The bugle sounded, and the world became a haze of movement.

Moments before Teddy was sitting atop Sir Briggs talking to his friend Willie about finding the bridge and seeing the yellow-coated Tallions. "Them Canaries ain't nothin'" said Willie, feigning hubris. "I bet we can take this whole place an' ain't lose a man!" The two boys had been debating as to whether there were more soldiers on the other side of the bridge or if the Tallions had just stopped by to tell the villagers to watch for any sign of an enemy. It made sense to Teddy they'd be watching their backs in case the rebels tried to inch up on the main army which was still supposed to be further north fighting hard against the Rhaetian garrison at Darmstadt. He refused to believe there'd be a concentrated force this far south, and he told his friend that all this hubbub about a charge down the hill was mostly for show. Willie, picking up on the need to make things seem less frightening, had taken to calling the Tallions [i]"Canaries"[/i] after Teddy told him their coats were yellow, and the boys had one of those nervous laughs meant to break the tension and help everyone feel more relaxed. Catching the sign from their Sergeant they began the march downhill with the rest of the soldiers.

Then the woman screamed like she was being murdered, then stopped as if she had, and the world became deadly silent. 

Teddy heard himself swallow. The bugle sounded, and it was as if the unit was a single mind moving fast at a target. Sergeant Hecht was off to Teddy's right, brandishing his sword and screaming the charge! Teddy looked forward, his own sword had found its way to his hand and was pointing threateningly forward. Up ahead he saw half naked Canaries begin to pour out of a large building, some of them started running towards the bridge. "Yeah Run ya' Cowards!" Someone screamed near him.  

[b][i]CRASH!!![/i][/b] he barreled into a wide eyed Tallion who was pulling up his pants; Sir Briggs took an extra moment to trample the soldier's face. [i]Too fast![/i] Teddy thought wildly, [i]How did we get here so Fast!?[/i] Something wet splashed his face, his hand went to wipe it off and he saw red on his fingers. He glanced down and saw the bloody mess of lump and hair that was the soldier's head; Sir Briggs reared up in challenge and triumph at his kill.

A musket cracked next to him and he was suddenly yanked sideways, Sir Briggs went with him and they both fell on the hard, trampled ground. Teddy got up, sword still in his hand somehow, just as a Tallion soldier was running at him with a bayonet pointed to kill. [i]My Horse![/i] was Teddy's thought as he side stepped, grabbed the hot barrel of the musket with his left hand and swung down with the saber in his right onto the neck of the surprised soldier. It felt like cutting into the pigs he slaughtered back at home. Teddy watched the soldier fall limp with a splattering of blood, at this point musket fire was everywhere. He stooped over to check his horse and grab his rifle. 

Sir Briggs kicked himself to his feet and then, with a roaring neigh, charged at a close by window where a soldier was preparing a musket to fire again; chunks of plaster and wood broke free under the onslaught of the stallion's murderous hooves. Teddy ran into the doorway, somehow swinging his loaded carbine as he ran and with a smooth motion and fired at the face of the man at the window. The man's head snapped back violently, then Teddy was rammed by something hard from his front side and he was lying on his back on the ground outside of the cottage again. 

A Canary with with a heavy sword in his hand ran out the door to finish Teddy and was trampled immediately by Sir Briggs who was possessed by some bloodlust Teddy had never seen before in a horse. Suddenly Teddy felt numb, scared, and overwhelmed by the chaos around him. The adrenaline had begun to where off and he felt very small. He had to get out of there, he had to go somewhere and hide. He clambered to his feet and jumped over the broken pile of human flesh his horse had created to get back into the house. He crawled into a corner, sat down, and pulled his legs up to his chest. He began to rock, and then he began to weep uncontrollably. 

Outside the walls he heard loud noises of screams and musket fire. He knew his people were dying, he knew he had to get back out there, but he couldn't catch his breath. He heard a horse whinny in furious victory, and he knew it was Sir Briggs. [i]What in the hell is going on with that horse?[/i] He thought, and somehow that brought him back. He blinked away his tears, wiped his face with his sleeve, and he gave himself a moment to reload his weapon. 

With weak knees he stood up, then the world exploded with the unexpected roar of a canon.