Emmanuel's Capture

Nothing about this meeting made any sense to me. Who was that man and his mistress that they kept talking about? Why would they go after Illia when she was just a mere Princess? She had no real power of authority besides ordering the servants around and bossing around the people of the Kingdom as well. Other than that, she couldn't make executive decisions or even make any laws. It was out of her jurisdiction. She was basically just a trophy that my father harbored under his wing until she could find a suitor. I could understand if they where trying to kidnap her for a ransom, but they where talking about killing her. I wonder if Illia had done something wrong to anger a nearby Kingdom. It was thanks to the river that passed through our lands that we had made some enemies.

It has been awhile, and it was peaceful across the lands, but that doesn't mean these other Kingdoms didn't harbor ill feelings towards my father. So, if she had done anything slightly to anger the other Royals, they could have hired expendables to take care of the problem for them. It would also wound my father greatly to have lost something so precious to him. After all, he already lost my mother who he treasured greatly and was still hurting from it. Losing Illia would be just what they need to push him over the edge. For respect of my father and sister, I couldn't let that happen. I needed to defend their honor and keep them safe. I know Illia and I didn't really get along the older we grew up, but she was still my sister by blood, and I have always respected her resentment towards me.

I needed to make sure that I could get back in one piece, at least to let my father know what was going on. I placed two fingers close to my lips and let out a shrill whistle, signaling to the General that we where under attack. With my free hand, I drew my sword and rose to my feet. It was just three bandits that stood before us now, but that doesn't mean there aren't any more behind them. After screaming angrily, I am sure it alerted more his men that their where intruders. We had to be on guard in case they tried to ambush us. There where many places to hide in this abandoned village.

I took a step out from the narrow crevice between the two buildings just as Emmanuel came within swinging distance. His eye was narrowed in rage, spit flying out of his mouth as he continued to yell in outrage. All the fear I had felt before, left with the first swing of his blade. I brought my sword up just in time to parry it out of the way. My heart had stilled, almost as calm as a pond on a windless day. Setting aside the current issue at hand, I started to attack Emmanuel. Nathaniel and Jeremiah came forth from the dark shadows of the house and jumped the other two mercenaries that had tried to attack me. Metal hitting metal rang through out the abandoned village, once again bringing a small bit of nostalgic memory back into the once a long time ago battlefield.

I stared at Emmanuel with narrowed eyes, our swords still locked together between us. His teeth gritted together tightly as he fought against my strength. He seemed weaker under my pressure, his sword slowly and ever so slightly shifting as I kept pressing my weight against him. If I could some how subdue him, then we could bring him back with us and torture him for more information. I would have hated to do it in the Kingdom, but he knows the plans for my sister, and I can't allow any chance for escape.

"Who hired you?" I spat angrily. Emmanuel said nothing as he pushed against me, trying to knock me away so he could strike again. But I didn't move an inch. He growled in frustration as he realized I had the upper hand. If I really wanted to end his life, all I had to do was shove him backwards, he would stumble, and then I could stab him right through his heart. But I wanted information, he knows that. He was going to try and plan an escape if I wasn't going to grant him death.

"Do you think I would tell you just because you asked. You are more daft than I thought Crowned Princess." I heard the mockery in his voice, but I refused to let it get to me. His tongue lashing would not sway my emotions enough to hurt him. At least not while we where away from the Palace.

"Where would the fun be if you just gave me the information I wanted. Oh know, I have so many things planned for you Mercenary. I do hope you like confinement, because that is where you will stay until I get what I want." I spat angrily back. I brought my knee up to my chest and placed my foot against his chest, giving him a hardy thrust. I watched as his eyes went wide as he stumbled across the ground. He tried to regain his footing by stabbing his sword in the ground, but to no avail, he still fell anyhow. His hand involuntarily gave way from the hilt, leaving defenseless as he fell onto his back. Before he could roll over and lunge for it, I placed my heavy boot upon his chest, grinning wickedly down on him.

