Even knowing how vicious Balor could be, how close she was to the border, how long this war had already lasted, she had never imagined herself in the midst of battle. Now, as she looked down from the walled gates of the estate, her blood ran cold and she felt shivers running up her spine.

Fear.

She was afraid.

But she could not show it. She had an estate to defend.

By keeping a hail of arrows rain down on the enemy, they had managed to clear a path for three riders, one at a time. Whether they would reach their destination and secure aid remained to be seen. It was out of her hands now. The only thing she could do was stand strong and hold the estate as long as possible.

She gasped when arms locked around her waist and she was pulled away. Before she could react, she was pushed against a wall with someone shielding her as arrows flew past.

Her protector pulled away and sighed in relief. "You should keep a safe distance, my lady."

Vara let out a shaky breath and nodded at Lykander. "Thank you."

"You should rest, my lady," Lykander continued, "you have stood side by side with us for the past two days. Go inside. Eat something. Sleep. We will do what we can to keep the enemy at bay."

Vara shook her head stubbornly. Even if she was exhausted, she was not going to let others do all the work. "How could I rest, knowing you are all fighting here? I couldn't bear it." Besides, if there was news from Iason, then she wanted to be awake to hear it. She forced out a smile. "I'll be fine." She turned away from him and climbed back onto the wall where she was shielded by barricades but could still fire her arrows.

Even so, she knew it was only a matter of time. At some point they would run out of arrows.

The captain of the guard noticed her and approached her with a serious expression on his face. "My lady," he tried to reason with her, "I know by now it will be futile to ask you to seek cover inside, but I beg you, when we are no longer able to hold the gates, promise me you will bring yourself to safety. If not for yourself, them for my sake. Lord Iason will be devastated if anything were to happen to you. And what would I tell the king?"

"Drusus," Vara smiled at him, "I thank you for your concern, but I assure you, the king will know you are not to blame. As for my husband, I fear for his safety more than for my own. But I promise that should it come to that, I will try my best to stay alive."

Drusus sighed. It wasn't what he had wanted to hear, but he knew better than to expect more. He gave a tired nod. "At least let one of my men shield you if you insist on putting yourself at risk." He flinched and bowed his head. "My lady," he added as in afterthought.

Vara smiled kindly. "I don't insist on formalities, especially now, but I will concede if it puts your mind at ease."

The soldier sighed in relief. "Thank you, my lady."

Vara nodded and took a deep breath. "Let's defend our home to the bitter end."

...

Lord Izem and his heir had gathered in the study with Darius when one of the servants entered the room. He bowed deeply. "Beg your pardon, my lords, Your Majesty."

Lord Izem looked up annoyed. "What is it, man? We are in the middle of an important meeting."

The servant kept his eyes downcast. "Forgive me, my lord, for disturbing you, but a rider arrived. Boncini is under attack. They urgently need aid or they'll be overrun."

Next to his father, Mikos froze. He had ridden with men from Boncini. They were comrades.

On the far end of the room, Torcan had also flinched. His eyes filled with worry and he looked at Darius. If it were up to him, he'd ride out now.

"Why come here?" lord Izem growled, "could they not ask for aid with their neighbors?"

"They sent out riders with difficulty, my lord," the servant spoke, "their fate is unknown and uncertain. What would you like me to tell him?"

"Father," Mikos said quietly, "Boncini has never hesitated to lend us soldiers. We cannot ignore their plea. We need to send aid."

Lord Izem narrowed his eyes. "We need to consider this carefully. If Balor finds out we helped Boncini, they will target Salvire next."

"They are our allies," Mikos protested. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Darius listened to lord Izem's excuses annoyed. This man truly was despicable. He demanded aid from his allies at every turn, but refused to pay back that help. He turned to the servant. "Where is the rider?" he asked, "I will speak with him myself."

"King Darius," lord Izem spoke, "there is no need for you to concern yourself with this matter..."

Darius narrowed his eyes. "I will be the judge of that. Need I remind you that I am your king and these are our allies? As your son has indicated, they have always honored your requests. I want to hear what this man has to say." He turned back to the servant. "Bring me to him."

The servant bowed. "Your majesty."

Darius motioned for Torcan to follow him and let the servant lead him towards the messenger. It was no surprise to him that Izem followed closely behind.

The messenger was on the verge of collapsing, but upon seeing Darius enter the room, he stood up straighter.

Darius frowned at the servants in the room. "Has this man not been offered food and water?"

The messenger bowed his head. "They offered, my lord, but I could not rest until I had relayed my message. Please, my lord, are you lord Izem? My lady is in dire need of assistance."

"I am Darius, king of Tirèze. You can relay your lady's message to me."

The man's eyes went wide and with much difficulty he dropped to one knee. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, I did not know who I was speaking to."

Darius nodded. "Speak."

The messenger took a deep breath. "They attacked in the night, Your Majesty. Lord Iason had taken a few soldiers to ride out to the fortification in the Northeast earlier. A rider had come to inform us there had been an attack. Lord Iason's brother fights there. Please, Your Majesty, you must send aid. It has taken me two days to get here."

Lord Izem scoffed. "Two days. They'll be already overrun. There is no point in sending men now."

The messenger lowered his head. "Please, my lord, my family..."

"I'll ride out," Mikos stepped forward and looked at the messenger seriously. "I'll ride out," he said again, "and aid in every way I can."

His father glared at him. "You speak out of turn."

