I posted the following chapter some months ago as Chapter 27. Still, I deleted it because I had forgotten that I had promised my friends on Facebook that I would write some romance into Theo's life after his encounter with the mysterious young lady in the garden. I am now pushing this chapter to Chapter 29 and will later insert Chapters 27 and 28 about Theo's romance. I thought of delaying posting this chapter, but then I realized I might have to take a much longer break before I could write chapters 27 and 28, as my daughter and I still have a lot to deal with in executing my brother's Will. My mind is not up to writing anything yet.
Perhaps, after the new year, I may feel better writing another few chapters.
I am expanding this story, and it is going to be long! There are still many storylines in the three princes' lives that I have not written yet. I am enjoying the writing process. I can't wait to have the time to sit down to continue writing the story again. So, please bear with me, sweet friends!
Kingdom of Largo
Chapter 29
The Journey
It was the night before the departure and Miles and some other young trainees were scheduled to return to Palace the following day. The group had already completed their hands-on training sessions.
During the past six full moons, the training had been brutal. To call the experience "hands-on training" was an understatement. There had been real wars that Miles and the others had fought. During the first several days he was there when groups of bandits appeared out of nowhere, surrounding his troops in order to rob them. They would demand everything – from weapons, clothing, and money, right down to the food they were eating. When the trainees refused to cooperate, they were savagely beaten. Some succumbed to their injuries and died.
The young trainees had put up a good fight to defend themselves, but there were still losses of some young lives. Commander Sergio would report the dead soldiers' names and send them off along with their belongings back to the Palace to update the Death Registry. Then the Palace would inform the dead soldiers' next of kin. It had been tough training on the southern border! Not everyone came out of it alive.
As for those pirates who came to shore to rob and steal, the trainees found them easier to deal with as they could see the whole ship when they arrived. The trainee soldiers would wait until nightfall. Each would take to their pre-assigned areas surrounding, and eventually, on board the pirate ship to attack the crew. They would sneak up behind each of them and demand their complete cooperation. Those who declined were slaughtered. Those who were compliant were captured and brought back to shore. Commander Sergio would force them to become mercenaries for the Kingdom. The new men were promised medals for their success in capturing enemy soldiers. There was no doubt - in wars, you either kill your enemy or you let your enemy kill you. This was taught to them by their Trainer, Sir Henry.
“Always move forward to attack if possible, for when you retreat, you are showing your weakness to your enemy,” Sir Henry would often tell each of his trainees. Sir Henry was a tough trainer. He had trained many war heroes.
Miles took out Baldwin's note again. He wondered if he should ask Baldwin to send some men for added protection just in case Sir Samuel thought about siccing upon him the warriors in black again, but quickly followed up this thought with the notion that he would rather die a hero than live as a coward. So, he had not asked Sir Baldwin to send his men. He still felt uneasy with the idea of placing full trust in Baldwin. In the back of his mind, Miles still wondered why Sir Baldwin would suddenly want to help him. Has he forgotten how he had lost his pinky finger? Why would Sir Baldwin suddenly want to be on his side?
Miles read the note once again. He read it so often - as if by reading it repeatedly, he could find out if the words on the note were genuine. But each time it would just say the same thing:
“Sir Miles:
This serves as a warning to you that Sir Samuel was the one who wanted to do you harm. When you were on your way to the southern border, you may have been aware that some warriors in black were following you. They were sent by Sir Samuel. Their purpose was to kill you. Fortunately, they have not succeeded. Rumor has it that they were all killed by a kind of non-human animal that suddenly appeared in the forest. Thus your life was spared.
As of this moment, Sir Samuel is once again training another group of warriors in black. He is determined to try to take you down once again. Please pay caution while returning to the Palace since you will soon complete your training. I am sure Sir Samuel does not want you back here, and he may send out some warriors to harm you again.
My troops and I will be there to help you fight those warriors in black, should he ever send them out again to harm you. Just know that we are your friends, not your enemies.
The man whom I have sent to deliver this message to you is one of my warriors. His name is Gerald.
