Once everybody is at the entrance, the so-called founder of the Rebel Army makes her way to the fortress. Much to the group's surprise, the founder of the army is none other then Risty herself. Risty also becomes surprised upon seeing Nathan as well as Airi and Alleyne.
"I didn't expect to see you so soon Nathan."
"Neither have I. A lot of things have changed since we last left the Continent."
"I am sure that people here have told you by now how much has changed. Those changes are the reason why I founded the Rebel Army."
"After hearing that from Annelotte, I realized that there is something wrong with this world since peace was suppose to be established since Claudette became Queen and now it is the opposite of what I hoped for, which is why me and my friends here decided to join the Rebel Army."
"Glad to see that you are back my friend. We actually have planned for a surprise attack on Queen Claudette's castle for quite some time and today, the plans of the attack will be revealed to those that will be participating. We will talk later on once we have more time."
"You might want to take it easy on that Risty, we still haven't recruit enough soldiers yet for a full scale attack." Annelotte protested.
"I never said this would be a full scale attack. What I have in mind is an ambush, although I would need a decent size army in order to raid the castle. We can still recruit more members, but a move has to be made in hopes that we can at least delay the Queen and her army from coming to us. From what I have seen, they are currently hunting us like vultures so we have to be careful. Annelotte, do you mind calling volunteers for the meeting?"
"It shall be done." Annelotte leaves the room still concerned over Risty's plan of ambush.
Unknowingly to them, Nowa heard everything from the trees and left without saying a word. Once everyone willing to participate, including Nathan and Airi, is gathered in a small conference room, Risty prepares to unveil her plan of action to the group, but before she can, Nathan notices that some people who volunteered aren't even here.
"Hey Risty, Alleyne and Annelotte wanted to take part in the ambush as well, but why aren't they here?"
"A fair question. You see, the Queen's Army has already planned to attack our fortress for days and Intel states that the attack might be today, so I needed the rest to guard this place with someone to lead them. Even if they didn't attack, we still need our fighters to be alive and well should the attack fail. Do you think that makes sense to you?"
"I guess that makes sense with the Queen's superior army and even if we bring down the Queen, we still have to take care of the Orcs and whoever their new leader is."
"Exactly, which is why many of us wanted to overthrow the Queen as quickly as possible. Now on to the plan, as you can see, most of the Queen's Army is patrolling every city within the Continent, the same army she has used in an attempt to get us out. The Orcs mainly patrol through ruins and forests so as long as we don't get too close, we should be able to avoid them. I am not going to say that there will be no resistance once we enter the castle, because we all know the Queen is not stupid enough to leave her kingdom defenseless. That is where all of you will come in. Our raid will include opening the gates in order to allow you to enter the castle to distract the guards while we make our way to the Queen. Nathan, I am going to need you to come with me in order to overthrow Claudette. Airi, use your lesser spirits to provide the signal for when the gates our open, understand?"
"Of course, but one question, what are you going to do to her once you capture her. She, along with some of her army are also our former friends."
"I am well aware of that. However, there are times when we have to make tough decisions like this. I don't like doing this as much as you do, but many homes were destroyed and many lives were lost because of her. We have to save what is left remaining. What you want to do with them is up to you, but we can't allow Claudette to continue her tyrannical rule."
Airi turns to Nathan. "What do you think? Will you be okay with what we have to do?"
"I don't really want to turn against my former friends, but with what is going on right now, do you think I have a choice?"
Nathan turns to Risty. "Would we have to kill them in order to achieve victory?"
"We don't have to kill them, but with how stubborn they are, we have to find some way for them to relinquish the Queen's thrown."
"Has anyone ever tried to take the castle before?"
"A couple of times with the previous Queen, Aldra. However, all of them failed due to interference from a demon that inhabits her body, but it is gone now so we shouldn't worry about such thing anymore."
"Doesn't seem like it with the Orcs coming here in the Continent."
"That is why people are desperate to overthrow the Queen, so they can focus on the campaign of taking out the Orcs next."
"Very well. When do we start?"
"Tonight. Nights are often the best time to plan an ambush and that's what we are going to do."
Once night hits, the Rebel Army wasted no time in getting to the castle. Using some of Airi's lesser spirits, they are able to fly over the castle, taking out the night guards before they are able to spot them. One of the spirits signaled the army to move forward, which consist of no more than 200 soldiers, which is only a fraction of the entire army back at the fortress.
However, Claudette still sits on her thrown, aware that the Rebel Army has made their move on her.
"So they have finally showed up. It's time to set my plans into action."
Meanwhile, Nathan follows Risty throughout the castle. Apparently, Risty knows the castle well enough to lead them to the Queen, something that surprises Nathan and Airi.
