"We can't send soldiers there or anything."
"What will we do if we don't send in the soldiers?" Are we going to send animals with explosives on their backs into the village?
"Only one-third of the soldiers we send can cross that swamp." I'm not even counting the loss of goods that will occur on the road. That road is unusable."
"There is no other way to attack the village." We can't go through the terrain; it would be the same as announcing our arrival. There is strict protection on the other two sides as well because there is a forest there. We also can't guess whether the royalty has placed a scout in the forest. The only way is the swamp!
Sarah had stopped listening. These two war commanders were clueless about both war and command. This meeting was nothing but a fiasco. At the end of hours spent in fighting, the only things they would have gained would be more competition and more confusion. This had to come to an end.
Sarah turned her gaze immediately to the king waiting at the head of the long rectangular table to her left. King Arthur. The king was looking at the commanders with stern glances, one after the other. It was very clear that he was also fed up with this argument. Sarah maintained her grin. She enjoyed watching the King deal with these despicable men.
The King locked eyes with Sarah at that moment.
He roared, "Enough already!" The commanders fell silent.
The king made eye contact with all the commanders, generals, and presidents standing around the table. They all lowered their shoulders and bowed their heads. Those with sense would fear the king. A wise person would remain silent when he said to be silent and would speak when he said to speak. Sarah, despite having no fear of the king, sensed the angry and deadly aura he radiated.
She scrutinized the king. He had short chestnut hair. When he got angry – like now – his hair would fall over his eyes. She had hazel eyes. When she got angry, her colors would darken. His sharp jawline would tense, and a vein would appear on his neck. The king's eyes and body would take on the shape of his mood. Sarah would see these signs in advance. She could tell he was angry before he even got angry. It took him a while to realize that the other commanders couldn't do this.
"We did not gather here to listen to the two of you argue." The king continued. Then he turned to Sarah.
"What are you saying?"
Sarah knew that she was the only person in this room whose thoughts the king cared about. She thought so too. The only person in this room whose opinion was valuable enough to be consulted was himself.He stopped. He looked at the map for a while. Right now, whatever he said, the king would make that decision. But he shouldn't stray too far from the king. He shouldn't suspect anything.
He lifted his head from the map and looked back at the king. "I think we should enter through the farmland."
From the whole table, "What?" "how is that possible?" "This is unacceptable." Voices like "This is unacceptable" rose. The terrain was the most illogical side of the four that the village possessed for an attack. If they tried to approach the village from there, even the guards waiting in the watchtowers on the other side of the village would easily notice them. Leaving from there meant giving the guards time to call for reinforcements, receive help, and prepare. It meant absolute defeat.
Sarah knew all of this; she wanted exactly that.
The king raised an eyebrow at Sarah's response—Sarah didn't look at the other commanders. She didn't care about their opinions, and she knew the king didn't either.
"I'm listening." The king said. Sarah took a stick in her hand and, synchronized with her speech, pointed out the places she mentioned on the map.
"Last week, we conducted a raid here, and it went very well." He had organized and commanded the attack himself. He was showing his success. "as a result of this attack, the village was devastated." The people had neither a place to stay nor food to eat left. They had also burned down the warehouse. It was his idea again. While the soldiers were celebrating victory, he had gone to the food depot, which was a 5-minute horse ride from the village, carrying oil and a torch in his own hands.
"What does this mean?" said the king.
"That means," Sarah continued. "There is a village full of defenseless people that King Dain –the king of the country they are at war with– has to feed, clothe, and settle." Additionally, the destroyed village was one of the border villages. Quite far from the capital. Dain's two feet are in one shoe.
Everything he said was completely a lie. He knew that Dain had another granary in the center of another border village, completely full. Additionally, the people of Wilde were generous and helpful. The villagers who were left out in the open had already been settled. Sarah knew very well that Dain was currently filling his defense with the border villages. If they did as he said, they would definitely lose the raid.
But Sarah wanted to deal as big a blow as possible to Arthur in addition to losing this raid.
The king nodded slightly in agreement. Sarah continued speaking. "I would say let's not treat this as just a hit-and-run."Let's increase the number of soldiers. After taking the village, let's move inward.
The king raised his eyebrows. This was a crazy idea. Continuing to advance after the alarm was sounded was risky and required speed. It was impossible for them to reach the next village before help arrived. Sarah knew. But she had to blind the king.
A voice from the table said, "You're talking nonsense!" Sarah looked at the person who said that. He was one of the platoon commanders, but Sarah couldn't remember his name.
