It was a simple matter to smuggle the prince from the castle. I simply wrapped him up in his blanket and carried him over my shoulder. The Guards in front of his chambers knew what was happening, but at a nod and knowing wink from me they ignored it completely. It also helped that they knew more about the Prince and his behaviour than I did, and were most likely quite happy to see him undergo some embarrassment.

Once at the stables, I simply slung him across the back of my mare and tied his hands and feet together. He would not slip or fall off her back, and it would also give me great satisfaction when he finally woke up. I didn’t know how much he drank or how fast his metabolism was, but I hoped I would be far away

from the castle before he did, so I left immediately, walking on foot with the reins of the horses held in my left hand.

The early hours of the morning were very uneventful, I led the horses along the trail for a few hours, then stopped for a few minutes to take a small breakfast and rest my feet, then continued on the path east.

A few more hours of travelling and the sun started to rise above the horizon. When the glare became too great to look at, I walked off the road for a minute, tied the horses to a tree and took a small nap; which in retrospect was not the best idea.

I opened my eyes to a sword held directly in front of my eyes. At the end of the blade was a gloved hand, and connected to that hand was a masked woman. She was smiling down the end of the blade and waiting patiently for me to wake up.

“Hello there good sir Knight, I am very sorry to be the bearer of bad news on this, but I will be stealing your horses, your weapons and your armour.”

I smiled in return to the vagabond. “Would you mind if I stand up and find out the name of the charming woman who is trying to run off with all of my possessions?”

The woman nodded and withdrew the blade slightly, just enough to let me stand up, and then placed it directly in front of my face once more. “No quick movements sir Knight, you will unbuckle your blade and toss it to the ground before me. One of my men will pick it up and you will then remove your armour and give your horses to us. I am sure you have them trained to bite or kick anyone that is not you, so you will give them to us without any fuss and you can then keep your life.”

I laughed, my chest heaving with laughter.

The woman stamped on the ground and spoke, her voice thick with irritation. “What’s so funny?”

Once I was finally able to stop laughing, I wiped a few tears from my eyes and answered her. “You think I’m going to give you my weapons, horse and equipment without any fighting. You don’t know me very well. This act may work with most of the nobles you come across, but they will not work with me.”

I walked forward against the point of the blade, the woman took a step back for each one I took forward, and I saw the rest of her men. They were all outfitted in the same coloured outfits. Each one wore a deep purple cape, a black ball mask, and deep purple clothes. Some worse loose fitting trousers and shirts, while others wore tight fitting ones. I assumed there was some sort of meaning behind the colours but I did not care enough to ask.

There were three more of the vagabonds, two men and one more woman. I assumed there were a few more hidden in trees with drawn bows or crossbows. A casual glance did not reveal them, but I could not trust my life with that, I would need to intimidate them or convince them to simply leave me alone, either one would serve.

The woman stepped forward once more, her caution fading as I counted the rest of her men. “There are two choices here, you can cooperate with us and live, albeit much poorer, or you can fight us and die stuck like a pincushion.”

I smiled, but this smile held no joy in it at all. My eyes were cold and angry, and the rest of my face was emotionless. It was a terrifying smile, one I had used to great affect many times in the past.

“You are correct, there are only two ways this will end, but you are very incorrect as to the methods. The first one will be the bloodless method. That is the choice where you let me go on my way, and I let you live. The second one will be where I kill your men, and bring you with me. You look like a good looking woman, they would pay well for you in the Storm Lands, I do not think you would live very long, but you would be among the most popular women there.”

The woman gaped, and he face reddened. “Are you threatening me with slavery?”

I took another step forward, and shoved her blade aside with my hand. “No. A threat is something weak people do in order to try to make themselves feel strong. What I have given you is a solemn vow. A vow that if I am forced to draw my blade, it will not be sheathed until all of your men have died. I will kill you and your men. You can be assured of that. My name is Francis the Dragon Knight. Crusher of the Kruznak Heresy, slayer of the Tharduul and Storm Guard. I am a living legend, and you are beneath me. Now stand aside or face my wrath!”

The woman stood there stunned at the small speech I gave, and as I pushed my way past her to my horses, she stepped aside and bowed to me.

“Wise choice.” I muttered to her as I passed. The rest of her men knelt on a knee to me, and she walked behind me for a few paces.

“I apologize Ser Knight. I did not know who you were. None of the small folk of the realm have forgotten what you did for us two years ago. I urge you, if you are never in the Wild Woods and need aid, call upon the Purple Rangers and we will be there at a moment’s notice.”

I nodded and continued walking. I grabbed the reins once more, untied the horses from a tree, and returned to the road.

As soon as the highwaymen were out of sight and far enough away that they could not hear us I spoke.

“Good morning Highness. I trust you had a pleasant night.”

The bundle of wrapped blankets struggled slightly before giving up. A muffle voice yelled out from inside. “Let me out of here. You’re dead you hear me? You’re dead.”

I stopped the horses for a moment and moved to my mare. I drew a small knife and cut the rope holding the prince to the horses and he fell to the ground almost instantly. A small pained grunt emerged from the crumpled bundle on the ground and he struggled once again to free himself, to no avail. I placed my foot above the prince and pushed him so the fabric trapping him unrolled and feed him.

