Melina felt her head throb painfully as she looked at the troops drawing closer to attack her people.
She had earlier gauged the situation and had seen how weak and tired some of the soldiers were.
"Where did all these soldiers come from?" She muttered to no one but herself. Her eyes were glued to the army that flooded the district like birds.
Some Vlamundan soldiers had fallen during the former intense fight and now, the number which stood here could not fight these enemies. It was impossible and she knew that which only meant this was where her powers should come in handy.
But she didn't know what to do. In fact, she was as good as powerless at the moment because she could not use her magic.
She clenched her fist in frustration feeling helpless like she always did. Her magic, dormant for years had awakened with vengeance but she was a novice, with no training.
She gazed at her hands briefly before deciding to make an attempt.
Taking a moment, Melina connected the dots on how she became invisible.
She had wished for it and it happened. That was all.
Perhaps it would happen again if she tried?
With a deep breath, she attempted to give it a try.
The battle raged on with arrows whizzing through the air, striking true. Swords clashed, sparks flying. War horses screamed with their riders been thrown to the ground.
Leon took a brief moment to stare at his men. His heart tightened as he realized not telling his men to retreat was a big mistake.
If the other troops didn't make it by nightfall...
He shook his head unwillingly and suddenly began to strike and swing his sword indiscriminately, killing three men at once.
He refused to believe they would conquer Vlamunda so easily. Usually, it took days, weeks, if not months to make a kingdom surrender and conquer it.
However, he realized he had underestimated Princess Dasha, comparing her to the reputation his kingdom had built over the years.
His kingdom that had taken decades of diligence to grow was about to be conquered in one night. The battle barely even started before their strength was slowly began to wane.
He had never been this humbled before and to make matters worse, it was by a woman.
A gender many looked and talked down on.
The air reeked of smoke, blood and sweat. War cries echoed through the valley, mingling with the clashing of steel on steel.
Melina crouched behind a tree observing the chaos unfold.
'Trust your instincts, Child,' Was the last statement Kilgharrah had made to her when she claimed she didn't know how to use her magic and that was exactly what she planned to do.
She was going to trust her instincts and do whatever her mind told her.
She focused, feeling a familiar surge of energy.
Her gaze shifted to the enemies that ferociously attacked her people, showing no mercy. She could hear the mocking triumphant sounds they made as they slayed Leon's army that was now countable.
Focusing her energy, she drove her attention to the enemies and she muttered something in her mind.
She waited a while and muttered it again, not withstanding if it worked.
However, her magic chant did the opposite of what she expected.
It barely made the soldiers even halt as their warhorses slightly galloped from fright and went back to normal, still giving them the upper hand to her people.
Her shoulders dropped in disappointment as she had put in so much effort to even do this.
That only meant she needed more energy and focus. Her current state was not really helping situations and she knew it. She was weak from the dust and gore that was fed to her since she got here.
If she wanted to focus, she needed to get these thoughts out of her mind and that was what she did.
Again, she took a deep breath and raised her hands, determination evident in her expression as she was not going to let these people break her kingdom.
'Protect our soldiers!" She whispered in her heart.
A faint glow emanated from her fingers but it fizzled out, barely forming a barrier around a nearby soldier.
"Come on, Melina!" She scolded herself as a sense of urgency enveloped her seeing the enemies slay Leon's army and slowly reduce their numbers.
'Visualize the magic,' a voice urged her in her head but she was too disoriented to take note of it.
She concentrated, envisioning a shield of light. Her hands trembled as she cast the spell.
A slightly larger barrier materialized, protecting a small group of soldiers. But it shattered under the enemy's relentless assault.
Her frustration grew, "Why can't I do this?"
'Patience, Melina. Your power will grow,' the same calm voice spoke again in her head, soothing her.
Her eyes narrowed for a second at the voice before it widened in realization.
"Kilgharrah?" She called out in astonishment.
How did the dragoness get in her head?
'Focus, Melina,' the voice merely urged without answering her question but she was no fool.
She could feel it and she was sure it was the dragoness speaking. It was as if a mind's link that was broken before now was just fixed.
She could feel it stir within her.
Nevertheless, she didn't have the luxury to gush in this awestruck moment as the soldiers who fought could not be counted up to thirty on the battlefield.
There was no time to spare.
Undeterred, she tried again.
She summoned a weak gust of wind, barely rustling the enemy's banners.
Sweating profusely, she attempted once more and conjured a small patch of fog, momentarily confusing a handful of soldiers.
Hours passed and darkness filled the sky as she kept wielding her magic but all efforts faltered, only ending in little changes that turned out irrelevant at the end.
She balled her fists and gritted her teeth, looking at the number of men remaining.
Despite the fact that it was nightfall and the other summoned troops had arrived, their numbers had decreased significantly again.
This time, there were only twenty soldiers remaining. Leon, Matthew and two other knights were the only surviving soldiers left from the former batch of warriors as they were skilful fighters.
Yet, they were extremely tired.
Just when Melina felt like giving up, the voice spoke up again, encouraging her,
'Trust yourself, Melina.'
"I've trusted myself enough! Its not working!" She yelled back frustrated. Her entire body turning pale from the cold night that looked like it would end in tragedy.
'Fine.' Kilgharrah's rasp voice echoed. The dragoness knew she was struggling.
'Open your heart to me and let me help you,' she urged Melina whose brows furrowed in surprise.
She only just realized that she had been rejecting Kilgharrah's voice in her head with fear that it was abnormal and made her uncomfortable.
Even though she was still skeptical about this strange voice that suddenly appeared in her mind, she knew there was no time to decide whether or not to accept it.
She had no choice and so, carefully, she inhaled and freed her head to the mind link, letting Kilgharrah enter into her mind and just then, she raised her hands again with renewed resolve.
Immediately, her body's temperature rose, burning with fury even in the cold weather and the trees creaked in response.
Melina closed her eyes in brief meditation and when she opened them, they glowed red like fire, illuminating the surrounding trees.
She stretched her hand that had also turned fiery red in colour.
The air in the forest warmed, filled with the scent of blooming flowers as Melina's red hair that looked dull earlier glistened in the dark, casting a warm glow across the forest.
If not for the fact they were too occupied with the myriads of soldiers flocking around them, they would have whipped their heads in the direction across the bushes where light suddenly glowed like the sun, lighting the dark night.
Though the troops that appeared by nightfall held their touches as they slaughtered thousands, there was something catching about this light that shone in the forest.
It held mystery, something that drew their attention.
'Fureur du dragon!' Melina chanted a spell in her mind and channelled the energy straight to the Vagarian soldiers, all the anger and frustration she felt released out to them in fury as her red eyes radiated.
.
A blast of fiery magic erupted from her hand, engulfing a swath of enemy soldiers.
The flames danced across the battlefield as a strong gust of wind rustled the enemy's banners, startling their horses that now panicked and galloped uncontrollably.
A large patch of thick fog conjured throughout the land, confusing the myriads of soldiers that flocked district 2.
Although Leon and his men knew not what was really going on, they took advantage of the situation, propelling forward to strike any they had opportunity to attack.
War horses screams, their riders falling and getting trampled on as chaos ensued among the Vagarian soldiers.
They were confused and disoriented as their enemies began to fall slowly but surely.
Leon and his army didn't waste any time to think about who may have done this or where the sorcery may have come from.
They simply harnessed their potential, slaughtering any soldier that came at sight and slowly but steadily, the Vagarian soldiers began to reduce.