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Ai stood awestricken, as she slowly grasped the weight of the man’s words. In the twinkling of an eye, she was surrounded by the Ore soldiers, who took defensive positions around her, with their swords unsheathed. She did not want to lose any of her men, nor did she want any to die before her since it had taken her too long to recover from the nightmares of the orphanage incident.
"To whom do you wish to take me?" she questioned, hoping to avoid a battle.
"That, I cannot say princess, but you may discover for yourself if you shall be so obliging as to come willingly with us." The man said with a smug smile. Ai considered his words and attempted to step forward, but her guards only tightened their defence around her, surprising her.
“Make way,” she commanded but was ignored.
"Only over our corpses shall we allow such a thing to happen,'' Michael said, and the Ore soldiers muttered words of agreement. Nathan immediately reached into the carriage, grabbed two swords in a storage compartment, handed one to her and spoke.
"Do not for a moment consider offering yourself, Ai. What shall we tell your father if you do? Surely you know that we could not return to Ore with such news. So please let us fight valiantly to the end."
The leader of the opposition yelled a battle cry, and his men responded with an offensive attack. Ai stood clutching the unsheathed sword in her hands for a long time as her men held the defence around her for more than half an hour.
She was surprised at the skill of her soldiers and realised that her father selected Ore’s best to go with her. Not one was down and her opponents, being inferior in skill, seemed to rely greatly on their numbers and strategies to keep up.
It was a strategic tactic that allowed for an opening in their defence and a soldier from the opposing army launched an attack against her. To his evident surprise, she easily deflected it. She swiftly knocked the sword out of his hand, leaving him unarmed. Her opponent cowered as though awaiting his death, but Ai stood still, unable to strike. She struggled to breathe at the thought of what was expected of her, as she held a shaky sword to the man.
She had never hurt anyone in her life, and although she was in a kill-or-be-killed dilemma, she just could not bring herself to kill. The soldier, realising this, pulled a dagger out of his pocket. Ai watched limply as he launched at her expecting the worst, but in a split second her vision was cut off by a large hand covering her eyes. She heard the shrieking of a man and knew that her opponent had been put down.
Ai did not need her sight to know it was her knight that had come to her rescue. She felt his other hand gently turn her away from whatever lay before her as he uncovered her eyes. She could see worry evident in his green orbs, as his eyes trailed to her hands. She followed his gaze and realised that she was visibly shuddering.
“Ai," he called, lifting his eyes to hers. "Please, fight. Your life is worth all of ours." Ai nodded, recognising that he had called her by name. She knew it was a dire situation since he rarely ever did and his face held an uncharacteristic expression, as though he feared he could not protect her. He turned away and took on another opponent who was attempting to launch a sneak attack.
Ai looked around and noticed that some of her men were injured. She said a silent prayer for them. Since she had compelled them to leave Bamah, she felt responsible for their predicament. She barely had any time to rethink her actions when the leader of the opposition came up to her, looking ready to strike.
"Here, princess, is where you die."
Ai observed that all her men were overwhelmed with enemy soldiers, and even Michael had his hands full. She saw that it was another tactic to leave her undefended so she could be ambushed. She tightened her grip on the sword in her hand and took a defensive stance. The man raised a brow at this but charged at her. To his evident amazement, she was able to defend against his heavy strikes.
“You are surprisingly skilled for a princess, but you are only a woman. An easy kill.” He said and laughed arrogantly.
Ai chose not to respond to his words. He was no doubt a skilled soldier, but she also noticed that he had wronged her in his estimation and took advantage of his ignorance. As soon as she saw an opening, she took the offensive.
Her opponent struggled in vain to take control of the fight, but she gave him no chances, striking swiftly, till she made a move the man could not stave off. She watched as her sword moved towards his neck and grazed it.
The man shut his eyes ready for his end, but the princess froze as a trickle of blood oozed from his broken skin. It was not a deep cut, but it was enough to weaken her resolve. She stood shuddering, unable to complete the deed. The man opened his eyes and smirked, as though comprehending her plight.
"It appears I misjudged your skill, princess. You are a great swordswoman. Nonetheless, your fragile heart shall be the death of you.”
Unable to command her body to defend, Ai watched in dismay as the man attempted to strike. Before he had the chance, a sword pierced through his heart from behind him. Her eyes widened in terror as the man fell to the ground and struggled with his last breath.
The princess felt her heart drop, as she saw Johin behind him. There was a frightening coldness in his eyes, as he wiped his bloodied sword on the dying man.
“I watched you battle in such a thrilling manner, but to think you would rather die than kill is beyond all bounds of foolishness.”
Ai looked up at him and saw the bloodlust evident in his eyes. She observed that he had about five dozen soldiers behind him and that the enemy soldiers had begun to withdraw.
