Howdy again. This chapter is a bit longer than the last so I hope people find the length okay. And I'm also finding it hard to write the dog in, but I'll keep trying. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy :)
"Like this?" Rose asked, her impossibly dainty hands resting on either side of the mortar as she glanced back at Ben, an eyebrow raised. By the strange glint in her eye that Ben had admired on several occasions, he had no doubt that the woman in front of him was a fierce Hero. But sometimes he only caught sight of her graceful and delicate frame, looking even more so with it being overwhelmed in male clothing, and it seemed unlikely that Rose, who seemed to have just reached womanhood in the past couple of years, could take on a leaf in a windy day, never mind a battalion of Hollow Men. But then Ben's gaze always returned to those eyes and everything made sense.
Clearing his throat, Ben stepped forward, lifting an arm to vaguely gesture at Rose's hands. "Well you could try firing like that," Ben said, dry humour in his voice, "But then there would be the chance of maiming so I wouldn't recommend it."
Rolling her eyes, the Princess scoffed, turning her attention back to the mortar. Her brow wrinkled as she glanced at her hand positions, obviously trying to figure out a safer alternative. It was also obvious to Ben that she wasn't going to ask for instructions a second time. Here stood, well crouched, a proud woman who took offence at herself at the slightest mistake.
"Here," Ben sighed, this time his voice more gentle as he could see the Princess twisting her face up in annoyance at herself. Ben knelt down on one knee behind Rose and carefully shifted her hands the minuscule amount they needed to be moved to be in the right position. "There. Less chance of maiming this way."
Rose shot a smirk over her shoulder, causing Ben to only just realise how close they were. For the briefest of moments the pair just starred at each other, both seemingly unwilling to move, until Rose whispered softly, "Ben?"
"Yes, Princess?" he responded, curiously, her soft murmur slightly startling him.
"Can I have my hands back now?" Rose laughed loudly, her face cracking in to a wide grin at Ben's reaction. That was definitely not what he expected.
Covering up well, Ben rolled his eyes upward as he twisted his mouth in to a thoughtful expression before snapping his icy blue eyes back to the Princess. "Nope, I'm good here, thanks," Ben joked, raising his eyebrows up playfully, earning himself a laugh from Rose and a not so gentle nudge in the ribs.
"I'm sure you'll pick it up" Ben said, still slightly chuckling as he straightened up, noticing Jammy coming towards them for the first time so he raised his voice to introduce the two, "Ah, first I'll like you to meet Private Jammy. So called because he's the luckiest sod in the fort. He'll be your loader." Glancing down at Rose, he could see the look of confusion of her pale face as she took in the man walking, or rather hobbling, towards them. From head to toe he was covered in bandages and she cast Ben another look, her brow scrunched up, causing another small bout of chuckling from Ben.
"It's true what they say about me y'know," the man called Jammy said as he came to a stop, sniffing slightly, "Jammiest soldier in Albion; seven hundred and twenty-four wounds and still standing," he finished off proudly, a sloppy grin on his face as he wiped his nose on his tunic.
If Ben was close to laughter before, now he was fit to burst trying to keep himself from chuckling at the Princess' reaction. She was staring at Jammy is partially veiled disbelief, her nose scrunching up every time he sniffed or wiped his nose messily.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to him," Ben chuckled, earning himself his own look of disbelief from Rose causing another bout of laughter, "After a while he's hardly revolting at all. But lets get started."
Ben turned to Jammy, giving him a slight nod. He noticed the Princess seemingly steeling herself, puffing a strand of hair away from her face that had escaped from under her hat. So tempted to gently take the offending piece of hair, Ben focused on the patch of land in front of the fort, as Jammy started rattling off instructions, to stop himself from reaching forward.
"Right, see that scarecrow over there?" Jammy asked and Rose immediately nodded, her sight already focused intently on the fluttering scraps of fabric.
"Blow it up," Jammy said. Ben didn't miss the menace in his voice, and apparently neither did Rose who cast her loader a strange glance before focusing back on the target. As the shell was loaded, Rose squinted without a break in concentration, and when she heard the reassuring thunk of the the ammunition reaching the bottom of the mortar, she took up aim swiftly and lit the fuse.
