The Crown's Entrapment

"Excuse me, gentlemen, but humans?" It was Jayra who scoffed. Based on her friend's raised eyebrows, Xenia could already tell what the mage was about to say. "Why do I feel like we're being underestimated here, Lord Gideon?"

She then continued, "We humans are more than capable, you know. I hate to boast myself, but a mage like me is more than enough to knock out around half of them." Jayra proudly declared, "And that's not to mention how these knights with us are more than capable of handling themselves. We even have our warrior Princess herself."

Hearing the young woman's protests, Gideon held an awkward smile as he gulped. "Apologies if my words came out in a negative way," he profusely apologized. "I'm just worried, milady. They have a black witch with them, not to mention ghouls and trolls."

He gestured with his hand as he continued, "You don't heal as fast much as our kind do. You are our only healer as well, so we don't want to waste your energy in this battle as much as possible. We need to secure the safety of everyone in our group, and that means your safety as well."

"Gideon is right, Jayra. It's better that you don't involve yourself too much in the fighting," Xenia seconded. "You should stay with the rest of the servants while we clear the path."

Xenia clicked her tongue as she raised her sword. Around her, their small group was getting ready for the inevitable fight.

Meanwhile, Darius flexed his arms, seemingly preparing himself as he got ready to shift into a much stronger form. Well, at least they could prepare ahead instead of getting ambushed unexpectedly.

"Brace yourselves," Darius declared, drawing his own sword as he stood at the ready. "The enemy is upon us."

Simply giving him a nod, Xenia stood by the king's side, keeping her feet spread apart as she assumed a fighting stance. There was much work to be done, she supposed, even if said work was literally for the matter of their own survival.

A calm seemed to blanket their group as they waited, their weapons seemingly trembling in their hands as they braced themselves for the inevitable. Despite the seconds turning into minutes, Xenia still held her sword aloft, her eyes trained towards the distant horizon as they waited for the enemy.

Soon enough, the ground started to tremble. The thunder of hooves rumbled beneath her feet, and it was then that she finally saw a cloud of dust rising off the horizon. They were finally here. Helion's ambush was finally upon them.

"On guard," Darius gritted through his teeth. "We won't give them an inch. Instead, we'll give them hell."

"Yeah!"

Xenia almost joined in on the soldiers as they all cheered for their victory. Despite everything, it seemed as if Darius at least knew how to rile up an army. At least it meant that their morale wouldn't take a substantial hit on the battlefield whenever they weren't completely winning.

Shaking her head, Xenia ignored the thunderous crowd around her in favor of focusing on her own position.

Seconds ticked by. Then a full minute. The enemy was upon them now, and there was no time better than the present to do something about it. And as Helion's army finally descended upon their frontline, she knew that they were gonna be in for one hell of a fight.

Time to get to work.

"For Ebodia!"

Shouting out her own battlecry, Xenia charged headfirst into the fray. Swinging her sword with the grace of a trained swordsman, her armor rattled with each movement as she cut down every enemy she came across. Blood stained her entire being, her own sword dripping with liquid as she breathed heavily amidst the battlefield.

"Keep going!"

Hearing Darius's command, Xenia kept up the pace, her own exhaustion starting to mount the more she tried to push on. Somehow, the enemy's numbers never seemed to thin out, their army getting even thicker the more they tried to push.

"Look out!"

Her eyes widened at the sudden warning. Quickly turning her head, Xenia could only curse her carelessness as a sword descended upon her. But just before she could brace herself for a hit, Darius quickly swooped in, taking the hit for her at the cost of his own defenses.

"Nghh!"

"Darius!"

Quickly moving to cut down the offending soldier, Xenia moved to check on the wounded king. She didn't know if the cut was deep, but based on the way Darius was grunting on his knee, she could only assume the worst.

"We should get you to Jayra," she urgently spoke to him, her eyes still flitting around to check for potential enemies. "Can you move?"

"I can," Darius grunted, shakily standing up as he clutched his wounded arm. "This is nothing but a flesh wound. I can still fight."

"But you're bleeding," Xenia worriedly pointed out, noting how the king seemingly shivered from his pain. "We have to get it treated before it can do more damage."

Shaking her head, she found herself having to drag the stubborn king by the hand, ignoring the fluttering within her chest as she made a beeline towards the backlines. Losing the king here would be devastating to their kingdom, not to mention that they'd lose a strong fighter that could possibly turn the tide of battle.

"Xen…"

"Save your strength," she shut him up, her grip on his hand tightening as her sword hand kept up its defense. "I won't have you dying out of my own carelessness."

She could only hope that Jayra could do a decent enough job that he'd be able to return to the frontlines. On top of her own mistakes, a part of her really didn't want Darius dying for reasons that she refused to acknowledge.

He was simply a strategic asset to her kingdom as she was to his. A political piece. A weapon. Nothing more.

"Xenia?!"

Her eyes widened as a familiar voice called out to her. Looking up, a familiar face had already moved up to her.

"Atlas?"