If I can't remember their name, they must be someone insignificant, he thought.
"We can't know if Dain is in a tight spot like you mentioned." What if he has already recovered? So many soldiers would be wasted in battle. Besides, we can't advance inside. A lot of soldiers means a lot of vehicles, a lot of supplies, and a lot of cargo to transport. We can't be fast enough. Let's say we did and reached the next village. After the raid on the second village, the surviving soldiers won't even be able to return. "This plan is nonsense and a waste of soldiers."
After listening to him, Sarah turned to the king without answering. Everything that was said was true and just. Sarah was fabricating separate lies to refute them all.
The king turned to Sarah after the commander's words. Sarah spoke. "I know Dain is in a tight spot because I'm clever enough to send agents disguised as merchants to the villages before the first strike." My soldiers, whether disguised as merchants or playing the role of innocent villagers who have lost their homes, gather information and relay it to me. Even though I don't hear from the palace itself, I know the state of the people. When it comes to carrying burdens."
Sarah stopped. She threw the king a pointed look. Sarah and the king both knew this look. Sarah was about to say something interesting and probably deadly.
"They don't take anything other than weapons with them to be fast."
"What!" said the commander.
Sarah turned back to the king again. The king was listening intently. "The first assault will definitely succeed." We will lose a small number of soldiers there. I'm thinking the worst. I assume that Wilde's soldiers have caught up with us and are attacking. We can cause damage to the village with the existing soldiers. After that." He paused for a moment. "how many soldiers will survive is uncertain." If there are any survivors, I'm sure they won't be more than a handful.
The entire hall fell silent. Sarah was sending the soldiers not to victory, but to death. She was telling the soldiers going to the hall that there was a price to be paid for the damage that would be inflicted. After putting pressure on Dain, he said that it didn't matter whether the soldiers who left would return.The silence continued.
Sarah wanted the king to lose, and with each loss, she wanted more soldiers to be added to the count. Sarah knew that the soldiers wouldn't even be able to pass the first village, and if the new general did his job well – she called him the new general because in the last battle, he had ripped open the old general's belly, tied his intestines around his neck, and hung him from a roof – the departing soldiers wouldn't reach the village.
But he had to convince the king. He had to convince him that the plan would work and the loss would be worth the gain.
Sarah looked into the king's eyes. The king looked at her too. Sarah looked confident, she always did.
He had the final word. "I will personally be at the forefront of the soldiers to dispel any doubts you may have." No other commander will come with me.
Silent gasps of astonishment rose from the audience. None of them had approved this plan. There was no goddamn soul to approve this plan. But Sarah didn't need their approval.
The king raised his head and looked behind him. The wall behind him was made of glass, and it had the most beautiful view of the kingdom. Sarah looked with the king. The surroundings were orange. The sun was setting.
"You may disperse." The king said. "I will inform you of my decision."
Sarah held herself back from making a face. She thought, "Maybe she's learning."
Everyone started to leave the hall slowly. Sarah followed them. Just as she was about to leave the hall, the king's voice rose from behind.
"Sarah, you stay."
Sarah stood by the door and waited for the hall to empty. There was no way the king could have understood anything. He knew he hadn't shown anything, but he might have scared the king with this plan. After all, sooner or later, it was certain that there would be a showdown where both kingdoms would put everything on the line, and the king might want to conserve his strength for that time.
I have to convince him, he thought to himself. If this raid didn't happen, he couldn't leave, and staying here longer was risky.
After everyone left the hall, the door closed, and Sarah leaned against the wall next to the door. The king approached her quickly and stopped when there was less than a step's distance between them. If he got any closer, Sarah would feel the king's breath on her face.
The king and Sarah locked eyes for a moment. Sarah didn't break her grin while trying to read something from the king's expression."How can you talk about such a plan with a smile on your face?" the king asked. He moved a little closer to Sarah and leaned towards her ear. "I love this." Saying that, he let out a slight wheeze.
Sarah's eyes widened. She understood at that moment what the king wanted and why he wanted her to wait. He told himself that this couldn't be happening, but it was.
Instead of lifting his head, the king lowered it even further. The king's breath was warming Sarah's neck. The king slowly raised his hands and caressed Sarah's waist with gentle touches.
I can use this, Sarah said to herself. She could combine the king's plan with the lust she had taken from him.
"I love you even more when you're ruthless." The king said. Sarah felt all the letters in her throat. She had opened her mouth to speak, but her stomach turned, and she barely managed to swallow her bile.