I cannot come personally to see you and bring you this note as a dreadful event had taken place in the kingdom. The six captives I captured from the Kingdom of Klaxaedia were all found dead. Someone had fed them rat poison. I have filed a complaint to the kingdom's court, and the case is still under investigation. I suspect this may also be the work of Sir Samuel. The man is wicked and he will stop at nothing to protect himself and King Aylard's reputation. I tell you this just so you'll know. Your past secret is safe with me but not with the King and Sir Samuel. Please be cautious. Those who always smile at you are not always your friends. They may be your enemies. You must pay careful attention when you come back to the Palace.
I have a troop of 150 warriors. I can always recruit some more if I need them. I also have more than 1000 gold bars. If new weapons are required, I know where to find the source who would make them for us. This information is just for you to know. You must not tell anyone else about this.
I shall see you when you get back to the palace.
Your friend,
Sir Baldwin.”
Are these Baldwin's true words? Or is he up to some tricks again? Should I even trust this guy? Miles wondered.
XXXXX
“Are you all packed and ready to go already?” A voice asked from behind.
Miles turned around to see Marco standing there.
“Yep! Been ready for days! I can hardly wait to go back! Are you and Kenric leaving too in the morning?”
“Yes, very likely! I'm packed and ready too!” Marco replied.
Marco was a young trainee. He was no more than his 16th season. He was thick-boned and physically appeared strong, with chestnut brown hair. His maturity could be measured by his short facial hair along the sides of his face and his jawline – Some might even say he was a good-looking kid.
There was another young warrior named Kenric who was about the same age as Marco. Kenric and Marco were best friends, they often look out for each other since the training began. Kenric, on the other hand, was not as well-built as Marco. He was slim-built but was still a very good warrior. He moved fast whenever he fought. He would dart around effortlessly all over the place in front of his opponents – left, right, forward, backward in fast movements. His opponent could never figure out which direction he was going to move next and before they could figure it out, Kenric would have struck forward already. Both Marco and Kenric often looked up to Miles, who seemed more like a father figure to them because Miles was so much older.
“You're both leaving tomorrow?” Miles asked Marco.
“Yes! I can hardly wait either! I suppose the three of us travel together?” Marco suggested. He looked and sounded excited.
“Sure!” Miles agreed.
“I wonder what will happen to those pirates that we have captured? Are we not supposed to take them along too with us?” Marco asked. He remembered he had brought back 3 captives from a pirate ship. That meant something to him. He could present them to the King upon his return to the palace.
“No! According to Commander Sergio, he will mention all our achievements on a Certificate which he will present to us before we leave in the morning. He said he will keep the prisoners and convert them into soldiers for the kingdom. He will keep them here for another 3 full moons to watch over their progress,” Miles told the young man.
“Oh, well! It will be less work for us then. We just have to take care of ourselves when we leave,” said Marco, nodding his head in agreement. He seemed relieved to find out he would not have to take his captives along.
“I guess we will just have to present our Certificate of Achievements to the palace to get our reward,” Marco made a final assumption.
“Listen, Marco!” Miles could not hold on to the "secret" any longer. Since he and the two young men would be traveling together he thought it only fair that they should know what was going on with him. Miles had suddenly decided that he needed to show them Baldwin's note.
“Where is Kenric? I need to show you guys something before we leave,” Miles said.
“What is it? Miles, you're suddenly looking so serious,” Marco's eyes widened in wonderment, “is it something important?”
“Yes, it is! And I think you both need to know about this before we leave,” Miles answered.
“Okay! I'll go get Kenric now!”
Marco went off and came back with Kenric almost in a matter of minutes.
“What is it, Miles?” Kenric asked anxiously.
“Listen! I want you both to read this note and let me know what you think,” Miles presented Baldwin's note to them.
Both Marco and Kenric read the note very carefully, and when completed, Kenric said, “Well, it doesn't bother me. The warriors in black may just be as dangerous as the bandits. We need to fight to defend ourselves from both groups anyway.”