He lay there staring up at the sky and blinking repeatedly to get used to the bright sunlight. Once he was able to see clearly he struggled to his feet and I knew right then that he would need another lesson in respect and humility.

He staggered toward me, a fist and elbow raised above his shoulders, the punch of a man who had never needed to fight for his life. It feels powerful, but in reality all that feeling of power is simply your body working against itself. I let him draw closer, and turned slightly so his fist brushed past my face.

Overbalanced and over extended, it was a simple matter to kick his foot out from beneath him and send him tumbling to the ground.

“Highness. I see you have forgotten what I told you the last time we faced each other like this. I told you that your life would be in my hands, and right now you are doing nothing to deserve it. Now, I have a change of clothes for you to dress yourself in and I will give it to you as long as you ask me for it. Starting now I will show you the same amount of respect that you give me, we have a long journey ahead of us and I will not hesitate to leave you alone in the wilderness. Bandits accosted us not too long ago, I assume you heard what they said. They let me go because of who I am and what I have done in my life. I have never heard of the Purple Rangers before, but I can assure you that they would love to get their hands on you, and if you do not earn my respect, I will not protect you the next time something like that happens.”

The prince said nothing, he just sat there in the dirt and glared at me. I matched his gaze for a minute, and then shrugged and left the blanket lying there on the road. I took the reins of the horses in my left hand once more and with one last glance backwards, started on down the road. I trusted that eventually his pride would be no match for the fact that he was on a road naked with no idea of where his home was. He might hate me, but I was also the only person he knew for miles, and I was also the only person who could and even would protect him. Whether or not he liked it, in order to survive he would need to cooperate with me, and he would see that.

Surely enough, after a few minutes of walking I heard the sounds of footsteps pounding the dirt track, and I stopped the horses and turned.

The prince glared at me, but eventually he was able to force out the words that I needed to hear in order to give him clothes. “I am sorry Ser Francis for disrespecting you. If it would please you, could you see it in your heart to grant me clothing to wear?”

I smiled and grabbed one of my saddle bags, untying the flap that held it open and threw a loose bundle of clothing to the man. For all his faults, the prince did know how to act civil around people he hated, it was the benefit of courtly manners and training. I am sure that was one of the few things that the King was able to instill on the prince. Hopefully he would be able to keep his feelings hidden for the entirety of the journey, and finally learn something. If he would not, the Storm Guard would be a rude awakening.

The majority of the journey was much the same. He would pretend to be civil in order to remain in my good graces. When I allowed him to ride the mare once, he did try to escape, but then again I would have been disappointed if he had not. I was growing to understand the character of the prince through our travels. What I saw disappointed me greatly, but not because of how he acted. Rather what disappointed me were the emotions and thoughts that he buried and hide from himself. He was strong, smart and more than capable of being a true ruler. I saw a streak of nobility beneath his selfishness that he did his best to hide. I did not know why he felt the need to hide his true self beneath a veneer of arrogance and narcissism, but I would do my best to ensure that his true nature came to the forefront.

I was no stranger to masks, and this one I believed I could understand more than most. My family was a proud one, and descended from what they believed to be the true rulers of the Storm Lands. They railed at the king and his power over them. I grew up with those sentiments but I never shared them. That was

one of the main reasons I abandoned them and joined the Guard. I couldn’t stand their hatred of the King nor could I understand it. I hid behind my service at the rift in order to avoid having to deal with my family of traitors. Even now I still hid behind my façade of bravery, the mask I wear of a hero and warrior beyond compare. Very few people knew who I truly was, and those that did are most likely all dead, the rift does not leave very many people alive. None escape service to the Guard unless allowed, and with shortages among the serving soldiers, none are let go. Death is the only true escape from the Guard, anything else is merely a reprieve.

The trouble on the road only truly started when we crossed the border of the central Kingdom, and made our way to the outlands. The South and West ranges are mountainous regions that border almost the entire kingdom, and separate the rest of Alamer from the Storm Lands. We crossed the Greenlands without any incident, the woods and rivers were all very well-travelled and maintained, but the true issue came when we made our way through the dominion of Golram.

Golram is bordered by Shogram and Colram, three city-states with a history of violence towards each other. They may have been unified under King Alfons, but that has not reined in their aggression toward one another, merely the civility with which it took place. Even while under the iron boot of the Imperium the city-states were left to their own devices, allowed to declare war on one another as often as they wanted to, as long as they provided tribute.

Under the rule of King Alfons, their armies were limited in size and scope, offensive armies limited to five thousand soldiers unless they wanted to pay a large fine. It suited all parties fairly well, the city states knew how large of a defensive army they needed to maintain in order to protect their walls, and the kingdom was given more money if ever they wanted to enlarge their army.

Golram was currently seeking skilled knights, or so the rumours went. They were willing to pay through the teeth in order to attract heroes of repute. It seemed that the city-state would be going to war shortly, and I did not want to stay there any longer than I had to. Golram had a reputation for conscripting anyone that did not join willingly, by force if required. They were a brutal tribe of murderers and cutthroats, and though I have served with them in the past, it was an experience I would not like to repeat.

I hoped my reputation would keep us safe, but we hugged the coastline just to be safe. The fisherman of Golram are by and large a peaceful lot, you leave them alone and they leave you alone, at least it always was so in the past, but things could not have changed that much in the last year, or so I hoped.

Next Chapter: Chapter 6