FOUND

Welcome to Hell, Boys

The journey to the castle was longer than she expected. What should have only taken half a days time took a full day. Simon and Mason were in the lead and instead of paying attention to the trail they were neck deep in a discussion about dirty knickers.

"They were not mine." Simon shouted.

"Well they weren't mine." Mason shouted back.

"They had to be yours!" Simon said in an irritated tone. She looked at the tree with the giant knot in it for the third time.

"Uh, guys." She called out. The two were to engrossed in their argument to hear her. "GUYS!" She shouted.

All of the boys turned to her, birds flew away as fast as they could at the sound of her voice, and Raskanoff chuckled beside her.

"What is it Mal?" Simon asked, walking towards her a bit.

"If you have to pee Mal, make it quick." Mason tells her.

"I don't have to pee you idiot. We have passed that tree, three times now." She points to the knotted tree and crosses her arms over her chest.

"That is impossible." Simon shakes his head.

"We have not." Mason agrees. "Right?" He asks his brother who just shrugs.

"Now if you ladies are done bickering about who left out the dirty knickers, I would like to actually get to the castle." She says. Raskanoffs laugh bursts through his fingers and the other guys join in on the laughter.

The twins scowl at their friends, take one look at how serious she is, and turn around with their mouths closed. Within five minutes they were at the castle gates. Malia, Raskanoff, and Luc approach the guards, while the others stand back and wait for the okay.

"May we help you with something Miss?" One of the guards asks. He eyes her suspiciously, looking her over too many times. Luc grabs her hand and pulls her closer to him, Raskanoff steps in front of her to hide her from the guards' wandering eyes.

"We wish to join the King's men." He tells them boldly.

"All of you?" The other guard looks at the group of skinny men waiting back with disbelief.

"Yes. All of us." Luc reassures.

"And what is to be done with the girl?" The first guard asks.

"She will accompany us." Raskanoff tells him.

"What purpose does she serve?"

"I am a fighter." She tells him around Raskanoff's large arm.

The two guards laugh a deep belly laugh.

"She is good." Luc explains. "The best fighter we have."

"Well." Raskanoff scoffs. Malia nudges him and he smiles.

"Are you going to let us in or not?" She asks in an annoyed tone.

The guards look at each other, both grinning from ear to ear. They open the gates and watch as we all walk through into the beautiful heart of Declyia. Critter and Declan stare in amazement at the large roman statues that line the bridge. We approach the castle and everyone inhales deeply. She is unsure if it is because of how beautiful the architecture is or if it has something to do with King Maurice standing before them in an extravagant red velvet robe.

"What do we have here?" King Maurice questions.

"Your Majesty." Luc says. All of them take a knee and bow before the King. "We have come to help you. We heard of your quest to retrieve the lost princess."

"You have heard a rumor I am afraid." He lies. She can tell that he is lying to them, she can basically smell the metal of armor and weapons. "Thank you for your loyalty, but your services are not needed."

Luc, Simon, Mason, Critter, Elijah, and Raskanoff all rise to their feet, bow and turn to leave. Malia, however, stays standing, staring at the man.

He gazes back at her, tilting his head to the side as she stares at him. "Mal." Luc whispers. He walks to her, grabs her arm and tries to turn her away from the King. "Lets go Mal."

"No." She says. Seven pairs of eyes widen at her reluctance to leave.

"I beg your pardon?" King Maurice asks.

"I am staying." She tells him. "You and I both know that it wasn't a rumor. I can smell the armor from here. You cannot trick me." She tells him. She thinks it wise to add, "your Majesty."

"Smart girl." He grins. "Right this way. Come along."

He turns and walks down a set of stairs to the left. He leads them down a narrow, poorly lit hallway. Raskanoff leans down to her ear, "That was stupid Mal."

"Maybe, but I wasn't wrong." She shrugs.

She takes his silence as him agreeing with her, and she proceeds down the hall. The hallway eventually opens up and is filled with men of all ages and sizes, various weapons, and cots that laid to one side of the area. Few were occupied by men nursing injuries.

"This is where I leave you." King Maurice tells them. "I must return to my wife before we leave for Gralis."

They all bowed before him, when they stood straight he pointed to a short man walking towards them.

"Peter, these are some new recruits. Take care of them for me." King Maurice requests.

"Absolutely." He nods in the direction of the King. A sense of respect passes between to the two. The king smiles at the man and walks back down the long hallway.

"What do we have here?" Peter asks himself. He walks around the group mumbling things to himself, until he returns to the spot where he started. "Not bad."

"Thank you Sir." Luc nods. "We all have had some training and are skilled with swords and daggers."

"Wait." Peter holds up his hand as he makes eye contact with Malia. He waves his hand to the side, shooing Rask out of the way. He inhales, side-steps and watches the man approach his best friend. "What are you doing here?"

"I am here to help rescue the lost princess from King Allistair." She states with a sense of confidence and pride.

"You realize that this is going to violent, yes?" He asks.

"With all do respect sir, I can handle myself. Can you say the same?" The short man grinned up at her and walked back away from her.

"Grab a sword, sharpen it, get your armor. We leave at dawn." Peter commands. "Welcome to Hell, boys." He says with a cheeky grin directed at Malia.