Cedric strode into the war room, worry for Seraphina etched on his noble brow. But seeing Arabella and Amelia at the maps, resolve hardened within him.
"We've had word - Rafael holds Seraphina at the eastern fortress," he said grimly. "I'll take an elite guard and free her."
"I'm coming too," said Arabella. Cedric started to object but saw the steel in her eyes and consented with a nod.
Amelia added, "My archers will cover your approach." She glanced between Cedric and Arabella, love and care written there, and for a moment Arabella's heart stirred. But now was not the time.
They readied in haste. Yet as Cedric took up his blade, a lone rider approached - Sebastian, eyes downcast. "I am reformed," he said. "Please, let me aid you."
Cedric hesitated, then answered, "Prove yourself, and you may ride with us." And so they set forth together, allies against a greater foe, and redemption's first steps taken in rescue's name.
The company rode through the night, urgency speeding their hooves. Arabella studied Cedric in the moonlight, her heart newly awakened. Though duty bound her to Amelia's side, was not love the higher calling?
Dawn broke over the eastern peaks as they neared Rafael's keep. Amelia's archers took position under brush. Sebastian scouted ahead and reported the layout - Seraphina held in the highest chamber, guards doubled since Rafael learned of pursuit.
"I'll scale the wall and unlock the postern," said Sebastian, redemption in his eyes. Cedric hesitated, then grasped his arm. "Prove worthy of trust," he said, "and all is forgiven."
The battle joined in fierce glory. Arabella and Amelia fought back-to-back, a whirl of steel under a morning sky. But as Cedric burst into the chamber, sword whistling, his name was on Arabella's lips in prayer. Had he been too late? Or would love deliver them, as duty always must?
The story continues in Part 2...