?"

    "Yes," she said. "Come on."

    "To the Raeseri!" shouted Ellac over his shoulder. Her men passed down his words as they rode.

    They reached the river after half an hour of riding. Scouts from the rear claimed that no Ormina men were following them, although she could not help but feel chased, judged, scorned....

    And for good reason, too. I should never have listened to Lady West – taking Ormina was a foolish move. That morning, when she'd arrived at Ormina, she'd been stunned by the sheer height of the city's walls. We never stood a chance against them, and my Lords knew.

    Lord Nurtanden's men and the remainders of Lady West's troops were waiting for them, milling around the river. It occurred to Astna that if they were ambushed here, they would probably all drown, but it was no matter - they would find another camp within a few minutes.