The Choice

"Your Majesty" Henry called Timothy's attention and handed him a small piece of paper. The paper had a report written on it.

'Second,third and fourth Centuries of first Cohort made contact. Effects, devastating. Casualties, minimal. Awaiting for further orders.'

Timothy folded the paper and gave it to Abraham. Since James was not here, Abraham had become his temporary squire.

"Order the sixth and seventh Centuries to reinforce the second, third and fourth" Timothy ordered Henry. The knight relayed the order to the messengers.

The second, third and fourth centuries were attacking the middle of Ivan's camp. Timothy wanted to divide the camp and with the help of the sixth and seventh Centuries, he will be able to cut off the southern camp from the north. If the northern half of Ivan's camp rushed to help the south, he will then attack them from behind.

So far the battle was going well. They surprised Ivan and the southern part of the camp was being devastated. Reports say that the Ivan's southern camp was in disarray. Even though Timothy was outnumbered heavily, a sudden attack with cavalry of all things was destructive. If he was lucky, he could even defeat them tonight. He was not expecting that though, his main purpose was to nip a huge chunk of Ivan's forces and instill fear. He would be like an unpredictable wolf in the darkness.

But Timothy was a bit worried. He had already committed most of his forces for the southern attack. As of now, he only had five centuries in reserve, all in the north. He was commanding three of them in the northwest while Arthur was commanding two in the northeast.

Suddenly a messenger arrived. The man was riding his horse at full speed. His expression worried Timothy.

"Sir!" the soldier saluted to Timothy "First and second century of second cohort are being pinned by the enemies. Prince Arthur needs reinforcements"

Timothy's anger blazed as he realized what happened. Arthur must have acted without his orders.

"Fool! Useless fool!" he roared.

Arthur not only revealed their hidden forces, he was also in need of rescuing. Now Timothy had to commit all his reserves. But he needed to help Arthur. The fool was still the heir of Vanadis. He regretted agreeing when Arthur asked him for a small force to command.

"Where are they!?" Timothy was still furious.

"Near the middle sir but on the other side. He said that he found a weak spot so we attacked. But the enemies are too many and they surrounded us. Luckily I was able to escape."

Timothy was struggling to control his anger but he must think clearly. Since the three Centuries under his direct command were the only ones not fighting, only he could help Arthur. Helping the fool would mess his plans but Arthur's life was more important.

He gritted his teeth and looked at Henry. "Order an organized retreat. Organized, I tell you. Make it clean and make it safe. We will meet in our camp."

He then turned to the soldiers behind. He handpicked these soldiers and they were his best.

"Follow me!"

With these words, the three Centuries advanced. They galloped to rescue Arthur's ass. They needed to hurry and couldn't afford to waste time.

Timothy was at the very front. He wasn't worried about his safety though because Abraham was beside him.

They encircled the camp towards where Arthur's forces were being pinned down. But before they reached Arthur, something caught Timothy's eyes.

A chase. A man was being chased by nearly a hundred soldiers. And then the soldiers caught the man. The poor man fell face-down and was surrounded by the soldiers.

At first, Timothy didn't mind it.They really need to reach Arthur as soon as possible and he couldn't waste even a second. But his eyes widened after he saw the face of the man. It was Erik.

Timothy halted and the rest of his men also stopped. Erik looked up and for the first time in months, their eyes met.

The last time they saw each other was when Erik held Baron Braun's forces. Timothy had heard that Erik made a deal with Braun back then. His friend sacrificed his own freedom for him.

Now, Erik looked different. His hair was long and he had a beard. He was wearing some tattered rags that couldn't even be called a tunic. His face was dirty and the brilliance in his eyes was gone. Timothy could see that the past months had been hard for Erik. His friend was a broken man.

His heart ached after seeing the state of his friend. Erik was still a noble and yet he was treated like this. How despicable, he thought. Ivan didn't even know how to properly treat a hostage.

"Tim!" Erik shouted. He was pleading for Timothy to save him.

Timothy was put in a dilemma. He needed to make an immediate choice and he can't waste any more time. But he struggled in making his choice.

Timothy wanted to help him. Erik was his best friend and helping him was just natural. Erik had suffered enough. Furthermore he owed Erik so much and he wanted to repay that debt.

But he can't waste time. The soldiers guarding Erik had already formed a perimeter around him. Of course Timothy's three Centuries of cavalry could wipe them all. But it will take time and many of his men will die. Arthur was in danger and he needed to save the Prince at all cost.

Timothy then decided. Even though his heart aches, he chose Arthur. The foolish Prince would die if he helped Erik first, but Ivan wouldn't kill Erik. Timothy could just plan another rescue mission for Erik a few days from now.

"I'm sorry." Timothy blurted with a pained expression. Being a King and making decisions meant that Timothy sometimes have to make tough calls. It was hard but he forced himself to abandon Erik for now.

"I will come back!" Timothy declared as he ordered his horse to move. The rest of his men followed and they left Erik.

Timothy pulled his hair. He wanted to scream but he steeled his resolve. He still have a foolish Prince to save.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the location reported by the messenger. Timothy saw that Arthur's forces were being surrounded by about a thousand enemies. Some of the men had dismounted and formed a circle. Arthur was at the middle and was being protected by a dozen soldiers or so. Arthur's line of defense was on the verge of collapse.

"Form a wedge!" Timothy commanded.

In just a short moment, the wedge was completed. Since Timothy was an important figure, he went to the middle of the formation and left the front to Abraham. The large royal guard would be their apex.

"Charge!"

With Timothy's order, the three hundred men charged towards the enemies. Henry's teachings, coupled with the toughness and discipline of his soldiers, made the charge fluid. Like battering ram they surged forward.

And then they hit the enemies from behind. They caught them off guard and the charge shattered part of the enemy formation. They tore through the enemies. Bodies lay dead and the rest of the enemies had been broken. The charge shattered them and they routed.

This should have been the moment Timothy ordered to chase the routing enemies. Attacking from behind was the specialty of a cavalry unit. But he can't. They can't stay here any longer. He was sure that more of the enemies will come.

Timothy then saw the fool approach him. Arthur was still riding his horse but the prince's face was pale. It was apparent that the fool was shaken.

"King Timothy! You took so long!" Arthur was almost crying.

Timothy was not able to hold his anger. He grabbed Arthur's collar.

"Fool!" He shouted.

Timothy wanted to give endless insults to the Prince. The fool ruined his plans. Although his attack had caused devastation in the enemy camp, he could have done more damage. But Arthur's recklessness forced him to order a general retreat. The fool could have waited for his orders.

His encounter with Erik further soured Timothy's mood. He had to leave Erik just like that because of Arthur. Of course Erik would still have been recaptured even if Arthur didn't make this problem, but at least that encounter would have never happened.

Timothy wanted to say more but the soldiers were watching them. He didn't want to embarrass Arthur in front of the soldiers. He wasn't that kind of person.

"You taught me to grab opportunities. I just followed your teachings." Arthur defended.

Timothy leaned closer to Arthur. "Then make sure that it is an opportunity you are grabbing and not the tail of a monster! You bit off more than you can chew. You knew that we are outnumbered ten to one. What opportunity are you talking about!?" he told Arthur in a voice only the two of them could hear. "Let's continue this in the camp. You don't want to be further embarrassed in front of the soldiers, do you?"

Arthur slowly nodded.

Timothy straightened his body and looked at the soldiers. They have won, but things could have been better.

"Let's just go back." he ordered.