Kel and her soldiers emerged into the bright sunlight about fifty yards away from New Hope. They could see Lachlan and his men staving off Scanrans, barely successful. She signaled for a gallop and rushed to assist Lac. Halfway there, they were spotted by the enemy. Scanrans rushed forward to engage Kel and her people in combat. Given the chance to regroup, Lachlan and his knights battered towards Kel.
Lachlan closed in next to Kel, brandishing a sword.
"Alright, Kel?" he gasped, tossing beads of sweat from his forehead.
She smiled grimly as she parried enemy attacks with her sword. "Just fine." Peachblossom reared onto his hind-legs to kick out at a Scanran. Kel, used to these antics, calmly leaned forward and stood up in the stirrups.
The thirty knights that had come with Lachlan closed in a circle around Lac and Kel. As Peachblossom reared again, a mighty crash came from the front of New Hope. For a fleeting moment, Kel thought that the gates had buckled. Then she remembered New Hope's secret weapon: piles of boulders covered in blazebalm, ready to tumble onto attackers. When released, it would cause huge casualties. It seemed that Neal had seen it necessary to use that weapon then.
Soon all of Lac and Kel's immediate attackers were dead or had fled. Quickly, Kel, Merric, the soldiers, Lac, and the knights returned to the safety of New Hope's strong walls. They stabled their mounts and rushed to the walls. Lac stayed close to Kel's side.
Dom was coolly shooting down at the Scanrans and coordinating attacks when Kel and Lac reached him. All three ducked under the wall to confer.
"We might be able to hold out till help arrives, but it will be close. They might use ladders any time now," Dom informed them.
Kel slumped over and leaned against the wall. "I can't take it. What is going to happen?"
Lac placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. Dom scowled threateningly. Lac ignored the threat and told Kel that he could place his men along the wall. She nodded mutely. As Dom walked away, a ladder connected with the wall just above Kel's head.
She froze. Thinking fast, Dom jumped up and tried to push the ladder away. A big, dirty hand gripped him arm. Kel drew her sword and was about to kill Dom's assailant when another ladder was lifted onto the wall to the left of her. She leapt towards it before anyone could climb up. The Scanran that held Dom slid out his sword and was about to slice her throat, but Dom yelled and threw himself sideways. His momentum carried him into the blade's path. He blocked the Scanran's sword from killing Kel with his own body. Grinning, the Scanran hopped over the wall's rail and lifted his sword, preparing to bring it down on Dom's chest.
Out of nowhere, Lac hurled himself into the Scanran. The man stumbled, giving Lac the opportunity to kill him. Dom clutched a gaping shoulder-wound. Kel, after pushing the enemy's ladder back to the ground, looked over her shoulder to see Dom lying, injured, on the wall, and Lachlan standing guard over him. She grabbed the closest civilian next to her and told her to fetch Sir Neal. Soon, Neal was crouched next to his cousin, administering his gift.
In the distance Kel could see the relief soldier from Mastiff. She held back her people until the reinforcements were close enough, then allowed everyone from New Hope to engage to enemy head-on in a frontal charge. Pressured from behind also, most of the Scanrans were killed. Some surrendered.
As the refugees were cleaning up the aftermath of the battle, Kel went to visit Dom. She found Lachlan sitting on a stool next to the sergeant.
"Hello, Kel. I hope you're alright," said Lac quietly.
"Quite fine, I thank you. How's Dom?"
The sergeant in question raised his head feebly and smiled at her. "I'm fine, Kel. You're so beautiful." He screwed up his face and looked at Lachlan. "You are beautiful too. And so is Raoul. Raoul is VERY, VERY beautiful. Yes…"
"He's delirious," Neal said tensely from behind them. "He needs to sleep."
The two knights nodded and made their way out.
"You know, you saved his life back there," Kel whispered.
Lachlan sighed. "What are friends for?"
"I have to tell you something. I Love Dom. I'm sorry, Lac."
"I respect that, Kel. Thank you for being honest with me. I'll have you know, however, it's been and honor." He bowed and brushed her hand to his lips. "I'll be leaving you now. Goodbye, Keladry of Mindalen."
She stood in shock where she was as he left headquarters and collected the men under his command. After several minutes, the abused gates swung open, and Lachlan galloped off.
"I love Dom," she whispered. "I love Dom."
(A/n: YES, this is the end. I know it had a bad ending, but OH WELL. I'm getting too tired to write more. Sry there was no fluff. Hm….)