Mack stood facing Winchester, Lucas and Charlotte at his side. In the march toward Winchester, Mack's army had been attacked several times by small remnants of Edward's army and during these attacks Lucas proved himself to be quite a competent commander. All the way to the capital of Wessex, Mack's respect for Lucas' military prowess soared significantly, exceeding Mack's expectations of a commoner. "Lucas, once we are fully prepared for the siege, I want you to take a small force of soldiers and march to the west gate. You will be leading your force in the assault of the western gate." To say Lucas was surprised when Mack said this would be an understatement.
"Sir, are you sure? I am certain you have more competent commanders among your ranks", Mack considered Lucas' words, coming to his final decision. "I am sure, you will take five thousand men and assault the western gate." Mack chose five thousand opposed to a larger more competent force as he wished to see exactly how reliable Lucas was in a battle. It also meant he had a force of roughly thirty five thousand Northumbrian soldiers, along with five thousand soldiers from Wessex. Not only did he have these soldiers, but in case of an emergency he had the ten thousand men garrison at Cardiff.
With these numbers approaching approximately fifty thousand, he was confident he would dominate Wessex within a matter of weeks. Lucas listened attentively to Mack explaining that when he wanted him to attack, he would receive a messenger from Mack with proper instructions on how to proceed.
Lucas and his five thousand men departed from the main force, headed for the western gate. Lucas' force comprised of a mixture of soldiers from both Wessex and Northumbria. Mack had briefly considered giving Lucas a force of only Wessex soldiers but he quickly turned down the idea, not completely trusting Lucas yet.
Now that Lucas and his men were out of earshot, Mack turned his attention to Charlotte, quickly issuing his commands. "Charlotte, I wish for you to accompany Lucas and make sure he is kept in check. If him or any of his men appear as if they will mutiny, then you have permission to use lethal force. If this happens, report all casualties to me. Am I understood?" Charlotte immediately nodded, heading off in the same direction as Lucas.
'Good, things are going smoothly.' Lucas contemplated the events of this war and its overall outcome, soon enough he would be king of Wales and Northumbria with Wessex as a puppet state. He would be the most powerful ruler in his small island home.
'One day I shall march an army unto France,' Lucas thought to himself, being an ambitious person by nature.
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Lucas received a letter from Mack shortly after arriving at the western gate. The letter was furnished with clear instructions on when the future King wanted him to attack, however it was rather lacking in regards to how to attack. Lucas, a 17 year old with no prior experience in siege warfare, now had to lead an assault against the capital city of Wessex, the former powerhouse of England.
Lucas was even more surprised to see, however, Charlotte, the personal friend of the Crown Prince. He thought it odd that the Prince would bring a noble lady to war with him. He had always thought war to be an unseemly thing even for soldiers to see, and so for a woman, especially a noble one, to see such graphic scenes surprised him.
Acutely aware of his position, though, he made sure to stay silent on the matter and simply welcomed her company in the sub-section of the main camp.
Painfully, Lucas thought of Arthur and how within a matter of months, he had betrayed his values for the sake of survival. He felt he had failed in his quest and, simply put, he felt like a traitor to his impoverished village home.
Pushing these thoughts aside, the now commander of 5,000 men focused on the task at hand. Lucas decided to do what had worked before and have his men climb siege ladders and fight to control the walls and open the gates. Hypothetically, this strategy should work even better now than before due to the various points of attack in which the garrison of Winchester would have to defend against.
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Nearby, Charlotte was observing Lucas and his men, silently nodding in approval. She had heard Lucas tell one of his captains his plan and she thought it suitable for the situation. She did keep in mind her lack of subject knowledge, though as she knows about as much as Lucas when talking about sieges.
Charlotte continued watching the small force in case of mutiny in any form. Overall, however, she did not believe she would need to intervene in any part of the siege, except possibly using the wind to deflect a few arrows away from Mack's friends and advisors.