Xander suddenly heard a loud commotion at his door. Slipping on his boots, Xander tucked his book into them and activated his sword as he headed down stairs. Xander heard the heavy beam fall on the floor then followed by a woman screaming for help. Xander thought it was Princess Aubrey and opened his door to see Foul Mouth running towards him holding a weapon.
“You there boy, grab your pig sticker and follow me. Brigands have invaded the castle and three of them grabbed the Princess and headed this way. I’ll need all the help I can get, even from a child of war.” Frowley then departed out of the side door.
Xander quickly followed Foul Mouth outside where he could see the Princess slung over the back of a horse. Before he and Foul Mouth could reach them, they took off.
“Quick boy, follow me to the messenger stables” said Frowley as he took off outside of the palace.
After a few short minutes Frowley had him on the tallest horse he had ever seen, lean and graceful this horse must have been able to sprint great distances getting news to and from the Queen in the shortest time possible. Xander was expecting to ride a Rangelian Warhorse, but thought this horse was far better in the art of pursuit.
Frowley took off towards the nearest exit to the city with Xander not far behind. As they reached the gate, Xander could see the two men of the watch fighting off three times their number. Before Xander could reach them, both were stabbed in the back. One turned and alerted the others of Xander’s presence. Two of the men, including the one carrying the Princess rode out the gate to safety, while the other four blocked the exit.
Xander saw Foul Mouth jump off his horse and begin attacking. Three of them picked him out because of his size, figuring he was the toughest fighter by far. Xander could see out the corner of his eye the bandits were just trying to hold him up, not really attacking as they circled him but not letting him go on the attack either. They probably figured the swordsman Xander was fighting could finish him off then have a four on one advantage.
“A damn child of war wants to fight me, I wish I had the time to play, but I’m going to gut you you prissy noble.” The bandit said as he circled Xander.
Xander was focusing on his opponent but took it as an insult he was being confused for those who basically enslaved him. Xander thought about just abandoning the fight and running back to Riley, but he was sure he would be found or worse, his mother would be held accountable. Xander saw the brigand raised his sword for an overhand strike, Xander saw his opening and went for a cross strike, forgetting the much increased strength his sword gave him as he neatly cut the attacking Bandit in two.
Xander had no time to be in shock as he saw Foul mouth about to be overwhelmed. Xander swung at the back of his opponent and neatly cut his head off. The other bandits seemed shocked but it did not last long as Foul Mouth stabbed one through the stomach and pulled out his sword quickly and stabbed the other through the heart. Foul Mouth then sheathed his ceremonial sword, preferring the steel the bandits were using as he hopped up on his horse and raced out of the gate motioning for Xander to follow.
Xander and Foul Mouth raced on the road and before long Foul Mouth called a halt.
“The attackers went off the road a little while back boy” Foul Mouth said before continuing, “We are going to tether the horses here and walk back. I don’t know how many we are up against, so stay with me, be silent and keep your mouth shut.”
Foul Mouth and Xander crept through the woods until they reached a spot Foul mouth decided as the point they left the road. After walking for a short while, Xander and Foul mouth heard a woman’s angry voice that sounded like Princess Aubrey. Foul Mouth led them to a point where they could see their prey, and could clearly see the Princess with about 10 men around her, one holding a familiar long bow.
“Okay boy, it is ten of them and two of us, odds not in our favor. If I had my armor I could kill a few before the rest ran, but as is going in is a suicide mission. I want you to creep back to the castle and alert the rest to my whereabouts.”
“I don’t even know your name” said Xander.
“You have been around me for two days and don’t know my name? It’s Frowley boy.”
Just then Xander could see the bow man come towards their hiding place and began to answer the call of nature. Xander saw the bow was the one his mother gave him as the Princess started screaming again as one of the bandits backhanded her. She reached up and grabbed him by the hair as she was falling and snatched off his wig. Red hair started to tumble down as Xander looked into the face of Sam.
Xander bolted from his hiding place and gutted the surprised bow man as he continued to where Sam was. One unfortunate bandit was slow to draw his sword and was neatly cleaved in half by the incoming fury that was Xander. In out in, Dragonfly, butterfly, spin, Xander made short work of five of the men as he came upon Sam holding both swords his mother made for him.
“Now Xander, that was nothing personal between us, you wouldn’t kill a fellow red would you? We have it harder than anyone” said Sam as saw one of his co conspirators sneaking up behind Xander.
“You stole from me and left me for dead. I’m a slave now, nothing but a pitiful slave because of you! My life is over all because of what you did to me, I was judged guilty of escaping my commitment and am now but a plaything to be used and discarded because of you. You will die here today Sam, my life ended the day you betrayed me, yours will end in moments” said Xander as he raised his blade.
“Not if yours ends first” said Sam as he saw his friend ready to attack.
Just then Xander heard a twang of a bow as the unmistakable sound of and arrow hitting it’s mark thudded around him. Xander didn't budge as the man fell past him, with an arrow between his shoulders. Xander saw the fear in Sam’s eyes as he looked upon the man and used that delay as a means to attack, striking Sam between the eyes with a well-timed punch.
