Damn Timothy. Damn him. Damn!
Erik was cursing with his jaw clenched tight. Dust filled his vision. Thumps of iron filled his ears. The entire Union's force was moving as one- eighty-six thousand men if he wasn't mistaken.
There were a diverse bunch- Castonians, Vanadians, Tulosans, Borondians, Cantonese, Inkish and some were Wismarines. The artillery pieces were abandoned. It was a sprint.
Well not really a sprint. 'Make haste to save me but move as one. Don't send the cavalry ahead.' That was Timothy's order to him written in some rolled paper he crumpled after receiving.
It was insane. Timothy was insane. Taking the Rooster and his royal guards to serve as bait was insane. Well it wasn't really a bait. Sarah must have known that Timothy was a bait. She of course knew. Now this had become a race. If the Wismarines kill Timothy before the bulk of the Union arrives then they have lost. If Erik arrives before the Rooster was slaughtered, then the Wismarines were trapped.
So damn Timothy. Damn him for giving Erik this huge responsibility.
Erik looked forward, toward Timothy's direction several dozen leagues away.
Damn you, he thought. Don't you dare fall before we arrive. Don't you dare.
***
"Everything is ready, Your Majesty." Abraham informed him.
Timothy could very well see that though. The Rooster legion was entrenched on top of a hill. Spikes three men long protruded outward, designed to scare elephants. Caltrops were scattered. A moat with another set of spikes was dug as welcome. But the greatest defense were the men of the Rooster themselves. They were veterans of dozens of battles. Undefeated. Unbroken. They were his personal men.
The Wismarine host was approaching from the south. He couldn't see them yet but the disturbance in the dust and sand was apparent.
Timothy squinted and turned to Lucia. What do you think? He was about to ask but remembered that she was not here. He had become used to her presence and advises that not seeing her was jarring.
He turned to the north. Lucia was watching him in one of those galleys in the river. If things go awry, he and what was left of the Rooster would scramble to the galleys. But first he and the Rooster would have to hold.
"They are near sire" Abraham again said. Bear roared to the direction of the Wismarines.
"Let them come." Timothy said. "We will welcome them with steel in our hands."
***
Lucia was staring at the mass of Castonians on top of the hill.
They are just a league from the river bank, she thought. It would only take Timothy a few breaths to reach safety. There is nothing to worry about.
Her racing heart contradicted her thoughts. She bit her lips. How she wanted this to be over.
"He will be fine, You Majesty." Shadow said. "This is but a bump in your journey. You will triumph, the two of you."
"I know. I have trust in him and the Rooster. I just don't trust fate. Fate is a simperer, you see. A treacherous thing."
"Yes, my father also used to say that. Even how hard we try, some things are just inevitable."
Lucia turned to Shadow. He still looked strange with his attire. She hadn't gotten used to his look. "Are you talking about my inability to bear a child?"
"No! Of course not. I was just..."
Lucia chuckled. "I apologize. A jest. I was just trying to find a distraction to my anxiety. I..."
Shadow's eyes widened and he pushed her. She lost her balance, tumbling backward. A blade went past to her front. The wielder was clothed in royal guard armor. His eyes swiveled to her as she fell.
Lucia hit the deck. She was dazed for a moment. When she looked back, Shadow was battling the assassin. The other royal guards were running toward her. That only made Lucia more afraid. What if one of them was another assassin? A blade coated in poison would be enough to secure her death.
"Remove your helms!" She shouted, rising to her feet. The royal guards stopped. The initial assassin had already been subdued by several guards but there could be another. No, there was another. She was certain of it.
The royal guards removed their helms one by one. She recognized faces as her eyes jumped from one guard to another. To the left side, about twelve paces from her was a man she had never seen in her entire life.
"You.." She pointed and the man ducked. He put his hands on the deck. The other royal guards acted fast but before they could get to the man, the galley split in half.
***
The first line of Wismarines would hit their lines soon. These Wismarines were the usual levies. It would be an easy defense but Sarah had more men coming.
He tilted to the right, facing the majority of his men. "Two years ago when I first entered Knightsend, the first person I saw was a drunk sentry. Where is John Wilkin?"
"Sire!" John raised his hand from the front line.
"Not to embarrass you John but you know who that was."
Laughs sounded from the Castonians. Timothy smiled, a true one. "But John Wilkin's transformation mirrors yours. We were doomed men in that castle. We were the front line in case the Tulosans invade. We go a long way and you are my own. It is wrong for me to have favorites but everybody knows that the Rooster is the King's legion!"
They raised their fists. Their shouts were loud. The Rooster was crowing nothing but loyalty and grit.
"The Wismarines have played us for too long. They tried to subdue us but a lion's roar cannot be contained. Now we are standing in their soil. We have conquered half of their land. They are bleeding. One more battle, lads. One more. Wismar would kneel to us. The will bend or they will break."
He extended his arm forward, reaching into them. "Your King commands you- slaughter them all!"
The Rooster turned forward, eyes stuck to the approaching enemies. The first wave of Wismarines were sprinting toward them. There were at least a few thousand.
When the enemies reached the portion where the soil was wet with Hellfire, Timothy had second thoughts whether to use the Hellfire or not.
In the end he decided against it. The Hellfire was reserved for the Falconheads and elephants.
The Wismarines reached their lines like snuffed candles. Most were already winded by the ascent. The Rooster toyed with them. Wismarine corpses fell rolling down the hill. It was more of a massacre than a battle.
The enemies routed. Other legions would have cheered and raised their halberds in the air. But not the Rooster. They were silent as they repaired their formation, awaiting the next wave.
"Sire" Abraham called.
Timothy turned to the royal guard. Abraham was pointing to the river. Timothy traced Abraham's finger.
"No" Timothy said after seeing one of the galleys split in half. It was Windrider where Lucia was.
He ran to his horse and struggled up. He galloped at full speed toward the river. He couldn't understand what happened or how it happened. He didn't mean to understand. He just gripped the reins tightly and and kicked the horse into a gallop.