Hoof beats erupted in the night, distant and far-off, but they were enough to alarm Jessica. The two young fighters had been trudging through the woods for a good half hour, pulling Benji the prince behind them. The fact that he was blindfolded and tied didn’t make the going any faster. Jessica, leading since Andrew was dragging their hostage, glanced back at her friend.
“We have to hurry!” she hissed, as the hoof beats drew slowly but steadily closer. “We’re just outside the city limits!”
Benji, who was close enough to hear her strained voice, suggested, “You should untie me. I would be a lot faster.”
Andrew rolled his eyes and increased his pace. “Yeah, and while we’re at it, we’ll throw in a basket laden with food for you to take with you while you escape.” He snorted. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“At least take off my blindfold,” Benji tried again. He stumbled over a tree root. Andrew yanked upon the rope, jerking his captive up and on his feet again.
“So that you can lead the guards back to our hide out? Think again,” he retorted in a low tone, fearing detection even though the riders were still too far away to hear them. “Stop talking,” he ordered.
The hoof beats echoed off the tall trees surrounding the trio, growing ever closer. “If they catch us, we’re dead,” Jessica stated, glancing around in despair for some place to hide. The horses were coming from all directions, sweeping the forest like a net attempting to scoop up an elusive fish. “We can’t outrun them,” she said, despairingly turning to Andrew. They stopped their brisk pace, staring at each other hopelessly.
“Take off his blindfold and use it to gag him,” Jessica commanded, suddenly struck with an idea. Andrew met her eyes, his confused expression examining her persuasive one. Wordlessly, he did so. Jessica’s knife rested lightly on Benji’s back, and she pushed him toward a cluster of tall, sturdy trees with low branches. Andrew’s eyebrows shot up in understanding, and he grabbed a branch that had fallen from a tree covered in bristles and began following them, brushing the branch over the earth. Leaning toward the prince’s ear, Jessica whispered, “Climb.”
Five minutes later, the guard’s horses came thundering through. Their black manes billowed into their masters’ faces almost comically. The leading horse and his rider pulled up short, turned around, and trotted in a broad circle. The large stallion snorted and thrust back its head and all the other horses followed its example. The soldiers peered into the dense forest, their horses shifting beneath them. Silence fell over the party, interrupted only by the labored sound of winded horses struggling to get enough breath into their lungs.
Benji twitched next to Andrew. They were twenty feet above the men, concealed in the branches of the thick, old trees. Jessica’s left hand held the knife, which was still pressing into his back relentlessly. Jessica and Andrew were so close to Benji, they could smell his citrusy, imported cologne. Jessica wrinkled her nose, resisting the urge to cough and gag.
“The tracks stop here,” shouted a guard. Jessica’s quick eyes counted five men, but there were bound to be more that she couldn’t see flanking this regiment. Hopefully they wouldn’t find them since Andrew had erased their tracks with the branch. Hopefully.
“We can’t allow them to escape. If we don’t have him before sunrise…” the leader started to say before trailing off in an uncertain tone. “We continue this way. Hurry!” he shouted. In a few moments, the rumbling of horses began again and soon they were out of eyesight.
Jessica and Andrew didn’t dare breathe out until the hoof beats had faded into the distance. Andrew motioned for Jessica to jump down, which she did. Landing lightly on her feet, she turned and looked up at the boys in the tree. Benji jumped down next and Jessica was waiting with a drawn dagger at the bottom. Quickly, Andrew joined them, and in a few moments, Benji was re-blindfolded and re-tied. They once again set out at a brisk pace for the resistance’s meeting place. This time, Andrew was in front, then Benji, and then Jessica, trailing behind.
After a few moments of movement, Benji asked in a casual tone, “So how long have you two been assassinating royalty?” Neither of them replied, but Andrew yanked the lead rope suddenly, causing Benji to stumble forward. “In my opinion, you two aren’t very good,” Benji said once he was back on his feet.
“Do you want to live or not?” spat Jessica, resisting the urge to kick him behind his kneecap.