"Careful!" Ben hissed, worried at the pace the Princess was going. On the walk up to the wall she confessed she had never used a mortar before. The Captain had seen some of his men, who were far more experienced than this Princess, lose a limb or sight, or even their lives, through carelessness when handling the mortar.
Before Ben had time to say anything else, the mortar went off, causing Rose to recoil slightly and her dog, who was just settling down to a nap, to whine grumpily. Her gaze was hungrily fixed to where the scarecrow once stood. As the smoke cleared, Ben's eyes widened to see the target completely obliterated as it was hit dead centre. His eyes flickered to Rose who was now sitting on her rump because of the recoil, her legs spread either side of the mortar.
But it was her face that made Ben grin. She was now looking over her shoulder at him, her expression a delicate mix of surprise at what she had done and a smugness at pulling it off, despite Ben's worries. She reminded him exactly of a child caught doing something they know they shouldn't have been doing, but being proud of their actions anyway.
"Not bad, huh?" Rose said, smirking before looking at her outstretched arms, a fake look of surprise on her face, "And look! No maiming!"
"Yeah, yeah," Ben murmured, rolling his eyes but with a smile on his face, "Let's just keep it that way, Princess. Don't want to scar that pretty face of yours." Ben gave a playfully wink, getting himself a pout in return, making him laugh even more. It was strange. He was sure he had laughed more in the minutes since Rose arrived than in all the weeks he had been stationed at the fort.
Jammy, who had seemingly ignored all their banter, was practically bouncing up and down, as he sniffed louder than ever. "Yes! Yes! Boom!" Jammy yelled excitedly, effectively putting an end to the interaction between Ben and Rose, "On to the next one!"
Casting one last look over her shoulder, Rose and Ben smirked at each other before Rose positioned the mortar as Jammy loaded it up. Once again at the thunk of being loaded, Rose squinted at the target, her tongue held between her teeth ever so slightly. This time Rose looked behind at Ben before lighting the fuse, using a small flickering flame she created in her palm rather than the conventional method.
Ben couldn't help but stare. He knew the old King was a Hero, but he never saw the King actually use magic. As he watched the dancing flame, his first experience of magic, or Will as he would later learn, he figured he must look like some awestruck country bumpkin. He guessed that because just before lighting the fuse he heard the Princess' soft laughter.
"Show off," Ben muttered, trying to gain some composure to his stunned features but again the Princess chuckled, and for the second time that evening Ben knew he was fighting a losing battle.
Once more the mortar roared, cutting off any retort the Princess had, and once more Rose completely destroyed the scarecrow. Ben couldn't help but mutter his admiration while Jammy was getting overexcited. Again.
"Yes!" Jammy snorted, wiping his nose on his sleeve, "Goodbye, Mr Scarecrow! That was bloody brilliant!"
"Alright, Jammy," Ben couldn't help but joke, "Don't get too excited. You know what happens when you do." He turned to Rose, pretending to miss Jammy's lighthearted scowl, and truly smiled, rather than his normal cocky smirk, "That was beautiful." He was surprised at how glad she seemed at earning his praise, but her beaming smile made his smile widen as he pointed to the last scarecrow before saying, "Let's just take care of the last one."
At this Jammy's head snapped round, and Ben stepped forward cautiously. Being usually carefree and full of jokes, Ben knew that such a reaction from Jammy only meant the worst trouble. Even the Princess seemed to sense it, who slowly got up from the ground to get a better view of the field ahead.
"Hang on," Jammy said slowly at last, "I don't remember setting that one up..." he trailed off just as the scarecrow seemed to burst from its supports. It seemed to come alive, but as Ben heard the menacing growl and saw the eyes starting to glow, Ben knew it was anything but. It was a Hollow Men. And it seemed to have brought friends.
"They're here!" Ben screamed down in to the fort. Many of the men were standing down, thinking the Hollow Men only attacked at night. Squinting up at the sky, Ben knew there must be at least an hour left of daylight and cursed at himself under his breath for letting the camp fall so unprepared.
