Choice made.

Arerto woke after only a few hours of sleep and again went over the orders she had given general Freya. She dressed in her armour and placed her sword on her hip in the scabbard. Taking her shield she headed out into the still-dark morning and made her way to her horse and was relieved that he was already saddled and prepared. She took the reins and gently coaxed him out of camp before after a safe distance she mounted the black stallion and headed east. She pondered the reaction of her friend when she opened the sealed orders but she knew her friend would understand and not judge her as some others would. She headed east further away from the camp just as the sun began to break above the horizon lighting up the morning sky not noticing the dust behind her.

Freya took the orders from the queen's handmaiden and dismissed her and then broke open the red wax seal and started to read the orders from Arerto. "My loyal friend and faithful general I have given thought to what you said, so to get us extra troops I need to return to the capital myself. You will take the army back to the river Junice and set up a strong defence. There will be others who doubt my motives but understand my choice. Surrender was never going to happen. Also, I could not attack and gamble with the safety of our lands so the only logical choice was to order you to retreat and set up a strong defence while I get fresh troops. By the time you get to the river and goddess willing I should be there with a fresh army. be safe my friend and good luck with the retreat your friend and queen Arerto." Freya read the order one more time then summoned her aide and set in motion the retreat from the field of battle.

Freya had set up the retreat so that the defences would seem as normal slowly drawing off troops and sending them back to the river which was twenty miles away. They would start under the cover of darkness so as to aid with the deception but even then there would be hazards to contend with. Not for one minute did she think that Arerto had deserted them but others in the camp had started this rumour that the queen had fled but Freya took no heed and did not punish them. She needed all her troops in the upcoming battle that would decide the fate of Talia and the rest of the realm. To the east, the dust cloud behind Arerto was getting closer but still, she did not notice. It was only when she came to a ravine covered on either side by high foothills that she noticed dust puffs on the tops. She kicked the flanks of her horse and sped deeper into the ravine looking behind and noticing, at last, the dust cloud.

The ravine narrowed and as she approached a bend a net wall suddenly popped up in front of her horse which stopped and reared up throwing her from the saddle. As she went down her head hit a rock and suddenly she found herself struggling to stay conscious but her world fell into darkness. When she came around she could feel that she was naked and as she opened her eyes she could see her arms stretched above her body over a pole. Her ankles were also tied together over the pole. Arertos's arm and leg muscles strained against the coarse rope and as she hung there she turned her head she finally saw her captors were barbarians. There was one who she presumed was the leader, a tall red-headed female decked out in metal armour carrying a sword. Arerto tried to call out but she found she was tagged with a wooden bar held by a leather thong and as she moaned her captor turned and smiled at her.