Captain Tungsten drew his sword, straining his ears for any suspicious sounds. The royal family and the dukes had been escorted into the nearby stone-heated greenhouse, leaving only the concubines, knights, and employees to watch as the brick wall surrounding the entrance was being torn apart and arrows leapt across the golden gate.
"Take cover!" Tungsten ordered the civilians, who were trampling on each other, to fit under the tables and trolleys, knocking down the food and utensils. The concubines were watching on, paralyzed on the stage, not knowing where to hide.
The flying arrows pierced two of the concubines that had rushed down the stage to try to push themselves beneath a table. They were harshly pushed out, and other servants quickly took their place.
"Here!" Peony shouted to the hurt concubines. She and Mio had hidden under the table that Vivianne had spilt her tea. The concubines' eyes lit up as they quickly crossed the garden, trying to avoid getting pushed aside by knights preparing themselves.
"Incoming!" another swarm of arrows crashed down onto the garden, lounging themselves in the concubine's bodies, sending them to collapse instantly as if they hadn't been rushing to safety a second ago.
Peony shrieked in terror, her eyes wide open in disbelief.
"Iniate 'barrier warcraft plan'!" Commander-and-chief, Cano Riordan, ordered. It was a comprehensive, coordinated plan that included the general location of unspecified and specific barriers and obstacles.
The wall was barely containing itself, quickly cracking and crumbling. The Archers that had climbed the nearby trees raised their bows in union, awaiting orders.
One of them jumped down and rushed to Captain Tungsten in a hurry.
"Sir! They are wielding a battering ram!" The young archer said he described a wide metal rod with a flat end striking at the wall with ten men holding it up.
"At this rate, we have to stop them!" The archer said, looking at the Captain with complete trust. Tungsten thought long and hard about their situation. If they remained in this enclosed space, the wall would crumble, and they would get surrounded. With so many civilians and royals' life at stake, that wasn't ideal.
"Mister," Tungsten spun around, facing Mio and Peony, who had somehow evaded the knights tasked with keeping the servants down.
"I have a plan. First, how many can you see beyond the gate?" Mio turned to the archer, who glanced between Tungsten and the strange boy. Finally, he gulped and rasped unsurely out.
"Maybe seventy men?" the archer estimated; it was hard to tell when they were dressed in black in the middle of the night. He looked down at his maroon attire, and Tungsten realized they were too visible for their own good.
"Everyone, off with your jacket!" The knights quickly heeded the order, their black long-sleeve shirts and brown pants hard to distinguish from the night.
"How about you all attack them outside the walls? Leave the archers here to defend the rest of us and you from above. As a matter of fact, you should wear colours so that the archers don't accidentally pierce you." Mio suggested to the Captain, who glared at the boy who gave unsolicited advice.
Commander Riordan approached Tungsten with a confused expression. He wondered why they were stalling. Then, with the archer quickly filling him in, he furrowed his eyebrows, contemplating the advisor's suggestion.
"If they break the wall, we are doomed!" Mio said urgently, not expecting them to take so long to come to a conclusion. A giant crack split the wall with a loud snap, and gasps and cries rose from the hiding servants.
"Change of plans, we will leave the garden and attack them outside. The Dukes' guards will remain here with half the archers in the trees and half with us!" Tungsten's booming voice reached everyone, and they instantly lined up in front of the gate with the broad shield facing the front and the archers behind the troops.
Riordan and Tungsten silently observed the blond boy and the panic-stricken girl beside him.
"Get ready! Tree unit, Release your bows!" Commander Riordan roared, and the Norian arrows descended in a second, with the archers immediately drawing them again. In retaliation, the attackers shot their arrows but were disadvantaged, as the Norians could see where they were aiming and had higher fighting ground up on the trees.
Seeing their major Achilles heal, they quickly put out their torches to obscure the archer's view! Captain Tungsten, being an experienced warrior, immediately ordered the knights to throw alcoholic bottles with lit clothes at the end across the wall into the bushes on the other side.
Screams of fear and agony were heard as some bottles ignited the attackers. The greenery outside was an unstoppable light source. On the count of three, the gate burst open with the shields up front, knocking the enemies down and the archers immediately cascading down their arrows.
The Duke's guards shut the gate immediately after the troops had left the garden. They rushed to their previously held positions, guarding the greenhouse.
Only after the knights left did Mio see Peony hoovering above the dead concubines. She had put a white cloth on their uncomfortable-dressed bodies.
"You need to take cover," Mio said, not really knowing how to comfort her. Her red-rimmed eyes met his, filled with fury and confusion.
"It's my fault; I shouldn't have called them over so carelessly," Peony muttered, a tear escaping her eyes that she angrily wiped away.
"No one could have predicted this outcome, actually," Mio reassured her, dragging her to their table. As they hurdled under it again, they sat in an exhausted and perplexed silence. It was only a speculation, but it was likely that the entire royal court had been seized.
Peony peeked over at the stone-walled greenhouse, where the important people were safely waiting, not knowing that people were dying. Or maybe, they didn't care.
"This is the perfect opportunity to get the key pressed into the mould," Peony suddenly said frantically and slightly deranged, causing Mio to almost get whiplash from how quickly he whipped his head toward her.
This must be her strange way of repenting. Mio thought, still stunned by how quickly her mood changed.
"Are you seriously planning on leaving?" he had asked, hoping she would snap out of it.
She nodded determinedly; nothing could sway her in that instance. The concubines' hopeful faces burned into her consciousness.
After looking around for a place to escape through, she came up empty-handed. Finally, Mio reluctantly spoke up, nodding his head toward the other side of the brick wall with a tree placed closely next to it.
