Marco Flores was a colossal idiot.
He was painfully reminded of this fact the more he thought about his daring proposal to Reina. Take the throne? How were they to do that?
Marco was but one Hero. He did truly believe that he could become great one day, but the fact remained that he was one Hero. First Prince Benjamin, the people's current favorite for future king, was said to have close to 100 Heroes. One hundred Heroes!
One of those Heroes was Leo Baldew, who Marco had just barely fought to a standstill. Not that the battle for the throne required him to literally fight the other Heroes. But if even half the First Prince's Heroes were as strong as Leo, Marco would be hard-pressed to best them when it came to questing in his Patron's name.
And on the subject of his Patron…
He wasn't even convinced Reina was a suitable candidate for queen. Actually, he was sure she wasn't. Not that she even wanted the job. She ran right away when he brought up the idea, and the first thing she said to him the next day was "Before you say anything, I warn you not to speak of that nonsense."
So it was that Marco was forced to reflect on how truly stupid the idea of him and Reina winning the crown was. But as the carriage carried them through their second day of travel, the notion couldn't help but invade his mind.
There were flashes of what he would look like standing guard next to queen Reina's throne. One vivid image he kept having was of the house he would buy his parents in the upper district, where his father could retire before the pains of hard labor disabled him. He even came up with lyrics for the songs the bards would sing about him.
"What are you humming?"
Reina peered at him from the the cover of her book. She had caught him in the act of putting together the tune for "Marco The Beast Slayer."
"...just a song I heard once."
"I didn't take you for a patron of the arts," she said even as she returned to her book.
She clearly wasn't interested in conversing, but Marco was bored so he responded. "Oh I love bards! My mom said I actually wanted to be one when I was little, before I discovered Heroes. But alas, my singing voice sounds like a canary being choked."
Reina flipped a page pointedly. Still, Marco continued.
"One of my favorite times of year is the summer festival because the local theatre guild puts on a free show. As a kid, it was one of the only times I felt like I could see the world outside of the city. Even if it was just cheap wooden sets, I–"
Kunk!
The carriage suddenly jolted to a stop, making both of them lurch. Marco was sitting on the front side so he just slammed against the wall behind him. But as Reina was sitting in back, she slipped right off her seat and hit the carriage floor.
Rubbing the back of his head, Marco offered a hand to Reina. "You okay?"
She batted his hand away and stormed outside.
"What is the meaning of…"
For some reason, she didn't finish her question. Marco jumped out of the carriage and found out why.
"I'm sorry, your highness," the carriage driver said, "They just suddenly appeared."
Blocking their path were five dirty men dressed in tattered clothes, belts and backs full of weapons.
"Looks like we got a real rich one here," said one of the men.
"Brigands?" Reina said incredulously. "You dare appear so brazenly on this road?"
Indeed, they had been traveling on the main road from a busy town to the central valley of the kingdom. Anyone who tried to commit robbery on such a path had to be thick in the head.
The man who spoke stepped forward with a sinister smirk on his face. A light breeze brought over a waft of his dank stench, making Marco almost gag. "Oh we dare, lady. And who's gonna stop us?"
Reina looked around, and Marco followed her gaze. That's when he realized why the brigands were so cocky. This stretch of road happened to run through a tiny valley sandwiched between two tall hills. It was also shaded by a thick patch of woods. Despite being on the main road, it was the perfect place to make someone disappear…
"He will."
Reina stepped back and gestured at Marco as if presenting him.
"I will?"
The lead brigand laughed. "He will?"
The others joined in on the laughter, and closed in on the carriage.
This was bad.
It wasn't just the combined stench of the brigands. Marco had left his sword in the carriage, and wasn't even wearing his armor. The only metal he had on him was the Hero Seal pinned to his shirt.
He looked to Reina, who gazed back at him expectantly. She was only wearing a simple summer dress and wasn't even carrying her knife.
"Well, is the hero gonna come to the rescue or what?" said the lead brigand, brandishing a rather large axe.
"Of course I will."
Marco puffed out his chest, making it a point to show off his Hero Seal.
"But you should know before we start, I am the Hero of the Second Princess Reina. That's her by the way. I can promise to spare your lives, but the king might not be so forgiving if he discovers you attacked his daughter on his road."
This gave the brigands pause. The leader eyed the Hero Seal on Marco's chest.
"What if we just killed you? Then no one talks."
"You can try," said Marco.
"Or, we could work out a deal that benefits us all." Reina quickly added as she came to Marco's side.
"A deal?" the brigand asked warily.
"Yes, I can tell you're not as dumb as you look," said Reina. "You might be adept at avoiding military patrols but I would bet you've never faced a Hero before. Let's keep it that way. Let us pass through, and I promise not to reveal the location of your little operation."
"You gotta do better than that."
She turned and went back into the carriage, causing the brigands to reach for their weapons. Marco assumed a guarded stance in response.
But Reina soon returned with a small bag. She shook it to produce the jingle of coins. Then she tossed it in front of the brigands. "There's enough coin to keep you happy. Take that and let us go."
The leader snatched it up, opened it, and nodded to his fellows.
They parted, leaving the road open.
"Marco!" Reina called. She was already making her way back into the carriage.
He followed hesitantly. As the carriage made its way out of the secluded area, Marco watched the brigands gleefully split their take through the window.
"That's it? We just let them off?"
Reina was already back to her book. "Yes. Did you mean to fight them without your sword?"
"Well, no...but, I'm a Hero. I should do something."
"If it bothers you so much we can report them once we reach the next town. I'm sure soldiers can be despatched at my command."
He gave one last look. The brigands were already disappearing into the woods. "Soldiers won't find them! You said so yourself."
"You're welcome to go back. But I won't wait for you if you do," she said.
Marco grabbed the saber and buckler that were sitting on the seat next to him. But as he went to open the door, he hesitated.
Reina saw this, and sighed as she put her book down.
"Marco don't be an idiot. Even with the flame's blessing you can't take on five armed men by yourself. Let's just report them."
"I'm here now! As a Hero, I have to do something. Heroes help people."
"Don't forget your duty," she said sternly. "You serve me. We don't have time to dally."
His anger flared, sparking the flame within him. "Screw your duty!"
He opened the carriage door, but Reina said "Yield!"
Immediately he was kneeling.
"Honestly, if I didn't need your stupid recipe I'd be all too happy to let you go and get yourself killed. Now you will stay there until we reach the next town."
She gave him one last commanding glare before burying herself in her book.
Marco did everything he could to get up, but he felt like a mountain was on his shoulders, pushing him down. He was angry, sure, but more disheartened than anything. He really wanted to believe that, for all her rudeness, Reina was a good person deep down. At the very least, she wasn't like her siblings, playing with the future of the kingdom like it was a game.
But that was actually what made her worse. She didn't play because didn't care about the future of the kingdom. She didn't even seem to concern herself with the well-being of its current citizens. How was Marco to become a better Hero serving a Patron like that?
When that thought entered his mind, his legs gained a sudden burst of strength. His knee lifted slightly off the ground.
He stared down in shock, then he looked to Reina. Her eyes were glued to her book.
But it was all too brief. Within a second, his knee slammed back down.
Kunk!
The carriage began to ascend the incoming hill, so the driver sent the horses into a full gallop. This caused it to lurch.
Reina was seated and secure, but Marco was another story.
The sudden motion made him tip over, sending him out the door!
When Reina lazily looked up from her book, she noticed his absence.
"How did he...you idiot!"