Saving Her Kingdom

♡ Chapter 32

Chapter 32 (Edited)

The next morning, Thomas and I finished our breakfast and got ready to leave at 7 o'clock. Just as Thomas went to get the horses, Robert arrived with Belle and Apollo cleaned, saddled and ready to go. He bowed slightly when he caught sight of us, "Good morning, your Highness, my lady."

"Good morning, Robbie!", I chirped and he scowled at the name. "Let's get going, shall we?"

He merely nodded and handed us the reins of our horses. "Yes, my lady."

Then, he returned to the stables and came back soon after on a light brown horse of his own. We climbed up our horses as well, and let Robert guide us through the streets once again.

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We rode until the sun was a quarter up, and Robert stopped suddenly at a turn of the street. The village had been calm as it was Sunday morning, and we didn't see a lot of people. Most just stared flabbergasted when they saw us or bowed if we passed close to them.

The narrow alley in front of us was in the shadow of the high buildings, making it look much creepier and more somber than the rest of the village.

Robert had a concerned frown on his face, and stared wordlessly at the small alley, as if recalling painful memories. "Robert?", I asked worriedly.

He snapped out of his trance and cleared his throat, "Sorry, my lady. This is where it becomes dangerous. There are countless bandits lurking in the shadows here. Since it's the morning, I don't think I would be attacked if I was alone, but since you're here, they will more likely want to plunder you."

I felt my heart beat a little more quickly. "Why do you think that is?"

He tilted his head at me, "Well, you don't exactly look poor."

"Ah, I see," I answered, slightly uncomfortable, "Well, how long is the way through these streets?"

"I would say an hour at most."

I glanced at Thomas and he suggested, "Let's go then, before all of them wake up."

"Yes, your Highness," Robert started walking again and entered the alley without hesitation. I followed close behind him, and Thomas was at the rear.

I effectively saw dark shadows moving imperceptibly on the walls and turns of even narrower alleys. We kept glancing around watchfully and silently listened to any other sounds than the hooves of our horses.

We walked deeper and deeper in the shadowy area. Thankfully, Robert looked like he knew exactly where he was going.

I was anxious, to say the least, but managed to keep my emotions in check. The two men accompanying me were mostly the reason for me not to panic.

I took a deep breath. If we were attacked, I just had to catch the sword Thomas would throw at me, just like we had discussed earlier. I could defend myself with a sword, that wasn't a problem. I was slightly concerned about musket guns, though...

"We're nearly there," Robert informed us quietly.

Hopefully, we would just make it out of here without any fight...

The sound of a gunshot resounded in the alley, way too close to us to my liking. From the shadows suddenly emerged a group of wickedly grinning bandits, slowly heading our way, and very soon blocking the alley, forcing us to stop. I looked at them closely and realized that none of them had musket guns. I blew out breath of relief.

However, what seemed to be their leader took a step forward, separating himself from the group behind him. He was the only one holding a musket gun in his hand, and had a second one attached to his belt. The devilish gleam in his eyes heightened when he saw that he had successfully blocked us.