--- Elise

Elise put on some clothes and began navigating the corridors of the keep, cursing the fact that she had been there too little to memorize their layout. Her first thought was to get downstairs, towards the main hall, since it wasn't so late in the evening and Cremont maybe was still around.

I want to be part of everything they will discuss. I'm not a little girl anymore and even after that, I'm the princess! It's only natural that I'm informed about what's going on, if it's a threat to my kingdom.

She spotted the man running across an intersection ahead, and walked faster. After so much time spent dressing like a noblewoman, the girl had forgotten how inconvenient an elegant skirt could be when you were in a hurry.

When she finally reached the general, he was already speaking with Lord Albert and his closest counselors around a meeting table.

"No way," he was saying, "How could they get so far from the Sibrin unnoticed?"

"We don't know, sir," answered a young officer, covered in sweat, who had probably rushed back with some news. "The garrison has been alerted, and we raised the alarm. The doors of Lyngard were sealed as a precaution."

With a cough, Elise announced her presence.

"Your... Your Highness," said Cremont. "Sorry, we didn't expect to see you so early."

"Yet, now I'm here. What happened? Did the enemy make his move?"

"No," replied Lord Albert, stepping in. "There's just been some sightings, that's all. Small groups of Barbarians might have crossed the river during night time, two or three days ago at most."

"Why aren't there guards?"

"Princess, if I may," the officer began, waiting for her nod to go on. "Thanks. It's been centuries since those people pushed this far to the East. They need to cover hundreds of miles just to get to the fords. Usually, if they show up they raid the outer lands without crossing the border. We get word from Greyhan and the lake from time to time."

Maybe that goes for you. Father sent us here because an attack on Lyngard was just a possibility, but I had told him that something was up. Thank the Makers he gave us more men than he intended to.

"Clearly, they aimed at taking us by surprise," he continued. "But I don't understand their strategy. By going so deep, they don't have a way out. With our cavalry, we can easily outmaneuver them and cut their retreat before they run back to the Sibrin and flee."

"General," she asked, "Is the people in the countryside safe?"

"No, I doubt it. There are patrols, but only on the main roads. If they were spotted, it means that at least a couple of villages were already taken out."

Taken out... No. I refuse to let them go after what they've just done.

The tone of her voice went colder. "Do they have the numbers to attempt a siege?"

"Your Highness..." said again the officer, timidly. "In all due honesty, the ones we saw didn't seem like a raiding party at all. They were... Scouts."

"Scouts? But that would mean... Cremont?"

"Yes," commented the general, gravely. "They are checking if the path is safe before the bulk of their forces arrive. We'll be under attack very soon."

Elise gulped. The council in Cassidia had predicted that Rickhart could try making a move over Lyngard, but nobody thought it was going to happen that fast. She and the rest of the army had barely gotten there in time.

"How much until they are here?"

"The Barbarian vanguard appeared less than fifty miles from here this morning. If their warriors are close behind, I would say they can reach Lyngard on sunrise at most," replied Lord Albert. "I... I'll have to thank the King, after this. The soldiers he sent are a gift from the heavens."

"It's the paladin who discovered all of this that we have to thank," said Cremont. "If not for him, we wouldn't even know that the damn necromancer joined forces with our ancient enemies."

We have to move, and fast. I think we are still in an advantageous position.

"We'll decide who to thank later, noble Lords," the princess took the stage, trying to put the discussion back into line. "General, if I remember correctly from the chronicles of our past wars, the best course of action would be finding these scouts and destroy them, before they inform the rest of their kin that Lyngard has been reinforced."

The way she spoke must have seem weird for a young girl, because both Albert and the officer exchanged an uncomfortable look. They didn't know yet who they were dealing with.

"With all due respect, Your Highness..." the Lord started, "Are you sure you shouldn't leave these decisions to those in charge?"

He didn't mean to be offensive, Elise realized that. Yet, she needed to show that she wasn't just a naive, inexperienced girl.

"Don't worry, I've studied military tactics and my father accepted that I came here to supervise this operation in his stead. Right, general?"

It took some time for the man to reply, but in the end he just agreed with her silently. One after the other, the rest of the people around the table nodded as well.

The princess took a deep breath. "Fine. So, what's our strategy?"

***

In the end, by around midnight, it was decided that Cremont and three other officers would have taken five hundred men each, to stand in every possible path the Barbarian scouts could take if they wanted to move closer to the city. Meanwhile, around a hundred soldiers on horseback were to sweep the fields, maybe trying to assess how many enemies Rickhart had brought with him.

The rest of the army, two thousand soldiers, was ordered to deploy around Lyngard and build barricades and obstacles, since there wasn't any reason to keep them inside the walls and they could fall back easily if the situation escalated.

Despite the fact that she wanted to get more involved, to avoid any unnecessary risk the general begged Elise to remain near Lord Albert. He added that it would have been useful for her, since that man had even more experience than him and could provide some advice she wouldn't possibly find anywhere else. It felt a little like an excuse, but she decided to obey at least to not make him worry too much.

I hope everything will be alright. Something smelled fishy since the start. Why would Rickhart gain the support of the Barbarians and declare that he wanted to conquer these lands if he didn't have a plan? Father, Uncle and the others all acted like he was bluffing, and I don't know what they are thinking. We don't know the strength of our opponent. The only one who could give us an informed opinion is... Roric.

However, her friend wasn't there. The King had let him go and there wasn't any chance of him coming all the way to Lyngard to help. Elise sighed, realizing that maybe she had been too hard on him just because he was an Elemental.