“True!” Miles said, still trying to convince the two young men they would be embarking on a dangerous journey if they were to travel with him, “But I want you to know that the warriors in black are my problem, not yours. When confronted by them, neither of you is obligated to defend me. You can go on your way should you both desire to and I will not be offended. Okay? You need not sacrifice your life or become wounded just because of me.”
“No good warriors would abandon their fellow men in times of war! I'll be staying regardless of who strikes us. Either the bandits or the warriors in black. It makes no difference. I will never abandon my fellow warriors!” Marco proclaimed.
“Marco is right! We are warriors! And we are trained to move forward and fight our way. We do not retreat. Retreating is a sign of weakness,” Kenric reassured Miles as well.
“Okay, then! It's a deal!” They all touched their pinky fingers as a pledge to loyalty. Miles was satisfied. He felt at least he had forewarned these two young men.
“Let's get some rest now before the morning sets in. We will have a whole day of traveling ahead of us tomorrow,” Miles told the others.
XXXXX
The following morning all three received honors during a special ceremony. Commander Sergio presented each man with a Certificate of Achievement for the completion of the hands-on training. The Certificate of Achievement also listed the names of the pirates each man had captured. Commander Sergio then bid the three men goodbye and sent them off, along with his well-wishes.
The three men mounted their horses and sped off through the forest. By noon, they stopped at a shady location by a stream and let their horses eat and rest, and drink some water, while the trio had their lunch.
It had been a calm morning. They had not met with any bandits or warriors in black. However, they had only completed one-quarter of the journey, there was still three-quarters of a way to go. Miles assumed that they would not make it back to the palace before the night set in. He told the two young men that they might have to sleep in the forest by nightfall. He suggested that they might as well do some hunting along the path and build a fire pit to cook the animals for supper. They hoped to make it back to the palace around noon tomorrow.
The two young men agreed. Hunting was a treasured sport, and both men had their arch bows and arrows at the ready. By the end of the hunting session, multiple recently slain ducks and rabbits were added to the menu. Miles thought it was good enough for their supper. The three men headed further toward the forest edge where another small stream steadily babbled, and set up camp. Miles set up the spits and the fire pits to cook the evening's feast, while the two young men went to the stream to clean the animals. All went well. They had a hearty supper, and the horses were fed as well.
Miles noticed the rest of the journey was a path along the side of the mountain. Suddenly, he sensed his horse “Sadie” seemed very cautious about the mountain roads. He wondered if it was because Sadie hadn't traveled alongside a mountain before. Miles tried to comfort her. Miles named this new brown horse “Sadie” in remembrance of his old one that died of food poisoning. He bought Sadie from the marketplace while at the southern border. He chose her because she was a brown horse like his former Sadie.
“Hey, Sadie girl! What's up? It's okay, girl! The mountain roads are easy to trot on. You'll see!”
Sadie neighed and galloped. She seemed very unsettled.
Perhaps it's the first time she traveled out of the forest? Miles tried reasoning with himself.
“Sadie girl! Whatever it is that you are afraid of girl you've got to stick it out for your old man! There's only one-quarter left of this journey to endure!” Miles told Sadie, gently petting her neck and massaging it.
Sadie was still neighing and bucking. She seemed unwilling to go the rest of the journey. They had to rest there for the remaining of the evening anyway. In the morning they would continue on the rest of the journey, Miles thought.
“Danger ahead, maybe?” Marco mused, staring out and beyond, seemingly asking Miles. He wondered if Sadie could foretell dangers ahead and was trying to warn them. He watched his own horse, Thunder, and he seemed fine. He had not made a fuss - yet. He looked over to Kenric's horse, Star, and she was calm as well.
“Okay! If your girl Sadie does not wish to move forward. In what manner should we proceed? Is there another route to get back to the palace?” asked Kenric.
“Well, we could go around to the other side of the mountain, and proceed from there, but it will be a much longer journey. We may not reach the palace in another day, and it may just be as dangerous if we were being watched, as the watchers are up high above us they would know where we are no matter which way we choose to travel,” Miles said.
