5 Chapter 5

Sam was packing his luggage for the visit to the tenth kingdom; he was slightly confused as he thought about Borgeez and his master plan. Fifth Kingdom had already proposed an alliance with them; doesn't this mean that we are going towards our own grave? Or is there more to it than what meets the eye?

After packing his things he went to meet Elise. She was making tea for herself, and upon seeing that Sam had come she also made a cup for him. "Where is your mom?" Sam asked while sipping his tea.

"She and dad have gone to visit grandma. Word came that she is not feeling comfortable." Elise sat beside Sam on the couch and leaned her head on his left shoulder.

He smiled as the taste of the tea spread through his tongue. It was true that drinking tea would automatically refresh your brain somehow, maybe it was due to the nicotine or due to some other reason, but it didn't matter right now. He came to her house today to ask the question that was bothering him for quite some time.

"Elise, what do you think Borg is doing?" Sam asked, looking at the steam coming from the tea.

"I don't know, and I don't care. As long as I can be together with a certain someone." Elise rubbed his shoulder and snuggled in his arms.

"I always fear that I won't be able to fulfill the expectations he has of me." He took another sip. He heard the slow breathing of Elise which indicated that she was asleep. But I'll try my best!

Borgeez was lost in his thoughts when he heard the knock on the door. "Please enter."

A woman wearing tight black clothes entered and bowed towards him. "You called for me prince?"

"Yes, I did. There is something which I need you to do." Borgeez went closer to her and stood in front of her.

"Related to your visit to tenth kingdom?" She asked again.

"Indirectly."

"Is 'he' also involved in this?" She asked curiously.

"Well, 'he' is my primary purpose for the visit to tenth kingdom." Borgeez told her about the thing she had to do.

"Can you do it?" Borgeez questioned her.

"Yes!" She gave the answer and walked out of the door. He looked at her disappearing back and heaved a sigh.

The night passed and the morning sun rose up. There was a little commotion outside the imperial palace. Thirty new cars were lined in front of the palace.

"Prince, are you sure you don't want to go via airways?" Aroch asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"No, Sir Aroch. I'll go through these cars. Airways is boring." Borgeez stepped inside one of them and closed the door.

"Please take care of the people in my absence, sir." He raised the windshield.

Sam and Elise were already waiting for him inside. "You ready?" Sam looked at Borgeez.

"Yes, of course." Borgeez signaled the driver and he nodded. They left for the tenth kingdom.

The guards at the border saluted as they saw the cars with the imperial crest going outside.

The group was now in the wilderness or unchartered area, which connected the ninth and tenth kingdoms. This was the only way through which trade and transportation were carried out. There were at least ten checkpoints before they reached the territory from where the tenth kingdom began.

"I assume you belong to the imperial family." The guard saw the crest of the ninth kingdom and looked towards Borgeez.

"Yes, I'm Borgeez G'Robert Lorrenhienz. Here to send my wishes to young prince of the tenth kingdom on his engagement." Borgeez peeked from behind the windshield.

The guard glanced at the handsome face peeking from the car window. "Welcome to the tenth kingdom, Prince Borgeez." He gave the royal salute and told his men to open the checkpoints to let Borgeez enter easily.

The entourage entered the tenth kingdom. There was no welcoming diplomat at the gates of the capital city. They stopped in front of a luxury hotel, which was pre-booked according to their needs. The door of the car opened and Borgeez stepped outside, followed by Sam and Elise. The personal guards who followed covered them from all sides like a fortress. The doors of other cars also opened and twenty people consisting of ten men and ten women began to follow them inside the hotel.

The chief manager, upon seeing the entourage enter the hotel, walked quickly towards Borgeez and greeted him.. He personally delivered him to his room.

Borgeez took a little rest before his door was knocked and a man entered the room. "The King wants to see you."

"Okay." Borgeez got dressed and followed the man. Together with his entourage, he went to meet the king of the tenth kingdom.

The entourage of thirty people entered the imperial palace of the tenth kingdom.

The man led them to a room where the king usually met with his guests.

The king of the tenth kingdom, 'Gislebertus Segarus', also known as the 'Young grandpa'. He was known for his pride honor and love towards his kingdom, which was considered the oldest of all eleven.

Segarus was inside the gym facility of palace. The trainer was closely observing him as he pulled the weights.

'Huff'

'Huff'

The sound of his breathing as he was pulling the weights was echoing. He was 62 this year, yet his body appeared 40 or something. A man came and said something in Segarus' ear. He nodded, "Tell them to wait for an hour." He finished pulling weights and turned towards swimming.

After an hour, Segarus came outside the pool, and stood still as two men towelled the water from his body. He then moved towards the guest's room.

