Village In The West

"I suspect... a witch has put the townsfolk under some kind of spell," Sakaar announced.

I was taken aback. "Has he lost his mind?" I wondered to myself.

Herlin inquired, "And why do you think that?"

Sakaar recounted a previous encounter: "Me and my men once entered a cave to hunt for food, but it turned out to be the territory of an Enchantress. She had control over almost every living being inside the cave."

"How the Fuck...," I began, but Sakaar ignored me and continued, "My men came across her soldiers. We had no problem killing them, but we ended up having to run away because of their numbers."

Herlin pondered for a moment before asking, "How do you know that the village people are under the influence of an Enchantress?"

"What sets the enchantress' soldiers apart from regular humans is their eyes. All of their eyes turn cloud-white when put under a spell. Apparently, they also have markings all over their necks. One of my men reported that he saw them on some of the villagers."

"Well... Shouldn't we leave it to the king and his council to decide what to do about the villagers?" I interjected.

"The king and his council couldn't give less fucks about the village or the people. What makes you think they'll help them?" Sakaar responded with anger in his voice.

"Even if what you're saying is true, what reason do we have to help the villagers?" Herlin asked.

"My territory begins right at the border of the village, and my men fear the enchantress' army is going to attack us. Or worse, she might put us under a spell like she did to the villagers," Sakaar explained.

With his army, Sakaar could easily attack and kill all the villagers, Why did he come to us? I pointed this out.

"Well, even if the king doesn't care about the village, us attacking the village, which is a part of his kingdom, would be like forcing the king to put nails above our heads. What I'm thinking is, we kill the Enchantress and free the villagers from under her control," Sakaar proposed.

Silence filled the room, and I was taken aback by Sakaar's suggestion. After a moment, Herlin broke into laughter, and so did Sakaar.

"Hahahahaha, you clever rascal," Herlin said, putting a hand on Sakaar's shoulder.

"So, what do you say?" Sakaar asked.

"Fine, we will help you," Herlin agreed.

"But..." I began to protest.

"I. Said. We will help them..." Herlin said, turning to me with an eerie smile on his face.

"I'll make a plan till tomorrow at noon, and then we shall discuss more about the ambush," he continued.

"Fine by me. Though I have to go now, it was good talking to you again, Herlin," Sakaar said as he left.

As he went out, Sakaar looked at my angry face and whispered to me, "What's wrong? Are ya scared, princess?"

Hearing this made my blood boil, and I stared at his back as he walked out of the cabin. After a moment, I turned to Herlin to confront him about the decision he made.

"What the hell was that?" I demanded.

"What do you mean?" he replied innocently.

"Why did you agree to free the villagers?"

"Oh, that. I just liked the idea. What's the problem?" he said nonchalantly.

"Have you already forgotten what happened the last time we crossed paths with an Enchantress?" I seethed, my anger barely contained.

"Pfft, that was your fault, not mine. Don't try to shift the blame onto others... If it weren't for you, he might still be alive-"

"Shut the fuck up!" I bellowed, advancing towards him. "If you say his name, I will kill you!"

"That massacre wouldn't have occurred if you had just heeded my warnings. So, you better keep your mouth shut and follow my lead," Herlin declared, his eyes piercing mine.

His words triggered my instincts, and I took a step back."Fuck. you." I muttered under my breath as I headed for the door.

"Oh, and one more thing," he added, smirking. "It's not 'our' army... It's mine." he proclaimed with an uncanny smile upon his lips.