Miles lifted his head to look at the top of the mountain. There didn't seem to be anything or anyone there. He wondered if he and the team could just run to the top of the mountain and see for themselves. The mountain was not that high and there appeared to be paths leading up to its peak.
If only one of them could sneak up to the top and find out once and for all what was up there... Miles thought.
Later, the team decided they would wait until nightfall to proceed on their journey. They assumed the cover of night would hinder the vision of the enemy, making it harder to spot them as they quietly traversed the landscape. Miles hoped Sadie would be quiet on her way.
The team extinguished all the fire pits and waited for the darkness to set in.
It was nighttime now, with the moon in its last quarter hovering above following the full moon several nights ago. Miles motioned to the others to be quiet. Once again he looked up to the top of the mountain, under the dimness of the moonlight he could not see anyone there. All seemed clear as when he saw it earlier in the day.
He motioned for Marco and Kenric to get ready to proceed. Thunder and Star seemed to have known what to do. The two horses were well-trained war horses - they knew when to be quiet. Kenric and Marco gently tugged on their respective reins to them to move forward, and they trotted along quietly, keeping only grass underfoot in order to keep themselves quiet. Sadie's intuition was to follow the other two horses in front of her. She had now learned to be quiet as well.
Although the men realized trouble had not befallen them thus far on their journey, and had even temporarily found themselves breathing a collective sigh of relief, they knew they still would need to be quiet. At least until they reached the next forest which was not too far away now. They could see it from a distance.
Suddenly, Sadie stopped moving in the middle of the track. Once again she neighed loudly and reared, refusing to move forward. Kenric and Marco were way in front and they turned around to tell Sadie to be quiet. But Sadie would not budge. She refused to move forward. She seemed in total distress and fear. She wanted to stop and turn back. Marco turned around to reach Miles in an attempt to try to calm her down.
Just at that moment, they heard a lot of noise emanating from the mountaintop. All three men looked up to find some warriors, dressed in all-black clothing. They were rolling and tossing rocks - big and small – down the mountain, creating a stony rainfall. Both Miles and Marco retreated just in time! But they noticed one of the big rocks had hit Kenric right on his head, causing a big gaping hole to appear there. Kenric became unconscious and fell to the ground. His horse Star began to panic and run for her life! She ran wild and free, leaving Kenric lying on the ground, with more rocks tumbling down on his already wounded body. After a while, all was quiet and both men went to check on Kenric, but the young man, it seemed, had already succumbed to his injuries. Blood was still oozing out of that large gaping hole on top of his head. It was that first strike which must have killed him. His body suffered a dislocated shoulder and one of his arms and hands were crushed, as well as his ribcage. The only blessing was that Kenric was struck on the top of his head first, rendering him unconscious of all other injuries to follow.
Kenric was dead! They could not revive him! Both men broke down in tears.
“That evil Sir Samuel! He is going to pay for this!!” Miles gritted his teeth, tightening his lips, and vowed to get back at Sir Samuel.
Both men looked up the mountaintop once again and could not see those warriors in black anymore. It seemed to them all the rocks had been released already. Miles lifted Kenric's battered body and lay him face down in front of him on his horse Sadie. He must take Kenric's body back to the palace as evidence, and show the public what kind of a man Sir Samuel is. Sir Baldwin was right! Sir Samuel is a wicked man and cannot be trusted! He must let everyone in the kingdom know what Sir Samuel has done!
Miles and Marco continued the rest of the journey. As they reached the gate of the palace, all eyes were on Kenric's body. They trotted further to the open courtyard before the palace and found Sir Baldwin and his men and many other citizens out on the street protesting, calling for Sir Samuel to be jailed. They had named him the murderer of the six soldiers who were captives. Many people in the kingdom were out on the street shouting for Sir Samuel to be prosecuted.
As soon as Baldwin saw Miles and learned what had happened to Kenric, he immediately alerted everyone about Kenric's death.
“PEOPLE! THERE IS NO END TO SIR SAMUEL'S KILLING SPREE AND CRUELTY! JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THIS!" shouted Baldwin, pointing to Kenric's body.
