Aaron cranked the handles of the arbalest with arms turned leaden by hours standing the garrison wall, the draw racheting back just that much slower every time.  But at last the next bolt was in place and he raised his weapon again, loosed it down amongst the besiegers.  Beside the line of men, lady Alana paced, pale eyes flashing fury and goad, pale hair haloed in the evening sunlight and crowned with the white and purple anemones that were the symbol of everlasting Avenir.  They would hold this keep, and this pass through to the west march, if by nothing else then by the will of lady Alana alone.

But then, just as the sun touched the crag, and the sunlight turned to shadow, a terrible roar sounded from behind, and Aaron and the others turned to confront a new enemy come impossibly from behind, a great, antlered thing over nine feet tall with teeth and claws like daggers.  The Elkon had had a secret way in.  Of course, they had known their own keep better than lady Alana’s men, and Aaron and the rest had been fools to imagine different, no matter what prizes the other side of that pass would have held.

Lady Alana screamed fury, and all the light went out.

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This has been your fly-by-story, starting from the prompt: Anemone, Arbalest, Antler