chapter 27

Sampson had already decided before the bandits pulled him on the horse that there was no way he would allow the Prince to save him. Linshanth had already made it clear that he thought Sampson needed his protection and would be nowhere without it and he wouldn't let him be proven right. Unfortunately, given this his arms and legs were tied together and he was sitting on the back of a moving horse with two other bandits beside him there was limited he could do.

He could see the Prince's horse and a few of the knights charging towards him but they were far away and there was no hope of them catching up. Sampson sat and patiently waited for the Prince to use magic to stop Sampson's horse or magic Sampson back to him but he didn't. In fact as Sampson sat and pondered he realised that Linshanth had only ever used one spell in front of him and that was only because he was brutally injured and had no other choice to. He had never used magic in combat, not even when Sampson was kidnapped did Linshanth use a spell to find him.

Sampson had no time to think about it when he realised the bandits were veering off to a different direction. He could barely see Linshanth anymore, no matter how many times he whipped his horse he was too far away. They were riding directly towards a waterfall and so Sampson knew his options were limited. As they came close to the waterfall, Sampson leaned all of his weight forward and forced his body to fall from the horse. He could hear the shouts of the bandits as he fell as he tried to force the bonds wrapped around his limbs apart.

He hit the water on his stomach, his body sinking deep into the water. Sampson thrashed his limbs, trying to loosen the tight grip of the rope but even with his increased adrenaline he could do nothing to loosen them. His stomach convulsed for air and yet he continued to struggle against the ropes His body became incredibly heavy and he began to gasp for air, only to inhale mouthfuls of water. He only felt pain riveting through his whole body, nothing like the peaceful death he imagined after years of torment and abuse he deserved.

Linshanth had seen Sampson throw himself into the river and cursed him profusely as he sped his horse towards the river. The bandits that had taken him had ridden off, assuming he was already dead. The current was fast and so Sampson would be swept away with the current. Linshanth cursed him again but a fear riveted through him. His eyes followed the length of the river, looking for a sign that he had come up to the surface but there was no sign of him.

"Get the bandits", he called towards the knights that were following closely behind him. "Linshanth what are you doing?". He got himself ready to jump as he started to loosen the reins. "Don't be rash Linshanth", Onyx called after him. "The boy is likely already to be dead".

"Get the bandits, I'll get Sampson". He threw himself off the horse shortly after he spoke the words and straight into the water. Unlike Sampson Linshanth dived into the water and began immediately swimming up the stream, letting the strong current do most of the work. He ducked his head under the surface of the water but with the rush of the water he could barely see anything. "Sampson". He called out in hopes to get a response even though it was fruitless. Even if Sampson had found a way to swim to the surface, he wouldn't be able to hear him over the deafening sound of the waterfall.

Linshanth checked along the bank in case Sampson may have swam over there but the bank was clear. The water was starting to run slower the further from the waterfall the current took them. Linshanth continued to swim, his own heart was beating fast and his chest ached from the lack of air. There didn't seem like a point of breathing if Sampson couldn't. He dived back into the water and swam the length of the bottom for his hand to connect with a body. Blindly he wrapped his arm around the body and pulled him to the surface. He knew by the small stomach and protruding bones that it was Sampson. He swim to the edge of the river bank.

Sampson's body was curled into a ball, his skin pale and lacking any colour. He didn't have to check whether he was still breathing. He had been under that water for long enough. Not even the strongest of swimmers would still be breathing after spending so long under water. He straitened his limbs giving him access to his chest, checking his mouth first before starting to do chest compressions.

"Come on Sampson, you don't get to quit on my now", Linshanth barked gritting his teeth. He stopped after a couple of minutes and tilting his head back, sealing their lips together and blowing a mouthful of air into Sampson's mouth before he began his chest compressions again. This continued for some time but Sampson had yet to respond. "Come on Sampson". He brought his hands together and slammed his against his chest waiting for a sign of response before he did it again.

Water spurted from Sampson's mouth and as he let out a hoarse breath, his eyes flickering open, wide and dull, showing barely a hint of life. Sampson fell forward, breathing out strains of breath. Linshanth grabbed his shoulders and leaned him against his chest, allowing Sampson's body to rest.

Sampson didn't move for the longest time, his body was cold and Linshanth was so warm he couldn't help but no want to move from such a heat source. Linshanth held him close, one hand was kept on the small of his back whilst the other stroked his forehead, smoothing out the hair in front of his face that dripped with water. Had Sampson not just drowned he would have realised that what they were doing was wholly inappropriate but he didn't for some time. Only when Linshanth's soothing motions began to make him feel like he was falling asleep did he sit up, pushing his hand away.

