A bargaining chip

"Let her go." Tym narrowed her eyes to slits, at the prince. "If you love your life, you will let her go."

"And if I don't?" The prince chuckled. "What are you going to do, Dark Masked Tym?" The prince was amused as he watched Tym's body language.

"You don't want to know what I will do. Now, let her go!" Tym narrowed her eyes at the handsome prince.

He was just like the rumours said, with his long flowing hair, and beautiful face. The prince was like a male Adonis with his face, and jaw that looked more like it can cut through glass.

His short red hair, and unusual violet eyes, made him the most handsome man in the entire kingdom. None can compete with his handsomeness, and neither can they rival it.

Cicil watched the two as she tried to figure out what was happening.

"Tym, see, I saw the prince when I came!" She tried to get the prince to release her, but the prince held on her to her and refused to let go. The grip he had on her didn't flatter.

"Let me go!" Cicil narrowed her eyes at the prince.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet the rumoured dark Masked Tym." The prince gave the cladded man a narrowed glare. "I must confess, you don't look so intimidating." He glanced at his falling guards, "you don't seem that intimidating, but you are."

A person who managed to fight more than twenty well-trained guards without breaking a sweat is more than capable, in the prince's eyes. "The rumours didn't do you justice. You are more than the others said you are."

Tym pursed her lips as she watched the prince, with a part of her mouth curled up in a smirk. "If you don't want to taste the rumours out now, I will advise you to let her go."

"And if I don't?" The prince laughed. "If you want to take your sister back, I only have a bargain for that."

"What do you want?" Tym folded her arms as she watched the prince. She tried to study the prince, to find out how best she can get to Cicil without the prince hurting her.

"Tym!" Cicil cried out when she figured the prince won't let her go.

Unlike how friendly he was before Tym came, the prince seemed to have changed a lot.

It was as if the one who was playing with her not long ago isn't the same person here.

"Don't hurt her!" Tym narrowed her eyes to slits. "What do you want with her?"

"What do I want with her?" The prince laughed. "What I want with you is the best question, don't you think?"

"What do you want with me?" Tym narrowed her eyes to slits as she watched the prince.

"What do I want with you?" The prince laughed. "Well, it's simple. I want you to escort me to the mountains of the dragons."

"Mountains of the dragons? Are you suicidal?"

"Suicidal?" The prince laughed. "My sister was taken by the dragon shifters. If—"

"Wait, let me get this right. The dragons are just a myth. Everyone knows the people who live up there are those who dab in magic.

I don't understand why you are calling them shifters." Tym scoffed, "if you have nothing of importance to say, I'm—"

"How can you get your sister back?" The prince whistled, and Three guards ran out of the Palace. They held on to Cicil at the prince's commands, while he folded his arms and fully faced Tym.

The guards, whom Tym fought with, have all risen from the ground. They stood by the side with their head bowed in shame as they all imagined the punishments that await them at the hands of the prince.

"Don't you dare hurt her!" Tym narrowed her eyes to slits. "Who you want is me, right? Then, come and get me. You don't have to—"

"Your sister will be kept safe here. I will make sure she's well taken care of until our return.

You don't have to worry about her. Just agree to escort me to the mountains of the shifters."

"And what if I refuse?" Tym folded her arms and watched them with an amused expression on her face.

The prince nodded his head, and a soldier who was among those holding Cicil latched his hand around her neck and raised her.

His hold on her wasn't tight, however, the more Cicil kicked, the tighter his hand around her neck became.

"Tym!"

She called out in fear.

"Let her go!" Cicil flew up, intent on kicking the man who was holding to her neck, but the prince intercepted her.

He was fast on his feet as he exchanged blows by blows with him.

He was quick, and his legs moved in fast precision.

Tym smirked, "a worthy opponent, at last." She turned around so fast, the prince didn't register what was happening until he was kicked in the stomach.

The strength of the kick to the stomach sent him flying back. He didn't get time to wedge himself from the fall before it happened.

Tym raced towards the guards holding Cicil, but a sharp lash of a robe she didn't see, hit her on the back, and caused her to fall to the ground.

She wedged her fall with her hands, and turned, just in time, to stop the rope from hitting her bare back once more.

Tym narrowed her eyes at the prince who was welding the rope. "If you want to fight fair, let's do that without the weapons."

"You trained without weapons, but I trained with them. It won't be as fair as you said it is if I don't fight with my weapons."

"Really?" Tym scoffed. "If you are man enough, you won't hide behind a weapon."

"Let's say I'm not man enough. I need to reserve my strength for the journey we are about to embark on.

Don't you think I need the strength?"

The guards, who were standing around, made no sound as they watched the prince and the Masked Tym.