It's true that he isn't a normal human, but... Did it really matter before? He saved me once, no, twice. And yet, when he was caught, I didn't lift a finger to help him. That time, I was the one who should have protected him, and all I could think was that he was a liar. I wouldn't mind having him here, now that I understand, but at this point it's impossible. I need to learn how to take care of myself, anyway.

Albert joined her, looking up. He was so short that she could have seemed the adult, if not for the wrinkles and white hair.

"Something wrong, Your Highness? You've been glancing out of that window for a while."

"I was just admiring the city by night," she answered. "I don't want any bad thing to happen to my people. That's the main reason why I'm here."

The old man nodded. "Yes, I'm aware of that. Your father had the same look in his eyes, when we fought the Republic together."

I might as well do as Cremont advised me.

"I believe my role as a princess requires me to learn about war, as well. Before coming to Cassidia, I lived in a place that was attacked by dangerous men and I tried to lead the village against them, but I didn't really know what I was doing. After that, I swore I would become stronger and protect everyone."

The Lord giggled. "An admirable intent, my dear."

"I'll be honest with you, Lord Albert... Lately, I discovered that so much magic and strange powers exist in the world," she went on. "How can I keep this kingdom safe, if enemies this fearsome show up?"

Sitting on a nearby chair, Albert thought about it for a moment.

"When I led our armies with His Majesty," he said, "I noticed something. The republican forces we met on the field were almost scared of something, at first. It took some time for us to understand that what they feared was us bringing Mages against them."

"They don't have Mages, in the North?"

"The Circle takes away all the people with the Arcane and brings them to the capital. They might make it pass as a way to protect all the countries from something too dangerous, but... The result is that most of those who can use that kind of magic live in our kingdom."

"But I've heard they act independently. My father can't order them to go to war."

"That's correct," replied the elder. "But it can be an advantage as long as our enemies don't know."

Yeah, he has a point.

"For what I've seen," Elise observed, "Magic could swing most battles in favor of a part unexpectedly. If Mages desired to, they could easily-"

"The contract between the King and the Circle won't allow it. Don't be like that, Your Highness. You shouldn't start doubting everyone that can do exceptional things just because he has the power to do them against you. Kingdoms are build on authority, but also on mutual trust. It's something I've learned during my long life."

"What about the people like Rickhart? Those with powers beyond our comprehension? In Cassidia, we were told that he had used necromancy to bring the Barbarians to his side... And those are the enemies we came here to face. The high priest said that he might rise some... Things to help his men, but only a few. What if he is wrong? What will we do then?"

With a smile, Albert offered her his arm and began walking along.

"It's good to see you this concerned about the fate of your country, princess. But believe me, your people are more than capable to defend themselves."

That's what I hope.

***

Hours passed. Locked in the keep as she was, Elise couldn't do much else than wait.

Eventually, the sky on the eastern horizon began turning to crimson and the light increased, so she chose to go out in the courtyard for a walk. It was still early and not many people would have been around normally, but those circumstances weren't ordinary in the slightest.

Being unable to do a single thing is frustrating to say the least.

The girl kept going in circles until she finally heard voices coming from the road. In that moment, from the other side, also arrived Lord Albert and one of his servants.

"Good morning, Your Highness," he said, with his usual cheerful tone. "Slept well?"

"Thanks, My Lord, but I'll sleep tight only when I'll be sure that Lyngard is safe. Speaking of which-"

"My Lord! Lord Albert! My Lord!"

The young princess turned to the main entrance of the keep. Many soldiers were entering, in no particular order. Her eyes widened when she noticed that most of them were wounded. The most critical were carried by the few horses left.

What... What happened to them? Everything should have been good and planned?

"Who goes there?" asked Albert. "Whose group do you people belong?"

One of the men, who was apparently a low-rank officer, approached him and Elise. Two of the others were bringing a gurney with traumatized looks on their faces.

"We were with the group led by Cremont. The general was injured. He needs immediate treatment."

The girl walked forward, hesitantly, and inspected the one they were taking care of. Her heart skipped a beat. It was indeed her teacher and servant, general Hector Cremont. Parts of his armoured suit had already been removed to stabilize him, and two nasty-looking arrows were stuck in his chest. He was unconscious, but still breathing.

It's him... Oh, no. Makers... What's going on out there?

She ordered the soldiers to carry him into the keep as fast as they could.

"How?" she simply asked.

"Ah! Your... Your Highness..."

"Tell me. Please."

"We... We were ambushed. By we I mean... All of us. The enemy lay in wait, and took cover into that damn fog..."

Fog... It's just like Roric told. This is Rickhart's doing.

The man struggled to continue. He was clearly terrified. It was Elise's duty to reassure him and make him feel a little better. That was the least she could do.

"Listen," she gave the captain a gentle smile. "We need to know. What's the necromancer doing-"

In a whisper, the man answered, "The dead."

Uh?

"I can't understand... Do you mean he used some of his undead?"

"Some... Some? Your Highness! There were dozens and dozens of those things! They were walking hand in hand with those Barbarians, and... Oh, even recalling it makes me..."

He fell to his knees, holding his head. The young princess got away from him and turned to Lord Albert, who was watching the scene with a confused expression.

"Send out more messengers, while we can. Call a meeting with all the commanding officers who can still walk. Quick, or the lives we lost will be for nothing."

The elder babbled. "Yes... Yes, Your Highness."

Alright, Rickhart. This is the kind of game you want to play, huh? Well, I'll show you that Cassidia isn't an opponent you can take lightly.

Lyngard wasn't going to fall. She had promised it to her father.

I need to find the armory and a pair of pants. I'll move more comfortably that way.