The three of us sat around the fire going over the very few options we had, but no matter how many far flung and outlandish ideas we came up with there was only one glaring issue, we had a severe lack of information on who the enemy was. We had no idea or reasoning who was behind the coup, let alone just how large their forces were.

“So, our first order of business should be to find a suitable location to lay low and gather information and go from there. Do you two happen to know of any villages nearby that would offer us refuge?”

Viiolet had been taking the lead in the conversation after introducing herself and explaining her true reasoning for traveling to Camelot. She had been sent by the Lady of the Lake to serve as an apprentice under our royal physician but had gotten caught up in the commotion and never made it to the castle. I wonder just how many of the staff were still alive? Was Olive ok? I should’ve been more caring and supportive when I last saw her.

“Za-

I didn’t even have the chance to say goodbye to my own mother as she sacrificed herself to save me. What a lousy choice that was.

“Zanifel!”

Viiolet’s shouting of my name quickly brought me out of my own thoughts. I quickly shook away the growing dread in the back of my mind and refocused on the conversation. My own issues can come later.

“Yes, sorry, information gathering, village, right. Let me think. There’s a decently large village by the name of Brackniel to the west. If we had horses it would be about a day ride to get there. Given, however, since we wish to remain incognito and travel safely, we’re looking at a three or four day hike through the forest and mountains that surround us.”

That’s right, the forest of Caertruim and mountain range that surrounded Camelot were meant to be our first line of defense from any would be attackers. There were only so many roads that safely lead out and we always had adequate soldiers stationed at checkpoints throughout. So then how did an entire army manage to invade the castle proper and we never received any word or warning beforehand?

Orcus decided to speak up now, after sitting in silence for the better part of the conversation, his deeper voice cutting through the night air.

“If we make a stop in Hester village, we may be able to arrange transportation to Brackniel and cut down our travel times significantly. I have a family member in Hester and I’m sure they wouldn’t be opposed to providing the prince with a horse and supplies.”

Viiolet nodded along but stopped with a frown.

“We can’t rely on the prince’s name for everything at this point and should be making a concerted effort to avoid spreading it around. We don’t know who would betray that information.”

The conversation went on like this for another hour or so, mainly back and forth between Orcus and Viiolet as I eased myself out of it and towards one of the bedrolls. It had been a long day and I just wanted to sleep, hoping when I woke up the nightmare would be over.

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“Excuse you? Your ‘Highness’...should we not set up a watch shift before you decide to head to bed?”

Viiolet sounded annoyed but I didn’t care, if she was going to keep up this bossy attitude it might be better just to have Orcus and I leave her behind in the morning.

“Not to worry, Miss Viiolet, I can take the first watch and allow you and his highness plenty of time to sleep.”

The way Viiolet smiled and patted Orcus on the shoulder made me roll my eyes. It was his job to make sure I was rested and cared for, what was she being so nice to him for?

“You are a very loyal knight, the prince is lucky to have you.”

Staring out into the dark of the forest gave me plenty of time to contemplate the day's events. The king and queen were most likely dead, Camelot had fallen to an unknown attacker and I was the only person left to keep the pendragon line going. It felt as if the weight and hopes of the entire kingdom now rested on whether or not I could keep the prince safe. Miss Viiolet was a welcome addition but the way she spoke to the prince would have to be discussed at a later time. Proper etiquette was not a priority, the priority was the sound of movement I heard coming from the forest just now.

Slowly rising to my feet so as to not alert or cause the possible assailants to get jumpy, I made my way over to the prince to rouse him from his sleep.

“Your highness, you need to wake up, we may have a problem…”

“Then deal with it and leave me to my sleep.”

The sound of an arrow whistling through the air and landing squarely in front of the prince’s nose was enough shock to launch him to his feet and immediately stand behind me.

“That almost hit me! Why didn’t you say we had attackers?!”

“I said we had a problem, your highness.”

“That is not the same!”

The prince’s raised voice also managed to awaken miss Viiolet who was now standing near her bedroll, seemingly scanning the dark of the night for the attackers. It all happened so fast. Five soldiers adorned with simple white tabards with three red lines across it in a diagonal line now approached and surrounded from the shadows. I felt like I recognized the coat of arms but the chance to ask quickly vanished as they moved swiftly in for the attack.

The two lead attackers made a rush at the prince and I, they must’ve been poorly trained or rushed given their combat stances. The wide arcing swings they both went for allowed them to be quickly struck down before any semblance of a blow could land. Is what I would say if I didn’t immediately hear metal on metal behind me followed by a scream of pain from the prince. Pulling my sword from my assailant, a spike of adrenaline carried it through the air and lopped off the other attacker.

The prince had been struck across the face, blood now covering his left eye. Perhaps a misplaced parry had sent the blade the wrong direction? Screams of pain echoed through the trees from Viiolet’s location. I couldn’t leave the prince’s side but it wasn’t necessary. The last three attackers now dangled from the branches of the nearby trees, impaled on them as if they were made of nothing by sticks and straws. Miss Viiolet was a mage.