The Truth Hurts [exo]

4

At the end of the tunnel sat a pile of grass. I stood up and dusted myself off before looking around. I couldn't see any soldiers but I decided I would have to keep to my plan anyway.

Walking away from the tunnel to keep the soldiers from finding out about the cave, I sat by a tree and grasped my ankle. Though there was no evident bruise or bump, I hoped the soldiers were courteous enough to not inspect a lady's bare ankle.

I heard a man yell my name and I took that as my cue to yell back.

"Help!" I wiped some more dirt on my dress and forced out a couple of tears. My hair was already in a mess from running around the night before and my arms had been previously scratched by a few branches. I looked roughed up. "Help me!" I yelled again.

"Princess, where are you?" I heard a shout coming from the denser forest.

"I don't know! I'm over here! Please help!"

All at once, I saw a bunch of soldiers in red appear from the trees. They rushed towards me and I pushed back my uneasiness along with the lump at the back of my throat. I had a job to do and I wouldn't let my fear make me choke.

"Princess, are you all right?"

I shook my head as more tears fell out. I didn't know if I was pretending to cry or not anymore. Their red uniforms meant they were the enemy and now that I sat unguarded in front of them, they could easily take me away. "I've twisted my ankle. I can't move."

"We'll get you to a medic as fast as we can." More soldiers appeared as one of them tried to lift me up.

"No, don't touch me!" I slapped their hands away. "Don't you have a doctor with you?"

"No, Your Highness, we do not."

I growled, hoping I looked frustrated. These were soldiers that had gone out to the front lines to fight for their kingdom but I prayed that they were still afraid of a bratty princess. "Well then, I'm not moving!"

A few of them looked at me with irritation while others rubbed their foreheads with their rough palms. At least some of them were trying to think of a solution.

"Jeez," one of the smaller soldiers crossed his arms. "This is a feisty one."

Another soldier piped up with a scruffy voice. "We're not even getting paid for this. We should be rewarded for having to deal with somebody like her."

The small soldier raised a corner of his mouth in what seemed like a smile but it sure didn't suit his scrawny face. "Then how about we reward ourselves?" He reached for one of the ribbons of my dress and pulled, untying the knot.

"What are you doing?" I shrieked as my hands clutched at the only thing that was keeping my dress in one piece. I tried scampering away but as I moved to the side, I realized that the soldiers had formed a ring around me. While I had hoped they wouldn't inspect my bare ankle, I should've been more concerned about them inspecting all of me.

"Making you feel better of course." The other soldiers laughed as the man ran his grimy fingers along my side. How could they all join in on this? Just a few seconds ago, half of them were actually trying to think of a proper plan. Now they were all acting like pigs. "Who needs a doctor when you have a—"

Something darted past my eyes and I didn't even have time to blink as the man beside me began to choke. His hands clutched his throat and his eyes bulged out as he was gasping for air. Soon, he was gurgling and grabbing onto his comrades who looked on with horror. Something had shot him in the neck. After a long second, he fell and laid flat on the ground.

The man was dead.

Another dart flew by and then another.

I didn't even have time to look to the source before all the men around me were struggling and collapsing one by one. I sat still as stone, unsure of what to make of the situation. These soldiers had been trained to survive in the worst conditions and yet all of them were laying crumpled by my feet. I had just watched ten men die in front of me.