“I’m just curious if you’re bred to be murderers, or if it’s an acquired trait.”
“It’s a talent, really,” Andrew corrected in a matter-of-fact tone. Jessica began to feel uneasy about where this conversation might lead.
“How old are you two anyway?” Benji persisted in pestering them. “You don’t look old enough to kill people.”
Andrew’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t look old enough to lead a kingdom,” he countered.
“Eighteen summers is old enough,” he replied. “But don’t let age be the only trait you judge me for.”
Jessica frowned. “If you’re as kind and good as you claim to be, why do these terrible laws keep appearing? Why to people starve, and cry, and mourn? If you’re such a good leader, why is this kingdom slowly dying?” The trees were thinning; they were almost to the city, Tosh. It was still night, and the path ahead was blanketed in dark shadows.
“He was the king. I’m the prince. There’s a bit of influence diversity there. Chain of command, you know. Not to mention my father’s foolish advisor. What could I do? I’m powerless until I become king, and since you two have now abducted me and are taking me who-knows-where, that’s unlikely to happen.”
Jessica suddenly thought of something. Voicing her thoughts out loud, she asked, “If what you say is true, why do you fight for a people you never knew? None of the nobles have ever cared about their subjects; no one notices the slave that labors for his luxuries. You can’t be that selfless.”
“Is it really that hard to believe that a person could care for other people besides himself?” Benji questioned in a quiet tone.
Jessica’s head hurt. “Stop talking,” she weakly commanded. The trees suddenly opened up and the tall, stone walls of a city stared across at them. Jessica let out a breath and tried not to feel too relieved until they were inside. Quickly and as quietly as possible, they slipped through the gates.
“We can’t be seen,” Andrew informed them. Jessica nodded. She took up a position in front of Andrew, in order to scout ahead and make sure the way was clear and there were no curious eyes about.
As they were traveling along the first street, Jessica noticed a man slouching against a doorway. His back was toward them, and his head was angled down so she couldn’t see his face. She quickly raised her hand, and Andrew ducked around a corner with Benji still in tow.
“Maybe it’s best that we split up. Less conspicuous. Take him to the safe house; I’ll meet you there,” Jessica whispered. Andrew nodded. Jessica resumed walking around the corner, eyeing the man. She paced quietly toward him, wondering what to ask him to make sure he hadn’t seen them lugging their captive around. However, as she approached, she realized something was wrong. He hadn’t moved the whole time since she had set eyes on him. With an uneasy feeling growing in her stomach, she drew a dagger out from her belt and hurried toward him. As she approached him from the back, she noticed a thick, dark liquid trailing down the doorpost and into the street.
Slowing, she remained only a few feet away from the man. Sucking in a breath, she tapped his shoulder. He didn’t move. With hesitant feet, Jessica circled around him to face him from the front. She gasped and the blood froze within her veins. A crudely-fashioned sword stuck out of his chest, pinning him to the doorway. Panic rose inside her, which she struggled to control. He was dead! Murdered! She stepped backwards, slowly, her legs refusing to move like she needed them to.
With a growing fear, Jessica began to run to the safe house. As she ran, she cast anxious glances down the streets and alleys she passed. Bodies, still and unmoving, lay crumpled at their entrances. Not a soul stirred in the whole city. She was trapped in a waking nightmare. Who would be left to greet her at the tavern? Was there anyone left? Had anyone escaped this madness? What had happened here? Her breathing became ragged and unbalanced. “Pull it together, Jessica,” her mind told her.
As she darted through an alley, the tavern came into view. Its plain appearance seemed shaken, disturbed, and somehow unnatural. Jessica burst through the alley and ran up the uneven steps to the porch. Andrew emerged from a street on the right, dragging Benji behind him.
“Jessica-” Andrew started.
“I know!” she replied, breathless. Her fear made her shudder as she grasped the handle of the old door and threw it open. The feelings that swelled up inside her at that moment were too complex to understand. It was like sleepwalking around the street and waking up to find you had wandered into a butcher’s shop.
.JPG)
