Lonewolf grabbed his associate’s hands and removed them from his garments. "Just about ready." He glanced at Luminear and nodded at her. Luminear’s face was expressionless. She didn’t respond other than to look away and stare at the river. "A little problem, but nothing that can't be fixed."
"What? Problem? I don't need problems. What is it?" Icaz spat out angrily.
"Bella again." Lonewolf’s comment got Luminear's attention, but she pretended not to care.
"What from her now?" Icaz snippily asked.
"She's begun remembering things again. She knows something. I haven't caught up with her, but the army is aware she's been dismissed of her duties and will arrest her on sight. I figured she was headed this way, but I suppose I was wrong."
"No. No. And no! We have not seen the blonde floozy."
"She isn't a floozy! Watch your tongue, you dolt," Lonewolf said.
Icaz smiled and patted Lonewolf on the shoulder before turning toward Luminear. "I don't see why you care. She's the problem you insist on keeping around. Not me. No. Not I. I'd have dismissed her permanently. No powers. No gain. I don't care." Icaz studied with curiosity the camp at the end of the bridge. "Why are they here?"
Lonewolf looked back to the riders. "I panicked when I found out about Bell. I was afraid she was on the way to find you and her." Lonewolf pointed at Luminear. "I also wanted protection."
Icaz laughed. "Protection? That many for one problem child?"
"No, but she is a lioness, very capable fighter. Clever too. She may have others with her." Lonewolf started by trying to explain himself but ended up distressed once more. "Hey, you and I have gone through far too much to have our plans fall apart now! This is sarding ridiculous she picks now to remember."
***
As the men argued, Luminear focused on one thing only. Bella was out there somewhere. She was waking up to the truth, and this meant hope. Bella would do anything to save her. Whether it was two men or two thousand, Bella was too stubborn to give up. As long as her impulses didn’t have her fouling up. She hoped her too often imprudent sister would think before she acted. Luminear looked past Lonewolf and Icaz and into the distance where there was the camp and much further away the massive wall high into the far fields beyond. The opening in the wall was obvious, although several hours away, but she also noticed what appeared to be small golden shimmers riding in the field toward them. As she peered closer, she realized that these were dragoons cantering their way scattered in the field. The approaching riders seemed a small group, but large enough to notice despite the distance. She wondered if Bella was amongst those that rode in but assured herself that Bella would not charge an entire camp double her size. Yet, she refrained from warning Lonewolf or Icaz just in case.
The two men argued a few minutes longer until the approaching horseman caught Icaz's attention. "How many of these fopping mumbercrusts did you send?" Icaz pointed at the incoming riders.
"Good thing I did. You've been running around with no protection like a fool. Just two people with nothing but a magical pendant that doesn't work half the time." Lonewolf barked back while he glared to the north.
"Oh, shuddap."
"What are they doing back?" Lonewolf worried aloud. There was only one reason he could think of for the dragoons he had left behind to have chased him a day away like they were.
"How am I supposed to know? You sent them. Why don't you know? It's better to let me assume you are incompetent rather than opening your mouth and proving it. How can you not know?" Icaz huffed while hastily climbing back on his horse. Same as they ever were, the two men went right back to bickering.
"I told you! Never mind." Arguing with Icaz never ended well, so Lonewolf took off in a mad dash towards their camp instead. Icaz instructed Luminear to do the same. Already curious about what was happening, Luminear road along further with interest.
By the time they reached the end of the bridge, the other soldiers made way for their High King, Commander, and the mysterious shackled woman. "Just wait a moment here," Lonewolf instructed the soldiers as the three continued several feet into the grassy fields to meet the riders. It took a while for them to arrive, but when they finally made it, everyone realized something had happened. Many of the soldiers’ armor was bloodstained, and a few seemed injured.
"What is this?" Icaz screamed to all as they rode in to report. Most of these men and women did not understand who Icaz was, as his elusive nature had kept him from the public eye. It wasn’t until after Lonewolf properly presented the High King until they bowed. Even then, Icaz was furious, demanding them to get off the ground and quit acting like morons.
"Attack at the wall," one woman said.
"What do you mean attack at the wall?" Lonewolf asked.
"General Bella Luna rode in with two men. We pursued her, but then others came. It was a disaster. They fled, but we are all that remain," a bearded fellow said as he looked over his fellow riders. There couldn't have been more than a couple dozen left of the one hundred Lonewolf had stationed.
"Others? Other what? Other! What others?" Icaz screamed. All the returning dragoons looked to one another, trying to figure out how to answer.
"What? What happened?" Lonewolf repeated the question just as irate. After a few moments of silence, a soldier finally spoke.
"Ambushed."
Chapter Nine
Change of Luck
"Where did he go?" Bella asked when she awoke in the night to find Markus looking down at her.
Startled at her abrupt awakening, it was as if she picked up the conversation where they had left off before she lost consciousness. After only a brief hesitation, Markus answered.
"Down the south road with a couple hundred dragoons."
"Do you think he is after you?" asked Fern.
