A gambit

"So, what do you think she's going to choose?" Phoenix asked Barda over breakfast. She had gone to seek him out and invited him for breakfast. As she did that, she had sort out the last remaining members of the Dark Flames team, and they all came together to have a meal.

Lady Ellen was smart enough to call over King Helios's 12-year-old son so he could meet his hero. Barda was a bit low, hardly speaking that morning. Trust Phoenix to dig where it's raw.

He sighed heavily at Phoenix's question and then closed his eyes. He knew this was the hottest topic in the city. Anyone who knew about Barda and the Queen, which was practically everyone in the city was talking about it. He didn't want to dwell on this, and anyway, it was well out of his reach.

What Barda thought was true. he just didn't know how much. Everyone was talking about it, from the beer halls to the palace. The Queen was no different. She could hardly breathe as all that pressure mounted on her.

Her duty was to her people to protect them, all of them. Now at the hands of those foreigners, she was their only hope. How could she possibly put her needs above those of the people? However, this man was so perfect for her. How could she trade him for someone she didn't even know. She knew a bit about the prince of Fulah, but they have never gotten along.

***

"Your Majesty, Fulah City awaits your decision," The King of Fulah said after the court was brought to order.

"Your Majesty, there are a lot of things that need to be considered based on what you propose, what exactly are you asking me?" Lady Maara was trying to buy time.

"I submit that what the Queen says it true. However, aside from all that other stuff, there is an insurmountable condition," The King answered, "Do you accept to join the 2 great cities in matrimony?"

The silence seemed to stretch for hours without an end after that question. The Queen was in deep thought, but it seemed that her answer had already been determined, she just needed to say it.

Y-yes, Yes I will," There was a tremor in her voice. This statement led to a lot of hushed rumors from the audience, but the Queen kept her eyes squarely on the Fulah King, not daring to face the crowd.

"Your Majesty, in light of some recent information that has reached us, the city of Fulah has one more condition to make since you have agreed to the first condition." The King of Fulah had Lady Maara right where he wanted her. She had submitted to his first request, time to push it further.

"What condition is that?" The Queen's voice was cold as hated being pushed around. She had just given up on something so precious, what more could he want?

"Your Majesty, Fulah City came to be aware that you were engaged in an intimate affair with one of your men," The King paused for effect, enjoying the look of horror in the Queen's eyes. She was still too young with hardly a thick skin.

"To protect the rights of the city, we demand that this man be married before further talks can be made. If he is missing a suitor, one can be provided for him," This was not an entirely odd demand in this world. In an organized marriage, if one of the would-be spouses was known to be in an affair with an unmarried partner, the partner was made to marry as well. This was to safeguard the rights and union of organized marriages.

"Wait, What?" A sound came from the back, causing everyone to shift their gaze in that direction. The throne room was structured much like a theater, with the Throne upfront in a raised dais, and the seats arranged as diagonally.

The King was irked by the intrusion, but he continued, "Your Majesty, we trust this condition shall be met as well?"

"Excuse me, my hearing is a bit rusty, I didn't get that last bit," Barda said standing up and started to go down the stairs.

"Somebody put this dog down!" The King barked. Several Fulah warriors rushed at Barda, but the man was so pissed they didn't even make it within arm's length of him before their heads and bodies were mercilessly detached. In a blink of an eye, 7 Fulah warriors lay dead, with Barda's sword coated in blood.

"Stand back!" Commander Greer shouted as he held his rifle which was trained at Barda. At the same time, 3 other soldiers pulled out their rifles and aimed them at Barda as well. Everyone present had learned a lesson, keep away from the man.

"You're going to threaten me with my invention?" Barda hissed, shaking with rage, taking a step forward.

"Stand. Back!" Commander Greer was getting antsy. He knew this man was just as much a gifted killer as he was a gifted inventor, and he didn't want that blade anywhere near him. Deep down, he got it. No man would want to be betrayed by the woman he loved, however, this was not the way to react. At the end of the day, the commander felt Barda was still a boy and had a lot of growing up to do.

"Do you know what this is? Ask your Queen, she should know. I gave her something like this as a gift of love. You should recognize it though, look, here is the trigger, and the handle."

As he was speaking, Barda took off his jacket. In his waist, there were 2 leather pouches. He reached for one of the pouches and pulled a metallic object. He showed it off to the commander, describing the parts before holding it in his hand. He dropped his sword and pulled out the other.

After obtaining the treasure Barda had gotten the previous day, he had to try it out on something. Out of all the brilliant inventions Barda was dying to try out, he knew he had limited time, so he went with a gun.

However, he wouldn't just settle for any gun, he wanted the best. With his power and abilities, guns that would have normally been a headache for ordinary people were a peach for him. Therefore, Barda went for the most powerful magazine-fed semi-automatic commercial handgun, due to the muzzle energy it can generate. This was none other than the Desert Eagle.

"We've trained a lot, you and I. Which one of us do you think will win this?" Barda's statement made the commander and his men shudder. Each one of them knew how formidable Barda was, never once missing.

"Enough!" The Queen shouted before this escalated any further. "This man is not under my command. He is an adventurer working under us. I have no right to demand that of him."

"Then have him removed from here at once!" The King barked. He was not going to send his people this time. The Queen met Barda's gaze for the first time in a long time, before she shied away, unable to continue.

"How about a wager?" Barda muttered under his breath. It wasn't loud but since it was louder than a pin-drop, everyone heard it.

"What kind of wager?" The King asked with a sneer.

"Put your 5,000 men under my command, and I promise you I will take back Tristan in seven days. If not I will walk away and never be seen again!" Barda was addressing the Queen, ignoring the gaping Fulah King.

"What madness is this, how can 5,000 men take back the entire city? Not even with a hundred thousand can such a thing be done!" The King of Fulah was beyond shocked that someone could sprout such nonsense. Even more shocked that people believed him.

"Then it should be an easy bet for you then," Barda replied, still looking at the Queen. This time, she was looking back at him. Any other person, she wouldn't even consider it, but this was Barda, the miracle worker.

"We will not accept this insult! Either you have him thrown out of here or we walk!" The King of Fulah had never been so disrespected before. He was the man who got what he wanted when he wanted. For him, a nobody like Barda had no right to speak to him.

"Really? Ultimatums? What a cowardly move? Tell you what, if I don't make it, you get to have me whipped!" Barda said, finally looking at the annoying King. He was no pushover either.

"I would like to see this!" King Helios shouted, almost like a betting man placing a bet. "I offer 5,000 more men for this mission."

"And what do you want in return? If you win," The Queen asked.

"Nothing, I just want to smack the smug off his face," Barda said looking at the King, who seemed to invent new ways of sneering by the second.

The Queen stood up, prompting everyone else to do the same. She then eyed Barda and said: "You have one week!" before walking out.