"How exactly do you know where you are going around the castle?" Nathan asked.
"After I founded the Rebel Army, I got caught by some of Claudette's forces and was imprisoned in her castle for quite some time, but not before she showed me the halls leading to the dungeon."
"So how did you get out of your cell?"
"I had help coming from someone known as Maria. I don't know who she is, but she appears to be aiding the Rebel Army, even though she is not a part of it."
"Looks like we have help from the unexpected."
Once they reach the room, they begin turning the wheel to open the gate. Airi continues to watch over the lookout tower and sees a couple of the Queen's soldiers standing guard as if they knew that they were coming.
"I've got a bad feeling about this."
Back at the fortress, Legolas and Alleyne continue to have conversations with each other as they stand outside of the fortress, waiting for a possible attack.
"So who do you think will attack us first? The Orcs or the Queen's Army?" Legolas asked.
"I would say that the Orcs are more likely to find us since the fortress is closer to the forest than to her kingdom."
"Maybe so. Remember that most of the Orcs are heavily armored, so it is best to hit them under the arm or the neck."
"Point taken. How many do you think will come?"
"Not sure, but when I only had an army of 500 to back me up, Saruman sends 10,000 Uruk-Hai to fight against us. It was a tough battle, but we won in the end."
"10,000 huh? Based on how many we got, it wouldn't be a surprise if he sent probably 30,000 against us." Alleyne laughs at this possibility.
Legolas smirked. "You can keep laughing all you want at this fact, but with the strength they have now, they can't afford to send more than 1,000 against us, which means that we outnumber them. However, it is still best not to underestimate them."
"You said that you and your buddy Gimli had an Orc slaying contest right?"
"It was what kept us going throughout almost every war we fought together."
"Then how about I challenge you to one to keep ourselves going?" Alleyne smiles at Legolas.
"I thought you were sensitive about the issue."
"Might as well try something that keeps us going, especially when it comes to the creatures that destroyed my tribe. So what do you say?"
Legolas smiles back. "You are on."
Annelotte rushes to Legolas and Alleyne to tell them to get ready. "Orcs are in sight. The Rebel Army is preparing right now for combat and I advice you to do the same. All the traps have been prepared though."
"How many are coming?" Alleyne asked.
"Approximately 500 are on the way, but they are coming from the forest so it is hard to determine their exact numbers."
"Understood. Legolas, let's head to the battlefield." Legolas and Alleyne immediately rushes to Annelotte's direction and took sight of the small army heading their way."
Outside the castle, the army waits anxiously to enter, but began to grow frustrated that Airi hasn't summon the spirit yet to charge. Just as the gate open, Nathan and Risty suddenly heard one of the guards screaming they are under attack. Knowing that they have been exposed, they escaped to the gate to avoid detection.
Nathan sees Airi on the tower and tells her to signal the troops. "Airi, the Queen knew our plan from the very beginning! We have to signal the troops now or risked being imprisoned or killed!"
Airi nodded in response and sends a spirit towards the Rebel Army. When the spirit begins circling around, they knew that it is time to charge. The army wasted no time in making their move and easily took out the guards outside of the gate. At the same time, a small army comes out from the castle heading to the gate and becomes a full battle, which was not intended. Refusing to abandon the army, Risty, Nathan, and Airi immediately went into combat in hopes that they can slowly make their way to the Queen.
To their surprise, however, Claudette willingly steps outside to the battlefield, wanting to see what the current situation is with the battle. Four of the soldiers attempted to attack the Queen, but she easily waves them off with her blade, Thunderclap, releasing electrical energy towards the foes. Seeing this act causes Nathan to charge at Claudette, but she attempts to do the same attack to prevent him from coming closer. Nathan attempts to hold off the attack with his sword, but the energy continues to push him away, while he makes his own attempt to reach Claudette. Nathan was able to get close enough to see Claudette's eyes, only to find them to be lifeless.
"Claudette, what happened to you?" Nathan asked her, but received no response.
"Surround them." Claudette ordered.
Soon enough, reinforcements have arrived and begin to turn the tables on the Rebel Army, surrounding the gate to prevent their escape. This has led to a stalemate between the two forces, with the Rebel Army surrounded.
"Have them imprisoned for defying order."
Before the Queen's Army can get too close, Nowa suddenly comes from above and begins attacking the Queen's Army, clearing the gate for the Rebel Army.
Nathan becomes surprised at her sudden appearance. "Nowa?"
"Never mind that for now, get the Rebel Army out of here while you still can."
Seeing Nowa getting overwhelmed, Airi fights off some of the soldiers coming from behind. "We can't just leave you on your own."
