Elincia was about to ask Tana about Frelia’s pegasus knights and her own pegasus - after all, meeting a fellow rider in nobility was a new experience for her - when the attack happened.
The sudden appearance of the assailants had completely erased whatever previous thoughts were in Elincia’s mind; any concerns over presentation, diplomacy and the crown had vanished, replaced with the more instinctive reactions - fear, panic and alarm. However, she quickly found her training taking over, and she began to process quick plans, taking in information from her surroundings. They were caught in the middle of the ballroom, though, and the nearest weapons were the ones rapidly approaching them. This was like the war, again, only now she was twice the survivor and armed with mercenary tactics. And such tactics were now telling her that their clearly smaller numbers was a severe disadvantage.
Tana’s suggestion came to her ears, and the queen gave it a bit of thought: it would be prudent to stay out of danger, but at the rate that the assassins were rushing along the sides of the ballroom as well, reaching other targets, there would be no good place to run to. Their safest bet would be if they could each arm themselves somehow…
Of course, how could she forget? Lucia, careful not to leave her queen unharmed, had insisted that Elincia bring a concealed knife with her at all times in the event that her retainers were not with her. It was a very small, thin blade - almost like a stiletto, sharp-pointed and perhaps frail, but it was enough to let her catch an attacker unawares and give her time to escape. But since there was no longer space to escape to, it would seem that she had to go on the offensive.
“No… running in such a chaotic state would leave us open to more attack,” she said quietly, trying to keep herself calm. “Before we make a break for it, we have to arm ourselves - watch out!”
A swordsman had approached the trio from the side, and Elincia had just barely caught sight of him before side-stepping, watching the blade slice the air where she had been just a moment ago. Without hesitation, she unsheathed the small knife from within the hidden folds of her white dress and stabbed it into the man’s upper arm. With a surprised cry, the attacker dropped his blade, exactly as Elincia had hoped would happen; she knocked the blade toward Marth and Tana, while pulling out the small knife from the man’s arm and sending him backward with an undignified kick.
Her heartbeat was elevating, her breath was starting to get heavier… Elincia could feel that feeling of the heat of battle returning to her after its long rest, and yet it was not the fight itself that unsettled her, but how naturally her reactions seemed to have become. Had she become that accustomed to the fight?
 So Frelia was famous for Pegasus Warriors? Sheeda would probably like it there, was his initial thought, however before he could come up with a more useful comment to use in conversation, the mood in the ballroom changed, drastically. One moment it had been all polite conversation and civil movements…the next…Chaos! Armed men were charging into the room, clearly the attraction of so many people of some power or position in one room had been too much temptation for the powers-that-be and now they were besieged! There was a group of well-armed swordsmen and what looked like assassins heading straight for their table and Marth’s reaction was instinctual.
Thank the Goddesses Falchion was pretty enough to pass as a ceremonial sword.
Yes, he had come to the ball armed. He had come thinking of representing his country and what was better than bring Anri’s blade with him. He had to wear it in ceremonial situations at home, so how would now be any different. Of course he had never expected to use it, but for once paranoia and country-orientated thinking had won the day! He drew the great glittering blade with a flourish as he heard Princess Tana proclaim they should run. The Frelian Princess was completely unarmed though he noticed Queen Elincia had brought a knife. Elincia proclaimed running would only increase the chaos, and that they needed weapons - not a problem for Marth of course.
A swordsman suddenly charged at them, not clear, and not caring, who was the man’s target, Marth leapt forwards to meet him blade-to-blade. With a vicious thrust he wounded the man’s side, causing him to howl and drop to the floor. Marth immediately turned his attention to Queen and Princess who were yet to be properly armed. Suddenly he remembered something he had seen when he first entered the room. Long poles holding garlands or hangings, or in some places the coat of arms for the castle…The very tops were decoratively pointed and Marth assumed, sharp.
“Tana, Elincia, I will attempt to cover you whilst you find arms,” he proclaimed, “If you prefer to wield lances, why not use to the poles for the standards that decorate the walls?”
He hoped his idea didn’t sound too ludicrous but he didn’t have much thinking time as he dodged yet more attackers and slashed at approaching swordsmen aiming to disarm, and not wound this time. His blood was pumping and his hands no longer shook from anxiety. The hall was transforming into a battlefield, and surprising, that was one thing he had been trained not to be scared about. The knights back home would be proud…if he survived this surprise attack!
Tana felt she barely had time to breathe--and everything was happening all too quickly... She had not, and no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that she would have--expected this to happen. How ironic it was that she had sounded all too proud of her accomplishment just over two years ago, that she had been trained in the military to become a full-fledged pegasus knight.. Yet at this very moment she seemed to have been the only one left completely unarmed! She merely stepped back as Elincia disarmed her opponent, and watched as a weapon of steel that had once belonged to her assailant, now bleeding and--dead, she had only hoped--was knocked with a kick in Tana's direction.Â
It was only for a split second that she would call it so, for Marth who stood beside her just a few moments ago had come forward and knocked over just another one of the assassins coming their way. A sense of alertness and fear had lurched in her heart.. Oh, how her father would scold her so if he was to finally hear about this... Travelling so far from Frelia to attend a ball in a land so far that he probably had never even heard of it!
Yet she was in a battlefield now, no longer a beautiful castle illuminated with fanciful chandeliers, paintings, filled with beauty and guests she was once excited to meet. She had not known whether her father or brother had learned of her disappearance by now, but it was with her full-on determination and thoughts of surviving this attack that made her shake these very thoughts away and focus on the situation before her. Tana picked up the weapon just beneath her feet, willing her hands not to shake as she steeled her grip on its handle. Having been trained to wield a lance during the course of her life as a pegasus knight, she found that a sword was much more difficult to wield. And although she had experimented with it for a short time during the war, she found that a lance under her grip was something she preferred. Her thrusts were stronger and more natural, versus the thrusting pattern she had learned with difficulty on the sword whilst riding a pegasus, if not for its shortened length adding to its complexity. And having been trained to fight whilst riding a pegasus surely she had feared... Tana let herself a deep breath.. She expected to fight with much more difficulty on foot. And at that moment the words of Marth had come to her in which she nodded to. This sword would only be a temporary weapon. She had much preferred a lance, and as she turned to face Elincia where she stood, she was only overcome with absolute horror as an axeman from behind the unsuspecting queen lifted his deadly weapon and--
"Queen Elincia, behind you!!"
Yet she found that as she yelled those words she was already rushing towards the queen's aid and, after pushing her aside, thoughts blurred and vision had only returned as she found herself blocking the axeman's vertical swing. The look of surprise on the man's face was apparent, and it was with this knowledge and, the supposed "quick thinking" that Syrene thrust deeply into her head while they trained, that she sidestepped, causing the axeman's weapon to fall to the ground, and thrust her sword deep into the man's side before he had the chance to lift it again.
And with that she turned to face Queen Elincia, a smile returning to her face as she had come to terms with success. If there was one thing she found, it was that with a sword she stood a much better chance at defending herself against an axeman. But more than anything, Tana was enlightened to see that the Queen was unharmed.
"Oh! Queen Elincia, are you better armed with a sword, or a lance? I myself would much prefer a lance, but without my pegasus I must admit.. I may not be as good as I normally am on the battlefield..."
