[u][center][h2]Marianne Delacroix[/h2][/center][/u]
[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/Jr0Uu63.png?1[/img][/center]

Marianne's ears perked when she heard herself be addressed by 'your grace' over the din of the combat in the foreground, as did Sir Ricard's. The giant direwolf turned his snout to menacingly glare at the Iron Rose that dared speak to his beloved Duchess. Breathing heavily, she momentarily ceased her long-range assault/bombardment and placed a hand onto her canine companion, a message for him to stand at ease. Looking over her shoulder to eye her comrade that made such a suggestion, one could see Marianne's cheeks were flushed red from the exertion of maintaining such an impressive siege. Sniffling and wiping at her brow as her long black-hair continued to flow behind her, the squires at her side ready with additional arrows looked to one another in bewilderment. Turning away from her fellow Iron Rose, she surveyed the battlegrounds once more. Not so proud as to ignore the recommendations of others, she took the spoken words to heart and began to think. 

She was right after all, the longer the battle drew on, the less effective her lightning arrow siege would be. Not to mention over time the increased risk of accidental friendly fire mishaps. The longer those trolls stood, the more casualties would be had. As large and intimidating those trolls were, their lethalty mostly existed with the creatures throwing their massive weight around. They weren't necessarily fast nor the smartest. Surely her sword could behead one or two, especially with Sir Ricard at her side. But that would mean her abandoning her post as Rearguard and support. The [i]petite[/i] Captain Fanily was preoccupied with fighting her own troll, so it wasn't as if Marianne could send a messenger to the Captain to relay her intentions. One never has the luxury of time on a battlefield. One had to act intelligently, with little to no hesistation. Make a decision, and then act upon it with confidence. She made up her mind. Reprimand her after the battle was said and done, but Marianne would not stand by if there was more she could do to hasten the efforts of the fight and save more lives.

[center][img]http://rp.alexarnold.ca/roses/both.png[/img][/center]

Collapsing and taking down her bow, she nodded to herself quietly. Yes, she already had a plan of action in mind. [b]"Sir Tiral, I leave Rearguard support to you. Forgive me for having you increase your efforts. Send word to [i]le capitaine[/i] of my actions as soon as is possible!"[/b] Unstraddling her horse, she leapt off of her steed with a soft [i]thud[/i] of her boots. Placing a hand Sir Ricard's side, she looked up at the monstrous direwolf's eyes. [b]"Sir Ricard, [i]nous chassons[/i]!"[/b] The direwolf snarled and seemed to nod once, turning his gaze to the horizon. With a toss of her hair to the side, Marianne jumped up and onto her companion's back and laid down on him as closely and tightly as she could. [b]"Sir Ricard, we're going after the trolls! Stay low! Move swift! [i]Allons-y!"[/i][/b] Hackles rising as the gargantuan direwolf's stance grew rigid, the canine lowered its snout and dug its paws into the earth. To those around, it would even appear as though the direwolf was [i]smiling[/i]. With a thunderous and booming bark, Sir Ricard exploded forward with a surreal and unbelieveable speed for a creature his size. Arrows and spears flew at the new and blatant target, but they mattered little to the giant wolf. His fur and hide were too thick to be penetrated by crude and minature weaponry such as that, Marianne safe on his back. WIth his sheer size, weight, and speed alone, the direwolf crushed and stomped his way through the orc ranks. His erratic zig-zag pattern of motion made it difficult for any serious weaponry or war machines to be targeted at him and his precious cargo. Once he had cleared a sufficient enough path, the wolf then locked onto an absent minded troll and barrelled towards him. With full intention to ram into the troll, Sir Ricard lowered his snout and then raised it to the skies to bellow out a bone-chilling howl as he closed the distance on a troll...