Hello again! I'm posting this chapter immediately after chapter twenty.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Watching a battle from the castle tower was infinitely different from being in it. Within seconds, Leo had a new appreciation for the soldiers fighting. It took a certain kind of courage, and a belief in what you were fighting for, to enter something like this.
Saki, though, was not the kind of soldier Leo admired. He was fighting for power, and Leo could see it in how he tore through the Daimyo's army.
"Death to the traitors!" Saki cried, "Death to those who fight under my brother's sacred banner!"
Swords crossed left and right, but Saki was a skilled fighter. Even without his armor, he managed to deflect every blow. Leo realized with a start that it might be safer, after all, to stay on the horse with his uncle's skill protecting him.
But when the opportunity came, Leo took it instantly. Saki was busy protecting his left side and there was no one immediately on the right, so Leo slipped off on the right side of the horse.
He fell hard to the ground, and was almost stepped on by his uncle's horse. Rolling quickly, he made his escape on foot, hopefully before his uncle noticed that he was missing.
Now he almost wished to be back on the horse. It was dumb luck, not skill, that prevented him from getting seriously injured as he made his way across the battlefield. Twice he almost lost a limb, but he kept on going, heading for the forest as best as he could.
Suddenly a familiar face was in front of his own, and before he could think of who it was, Usagi had pulled him behind him.
"You should not be here!" Usagi shouted, fighting a soldier from the castle.
"Where are the others?" Leo asked.
"They are safe with Splinter," Usagi said, still fighting, "We left the castle as soon as we saw the Daimyo's army arrive."
Usagi won his battle, since the soldier he had been fighting took an opportunity to run away.
"Come," Usagi said, grabbing Leo's arm, "We must get you out of here! This is no place for one who is not trained."
Usagi lead him through the battlefield until finally it was behind them. They went through the woods, the sounds of swords and shouting fading behind them, until Usagi finally brought him to an encampment among the trees.
The soldiers guarding the camp let them through, and Usagi led Leo to a large tent that surrounded one of the tallest trees Leo had ever seen.
"I have him," Usagi announced, "He is safe!"
"Good." Said a familiar voice, and Leo suddenly realized that Raph was in the tent, sitting at a square table with some other officials.
"Prince!" Leo said, and fell to his knees.
"Get up!" another voice said, "Highness, who is this?"
"Commander Bishop," Raphael said, turning to the man next to him, "This is the faithful servant I was tellin' ya about."
"So he got out of the castle after all." The man named Bishop said.
"If you will excuse me," Usagi said, bowing, "I must go rejoin the battle."
"How is it going?" Raph asked.
"I cannot say, Highness." Usagi said, "Your Royal Uncle fights well, but so does your Royal Father, and both armies are well-trained...with the exception of the Purple Dragons, of course. At the moment, the battle is undecided."
With that, Usagi bowed again and left the tent.
"So," Raph said, turning to the others around the table with him-the man named Bishop, another man and a woman, "What are we gonna do?"
"We will let your father lead the troops protecting your brothers, as he desires to do." Bishop said, pointing to some stones on the table, "Our objective is to aid him in battle however we can until the river runs."
"I just wish Donnie was here," Raph said, "He's great at all this strategy stuff."
"Which is why he's at the river right now with your brother, that girl and the annoying boy." The woman at the table said, "Right now, according to our last reports, the main force of your uncle's army is placed here, here and here." She pointed to some of the stones on the table. "To increase the effectiveness of your brother's plan, we need to move most of that army over here."
The man named Bishop looked up at Leo.
"I have an idea." He said, then to Leo, "How would you like to help win this war?"
"Anything for the True King and the Princes." Leo responded.
"Good," Bishop said, "Then we will let you lead the army."
Everyone turned to look at Bishop.
"What?" Raph asked.
"This is the best way to draw Saki out," Bishop said, "We will spread the rumor that the High Prince has entered the battle, so of course Saki will rush to meet him."
"But Father said-" Raph began.
"You will not actually be leaving the encampment," Bishop interrupted, "We will send this young lad in your place. He is about the right age."
"Won't Lord Saki realize the deception?" The mysterious woman at the table asked.
"Of course he will," Bishop said, "He isn't going to keep up the fight once he sees that this isn't the real High Prince. But by then, the bulk of his army will be here, ready to help him fight the High Prince. Hopefully the river will be running by then. If not, then we can send out these troops here, here and here to corner them into position."
"Well, what d'ya say?" Raph asked, looking at Leo, "Are you up for it?"
Leo could see so many things wrong with this plan. He had absolutely no idea how to lead an army, for one. His uncle knew he really was the High Prince, for another.
But this plan would help out his family.
"I'll do anything for you." He said.
"Good," Raph nodded, "Bishop, we've got ta make this look as real as possible."
"Agreed." Bishop said, "The soldiers will have to treat him as the real High Prince, or Saki will realize the deception before it even begins. I'll gather your father's most loyal commanders. They will keep this a secret and spread our rumor to their troops."
"And we must send for your armor, Prince Raphael." The woman said, "If the boy isn't wearing your armor, the Lord Saki will know about it and suspect something."
"Armor?" Raph frowned, "I don't have armor."
"Of course you do," Bishop said, "Your father has been saving it for you for years."
Surprisingly, it didn't take too long for Leo to get ready. He had to be fitted with his brother's armor and seated on a horse, and all the while Bishop, Raph and the woman gave him bits and pieces of advice.
