"I see," Sebastian said, calming himself. "You want to go ho to your family. You may leave, and the rest of you who are afraid can follow," he offered.
While the knight who dared to speak up considered walking away, Sebastian reached for his dagger. There would be no more deserters when he needed all his knights now.
Sebastian waited for the opportunity, and when it ca, he lunged the dagger through the opening of the knight’s armour to stab his neck. He tolerated too much disrespect, and now it was costing him the war.
Sebastian released the dagger, letting the knight take it as he stumbled while trying to stop the blood from oozing out of the wound.
"Does anyone else want to leave?" Sebastian questioned the others. "Each one of you swore an oath to protect my family until your death. Each one of you has benefited from it up until now. If you abandon that oath now, it ans you wish to die. You may leave, but not alive."
Sebastian waited for others to object, but it didn’t co.
"Now, give ideas on how to kill those two bastards. They outnumber us," Sebastian said, out of ideas.
If the n he left behind had not surrendered, then Sebastian would have had a good chance of turning the tide against his enemies. Now, he was forced to work with what he had.
"We must get up high and fire our arrows down upon them. We need to get rid of as many of their n as we can. I need one of you to go into the town and gather what n are alive there. Send word to all of my father’s allies that I am in urgent need of help. I can hold off until they arrive. Go!" Sebastian yelled.
Two knights moved to deliver the ssage.
"Your allies won’t co!" Kaden’s voice was heard again.
Sebastian disliked Dante more, but now, he desperately wanted to kill Kaden first.
Sebastian led the n towards a tower where he would have the advantage. He knew his enemies thought they had the upper hand now, but it was all about to change.
"Watch our backs," Sebastian ordered the n.
So far, the path to the tower was clear. The palace wasn’t completely taken over by his enemies.
While Dante and Kaden outnumbered Sebastian with n, the palace was Sebastian’s ho. He knew it like the back of his hand. He knew where he could lead his enemies to trap them.
"Your Majesty, they don’t seem to be following us," a knight reported.
"What?" Sebastian exclaid, stopping in the middle of the steps leading up the tower. "Are you certain?"
Dante and Kaden couldn’t have been so good at predicting that he was going up to the tower.
"We might have lost them. Then, we hide here in the tower until we have a clear shot of them," Sebastian decided.
Until his allies arrived, it was better to remain out of sight, but if forced, Sebastian would fight.
"Two of you, go secure the other entrance to the tower and report what you see. Be careful not to be spotted," Sebastian said as he leaned against a wall to catch his breath.
For the first ti since learning of the war, Sebastian had a proper mont to calm himself. Though he had not yet raised his sword, he needed water and a feast.
’I shall have a feast when this is over,’ Sebastian thought.
Sebastian sat down on the steps. The knights circled him to protect him.
Ti seed to pass slowly in the tower, and on the outside, he heard yelling as the palace was being sward by enemies. He could only wait patiently for his help to arrive.
"Where is Nigel?" Sebastian wondered.
It was starting to feel like Nigel had abandoned him.
Back at the Hastings Castle, Ophelia looked out of a window, wishing she could get a glimpse of the border from where she stood. News had reached the castle that Nigel’s n had arrived at the border, and now the fight had started.
Ophelia found comfort in not receiving news that the border needed help or that Nigel was winning.
"No news is good news, right, Thomas?" Ophelia asked as she looked away from the window. "You have more experience in this."
"It is good news," Thomas answered. "They would have sent for help by now if they needed it. Even if the Valthorns were to get beyond the border, there is a second wave of n they would have to fight to get to the castle. His n would decrease by then."
"Still, we cannot drop our guard. Did you send out the ssage to Dante that Nigel is here?" Ophelia asked,
"I have. They selected the best birds to deliver the ssage to Lord Hastings. Should one bird not make the journey, there is another. I am certain news from the capital will soon co to you," Thomas said, knowing Ophelia also worried about Dante.
"I hope so. It seems it wasn’t a good idea to break his curse so soon. He would have been a lot stronger for this fight. It isn’t good for to stand here too long. I am starting to get bad thoughts. Are the townspeople settling in well?" Ophelia asked, setting her attention elsewhere.
"They have. It appears you have won over their hearts with your kindness in welcoming them to the castle and feeding them greatly."
"There is danger all around us, and the castle is safe. It would be wrong not to open the gates," Ophelia said as she led Thomas to where the townspeople gathered.
"Yes, but many believed you would be on the Valthorns’ side because they do not know you well. To see you open the gates has removed their doubts," said Thomas.
"I see. When this is all over, I will welco them to the castle again so we can celebrate the victory and for them to get to know . I hope one day they can all view as a Hastings. I’m going to see that they are all well," Ophelia decided.
"I am against it. There are people from all over the town inside the castle. I cannot take any risks and let you mingle with them, since an enemy could be there. Until it all settles, you should stay away, or speak at a distance," Thomas suggested.
"To speak at a distance would only put them against again, but I understand the concerns. I will keep my distance for now and focus on the war," Ophelia said, returning to the window.
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