The journey was more than I had imagined in my head.
"Ouch!"
My thighs burned and my stomach rumbled as we rode further from the village. The landscape had shifted to barren, rocky valleys and thorn-infested shrubs.
Every step forward felt like a war against the earth itself. Even the horses showed signs of fatigue, their pace slowing with each passing minute.
"Can't we stop and rest for a bit?" I complained, looking at the warriors riding beside me, hoping for some mercy.
One of them, a towering man with the most scars and dots on his body, indicating countless kills, glanced back. His voice was thick and gruff,
"Your Highness, we can't afford to stop. We need to reach the gate of the Northern Forest before nightfall."
I sighed, feeling my hope for a break slip away.
"Okay," I mumbled.
We pressed on until the sun began to sink beneath the horizon. Eventually, we had to stop as it already started getting dark.
One of the warriors lit some fire to warm us. The crackling fire provided some much needed warmth, while another searched out to catch some game for dinner.
I sat on a rock, so exhausted. My body still ached from our journey, and a feeling of frustration settled deep within me.
I hate myself for being this weak
"Mister Ginger Map, you still haven't figured out where we are?" The warrior with the most dots on his body jeered, his voice thick with sarcasm as he chewed noisily on a handful of nuts. He was very muscular. He cut his dark brown hair short.
"I would have, if you'd stop chewing so loudly!" the ginger-haired warrior, spat back, glaring at him while squinting at the map.
The warrior with the most dots on his body continued to chew noisily, eyes narrowing as if daring to say more.
"If only you two could stop bickering and actually help me catch something for His Highness to eat!" the regular looking warrior that went out to catch an animal came back with empty hands.
He had his quiver at his back.
"You'll catch nothing but crickets. This is Gallinkham's field!" the Ginger haired warrior retorted, finally getting his bearings on the map.
"The young prince should check his little backpack. I'm sure the palace maids snuck in something nice for him. He's popular with them, after all," the warrior with the most dots chimed in, winking at me.
"Do not tease His Highness!" the oldest looking warrior snapped,
But the insinuation that I was popular with the palace maids brought a faint smile to my lips.
"Ooooh, see? His Highness is pleased with my joke," he laughed, clearly pleased with himself.
I rummaged through my bag, curious to see if Lady Eleanor had indeed hidden something for me. Out came a small bundle of medicine, a leather water pouch, a smaller pouch filled with strong alcohol in case of injury, and a tightly wrapped piece of dried meat—now soaked from the river water.
"I guess they packed light then," the warrior with the most dots remarked as I laid everything out.
"It's important to pack light for such a journey," ginger haired added, his tone matter-of-fact.
"Yeah, yeah, Mister Know-It-All,"
"First of all, my name is Aiden," the ginger warrior shot back, "and secondly, you're the know-it-all here, always commanding and ordering us around since we started!"
"If I didn't, we wouldn't have made it through. Where's my thanks?"
"In my arse!" Aiden growled.
Before I could blink, the two squared up, fists clenched, ready for a brawl.
"Enough!" the eldest looking warrior barked, his voice cutting through the tension. "Seems like you two have a lot of energy to burn."
The two grudgingly stepped back, releasing their fists.
The warrior turned to me, his gaze softening. "Let's introduce ourselves properly to His Highness. I doubt he knows who any of us are. I'm Murdock, and spares are my thing."
"I'm Barrette," the one who'd set up the fire said with a grin, flexing his chain axe. "Good with a chainaxe, if you couldn't tell."
"Bade's my name," the warrior that had gone out to hunt added, holding up his quiver proudly. "Archery is my thing."
"Your Highness, I'm Aiden," the ginger warrior said, nodding respectfully. "I fight with knives."
The warrior with the most dots scoffed.
"Knives? Really? You go to battle to chop vegetables?"
Without warning, Aiden's hand moved faster than I could see, and a set of knives pinned his sleeve to the ground. The warrior with the most dots only laughed harder.
"Oh, so Ginger Map's got some skills," he said, laughing loudly.
"And you must be… the swordsman," I offered
"No, Your Highness, you're wrong" he corrected with a sly grin, freeing himself from the knives Aiden had thrown at him. He twirled his sword with a flash and struck a dramatic pose, his eyes gleaming with mischief.
"I am Zander, the Shadow Cutter." His voice dripped with self-satisfaction as if he expected applause for the title.
Aiden hissed under his breath in exasperation, rolling his eyes at Zander's theatrics. "Show-off," he muttered.
All eyes shifted toward me, expectant and curious.
"And I'm... Damian. I guess," I said, feeling the weight of their gazes. It was a weak introduction, and I could tell from their expressions that they were waiting for something more—something that carried the weight of my royal bloodline.
Zander slid his sword back into its sheath with a smirk.
"That's it? You need something spicier. Something that tells stories before you even say a word." He leaned back, clearly enjoying his role as the group's provocateur.
I hesitated.
"Uh… Damian, the Sixth Son of King Gario of Akrifous?" I offered, feeling uncertain.
Zander winced as if I'd just botched a performance.
"Ehhh... Not quite it, but it's a start. Think about how you'll introduce yourself when we capture the sorceress."
I blinked, confused. "Wait, we're capturing her? I thought we'd convince her to come with us when we explain our predicament."
The moment the words left my mouth, the forest echoed with their laughter.
HA!... HA!..HA!... HA!
It was so loud, the trees seemed to tremble with the sound.
"Oh, that's the best one yet!" Bade wiped a tear from his eye, barely able to speak between laughs.
"I'm serious! We can't just capture her," I repeated, but my words only fueled their laughter.
Aiden, between chuckles, finally explained.
"Your Highness, sorceresses are like genies in a bottle, only that they are not stuck to a bottle. they don't just leave their sanctuaries because someone asks nicely. She can't follow us unless she's freed from her current master."
"Wait," I said, trying to keep up, "so we need to defeat her master first?"
Zander nodded, his grin wide.
"Exactly. And until then, she won't be able to go anywhere with us. So, we've got a little more than 'convincing' to do."
"Oh… that explains it," I muttered, realizing just how little I knew.
Aiden patted me on the shoulder, his smile a little softer now.
"You've got a lot to learn, Damian. But don't worry, you'll get there."
That night, I picked at the dried-up meat Lady Eleanor had packed for me, while the warriors broke out wineskins from their bags. They passed the wine around, sharing stories and jokes late into the night. Their camaraderie was infectious, and soon enough, I even found myself laughing with them.
As they jeered and drank, I slowly drifted into sleep and then dreamland.
In my dream, I found myself standing before the sorceress, her eyes burning with untamed power and sorrow. Together, we faced her master, a towering shadow cloaked in malevolence. With every strike, I felt the weight of our shared struggle. In the midst of battle, as the creature fell, I turned to her, my voice steady and resolute.
"When this is all over—when we've defeated the beast—I swear to you, I'll free you. No chains will bind you ever again."
Her gaze softened, and though she said nothing.
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[A/N]
Thank you for reading,
The warrior crew is quite a bunch. Please comment on the character of the Warriors. Who do you think you relate to the most?