"My King," she said. The king slowly lifted his head and came nose to nose with Sarah. Sarah placed her fingertips on the king's hand resting on his waist. The king let out a shaky breath. Sarah was struggling to keep her food down. "It is an honor for me," she said. The king smiled. Just as he was about to make a move towards her, Sarah interjected, "But." The king looked into her eyes. Sarah read him. There was impatience in her eyes, there was a hint of petulance. He wanted it immediately and was annoyed by Sarah's interruption.
"Wouldn't you want to adorn this with a victory?" he said. The king looked confused.
"Just hang in there a little longer." Sarah said. "Wait a little longer and possess me while I have a victory on my head." "You said you liked my ruthlessness." Sarah saw the approval in the king's eyes. "Then hold on a little longer and take me in my most ruthless form."
He looked into the depths of the King's eyes. Let me go, she said to herself. He couldn't do that. He would never be with anyone, and if the king insisted, he wasn't sure how he would escape.
The King's hand on Sarah's waist loosened and moved away. Sarah let out a deep breath.
"We will execute your plan." The king said. Sarah pushed back the stars that were about to shine in her eyes and continued to wear her usual grin.
"I will send exactly three companies of soldiers." And you will be in charge. There won't be any other authorized personnel besides you and those you appoint.
The king approached Sarah one last time. "Go!" "Kill them all and stain yourself with Wilde's military blood." He grinned. "And come to me without washing." There was bloodthirstiness on his face, there was greed, but there was no humanity at all.
The king left the hall.
Sarah took deep breaths."I swear." He said. "I swear, the next time I come to see you, it will be to fulfill my brother's last wish." He was on the verge of being overwhelmed by his anger. "I swear I'll kill you."
***
"Gathering the majority of the forces in the border villages is the most sensible option." Emily said, stating the common decision of the hall. He looked at King Dain, who was standing at the head of the table to his right. The King locked eyes with him for a moment.
"But Arthur is specifically targeting the northern side of the border." Sending soldiers there would mean killing them." One of the platoon commanders said. Emily hadn't met him yet.
"You are right." Aespa said. She was the commander of the first platoon. She was a young girl in her late twenties. "But we need to protect those villages." There are very few soldiers there. The people are defenseless. We cannot allow the same things happening in the South to happen there as well." He continued.
At that remark, the entire hall turned to Emily. The raid in which the southern commanding general was killed. Emily was the general who took his place.
The King turned to Emily. "What do you think, General Emily?" he asked. Emily let out a sigh.
Defending a village was easy. But once General Sarah got involved, everything became complicated.
Emily was a smart girl. She knew the general who came before her. He had had the chance to talk and get to know him a few times. He wasn't a simple man. He was smart and had advanced strategic knowledge. Despite that, he had been defeated. She knew she had to be careful.
"First and foremost, we need to think about the safety of the people." Emily chimed in. "They won't come from the south again." They know that the soldiers are concentrated there. They come from the north. They are not stupid enough to cross the swamp. No army passing through there would have the strength to fight. The terrain will expose them too much. They will probably come from the forest.
"What do you suggest?" the king asked.
"Let's start by directing the scouts to the forest." Emily said. Scouts were a section in the kingdom that had no numbers. They were raised deep within the forest and in harmony with it. They were good at camouflage and survival. No one could stop them when they were in the trees.
"Let's do the same for the meadows." Aespa said. The king nodded in approval.
"Let's send word to the villages."There should definitely be guards on duty in the village, both day and night. Additionally, let the sentinels be doubled. Let's send additional messenger birds. The third platoon commander said. Emily couldn't remember the man's name. She hadn't fully met everyone yet.
"Besides." Emily said. "Let's place camouflaged guards with boats and on land in the swamp."
There was a silence in the room. "What's the point of this?" said the third platoon commander. Asher. Emily had just remembered the man's name. He was a man who wasn't very bulky and looked young. His slightly curly, reddish hair didn't help him look older at all. If it were up to Emily, she would say he was twenty years old, but she knew Asher had been a platoon commander even before him. At least 28.
"We must take all kinds of precautions." Emily said. "Maybe they prefer to come from the field and engage in a pitched battle instead of taking the risk of going through the forest and encountering scouts." Emily returned to the king along with everyone else. The king hesitated for a moment. Then he looked at Emily and shook his head. "Better safe than sorry." We will place the guards. Prepare the cars to carry the boats. He said. Emily let out a breath full of gratitude.
