Eriessa was walking through the halls with Noral and a guard beside them. She felt her hands shaking as she gripped onto Noral's hand for support.
"You are nervous." Noral said.
"Yes." she simply replied.
"It's understandable." he said.
"Don't leave my side. I don't know how he will react." she said.
"Of course." he said.
They walked to the courtyard where Ragar was standing in the rain. He was talking out loud, but they were too far to hear. Noral called out his name and he slowly walked over.
"What is it?" Ragar impatiently asked.
"Your sister is preg-" Ragar cut him off.
"Who knows?" Ragar asked.
"Just the four of us." Noral said.
Ragar unsheathed his sword and cut down the knight that was behind Eriessa. She gasped and started crying.
"Take her back to her chambers. Only you and I are allowed inside her room. She is not allowed to leave. You hear me?" Ragar ordered.
"Yes, my lord." Noral said.
"Let's go to your room." Noral said.
"Go. I'll be there shortly." Ragar said, looking at the corpse.
He walked to the courtyard and stared out into the rain. He saw it washing away the blood from the sword. He picked up a rock and threw it at the wall. He walked back inside and made his way to Eriessa's room. When he entered, Noral left without a word.
"When did you find out?" Ragar asked.
"Today." she answered.
"I'm so happy for you- for us! This is great news!" Ragar cheered.
"Why did you kill that boy?" she asked.
"There's no way he would have kept his mouth shut; you know this." Ragar said.
"There was no need for blood shed! Gold would've done the trick!" she yelled.
"Calm down! It's just a soldier. I have plenty more." Ragar said.
"Is that how you view them? Replaceable? Nameless? Faceless? Pawns?" she asked.
Ragar remained quiet. Eriessa stood up and walked towards the window.
"His name was Victur O'lae. He had two sisters: Martha and Kelly. His mother died two years ago, and his father is a drunk. You want to know how old the sisters are? Martha is four and Kelly is six. You just fucking killed the one who was taking care of them! Do you not care about your people? You weren't always like this... no... I remember when-" she was cut off.
"It doesn't matter what I was like. It doesn't matter what you remember of our childhood. It doesn't even matter what I'll be like tomorrow. What matters now is that you are with a child. You are going to give birth in this room. You will give me my heir to the throne, just like I promised." Ragar said.
"Or a daughter." Eriessa sternly said.
He looked her in the eyes.
"Or a daughter." Ragar repeated.
"I wish to rest now." she said, sitting on the bed.
"Of course." Ragar said, opening the door.
As he closed it, he stopped it with his hand. He turned to face her.
"I know you will do what I say. No matter what." he said, walking out the door and shutting it behind him.
Noral stood in the hallway. Ragar walked up to him and opened his mouth. He shook his head and began walking away.
"Make sure to watch her." Ragar said from across the hall.
The moon's shine was blocked by thick clouds. Sage and his men continued to search the ruins for valuables and survivors. Knights were moving rubble, and others were scouting the forests. Sage stood where a gate once stood with his arms crossed. He looked up into the sky and sighed.
"My prince, we have searched everything. Even the surrounding areas. Blick is nowhere to be seen." a knight reported.
"A man can't just disappear like that. Keep searching." Sage said.
"With all due respect, sir, word must have gotten out. There's no doubt in my mind that Johan and an army are riding to this place at this very moment. If we linger anymore, then we might be in a lot of trouble." he said.
"Did you hear what I said?" Sage asked.
"Pardon?" the knight said.
Sage turned to face the man. Sage took a step forward and the knight took a step back.
"I said to keep searching." Sage said.
"I heard that but-" he tried to reason.
"Then why are you still standing in front of me?" Sage asked.
"Because-" the knight tried to speak.
"It was a rhetorical fucking question. Now get out of my face and start looking before I give you trouble." Sage said.
"Yes sir." he said, returning to the ruins.
'Johan wouldn't ride all the way out here for a city. Especially since no one important was killed' Sage thought.
"Sir! We found a body!" a knight shouted.
"Who's?" Sage shouted back.
"A captain!" he responded.
"Oh shit." Sage said to himself.
Sage walked over to them and examined the body.
"How do you know?" Sage asked.
"I found this in his pocket." he said.
"Open it." Sage commanded.
The knight opened the small pouch and took out a folded piece of paper. Sage grabbed it and looked it over.
"It says 'Capt. Harold Briri' in it." Sage said.
"Who's Harold?" the knight asked.
"Johan's personal Captain. Someone who knows him best... he was in charge of watching over his legion." Sage said.
"That's good, right?" the man asked.
"No, you idiot! We have to leave soon. I don't know Johan personally, but if someone destroyed my city and killed my best friend, then I would want revenge." Sage simply explained.
"We have a lot of men here." he added.
"Do you live under a rock?" Sage asked.
"Uh-" the knight was stumped.
"Oh, my sweet gods..." Sage became restless.
"Tomorrow, we leave. Go and tell the others." Sage ordered.
"Yes sir." he said.
Sage turned back to the ruins and closed his eyes. He heard horses galloping. Louder and louder. It was getting closer. He opened his eyes and walked over to the forest. He quickly scanned the environment and saw nothing. Then he heard a horn. He ran back to the camp they sent up while shouting for everyone to gather.
"How many men are here?" Sage asked a nearby knight.
"Around three thousand. The others went home." he replied.
Sage stood still. Knights ran all over gathering equipment. He turned and saw 10,000 soldiers on horseback, charging into battle.