Chaos. That was all she would remember of those days. In a split second, Balor warriors worked their way behind the walls of Boncini, fighting, pillaging, hurting. Even if there were good fighters amongst the people of Boncini, the enemy had the upper hand. It wouldn't take long before they would be overrun.

She wasn't sure how many arrows she had fired. She didn't know how many men she had hit. She just prayed it would be over soon.

"Riders!" The shout came from the wall. "Riders from Salvire! Tirèze rides with them!"

She wanted to cry. A sudden rush of relief came over her. At least one of the messengers they had sent out had made it to safety. She didn't even have time to wonder why Darius Tirzé would accompany lord Izem, but she did not care. Help had arrived. And not a moment too soon.

...

"Darius," Torcan could feel the blood drain from his face as he looked down at the smoking estate down the hill. He had never been to Boncini, but he could tell it had been beautiful before the attack. Now all he could see was fighting. He was afraid of what they would find.

Darius gritted his teeth. He knew not to get his hopes up. The rider had needed two days to reach Salvire. The troops had ridden nonstop, but it was still a fair day's ride across the mountains. There was no telling what they would find, but it would not be good. "Keep your head clear," he told his friend, "don't let emotions distract you. Focus on defeating the enemy. The rest needs to wait." A grim expression was on his face as he looked at Torcan. "We will make them pay. Make them wish they had killed you that day."

Torcan flinched slightly. Only rarely Darius would bring up what had happened when Torcan was a boy. This time however it was more than appropriate. He drew his sword and gripped it tightly. "Tirzé!" He charged forward.

Darius' horse was eager to follow, but its owner held back the animal just long enough to turn to Mikos. "Lead your men," he told the boy, "take the West side of the estate. I'll go East. Let's catch them between us."

Mikos gave a startled nod, but Darius had already gone in pursuit of his friend, surrounded by Tirzé soldiers. It was up to him now. He had never let men into battle before.

"My lord."

Mikos looked up and found the captain of the Salvire guard next to him.

"What are your orders, lord Mikos?" the captain asked calmly. He knew the boy was unexperienced, but now was not the time to doubt himself. One doubt on the battlefield could end your life.

Mikos drew a deep breath and sat up straighter in the saddle. He notched an arrow on his bow. "You heard the king," he spoke calmer than he felt, "we will take the West side. Semicircle formation. Don't hesitate and don't hold back."

The captain gave a serious nod and turned to the rest of the soldiers. "Salvire to me!" He drew his sword and held it high. "Charge!"

...

Her bow was of little use now. She couldn't get arrows on the string fast enough, so she was left to stay out of the enemy's line of fire with only a dagger to defend herself. She stopped counting the number of bodies, dead or injured, she had stepped over. She didn't want to look down to see familiar faces.

Cautiously she tried to make her way back onto the wall so she could see the progress her newly arrived allies were making. Secretly she hoped to also see Iason there. At least then she would know he was safe.

Suddenly she was pushed out of the way and a sword swung by her, missing her body by only a hair.

Vara gasped startled. She hadn't even noticed her attacker. The young soldier that had pushed her out of the way now stood between her and the Balor warrior with raised sword. He briefly glanced at her. "You should head to safety," he gently urged her.

The Balor warrior smirked, clearly content about something. He licked his lips and raised his own sword. "It seems I have found what we have been looking for, king's daughter."

"She's my wife," the young soldier lied calmly, "and you will not touch her."

The warrior let out a roaring laugh. "You are clever, I will give you that, but if she were your wife, you would not send her off on her own. Besides, you defend her like a warrior does his lord. And you are too much of a boy for her. Step aside and I'll kill you quickly. A reward for your bravery."

"You will be the one dying," the young soldier spoke.

"Cephas," Vara spoke concerned. This Balor warrior was far more experienced than the young soldier defending her. She did not want the boy to die. He had only recently joined the guard. His parents held goats in the nearby village. She knew the family well.

"I'll die before he touches you, my lady," Cephas spoke determined.

The warrior grinned widely. "That you will," he agreed and he swung his sword.

Cephas put up a good fight, but he was no match for the hardened warrior. He gasped when first the sword slashed across his shoulder, forcing him to drop his weapon, and then back across his stomach. Still not quite believing what had happened, Cephas fell to his knees and stared at the blood on his fingers.

Another slash across his chest caused him to fall to the ground. Breathing became difficult. He knew he would die, but the end would not come soon.

The warrior from Balor didn't even glance at him. Stepping over the young soldier, he approached Vara with a victorious grin on his face.

"You bastard!" Vara growled while drawing her dagger, "he was just a boy!"

The man shrugged. "Boys grow up to be men that attack us." He easily deflected her dagger. He didn't even use his sword, but simply swatted it away with his arm. "You come with me now," he stated and he grabbed her.