"What are you doing?", he asked indignantly. "I just saved your life, the least you could say is thank you". "I'm not talking about saving my life, I want to know why you were…". He stopped mid sentence not wanting to admit anything himself. Speaking the words out loud made him feel almost embarrassed.

"I didn't ask you to save my life", Sampson spoke crossing his arms over his chest. The Prince had saved him yet again, making him look like a damsel in distress and that he couldn't protect himself. "Would you rather I let you drown? Why did you jump into the water in the first place?".

"There was no way you were getting to me in time. I wasn't about to be killed. My wife to be would never forgive me". His eyes widened and the last words, realising he had left Minnie and Perity behind.

"We need to go back". He stood but was unsteady on his feet and would have collapsed to the ground if not for the strong grip Linshanth had on his waist. Sampson's face blushed ten shades of red before he pushed him away.

"Would you rather I let you fall?". "Stop trying to help me", Sampson demanded. He began to walk the riverbank back towards the waterfall when he realised there was no clear path to get back to the top. He thought for some time looking for any route but after some time he admitted defeat and walked back towards Linshanth. He had stripped from his outer robes and was tending to a cut on his arm.

"You should have said you were injured", Sampson muttered. They had nothing to clean it with and so Linshanth wrapped it with one of his broken sashes to stop the blood. "How do we get back up towards the wood?".

"We can't. We have to go this way", Linshanth pointed to the left and the direction opposite to where the girls were. "There is a kingdom a few days ride from here. The knights will know to meet us there".

"What about Minnie and Perity?". "They will bring the maids with them". "No, I have to get to them now. I don't trust the knights alone with them". "All of my knights act honourably. They are in safe hands". "Around you maybe. But I know what they're really like". In that moment he hated himself. He should have never have agreed to let the girls come with him.

"There's nothing we can do. You will just have to trust me". There was no way of getting back to them, he prayed that Linshanth really meant it. "If even a hair is touched on their heads, I'll kill all of your knights". Linshanth cocked a smile. "Such a big threat. Are you sure with your little combat skills that you'd be able to take them all on?".

Sampson remained grim faced not rising to the bait. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for them". He pushed past Linshanth and began to hurry along the river bank. Minnie and Perity would both be terrified, especially since they were just attacked by bandits. Just the thought of how terrified they might be made him feel sick.

Linshanth ran after him grabbing his shoulder. "I only just saved you from drowning. Sit down and rest for a while". It was true Sampson's body felt like he could collapse any minute. Every part of his body and his chest felt so tight he felt he may be drowning again but he refused to think of himself. He pushed the Prince's hands away, making it a few steps until his vision became funny and he collapsed.

When he came to it was dark. There was a cold compress on his head and a warmth that was enveloping his whole body. He sat up and the Prince's cloak that had been covering him fell from his shoulders. Linshanth was tending to a fire in front of him. Given the smoke that surrounded him the fire had been going for a couple of hours already. Linshanth would have made it before it went dark to keep them warm through the night.

"How long have I been asleep?", Sampson reluctantly spoke. "So you've finally woken. I thought you'd be asleep until the morning". Sampson had no fight left in him to fire back anything witty enough to combat the Prince's sarcastic comment. "You shouldn't have given me your cloak. I am warm enough with the fire". He draped the rest of it off his body and stood, crouching some distance from the Prince. He tried to hand it to the Prince but he made no movements to take it. In the end Sampson gave up and draped it around his shoulders. Linshanth was burning leaves in the fire and crushing the embers to make a paste. Sampson watched him for some time before curiosity overcame him and he walked back over.

"What are you doing?". Linshanth didn't reply as he continued to mix the leaves into a paste. "Drink it. It will give you energy for the ". He handed Sampson the brass cup. Sampson took one look at it's murky contents and felt like he was going to go sick. "You are the one that made it. You should be the one to drink it". Already knowing Sampson well enough to know he would never drink it Linshanth didn't force him. Instead he leaned over and harshly pinched Sampson's nose. He resisted for some time, struggling against Linshanth's grip before his mouth involuntary opened as he gasped a breath of air. Linshanth poured the contents of the paste down Sampson's throat and made him swallow it before letting go.

Sampson rubbed at his nose, given Linshanth a look of disgust. The paste didn't all taste that bad but the texture of it made him feel like he had a snail running down the back of his throat. He shuddered running down to the river and taking mouthfuls of water.