Sam fell on the ground as Xander dropped his sword and lay into him with his hands alone. Xander took all his frustration of being a slave out on Sam’s face, knocking the boy unconscious as he continued to wage his assault. Xander could hear the Princess screaming for him to stop and even the rough hands of Frowley attempt to pull him away as Xander picked up a huge nearby rock and delivered the death blow. Xander yanked away from Frowley and casually unstrapped his swords from around Sam.
“These swords are mine, given to me by my mother who I may never see again. As long as I have life no one is going to take them away from me again” said Xander in a voice so cold he did not recognize it as his. “As is that bow you are holding” he said pointing at the bow Frowley was holding.
“Boy I want no parts of what I just seen. Take this damn bow and may the Gods help whoever tries to make you part with them” Frowley said before finishing. “You killed most of these men, a couple escaped into the woods as I picked off that one there from finishing you off. You could say that was my payback from earlier” said Frowley as he held out his hand. Xander gave it a shake as they mounted the horses the bandits kept, figuring getting the Princess back to the palace as soon as possible held more precedence.
Aubrey was quiet all the way back to the palace. Keeping her head covered, no one recognized her until she came upon the palace gates.
CELESTE
“Where is my daughter” screamed the Queen at the High Witch. “I have the most powerful human in all of existence along with all of her most powerful witches and a couple of men with swords cowered you and took off with my heir. Perhaps I should have you replaced with your son, at least he took down a fair number while you were standing around!”
“My Queen, our powers cannot be used at this range, we most likely would have set the palace aflame and killed you along with everyone else. Right now I have the Second and Third witch flying around the country side attempting to locate her”
“I don’t need attempts, I need success!” screamed the Queen as Hawk, the new Captain of the palace guard busted into the room.
“Your Maj
esty, excuse the interruption but she has been found and her captors slain. She is on her way to you as I speak.”
The Queen took flight out of the room just as Aubrey was walking up with the boy enchanter and one of her guards, Frowley if she was correct.
“My baby!” The queen said as she hugged her close. “What happened to you? Tell me this instant!” she said as she led Aubrey into the throne room motioning for Frowley to follow. Hawk led Xander up to his room as Frowley closed the door to the throne room behind him.
“Mother I noticed one of the palace slaves stank something awful, when I looked up and saw he was missing many teeth and some were rotted, I began looking around. When I saw many I did not recognize, I began to panic, when I saw a sword hilt I knew something was wrong. I told Patrick my worries and he went to see for himself.”
“Patrick was a hero today Aubrey, he slew a great many bandits in the hall, helping the palace guard tremendously. I do not know how many we would have lost had he not been there” the Queen said.
The High Witch smiled inwardly as she heard this news. She really pushed ahead the assault and it almost worked according to plan. Patrick was supposed to save the princess along with a great many nobles, effectively ending their desire not to see Patrick and Aubrey together. Elizabeth thought about this as Aubrey began to speak.
“When I saw one of them make towards you I screamed. A couple of them turned their attention on me so I fled, I wanted to lead them away from you. I ran towards the north tower and tried to unlatch the door there, then everything went dark.”
“If I may your Majesty, I can take it from there. I will ask if it wouldn’t be better if I could tell you the story alone.” Frowley said.
“That is unnecessary; the High Witch needs to know exactly what she will be dealing with. She was going to deal with the bandits anyway, along with other incoming threats” said the Queen.
“Well her highness did get the door unlatched I saw as they hit her from behind. By the time I got there they escaped through the side door and the boy enchanter came out the room. I told the lad he better follow me to help the princess an order to which he complied which shocked me. I was half way expecting a stab in the back as we made our way outside. They had horses waiting so it took us a bit to get our horses. We caught up to them at one of the side gates as they cut down the watch stationed there. We joined in a four on two fight, your majesty the boy cut a grown man into two pieces! Never seen anything like it, not in the war, not even in a book or a play. We then caught up to the brigands and saw the Princess get slapped down, Xander recognized one of the assailants and then it was hard to watch.”
“Hard to watch? What did they do to you Aubrey?” said the Queen as she held her daughter.
“It wasn’t to her your Majesty, it was what he did to the men holding her, it wasn’t natural. It was like he had the bloodlust upon him. He had the mind of the men from Thorn, it was like he wanted to kill more than just the men, he wanted to kill their souls too. It was like watching Death herself walking across the battlefield, like he was an extension of her, like he was Death’s Hands. That what he is Death’s Hand” said Frowley looking shaken.
“Well it was only because of that magic sword he has with him” the Queen started, hoping to scare the High Witch should she have any desire to go against her power. “I’m sure anyone could do the same.
“No mother,” Aubrey said shaking. “The sword was part of it, but whoever he hit with the sword had it lucky. The man who hit me had it worse than everyone, I do not think he was lying when he said he was trapped into slavery. He dropped his sword and killed another child of war after the man begged him not too.”
“What do you mean after he dropped his sword he killed the man?” asked the High Witch, not sure if she heard correctly.