"A YOUNG SOLDIER, WHO HAD GONE THROUGH THE HANDS-ON TRAINING. HIS DREAM WAS TO BECOME A GOOD WARRIOR FOR THE KINGDOM, BUT HE IS NOW DEAD! HE HAS LOST HIS LIFE AND HIS DREAM TODAY BECAUSE OF SIR SAMUEL'S CRUELTY!" Baldwin stood there, shoulders back, and posture firmly erect, as if showcasing himself as a king or some kind of commander, although he was not either, speaking to the crowd.
"THIS YOUNG MAN WAS KILLED BY THOSE WARRIORS IN BLACK THAT SIR SAMUEL HAS TRAINED TO DO HIS DIRTY WORK! ANOTHER YOUNG WARRIOR HAS LOST HIS LIFE! HE IS NOW GONE FROM THE KINGDOM, GONE FROM HIS PARENTS!"
WE SIMPLY CAN NOT ALLOW THIS KIND OF MURDERING SPREE TO HAPPEN WITHIN OUR KINGDOM. WE MUST PUT AN END TO THIS!"
"THERE IS AN ENEMY WORKING IN THE KINGDOM ALONGSIDE THE KING! THIS ENEMY'S SECRET MISSION IS TO KILL OUR MEN, AND DESTROY OUR KINGDOM! WE MUST NOT ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN FURTHER!" Baldwin continued.
“WE MUST SEEK JUSTICE FOR THIS INNOCENT YOUNG WARRIOR!!”
"SIR SAMUEL IS NOT YOUR FRIEND OR PROTECTOR! HE IS YOUR ENEMY!" Baldwin continued to speak loudly to convince the crowd.
“THIS ENEMY NEEDS TO BE STOPPED IMMEDIATELY!”
“SIR SAMUEL NEEDS TO BE TAKEN DOWN AND AWAY FROM THE PALACE! HE NEEDS TO BE PROSECUTED AND BE PUT IN JAIL!!”
“LOCK HIM UP!” shouted the crowd.
“YES, LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP!” shouted Miles to the crowd, he raised his fist as well and shouted.
“SIR SAMUEL HAS TARGETED ME FOR DEATH! HE HAS SECRETLY TRAINED A GROUP OF WARRIORS IN BLACK TO TAKE ME DOWN! THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME I HAVE BEEN TARGETED. THE DEATH WAS MEANT FOR ME. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS YOUNG MAN KENRIC HAS TAKEN MY PLACE! SIR SAMUEL NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT BEFORE JUSTICE!”
“LOCK HIM UP!” cried the crowd in unison. The citizens of the Kingdom were now convinced that Sir Samuel was the murderer! He was the evil one!
And so, as Miles continued his journey to the courthouse he carried Kenric's battered body along the street and further paraded his corpse in public to reinforce to the public just what Sir Samuel had done.
Sir Baldwin gave himself an imaginary satisfying pat on his back. He knew he would be safe from here on. Those few warriors whom he had assigned to wear black clothing in order to disguise themselves as Samuel's warriors in black, had succeeded in throwing rocks down the mountain. They had just managed to convince Miles that Sir Samuel was the murderer.
Sir Samuel will never be able to shake himself off the guilt now. Baldwin thought, secretly congratulating himself.
I shall continue this chapter after Chapters 27 and 28. Oh! Baldwin may think he's got the upper hand, but he'll be in for a surprise.
Thank you for all your feedback on this story!
Mark: In the future, I shall try posting my stories in font size 5 which will be much larger on the screen. I hope you can see the prints more clearly.
The third in The Seventh Circle Series. Join the Seventh Circle and friends as they battle against the forces of the Black Order, the four demons, and contiune their quest to find the Soulstone.
Lord Belmundus – The Omnibus One is a compilation of Books 11 through 15 of The Adventures of Lord Belmundus, a remarkable tale of other worlds, strange customs, beauty and warfare; and, in its grips, lands a young celebrity, who has the chaps to pla
