Secret Rescue Operation

Fang bolted to the nearby bushes and hid. His breathing slow, he was able to camouflage his presence with the background.

Few warriors walked by towards Deric's cage. One of them held a cane in his shivering hands.

"Please forgive me your highness," he whispered and started hitting him with it.

Loud crack sounded as the cane hit Deric's back. They caned him one after another until his back was bloody and torn.

Fang held down his sob as he watched his best friend tortured like a beast. But Deric did not even let out a cry or even a moan, there was blood flowing down his pursed lips.

The group of warriors left with a downcast look. Another group of soldiers appeared and started hitting him.

'They... They are planning to kill him,' Fang muffled his scream as he watched. A silent spectator, unable to help.

'Wait, I can't help, but Kaden can. I have to tell him,' Fang thought with revelation. He clenched his fist and silently prayed, ���Hold on, Deric, hold on. I will bring help,'

His stealthy moves went unnoticed as he moved through the foliage of the forest. His feet like a butterfly's wing did not land on the branched but stepped with grace. Not even a rustle was heard from his movement.

It was his family's special martial arts known as 'Butterfly feet.' At first when his grandfather forced him to learn he was being a brat and refuse to. But now, all his skills came in handy in helping Deric.

Soon he reached the biggest tree in the Miriafa kingdom, the castle. He jumped from tree branch to branch, searching for his accomplice.

After minutes of searching, he found Kaden patrolling the castle with his battalion. His golden armour shone brightly under the sunlight.

'Kaden...' he called in his mind as he peered at this form. It had been seven years since he had last seen each other.

His beautiful pink hair fluttered in the mild winter breeze.

He snapped out of his thoughts when another guard rushed over to his friend.

"Kaden, all golden troupe's leaders are summoned for the king's meeting," the guard said and darted inside.

'Shit, he is going to leave,' Fang thought as his friend marched inside the castle.

He took a small parchment paper from his jacket and scribbled on it in urgency. He scrunched it up and tossed it towards him.

The parchment paper flew and fell into Kaden's armour.

Kaden felt a small thud on his armour. A small rolled up paper giggled in his armour as he took a step.

'It came from that direction,' he thought as he glanced towards the nearby tree.

At first nothing was visible, but with his keen vision he was able to see a small red ribbon tied to one of the branches. It swayed in the wind.

It was the red ribbon he had gifted Fang.

'Fang!! What is he doing here? Is Deric in danger?' Kaden thought, as his heart started palpitating.

He slowed down his stride and stealthily entered an empty room. Loosening his armour, the small paper fell onto the floor.

With trembling hands, he opened the letter.

Only three words were written there. "Deric. Border. Tortured."

This was enough for him to understand the message. His dear friend Deric was near the borders presently being tortured by Lijin.

"Kaden, what are you doing here?" Another golden troupe leader shouted from outside the room.

"Oh, I wanted to relieve myself," Kaden shouted from inside.

"Okay, come fast, the king and the queen are waiting," he said and walked away.

Kaden burned the small paper, making sure there was no ash residue. He bolted out of the room towards the meeting room.

All along the way, his heart beat fast. 'Fang... I hope he is safe,' he mentally prayed, glancing out at the dense forest.

He shook his head, stopping his distracted thoughts. 'No, my priority is Deric, I have to convince the King to send men to save him,' he thought with his fists clenched.

But it was better said than done. Lafta had offended Miriafa, with last night's fire and Aaorlin attack. The king might even refuse to rescue the hostage prince send their way.

Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down and entered the room.

A huge mahogany table was placed and all the other troupe captains were already waiting. Bowing down as an apology, he sat on his rightful seat.

Minutes later, the King and Queen entered the room and sat on the head of the table.

"Your highness, I hope you are safe we..."

"Stop, we will wait for my son," The King said, halting the minister's jabber.

The queen hugged him to her bosom and shed sorrowful tears. "Eru, thank god you are safe. Did the healer heal you well?" she whispered.

The little prince smirked and hugged her back.

"Yes mom, see my arms can move now," he whispered with a small smile.

Only after the prince settled down did the meeting begin.

But the prince had come with his study mate, so the ministers hesitated to start.

"Zhong is like my son, he can be trusted," The King assured.

After which the meeting officially started.

"Your highness, the casualty ranges to two thousand. And palace employees alone were accounted to a thousand. We should gift all their families with two hundred gold coins." The King's guard troupe leader spoke.

"No, your highness, I reprimand this approach. The royal bank will run dry if we would have to pay such a hefty price for each of their lives," the minister of finance added.

"What are you suggesting, minister? My loyal men have lost their lives and you expect them to not have their retirement money," the King's guard leader shouted.

The King watched all this with a cold expression. "Enough!! Minister the soldiers need to be paid, our trades from the nearby kingdoms have flourished yes. Then why are you trying to cut the costs?"

The minister of finance kneeled and said, "Yes, your highness, but we can't be too liberal with our spending. If there is to be a war, we would not be able to sustain,"

The king slapped the table and glared at him. "'IF' that is a big IF. We will not be going to war. Lafta wished to surrender, and be under our control," The King said.

The crowd started to murmur at this.

The minster of defence cleared his throat and added, "But your highness, this Lijin cannot be trusted."

The King sighed and held his head. "Yes, I know. That's why I requested Lafta's prince to be trained under me,"

The minster of defence stood up from his chair in shock.

"What!! That's... that's.... you are taking a major risk your highness, for all we know that kid might be a spy," he said.

The King glared at him and said. "I have made my decision. Besides, we already have spies within our ranks,"

The court went into havoc after that. But Kaden remained silent, glancing at them all. Suddenly he noticed a glare his way.

It was the little prince.

He was glaring at him with hatred.

'Did he know about my identity? How did he find out?' Kaden thought as he gulped loudly.

The prince's unflinching gaze made him panic.

He tapped his heart and silently thought to himself. "It's not the time to panic. He needs me,"

He stood up from his seat and said, "Your highness, what of the Lafta prince?"

The King sighed and continued, "He is on the way to our kingdom."

"We have to protect him at all costs then," Kaden said with determination.

Another minster shot up from his seat. "What do you mean, Kaden? He is our enemy prince,"

"Yes, and he is being escorted to our kingdom. We have to keep him protected to avoid war. If he does get hurt, then other countries will scorn us that we hurt him in vengeance," Kaden fired back.

The court regained its fragile tranquility.

The king sighed. "Kaden, I appoint you to protect the hostage prince,"

Kaden was ecstatic, but he did not show it on his stoic face. "It's my honour your highness," he said and bowed.

"Then set out immediately," the King waved his hands.