"You want to lead the invasion yourself? Why, there is virtually no glory in taking a kingdom whose army is scattered, you could stay here instead and be celebrated by the lords of the realm." King Elric said, confused as to why Mack would want to lead the invasion himself. "Considering I am the one who scattered their army, I believe it only fair that I finish them off." Mack argued his point, hoping his father would agree with him. After a moment's deliberation, the king conceded, "very well, you may lead the army, but I will be accompanying you in this campaign. I have been wanting to re-visit Winchester, but never had the chance to before. It is also a chance for me to judge your capability to lead, so I suggest you do well."
The room erupted into a chorus of disagreement with statements such as "Your majesty, it is far too dangerous!" and "my King, are you sure? Who will lead the country in your absence?" Even Lord Vere spoke up, clearly forgetting his terror a moment ago. "That is enough! I am doing this and none of you have a say in the matter. May I remind you I am your King and the one you have all pledged fealty to, and whilst we are on the topic of war, Mack, on your way to Wessex, you will invade Wales and capture the Welsh King."
Mack, stunned by this order, asked his father "aren't we going to try make peace with the Welsh?" King Elric, suddenly having lost his good mood, said "I would have liked to make peace with Gruffydd, but it has come to my attention that you told the troops that we would invade, I now have no choice but to do so." Feeling embarrassed, Mack flushed bright red, instantly regretting thinking that would be a good motivator for his men, "father, I'm sorry about that, I just thought-" Mack was abruptly cut off by Elric, "that's the thing Mack, you didn't think. Because of you, I now have to fight two wars, however, it is also because of you that one is already over. That does mean that you now have to conquer Wales, though."
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After court, the lords all left feeling content with the new battle plan. Mack was to lead a fierce and quick invasion of Wales and continue on directly to Wessex, taking both Cardiff and Winchester within 4 months. Some lords thought this to be too little time, but were quickly hushed by the more belligerent of the nobility. Mack personally thought that whilst it was a bit of a time crunch, it was not impossible, and with the high morale of the troops from the failed invasion, Mack was certain he could crush any resistance King Gruffydd could scrounge up.
Feeling riddled with anticipation, Mack thought a walk through the city may help him clear his mind, so he hastily left the castle, heading towards the market. On his way to the market, Mack was unexpectedly barged into, being knocked off his feet in the process, but when he looked up to berate whoever made him fall, he was stunned to find that no one was there. He looked around, trying to find whoever had knocked him over, only to give up in vain, 'damn, that really hurt,' Mack thought to himself absentmindedly, 'oh well, probably just some peasant.'
Mack continued walking in the direction of the market, but upon arrival, he instantly noticed something was wrong. There was a large group of people gathered in the centre of the market, all focusing on one thing on the ground. He walked over and was surprised to hear harsh suggestions such as "burn the witch" and "let's hang her" being hurled around.
"What's going on here?" Mack asked the crowd, making his presence known. Immediately, a hush spread over the crowd, people eventually bowing once they realised who Mack was. "Answer me!" Mack shouted once nobody answered his question. "Prince Mack, this woman- she-she is a witch, possessed by the devil's power," a man said, stepping forward despite being visibly terrified. "A witch? Do you throw around such a lofty accusation without proof?" Mack asked, clearly intrigued. "Ah, yes, proof. My Lord, I saw with my own eyes, as did everyone around me, the witch manipulated the air, she used it to steal the produce us farmers have worked so hard to grow. She is a vile villain, sir, and should be punished accordingly." The man said this with so much conviction in every word that it was clear he never doubted himself for a second. "Hold on, that is not how the justice system works, I must hear her side of the story as well." Mack stated this, stupefying the man, he clearly could not believe the Prince would even consider speaking to a witch.
"Ma'am, are you okay?" Mack asked, shocking everyone, even himself, with his kind and gentle tone. "Why are you doing this, you could easily just declare me a witch and burn me or hang me or whatever it is you do" the woman, now identified as a girl, said, every word laced with venom. The Prince, taken aback by her hostile tone, asked a straight-forward, yet stupid question, "Miss, I hate to ask, but, are you or are you not a witch?" The girl, clearly annoyed at the question, declared "what does it matter, I say yes, I'm killed, I say no, they disagree and kill me anyway," she gestured toward the raging mob behind the prince, "no matter what, I cannot see myself surviving this encounter." Mack, surprised by her forwardness, simply said to his guards, "as you wish, take her away."