"Start firing!"
In an instant his rifle was off his back and he was kneeling besides the Princess who skilfully returned to manning the mortar. The air was suddenly alive with groans of the dead awakening, a dog's barks, the shots of rifles and occasionally the deafening crash of the mortar.
Quicker than he thought possible night fell, causing more Hollow Men to claw their way out from their shallow graves. It wasn't until then that Ben realised it wasn't just one of the usual raids. Instead it was a full attack from the whole Hollow Men regiment, and no matter how many she took out, Rose wouldn't be able to stop the army from beating at the fort's doors.
Cursing under his breath again, Ben signalled for the mortar to fall silent, the Hollow Men getting too close to the walls to do any real damage. Twisting her face, Rose fired one last shell, glaring offensively at the mass still writhing below before spinning on her heel, joining Ben's side with her rifle already in hand.
Looking over, Ben saw her eyes, so full of playful light mere minutes ago, turn hard with a mysterious wildness in them that Ben had never seen in anyone's else's gaze. Rose suddenly turned her head, meeting Ben's gaze as though he felt his eyes on her skin. The two shared a last look which ended with a nod from the Captain in Ben and a grim smile from the Princess before the pair jumped from the wall, both landing effortlessly in the swarm of men below preparing for siege.
Neither spoke a word in the tense silence but they matched each other's strides, coming to rest next to each other in the long line of bristling rifles pointed toward the barricaded fort doors. Of course Ben knew that couldn't keep them out. Not when they had the oh so handy ability of abandoning their bodies to become wisps, free to roam as they pleased until they found another host.
But nobody wanted to break the illusion that the fort could be defended by some mere wooden supports against the door. Instead a tense silence filled the courtyard, the moans and wails of Hollow Men dancing in the wind.
And then the world shattered.
Wisps plunged in to the grounds. Hollow Men screeched in to life. Rifles shattered the night air, followed by the cries of men, both enraged and wounded.
It always surprised Ben how quickly they were submerged in to battle. Suddenly they were drowning in foes, the wails and cries of dying men haunting the frigid air. For one brief moment in all the previous battles Ben always thought that it would be his end.
But this time they had a Hero.
Rose, although small, was fast. Very fast actually, Ben would give her that. Swapping her rifle for the sword, she made the massacre look like a dance, and very soon Ben became her partner, covering her back as his own sword flashed through the night air.
Together they danced. Together they fought. Together they were unstoppable.
When everything seemed the still, the remaining troops standing in a sea of bones and flesh, the Princess and Captain stood back to back, both unwilling to stand down, their eyes roaming over the death before them.
It wasn't until Major Swift sent up a victory cry that the two lowered their weapons and faced each other. "I'll admit, you're pretty good with that sword of yours," Ben muttered, surprised yet again at the joy Rose seemed to get from his praise. Still, Ben couldn't help but add with a smirk," For a girl."
"Shut up, Ben!" Rose laughed, whacking him on his upper arm, which Ben was too proud to admit hurt. But just as Ben started a chuckle of his own, Rose's grin faded as her eyes flickered to something over his shoulder.
Spinning round, Ben just had time to see another wisp entering the fort, diving straight in to Lieutenant Simmons' grave. Beside him, Rose drew her sword once more, sending up a warning cry above the still cheering crowd around them.
They were forced to watch as their former friend's body was snatched by the wisp, forcing the dead limbs to claw their way through the soil to drag the putrid carcass out of its early grave.
But it didn't attack.
Rather, it seemed to stand, staring at the gathering soldiers with empty eyes.
Suddenly Rose cried another warning, and at first Ben couldn't see the threat. But when he finally realised the danger it was too late and he was caught up in the hardened wall of air the Hollow Man cast out which sent every soldier in to the darkness of the unconscious.
Ben only had time to see Rose standing small, yet defiant, against the monster she now faced alone. Reaching out a hand, Ben wished to reach her, to do something, anything, to help his Princess.
But then his hand fell in the mud and Ben knew no more.
So you liked it? I hope so. As always reviews are love. They honestly do help to get the next chapter up faster, and you have no idea how happy they make me. Until next time..