"Maybe," Bella said aloud. If he realized my memories are coming back, he’d have good reason, she thought. She looked about her and realized they were still in the forest where she had collapsed, but her head no longer hurt. Instead, her memories had returned while she slept, and she now saw the world as it was, no longer burdened by distorted realities. She knew what had happened to her, and everything had become clear. She knew she must share what she had remembered with Markus and Fern and wasted no time doing so.
It took a while for the men to comprehend how Lonewolf deceived them too right along with her, and it was difficult for them to accept. Bella suspected some time along the way Lonewolf and Neighraellium may have used the medallion on her friends, but neither Markus nor Fern had any recollection of such an event. Bottom line, Lonewolf was not only a dishonest man but a dangerous one.
As hard as it was for Markus and Fern to accept what Lonewolf had done, Bella faced the more painful truth that Lonewolf betrayed her trust and their friendship for years. Not only that, but he was complicit in what had happened to Luminear, who she now realized had been a prisoner all these years. Bella did not want to imagine the horrors her sister faced all this time. Both she and Luminear had their entire lives stolen from them, and Lonewolf was to blame.
Not only did she feel the loss of what might have been, but the return of her memory riddled Bella in guilt. Unknowingly she betrayed the people who had offered her a home, and her choices destroyed Laelliandir. Even though Lonewolf manipulated her, she blamed herself for not seeing through this curtain of lies sooner.
Bella remembered how she had treated Laelliandir and Albatros with contempt when they met recently. Those two might have been able to help her years ago if only she had been stronger. Even now, waking up to reality did not erase the years of emotions programmed into her mind. The years of hate toward people she would have been loyal to under normal circumstances, overwhelmed her. She couldn’t simply flip a switch and return to who she had been years earlier. Neighraellium and Lonewolf twisted her mind to the point she could no longer be sure if her perceptions and feelings were based in reality. Her outlook on the whole world shifted, but her feelings were stuck. She still h
ated elves, based on the lies planted in her mind. The contradictions inside besieged her until she knew only one thing with certainty. Luminear needed help. Damn the rest. She would go for her sister. Bella jumped to her feet, ready to take action.
"He might be after me. Or he could be trying to reach his little partner and my sister. The High King has the sodding wizardry relic. From what I gather, crazy or not, they believe Lumi has some kind of power and can open some sarding gate. That's what this entire campaign has been about. I will not let it happen. Any of it. Lumi, we save now!" Bella said boldly as she cracked her knuckles and popped her neck. "You two with me?" She searched their faces as Fern and Markus looked to one another and nodded back to her.
"Aren't gonna let you run off alone," Fern said as he pushed himself to his feet.
"We certainly aren’t, Fern. Not alone," Markus agreed as he stood. "There’s no way we can take on two hundred riders, though. He's surely taken your rank over this."
"You think?" Bella said sarcastically. "We'll figure it out as we go. I wish I knew where Albatros and Laelliandir went. I bet they are with an army of minotaurs, which would come in handy."
"Do you want to look for them? Where would we look?" Markus asked, trying to follow her thinking.
Bella shook her head, still befuddled. Meeting up with Laelliandir and Albatros both scared and excited her. She owed them and needed them, but a part of her saw them as enemies, and she feared them.
"No sarding idea!" Bella exclaimed. "We ride after Lonewolf. We figure out what we can do. My priority is reaching Luminear and retrieving her. Get her away from these people. I don't have a plan. I understand what needs to be done, and I'm doing it. Sorry, Markus. That isn't reasonable, but it's just the way it is." Markus brought his forehead to touch hers. Even Markus’s touch confused her.
"I'm with you. We'll figure this out. You and Wolf did a lot of planning together. You understand how he thinks, so we can use that. I'm with you, love."
Bella shook off her inner turmoil and focused only on her sister. "I know nothing about that sarding shite anymore, and I won't pretend to either. But I'm not leaving my sister to rot." Bella turned toward their horses. "Let's go." She charged for her red horse, with Markus and Fern following not far behind.
***
The three set out several hours after Lonewolf in hopes they would pass him and his riders, assuming they had made camp somewhere in the forest, but Bella feared it a fool's hope. If he felt urgency for his task, Lonewolf would not hesitate to require his dragoons ride on with minimal rest.
It didn't take long to find the dragoon’s tracks upon the southern trail. The three followed for hours, yet they did not ride upon a camp or see signs the riders had stopped anywhere along the way. Bella and company pursued likewise, only stopping for short amounts of time. None of them foresaw such a lengthy ride, but, for once, Fern’s paranoia and his tendency to worry about every possibility came in handy. He came prepared as always, bringing fruit and jerky with him just in case. When they happened upon a spring of water in the early afternoon, they stopped to wash down their slim provisions.
The trio rode on until late night of the second day before they camped in a small cave under a hill until the sun rose. They planned to give chase with no intention of slowing down. Fern woke up early and caught a couple fish from a nearby stream. After they ate their breakfast, they saddled back up and pursued Lonewolf once again, following the tracks he and his company left behind.