She assessed the battleground and to her greatest relief, counted her thirteen men including Michael and Nathan. Several were gravely injured but were being attended to by their comrades. She silently offered thanks to the Lord and turned to Johin.
"You shall return with me to my palace, Ai. What great fortune you have that I came after you. Had I chosen not to, you would have been killed. Therefore, I shall see to it that you remain under my watchful care till the agreed date of your departure." He said firmly and turned towards his carriage as though expecting her to follow.
As she watched him, the realisation that he was not the kind boy who followed her to her garden several years before, dawned on her. He was the king of the strongest kingdom she knew, and she was at his mercy.
It was only common sense to return with him, then she could send for a bigger army from Ore. It was foolishness to risk her life and her men, lest they were attacked again on their journey. She wished she had agreed to the hundred men her father had first suggested and wondered about the letter she sent to her grandmother.
"I refuse!" She declared boldly. She had almost resigned to obeying Johin's command when the image of the idol flashed in her mind, and she recalled the reason she had left Bamah in the first place.
She watched as the king ceased walking and turned to her with a deadly glare. As hard as she tried, she could not stop her heart from beating wildly in fear. He began walking towards her.
"What is it you refuse, Ai?" he asked in such an intimidating manner that the princess began taking involuntary steps backwards.
It was as though her body had a mind of its own. She willed herself to stand boldly, but her body trembled in fear. The king halted and Ai noticed a wave of emotions flit across his face.
At first, he seemed surprised at her trembling, then apparent sadness befell him, but it was almost immediately replaced by the coldness she had seen earlier. He resumed walking towards her whilst she kept retreating.
"Tell me, Ai, what is it you are refusing? My help? My protection? My love?" He questioned gesturing with the sword in his hand. Ai opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out of it.
Never in her life had she felt so frightened. Even the orphanage incident could not hold a candle to the horror she felt in that moment.
She was uncertain if it was the image of him killing a man emotionlessly, or simply the thought of being coerced against her will that caused her great trepidation. The one thing she was sure of, was that she did not wish to stay another moment in his presence.
She kept retreating till her back encountered an obstruction. She turned her head to see her knight standing firmly behind her and glaring fiercely at the approaching king.
"The princess has refused you, Bamish king. Regardless of what it means, she shall not be returning with you." Michael said with unconcealed irritation in his voice.
Johin averted his eyes from Ai to her knight and his hatred was almost tangible. "You lowly rat. You dare speak to me in that manner?" He pointed his sword at him, and Michael stepped out from behind Ai.
"Call me what you may, but the princess of Ore shall not be bullied!' Michael declared.
"You are in no position to speak, for I have decided you are no longer worthy to protect my bride. I desire nothing more for a dowry, than your head on a stake."
Michael raised a brow and smirked. "Very quick words, from a man who has just been rejected."
Ai watched in terror as Johin’s face contorted in disdain. Running forward, he launched an attack. A fierce battle ensued between the two men, and it was soon evident that Johin was no match for the knight.
The Bamish king was sweating profusely as he struggled to keep up with the knight’s attacks. In one moment, he was standing, in the next, he was floored with his sword out of his hand.
His men quickly surrounded Michael whose sword was pointed at Johin. Ai knew that Michael could not harm the king, for the repercussions would be far too great, and it seemed Johin knew it too.
“Cease him!” he yelled angrily and all the Bamish soldiers began to attack, much to Ai’s dismay. It was an unfair battle that Michael stood no chance of winning since the Ore soldiers were still occupied with helping the injured.
She decided to charge into the battle and fight beside him but was stopped when a hand reached out and grabbed her arm. She turned to see Nathan with a worried look on his face. It seemed he had predicted her actions.
“Unhand me, Nathan. I must help him!”
“No, Ai, I cannot let you. It is too dangerous! Michael will never forgive me if I do. I must stand in his place and defend you if the need comes.” He responded, taking the sword from her before releasing her arm.
Ai frowned but turned again to the battle, afraid for her knight. Somehow, Michael held his ground against the men for several minutes, but at a point, he became open to an assault from the nimble King, who used the force of his leg to send him crashing badly to the ground.
Ai’s initial fear that Michael would hit his head on a stone and die, was discarded as she saw him lift himself from the ground, only to be thrown back by another ruthless kick and several blows from the Bamish soldiers. After assaulting the knight numerous times, Johin stood over him with a devilish grin, and the look on his face gave away his intention.
As the king turned to get a sword from his men, her apprehension overcame reasoning, and she ran unarmed towards where her knight lay, deaf to Nathan’s protest.
Just as Johin lifted the sword, she threw herself over her knight and shut her eyes, expecting the worst.
