Chereads / Freely Falling / Chapter 2 - The Start of a Tragedy

Chapter 2 - The Start of a Tragedy

I was in my armour at the front lines, waiting for the enemy to make their first move. Our army was thousands and they had but a few hundred, even then though, we knew they would most probably win. It was a common fact, after all, that the demons had magic and we did not.

I reassured my men though. I am their Queen and they needed me to stay calm and collected so I tried my hardest. Its shameful, to this day, to say when I saw the demons coming over the horizon my calm slipped.

Leading the demons was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen. It just supported the fact that we were destined to lose. This battle was for the better of the humans though. They could not carry out their original plan of a sneak attack if we meet them at the field outside our city.

I could hear crying wives and children behind us in the safe walls of our city. They knew we were doomed too. The panic grew worse as the demons grew closer. Many of my men tried to run back inside the city, but to no avail, they couldn't after all I know how to lock a door.

I drew my twin katana and yelled out, "To arms men! Do not think of this as suicide, think of this as a sacrifice so all your children and wives can live in peace a little longer! This is for our people! They are why we fight!" They needed to be reminded that everything could be lost if we don't do this. Our sacrifice is for what little peace our families can have.

They took to arms in almost an instant after that. Even I, the last of the direct royal lineage was willing to die for my people to have a little bit of peace. That was my job and that was my life.

The demons had stopped moving in were not making any moves. I could hear a slight commotion from my position ways away from them. The man in the front seemed to be yelling about something and another one was yelling back. It doesn't matter though because they are the enemies. They are demons.

So while they were arguing, I signalled my men. Attack. We all charged at the enemy, the archers on the walls fired and they didn't see it coming. As soon as we engaged at least five from each side had been killed. I slowly cut my way through the enemies to get to one person, their general.

It is common knowledge that in war if you kill the general the army falls back or appoints the lieutenant general a higher position immediately. The former was my hope. If we could force them to fall back then some of us may live till the next battle, if not all hope is lost for the humans.

So I cut a clean pathway through the soliders on my way to the general, only stopping to help one of my men along the way. When I finally made it the man was standing up facing my direction, waiting. Waiting for me.

I moved toward him quick and skillfully, dodging all the stray swords and arrows on the way. When I came face to face with the demon army's leader I attacked quickly. As I had said before, he was beautiful but that would never be enough to save him.

We fought for what felt like days. It was a never ending evenly matched battle or it was. It was till he decided to take another approach to the fight. He looked me in the eyes and asked why. In that moment all of could think of was rage.

How dare he ask me that when it was his people who practically enslaved mine. How dare he! And I voiced these thoughts in the worst way possible, with my fighting.

I believe that was his goal though, because everyone knows that an angry person can not fight as well as someone sober. So he took the chance and slashed open my stomach and as I lied there he took one look at my anger-riddled injured form and told his men to retreat.

It wasn't long after that statement that my men gathered up the dead and injured. My right hand man, my best friend since birth and now my lieutenant general and best advisor to the crown, picked me up and carried me to the tent for the gravely injured, but in that moment all I could think was,

Why did he retreat?