Lull.

The eight hundred cavalry warriors settled into the heights above the ravine. Cassandra collected her remaining troop which numbered just twenty able and ten wounded. Thirty out of one hundred and twenty they had paid a price but they had not died in vain they had done their duty and the enemy paid a higher price. She headed back up to the top of the heights and looked eastwards towards the enemy camp expecting another wave to come but there was no movement. The cavalry commander asked Cassandra if she expected another attack and Cassandra replied "Well commander the enemy has a problem they do not know exactly how many warriors we have here and after their losses they may just give up or they may return to Talia" She took one more look and then headed back to resting warriors passing by the bodies of the fallen until she came level with Helinda's corpse and looked at her wrapped in her red cloak.

As Cassandra looked on a figure stood towards her from behind and came to a rest behind her " Commander Cassandra your presence has been requested at the command tent the Queen has arrived" Cassandra turned just as mote warriors appeared to collect the fallen and bury them in temporary graves. Cassandra arrived at the command tent to find Arerto, Freya and Jasmine waiting for her and as they entered they saluted her as if she was in charge" Commander Cassandra we owe you and your brave warriors a huge debt that will be hard to repay. Now what is your understanding of the current disposition of the enemy" ask Arerto. "Your majesty in my expert summoning up of the situation the enemy is confused and has a difficult decision to make. I would not like to be the enemy commander at this moment in command of the undertrained army and with few seasoned warriors in her ranks."

"Okay, my friends we have two choices. The first choice is to end the fighting and try to make the enemy see sense that Chasin is the enemy and not us. Two, we can take the fight to them in which case we will lose but so will they. What we cannot do is let them return to Talia we have to hold them here and defeat them. If they get back to Talia we will have an even harder time defeating Chasin. Freya we need a fail-safe so find a place behind their line where we can defend and block their return to Talia. General Jasmine and Commander Cassandra, you will come with me and see if we cannot persuade the enemy to join us." The three women left the tent while Freya went to work looking for bottlenecks that would impede the enemy all the way back to Talia. Cassandra carried a white flag and accompanied Arerto and Jasmine on horseback towards the enemy encampment kicking up dust. When they approached the camp they were greeted by the enemy commander, General Killiane.

Meanwhile in Pragar Melusa was skulking in the shadows of the palace waiting for darkness thinking about the offer Arerto had given her. "Melusa you have two choices languish here in prison for the rest of your days. There is one more scenario I can give you? You have seen what Pragar said about you. I do not believe it was all your doing and this peace I have with her I have seen how easily she betrays her allies. So the choice I give you is prison or **** Pragar." That offer was three days ago and here she was in Pragar to keep her promise to someone who she had mistreated and who had freed her. Soon she would take her **** against Pragar and then slip away in the darkness to find somewhere to settle down and be safe and undisturbed as Arerto had promised. She settled being some bushes waiting for the blackness of night to shroud the city before she would make her way into the palace.