When he returned Linshanth was crushing up leaves again. "I'm not having anymore. You can't force me to eat it again". "This isn't for you", Linshanth retorted dryly. He burned the ashes and made it into a paste before drinking the contents. "Where did you get the leaves?".

"I picked them from the bushes over there. They're called mung leaves, they carry medicinal properties". "Don't you have anything else to eat?". Sampson rubbed at his stomach as it grumbled. He had barely eaten anything since they started their journey three days ago. "There is nothing to catch out here. You'll have to bare with the hunger".

Sampson sighed and lay down on the ground floor, soaking up the heat of the fire. "How do you know the knights will go to the next kingdom and not look for us here?". "Because it is what I would do and they know that. Staying in one place for too long makes us a target".

"How do you think they found us? We had only stopped for a couple of hours". "It was likely they had been tracking us for longer than that. They were waiting for an opportunity to strike". "Word will spread that the Prince of Toombak has left the castle and is travelling through the great woods. You've made yourself a target by going to Vahda".

"I'm a target wherever I go". Linshanth having tended to the fire enough laid down next to him. Sampson hadn't realised before how tired he looked. Linshanth knew how to hide his feelings well and it was one of the reasons why Sampson thought no matter how much time they spent together he would never truly know the Prince. He imagined it was a luxury that no one would have in their lifetime. He wasn't even sure how much of the Prince he wanted to know.

"You will have to wear a disguise from now on. When I see you wearing all your gold I want to beat you too". Linshanth rolled his head to the side, raising a brow. "Is that so?". "Yes. If you looked a bit more like common folk not everyone you encounter would try and kill you".

"Even if I was wearing nothing at all I wouldn't look like a commoner", Linshanth boasted. Sampson scoffed. "I seriously doubt it". "I can prove it if you like". Linshanth began to undo his sashes and Sampson's eyes widened in alarm. "I was joking. Keep your clothes on". "Hahaha don't tell me the lost son is shy".

"I'm not shy. I just don't want my eyes to burn", Sampson bit back, rolling completely to the other side. One ear was squished to the ground and he blocked the other one by putting his hand over his ear.

He was just getting to sleep when he felt a harsh pinch on his hand. "What was that for?", he growled. "Why are you ignoring me?". "I am trying to sleep. Wasn't it you that said I should rest?". "It isn't quite time for sleep. We still have much to discuss". He made a grab for the Prince's shoulder rolling him onto his back.

"Leave me alone. I'm sleeping now". Sampson made an attempt to roll back over but Linshanth draped his arm over his waist, making it a dead weight and immobilising him. There was no point in struggling against such a source but Sampson still refused to talk. Until a thought occurred to him and he had no choice but to open his mouth.

"Why don't you use magic?". Linshanth didn't seem surprised with the question like Sampson thought he might be. "You could have used magic so many times by now and you haven't". "Just because I have magic doesn't mean I have to use it. I make myself stronger by not using it".

"It would make your life a lot easier if you did. Couldn't you just magic me out of the river instead of jumping in yourself?". "I would have used it if I didn't have to. Luckily I found you before I did". "I had to drown first".

"Why don't you use it? There must be a reason". "I used it a lot as a boy and began to depend on it for everything. I'm sure you know that boys carry stronger magic and mine became uncontrollable. My father had me sent away when I became out of control".

"What did you do that was so out of control?". "I killed someone". "You've killed people before. What difference does one death make?". "I killed my older brother". "Oh". Sampson didn't say anything for a long time, digesting the Prince's words. "I didn't know you had an older brother". He had never heard of the Toombak's having an older son, as far as he knew Linshanth was the only son.

"My older brother didn't possess magic and by law that meant he couldn't be in succession for the throne. My parents kept him hidden away so as not to embarrass them that the first child they birthed could not do any magic".

"Did your parents tell you to kill him?". "No, I killed him by accident". Sampson waited for an explanation but after a couple of minutes he realised there wasn't going to be one and it wasn't his place to ask. He could see that it pained the Prince and he wanted to offer words of comfort but he had never been good with words.

He placed his hand on the arm that Linshanth had kept draped over his waist. "I'm sure whatever you did to him, you didn't mean to". Linshanth went quiet and Sampson kept staring at his side profile. This was the first time he had ever seen the Prince look so troubled. "What was his name, your brother?". "Locke". Locke and Linshanth, they go together Sampson thought but he didn't speak the words.

"How much older was he to you?". "He was three years older. He was closer to Yumi and India than he was to me…It is why I am not close to my siblings because they are afraid I will them like I killed him". Sampson gulped. He had pestered Linshanth many times before as to why he wasn't close to his siblings but he could have never imagined that was the reason.

