"We can't send soldiers there or anything."
"What will we do if we don't send in the soldiers?" Are we going to send animals with explosives on their backs into the village?
"Only one-third of the soldiers we send can cross that swamp." I'm not even counting the loss of goods that will occur on the road. That road is unusable."
"There is no other way to attack the village." We can't go through the terrain; it would be the same as announcing our arrival. There is strict protection on the other two sides as well because there is a forest there. We also can't guess whether the royalty has placed a scout in the forest. The only way is the swamp!
Sarah had stopped listening. These two war commanders were clueless about both war and command. This meeting was nothing but a fiasco. At the end of hours spent in fighting, the only things they would have gained would be more competition and more confusion. This had to come to an end.
Sarah turned her gaze immediately to the king waiting at the head of the long rectangular table to her left. King Arthur. The king was looking at the commanders with stern glances, one after the other. It was very clear that he was also fed up with this argument. Sarah maintained her grin. She enjoyed watching the King deal with these despicable men.
The King locked eyes with Sarah at that moment.
He roared, "Enough already!" The commanders fell silent.
The king made eye contact with all the commanders, generals, and presidents standing around the table. They all lowered their shoulders and bowed their heads. Those with sense would fear the king. A wise person would remain silent when he said to be silent and would speak when he said to speak. Sarah, despite having no fear of the king, sensed the angry and deadly aura he radiated.
She scrutinized the king. He had short chestnut hair. When he got angry – like now – his hair would fall over his eyes. He had hazel eyes. When he got angry, his eyes colors would darken. His sharp jawline would tense, and a vein would appear on his neck. The king's eyes and body would take on the shape of his mood. Sarah would see these signs in advance. She could tell he was angry before he even got angry. It took her a while to realize that the other commanders couldn't do this.
"We did not gather here to listen to the two of you argue." The king continued. Then he turned to Sarah.
"What do you think?"
Sarah knew that she was the only person in this room whose thoughts the King cared about. She thought so too. The only person in this room whose opinion was valuable enough to be consulted was herself. She stopped, looked at the map for a while. Right now, whatever she said, the king would make that decision. But she shouldn't stray too far from the king. She shouldn't suspect anything.
She lifted his head from the map and looked back at the king. "I think we should enter through the farmland."
From the whole table, "What?" "how is that possible?" "This is unacceptable." Voices like "This is unacceptable" rose. The terrain was the most illogical side of the four that the village possessed for an attack. If they tried to approach the village from there, even the guards waiting in the watchtowers on the other side of the village would easily notice them. Leaving from there meant giving the guards time to call for reinforcements, receive help, and prepare. It meant absolute defeat.
Sarah knew all of this; this is what she exatcly wanted.
The king raised an eyebrow at Sarah's response—Sarah didn't look at the other commanders. She didn't care about their opinions, and she knew the king didn't either.
"I'm listening." The king said. Sarah took a stick in her hand and, synchronized with her speech, pointed out the places she mentioned on the map.
"Last week, we conducted a raid here, and it went very well." She had organized and commanded the attack herself. She was showing her success. "as a result of this attack, the village was devastated." The people had neither a place to stay nor food to eat left. They had also burned down the warehouse. It was his idea again. While the soldiers were celebrating victory, he had gone to the food depot, which was a 5-minute horse ride from the village, carrying oil and a torch in his own hands.
"What does this mean?" said the king.
"That means," Sarah continued. "There is a village full of defenseless people that King Dain –the king of the country they are at war with– has to feed, clothe, and settle." Additionally, the destroyed village was one of the border villages. Quite far from the capital. Dain's two feet are in one shoe."
Everything she said was completely a lie. She knew that Dain had another granary in the center of another border village, completely full. Additionally, the people of Wilde were generous and helpful. The villagers who were left out in the open had already been settled. Sarah knew very well that Dain was currently filling his defense with the border villages. If they did as she said, they would definitely lose the raid.
But Sarah wanted to deal as big a blow as possible to Arthur in addition to losing this raid.
The king nodded slightly in agreement. Sarah continued speaking. "I would say let's not treat this as just a hit-and-run. Let's increase the number of soldiers. After taking the village, let's move inward.
The king raised his eyebrows. This was a crazy idea. Continuing to advance after the alarm was sounded was risky and required speed. It was impossible for them to reach the next village before help arrived. Sarah knew. But she had to blind the king.
A voice from the table said, "You're talking nonsense!" Sarah looked at the person who said that. He was one of the platoon commanders, but Sarah couldn't remember his name.
If I can't remember their name, they must be someone insignificant, she thought.
"We can't know if Dain is in a tight spot like you mentioned. What if he has already recovered? So many soldiers would be wasted in battle. Besides, we can't advance inside. A lot of soldiers means a lot of vehicles, a lot of supplies, and a lot of cargo to transport. We can't be fast enough. Let's say we did and reached the next village. After the raid on the second village, the surviving soldiers won't even be able to return. This plan is nonsense and a waste of soldiers."
After listening to him, Sarah turned to the king without answering. Everything that was said was true and just. Sarah was fabricating separate lies to refute them all.
The king turned to Sarah after the commander's words. Sarah spoke. "I know Dain is in a tight spot because I'm clever enough to send agents disguised as merchants to the villages before the first strike. My soldiers, whether disguised as merchants or playing the role of innocent villagers who have lost their homes, gather information and relay it to me. Even though I don't hear from the palace itself, I know the state of the people. When it comes to carrying burdens."
