Chapter 14:
The Future Duchess Stands on the Battlefield
AFTER I SAID my goodbye to Louis, I made my way toward the Anderson manor in the capital. The guard was already there, assembled on the training grounds. I quickly went into the house, changed into Mer’s clothes, and headed for the training grounds. I went up to the podium and looked out over the crowd. Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—the men here were ones I had trained with for as long as I could remember. In other words, I knew every single face in the crowd.
“You all know me as Mer. But my real name is Merellis Reiser Anderson. I am the daughter of General Gazell, the marquis of Anderson.”
I was acutely aware of the shock that went through the crowd. I had to chuckle inwardly at their response.
“I’m sure you’ve already heard from my brother Pax, but we found out Rimmel is raising an army. We are the only ones who can stop them. Our pride and the name of House Anderson are at stake.”
The entire area went quiet. The only sound in the field was that of my voice. “It will be a tough battle. A hard battle. Many of you won’t make it back home alive, I’m sure… And if you want to run away now because you value your lives, I won’t blame you.” I closed my eyes and mouth for a few moments, waiting. Waiting for someone to move.
We could not involve the country’s army in this matter. We were already at a disadvantage because we were outnumbered, and Nort’s side had a territorial advantage. I wouldn’t blame the guard for choosing to run away at this point. However, I knew I’d be in even more trouble if they ran after we’d gotten to a certain point.
I stood there silently, but no matter how long I waited, no one moved. I lifted my face and opened my eyes. Everyone was still there before me. “You’ve shown me your resolve. You have all been trained personally by General Gazell. Sharpen your blades. Don’t turn around. Keep charging forward. Honor your names and keep running as long as your heart still beats! Keep running forward and follow me!” I could feel the tension in the air.
The members of the guard looked even more serious than before.
“Aye!” They all cried in unison, lifting up their swords.
“Thank you…” I told them quietly.
I mounted my horse and immediately led the guard away from the capital. I followed the road my brother had indicated we take. Under normal circumstances, I would need special permission to march these many soldiers across the borders. That was because of a custom put in place to avoid needless wars between domain lords. However, we already had gotten special permission to take the guard across the border and back and forth to the march.
Many domains sat between Rimmel and the capital, so I thought it would be equally difficult to cross the border there. I wondered just how we had gotten permission from so many domain lords, but we had.
We took as few breaks as we could and rushed toward Rimmel as fast as possible. We took our final rest right before we crossed the border. We were traveling on a trail in a forest that was a short distance away from the main road so we didn’t attract attention. I remembered how I stopped in areas like this when I chased after my brother that time when I was younger and let out an inward chuckle.
“Shrey. The map, please,” I said, quickly switching gears.
“Here it is.”
I spread out the paper, and we looked at it together. “Just to confirm, the enemy is using this route to travel south, yes? So that means Pax and Louis were correct?”
“Yes. Do you have doubts about it?”
“Thanks to everyone’s cooperation, we got here faster than my brother and Louis thought we would. I think we have a good chance of meeting the enemy within Rimmel’s lands.”
“I agree. Under normal circumstances, we’d wait here to ambush them, but we might be a day or two ahead of them.”
“Or they might be ahead of us… Do you think it’s safe to say Pax and Louis thought they’d be here sooner than they actually are?”
“I do,” Shrey agreed. I closed my eyes and thought for a moment. I tried to figure out if my hunch was possible, based on the roads and the speed at which we’d traveled. Of course I trusted in my brother’s and Louis’ plan, but we had gotten here so quickly we had quite a lot of time on our hands.
“Are you sure the enemy has all their troops together, and that they’re all moving as one?”
“Yes. We sent a horse ahead to make sure. They’re moving at the speed we expected.”
Another messenger raced up to me and said the same thing. That settled it for me. I tapped a spot on the map.
“There?” Shrey asked.
“Yes. We’re going to go here before the enemy arrives. Do we have a scout? I want information on their formation before they get here.”
“Yes, over there.”
“Good. Once we’re done here, dispatch them immediately. I want everyone to get ready.”
“Yes, my lady!”
I watched everyone move according to my orders and then followed the guide. After I got done speaking with the scout, I immersed myself in thoughts again, picturing the enemy’s formation and deciding upon a battle plan.
“Lady Merellis?” I heard a familiar voice, and it pulled me back to reality.
“Yes, Anna?” She had accompanied me here as my attendant. I didn’t have time to argue with her, so I had just let her come along. After all, she had trained with the guard long enough to call herself a member.
“I’ve received word that we’re ready to depart.”
I closed my eyes again, feeling the weight of my decision and my responsibility. “All right. I expected nothing less from everyone. Let’s go.”
“Yes, my lady.”
We got back on our horses and off we went, in the direction of the battlefield.
✦ ✦ ✦
We had secretly traveled from Tasmeria to Rimmel. A long, narrow road stretched out before us, and it was sandwiched by high cliffs on both sides. As we stood there, I tried to calm my racing heart.
“We’re here,” I said in a quiet voice. I could hear hoofbeats gradually approaching us from in the distance.
I felt the tension rising among the guards behind me. I swallowed hard.
“Our prey has arrived, everyone,” I started. I could hear everyone else gulping too. “I hate fighting. I hate taking lives. But that’s why we can’t allow these people to win, because they’ll do the same to us.” As I spoke, the enemy kept coming closer, but I kept on talking. “Now, everyone, let’s strike fear in their hearts. Let them tremble at the very sound of the Anderson name, frightening them so much they do not dare to make enemies of us again. Kill them! Destroy them! Annihilate any enemy who raises their swords to you! Onward!”
I could feel the guard’s enthusiasm rising as they waited behind me. This was precisely the mood I wanted them to have. Because when the enemy came into sight…I saw that they had us vastly outnumbered.
I grabbed the reins and urged my horse forward. For a moment, the enemy seemed frightened by our sudden appearance, but once they saw how few of us there were, they charged forward without hesitation. I raised my hand just before they reached us, and arrows rained down upon them. The arrows were heading right toward our enemies, trying to take their lives. Our attackers didn’t even have enough time to be surprised. The arrows just kept flying by, and each time they landed, my vision was filled with a shower of crimson.
“Lady Merellis!” Anna happily cried my name as she waited behind me. I couldn’t blame her—the plan had worked, after all. But…why didn’t I feel happy? I had watched things work out as planned, feeling something very close to relief. Finally, the enemy began to retreat in an attempt to regroup. Once again, I raised my hand, and then I charged forward on horseback.
The barrage of arrows stopped immediately. My horse leapt over piles of dead enemies, chasing after the ones who were still alive and fleeing. I reached the first one and killed him in an instant. The guard followed close behind me. My men shooting arrows from atop the cliffs climbed down and joined us. They raised their swords one after the other and cut down our enemies. Kill as many as you can. I want to get rid of as many of them as possible in preparation for the battles ahead. That’s what I had told the guard before this fight. They faithfully obeyed, taking out the enemies who were left on the field. Everything was stained in crimson. The metallic tang of blood stung my nostrils.
The enemy could no longer fight here, and their survivors retreated. As soon as they disappeared from the narrow road, I heard the guards cheer behind me. We had won the first battle. I breathed a sigh of relief as I dismounted from my horse. The guard’s members had looks of joy on their faces as they cheered. I simply raised my hand in response.