Trusting Dust

Chapter 5

       

Their thirty minutes had passed and they were again under careful watch. They traveled the whole day until the carriage grew dark from the lack of light. The carriage came to a halt and the men stepped out of the carriage to discuss what to do next. Connor leaned over to say something, but the princess held up her hand and leaned with her ear against the side of the carriage to try and hear more information. Connor sat and waited for what Ava had learned. It was only when he heard her gasp that his natural impatience took over and he nudged her to figure out the news. Her face was pale when she looked at him, and she was looking at him as if she would never see him again. It seemed to take all her strength to whisper the news, "They are planning to execute you."

Connor froze. He had never been in this situation before and it scared him. He was going to be executed and it took him a little to get his breath back. "Why?" He managed to mutter. Ava breathed in and out for a while to try and compose herself before she delivered the explanation. "They still believe you are the Prince, and in order to get their plan to work they believe they need to make an example of you and show the king your execution."

Connor sat very still as he absorbed the information. The news was shocking, yes, but he believed he could find a way out of it, like he always did. After a while he turned to Ava, "What is the prince's name?"

Ava looked at him in shock, "What are you doing? They are planning to execute the Prince, and you think it is wise to act as if you are truly him."

Connor had already thought of this, "So what if I tell them that I'm just Connor, a minor thief. Then, they will realize that they don't need me and that I've seen too much. They will kill me."

Ava wouldn't look at him, "So you are dead either way."

"No, executions are carefully planned and take a great deal of time. Sometime before it actually occurs we should be able to escape, but I need to know your brother's name."

Ava replied in a whisper, "Phillip Andreas Hazrad." A few seconds later she added, "I hope this works." Connor sat in silence for the remainder of the time.

The door at the back of the carriage opened to reveal two of the bandits. The bigger one turned to Connor, "You, outside," he said with a thick accent. Connor followed the men outside. They a heard a voice behind them, "Wait! Where he goes I go!" The men shared a look, then unbound her and took her with.

Outside the carriage all they could see was sand and dust. They were in the middle of a desert. The leader of the bandits walked up to Connor, "Who are you?"

Connor stood with confidence in a way he thought a Prince would, "My name is Phillip, Prince Phillip Andreas Hazrad of the Hazrad Kingdom."

The man raised an eyebrow, "Who is she?" making a motion towards Ava.

"She is Avalyn Rose Hazrad, my sister, and the princess."

The man chuckled. "Avalyn? Do you even know you sister's name. It's Ava. Not Avalyn."

Connor stood firm, "You just know it as Ava, her nickname. Her full name is Avalyn Rose."

The man turned around and began to speak in Arabic. Connor looked at Ava and she nodded. It was their signal that the men believed he was the Prince. After a while of standing the lead bandit turned back around to face Connor. He gave him a chilling glare, "We will be making camp here for the night. Don't try anything if you value your life." He turned to two other bandits, "They will escort you to your resting place."

The men went up and grabbed Connor, another one grabbed Ava. "Oh, and one more thing," the leader delivered a hard punch to Connor's gut. As Connor sat on the ground winded, the leader leaned in close, "Mark my words, If you try to run away, I will kill you and your precious little sister."

Connor looked straight into the man's cold eyes. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." As Connor spoke the last word, he hit the man with his fist right on his lip.

The bandit cried out in pain, then with a snarl grabbed Connor by the neck and lifted him up in the air cutting off his air. Ava stood petrified by the scene in front of her. She yelled out "Phillip" at the top of her lungs only to have her mouth covered by a hand so she couldn't speak. As Connor lost consciousness he thought the princess yelling sounded vaguely familiar, but he blacked out before he could give it any other thought.