"You have so much that I want. So don't even think about trying to escape. For every moment you try to run away, I will break a bone in your body. No medicine will be provided for you, and you will feel the constant pain. If you promise to behave, I will be nice to you. So, stay down if you know what is good for you." Emmanuel glared up at me, but he laid still. If he thought for two seconds that I would trust his sudden compliance, than he was dead wrong. I took my boot off his chest, but not before bringing the hilt of my sword down upon his head with a solid thud. Blood burst from his temple where I struck. A small gash formed as I brought the hilt away. Blood trickled slowly down the side and on to the ground that he laid upon.

Satisfied that he was unconscious, I directed my attention towards Nathaniel and Jeremiah. So far one of the other Mercenaries had been slain. He laid face down on the ground in a puddle of his own blood. His limps had been splayed all over the place. Almost like he was a doll that had been tossed to the side by its owner. A lifeless rag doll. I wondered if he had family. Would they be wondering where he was tonight? Or maybe they where waiting for him to go home. Were they sitting around the table now, wondering how he was doing? Would they be praying he would come home safely? I almost felt bad for his death, but he brought this upon himself when he decided to help a group of Mercenary enemies. I couldn't dwell on such trivial things now. I still had a responsibility to get my people, and this low life, back to the Palace.

Like it was on cue, the General and a group of our men came rushing in through all sides of the houses. Their thunderous footsteps on the ground as they swarmed the area. Just as the General reached us, Nathaniel and Jeremiah had disposed of the other Mercenary that had stayed at Emmanuel's side. To my surprise the residing area had grown quite. There where no other Mercenaries to join the throng of the fight. Had they already taken off? Were they waiting for the right opportunity to ambush us? It made me feel uneasy that this was all the fight that they where going to put up, especially since in the past they were always so aggressive.

The General strolled up to me, his eyes on the dead Mercenaries that had fallen to Jeremiah and Nathaniel, then to the leader at my feet. His eyes narrowed on the unconscious leader, trying to figure out why I kept him alive. He opened his mouth and I held up a hand as he came to a stop in front of me. We needed to search the area and make sure that all lingering Mercenaries where discarded. The more we dealt with now, the less we had to deal with later. That and I couldn't believe that this village only housed three people.

"I want every house searched, every bed tossed, and every room flipped. Do you understand me. Any enemy that is alive now will become an issue down the road. If you find anything of interest or use is brought to me immediately. There were only three Mercenaries that attacked, so there could be more. Be on guard." I instructed to the other soldiers milling around. Just as quickly as they had entered the field, they dispersed. The abandoned village was soon filled with slamming doors.

"Your Majesty, why do you keep this one alive?" The General asked standing by my side as we watched our soldier steaking from building to building. My eyes where trained on the shadows, hoping to spot an ambush before it could take another one of my soldiers' lives. Nathaniel and Jeremiah, after claiming their treasures of the deceased, came to stand with us as we conversed. The grim expressions of their face matching my own. Without a word, their concerns voiced my own. That something wasn't adding up.

"I am afraid that our suspicions where correct General. They really are more than just bandits. The target on our merchants is to stop trade routes with other Kingdoms. They plan to weaken our supplies and eventually our Kingdom. But that isn't the main target. The goals of the Mercenaries and the ones who hired them are completely different. They have separate agendas, and from what I can make out, only the Mercenaries goals are being fulfilled. I don't know who is behind this yet, but this old man seems to be the ringleader. I want to bring him back and get as much information out of him as possible." The General sighed, disturbed by the information he had received. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at me.

"What is the goal of the people that hired them?" I gripped my sword tightly, worry slowly starting to ebb its way back into my conscience. Of course, these where all theories that I had, but I still couldn't help but think that Illia was the main reason for these attacks. She was not levelheaded like me and spent a lot of her time speaking her mind. She had no manners and most of the time, insulted guests, or even high officials. I wouldn't be surprised if she angered one of our enemies from her sharp tongue and lack of manners.