"You will ride with us," Darius said to Mikos.

Izem whipped his head around at Darius. "My king..."

Darius looked at him coldly. "Assemble fifty men. I will take them with me. Your son will ride at my side. They will join my men as we ride for Boncini. Make sure they are ready within the hour."

Lord Izem gritted his teeth, but knew he could not disobey his king's direct orders. "My king," he bowed.

The messenger bowed deeply. "Thank you, king Darius," he said relieved.

Darius turned to one of the servants. "Take care of him. Make sure he eats and rests. We will send word once we secure Boncini."

The servant bowed. "Yes, your Majesty."

Darius placed a hand on Mikos' shoulder and guided him out of the room. "Come. Prepare yourself to ride out. You will take command of the Salvire soldiers."

"My king..." Mikos said startled.

"They are your men," Darius said, "you are heir of Salvire after all."

"But I have never led men into battle," Mikos said.

Darius patted his shoulder. "You will do fine. A good leader also relies on the experience of his men. And I will be at your side. You will follow my command."

"Yes, my king," Mikos bowed nervously.

"Go prepare and meet me at the stables in an hour's time," Darius told the young man, "there is no time to lose."

...

Chloe barely watched where she was going as she rushed through the halls of Boncini. With a fearful expression she burst into one of the side rooms. Her eyes roamed around frantically until they landed on the three people in the corner of the room. One of them was lying flat on a table while two others were tending to him. Chloe pushed forward. "Lykander!"

Vara turned around at the young woman's cry and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "It's alright, Chloe. He will live. The arrow only hit his shoulder."

Lykander smiled at Chloe weakly. "Don't worry, my love. It's nothing." He winced as the stable master pulled the bandage tightly around his shoulder. "Philip and lady Vara are taking good care of me." With the absence of a real physician, they had to make due. The stable master had offered to assist with he injured. Taking care of people wasn't so different from taking care of animals.

Chloe glared at him. "Don't you tell me it's nothing! You could have died!"

Lykander watched her amused. "As you can see I am very much alive. You won't be rid of me so easily."

She was still upset with him. She narrowed her eyes. "I find it no joking matter!"

Philip smiled at her kindly. "At least if he is still cracking jokes, you'll know he'll be fine."

"Where is Phoebe?" Lykander asked, referring to their daughter.

Chloe sighed and placed a hand on her hip. "Helena is watching her. Or did you want me to bring her here to watch her father die?"

"No one's dying, love," Lykander assured her. He held out his good hand. "Come kiss me. Then sit with me. No offense, Philip, but I prefer my wife tending to me. "

Philip smirked. "I'm glad to get you off my hands, Lykander. Let her deal with you."

Chloe huffed annoyed, but then looked at Lykander concerned. "Are you truly alright?"

"He'll be just fine, Chloe," Vara placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"My lady," Lykander turned his head to look at her, "you really should take some rest before you end up just like me."

"He is right, my lady," Philip spoke, "even the men take turns fighting. There is no use in exhausting yourself. Eat something, my lady."

Vara sighed. "I'll eat while I walk. Is there news yet?"

"No, my lady," Philip answered, "no sighting of help."

Vara rubbed her tired eyes. "Very well. We will..."

"Fire!" The warning sounded from the courtyard, "the stables are on fire!"

Philip cursed and rushed out of the room with Vara on his heels.

In the courtyard, several people were busy carrying water to put out the fire. Others struggled to get the remaining horses out.

Vara paled and gasped for breath. The panic began to strike. What if none of the riders had made it? What if no help would come? Would she die here by the hand of the enemy? And all the people that lived here? She knew how Balor treated prisoners.

"My lady," Philip spoke softly but firmly, "I think you really should retreat now. We don't know how long we can hold on. Eventually, if there is no help coming, Balor will breach the gate. If they find out you are the lady Vara..."

He didn't need to elaborate. She knew what would happen to her. Still... she had a duty to her people. And there was no telling to what lengths Balor would go to find who they were looking for.

Vara sighed. "Well... I hardly look the part." She stared down at her dirtied attire. Her hair was braided back and she had scratches and dirt all over her face and arms. She looked like one of the servants. She turned to Philip. "I promise I will retreat before Balor breaches the gate, but for now I need to remain here."

Philip sighed but nodded. He knew how stubborn his lady could be. He turned to one of the soldiers that was helping with the horses. "Did all the animals get out?"

The soldier nodded. "Yes, we managed in time, though the barn itself will be lost."

Vara sighed in relief. "The animals are most important. A barn can be rebuild. Go, Philip, check on the horses. Make sure they are alright."

"My lady," Philip bowed and he hurried towards his animals.

Vara let her eyes roam across the courtyard. People were still trying to douse the fire, soldiers were on the walls, shooting their arrows. Everyone was tired.

With a heavy sigh, Vara forced herself towards the wall to aid the archers. That's when another warning sounded.

"The gate! Man the gate!" One of the soldiers on the wall pointed frantically. A second later he fell backwards onto the courtyard with an arrow in his chest.

Vara gasped and hurried towards the man. Several others rushed towards the gate to barricade it even more.

A loud bang was heard from the other side of the doors, making them shake in their hinges.

Vara kneeled next to the fallen soldier. It didn't take long for her to realize he was dead.

The doors shook again. Where had their enemy found a batter ram?

Another bang at the gate. Slowly it started to splinter.

They had run out of time.