II
It was the morning after Olivia’s scuffle with the shimmers when Olivia and the Independent Cavalry Regiment left the desert town of Sephim. After what they had learned from the shimmer Arvin, they didn’t need to stay there any longer. The guard captain had slumped in disappointment at the news, but perked up again when informed that the chances of an imperial attack were slim to none, and came to send them off with a beaming smile, utterly transparent as usual.
Two days later, and with no further trouble, the Independent Cavalry Regiment drew close to the Emaleid Citadel. They moved much more quickly now that they were no longer trying to gather intelligence on the enemy. Lulled by the swaying motion of the black horse, Olivia dozed off from time to time, her head pitching forward.
“Major, it’s dangerous to fall asleep on the back of a galloping horse,” Claudia called out to her, looking worried. Olivia laced her fingers together and stretched her arms out, then looked up at the sky with a huge yawn.
“It’s just such a nice day... I bet it’d feel amazing to fall asleep in the grass here,” she said. “Hey, why don’t we take a break?”
“It’s barely two hours since the last time we stopped for you to take a break,” sighed Claudia. “We’re almost at the Emaleid Citadel, so you’ll have to hold on ’til we get there.” Riding along beside her, Ashton smiled apologetically, and Olivia had no choice but to accept defeat on her let’s-nap-in-the-grass strategy.
“You’re such a meanie, Claudia!” she moaned. “Hey, Ashton, does the Emaleid Citadel have good food? It must, right?”
“I don’t know why you’re asking me. But I guess it’s a castle town, so there’s probably some decent fare.”
“I’m not doing this to be mean, Major,” Claudia cut in. “The thing is—”
“Be quiet a minute.” Olivia held a finger to her lips to tell the others to stop talking, then looked ahead of them. She felt something coming their way.
“What is it?” Claudia asked, her voice tense.
Ashton quickly reached for his spyglass. “There’s a lone rider heading towards us!” he shouted.
Claudia immediately called out, “All forces, halt!” All eyes were fixed ahead, from whence the clatter of hoofbeats was soon followed by the figure of a man in armor.
“Isn’t that...a royal army soldier?”
“Looks like it,” said Olivia.
“He’s riding hard. I wonder if something happened at the citadel,” said Claudia. As the man drew closer to Olivia and the others, a look of relief came over his face, but he quickly composed himself and rode up to them.
“Ser, I apologize for coming to you on horseback, but I’m afraid it’s an emergency. Am I correct in assuming I speak to Commander Olivia of the Independent Cavalry Regiment?”
“That’s me. Who are you?”
“Yes, ser. My name is Private Reese, and I serve under Major General Osmund. Our forces are right now engaged with the Crimson Knights on the Amalheim Plains. They have us in a bad position, ser... I’ve come... I’ve come to beg for your aid!” Reese cried. He shook as he spoke, and no sooner were the words out his mouth he toppled from his horse, the last of his strength spent. Ashton swiftly dismounted and hurried over to the man, propping him up.
“He’s only fainted,” he said. Claudia let a breath out, then frowned.
“I didn’t think we’d find Osmund’s regiment already in the thick of battle. And against the Crimson Knights! They’re a formidable enemy.”
“In that case, unless we get there quick, they’ll all die, right?” asked Olivia. Claudia nodded firmly.
“That’s right, Major. We cannot abandon our allies.”
“Best get a move on, then,” said Olivia. Claudia was on the verge of giving the order to move out, when Ashton’s panicked voice rang out from behind them.
“Wait, just wait!” He was staring at her, his eyes bulging.
“A-Ashton?” Olivia asked. She shivered a little at the frightful look in his eyes. He never usually looked like that.
“Second Lieutenant Claudia is right—the Crimson Knights are not to be trifled with,” he said. “They’ll overwhelm the new recruits. We need a plan—a way to keep them alive.”
Olivia met Ashton’s piercing gaze, trying to think. The Crimson Knights were powerful; she knew that much from what the other two had told her. She glanced at a few of the new recruits and found them pale and trembling. They truly didn’t look like they’d last long in battle unless they came up with some sort of strategy.
“Do you have any ideas, Ashton?”
“I’m sorry. I know I brought this up, but... I can’t think of anything,” Ashton said, hanging his head in shame. Olivia looked over at Claudia, but the other girl only shook her head silently. So neither of them had any ideas.
Hmmm, what to do... thought Olivia. If only I were alone, I could work something out... Huh? Alone...? That’s it! Alone! She snapped her fingers. Ashton and Claudia looked at each other.
“You have a plan?” asked Ashton.
“Hurry up and tell us, Major,” Claudia said at the same time.
