Wilson mounted his horse and looked at Ailith. “Ready?” he asked.

She nodded.

Wilson drew his sword and slapped the reins lightly on the flank of his mount.

The guards lowered their halberds.

Ailith moved off to the right and Wilson veered left. They approached the guards at a slow trot until they were within twenty feet of them. When they reached this invisible line, the both spurred their horses forward with a shout.

The guards stirred but held their line.

At the last moment, both Wilson and Ailith pulled their reins hard. Their horses came to a full stop within inches of the halberds. At the same time, they leapt off the front of their horses. Wilson drew his sword in the air and slashed down at the closest soldier’s face.

Lacking time to react to the sudden change in attack, the line fell apart. Wilson slashed more times than he could count.

Within minutes, only two defenders remained. These two ran across the bridge for safety.

Wilson looked over at Ailith. “I think a downed six.”

She nodded. “Sounds right,” she said as she wiped her sword off on the tunic of one of the fallen soldiers. “I only managed to get four.”

Wilson lifted his eyebrows in mock surprise.

“Drop it Wilson,” said Ailith. “If you must know, I hit my first opponent so hard with my sword it became lodged in his leg. It took me precious moments to get my sword back.”

Wilson smiled at the admission. He knew how much it must have cost Ailith.

“You there,” shouted a voice from atop the castle wall.

Wilson looked up. There stood the Grand Duke. “Yes?”

“Why are you attacking my men?” asked the Grand Duke.

“It seems Princess Variana was last seen here. As duly appointed soldiers of the rightful King, we seek the Princess.”

“She isn’t here. Go away.”

Wilson looked over at Ailith.

Ailith shrugged.

“I don’t think we will.”

“Why?” asked Grand Duke Agro.

“Your man lied to me. I’m quite certain she is here. Let me search the castle. If I don’t find her, we will be on our way.”

“Instead, how about I send my men down to discuss this with you.”

“If you must,” agreed Wilson.

Several minutes passed.

The gate began to rise.

Behind the gate stood nearly forty men. All armored for battle. With a shout, they began to jog forward.

“Why can’t anything be easy when you are involved?” asked Ailith.

Wilson shrugged and raised his sword. “This is going to go badly for us.”

The battle commenced with a crash. Swords clashed against shields. Wilson and Ailith were hard pressed. Slowly, the sheer numbers began to overwhelm them. They gave ground, inch by inch.

A whistle sounded and their attackers withdrew a few paces. They stood in a defensive line. Eleven attackers lay on the ground in various stages of dying. Wilson began to feel a glimmer of hope. Perhaps they would escape this situation after all.

“Do you think we can win this?” he asked.

Ailith shook her head.

“Nice attitude,” said Wilson.

Ailith said nothing. She pointed at the gates. There stood a dozen armed and armored knights astride horses.

Wilson groaned. “This is not good.”

“Nice attitude,” answered Ailith.

The whistle sounded again. The foot soldiers began to advance.

At that very moment, an unearthly shriek rent the air.

The attackers stopped and looked up.

Wilson smiled. “Gristle always has been a reliable soldier.”

Ailith laughed.

Thirteen Rocs dove into the amassed soldiers, scattering them like leaves in the wind. The largest of the Rocs had a purple crested head.

Wilson smiled. “Where were you?” he asked Sherkal as she flew into the knights and slashed at the horses.

“Queen,” she answered in his mind.

“I thought the Queen had died?”

“I. Queen.”

Wilson laughed with joy. “Congratulations Sherkal. I am honored to be in the presence of royalty.”

“Yes,” Queen Sherkal of the Roc answered as she feasted on horseflesh.

Wilson glanced over and saw Grand Duke Agro make a break for safety astride his great black stallion. “Queen?” he asked.

“Yes, small human.”

“Will you capture that man for me?”

“With pleasure, human Wilson. His horse looks delicious.”

The Black Oak Sword

Chapter 1: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Chapter 2: Part 1 , Part 2
Chapter 3: Part 1 , Part 2,Part 3
Chapter 4:Part 1,Part 2
Chapter 5: Part 1
Chapter 6: Part 1, Part 2
Chapter 7: Part 1, Part 2
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14:Part 1
Chapter 14:Part 2
Chapter 15:Part 1
Chapter 15:Part 2
Chapter 16:Part 1
Chapter 16:Part 2
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19:Part 1
Chapter 19:Part 2
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22:Part 1
Chapter 22:Part 2
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: You may notice I just substituted Ailith for Aella--I finally made the leap because I think the name fits her background and cultural heritage better.

© 2017, Stone Golem Publishing, All rights reserved--no part of this may be used without express written consent.

**All pictures used are labeled for reuse. They come from Pixabay

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