The last man at the table, who had been silent the entire time Leo had seen him, finally whispered 'good luck' to him, and suddenly Leo was off, surrounded on his left, right, and back by his father's most loyal soldiers.
"You are very brave, young one, to protect your High Prince this way." The soldier on his right said to him.
"I am loyal to the Royal Family." Leo said.
"Then, Brave One," said the soldier on his left, "We who are also loyal to them stand with you. We spent years in exile, waiting for the moment when the True King would return to his kingdom. We will not fail him now."
The soldiers led Leo to a spot where the woods cleared into the battlefield.
"It is the High Prince!" One of the soldiers with Leo shouted, and the army that the Daimyo had sent with Splinter took up the cry, "The Prince! The High Prince has joined the battle!"
Leo raised his brother's sword, and with a cry spurred Raph's horse forward. The soldiers around him sprang forward with him, and while Leo kept Raph's sword raised, it was the soldiers around him who made a path for him into the battlefield.
"Soldiers!" Leo cried, taking advantage of the fact that the new soldiers here did not know Raph's voice, "I call you to arms, for the sake of my father the King!"
The fact that Leo didn't really know how to fight with a sword didn't make any difference, since the soldier's around him-including ones from the battlefield now-were the ones doing all the fighting.
Slowly but surely, they fought their way through the battlefield to get into position.
"Down with the false Steward!" Leo shouted, "Down with the three armies of Saki, the Shredder!"
No one had told Leo to announce that Saki was the Shredder. But several of the castle soldiers, as soon as they realized that the Purple Dragons and ninjas were fighting alongside them for Saki, understood him and changed sides to fight with the Daimyo's army.
"The True King, my Father, has returned!" Leo shouted, "If you are not with him, you are against him!"
The soldiers guarding Leo stopped, and Leo stopped too, because he knew that they were now in position.
"Where is my Uncle?" Leo shouted, "Send word for him to meet me here, on the battlefield!"
He didn't have to repeat himself. The word went up around the field, from the mouths of enemy and ally alike, that the High Prince was challenging his uncle.
The soldiers around him fought to keep their position, and the battle around them raged, until suddenly it stopped.
Uncle Saki was coming on his black horse. Leo could see him making his way across the field.
At that moment, Leo noticed everything around him. How everyone seemed to be waiting, how the battle had all but stopped in anticipation of their meeting. How the soldiers around him tightened their hands around their swords. How Usagi was somehow there, standing on the ground next to him, his hand on the blade Raphael had let him keep.
And Leo also noticed, ruefully, how he had no real idea how to use the sword in his hand. He had been practicing with sticks for so long, he wasn't sure he could really use a sword.
Saki was here now. He had apparently taken the time to put on his armor now, his Shredder armor. He raised his sword and pointed it towards Leo.
"Raphael!" Saki called out, "I have always liked your spirit. Renounce your father, and you will be my heir to the Kingdom."
In response, Leo shook his helmeted head.
"Then," Saki cried, "You have spelled your own doom!"
At that moment, the ninjas struck. The soldiers around Leo were suddenly busy defending themselves from foes who had not been within their sights a few seconds earlier, and Leo found himself facing Saki alone. The entire battlefield had erupted into confusion, and even Usagi was busy.
"Now," Saki said, his sword raised at Leo's head, "Fight me, if you dare!"
Leo raised his brother's sword, and Saki moved. It was all Leo could do to defend himself.
"What's the matter, Raphael?" Saki asked, "You don't wish to fight your own uncle?"
"Stand down, Shredder." Leo said, "You may defeat me, but you will not defeat your brother the King!"
Saki had aimed a blow at Leo's head, but in his surprise he missed.
"What?" He asked, looking intently at Leo, "You are not Raphael. You are-"
Then he erupted.
"LEONARDO!" He cried, saying Leo's name for the first time in years, "I will DESTROY you!"
He renewed his efforts against Leo, and the sword slashed down so fast that Leo wasn't sure he would be able to defend himself much longer.
"Defend!" Leo heard one of the soldiers near him cry, "Defend! He can't keep it up much longer!"
"TO ME!" Saki cried, even as he hacked his sword at Leo, "TO ME, EVERYONE! CONCENTRATE ALL YOUR EFFORTS HERE!"
"SOLDIERS!" Leo called out in response, "TAKE OUT THE NINJA! DRAGONS, HE WILL NOT PAY YOU!"
"What?" One of the louder Purple Dragons asked, "No payment?"
Suddenly Usagi was next to Leo, on a Castle horse. "Fight me, coward!" Usagi addressed Saki, "You know the boy has no training!"
Leo thought it was almost cruel for Usagi to call him a boy when they were both about the same age, but he had no time to argue about it. The battle around them thickened, spurred on by the battle between Leo and Saki. Usagi jumped in to fight alongside Leo, but even with the swordmaster's help, Leo wasn't sure how long the two of them would last against an infuriated Shredder.
The sounds of the battle were blending together. Screams and shouts, metal against metal, the sounds grew louder and louder. Leo's ears were starting to buzz. He even thought it started to sound like rushing water.
"RUN!" Someone near him shouted, "RUN!"
Saki paid no attention, so neither did Leo. By the time he realized that everyone around him was fleeing, foe and friend alike, it was too late.
His horse bucked, and threw him to the ground. As the noble steed galloped away, someone grabbed him.
Then the river hit.