Borgeez was waiting for Segarus to show up. The door opened and he entered.

Segarus went directly towards the sofa and sat on it. Borgeez and the entourage stood up.

Borgeez went forward and said, "I should've come earlier to pay my respects. My apologies for taking so long." He bowed and introduced himself. "Borgeez G'Robert Lorrenhienz."

"Gislebertus Segarus, King of Tenth kingdom," Segarus introduced himself before studying Borgeez keenly. "I know all about you. Nothing that happens in the eleven kingdoms ever escapes my attention, no matter how trivial."

"I'm certain that's true." Borgeez also looked straight at him.

There was a moment of silence.

"Damn, you are young and yet you've shown your potential." Segarus smiled.

Borgeez chuckled.

"Youth is a wonderful thing. More than anything else, the young have strength." Segarus moved his fist to the front. "As one grows older, no amount of effort can hide the effects of age." He clenched his fist and his arm tightened like a steel rod. He smiled and retracted it.

Borgeez felt mental pressure!

Segarus' face turned serious. "But youth has its faults too. After winning battle after battle, a young man becomes overconfident. He ends up underestimating his enemy!"

Very true, Borgeez thought.

"Listen, Borgeez. No matter how young and strong one might be, one can't bring down an elephant with a dagger." Segarus looked seriously towards Borgeez. "In this world there are enemies who simply cannot be beaten. A thorough understanding of that fact is crucial to the survival of a kingdom, to the prosperity of the people and to the very life of its ruler."

Borgeez thought of something and smiled. "I would like to think that I understand that fact very well."

Segarus took the tea which was served just now. "If that's true then you'll make a fine ruler."

"Thank you very much. Since you've been so kind as to acknowledge me as the ruler of the ninth kingdom, I would like to ask you a favor," said Borgeez.

"A favor!?" Segarus turned curious.

Borgeez bowed once again. "That's why I came here to pay my respects. Please break all ties with the fifth kingdom as soon as possible, otherwise there will be dire consequences."

Segarus was stunned.

"Please take some time to consider my request." Borgeez finished and left the room with his entourage.

Segarus was sitting at the same spot. He clenched his fists. "That brat….he knows me to be an elephant, yet he stalks me with a dagger!?"

Borgeez returned to the hotel with his entourage. Sam was a little confused about the attitude that Borgeez showed in front of Gislebertus. After reaching Borgeez's room, he asked him, "Why did you threaten Gislebertus?"

"I didn't threaten him. I just warned him about the consequences he'll face. I have a better deal for him; just wait for the right moment." Borgeez sat on the wooden chair and thought of something. "Did you buy the spots for horse racing tomorrow?" He asked Sam.

"Yes, they were being troublesome in the beginning but seeing the money they decided to give us the spots," Sam replied.

"How many spots did they sell us?" Borgeez asked while taking out the flip flops from his baggage.

"We initially demanded for 18, but after bargaining they sold us 13. The total number of spots were 30." Sam took out some candies from his pocket and ate one and offered some to Borgeez.

Borgeez picked three and threw them inside his mouth at once. "What about the horses? How are they?"

"They are good and healthy." Sam sat in front of Borgeez on another wooden chair. From there, they drifted into an idle conversation.

Gislebertus was taking a walk in his private garden. The same man who was the guide for the Borgeez's entourage came and said something in his ear.

"So they took 13 spots." He smiled and took the wine from the man's hand.

"But what are they going to do if their horses suddenly disappeared?" Gislebertus took a sip and let the wine take root in his taste buds. He emptied the glass in a second gulp. The man took the glass and walked away.

"Young men always try to grab big things. But bigger things bring big problems." Segarus waved towards security guards. "Call the manager who's organizing the horse race."

The next day, Borgeez and his entourage were in the stadium where the horse race was going to commence. He sent one of the guys from the entourage to check if everything was alright and to encourage the riders with a handsome reward if they won the races.

But something had happened and apparently his master plan to gain money was destroyed. The guy who was sent, came running back with a stunned look on his face. Sam turned alert, having been skeptical over how things were going too smoothly.

The guy stopped in front of Sam and collected the words carefully to convey what had happened.

"Sam, our horses!" The guy was gasping for air. "Our horses, they disappeared!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" One of the guys from the entourage named 'Frank' said.

"I mean, they are stolen. They are not in their stables. Someone conspired against us." The guy who was gasping for air concluded.

"Well, the culprit is easy to guess. Isn't it, Borgeez?" Sam looked towards where Gislebertus was sitting and asked Borgeez.

"Should we pay him a visit?" Elise spoke, looking in same direction.

