I was struggling to write this chapter, but I finally made it!
Hope you'll enjoy it guys!
___
"In you, I've found my home." — Unknown
___
-Captain Morlon of the brotherhood of shadow knights-
Once the first row of his men came rushing inside the barn, all hell broke loose as they ran to attack the masked men.
The captors stood to their feet and rushed toward us.
An old buffy man came right at me with a sword right in front of him. I didn't waste my time with him and took a step to my right as he fell right on his face.
His sword lodged right in his abdomen. I tried to avoid the other bandits as my men blocked their strikes and attacks to let me through.
A man with a red cloth around his mouth came right in front of me, blocking my path. He drew out two swords from his back, prepared to attack.
"Now are you a coward, knight! Why are you letting your men fight in your place?!" His voice roared as his blades scraped the floor.
"Fight me, knight! Fight like an alpha!" He said before leaping right to me. I took out my own sword and jumped over him. He seemed surprised by my feint.
This crazy bastard let out a loud laugh and turned to swing his sword to my neck.
He didn't have time to do so as my own blade plunged into his tight.
He gasped loudly and fell backward. I took my sword out of his flesh and wiped the blood off of it.
"Do not have time to play around with you." I didn't take my time looking at him as I turned myself toward the end of this giant prison.
"Hulin, Yelem, with me!" I screamed loudly as I ran to the back of the barn. Humid air and foul smell came from the back of this building.
The echo of the fighting started to faint as we walked faster in the darkness. The man on my right lit a lantern to let us move forward.
At that very moment, whining and small cries reached us as the silhouette of cells and cages drew themselves in front of us.
"Who are you!" Yelled an armed man in the darkness. With a simple movement of hand, Yelem and Hulin walked slowly toward the voice. A few seconds later, the sound of flesh ripping followed as the man grunted and fell to the ground.
I got closer to a cell with dozens of people inside and put the lantern to see the fragile frames of the famished prisoners. The stench of sweat, urine and feces invaded my nostrils.
"We are here to help ." I said as small pairs of eyes looked at me with fear. The screams of a woman tore away the silence.
And soon all the cells and cages were screaming and crying with her, in foreign languages I could not decipher.
Other men, alerted by the sound, came to attack us. I tried to avoid confrontation and let my squad handle the fight as I rushed toward the exit of the building.
"Vincent !" I screamed at night.
An owl landed on my shoulder.
"Vincent, try looking for their chief, we need the keys to let them out." I ordered and he flew right back.
One of my sergeants came right behind me.
"Captain, the royal army has been seen by our sentinel. They seem to be coming to check on our raid, sir." I dismissed him with a nod. This was a disaster, if the royal army got involved, most of the victims would be sent back to their country, they wouldn't allow us to question them.
The owl came back, I extended my arm and it let the key fall in it. I ran back inside, where most of the bandits had been arrested, some still struggled. I gave the key to one knight, as others tried to break the chains with their swords and axes.
Some prisoners were finally free, they would cry of joy, kneel on the floor to kiss the crown or run to my knights to embrace them with tears in their eyes, unaware of the things that would unfold.
Then a woman, with striking features that resembled my dad, came toward me. With no tears or joy on her face.
"You are from Edvaisry, right ?" She asked me in my dad's mother tongue, and I nodded.
"I have things to tell you, things that others won't tell you." She looked me straight in the eyes, I felt uncomfortable but I nodded.
I signalled a man to take her.
"Vincent ! I need you to send a message to my father quickly. Tell him that we will have a guest tonight."
______
"They were already here, they came with the orders of the regent himself. What was I supposed to do, sir." I explained to my father. I had went back to our quarters with the woman.
Since we couldn't save the other victims, they were surely already on the boats ready to be sent to their country with an empty stomach. This woman was one of the few who were willing to answer our questions, even though it was against the orders of the regent, we needed clear information.
"I'm sure dad and Ojalá will be able to translate for us." My father was at his desk, arms crossed in front of him. He looked at me intently, as if I was mad.
"You want me to let this woman talk to your father. Captain, you don't even know if she is reliable, she could damn well be a spy." I sighed, he got up from his chair and took his coat.
"This is extremely reckless, son. I will remain in that room, just to make sure everything goes right. If you cause distress to your father Hassan, you will bear the consequences." He said, his face an inch from mine, I swallowed the lump in my throat and followed him out of his office.
____
Inside the carriage the silence was heavy. The woman, who still hadn't presented herself, kept looking at the Commander, my father without blinking. I could almost see the disgust and hatred seeping through her, like venom. My father didn't look at her once, probably too annoyed by the situation I had put him through.
When we finally arrived, my dad was already outside, waiting for us. He was in a white tunic, his hair in one flawless braid, his face unreadable. He got closer to the carriage with Ojalá right behind him.
"How are you, dear? I heard you brought someone with you." He said to my father who got out of the carriage and embraced him, kissed his forehead and sighed. My dad seemed flustered by his action and hit him on the arm to escape the tight embrace. I got out of the carriage then the woman followed.
"Well, your son has brought a woman from edvaisry with us. We need your and Ojalá's help for translation." My father said as he stepped aside to let my dad see the woman.
His face rigid, he greeted her with a nod and she let a displeased sound escape her mouth.
I saw my father's eyebrows furrow.
"Let's get inside shall we."
____
-Baron Morlon, Jamall Morlon-
"You should take a bath and eat." I said to the woman. I tried to not seem rude, but the stench was remained and for the sake of the dinner, it had to go.
"Shameless, tsk, shameless" she said before entering the room and closing in on my face.
I felt a familiar ball, forming in my insides, getting bigger and bigger. I immediately understood why she uttered those words.
"Ojalá, my dear. Please make sure she has everything she needs, I have to tend to the commander's needs." I said in a small curated smile. I loved this young lady, a very kind soul from my motherland.
"Very well, master." she said with a nod. I made my way toward my apartment, where Thomas was taking off his shirt and pants. I helped him set aside the sweat-damp clothes.
Gosh, it was as if he had gotten more handsome with time. His sturdy build and muscular thighs. We entered our bathroom, hot steam came from the bathtub.
"That kid is always putting you through so much, we shouldn't even have her here." He said as he entered the bathtub and sat in it. I sat next to it, took the jug of water on the small table and poured it on his head.
"It is alright, my Lord. This is the least I can do to help." I responded with a smile as I scrubbed his scalp. He took one of my hands and tenderly kissed it.
"You do not have to, Jamall. I can see the disdain she felt for us, the moment I met her. The look she gave you and Hassan…" He said looking right in my eyes, I released myself from his tenderness to wash the soap off of his hair.
"Everything will be alright, my Lord." I kissed his wet forehead.
____
To be continued...