The three Defenders stayed at the castle for the next couple days. Ballista's relatives soon left, and the castle was quiet once more. During those few days, the Defenders would usually disperse and do their own thing. For instance, Ballista spent the cool mornings in the nearby forest, practicing her aim. Crocness spent the warm afternoons wading in the shallow moat, and Thorne wandered around the estate when night fell.
On the fourth day of their stay, at breakfast, Flora served leftover dishes of haggis for Crocness and Thorne. In her eyes, they seemed brutal and "stony," so she thought they'd enjoy it. Crocness ate it without a problem, but Thorne thought the dish was absolutely disgusting. However, he didn't want to look like a wimp, so he forced himself to emotionlessly choke down a few bites of it.
It was during the middle of the meal that Thorne reached the end. He couldn't take it any more. With a forced back gag, he pushed the sheep's stomach away and snatched the teapot on the table.
This better not have anything related to sheep in it, he thought angrily, pouring the hot tea into his cup. Crocness smirked as she watched him chug down the entire beverage.
Thorne was starting to wish he stayed back at the Splatalot castle. Flora was almost on his last nerve. He was supposed to be the Thorne in Flora's side, but she was becoming the thorn in his side!
Just as Thorne finished drinking, and was taking deep breaths of relief, Ballista returned from her "forest walk." She adjusted the Splatbow on her back and walked into the dining hall. Flora turned to her from the stove and smiled.
"Hey, sis. Hungry?"
"Starved," Ballista replied, sitting down next to Crocness.
"Want to finish my haggis?" Thorne inquired, pushing his plate over to the huntress.
Ballista stared at the plate for a few seconds, then shook her head. "No. There's no way I'm eating that."
"Don't worry, I'll make some eggs for you," Flora stated, heading towards the refridgerator.
Thorne growled with envy. Just then, Ballista's cell phone rang. Instantly, the huntress took the communication device out of her pocket, turned it on, then held it up to her ear.
"Hello? Hey, Knightriss, what's up?" The huntress's eyes sparked. "What?"
Ballista stood up and listened to her leader's voice intently. Crocness and Thorne, suddenly interested, locked their eyes on her. After a minute or so, Ballista nodded.
"Okay. We'll be there as soon as we can."
With that, Ballista hung up, then turned to her sister back at the stove. "Hurry up with those eggs, we've gotta go."
"What happened?" Crocness inquired.
"The castle was attacked last night."
Thorne and Crocness stared at Ballista wide-eyed.
"What?" they asked together.
"The castle was attacked last night," the blonde huntress repeated. "Everyone's okay and the crown's still in our posession, but the castle was damaged quite a bit."
Thorne shot up from his seat and slammed his hands down on the table. "What idiot had the nerve to do that?" he demanded, his gray eyes blazing. "Who attacked us? Who challenged us Defenders?"
Ballista looked at the angered Thorne seriously. She stared at him for a long moment before she spoke. And what she said shocked the alchemist.
"A dragon."