Leaning forward, I stretched myself out over Flecha, allowing him to stretch his legs and carry us both back to the keep where I would be able to get proper armour on not only myself but also on Flecha. I knew that there was a very good chance that we would not make it through this fight. In fact it was almost a guarantee, which made it even clearer to me that we had one shot and one shot only: for this reason, full armour was crucial.

Launching myself off of Flecha, I wasted no time in reaching the armour rack, and quickly, took the armour and swung it over Flecha's back, causing the stallion to prance in fear, but I had no time to worry about him, and he seemed to understand this. Gradually I got all of his armour fitted into place, and now it was my turn and soon after I found that we were ready.

I guided Flecha into a gallop from the ground, and only when we were out of the courtyard did I swing myself onto his back and guide him up the hill where I knew Arthur and Feonaro were waiting, and sure enough they soon came into my line of sight. However, Arthur only realized that I was there when I pulled up beside him. His reaction was one of utter shock.

"Mer?"

"The one and only," I replied, giving him a small smile.

"Leave, Mer, it's too dangerous," he said as he looked back out onto what would soon become a battlefield; but I did not move. "Go!" he ordered me, but my only reply came in a smile.

"Arthur, listen to me, and listen carefully," I began. "I love you like my own brother, but this is where I belong, here, on this battlefield, with you, fighting for our brothers and the ones that we love, not running away from this with our tails between our legs." I held his gaze the entire time and was relieved when I saw him slowly nod.

"Alright," he agreed, and then added: "I am glad to have you with me, Mer." For that the only reply that I could give was a nod, as I too turned my attention to the doom that loomed ahead of us.

I was shocked out of my thoughts by the sound of hooves thundering up from behind us, and turned to see Lancelot ride up on the other side of Arthur with Tempest and give Arthur a grin; it appeared that by now Arthur was no longer willing to argue with us and our stupid judgement. I should have known that we would never leave each other in danger, as Gawain, Galahad, Bors, Dagonet and Tristan rode up to us, not long after Lancelot. That was when I knew that we were all prepared to stand by one another and fight to the death, just for a chance at freedom that we could all share together.

In the distance, we could see the Saxon army moving. Arthur took this as his queue as he urged Feonaro out in front of us and slowly began to ride him from Tristan all the way to Gawain.

"Knights! The gift of freedom is yours by right," he began. "But the home we seek resides not in some distant land. It's in us and in our actions on this day. If this be our destiny, then so be it. But let history remember that, as free men and women, we chose to make it so."

With that he brought Feonaro back to stand between Lancelot and myself, and drawing his sword he yelled: "RUS!" It was as chorus that we all joined in with, an act on Arthur's part that sealed the pact of standing with us and fighting to the death for the freedom that we had been deprived of for so long. The great horses beneath us understood and chimed in with their own chorus of cries as they pranced powerfully beneath us.

When it was over, we each stuck the war banners into the ground. Tristan proceeded to pull his bow out and point it in the direction of the Saxons. He scanned the horizon, selecting carefully his first kill, until finally he settled for a tree, where he released the arrow, and true like a lion to his prey, the arrow found its target in a spy that had been hiding cowardly in the tree. Within seconds the spy dropped to the ground dead, and with that the greatest battle that we would ever witness began, a battle that would claim us to the fiery depth of hell for all eternity or set us free to roam the lands as we chose.

Arthur gave a sharp kick to Feonaro, giving him his head, and this was our cue that the battle had begun. Flecha quickly fell into step behind Bors as we rode into the black smoke that would reveal our fate. The smoke was so heavy that I had no choice but to let Flecha find his footing and guide me into battle.

Battle cries rang out through the air, in particular I could hear the distinct cry of Bors; but I knew that to survive I had to block everything else out; I could not let myself be distracted by anything. With this I blocked out the world that was around me and focused on the powerful gait of Flecha, his deep breathing, his strong heartbeat that vibrated through the heavy armour and collided powerfully with my own as we became one force; and then it came.

The smoke cleared and before me was an army of confused and terrified Saxons. My task was clear: I had to fight to survive. With one final deep breath, I plunged my sword into the heart of the first Saxon that came before me. Red was everywhere! This was the fiercest battle I had seen yet, there was little I could do other than go with the heavy rhythm of the bloodshed. I could not see the others but I could hear them, and then, just like that, it was over. I once again rode into the blackness of the smoke. Once we were clear of the blanket of darkness, I turned Flecha around on his haunches and waited with the others, for the next wave of arrows delivered by the Woads. It was clear from the cries that I could hear from beyond the smoke that the arrows had struck true.

I looked to Arthur and waited for his signal that we should deliver the next wave of attacks; Arthur waited only for a moment till he was certain that there were no rogue arrows that could possibly be a threat to us, before he gave the signal for the next wave of attacks. This fast-paced rhythm continued for another five rounds, always staying two steps ahead of the Saxons and always praying against all odds that our plan would succeed.

When the last Saxon had fallen we pulled back to the safety of the hill. I knew that there were more to come but when they came through the arch I was taken aback at just how many, and dread immediately began to fill me. How could we possibly defeat such a force? As I looked around at the others, it was obvious that they were thinking along the same lines.

I was jolted out of my thoughts by Flecha who danced with nervous anticipation beneath me. I placed my hand on his crest in an attempt to calm him. "Easy boy, just a little longer," I told him. It did not do all that much to calm him, but what could I do, I would be lying if I gave him false hope. I glanced over to Arthur waiting for his signal only to find that he was looking at the Woads who had brought catapults forward. When all was in place he moved Feonaro forward and, with a thrust of this sword into the air, gave the signal for the Woads, and they launched their flaming arrows towards the Saxons.

The Saxons appeared to be two steps ahead of our plan and raised their shields in protection, but it was to no avail. A few of the arrows hit their marks in various body parts of the Saxons, but that was not their ultimate destination.

A few arrows managed to find their true mark but it was enough, within seconds the Saxon army had been split by a blazing inferno, as the barrels of hay which had been soaked with oil turned into meter high flames, effectively terrifying and disorientating our opponents. From our right I heard a loud battle cry, and within moments we could see the movements of the Woads as they charged onto the battle field with all of the might and courage that they could muster.

This was the sign that Arthur was waiting for. As he drove Feonaro forward, the rest of us plunged right after him, and we thundered down the hill to the fate that awaited us. It was not long before I could feel heat and, looking up, I was met by the sight of fire balls which had been released from the catapults, and as they exploded before the Saxons they turned the already bloody battlefield into the fiery depth of hell.

I held on tighter to my sword as I sat deeper in the saddle and waited for the impending impact. I could see Tristan shooting arrows and delivering blow after blow as we approached our enemy. Looking ahead I could see Arthur and Lancelot plough through the sea of Saxons, slicing their way through.

Beneath me, Flecha plunged deeper and it was enough to get my attention, for before me was a barricade of Saxons who were intent on cutting me off from the others. Placing my full weight onto Flecha I gave him his signal and he took off into the skies, and as we soared over the barricade I embedded my sword into one of the men before we landed into the chaos below.