"We will patrol at the border fence again for a few days. Our intelligence has verified that the final slave auction in Tarnova will be held tomorrow before the planting season. There could be a chance that the remaining slave traders will bypass our land to get there at the very last minute," he briefed.
The fair, good-looking commander with glossy, deep black hair sat on his chair, looking at the map spread on the table.
"Yes, commander!" his subordinates answered in unison.
"Have all the mercenaries' guilds been handled?" he asked.
"Yes. We made them spread false information to the slave traders, stating that the routes in Cassian were clear so we could fish them all out," a tall, well-built knight named Eric, with brunette hair and grey eyes, replied quickly.
"Good! Keep patrolling. The meeting is adjourned," the commander further ordered. His blue eyes shone with confidence.
For the past years, there had been increasing alleged reports of commotions, gang robberies, slave trafficking, and border trespassing in the southern part of the Kingdom of Cassian.
Some perpetrators dared to attack the villages near the border and destroy their crops. There were even reports of the kidnapping of young women and children.
All these happened when the City of Tarnova expanded the slave market.
Close to the Cassian border, the city attracted many outlaws from all regions. As the slave market grew more extensive, the crime rate in the Cassian settlement at the border significantly increased.
The issues had been brought up to the King of Cassian, but since the apprehended criminals were non-Dracor citizens, there was little he could complain to the neighbouring king. As such, he ordered his army to arm with stringent action.
The Grand Duke of Gerhard was the Knight Commander of this campaign for the current season.
Upon receiving the order from the king, he immediately led his army of forty elite knights, ten squires, a healer, and an assistant healer. They had been stationed at the border for three consecutive months.
"Commander, your hand is bleeding. Perhaps, would you like a treatment?" Ayden, who represented the healer for the meeting, voiced his concern.
He was the only one left after the rest of the knights dispersed. The man was an assistant to Rafe, the healer.
"Don't bother. It's just a scratch," the commander replied brusquely, taking a clean cloth and dabbing the smeared blood.
"Then, I will ask the squires to bring the bath water," said Ayden before leaving.
"No need. I'm going to take a swim in the lake." The commander stood up and unbuckled the breastplate from his abdomen, giving his body a sense of lightness and relief.
"Understood. Then, I shall leave now." Ayden stepped out of the tent and left.
***
The peaceful lake was glimmering under the moonlight like sparkles of diamond spread on silk. The gentle wind brushed Kyren's n*ked skin as he descended into the water. The exhaustion from the continuous battle and the long march he endured emerged as his body soaked.
The quiet atmosphere of the night calmed his mind. Unlike today, his previous days were hectic with hunting and fighting against criminals.
The Grand Duke of Gerhard and his army were in close combat with organised bandits comprising around fifty people a few days ago, up thirty miles from their camp.
All the enemies were eliminated on-site and were not spared as they had mercilessly attacked the villagers and destroyed their plantation. The commander showed no mercy to those who didn't understand what it meant.
The gallant grand duke, who was said to have a body as hard as steel, was no less than a person who also got tired and strained over the constant fighting.
A few dips and stretches in the water lifted the fatigue weighing on his shoulders. As he rose to the lake's surface, his palms cleared the dripping water from his face and swept his dampened hair to the back of his head. It had been a while since he felt such tranquillity.
A faint cry, coming from afar, caught his attention. It was too vague to say the sound was from an animal. The disembodied voice briefly echoed again in the forest, bringing a more explicit message.
"No! Help! Help! Somebody save me! Let me go! Let me go, you b*stard!" Anna screamed at the top of her lungs.
Thrown mercilessly, her body plummeted to the ground and sprawled. Brian laughed wickedly.
"Who's going to help you, huh, pretty face? Ha ha ha…. You're mine now! Mine!"
The large hands grabbed her clothes and ripped the front part into rags, exposing her fine bre*sts to Brian's n*ked eyes. His tempted pupils were fully dilated, and his heart raced as he saw the alluring sight.
The rush of blood was kicking in his veins, and his arousal grew strong. He quickly unbuckled his pants and stripped his clothes for the next move.
Anna was trembling, and her heart was hammering fast.
In the darkness, where no other living souls around them, she was in the total grasp of the slave trader.
At this point, no one would save her from this man.
The fear crept under Anna's skin. Brian's intense and incomprehensible gaze clearly showed his determination to defile her. But she wouldn't surrender despite knowing that her diminishing strength was futile in fighting against this man.
Her innocence was the last reason she lived with pride, so she couldn't lose it to someone as evil as him.
Brian came hard and strong, forcing his large body to weigh down the princess. Anna's legs thrashed instinctively.
In her feeble attempt to escape, she raised her knee and kicked Brian's gr*in as hard as possible. The man screamed in pain and crouched. She pushed the slave trader aside and struggled to rise in haste.
Her striving effort to let him lose his grip succeeded, and she ran with all her might, leaving the secluded place. It was her only chance to escape.
The princess kept on running until she bumped into a firm figure. Nearly falling from the collision, she gripped the tall stature and looked up to identify what it was.
As she inhaled deeply to catch her breath, she realised a well-built man was towering over her. Anna's height barely reached his chest.