This continued for one more day and night until the next morning, and they rode upon the southern borders of Tragmont and the great wall. Here they dismounted and used their eye scope to better see what lie ahead. Bella recognized it as the area where they breached the walls many years ago, and where they set up a small camp to monitor any abnormal happenings. In no time, they spotted signature golden armored troops filling the camp.
"Sarding!" Bella cursed as she surveyed the area. Troops mingled on the ground with others standing guard upon the high walls. Despite the long ride, the three had devised no real strategy on how they might get past the dozens of guardsmen along the way.
"We can find a rope? Maybe ride a few hours down the wall and figure a way to climb it?" Fern said trying to help.
Markus rolled his eyes and, in a patronizing tone, said, "Just find a rope?"
"Then somehow get it upon the wall to climb?" Bella added in annoyance.
"I don't see you being able to climb a wall that big even if we had a way up, Fern."
Fern shrugged, knowing he was right. "I haven’t heard many plans other than race after them and figure it out when we get there. Well, we are here."
"No, we aren't even there. We are just stuck." Bella reminded as she tossed Markus the eye scope. "Come on. We aren't sticking around." Bella grabbed the reins of her fiery horse and galloped toward the wall.
"Bella!" Markus shouted as he rode after her. "We can't ride into that. We have to find another way." Fern groaned but also took flight after the two.
"There is no time, and I'm the general. They'll do as I say," Bella shouted back.
"Aye, but you likely aren't. If Wolf is on to you, then he no doubt made sure you are no longer a general."
"Don't know until we know. I'm not roaming around for a few days to figure a way over the wall. This is where we are going. I'll inform these soldiers Lonewolf is a traitor, and to let us pass."
"I love you, but this is foolish!" He pushed his horse on to catch up to her.
Bella would have none of it. Her mind was set, and she wasn't ready to accept defeat. These were her soldiers as far as she was concerned, and she would not be threatened by her own people.
It may not have been the brightest idea, but it was a bold one. It was also one she soon regretted. When the three came within seeing distance of the camp, Bella eagerly rode nearer, but they had eye scopes and orders of their own to follow. At the sight of ex-general Bella Luna, the squad within the camp scattered to prepare their horses. Lonewolf’s orders were clear. They would not pass, and Bella was to be arrested on sight. The soldiers intended to follow his orders and fulfill their duty.
"Sodding shites!" Bella skidded to a stop. Markus and Fern rode right behind her, and Markus brought out the eye scope to get a better look.
"They don't look happy to see us." Fern stated the obvious. Though still a good distance away, Markus could see the dragoons easily. They were armored and did not appear happy. Several drew weapons in preparation.
"No. They aren't happy. I'd say they would just as soon kill us," Markus agreed.
"Come on," Bella ordered as she turned to ride off the other way. "I'm going to kill Wolf!"
"I didn't think that was a good idea," Fern mumbled too low to be heard.
"We have to get past them. Ride around or outrun them. Fight what we can?" Bella did not seem so sure of herself.
"Fight? No armor and Fern doesn't even have a sword." It was not as if Fern was good with one even if he had come armed, Markus wanted to make his point. "We have to outrun them, or we're dead or jailed. They are excited and not pleasantly, mind you."
Bella groaned as she tried to figure out what to do. The trio rode on with but a few hundred yards between them and their pursuers. Ride where? All the way back? Bella wondered. She was angered at the entire situation, and she scolded Lonewolf inside her head. She was furious enough to charge the riders despite the impossible odds, but good sense kept her from doing so.
They rode like this for a long time, but the host refused to give up. It was clear to the trio the dragoons had no intention of letting them get away. Dragoons were no more than mounted infantry and well-trained at riding, often given the fastest horses. As far behind as they were initially, little by little, the soldiers were catching up.
Up and down hills, the chase continued for about an hour until Fern spotted something after they topped one of the grassy hills. In the far distance, two incoming figures rode down the slopes of a hill in their direction.
As they got closer, he could make them out. It was Albatros upon his rhino and Laelliandir on horseback charging toward them.
"Lookie there!" Fern shouted to his friends.
"Is that who I think it is?" Markus asked first as they raced down a hill into a long valley.
"It’s Lae," Bella confirmed with a smile. "And Albatros." The two of them raced downhill and crossed into the same valley rushing toward them.
"Not sure what good they will do. Five against that." Markus was interrupted when he heard a painful commotion from Bella's horse. An arrow had found its way into the unfortunate horse’s hind leg. The host of Divoxian riders were above them on the hill, and one of them had seen fit to launch arrows. From the pain of the arrow, the horse thrust itself violently, sending Bella through the air. With a thud, she slammed against the ground in a reckless roll. "Bella!" Markus shouted, and without thought, leaped from his horse to help her. The archers above weren't done, though. They continued shooting arrows hitting Bella's horse again, and Markus's also, trying to prevent them from escaping. Fern's horse, as timid as he was, fled toward Albatros and Laelliandir upon noticing her fellow horses were being struck down. "Are you all right?" Markus asked as he came upon Bella.
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