Sarah stopped. She threw the king a pointed look. Sarah and the king both knew this look. Sarah was about to say something interesting and probably deadly.
"They don't take anything other than weapons with them to be fast."
"What!" said the commander.
Sarah turned to the king again. The king was listening intently. "The first assault will definitely succeed. We will lose a small number of soldiers there. I'm thinking the worst. I assume that Wilde's soldiers have caught up with us and are attacking. We can cause damage to the village with the existing soldiers. After that." She paused for a moment. "how many soldiers will survive is uncertain. If there are any survivors, I'm sure they won't be more than a handful."
The entire hall fell silent. Sarah was sending the soldiers not to victory, but to death. She was telling the soldiers going to the hall that there was a price to be paid for the damage that would be inflicted. After putting pressure on Dain, she said that it didn't matter whether the soldiers who left would return.The silence continued.
Sarah wanted the king to lose, and with each loss, she wanted more soldiers to be added to the count. Sarah knew that the soldiers wouldn't even be able to pass the first village, and if the new general did his job well – she called him the new general because in the last battle, he had ripped open the old general's belly, tied his intestines around his neck, and hung him from a roof – the departing soldiers wouldn't reach the village.
But she had to convince the king. She had to convince him that the plan would work and the loss would be worth the gain.
Sarah looked into the king's eyes. The king looked at her too. Sarah looked confident, as she always did.
She had the final word. "I will personally be at the forefront of the soldiers to dispel any doubts you may have." No other commander will come with me.
Silent gasps of astonishment rose from the audience. None of them had approved this plan. There was no goddamn soul to approve this plan. But Sarah didn't need their approval.
The king raised his head and looked behind himself. The wall behind him was made of glass, and it had the most beautiful view of the kingdom. Sarah looked with the king. The surroundings were orange. The sun was setting.
"You may disperse." The king said. "I will inform you of my decision."
Sarah held herself back from making a face. She thought, "He is getting clever."
Everyone started to leave the hall slowly. Sarah followed them. Just as she was about to leave the hall, the king's voice rose from behind.
"Sarah, you stay."
Sarah stood by the door and waited for the hall to empty. There was no way the king could have understood anything. She knew she hadn't shown anything, but she might have scared the king with this plan. After all, sooner or later, it was certain that there would be a showdown where both kingdoms would put everything on the line, and the king might want to conserve his strength for that time.
I have to convince him, she thought to herself. If this raid didn't happen, she couldn't leave, and staying here longer was risky.
After everyone left the hall, the door closed, and Sarah leaned against the wall next to the door. The king approached her quickly and stopped when there was less than a step's distance between them. If he got any closer, Sarah would feel the king's breath on her face.
The king and Sarah locked eyes for a moment. Sarah didn't break her grin while trying to read something from the king's expression."How can you talk about such a plan with a smile on your face?" the king asked. He moved a little closer to Sarah and leaned towards her ear. "I love this." Saying that, he let out a slight wheeze.
Sarah's eyes widened. She understood at that moment what the king wanted and why he wanted her to wait. She told herself that this couldn't be happening, but it was.
Instead of lifting his head, the king lowered it even further. The king's breath was warming Sarah's neck. The king slowly raised his hands and caressed Sarah's waist with gentle touches.
I can use this, Sarah said to herself. She could combine the king's plan with the lust she had taken from him.
"I love you even more when you're ruthless." The king said. Sarah felt all the letters in her throat. She had opened her mouth to speak, but her stomach turned, and she barely managed to swallow her bile.
"My King," she said. The king slowly lifted his head and came nose to nose with Sarah. Sarah placed her fingertips on the king's hand resting on his waist. The king let out a shaky breath. Sarah was struggling to keep her food down. "It is an honor for me," she said. The king smiled. Just as he was about to make a move towards her, Sarah interjected, "But."
The king looked into her eyes. Sarah read him. There was impatience in his eyes, there was a hint of petulance. He wanted it immediately and was annoyed by Sarah's interruption.
"Wouldn't you want to adorn this with a victory?" She said. The king looked confused.
"Just hang in there a little longer." Sarah said. "Wait a little longer and possess me while I have a victory on my head." "You said you liked my ruthlessness." Sarah saw the approval in the king's eyes. "Then hold on a little longer and take me in my most ruthless form."
She looked into the depths of the King's eyes. Let me go, she said to herself. She couldn't do that. She would never be with anyone, and if the king insisted, she wasn't sure how he would escape.
The King's hand on Sarah's waist loosened and moved away. Sarah let out a deep breath.
"We will execute your plan." The king said. Sarah pushed back the stars that were about to shine in her eyes and continued to wear her usual grin.
"I will send exactly three companies of soldiers. And you will be in charge. There won't be any other authorized personnel besides you and those you appoint."
The king approached Sarah one last time. "Go!" Kill them all and stain yourself with Wilde's military blood." He grinned. "And come to me without taking a bath." There was bloodthirstiness on his face, there was greed, but there was no humanity at all.
The king left the hall.
Sarah took deep breaths."I swear." She said. "I swear, the next time I come to see you, it will be to fulfill my brother's last wish." She was on the verge of being overwhelmed by her anger. "I swear I'll kill you."