The fireball was aimed at an opening in the soldiers’ ranks. It fell to the ground with a massive boom, sending dozens of burly, iron-clad soldiers scurrying like ants. The arrows were aimed directly at the soldiers. If they had been holding their shields up properly, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but with the confusion of the fall of the front lines, the panic caused by the fireball, and the general disarray of the entire army, many soldiers let their shields fall to their sides, a few even dropped them entirely. Shouts rang out as the arrows pierced arms, legs, and even a few necks. As blood flowed for the first time on the battlefield, the soldiers’ panic intensified.

But the leading general, holding his small wooden shield aloft as he held onto the reins of his equi with one hand, rode to the front, belting out orders and urging the soldiers to not let the traitors win. The traitors in the city have resorted to black magic, selling their souls to the evil gods worshiped by the heretics. If the soldiers fell back now, the evil gods would take the souls of their families and friends. They must not give up the capital. They must recover the king’s corpse before the heretics sacrificed him on a devilish altar!

This general was very good at speaking quickly and shortly. As the rain of arrows subsided, he had gathered a small contingent around himself, possibly the elite soldiers that answered directly to him, and rushed forward towards the trenches. All of these soldiers were riding equi, wielding spears, and covered from head to toe in iron armor. A few commanders joined their ranks, and a small team of soldiers in the back began cutting down trees, probably to build a bridge across the trench.

The general rushed right up to the trench, barely managing to see it in the fog, before veering to the left in search of a way over. His equi galloped across the field, thunderous feet thumping on the ground, followed by his most loyal soldiers. The entire army changed course, putting up their shields once again and following their general to the side.

I saw the general frown. His eyes widened. He glanced from side to side, hoping for a solution, but was forced to rein in his equi once he neared the dense wall of trees that were boxing in his army from one side. The general hesitated only a moment before shouting and rushing the other way. His soldiers tailed him to the right this time, still running right along the edge of the trench. The confused army awkwardly started moving to the right as well, with many lines dissolving into anarchy or continuing to march left. The people cutting trees in the back had vanished.

The general galloped across once again but his face paled yet again. He looked to his left, saw the trench still stretching resolutely beyond where he could take his army, and then he looked in front, and saw the rocks that guarded the banks of the river that ran next to the capital. To his right, his army and personal soldiers came to an abrupt halt. The army, by this point, was in complete disarray, with many rows stretched thin, and massive gaping holes in the lines. Many people had already thrown down their weapons and began dissolving into the forest or rushing straight back the way they had come. It was only the presence of the other generals at the back of the line that was holding the army together. The prince was nowhere to be seen.

It was at this point that Kol stepped up next to me. The sun was shining brightly, making her white clothes gleam, and with a little bit of light magic and water vapor, I was able to give her an ethereal glow that would stand out even from a distance. I raised a hand, and bore a tunnel through the fog, right in front of the princess. And with some more light magic as well as fireballs that pelted through the fog and drew every soldier’s attention back to the front, I etched the image of Princess Kol standing in a sunbeam, clothes gleaming, eyes sparkling, and magnified through a hole in the fog, into the eyes and memories of every single soldier in the opposing army.

“Soldiers of the Izlandi Kingdom!” shouted Kol throw the fog tunnel, her voice amplified by air magic, “in the name of the royal family, blessed by the Heavenly Eye itself, I command you to surrender!”

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The leading general beheld the princess in her fairy-like appearance, his eyes flitting to the trench, the rampart, the disorganized army behind him, and the forest and rocks that boxed them in on either side. He bit his lips, threw his spear to the ground, and jumped off his equi.

“Hail, princess!” shouted the general, kneeling.

The generals elite soldiers followed him and knelt. “Hail, princess!”

The army lines echoed in disconnected voices: “Hail, princess! Hail, princess! Hail, princess!”

The fog dissipated. Princess Kol looked down on the kneeling soldiers with a smile on her face. I stood next to her, grimly surveying the army one more time. I did not see the prince anywhere. A couple of the generals in the back had also disappeared. I raised my hand. The soldiers flinched. A hole appeared in the rampart, and a stone bridge extended across the trench.

Guards and soldiers filed over the bridge, stunned at the defeated army in front of them. Some of them glanced up at us—at me—before looking away. The enemy soldiers were disarmed, their commanders and generals captured, and a small parade marched into the city, led by the victorious Princess Kol, sitting on the captured general’s equi, and up to the royal palace.

---

When the leading general saw the sickly king sitting on his throne, he all but fainted. Collapsed to the ground, the powerful general begged for the king’s forgiveness. He said he had decided to help the prince only because of his love for the kingdom and its people. With the king on his deathbed, and the princess presumed dead, he had to ensure the prince took over properly.

In the end, the generals were all stripped of their rank, wealth, and property, and imprisoned in the palace. Their commanders were either similarly punished, or executed for various charges such as embezzlement of army supplies and the ravaging of the countryside leading up to the capital. Many soldiers were punished for these crimes as well, but most were reabsorbed into the king’s army.

The king’s messengers went around to all the various cities around the kingdom, letting the local rulers and administrators know that the rebellious prince’s army had been defeated, and the princess had returned. As the heir to the throne, Princess Kol began making many appearances around the capital and surrounding cities, drumming up support for herself through relief projects, monster raids, and some demonstrations of the ‘powerful magic’ that she had learned from the legendary elf and the wise humans in the South.

As word of the princess’ power spread, and her personal popularity was bolstered, the search for the prince and younger princess continued. By this time, it was clear the prince had either run to the Lux Republic in the North, or joined the second princess in the East. The possibility of the prince going to the East was particularly frustrating, since the kingdom’s spies had begun to suspect that the second princess had left the kingdom’s lands entirely and joined up with the terrifying Singing Horde that ruled the open steppe.

I spent my days exploring the demon capital, buying small bits and bobs, learning from master artisans and craftsmen, and meeting with various merchants, rich patriarchs and matriarchs, and other notables in the capital. Kelser, who had returned after the battle was already over, also spent his time exploring the city and meeting people. He seemed to have grown especially close to a young demon woman from a small blacksmith family in the outskirts of the city. How the two had met and gotten to know each other was a mystery to me, but I didn’t want to pry too much anyhow.

Several months passed. The situation in the kingdom was stable. The authority of the crown had been established once again, although the mood in the inner chambers of the royal palace was somber. The king lay on his bed, his body as weak and sickly as ever. Kol knelt by his side, grasping his hands just like she had once before. Except this time, the king’s mouth did not move, his chest did not rise, and he did not force himself back onto the throne for the sake of his daughter and kingdom.

This time, the king had passed away quietly in his sleep.