"I don't have enough evidence yet, but I fear it may be Illia. They said they wanted to kill "her" before the banquet. Since the banquet is mainly for Illia, it's the only logical explanation I can come up with. When we get back to the Palace, I want extra guards on her at all times. Extra servants as well to tend to her. If we give them less of a chance of an opening, it will be hard to kill her. We will have to let father know what has happened as well, and I will deal with his wrath when we get back. Right now, all I care about is protecting my sister." The General nodded silently, lost in thought as he digested my reply. He was quiet, eyes cast to the ground absently. It was more imperative than ever that we keep up on our feet. Even the slightest slip up could mean that we might lose her. That wasn't a risk or gamble I was willing to take.

"Your Majesty! I think I find something that you may want to look at!" A guard called out as he jumped off the banister of the house the Mercenaries had came out of earlier. His face was hard as he rushed across the dirt path, kicking up dust in the process. For some reason, this Guard reminded me a lot of the General. His face and shape where seemingly identical. The only difference was that this young man's hair was brown instead of salt and pepper. In his hand was a single sheet of folded parchment paper, clutched tightly as he ran. I glanced over at the General, finding the resemblance uncanny. The General brought his eyes up to meet the Gentleman, his eyes growing wide with surprise.

"Your Majesty. This is my son Michael. He finished his training a few months ago and became a royal Guard. What did you find Michel?" The General said as the Michael stood before us. With a winded breath, he held out the parchment. I took it from his shaky hands, thanking him in the process before unfolding it. In the most horrendous writing, I think I have ever seen, I read it over.

We think that the Royal Scouts found one of our hideouts, so we will be sending our men to the base in the west. We will still continue you on as planned with attack and weaken their forces. Rest assured my Lady we will bring down The Celestial Kingdom. For now, we will evacuate and get rid of all evidence of our presence so they can not track us.

Regards,

Emmanuel.

I crumpled the paper angrily in my hands before tossing it to the ground. They had managed to find my scouts too and fled the scene before we could arrive. These guys where always one step ahead of us, but now we have something important. We had Emmanuel, and I planned on getting every little bit of information out of him before I killed him. Even if it meant torturing him to the brink of death.

"They are no longer here. So far now let us return to the Palace and rest before they launch their next attack. I am sure with us tailing them, they had no chance to launch another attack on the Palace, so they will want to attack twice as hard next time. It seems that they have a main base out west. So, after we are all rested, I want a group of our highly trained warriors out searching for it. Disband them as soon as possible. The quicker we resolve these issues, the more time we can spend on finding out who is behind these attacks." I growled angrily. These bastards where going to try and thin out my forces, so I had to make sure I was behind the walls and at Illia's side in case they somehow managed to get through our defenses.

If this was the work of another Kingdom, then I could only fear that there would be a war in the near future. With the banquet only another week away, I had to somehow get control of the situation. Now I had pressure from my father about a suitor, my sister's safety, my duties as the Crown Princess and Knight, and also the pressure of the Council if they see me as unfit to be a Knight at all. The stress kept building, and it was taking everything in me not to just crack open. Maybe I was juggling to much all at once. I wanted to be an inspiration to other women, but how could I do that if I was already drowning?

The General placed a hand on my shoulder, a reassuring smile on his lips as he watched my internal struggle.

"Princess, despite what you must be thinking about yourself right now, you really are doing a splendid job handling these situations. I know it looks tough now, but it will get better. Have faith." With that being said, he let go of my shoulder and waved for his son to follow. He wrapped his hands across his shoulder, his smile disappearing as he talked in a hushed voice to his son. They where immersed in a deep conversation, but I couldn't help but stare at them. It was like staring at a younger carbon copy of my General. Younger being the key word. I wonder if Michael was any good with a sword like his father was. I would have to watch his training sessions from now on. If he were anything like his father, I would offer him a place as a Knight, and then my General when Bregus would retire. I needed to get to know his son a little better.