Little Lucy slowly opened her eyes inside the luxurious tent.
Her heart was still racing at an unnatural speed. Beads of sweat that had formed on her forehead slowly trickled down into her brows. In the corner of her eyes, she could spot her mother staring at her, beckoning her to scoot towards her.
The canvas of the Mad Kings tent suddenly opened!
Lucy's mother tried to scream again. Her voice, still muffled.
The man clad in black entered the tent. Spotting the mother and daughter, he slowly moved towards them. By this time, little Lucy was tired and did not move at all, just staring into nothingness. Her mother struggled with her restraints upon seeing the man.
But as soon as she saw his face, she felt calm. There was a gentleness in his demeanour. Although he wore a mask that covered his face, she could tell that a kind face was behind it.
He approached the woman and her daughter, bending down to undo their restraints.
As soon as she was free, Lucy screamed, "Devil, he is the devil." and ran towards to her mother to hide behind her. She whimpered and winced as he saw his movements. It was evident that she was terrified of him.
The man calmly approached the mother, and Lucy retreated in fear, not daring to speak another word. She was absolutely scared if the murderous aura that this stranger possessed. The man in black calmly undid the mothers restraints as well.
She immediately removed the rag from her mouth and hugged her little girl.
"Come outside." The man in black growled and turned around to exit the tent.
Profusely sweating, the young mother and daughter did not dare to disobey the stranger.
They made it outisde, By now, there was a calm evening sunlight in the valley. The cloudy sky gave way to a bright orange sun who was on his way to go down in the horizon. Beyond the mountains, the sea shone brightly, reflecting the orange sunlight.
"Open the cage and release the women." The man in black simply ordered.
Lucy and her mother made their way to the cage, where hundreds of women and girls stood in silence. Their eyes were wide, still in shock. They couldn't believe what they saw mere moments ago. The level of violence that was on display was unimaginable. Who could believe that one man alone caused so much destruction.
Once the cage was opened, the dishevelled and battered women slowly exited and made their way towards the man in black. Their eyes were now filled with gratitude.
"Thank you, kind sir." One of them spoke up.
"Thank you sir." Another followed.
Soon, the valley filled with the voice of the women expressing their gratitude towards the stranger who saved them.
By now, three more people, who were on horseback, slowly made their way into the scene, with another horse in tow.
They all wore masks similar to the man in black. The women could tell that the first one was a much older man, probably in his fifties. The second man must be the same age as the man in black. The third one was definitely a young girl, probably around the same age as both the man in black and his other strange friend.
They did't speak at all. Instead, they hung their head low as if they were awaiting orders.
"Shut up." The man in black shouted. His voice was deep and menacing.
The women immediately shut up. They were now scared more than ever.
"I didn't save you. You were just in my way." The man scoffed and climbed on to his horse. "Come on, Let's leave this place." he said to the three strangers.
With that, the four strangers turned around to leave.
Lucy's mother suddenly dashed forward towards the man in black. She reached his horse and held his leg pleadingly.
"Kind sir, thank you for saving us, Please don't leave now. There aren't anyone left in our county. Help us sir. I beg you." Her voice was coarse, most probably from all the screaming inside the mad king's tent.
"Pf ft." The man scoffed. "Kind? I am anything, but kind. Kindness is a luxury I can not afford. Besides, why should I help you?" The man started to move forward. There was a clear arrogance in his voice.
"Please don't say that sir. We have no one left. Every men in the county was killed by the army. I beg you, please stay and help us." The woman continued to plead. She couldn't believe the man who just saved them could be such and arrogant man.
"Nobody to help. Pf ft."The man scoffed and muttered in his breath.
The man suddenly stopped the horse and jumped down.
He turned towards the women and asked, "Why should I help you?"
The women didn't have any answer.
"Why do you think we should help you? You are all pathetic. Week." The man continued. "Okay. So we just saved you, right? Suppose we stay and help you women for a time period. What will you do after we leave"
The women hung their head, as they didn't have an answer.
They knew that they were indeed pathetic and weak. All the decision makings were done by men in their county. Women usually did their house chores and other farm works. The few warriors they had in their county were all men.
All of them were gone now. They have to fend for themselves now. Make their own decisions.
"I just killed the Mad King in your shitty little county. He has seven sons, who will seek revenge as soon as they hear the news. The Great Nordville Army will definitely reach these shores one of these days. They number in tens of thousands. What will you do then?"The man in black didn't stop.
"Many of you will be captured, raped and tortured. Many of you will be burned alive. Since the Mad King was killed in this shitty place, the whole county will be razed. You are all living on borrowed time. So, why should I waste my time and energy in helping you?" The man's words were like daggers.
.
.
.
There was complete silence for some time.
.
.
.
The man in black scoffed and turned around again to leave.
"You could help us by teaching how to save ourselves." A woman spoke up.
The man in black turned around to see who it was. It was Lucy's mother.
"Teach us, sir. You are our saviour. Teach us how to defend ourselves. Then, even after you leave, we won't ever have to live in fear." She yelled.
"Yes sir. Stay and teach us." Another woman yelled out.
"Yes sir. We will do anything." All the women and girls started pleading with the man.
"Interesting." The man in black said, clicking his tongue, his hand now stroking his chin. His companions all shared a look with each other and nodded their heads.
"I could teach you." The man suddenly said. "But it wont be easy to teach you pathetic women." His voice was filled with contempt.
"Whatever you do sir, we won't ever quit." Lucy's mother yelled.
The others hollered in unison.
"There are some conditions though. If you meet them, I will train you lot to be a formidable army. Me and my friends will personally guarantee that." The man said.
"Anything sir. Even if we all have to give our womanhood to you, we will do it. We have to get stronger." A woman in her 20s came forward and yelled.
"No need for all of that. The only thing I need is your trust. Your absolute trust!" The man spoke.
"The coming days will be hard. You will be pushed to your absolute limit. It will be the most painful experience in your lives. Some of you might even ask me for a quick death in order to spare yourself from my training."
"We will never quit sir." Lucy's mother yelled and other women joined.
"Then trust in me. Trust in my methods. Trust yourselves. You shall never shed a tear anymore. For anything. Become hardened steel itself." The man in black lifted his sword again.
The women cheered and raised their fists in the air.