"Can you climb?"
...
Thanks to the surrounding bushes, Peony crawled her way out of the battlefield safely. Most of the enemies concentrated on fighting off Tungsten's knights, and the rest desperately put out the raging flames from the ignited bottles.
Loud shouts and flesh being torn apart were hard to ignore when the coast was clear; Peony sprinted with every ounce of strength in her body to the servant's house that was vacant of guards and servants alike. Of course, it was expected, as everyone was working that night with hosting, and the guards had run to surround the harem and chancery.
An open window served as her gate; she leapt in and quickly hid behind a marble statue. Then, with a batted breath, she waited.
When she was sure no one would discover her, she walked to the main hall and turned to the head maid and head butler's office, which had its door open.
It seemed like everyone had rushed to the underground shelters when they heard of the invasion.
Inside, the office was a moderately sized room near the royal chambers on the castle's second floor. A large window on one wall overlooked the castle gardens, providing plenty of natural light during the day.
The desks, made of polished mahogany, sat in the centre of the room and were covered in stacks of papers and ledgers. Two high-backed leather chairs were situated behind the desk, with two smaller chairs in front of it for guests. There was a quill pen, an inkwell, and a blotter, along with several books and scrolls on the desk. A few potted plants add a touch of colour to the otherwise neutral-toned room.
"Which one of these is the head maid's desk?" Peony pondered, looking slightly confused. To the left of the desk was a tall bookcase filled with volumes on etiquette, history, and politics. So, naturally, the desk in front of the bookcase must be the maids.
Peony opened one of the cabinets, pushing the many envelopes and stamps to the side. After a while, she continued her search in the cabinet below, but beneath all the files and ink blocks was a familiar-looking ribbon.
"That's mine..." she gasped, grabbing her hair. When had the head maid found her ribbon? A better question would be to ask when she had dropped it, but she couldn't remember for the life of her. Honestly, she had forgotten her braids had ribbons completely.
The last cabinet had the key, so Peony fished out the mould from her apron's pocket and separated it into two parts. She had the foresight to grab some flour to help with the separation later.
After stamping the key, she carefully separated the mould and slid it into an empty envelope. Then, after a quick celebration twirl, she reorganized the cabinets and prepared to leave.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed through the hallway on their way toward her. Without thinking, she threw herself underneath the table, holding a hand over her mouth.
The head maid walks in, her long skirts rustling as she moves. Peony holds her breath, hoping not to be discovered.
But the head maid took some gloves and a few bottles of cleaning solution on her table. She then heads towards the door, giving the room one last look before exiting and closing the door behind her.
Peony released a sign of relief, not daring to exit just yet in case the old woman decided to roam around for a bit longer. It was odd; everyone who wasn't trapped in the garden should be at the shelter, so why was she here, and what did she take?
...
The servant's house was still vacant when she finally garnered enough courage to crawl out from beneath the table. Loud trumpets were blaring from outside, and the fire had spread into the main garden, burning down the beautiful bushes and trees.
It seemed like the attackers had mainly been seized. However, for so many people to break into the royal court, there must be something wrong with the tall wall separating the palace ground from the city.
That or somebody had let them in while the knights were distracted with the banquet. Maybe it was a case of both, an organized attack planning to kill the dukes and the royal family at once. Peony decided to find a place to wait for the attack out; with the raging flames surrounding the garden, there was no way that she could get in again.
"Now, where should I hide..."
...
Prayers were, at that point holding together the brick walls. The battle right beyond the wall was ending, but the fire had gone out of control. Mio cussed when he realized some attackers had started throwing burning torches and clothes over the wall.
A nearby table burst into flames, the hiding maids rushing out in a frenzy. Two rose bushes were lit on fire; Mio took a bucket filled with Ice and water and dumped it unceremoniously onto the small flame. He had wished for the banquet to be short, but he hadn't expected this to be the reason.
Commander Riordan hadn't moved an inch from his position, only ordering the archers to fire at regular intervals, firmly standing in front of the greenhouse.
Mio was taking and dumping the bucket previously used to cool down wine unto whatever material was flaming. Riordan's eyes never left his frame, observing the boy.
The arrows pierced some of the servants, and Mio urged them not to remove anything. Thankfully, they had the sense to listen to him.
As for the concubines on the stage, they were still hurdled together on the scene. Among them lay the bodies of the two deceased dancers, splayed and soaked in cold blood. They wept over the corpses, but nobody was offering a hand.
"Here," Mio said, removing his cape and handing it to a freckled girl. She was around his age and limber, as dancers tend to be. She looked at him suspiciously and with ill-concealed disgust. It was understandable, yet the intensity of her hatred surprised Mio.
After accepting that she wasn't going to take his cape, he carefully draped it over the women himself, careful not to touch them out of respect. One archer announced their victory at that moment, and the gates were opened.
In walked Tungsten and his army of men, some hanging off their comrade's shoulders, some holding their bleeding wounds. They were heaving, but surprisingly, no casualties were inflicted upon them.
"We...we need to get the King out of here!" Tungsten heaved out, hands on his shoulders and voice grim. Above them, a blue light ignited the sky, coming from a similar direction as the other ones.
The remaining mobile knights looked at their leaders, awaiting orders once again. Tungsten had already sent Max to the forest and whoever remained at the fortress with his flare. But yet another one lighting up was perplexing. Usually, blue flares meant " all clear, safe to come in."
However, after a red flare had been fired, a white one was to be lit to signal the situation had been handled, stating, "situation has been handled, await blue flair."
"Let's escort the nobles first. And later assist Max," Tungsten ordered. In the end, the royals were to be prioritized.