"Let go of me!" Vara yelled and she struggled against his grip, but days of sleep deprivation had lessened her strength and her fighting was futile. It only seemed to amuse him as he carried her away.

From the corner of her eyes, Vara noticed several of the soldiers of the Boncini guard were trying to reach her, but each time the enemy blocked their way.

Balor seemed well organized.

Too organized.

The man chuckled. "You are a feisty one, king's daughter. I like that. You will give me strong sons."

"I will give you nothing!" Vara hissed.

He laughed again. "Then I will just take it."

Vara kicked her legs and tried to smash the back of her head into his face. It seemed he'd had enough of her resistance. He turned her around and hit her across the face. Dropping her to the ground, he started to unbuckle his belt. When Vara tried to crawl away, he dropped down and dragged her back. "Not so feisty now?" The grin on his face turned into a grimace and his body went rigid as the point of a sword pierced his chest.

Vara scrambled out of the way before the body could fall over her. She crawled to her feet, ready to fight any new attacker.

But the man in front of her was no attacker. Slightly older and with some lines in his face caused by war and hardship, but with the same kind eyes she remembered. "Are you alright?" he asked concerned.

"Torcan?" she breathed. Perhaps exhaustion was playing tricks on her mind.

He blinked at her confused and studied her more clearly. The wild and reckless girl from his memory had made way for a strong-willed, mature woman. With her face smeared with grime and blood, strands of hair coming lose from her braid, and her simple dress clad with leather patches, he had not recognized her so quickly. He shouldn't have been surprised to find her fighting alongside the men. "Lady Vara," he said startled.

She let out a relieved breath and embraced him tightly. "Thank you."

"We are not out of the woods yet," Torcan said while releasing her.

"I know," Vara nodded, "but at least we have hope now."

She looked around the courtyard where her allies were slowly gaining the upper hand.

"Let's get you to safety," Torcan said gently.

Vara shook her head. "I need to stay here with my people. I have to protect them. It's my duty."

"As it is mine to protect you," Torcan said, "you won't be any use to your people if you get yourself killed."

Vara heaved a sigh. Of course what he said made sense, but what was she supposed to do? She couldn't bear hiding somewhere safe while others were fighting.

Torcan seemed to notice the conflict in her eyes and he sighed. "At least stay at my side." He took a firmer hold on his sword and stepped back onto the chaos.

...

It was strange how, after so much chaos, the silence would be deafening. She had never wondered what happened to the bodies of fallen enemies on your doorstep once the battle was over. There had never been reason to.

Now she was left with decisions she was not ready to make.

The large stable building was burned down, doors hanging out of their hinges everywhere. A few saddled horses stumbled across the courtyard, riderless, and the ground was littered with broken arrows, debris and blood.

She took a long look around. Tirèze and Salvire soldiers had gathered around Darius who seemed to be giving instructions before making his way towards her. No other help had come. Had the messengers been captured? Were they dead?

And Iason. Where was Iason?

"My lady?"

Vara tore her eyes away from the scene to look at Drusus, the captain of her guard. Where had he come from?

Drusus eyed her concerned. "My lady. Should we begin collecting bodies? Do you have instructions for us?"

She looked at him. "Sorry what?"

Torcan studied her concerned and then turned to Drusus. "Please give her a moment. It's a lot to take in."

Drusus studied him annoyed. "You are out of line, Tirzé soldier."

Vara took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. "Drusus, this is Torcan di Salve, manservant and kin to king Darius Tirzé, and trusted friend. Torcan, meet Drusus, captain of my guard."

Drusus stated at Torcan startled. "Di Salve? Beg pardon, my lord," he gave a slight bow, "I did not know... I thought... there is a lad who claims to be lord Di Salve, heir of Salvire..."

Torcan gave a nod. "That would be my brother."

Again, Drusus shook his head confused. This 'brother' was certainly younger than the man before him. How could he be heir? But it was not his place to question it.

"Thank you, Drusus," Vara said tiredly, "please round up the horses. We will consider them spoils of war. Perhaps Tirèze would like to have their pick later as a token of our gratitude for their assistance."

"My lady," Drusus bowed.

"Collect the bodies," Vara continued, "We will burry our own dead. Please identify them, so we can inform their families. Let Tirèze collect their own fallen comrades. Any body you find belonging to Balor, burn it outside our walls."

"It will be done, my lady," Drusus said, "my lady, we have a few captives."

Vara ran a hand through her hair. She was not ready to deal with all of this.

Others were gathering around her, including Darius. "Lady Vara," he spoke once he had reached her, "my men are tired and hungry. Do you have food available for them? And somewhere the can rest?"