"No! Let me go! Let me go!" Frightened, she cried out as she hit the man's hard body. He was wearing only his pants, showcasing a muscular upper torso.
She screamed, struck her hands on him and even tried to kick him several times like crazy.
"Calm down! I'm not going to hurt you!" His stern, insistent voice drummed her ears as he held her two hands to stop the useless punches.
It took a while for Anna to compose herself. The man had to convince her a few times.
When she stopped screaming and listened to him, she finally realised. The masculine tone coming from this man's lips differed from the slave trader's.
Who was he, and where he came from?
Anna's leg buckled, holding the strength to prevent her from falling. Knowing there was a glint of hope for rescue from the slave trader, she burst into tears.
"Please… help me! Help me, please!" she cried out.
"What happened?" the man asked her.
"He… he's going to r*pe me!" With shuddering fear, she told him of the attempted violation. At that moment, another man appeared behind them. It was Brian, who had been chasing after her.
"You! Give her back to me!" Brian yelled.
"Is he the one who was trying to hurt you?" the fine-figured man asked Anna again. She nodded a few times, acknowledging.
Tears kept dripping continuously on her cheeks.
"That's a lie! Now, give her back to me!" denied Brian.
"Help me, Sir! He's one of the slave traders! He wants to sell me!" cried Anna.
"She's lying! She's my wife! She's trying to get away after having an affair with another man!" Brian threw out a lie, countering her statement.
"Oh, really?" The man furrowed his eyebrow deeply, assessing both claims.
"I'm not his wife! Please, believe me, Sir! I've never been married!" she pleaded.
The hope that the man would believe her instead of the slave trader soared in desperation.
"You said she is your wife, right?" the man asked Brian in his low voice.
It was a tone of interrogation, seeking a response likely to reaffirm his assertion.
"Yes. That's right!" he replied anxiously.
"Hmm… Then, what is your wife's name?" the man asked again.
"Huh?"
Brian hesitated at the unexpected query. He was ready to lay more lies to make his incrimination believable, but the given question was far from his expectations.
"Bella… Her name is Bella," he hesitantly stammered.
"No, Sir! That's not my name! He's lying!" Anna shook her head in denial.
"It's fine. I'll sort this out," the man said calmly to her. He turned to the slave trader and let Anna's hands free from his grasp.
"I found your claim a bit off."
The man moved his steps towards Brian and made a sly remark. His eyes gleamed with confidence as if he already knew who was telling the truth.
"What do you mean by that?" the slave trader agitated, fearing that his blatant lies were exposed.
As the man approached closer, Brian saw that he was a head taller and had a bigger build than him.
A man with such a stout figure couldn't have been ordinary. He could have been a mercenary, a bandit, or a well-trained soldier. Perhaps, a knight.
"It took you over a moment to say your wife's name. Have you forgotten her name?"
Silent.
"Chasing her only in your braies? Do you still have lust over her, who had an affair with another man? What a cuck*ld!" It was a clear insult. However, Brian couldn't give a plausible explanation.
As he faced the prominent figure, his mouth tightly shut. He could feel the dangerous aura emanating from him, making his blood rush in panic, and his hair stood on end.
"What is your name, lady?" As his eyes were giving a choking stare at the slave trader, the man asked Anna without even turning.
"Anna," she replied curtly.
"Lady, close your eyes," he commanded.
Anna closed her eyes hastily. In total darkness, she could feel her hands shaking out of nervousness.
"What do you want from me?! Stay back!"
She heard Brian's shouting but didn't dare to open her eyes.
"No! Let me go! Let me...."
'Heukk!'
She heard a gasping sound, followed by the noise of whimpering and something breaking, like a tree branch being snapped. It happened only in a few seconds.
The atmosphere was silent again as the confrontation died down. Only the sound of the wind slipping through the leaves and the creaking creatures of the night could be heard.
By now, Anna could hear the footfalls of someone coming to her as her breath pounded.
"Turn around, and you may open your eyes," the stern voice of the unknown man reached her ears.
She could feel that he was near as the whiff of musk mixed with leather permeated her nostrils, the same scent she inhaled when she bumped into him.
"What happened?" Anna asked hesitantly when she lifted her eyelids.
"He's gone. You're safe now," he replied calmly as if nothing had happened.
Spontaneously, Anna turned her head to look at where the slave trader was, but the man stopped her.
"It's not a sight for the lady's eyes," he said without further explanation. Anna didn't want to ask more.
"Thank you for saving me, Sir!"
She was grateful for his help. What would have happened to her if this man didn't appear?
Suddenly, the hot flashes rushed again all over Anna's body, along with a disoriented feeling. Her heartbeats were irregular, and she was lightheaded.
Losing her strength, her body fell helplessly, and a heavy shaking that looked like a spasm emerged.
"Lady, are you all right?"
The man knelt before her, trying to figure out what had happened. Anna's heart palpitated as if she was running, and she couldn't answer him amid the trembling.
"He… he…"
Her breaths were short and heavy. The man put his palm on her forehead.
"You're burning up."
The dizziness and the hot rushes were overwhelming. It was too much for Anna's body to handle. At that moment, the princess's sight turned dark.