Olivia, a little taken aback to be pressed by both of them at once, inadvertently took a step back. “Uh, um. So, ideally, we’d have three soldiers for every Crimson Knight, right? One attacks, one defends, and the third supports the other two. We get the new recruits to fight like that, in teams of three. That way their odds of surviving should go right up.”
“Teams of three... So each soldier only needs to focus on one role. You’re right, I think even the recruits could fight that way,” Ashton said. He nodded, looking impressed, but Claudia’s brow creased.
“What’s up, Claudia?” asked Olivia. “You don’t think it’ll work? I thought it was a pretty good idea...”
“Oh, no... No, it’s not that. I only...” She struggled to explain. “When I think of my honor as a knight, the idea of fighting three-on-one...”
“Claudia, this is war. Plus, the new recruits aren’t knights, are they?”
“I know that, ser,” snapped Claudia. “I just... Agh!” She groaned with frustration and ran her fingers through her hair. Her eyes were bloodshot. Without thinking, Olivia backed away, deciding that right now Claudia was too scary to talk to and it was better to just keep an eye on her.
“Let’s do it.”
Claudia’s shoulders rose and fell with the effort of croaking the words out. Whatever internal battle she’d been fighting was over. Claudia is funny sometimes, thought Olivia.
Osmund cursed his own poor judgment. His wish to protect the residents of the citadel from the battle had been genuine, but the fact was he had been blinded by his lust for glory. That, and nothing else, was what had brought this mess down on their heads.
So this is the punishment I get for my greed... he thought, chuckling to himself. Before him, a giant of a man swung a huge battle-axe like it weighed nothing. The brave soldiers who stood against him were sent flying like scraps of paper. Sprays of blood and chunks of flesh rained down around Osmund. How fragile the bodies of humans are, he thought stupidly as he watched. Celim had been right. They should have waited for the Independent Cavalry Regiment.
Celim himself was no more. He had departed this world protecting Osmund, who expected to follow his aide shortly.
But I just couldn’t do it... he thought. I couldn’t leave such wanton cruelty unpunished! When he’d seen the mangled bodies of his scouts, his vision had gone red. Before Celim could stop him, he was already ordering their forces to march on the Amalheim Plains.
It hadn’t occurred to him that it was a trap.
When they reached the plains, Osmund and his soldiers had charged deep into the enemy ranks and, in the blink of an eye, the Crimson Knights who had lain hidden nearby moved in to surround them. Osmund ordered his soldiers to go on the defensive immediately, but his orders were lost in the chaos. His soldiers, helpless to resist, were overrun. With their only path to retreat cut off, they couldn’t even fall back and regroup.
“Is that it?” the giant said, resting his battle-axe on his shoulder. He sounded bored. “This is the Seventh Legion they say defeated the Southern Area Army? These pathetic weaklings? The monster girl didn’t even show up.” Osmund, hearing “monster girl,” realized that the man’s target must be Olivia.
“Ah, sorry about that,” he said. “Your monster girl is in a different regiment. You’ll have to settle for me instead.”
The giant grunted in annoyance and muttered, “Dammit, Lamia, get your facts straight. Feeding me total misinformation...” He paused before he continued. “Well, I suppose the part about the Seventh Legion was true, at least.” The whole time, he spoke as though Osmund wasn’t there.
“Hey!” Osmund called out. “A major general isn’t good enough for you?”
“Huh?” The giant looked at him. “I mean, it’s a disappointment, no mistake, but it’ll have to do. Can’t go home without a present for Lady Rosenmarie.”
“A present?” Osmund echoed. The giant only smiled thinly and drew two fingers across his throat.
“Major General, right? You’d better have a pretty song for me, then.”
In an instant, his smile changed to reveal the pointed teeth of a wild beast as he swung his axe down at Osmund’s head. Osmund flung his sword up to parry the strike, but the terrifying force was too much for him. He twisted his body to try and divert the axe’s force, but the giant shifted his stance to match him. Osmund realized the giant was not only strong like he’d supposed, but clever to boot. His sword was knocked back towards him and he felt the blade of the axe begin to dig into his shoulder. He screamed in pain.
“Yes! Sing!” cried the giant. “Don’t worry, Major General. I’ll be sure to show you the respect you deserve by taking my time. Now sing for me!” He roared with laughter, then drove his axe in deeper. Blood gushed from Osmund’s shoulder and his vision grew dull. It was as though his strength was being sucked away into the ground itself. He sank to one knee.
This is it, then, he thought. He had just surrendered himself to death when there was a sudden gust of wind, and the giant was thrown away from him. In the shock of that moment, Osmund forgot his pain.
From behind him, a voice clear as a bell said, “Not a moment too soon, huh?” Osmund knew that voice from somewhere. He turned slowly towards it, and saw a girl with an innocent smile on her face. It was Olivia.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login