Segarus felt the their hostile gazes and turned his head towards them. He moved his fist to front and clenched it, doing the same thing he did when he first met Borgeez.

This is my demonstration of power!

People would say this is not the correct way or this is not fair, but these are the people who're still sucking their mama's tits and crying about the injustice society does to them. Well, I don't care about these people as long as my work is done. What did you think would happen? That you could come to my land, eat my food, rest in my hotel; shit in my chambers and then insult me in front of my face?

This is the oldest kingdom. Its base is built from the bones of people like you!

Let's see what a young punk like you can do now!

Segarus diverted his gaze and looked towards the race which was about to start.

The whole plan of Borgeez in which he was going to show Segarus show what a determined young man could do was shoved into the toilet.

Once the news about the disappearances had spread, the commotion at the betting stall increased. The people who've placed the bets on Borgeez's horses were taking back their bets and placing them on Segarus' horses. Out of thirty, thirteen spots were totally empty, showing everyone had changed their bets to other horses.

Borgeez watched the commotion and sat on his chair. He ordered to be left alone for five minutes. The race was going to start in ten minutes.

No horses, No riders. What can be done? His gaze turned towards the riders of other horses and the empty spots in the starting line. A thought came to his mind, and he smiled. Human nature, I'll use you for now.

He clapped his hands two times. All the members of his entourage came closer to him. "I've decided to try something. This would seem idiotic at first but believe me…we'll eventually win."

After this, Borgeez told them something. Listening to his solution, all the members of the entourage were fired up. Something which had never happened in the history of horse racing was going to happen.

Three minutes were left before the gun would be fired to signal the start of the race. The people in the audience were not ready for the thing which was going to happen now.

The thirteen empty spots which belonged to Borgeez were now occupied by the members of his entourage. Ten were from the entourage, including Borgeez, Sam and Elise. All of them were standing in the spots, taking the stance for racing.

The people were shocked to see humans running with horses. But there was no rule which specifically stated that humans couldn't run in this race.

Segarus was taken aback after witnessing these turns of events. He received a tissue on which something was written. "I'm still in the game!" He didn't need to confirm who the author was. That damn brat!

"What the fuck is that? Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on?" Humans running in a horse race? Is this some kind of circus?

After calming down a little, he realized something and a smile appeared on his face. Well, how can a human compete with a horse in racing? This is just wishful thinking.

Well, he was right for the most part. Humans couldn't compete with horses in racing but horses also couldn't compete with humans in intelligence.

One minute was left before the race started. Borgeez nodded towards his comrades. The time has come, let's show him what the young can do!

Bang!

The gun was fired. Borgeez together with his companions erupted into a sprint. Borgeez was in front, followed by Sam and Elise. The beginning was as expected; the horses took a big lead over humans. According to people, this race was only between horses now.

The fastest horse that was called 'Hurtus' was in front, followed by other horses. Hurtus was projected to be the winner by most of the betting experts. The money placed on him began to increase.

Segarus said something to his agent; he placed all his money on Hurtus. Everything was going smoothly. Then something strange began to unfold before the people.

Hurtus slowed down, followed by the horses behind him. Borgeez saw this and spoke into the transmitter attached to his ear. Everyone from the entourage heard him. They increased their speed.

Now, the situation was completely reversed. The horses were running behind the humans. Borgeez was the one in the lead. The people who were watching were too surprised to notice that a prince of kingdom was running in a race meant for the horses.

Segarus stood up. His hands were shaking. A drop of cold sweat fell into his eyes. "He fucking bribed the riders!" The people around him were dumbfounded. Bribing the riders? He can do that?

The race is not yet over brat! I'll make a fortune even when you turned all the tides in favor of yourself!

He ordered his agents to place all their money on Borgeez. You've shown your potential brat. But I can't allow myself to take a loss here.

The money that was placed on the thirteen spots which belonged to Borgeez and his entourage began to rise. This was a terrifying turn of events.

The race was now in the final phase. The money placed on Borgeez has broken all the previous betting records. But the show was not over yet!

"Let's give 'Young grandpa' a gift which he'll never forget." Borgeez spoke to Sam.

A grin appeared on the face of Sam.

The race was about to finish. Borgeez saw the finishing line approaching him. Ten steps left. Seven steps left. Six steps left. Then he slowed down.

Sam reached the finishing line leaving him behind. Yet Borgeez was not moving, he stopped and stood in his place and looked towards where Segarus was sitting. He smiled; this smile was a mocking one telling Segarus that he lost!

He walked the remaining steps in an extremely slow pace and finally finished the race last.

Segarus turned back and walked out of stadium. He lost all his money that he placed on Borgeez at the last moment. I underestimated that brat!