Vara took another deep breath and ran a hand across her face. She looked at Drusus. "Any news of my husband? Or Auros?"

Drusus sadly shook his head. "No, my lady. Neither have been sighted yet."

"Are you sure?" Vara asked.

"Yes, my lady," Drusus answered calmly.

"Alright," Vara nodded disappointed, "take the captives to a holding cell, but away from the messenger that came from the fort. We will deal with them later. How many have we lost?"

"We have not counted yet, my lady," Drusus informed her.

Vara nodded. "Make a tally of the casualties as you identify them. How many injured?"

"Twenty one, as far as we know, my lady. We do not know on Tirèze's side."

"You can ask one of king Darius' soldiers to..."

"Lady Vara," Darius cleared his throat. It was clear that he was fighting hard to remain calm. "If I could have a moment of your time for your staff to have my men situated. We have rushed to your aid the moment your rider arrived at Salvire. The least you could do is provide..."

Vara turned to him with narrowed eyes. "And we thank you for your swift response, king Darius. As you can see there are a lot of matters that require my attention at the moment. These people, the people that have made Boncini their home, have fought long and hard to defend it. Many are not trained for battle. Some have lost loved ones, others are injured. Making sure your men are comfortable is not their main priority right now. Their needs will be met once order has been restored."

Darius gritted his teeth. "I see you have not changed since we last met."

Vara lifted her chin at him and looked at him coldly. "It appears neither have you." She felt two gentle hands on her shoulders. "Please, my lady," she heard Chloe say quietly. Another person that had managed to appear at her side without her noticing. "Please my lady," Chloe continued, "calm yourself. We will see to the needs of our guests. It is no trouble." She was afraid Vara would rile up king Darius so much that their allies would turn against them.

"Listen to your servant, my lady. She has more sense than you," Darius hissed.

Torcan sighed and rubbed his temple. He was having a dèjávu. When would these two learn to put their differences aside and just cooperate?

Mikos stared at Vara in awe. He couldn't imagine any woman to ever speak to king Darius the way she had. She didn't back down from his temper but paid him back even. No wonder his brother admired her so. It was hard not to.

"Make way!" A shout sounded from the wall, "make way for prince Cyrus!"

The group looked up as horses came racing into the courtyard. At the front of the group were Cyrus and Iolaus. With them were about a hundred soldiers, all wearing the colors of the Aurelios family. Cyrus and Iolaus both looked around in shock. "My god, what happened here?" Iolaus breathed.

Cyrus jumped off his horse. A stable boy hurried to catch the animal. "Vara!" Cyrus shouted. The group around Vara parted to clear a path for the prince. When he reached her, he took her shoulders and studied every inch of he carefully. "Are you alright?"

Vara stared at him uncomprehending. "What took you so long?" The words had left her mouth before she could think.

"We came as fast as we could, Vara," Cyrus said.

"The South roads were blocked," Iolaus added. He had appeared at their side. "We couldn't get through. We had to fight Balor with everything we had. We lost men."

"How did Balor manage to get so far inland?" Darius now questioned.

Only now, Iolaus seemed to notice who else was here. 'King Darius," he said surprised, and he bowed lightly, "you came to aid Boncini?"

"Where is Iason?" Cyrus questioned while looking around.

"He hasn't returned yet," Vara said softly. The reminder made her tremble in fear. He had not returned yet.

A frown appeared on Cyrus' face. "Returned? Returned from where?"

"The fortification," Vara answered distracted. Her eyes roamed the courtyard, hoping against better knowledge that somehow he would appear.

"What fortification?" Cyrus asked confused.

Vara frowned at him. "In the North, the one that had been attacked." When she received no reaction, she shook her head confused. "He rode out with half our troops. It was a set up. Did the messenger not tell you?"

Cyrus only blinked at her, so it was Iolaus who answered. "There was no messenger, Vee."

Vara only stared at him.

"Then how did you know how to come here?" Darius questioned suspiciously.

Cyrus now turned to him and gave him a cold look. "If you must know, my father has had his informants in place since the day Vara moved in here. They were the ones to inform my father about strange activities near here."

Iolaus placed a hand on Vara's shoulder. "Cyrus and I were away at Verene when the message arrived. We joined the soldiers on our return."

Vara blinked. "The king has informants to watch Boncini?"

"Yes, Vara," Cyrus said, "for times like these. He wanted to make sure you are protected. I have not known for long myself."

"So you did not receive a message from Boncini?" Vara asked again. She could feel the blood drain from her face. The messengers had been intercepted. What had become of the riders? "We need to find them," she said, "they might be alive. We need to get them back."

"My lady, you should rest," Drusus spoke up.

Vara shook her head. "I'll rest later. There are things that need to be taken care of."

