"I don’t think it’s a good idea, Iro," Leif persisted worriedly from where he sat in the armory tent while they cleaned up weapons from the last pile of goblins.
Whenever he was worried, he nagged a bit. She tried to see the silver lining that she had such a good friend in such a terrible environment, but her first instinct was to always be offended that he was doubting her.
"Sir Gunnar said that I am the fastest rider because I am the smallest," she reminded him. "If my knight has trust in me, shouldn’t you as well?"
Leif felt as if he was always biting his lip and holding back what he wanted to say when it came to Irene. He wished at that moment it was a good time to tell her that he knew all of her secrets, but he knew that it wasn’t.
He already knew by the way she responded that her biggest fear was being doubted simply because she was a girl. That was how she wound up in this situation in the first place.
Although he had to wonder sometimes, was it her father’s decision for her to hide herself as a boy? That was one thing he likely would never know the answer about.
He merely shook his head at her insistence. There was no use in arguing with Irene when she had her heart in something.
"Then I wish you luck," Leif relented in a low voice. "Return to us in one piece, alright?"
"I have made a promise not to try and face monsters on my own," she responded with a nod. "I will keep my promise and merely rush through as fast as I can, hoping to catch a glimpse of the insides of the Duke’s Tower."
Leif could only nod. It didn’t take away the worry he would feel in his stomach until Irene returned, but he couldn’t burden her with it. What if she began doubting herself because of what he said?
For a couple of weeks, the knights and mages had been formulating plans on how to best tackle this problem. The faster they could get to the bottom of this source of poison the better.
The plan was that, when the monsters inevitably attacked again, Irene would go to the Duke’s Tower while the monsters’ focus ws away from it. There she would see if there was any change through any of the windows. Perhaps the poison was concentrated someplace or erupting out of where the Duke’s Tower had deteriorated since it was overrun by monsters.
Whatever it may be, she hoped that she could help them at least the smallest amount.
Despite the danger behind her mission, Irene was feeling excited.
To be relied on in such a way made her feel like a true knight. She could almost taste the title.
Her wishful thinking led her to hoping that at the end of the war, the King would allow the apprentices who fought the honor of knighthood.
Her cue came when monsters arrived in the fields. She was to remain in the armory so she could get dressed quickly.
The moment she heard the horns at the top of the ancient wall segment sound, it was time to go. Her heart felt like it was in her throat as it raced.
As she got into light armor, she had to take in a few calming breaths so that she wouldn’t screw up. Time was of the essence as she got herself together.
Next she was to go to the horse’s pen and retrieve Sorrel from where he had been fitted with a bit of armor so that if any goblins came close to her, they wouldn’t be able to harm her loyal animal. Find the newest release on Nove1Fire.net
As the knights went forward in a protective formation, Irene’s eyes searched for her knight who was supposed to be in the back.
Anxiety filled her chest as she thought of not being able to protect him on the battlefield, but when she met his eyes, he gave her a firm nod of understanding.
It was for the bigger picture that she was doing this, he seemed to remind her.
"I will go north!" Irene shouted to Sir Gunnar as she squeezed Sorrel’s sides.
For a couple of weeks it had been skirmish after skirmish. Yet the amount of monsters that came forth to attack kept growing in number each day.
What was once not much of a worry became a struggle of life or death for the knights who had withstood an entire year of the front lines.
Their entire lives were thrown into disarray. No matter how much they tried to keep up with the same schedule they were used to, oftentimes things went to the wayside or were forgotten because they were out of sorts as they tried to fend off the random waves of goblins.
The knights often held strategy meetings whenever there weren’t monsters in sight. They were working on new formations that would allow them to perform as more of an impenetrable wall. However, even those were foolproof. Monsters were chaotic and unpredictable. They also had black poison to avoid that would cause the knights to scatter so they could continue on with the battle and not succumb.
They were all ragged at best.
That day, Irene was determined to be the reason for the war to change. She wanted to know more even if it was scary. The Duke’s Tower which was once her safe haven was a terrifying place.
All she had to think about was being fast and escaping unscathed. Do not fight monsters. Don’t even hold still for very long at all.
She was told that a mere glimpse into the windows was more than enough. She could glean much with only a small picture.
Her posture changed as she leaned into the direction her horse carried them. Her eyes diligently scanned her surroundings so that not a bit of detail would go unnoticed. She was determined not to be caught off guard.