"One more thing." Emily said. She was trying to look as non-pleading as possible. "If you permit, I would also like to go to the front." "As a general, it would be better for me to be at the front with the soldiers."
The king gave him a rather emotionless look. "Alright," he said. "You are the general." If this seems right to you, then do it that way. But let the commanders whose soldiers are going with you from your company also come. "One hand washes the other." He concluded.
Emily couldn't help but smile. "As you command." She said.
"Does anyone have something to say or an objection?" The king called out to the hall. No one said a word. This plan had appealed to everyone. "Then I am ending the meeting," he said. The commanders started to disperse.
As Emily headed towards the door, Aespa came up to her. They paused in front of the door. "General Emily!" he said.
"Commander Aespa." They greeted each other by bowing their heads. "Please." Emily said.
"I don't want to take up too much of your time." Aespa said. "I just want you to know this." He said. He hesitated for a moment. He averted his gaze. Emily could sense his hesitant demeanor. "I understand that you're trying to be careful, but please don't get carried away." I know you witnessed General Kahn's death – he was the general before Emily – but remember, you are not him, and what happens to him won't necessarily happen to you.Emily stopped. She had witnessed Kahn's death. What he saw was etched in his mind and even became the subject of his nightmares. He had a hard time getting over it, but he learned a lesson from what he saw and understood what the other person was.
"I'm grateful for your concerns." Emily said. "And believe me, I have more reasons to kill General Sarah than just revenge."
Aespa nodded in response to this and left Emily's side.
Emily was going to kill him because there was no acceptable reason for what he had done. Emily was going to kill him because he didn't look human. Emily was going to kill him because… She didn't even want to admit this reason herself, but Sarah looked so much like her father. They were both monsters.
"General Emily?" said the king. Emily realized at that moment that she was standing in front of the salon door. "Excuse me, Your Majesty." Right away, I'll go out…
"No, wait." Saying that, the king interrupted. "Let's walk a bit," he continued.
Emily paused for a moment. "It is an honor for me, sir." He said. The king waited for him to catch up and then they walked out through the door.
There was silence for a while. The king walked, looking out the windows in the wall and responding to the salutes of the soldiers passing by. They moved towards the quieter parts of the palace. After a while, the number of windows and soldiers passing by decreased. Emily had started to feel uncomfortable with the confinement when King Dain began to speak.
"How did he die?" he asked. For a moment, they locked eyes. Emily had understood that the king was talking about General Kahn, but she hadn't expected him to ask about it. She had expected advice, counsel, and good wishes.
"Sir..." he said. All the images were becoming clear in his mind. He felt like he was reliving the same things again. The smell of blood in the air, the sounds of swords, and the smile on the girl's face. That smile on Sarah's face...
He started explaining without beating around the bush. He didn't want to, but after all, the king had commanded it. "When I noticed him, he was lying on the ground." "Above her was General Sarah," he swallowed. "General Kahn's arm was severed."
He hesitated. "My king, it's not my place, but why do you want to listen?" In war, such things happen..." He was going to say that such things happen in war, but he stopped. Sarah's actions towards the general came to mind. Such things wouldn't happen in war, such things wouldn't be done. This could only be done in a massacre, in an atrocity.
They locked eyes with the king.Emily saw sadness in the king's eyes. She was surprised. The king generally didn't look like anything. He spoke little and rarely showed any expression. But at that moment, Emily might have thought so too, but at that moment, it seemed to her that the king's eyes were filled with tears.
"General Kahn." The king started speaking. "He was my friend since the days I was a prince." There was an 8-year age difference between us. I remember calling him big brother." He paused and scrutinized Emily. "He was the most detail-oriented and meticulous person I have ever known in my life, and that was one of the reasons I made him a general." He had been a strategic genius since his youth. He was a very smart and equally kind man.
When I was young, I never made plans with him. Except for the times I wanted to escape the palace and be alone. He would make perfect plans to get me out. But it was very difficult to have fun with him. He would constantly get hung up on things and try to fix them.
The king stopped. He looked out the window next to him. "I always used to tease him, 'one day this attention to detail will kill you.'" I never would have guessed that one day I would be proven right.
Emily and the king locked eyes. "That's why." The king said. On his face, in addition to that sad expression, there was also anger. "I want to know how and by whom he was killed."
Emily took a deep breath. She was completely justified in wanting to know, but after hearing this, any remaining motivation to explain had vanished. What he heard would not comfort the king. General Kahn had not died painlessly or peacefully. He had suffered until his last moment.
