"Dig the trenches faster!" Tyler shouted at his men. "We have to prepare the trap before they reach here."
"How long would it take for them to reach here?" Dyna asked, keeping an eye on the work.
"A week at most," replied Tyler with a tensed face. "We need more men."
"I have sent a message to Chief Jacos for more soldiers, but I do not think he would have enough men to help us."
"Something is better than nothing," Tyler commented. "At least we will be in a better position. I wonder if the princes are alright."
"They will be okay." Dyna kept her hand on his shoulder when she observed his anxious state. Tyler looked at her. "They are strong. Nothing could happen to them," she added.
Tyler nodded. "Yeah, right." He walked ahead to help the soldiers in the preparation of battle.
***
There were a few men in turbans, travelling silently in the woods. They covered their faces with the extra cloth from their turban.
"Boss, what if it is a trap?" a man asked.
"You will keep an eye on us from afar," the one leading them said before he stopped his horse. "You will stay here and alert us if you sense something fishy." He was in black clothing with a brown turban, while the others were in all black.
"Okay, boss."
The man climbed up a tree and hid there while the other men moved ahead. There was a chariot loaded with guards around it passing through the road in the woods. The masked men took their positions and ambushed the chariot.
"We are ambushed!" a guard cried. "It is the Brown bandits!"
"Attack!" the masked leader shouted when his men attacked the guards. There was a battle going on. A few of the masked men shot arrows from the bushes to catch the royal soldiers off-guard.
Some guards died from the arrows while the others ran away in terror.
"Cowards," the masked leader mouthed, heading towards the chariot. "Now, the daughter of King Gunderf and sister of Hangaz, you will be an asset to us to convey our demands to the king." He opened the chariot door, expecting a woman inside, but it turned out to be empty. He grasped the situation and shouted, "It is a trap!"
The chariot guards who had collapsed from the arrows stood up, showing that they were unhurt because they wore plates under their armor.
"You will die from our hands, you dastard!" a soldier declared before many royal soldiers arrived and surrounded them. The archers in the bushes were all ambushed and killed by them.
"You scheming dastards," the leader mouthed. "We will not go down so easily." He glanced at the tree at a distance where he had left his man to signal to him in case of a trap.
"Let us see," the soldier said. "Kill them!" he shouted.
They engaged with each other. The royal soldiers picked up the masked rebels one by one and massacred them.
The leader of the bandits could see his men get killed one by one. "Damn it." He was cornered. He had to find a way to save himself.
Suddenly, the soldiers realized there was a fire in the woods. It grew large enough to catch their attention.
"Oye, it is a fire!" one of them shouted.
The soldiers still tried to attack the masked leader and his remaining men while surrounded by enraging fire. Suddenly, some arrows hit the ground near their feet. It was as if someone shot them to scare the soldiers.
"We are here, boss!" someone shouted.
"Wait, were there more of you around?" a soldier said with a puzzled face. "This was not in the plan." He commanded the other soldiers, "We are pulling back!"
The leader gasped while he saw the royal soldiers retreating. He took a breath of relief when they went away.
"It is a miracle that we are still alive," a masked man said to the leader.
The leader looked into the woods across the fire, where he could spot a silhouette. "Come out! I want to see the person who saved my life!" he shouted.
The man slowly came out of hiding and showed his face. It was a blonde young man in peasant clothes (loose garments of cheap fabric). Yes, it was Colt who had saved them.
"Young man, who are you?" the leader asked.
"I am Vault. I am from a nearby village," said Colt.
"Why did you save us from those soldiers?"
"Because I am one of you." The young prince showed silent rage on his face. "I have come to fight for my people."
The leader glanced at his man beside him and nodded. "Alright. Come with us." He signaled Colt to follow them.
Colt wondered if they were convinced of his act.
***
King Hangaz sat on his throne, instructing Ramos for his do or die task.
Ramos was on his knee, his head down and his body hunched forward. "I will do as you command, my king. I will not let you down."
"You better not. You know the outcome," the king said and signaled him to leave.
Ramos exited the court.
"What about our infiltration plan?" the king asked the man beside him.
"My king, the soldiers have returned. They have reported that the plan was a success. From here on, it is up-to the man to be a part of them," the man in silk garments replied.
"Brilliant." The king smiled. "What about my elder sister Hina? We had changed her route at the last moment. Is she here?"
"She is here, my king. She is resting in her chamber now."
The king nodded at the information.
Suddenly, a royal guard entered the court and approached the king. "My king, there is bad news."
"What is it?" King Hangaz asked, although he knew what it could be. The most troublesome issue of his family…
"Princess Flora is not in the palace," the soldier gave the bad news.
"Damn it." The king facepalmed. "Not again. What trouble are you going to cause us now, my little sister?" He ordered his soldiers, "Find her, and do not return without her."
***
"Where is he?" a masked man asked his leader while looking up in the tree where they had left their companion to warn them.
The leader had a frown. "I guess he betrayed us. He sent us to the jaw of death, but escaped when he found out that we were saved by this young man."
The other masked man had disbelief in his eyes. "But he has been with us since we started this organization. Why would he betray us now?"
"Maybe there was some offer he accepted from Hangaz," the leader said. "That man is nothing like his father. He is ambitious and cunning."
Colt eyed at the bush nearby where he had hid the body of the man he had killed earlier.
"You were Vault, right?" the masked leader asked him.
"Yes, that is right," he replied.
"You will tell me everything about yourself. And do not lie." The leader took out a dagger and pointed it at him. "I have a way of knowing things."
"Pointing a dagger at the person who saved your life," Colt remarked. "That is some gratitude you are showing."
The masked men could see the unwavering resolve in the eyes of the young prince. It intimidated them, and the leader was forced to put his dagger away.
"Tell me," he said.
"As I told earlier," Colt replied, "I belong to the neighboring village of Gobli. A few days ago, some soldiers attacked our village and looted us. They took our women and killed our brothers. Later, I found out they were soldiers under Governor Ramos who were running away after a battle. I was enraged…" he tried to show anger on his face. "I want to kill them. I want to end this tyranny." He gritted his teeth.
The masked men glanced at each other.
The leader put his hand on the young man's shoulder. "Vault, I am sorry for what happened to you. You will come with us."