"My lady, please," Chloe said, "you haven't slept since the start of the attack. Prince Cyrus, please talk to her."

"How long since the attack?" Iolaus questioned.

"It took the rider two days to reach us," Torcan answered, "Salvire is a day's ride. Then we have been fighting here. So three, perhaps four days."

Cyrus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Vara..." he began.

Vara gave him an even look. "There is too much to do."

"I'll do it," Cyrus said.

She glared at him. "This is my home. I am responsible for Boncini."

Cyrus narrowed his eyes. "And I am the crown prince. My orders outweigh yours. Go inside. Eat and rest. I'm taking over command here." He didn't like playing that card, but it was the only way to make her listen.

Vara gritted her teeth. She knew she couldn't oppose him. It would undermine his authority as crown prince, even if she was his sister. "I can't rest until I know Iason is safe," she said.

"I will ride out to look for him," Iolaus spoke gently, "I will take a few men with me."

Vara nodded gratefully. "Thank you."

Mikos glanced at king Darius and bowed. "My king, with your permission, I would like to join." He wetted his lips nervously. "I rode side by side with lord Iason when we rode to Lavos, my king. I would like to join the search."

Darius thought a moment, but then gave a nod. "Very well. You may join, but not alone. You will take an escort with you. The heir of Salvire is a valuable prize and we do not know if there are still Balor warriors in the area waiting to ambush."

Mikos bowed. "My king."

Cyrus looked at Vara again. "Will you rest now? You know I will not let you join the search. I will handle other matters here. If we hear anything about Iason, you will be the first to know."

"Come, my lady," Drusus spoke, "I will take you inside." He took Vara's arm and guided her towards the main house.

Cyrus let out a heavy breath and turned to Chloe, the servant closest to him. "Chloe," he said gently, "are there rooms available for king Darius and his company? For Iolaus and myself as well."

Chloe curtsied. "We will ready the guest rooms, my prince. Please inform me how many you require. I'm afraid the soldiers will have to join the Boncini guard in the barracks."

Cyrus turned to Darius. "Are there any lords with your company?"

"Lord Mikos di Salve," Darius answered, "heir of Salvire. Torcan will share quarters with me."

Cyrus nodded and looked at Chloe again. "Three rooms. I will sent a few men to the nearby village to arrange food and wine, so no need to concern yourself with that. I am sure the people here have other matters to tend to."

"It would be most welcome, Your Highness," Chloe curtsied, "your Highness, may I request for a physician to be sent as well? We have many injured. Philip, our stablemaster, did what he could, but he is only one person."

Cyrus nodded seriously. "Of course."

Chloe nodded her head and curtsied again. She hurried away to make arrangements. It would take a while, she knew, for everything to be prepared. She didn't even know where half the staff was at the moment. Everything was still chaotic.

Around her, the cleanup had begun. Bodies were being carried away, horses rounded up, people were comforting each other.

Chloe entered the house and first checked up on Lykander. He was sitting on a bench in the kitchen, his arm in a sling. Their daughter was on his lap, happily chatting away.

A sigh of relief escaped Chloe's mouth. She had been lucky. She could have lost him today.

He looked up at her approach and smiled warmly. "Are you alright, love? Have things settled down outside?"

Chloe gave a nod. "Prince Cyrus arrived just now."

Lykander studied her carefully. "Are you alright?" he knew she had a history with the prince, a past she didn't like to talk about.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Chloe nodded, "he took over command for now. He sent lady Vara to get some rest. Drusus escorted her inside I think."

Lykander chuckled softly. "Oh, she was here, but she already ran off again somewhere."

Chloe couldn't help but let out a laugh. "As expected." She sighed. "Will you be alright here? I need to prepare a few guestrooms."

Lykander frowned. "They are putting you to work at a time like this? We almost lost Boncini."

"It's not much work," Chloe assured him, "the rooms are always kept in order. All I need to do is light the hearth and take off the coverings. The soldiers will bring in food from the village, so I won't have to prepare a meal."

"Good," Lykander nodded, "it is ridiculous that these lords take us for granted. They shouldn't expect you to wait on them at a time like this."

Chloe cupped his face and kissed him. Then she kissed their daughter. "Those lords came to our aid. If they hadn't, who knows where we'd be? I have heard what Balor does to those they conquer. I am not proud of my history with the prince, but I could have said no. Balor would not show me that courtesy."

Lykander sighed sadly and gently took her hand "I won't ever let anyone hurt you."

Chloe smiled back at him. "I know that." She pressed his hand before releasing it. "Let me prepare the rooms and then we too can get some rest." She kissed him and rushed to finish her chores. She was ready to go to sleep and forget all about the past few days. Though she knew it would take a long time before she would lose the fear completely.