Earlier that morning, at the Lioness Castle
A knight was seen running through the long hallway of the Lioness Castle. One could see the apparent panic on his face, ignoring the severe panting he was currently experiencing.
The knight stopped in front of a throne where a young girl dressed in shiny armor was sitting on it.
"Princess, they are already here!!" shouted the knight in a loud voice.
The news immediately made the princess and the half a dozen knights around her shocked. She swiftly ran towards the balcony and saw a sight that made her face pale.
Thousands of enemy soldiers were seen coming from the east, slowly filling the clearing on the horizon.
"How could they arrive so fast?!" exclaimed one of the knights besides the princess. It was apparent that he was shocked and bewildered by how the enemies managed to make their way here faster than their estimation.
The princess turned to the knight who brought the news and asked, "Baron Ibelin should be the one guarding the eastern border, where is he?"
"Forgive me, princess but no one has seen or heard from the baron since yesterday." the knight answered.
Actually, the princess already knew the answer before she asked the question. It was just, she couldn't admit the harsh reality that the baron had betrayed the kingdom.
With her father King Richard's health having worsened, she was left in charge to find a way out of this disaster.
Seeing the quickly approaching enemy troops, the princess quickly gave order to her subordinates.
"Lioness knights!! Follow me!" exclaimed Gwen loudly as she rushed to grab her warhorse.
The moment the princess' voice faded into the air, everyone swiftly followed the former's order.
Shortly after, the Lioness Princess, Sir Yvain, and 200 of Lioness knights could be seen galloping out of the castle and making their way toward Lionarch City.
As they crossed through the streets of the city, the group instructed the people around to run to the castle for protection.
"People of the Lioness, go and take shelter in the castle! We shall hold up there and wait until the reinforcement from the west comes!"
Gwen did her best to warn every citizen that they came across, but there were just too many people in Lionarch City and the city was too massive.
The princess couldn't know what the enemy's plan was for these citizens, but leaving them out here defenseless would only invite a disaster. This thought made her grit her teeth and urge her horse to move even faster.
Gwen galloped through the city, instructing those who were strong to run toward the west while the women, children, and elderly were told to go to the castle.
The streets gradually became congested by the Lioness citizens as more and more of them headed toward the castle like a herd of sheeps. As a result, it took too long for the people to move. It also didn't help the fact that the people could hear the faint rumbling sound of the enemy troops in the distance, which made them fall into a panic.
Gwen and the others knew that the budding chaos would grow and became uncontrollable if they didn't do something about it.
Understanding the situation, Sir Yvain gave a salute to Gwen and said, "Princess, you should stay and bring our people to safety. I will bring the knights to hold the enemies down."
Gwen turned her head and looked deeply at the golden knight who was assigned to her, Sir Yvain. The look on his face told her that the man was ready to sacrifice himself along with his knights to hold back the enemy troops.
Seeing the running citizens, Gwen could only nod her head and said in a loud yet shaky voice, "Yvain! You… and the others.. You all must return safely!"
Even though those hundred knights were Yvain's knights, Gwen held a deep care toward them as she had been with them for the last two years.
During those two years, they had gone through high and low together. So, it wasn't strange for her to be reluctant to let them go. Alas, Gwen had her duty as the princess of the kingdom and they had their duty as the knights of the kingdom.
Yvain nodded his head at Gwen's words and turned around. The moment he did so, the one known as the Knight of the Lion called out the knights.
"Knights of the Lioness, we will hold the enemy as long as we can in order to give our people time!!"
Following the declaration that managed to silence the panicking citizens was a ferocious group charge as Yvain and the knights headed toward the east direction.
---
Two hours later, Gwen had managed to return to the castle. Along with her were more than two thousands civilians as well as the other hundred knights who stayed to keep the order. All of the civilians were terrified by the unexpected situation to variously different extent, but they still obediently followed the knights' orders as they entered the castle.
After settling the civilians, Gwen stood right at the castle's gate, waiting for her knights to return.
"Please.. Please let them be safe.." said Gwen in her heart as her hands cupped in front of her chest while her gaze was fixed in the east direction.
Several minutes later, she was about to lose her patience and head to the battlefield herself when she spotted a group of people coming from the east. The moment they entered the distance where Gwen could clearly see them, her eyes widened when she saw who they were.
"Yvain!!"
The person walking at the front of the group of Sir Yvain, while behind him were his knights. Their condition looked as if they had just returned from hell - wounds were seen all over while their body was completely soaked by red color.
Gwen swiftly did her calculations, and she was shocked to find that there were no more than a dozen men seen behind Yvain. That meant more than 80 knights had lost their lives in the battle. The sight was enough to devastate her, but she must not give in. As of right now, the Lioness would face an impending siege on the castle.
Seeing the overwhelming enemy number in front and the hundreds she has in the castle, she couldn't help but ask about the reinforcements.
"Where are all the nobles? Anyone has heard from lord Fantumar?!"
The princess stood among the crowd, seeing all their faces; citizens, guards, or knights all of them full of concern. She tried her best to be strong for her people, but at the peak of it all she was afraid.