“My Lady, he killed the man with his bare hands. I have never seen anything like it and hope I never will. The bloodlust was upon him, he fought more savagely than any Thornian I have ever seen. Death’s hand I tell you, he was Death’s Hand. I tried to pull him off of the bandit but he kept attacking over and over again before he crushed his skull like a sour grape with a small boulder. He then took the man’s weapons and said they were his to begin with and calmly walked back to the road. If I have to get into anymore scraps like that, he is a man I would rather have behind me than in front of me. Child of war or not, you saw the last devastation a red haired enchanter brought upon us. That boy is better off made friend than enemy. Sorry for speaking so frankly Your Majesty.”
CHAPTER
Xander was asleep as a figure climbed into his bed. The individual wrapped took off her clothing and wrapped herself around Xander’s body. Xander felt softness in the bed with him and sprang awake.
“Shh Xander, it is just me” said Aubrey as kissed his neck.
“Are you trying to get me killed?” said Xander.
“I’m trying to repay you, what you did was very brave today” said Aubrey as she snuggled closer.
“I don’t need repayment I am a slave” said Xander as he turned away from her, afraid his body would react to her closeness.
“Xander I heard what you told that boy, is being here with me really all that bad?”
“It is what you represent Your Highness” said Xander.
“Just call me Aubrey when it’s just the two of us.”
“I cannot Your Highness, a slave speaking familiar with the royal heir? I would be whipped” said Xander.
“Xander I am going to on a trip to ask your Mother’s permission to marry you. I can’t imagine her saying no to me, and I know I could make you happy. I can leave if you want but could you at least think about my proposal? I would much rather have a willing spouse than an unwilling one.”
“Your Highness are you asking me to marry you? That would be scandalous, what would your mother say to such a union?”
“I doubt my mother would mind much, just as long as you are loyal to her.”
“Can I have some time to think about it?” asked Xander not sure where to go with current events.
“You can, but know I plan on heading out no later than the day after the morrow. I cannot allow you to marry another and I know many would be asking for your hand. Better than that, you would no longer be a slave, you would be my consort.” Aubrey got up from his bed and fixed herself as she walked down the stairs. “See you tomorrow Xander.”
Xander woke all the way up when she left and pulled out his book to talk to his father.
“Dad, a lot has happened since we last spoke”
“Like what son?”
Xander relayed the story about the attacks and his eventual save of the princess along with her proposal.
“You don’t need my help son, just think, I was there as a conqueror, and now so are you, in a different way.”
“This is not a time for joking, I need help.”
“You do not; you are telling me one of the most powerful women in all of Rangel wishes you to be her lifelong mate. That is probably every males dream in Rangel. Your kids will not know banishment or slavery and you could move your mother to this Valley place you talked so highly of. You could learn to love her.”
Xander closed his book as he thought about what his dad had said.
CHAPTER
“So now you are trying to take credit for the attack on the Princess deeming yourself the hero instead of the Lion Heart?” Asked Durgard.
“I am no hero, and you may think what you want” said Xander as they finally left the forest of the elves.
“Is that the way you got the nickname Death’s Hand sir?” asked Zellon.
“It is the very same way” said Xander.
“Well it sounds like a load of cow patty to me” said Durgard. “First you expect us to believe that you saved Valley instead of the men who fought off the bandits that attacked them due to your genius, never mind you were a mere boy at the time, and then you saved the Princess and she asked you to marry her instead of the story we a
ll know is true.”
“I am curious, what is the story you know as truth?” asked Xander.
“The only real truth, that Patrick fought off the attackers while the Palace Guard rescued the Princess” Durgard said.
“And how did Aubrey and I become engaged” asked Xander.
“I should gut you right here for talking about the Princess like you are old friends, no matter here comes our escort, a real witch. Now tell your lies to her” Durgard said as a woman approached them.
“We heard that you were with the invaders, that you planned attacks just to become a hero. And that you asked the princess to marry you, when she said no you threatened to kill the Queen. Then you led her into a trap and when it didn't work you walked away, knowing until your death she could not marry another” said Zellon as they walked towards the witch.
“I did not think you had it in you,” said the witch to Durgard. Mere men traveled into the great forest and captured Death’s Hand. Maybe all of you are not as pathetic as I once thought, good for nothing but breeding and labor” said the witch as she walked up to Xander, her icy glare attempting to bore through him.
“Your gaze does not frighten me witch” said Xander meeting her glare. You may frighten those around me but you do not as much as illicit a tremble from me.”
“And what a mouth you have on you” said the witch as she walked around Xander. “My orders were to bring you in, and in good shape. I could strike you down now and no one would be the wiser.”
“I would not try that if I were you” said a voice off in the distance. Suddenly six men armored in the plate of the Palace Guard came into view.
The witch silently cursed to herself as she as careless not to notice that many men wearing noisy plate armor sneak up on her.
“We were sent by the Queen to make sure you found your way back to arena without any mishaps” said one of the armored men.
“Looks like our playdate will have to settle for another time” Xander said to the witch as he walked towards the guards. “Where was I in my story Mr. Zellon?”
The Enchanter of Rangel: Child of War Book 1 Page 14
