We The Kings: Book Two

Chapter 8

Vendov was a massive kingdom, by their land mass and their population. They had always had a strong army. The Vendov king had said the war started because of a fight with my father, but I could then see it was so much more than that. My father was dead, and he wanted an empire. He had conquered my kingdom, and was allies with Salkon and the Mullis Islands. I wondered where his greedy hands would reach next.

I soon approached the Vendov boarder. They didn't have walls or any protection, they didn't need it. A wave of panic hit me, I was really there. In the land of my enemy.  If anyone discovered my identity it wouldn't just be death, they'd torture me, use me as a warning to anyone who defied their rule.

I followed the map Johnny had given me. It was getting dark, I was passing through the first town. I kept my head down, there weren't any guards. To my inconvenience, many of the main roads passed through towns according to the map.

I heard a scream. A woman's scream.

"Help!" She called out. I galloped to the sound of two girls outside of a shop. There were three men cornering them.

I had mixed feelings about helping them. I needed to keep a low profile, I couldn't raise attention to myself. They were Vendov citizens, why would I want to help them?

They screamed again. One of the men pulled out a knife. I needed practice, I told myself. But practice on three, large men?

I grabbed a spare shirt out of my satchel and tied it on my face under my eyes. I then threw my cloak over myself and pulled up the hood. I dismounted the horse and ran towards them. One girl was taller than the other, appearing to be in her early teens. The other was younger, with a rounded face. They were dressed formally.

"What are you doing?" I said to the bulky men that were cornering the girls.

"Go away, peasant. Mind your business." One of them spat at me.

I drew my sword.

"I don't think so. Leave them alone."

"Or what? What are you going to do? Rufus, remove him." One of them commanded.

One of the men approached me with a knife. A knife, I thought. He was going to duel with that? No, I was wrong. He threw it at me. I dodged, he missed, but almost scraped my leg. He pulled another one from his leg holster and threw another. This one almost hit my ear. His shots were close. I ducked and hit the ground, grabbing one of the knives from the ground. I threw it back at him and completely missed. It landed by his feet. The girls squirmed and kicked to get away from them. I picked up one of his throwing knives and aimed it as percise as I could with the little amount of time I had. I threw it with as much force as I could. It hit him in the leg, bringing him to his knees.

The largest man came at me and grabbed me by my ankles, he dangled me, causing my sword to slip out of my hands and onto the ground. I reached into my cloak and pulled out a knife that was attached to my trousers. I stabbed him in the leg, causing him to drop me on my head. My neck cracked. I began to crawl away from him on my hands and knees. I reached my horse. The tallest girl kicked the man who was holding her and ran towards me.

Part of me had considered fleeing. I was by my horse, I could make it out of there alive. I reminded myself I was doing this for a reason. I grabbed my bow from the horse and shot at the two men with the knives in their legs, ensuring they would stay down. The last man still had the small girl. I aimed at him, his grip tightened and he held a knife to her neck. She let out a cry.

"If you shoot at me, she's already dead."

I lowered the bow.

"Help! Please!" He tightened the grip on the girl's small neck.

"Please. Let her go. Take me instead."

He let out a deep laugh.

"You? What do you have to offer me?"

"My horse. My weapons. The money I have. It's all yours. Just let the girl go."

"This girl is worth more than you and anything you own, peasant."

If only he knew who he was talking to.

"Please! Please!" Thick tears ran down the child's face.

There was a slicing sound, the man fell, landing ontop of the child. The tallest girl had came behind him with the sword, and sliced the back of his legs. She pulled the other girl out from under him. He tried to grab her with his large hands.

I aimed the bow at him, my arrow penetrated his shoulder, knocking him backwards. The girls were safe. They approached me, the smaller one was aggresively wiping her tears away.

"Thank you for saving me and my sister." Said the tallest girl. Her hands were shaky.

"Why is your face covered with a shirt?" The younger girl asked, pointing at my face.

"I. Work as a blacksmith apprentice. Burned my face pretty badly the other day. It looks gross."

"Can I see?" Asked the younger girl.

"Pagga! Don't ask about the man's burn! He's clearly insecure about it."

"Sorry." She muttered.

In the distance coming from the town, horse hoofs clapped against the stone road. They were wearing black and gold uniforms on black horses. They were Vendov guards.

"I have to go." I said to the girls. I took my sword and the knives and mounted my horse quickly. They were coming closer.

"Wait!" The older sister called out to me, reaching her hands out.

The guards were close. They slowed when they reached the girls.

"GET HIM! HE'S A THIEF THAT'S ESCAPING!"

"No! He's the one who saved us! LET HIM GO!" Demanded the oldest girl.

The guards stopped in their tracks at her command as I safely rode away.