"Reunited..." - Chapter Sixty-Three

Reunited...

Chapter Sixty-Three

By Douglas E. Gogerty

With the Maritime Kingdom's army marching towards them, Princess Angelina's forces gathered together. The generals determined the best location to engage the incoming army. The incoming army was not completely unexpected, so the Princess's army was quickly in fighting order.

The Princess and her generals decided to abandon the siege of the city, and pull all of their forces south of the Nunu capitol city. In this way, they would not have to worry about the Nunu forces flanking them. While this would allow the Nunu army and the Maritime army to join forces, at least the Lakeland army would have a place to retreat. Further, they could find out what the Maritime Kingdom's plans were.

The Princess watched from a safe distance as the Maritime forces marched unaccosted into the Nunu's fortified capitol city. The Princess felt that it was fortunate that both armies were now within the city's fortifications. The Princess gave the order for the Lakeland army to close off all of the exits. In this way, they trapped both armies inside the city. The Lakeland forces returned to their siege of the city.

In an effort to escape the city, the armies within the city tested the strength of the Lakeland resolve. Fighting broke out at the entrances to the city. However, these entrances were choke points, and few soldiers could engage each other in combat. With the Maritime kingdom new to the surroundings, they did not fully utilize the Nunu defenses. Thus, the Lakeland forces did well in enclosing them in the city.

The trebuchets resumed their assault on the city's interior. The Lakeland forces continued to leave the walls untouched. The Princess had several soldiers watching to make sure no one climbed over the walls. They wanted to trap the armies inside rather than engage them on the field. With even more individuals inside the city, the resources would not last very long.

The bodies of Nunu, Maritime, and Lakeland forces began to clog the entry ways. Eventually, the communication between the Nunu and Maritime forces allowed a greater use of the city's defenses. Thus, the tide turned in their favor. However, the Lakeland forces used the corpses to further clog the entryway as they backed away. The engagement between the two forces became even more limited.

Gunfire erupted from defensive holes in the walls. The Maritime army shot their guns from the walls to further drive the Lakeland forces away from the entrance. The Lakeland army was forced into using its turtle shell type defense shield. It was a heavy steal roof that took 14 soldiers to move. It pushed the bullets aside, but was quite unwieldy. The Lakeland forces put several of these at the entrances to shield several hundred soldiers. These fortifications supported enough soldiers to keep the entry blockades in place.

The fighting became even more intensified. While the Maritime army was not used to the surroundings, they were quite well drilled. They continued to fight against the Lakeland forces. The entrances became slick and red with blood. However, the Nunu and Maritime armies were trapped inside the city. Nothing they did broke them free from the Lakeland forces.

Princess Angelina went to the entries to cheer on the soldiers. This was unheard of in Lakeland history. The generals attempted to prevent her from going, but she wanted to personally urge the fighting. With each visit, the soldiers pushed harder. The Maritime soldiers took the brunt of the surges as they piled up in front of the entry gates.

The Lakeland soldiers stacked each enemy corpse in the way. If the Maritime or Nunu soldiers wanted better access for fighting, they had to put the bodies inside the city walls. This would also work to the advantage of the Lakeland army when they began to rot. The situation was working in Lakeland's favor in most regards. The Princess urged the men on to continue to press the advantage.

A Maritime soldier noticed the Princess and formed a plan. In her finery, she was quite out of place. Thus, he knew she must be important. Therefore, he had soldiers target her. The gunfire became less random and more directed. The Princess felt the danger. However, instead of shrinking for the danger, she urged her soldiers even more. They stepped up to protect her. The battle grew greatly in intensity. The soldiers in the city fell with more regularity.

The trebuchets also increased their fire. The flaming bales became more effective. Those at the gate were able to direct the fire a little bit more. Thus, several interior buildings were set ablaze. They were quickly extinguished, but precious water was used. If the trapped armies were unable to break free, their resources would be quickly diminished.

It was just about dusk when the Nunu and Maritime armies retreated. The roar of battle suddenly became silent. An eerie silence fell over the entry gates. The Princess urged caution. The lull in violence could make the soldiers drop their guards. The Princess stated that is how tragedy strikes. Her army kept a careful watch.

Suddenly a shot rang out, and the Princess fell. Chaos ensued. The Lakeland troops stormed into the city. They lost all discipline. The Nunu and Maritime soldiers were overwhelmed by the siege. The Lakeland troops slaughtered anyone they came across. The sudden surge caught everyone off guard, and just as quickly as it started it ended. Thousands of dead soldiers littered the court yard. Few of them were from Lakeland. The Maritime and Nunu army quickly surrendered. They were not prepared for such a strong push at that time.

The King of Nunu was captured, and brought before the generals. The fight for Nunu was over, but the cost was high. So many dead soldiers scattered around the city. The Maritime generals knew they made a mistake in entering the city, and it cost them deeply.

However, what happened to the Princess. All of the soldiers asked when the fighting ended. In the confusion, a group of soldiers carried the Princess to the hospital. The uninjured were barred from entering the hospital. Thus, few knew what had happened to the Princess. Further, the doctors were too busy with the wounded to give any updates. Thus, everyone sat around waiting for news. It would have to wait until morning.