"It will be okay. I know the Queen won't kill me. Just go before it's too late."
"What do you think that makes us if we abandon an ally? Think about Alleyne." Nathan screamed.
Nowa briefly looks at Nathan, who is just as dismayed about leaving her. "Tell Instructor that all of us will meet again. I promise you I will be back."
Nathan and Risty reluctantly obeyed and call for the Rebel Army to retreat, which they did.
"Should we get the guns to stop them your Majesty?" Claudette's advisor asked.
"No, we already have them running like this so it would be pointless to waste what is very limited."
"Understood." The advisor heads back into the castle.
Once the last of the surviving Rebel Army leaves the castle, Nowa stops fighting and becomes wrapped in chains by the Queen's forces.
"You should have left while you had the chance. It is too late now. Throw her into the dungeon." Claudette heads back into the castle as well, seeing that the battle is over as Nowa is being escorted.
With what is left of the Rebel Army, Nathan, Risty, and Airi make their way back to the fortress, only to see many dead bodies of Orcs surrounding the place and being discarded by the rest of the army. Annelotte takes sight of them and immediately rushes to see that a small part of the army is gone.
"I am guessing that the ambush didn't go to well, did it?"
"Claudette knew of our plan the whole time before we even reached their castle and as a result, we lost more than 30 soldiers!" Nathan yells in frustration.
Airi grabs hold of Nathan in an attempt to calm him. "Nathan, we are all just as affected by the losses we suffered as you are, but we should also be glad that the Rebel Army would be able to fight another day. We still have another chance to stop her."
Airi turns to see the army discarding the dead bodies. "I see that you had better luck than we did in fighting."
"We lost about 20 soldiers, but, nonetheless, destroyed the entire army sent to us. Legolas and Instructor were especially effective in battle today. The game they played on who gets to kill the most Orcs really kept them going."
"I thought Alleyne was sensitive about that issue." Nathan pointed out.
"Ask them." Annelotte turns to Alleyne and Legolas, who are also helping to discard the bodies, apparently also talking to each other about how many they killed.
"How many did you have Legolas?"
"A disappointing 31. What about you?"
"38 and I am never doing this again. I feel bad playing such a game that involves killing, even though we are in a battle."
"I don't really enjoy the thought of killing this much either, but I was able to keep going because Gimli challenged me. No way am I going to force you to do such a thing so try not to worry too much."
"I guess it is my fault for suggesting to try it. I wonder how the others are doing."
"You might want to turn around. It looks like they didn't do as good as we did."
Alleyne did what Legolas told her to do, only to see that the army's morale has decreased after they returned and both goes to see them.
"I see that things didn't go so well with the raid." Alleyne becomes concerned with Nathan's displeasure.
"Like I said to Annelotte, Claudette knew of our plan from the very beginning. I figure she wouldn't leave herself unguarded."
"It's sad that not all of you survive, but at least most of you were able to survive the fight."
Nathan looks up at Alleyne. "We actually had a little help from someone unexpected. I am afraid that it might dishearten you to find out who did."
"What exactly are you talking about Nathan? Who helped all of you escape?"
"The one who helped us escape was your friend Nowa."
Hearing her name puts Alleyne in shock that her former student suddenly appears in the raid.
"What? Nowa showed up to fight? Why isn't she with you?" Alleyne becomes desperate.
"She sacrificed herself for us to escape. We tried to get her to come with us, but couldn't get through to her."
Alleyne grabs a firm hold of Nathan out of frustration. "You mean you just left her there to die?"
"I tried to take her with me, but she promised that she would see us again. I want to believe that so you should to."
"She said that, huh? I don't know if I can believe that."
"Don't worry too much. She knows that Claudette won't kill her, which is why she gave herself up. We will rescue her if she remains trapped there."
"Once that time comes, take me with you."
"And me too." Legolas intervenes.
"If she has a friend out there then I want to save her. After all, I promised to help you revive your tribe after this is over and there is no better way to start off then having more friends by your side."
"Thank you Legolas. We will come to Nowa's rescue when the time comes."
"Or when she escapes. I got a feeling she wasn't alone when she entered the fight." Nathan points out.
Back in the castle, Nowa's monkey Lou helps Nowa break out of her restraints after hiding in her clothing after the battle. Nowa then stares outside of her cell window and smiles at the night sky.
"It looks like we will all meet again sooner than expected, isn't that right Lou?"
Lou nodded at Nowa's statement and stares at the night sky with her.
As you can see, the castle raid scene was inspired by the movie, Prince Caspian. I didn't put too much detail due to lack of knowledge in some parts and it would be too much of a burden if I did add it. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I honestly don't know when the next one will be released so don't look too close ahead, but it will continue.