Many weeks later.
Wura was riding on Nolan with a sigh as she was deep in her own thoughts as Mero noticed that and he rode beside her.
"My Queen, is something bothering you?" asked Mero as Wura snapped out of her thoughts and she looked at Mero.
"Everything is bothering me Mero, everything" replied Wura with a sigh.
"Mero, you do not know how much it pained me to see just truly how much damage had been done to the homes of those innocent poor people" said Wura in sadness as Mero sighed internally, he knew that she would feel like this and that was why he did not want her to go and see the damage herself, but she insisted and he could not stop her.
"Oh and do not dare say that you told me so Mero, because I simply do not want to hear it" said Wura as she could see that I warned you look on his face.
"I was not going to say that my Queen" said Mero.
"Right Mero, of course, but I know that look of yours by now, and it means you want to scold me" said Wura.
"I apologize if I made you feel that way my Queen" said Mero as Wura sighed.
"Mero I just feel so bad, no amount of relief that we send can be able to rebuild their homes, their lives, their towns the way that they want it to" said Wura as the mere thought made her heart break, she could not imagine losing her parents' house that had been built for generations.
"I know my Queen, I can only imagine how distraught they feel right now" replied Mero.
"I know, but I want things to be better for them, I want them to feel more comfortable, to know that I truly feel their pain and sympathize with them, that I am trying my absolute best to put and end to all of this" said Wura.
"What do you have on your mind my Queen?" asked Mero as Wura looked at him.
"Mero, I do not like the idea of the people sleeping out in the cold next to their burnt down houses, it does not rest well with me, I do not that sort of arrangement" said Wura.
"And what do you suggest my Queen?" asked Mero.
"I would prefer that they go stay in the Castle for the time being, the Castle is large, and there is more than enough room for everyone to stay there until everything is rebuilt but…" said Wura as she took a pause.
"But what my Queen?" asked Mero.
"I am not sure if I am allowed to do that…" said Wura as she was uncertain if she was allowed to do that.
"You are allowed to do whatever you deem fit, you are the Queen after all my Queen" said Mero.
"And no one will question me?" asked Wura.
"No one will question you my Queen" replied Mero.
"Well in that case, I want that to be done" said Wura.
"I will send your orders to the Castle my Queen" said Mero.
"Thank you Mero" replied Wura with a smile, she could honestly say that if there was someone she could count on to always protect her, that would be Mero, and the rest as well, she appreciated all of them so much.
"You are welcome my Queen" said Mero as he replied with a smile as Wura saw the camp and the secret gates opened for them.
Wura got off Nolan as Mero got off his horse and he turned to look at Wura.
"My Queen, I will go and take the horses, and then I will send your orders to the Castle" said Mero.
"Alright Mero, thank you" said Wura as Mero took Nolan away from her and she walked to her office when she heard a voice call her name and she looked around to see a little sparrow flying towards her as she caught the sparrow and walked into her tent where she could be alone.
"My Queen, my Queen, it is horrible" said Lown in a panic as Wura put him down and he changed into his true form.
"What happened Lown? Calm down" said Wura as she could see Lown visibly shaking, and that was not a good sign at all, he probably had bad news, but Wura did not want to jump into hasty conclusions.
"My Queen it is horrible the East they… they…" said Lown as he kept on pausing.
"They what Lown? Tell me?" asked Wura as she did not like the way he was acting it made her heart start to pound.
"My Queen, the East, they have started to attack the mainland" said Lown as Wura felt her heart drop when she heard Lown say what he did.
"What??!" asked Wura in shock.
"Yes my Queen" I was flying around as usual when I saw more smoke, but instead of coming from the border it was coming from the mainland" said Lown.
"I flew down closer to be sure of what I was seeing, and the horror is unimaginable my Queen" said Lown as Wura looked horrified.
"This cannot be possible, I ordered that a border be built to separate the mainland from here, how could the East break it and attack?" asked Wura.
"They did my Queen, and from the look of things they seem to be here to conquer, they have their flags present and everything" said Lown as Wura could not believe this she did not even speak to Lown as she rushed out of the tent.
"Mero! Mero" she called as she had to find Mero right now.
"Mero!" called Wura as she rushed in the direction, she saw Mero leave in.
"My Queen are you alright?" asked Zechariah as he saw Wura running and she stopped in front of him.
"Zechariah, have you seen Mero?" asked Wura in a rush.
"No my Queen, I have not seen him" replied Zechariah.
"I need to find him right now!" said Wura.
"My Queen did something happen?" asked Zechariah in worry he did not like the panicked look on Wura's face.
"Yes Zechariah, the East just attacked the mainland!" said Wura as Zechariah looked at her in horror.
"That is impossible, there was a border built, they could not have possibly broken it" he said.
"Well they did, Lown saw it with his own two eyes, I need you to go gather the others while I go look for Mero" said Wura.
"Yes my Queen" said Zechariah as he did not waste any time at all and he rushed to do as Wura had told him to.
"Mero!" called Wura.
"My Queen, what is the matter?" asked Wura.
"Mero, Mero, the East have just attacked the mainland, Lown told me so" said Wura as Mero sighed but he did not look surprised, he had expected this, they had been taking too long to attack and that was because they were short of troops.
"Mero, what do we do?" asked Wura as in that same moment the loud sound of a trumpet could be heard as a large booming sound followed which startled Wura.
"What was that?" asked Wura as Mero looked around, hoping that It was not what he thought it was.
"The sound of a war" replied Mero as he looked at Wura.
"What do you mean?" asked Wura.
"The East have declared a battle, we have no choice but to fight" said Mero as Wura looked at him in horror.
