The Land Below our Feet II (Unleashed) COMPLETE

STUCK

The Queen barged inside the small tent and found one of their young nurses hovering over the soldier's open wound as she carefully stitched the large gash that had been torn on his bare shoulder.

-Out! – Elande barked with patent discontent. Heavily stomping on the loose dirt towards them and threatening to punch the poor, frightened girl square in the face while she approached with a fist raised up in the air.

Danthano, who had been quite busy admiring his young caretaker's cleavage from his advantageous position until then, let out a low, resigned breath as he raised his eyes to meet his ruler's choleric sight instead.

-Your Majesty! – He greeted her in a deliberate cheerful tone while wordlessly tapping the nurse's arm and gesturing for the girl to leave – Is there anything I can help you with?

-How about you find a way to get us to the other side of that damn barricade? – The monarch venomously replied, side glancing at the still present woman who kept nervously clutching the needle attached to the thread joining the unfinished suture and seemingly debating between staying put or shamelessly running away.

Puffing out, Elande brusquely yanked the tool out of the girl's trembling fingers, making her yelp in contained terror with this action.

-Didn't you hear me the first time, you i***t? Get the f**k out of here! – She repeated, maliciously closing in on the nurse's paling face and giving her a foul smile –Oh, don't worry about this one. I've got enough first aid skills to finish the job myself…

-I didn't know you were a trained physician... -The fighter salaciously commented, eyeing her with dissimulated mistrust – You certainly are full of surprises, my Queen.

-I am not, but I can patch a wound just fine – She responded – Father made me learn while my brothers practiced swordsmanship… I used to stitch them up all the time, and they would secretly teach me how to fight and wield their weapons in exchange.

Holding the piercing instrument in her hands, the monarch watched as the small nurse reluctantly stood up from her spot and finally headed for the exit, her eyes following her steps briefly, then returning her attention to the warrior sitting before her and winking mischievously at him.

-Yet I can't promise that it would be as pretty as she was making it look – She muttered, gritting her teeth and setting to work with intentional harshness, her eyes shining amused at the strained grunts that escaped through the warrior's tightly closed lips.

-Oh, I'm sorry… Does it hurt? – She asked in a fake concerned tone, her movements contradicting her words as she tugged even harder at the knot that she'd just secured – Poor thing!

-I'm fine – The soldier dryly responded, narrowing his gaze and enduring the procedure stoically – Now, I assume you didn't come all the way here just to check on me and make sure that my wounds were being properly tended to, did you? So why don't you tell me what's the matter then?

-What´s the matter? What's the matter! – The ruler screeched with indignation – How dare you ask such a stupid question? Don't you see that we're stuck in here? We've been uselessly trying to get past that dumb wall for days now!

-Well, it's a big wall – Danthano calmly shrugged – And it is undeniable that they know their grounds. So, it should take us a while.

-There has to be a way around it! – The enraged queen screamed, finishing the last of the stitches that held his lacerated tissue and pushing him away – How is it that we ended up trapped down here in the first place?

-Isn´t it evident? Someone must have tipped them off – The warrior calmly declared – It is more than clear that they knew we were coming…

-Shut up! – Elande commanded, as a loud slap made his face bounce forcefully to the side – I'm not asking you to state the obvious, you moron! I want you to tell me how the hell they found out about our plan?

-And how would that help us get any closer to victory? – The warrior retorted, staring at her with a defiant glare – We've got bigger issues to worry about right now…

-Like what? – The monarch incisively inquired, taking a small step back and calming herself to some degree.

-Like those archers up that cliff, or the fact that their people seem to be hijacking every firearm that they can get their hands on, and using them against us…

The experienced fighter explained, distractedly inspecting his freshly closed wound, then getting on his feet and decidedly pacing forward with a strange drive lit inside his eyes.

- There are only so many weapons available – He muttered, approaching the ruler and making her instinctively recoil with each step that he took - If they keep seizing our arsenal the way they are, we will soon be out of guns before we've even had a decent chance to inflict any serious damage on our targets.

-So, what do we do then? – She asked, looking curiously at him as her back grazed the tent's wall.

-We play the long game – Danthano responded, his neatly shaved face descending over hers and stopping inches away from her lips as she instinctively breathed all his scent in – There IS help coming our way, remember? But that won't mean a damn thing if we start getting sloppy or making any reckless moves!

The warrior knew perfectly well that the monarch was getting desperate with each day that passed. Ever since they'd bumped into the defensive blockage impeding their way south, he'd watched her grow increasingly anxious as they charged against the enemy lines.

Even when Elande knew how to fight, and she was good at it for what he´d seen. She lately just stood at the back all day long, with her mostly unused sword in hand, yelling orders and demanding them to magically find a way through... Which at the moment seemed frankly unfeasible to be fair.

The enemy had chosen that precise spot for a reason. It was a devilish natural trap… And it was clear that they held the upper hand, at least for now. Their offensive lines had been displayed in such an effective manner that there was no easy way through or around them.

That place was so inconveniently laid out, that his army could simply not advance at all. Every time they tried to charge against the Mavaerian troops, they would find their men instantly repelled by a rain of arrows pouring down on them.

It was incredibly frustrating to watch how it didn't matter that his squad was huge, they could still not progress along the narrow path for more than a few feet at a time. They just kept getting mauled once they entered the cramped space and were welcomed by the kiss of the southern steel blocking their way.

At this point, they had two options left: Either they turned around and retreated with their tails between their legs, or they stayed there, patiently decimating their adversaries as much as they possibly could while they waited for the backup to arrive.

-But they also have some help coming for them – Elande´s enraged voice exclaimed, calling for his momentarily dispersed attention – What if the Yahurian army gets here before our allies do?

-Your Grace, do I need to remind you that this is supposed to be a mere distraction stunt? – The soldier serenely replied – Mavaer is not our true goal… So, it doesn’t really matter if the Order gets here first or not.

-But I want that city to be mine as well! It is still part of Lowland's realms, and I want them all! – She insisted, grabbing him by the collar and yanking it violently back and forth.

-I know that – Danthano agreed, reaching for her hand and effortlessly prying her fingers open while immobilizing her – But there's more than one way to skin a cat, Your Majesty... So, keep your eyes on the big picture, would you?

-All right… - She finally conceded, freeing her sore limb from his strong clutch and rubbing it slightly – What now?

-Bring your northerner – He said, leaning towards her and quickly pecking her cheek before pulling abruptly away and walking outside – Let's see what else we can use from the time he served under that white Yahun.