Emily took a deep breath. She would tell the King everything. She had the right to know. He would have loved to know how his mother died and how she felt in her last moments.
"When I saw him." He started speaking. The king turned to the window. "he was lying on the ground." General Sarah was standing at his head. General Kahn's arm was severed.
I remember Sarah's smile and General Kahn's angry face. General Kahn was holding a sword in his other hand. He swung the sword one last time, and Sarah severed his fingers, causing him to drop the sword. "The King swallowed hard." Sarah dropped her sword to the ground, drew a dagger from her belt, and plunged it into General Kahn's abdomen. She twisted the dagger and widened the wound. General Kahn didn't make a sound, but I think he died somewhere in between.
After thoroughly opening his abdomen, Sarah pulled out his intestines like a rope and draped them over her shoulder. She dragged General Kahn away. I saw them later, after the battle. General Kahn was hanged from the roof of a house by his intestines.His arms and legs were under his torso, lying on the ground.
There was a long silence. The king wasn't crying, his eyes weren't even welling up, but somehow, in a way she couldn't understand, Emily knew the king was on the verge of tears and was holding back from speaking to avoid crying.
"he was my only friend, since my youth." He said with a trembling voice. Emily could only say, "I'm so sorry." She could only say. He had some knowledge about the king. He was the youngest of the 7 siblings and had 6 older brothers. All his brothers had died one way or another—probably having devoured each other for the throne—and the throne had fallen to him. All they knew was this.
"You may withdraw." The king said. Emily started walking back in the direction they came from.
That girl needed to be eliminated. Someone like her shouldn't exist. He had to kill him. He would definitely kill him. Just like he did to his father.
The following days were very busy and exhausting, especially for Emily. The masters had consulted her on the design of the boats to be used in the swamp, and Emily had helped determine the shape and features of the boats according to the swamp's structure. Special clothes for camouflage had been sewn, and Emily had chosen the colors of the clothes. She knew that the area was mostly filled with pale-colored grass that was not taller than a person. He suggested the yellow color and helped choose the shade—after all, he had passed through there before. He had done something similar for the Scouts' uniforms.
In determining the soldiers who would go to the border and the companies from which they would be selected, his word held great importance. King Dain had never interfered in this matter. In fact, after that meeting, after talking to Emily, hardly anyone had seen or heard from him. They had settled the elections among themselves. The king's indecisive stance in military and political matters had surprised Emily, but she didn't have time to question it.
Aespa and the entire squad of Aespa were coming. Asher would take half of his squad and accompany him. The remaining ones were a few handfuls of the best soldiers selected from other squads, sent by the squad commanders.
All the horses had been cared for, and the wheels of the carts had been renewed. The swords had been sharpened, and the newest arrows had been prepared. The provisions had been prepared and packaged in a way that they would be well preserved. The road, the campaign, and the war preparations were progressing smoothly.
Emily stepped in front of the mirror and started examining herself. She looked at her hair that fell just below her pure white shoulders. Her hair was normally slightly voluminous, but today it was completely straight.He looked at her eyebrows and eyelashes. They were as snow-white as her hair. looked at her skin. It was pure white. It was as if it had sunk into the black and the snow had stuck to it instead of falling to the ground, completely white. Her skin made her look younger. He was twenty-two years old, but even when he looked at himself, he didn't see twenty-two. He looked nineteen, felt thirty, but was actually twenty-two.
Then he came face to face with himself. He had bright blue eyes. He had sky-blue eyes. He had sea-blue eyes under the midday sun. He had bright blue eyes – not light blue, bright blue. He loved his eyes very much. He had inherited them from his mother. The only thing he got from his mother was them. Her eyes reminded him of things that brought him peace. The water, the sky, his mother...
His mother used to call him "Mavim." His mother loved him that way too.
***
"What are we going to do now?" Aespa asked.
The bar in the border village they arrived at had been cleared for a meeting. Emily, Aespa, Asher, and some soldiers from the other squads were there. On the round table in front of them was a map of their location.
Emily examined the map. She had chosen this village specifically. This was the village with the highest strategic value north of the border. In the other villages, livestock farming was more prevalent. What was General Sarah going to do by killing goats, sheep, and oxen?
He looked around all sides of the village and filled out the to-do list in his mind. The scouts had settled in the forest. There were soldiers in the meadow, and more watchtowers had been erected. The soldiers were ready. They were sleeping with swords in their hands. Emily had checked the bows and arrows. Twice.
Many things were spinning around in his mind. He checked each one of them one by one in his mind. Everything was in order.