"What??!" asked Wura as Mero wasted no time at all.
"Everyone get ready, we are going to war, be prepared, wear your armour and get your swords" said Mero in a commanding tone as all the knights nodded and quickly went to get ready as Mero walked to his tent and Wura followed after him.
"Mero is this advisable? We are still low on troops, and we are outnumbered?" asked Wura as Mero quickly put on his armour.
"We have no choice my Queen, either we fight back, or we stay put and allow them attack us" replied Mero as he grabbed his sword and Wura had a bad feeling about this.
"Mero, I have a bad feeling about this" said Wura.
"We have no choice my Queen, please for your own safety stay in the camp and do not leave, I beg you" said Mero as Wura did not like this at all.
"Please my Queen, stay here" said Mero as he grabbed his shield and set out as Wura followed behind him.
"But Mero, what about the troops of the East that are attacking the mainland?" asked Wura as Mero directed some knights to prepare his horse for him.
"I will send Zuph along with some others to see what can be done" said Mero.
"Mero that is not advisable, we already have very low numbers, dividing ourselves would be a terrible idea" said Wura.
"Well we have no choice right now my Queen, please stay in the camp as I instructed" said Mero as Wura sighed in frustration, he was not listening to her and it irritated her.
"My Queen, what is going on?" asked Nora as she walked to where Wura and Mero were standing, everywhere was in a panic with knights running up and down.
"Nora, stay with her Majesty and make sure she does not leave the camp" said Mero as he looked at Nora and even though she did not know what was going on, she nodded.
"Mero, you are not listening to me, you cannot divide the troops into two when we have a battle pending here, we are at risk of several injuries if you do that" said Wura.
"Well we have no choice at this point my Queen" said Mero as he instructed other knights.
"Luc, you, Elihu and Zuph take some of the men to the mainland, go now" said Mero as Luc nodded and wasted no time at all as they left quickly.
"Zechariah, you come with me" said Mero as Zechariah nodded.
"Let us go now" said Mero as Wura sighed and Nora and she and Nora watched as the gates of the camp opened and Mero stepped forward as all the knights followed after him.
"Lock the gates and do not open them for any reason" said Mero as the gatemen nodded and they closed the gates tightly as soon as Mero and the others stepped out.
Mero stopped as he looked around, as there was silence, Mero had a bad feeling about this, it wav quiet… too quiet.
"Mero, should we charge?" asked Zechariah as Mero looked at him and shook his head.
"No, not yet…" replied Mero as he looked around, it was either it was a false alarm or the East were planning an ambush.
"You think there might be an ambush?" asked Zechariah in a low tone so only Mero could hear him.
"Highly possible" replied Mero as he nodded.
"If there really is one, we should lead them away from the camp, for her Majesty's safety" said Zechariah as Mero agreed with him.
"Go ahead and lead the troops, if you sense anything wrong retreat immediately" said Mero as Zechariah nodded and he instructed the troops to follow him as they walked out into the valley when Mero suddenly heard the sound of a horn blowing as there was a huge booming sound and dust covered everywhere.
"Everyone retreat!" said Mero as he shouted when he head the sound of an arrow being shot.
Zechariah halted as he heard Mero's voice, only to look up and see several flaming arrows heading in their direction.
"Everyone retreat, retreat!" called Zechariah as it was too late and what followed next was nothing but pure chaos.
Mero could hear the shouts as he should have known that there was something off, he could not just rush anywhere, he could not see anything, the sudden dust that covered everywhere.
Mero's eyes went wide when he realized that the East had planned this all, they were fully armed, they had somehow created this dust, and he had foolishly left Wura all alone.
…
"My Queen, you need to calm down, I am sure that everything will be alright" said Nora as Wura paced up and down.
"No Nora, it will not be alright, I just know It, we are clearly outnumbered, and I just have this sinking feeling inside" said Wura as in that moment there was a loud bang on the camp's gate that caused both Nora and Wura to be startled.
"What is that?" asked Wura as she looked at the gatemen who shook their heads and did not know what was going on.
"I smell smoke" said Nora as in that same moment the mighty wooden gates started to burn down.
"We are being attacked" said Wura in horror as she did not know what to do, going to hide would be pointless, where were they supposed to hide.
"My Queen get down now!" came Mero's voice as he ran and Wura did not need to be told twice as she and Nora got down on the ground and Wura heard the sound of arrows being shot and she heard one of the gatemen cry out in pain, he must have probably been hit.
"My Queen, get up now, we have to get you somewhere safe" said Mero as he pulled Wura up, she was the target and he knew it.
"Where exactly is safe here Mero?" asked Wura as she looked up to see arrows set on fire being shot as Mero used his shield to block both she and Nora from them.
"Where are they shooting from?" asked Wura as this made no sense to her at all, she could not see the archers.
"Probably from the nearby hill…" replied Mero as the arrows ceased and the guided Wura and Nora to somewhere they could hide.
"What about the others? Are they hurt?" asked Wura as Mero did not answer her.
"Mero" called Wura as she looked at him and he avoided looking at her, he did not want to tell her anything, knowing how she would react, but this was just the harsh reality.
"Mero" called Wura as Mero heard sounds of footsteps coming from head and he stopped.
"My Queen move back!" said Mero as quickly he pushed Wura away as she fell on the ground.
"Mero!!" called Nora in fear as she saw him get hit in the chest with a flaming arrow as he cried out in pain and fell on the ground in agony as the archer ran away.
"Mero, Mero!! Are you okay" called Nora in a panic as she rushed to Mero and Wura looked up, her eyes filled with horror when she realized what had happened.