He thought the Prince to be too cold to make any personal connections and that's the reason he gave everyone the cold shoulder. Still he refused to let him change his perception of the Prince. This was still the person that had witnessed years of torment and had done nothing about it. Even now he had unknowingly brought Sampson's abuser along with him. Not that Master Duncan could do anything. He hadn't seen the old man during the fight, he was most likely cowering somewhere so he didn't get hurt. He could only hope that the bandits took him away.

"From what I've observed you're practically strangers". "It is better that way. My sisters will eventually be married into other Kingdoms and I will rarely see them". "They are still your sister Linshanth. Don't you feel anything for them at all?".

Linshanth didn't answer and for some reason that made Sampson irritated. He was acting cold on purpose when he didn't have to be. He thought of Minnie and Perity and how lonely their lives would be if they didn't have each other. He imagined that loneliness had seeped into the Toombak's children's hearts and that's why they were so hateful towards others.

He tried to lie on his side again only to be stopped by Linshanth's arm. "I want to sleep now. Remove your arm". "I'm making sure you don't go anywhere". "You can do that without touching me. You're a light sleeper, besides I have no interest in leaving. I'd never find the next Kingdom in this woods alone". Even though that was true and if he were to leave it would seriously hinder his chances of finding Minnie and Perity, Linshanth didn't remove his arm.

Sampson's began to feel heat radiate from his body from where Linshanth held him. It was so much that he started to shift uncomfortably hoping Linshanth may take pity on him and remove his arm. When it become clear that not even his constant movements would remove his arm Sampson thought to distract him instead.

"Do you think there are crocodiles in that river?". "Nonsense. If there were crocodiles they would have come for us already". "Maybe they're waiting until we fall asleep and then they're going to attack. Crocodiles are intelligent creatures. I wouldn't be surprised if they were watching us now".

"There are no crocodiles Sampson. Go to sleep, we have a lot of travelling to do tomorrow". Suddenly the thought of sleep didn't sound so appealing anymore and the temptation to tease Linshanth became too strong for him to ignore it.

Sampson craned his neck. "I think I hear something. I'm going to look". He pushed the Prince's arm away and stood heading down to the river. Linshanth stayed lying on his back, barely offering him a glance. Sampson waited a few moments as he splashed his feet in the water. "Linshanth I think I see one".

"Stop messing around. It is too cold for crocodiles to migrate to these waters". "Then why did you pull me out of the river earlier". "I wanted to see if you would believe me or not". Sampson turned around and pulled a face. Linshanth was still lazily lying on his back and so didn't see. "I really think I see one".

"Nonsense". Sampson crept along the river bank, hiding in a nearby bush and lied in wait. Linshanth didn't call out for Sampson in the longest time and Sampson feared he may have already fallen asleep, until he rolled onto his stomach and peered out towards the river. "Enough of the games now Sampson".

Sampson snickered to himself and burrowed further into the bush. "Sampson". When he didn't respond Linshanth got up and slowly walked towards the river, taking his sword with him and pointing it outwards.

Sampson peeked out from the bushes to see Linshanth walking along the edge of the river. His face seldom and lacking any humour. He dipped his feet in the river and waded halfway through it until half of his body was submerged into the river. Sampson clapped his hand over his mouth to stop him from laughing. "Sampson, where the hell are you? Come out here now". He ducked down and hid behind the bushes again.

When he looked after a couple of minutes Linshanth was no longer in the river and neither had he returned up to the campsite. Sampson crept out further, searching around for Linshanth. The area seemed eerily quiet now, there was barely a sound except for the stream of the river. He worried the Prince might have thought he drowned again and decided to search the river. He was going to come out from behind the bushes when he felt a sharp pain in his lower back.

He turned just in time to see the Prince pointing his sword at Sampson. The moment he saw the Prince Sampson began running. "Get back here", Linshanth snarled running after him. "Hahaha did you think I was eaten by crocodiles", Sampson shouted continuing to run like his life depended on it. Linshanth dived on top of him and brought him down to the ground whilst Sampson continued laughing. He laughed until his ribs hurt and tears began to stream from his eyes, whilst the Prince remained on top of him watching him silently.

"Are you finished?". "How did you know I was hiding?". "You left a trial of wet footprints by the river". "Oh", Sampson began laughing again. Linshanth sighed before he got up and returned to the campfire. Sampson came a few minutes when he recovered. They sat side by side and as the minutes ticked on their eyes grew heavy. Sampson was the first to lie down with Linshanth following a moment after.