Sequel: The Game ›
Status: complete, but revisions are being made
The Pauper Princess
Chapter Twenty-One
The rain stopped some time during the night, but the effects of it were apparent. The roads were nothing more than a trail of thick mud that clung to the wheels of the wagons and carriage. The horses were quickly exhausted. We were forced to stop and switch the riding horses with the horses hitched to the wagons every hour or so in order to keep them from becoming too worn out, but even the riding horses were becoming tired.
Seeing that the edge of the woods on the side of the road would be less difficult to maneuver, I was tempted to lead my horse in that direction. Doing so, however, would mean breaking through the wall that the prince’s soldiers created around the carriage. Ekohl and I rode on one side of the carriage with the prince on the other, and around us rode the rest of the company.
We had just entered a small clearing when it was decided that the horses needed to be switched again. I had changed horses at the last stop, so I didn’t even bother dismounting this time. My boots were already caked with mud, and I learned that the soldiers don’t care for my assistance anyway.
I watched as the soldiers took saddles and harnesses off some of the horses and put them onto others. There was a fine line between chaos and order, even after at least ten previous swaps today. Ekohl finished putting his saddle on one of the horses that had been hauling the carriage for the past hour. He slipped his foot into the stirrup and swung his right leg over. After mounting, he guided his horse over to my own. The soldiers, apparently, were unwilling to accept any Kyshian’s help.
Ekohl didn’t say anything, so we both sat watching the disorder around us. Above the sounds of our own company sloshing about, though, I heard a sudden click. It sounded too distant to have been caused by any of the soldiers, but it was too loud to be natural. I turned to Ekohl, and saw that he had heard it as well. He scanned the forest with his eyes, and I did the same. A few moments later, more of the same dull clicks sounded from many directions at once.
I looked back to Ekohl, but he was still looking intently into the trees behind me. I was going to turn and see what he was looking at, but before I knew what was going on Ekohl lunged toward me. He grabbed me around the waist and tackled me to the muddy ground, twisting to ensure that I landed on top. Luckily I had been sitting with my feet out of the stirrups, but it still stung as we hit with a loud slap in the soupy mud. An instant later, an arrow flew over my horse, slicing through the space I had occupied mere seconds ago.
Ekohl rolled me off him and was on his feet before I could even catch my breath. More arrows whistle through the air, and the rest of our group is brought to the jarring realization that we are under attack. Saddles and straps were quickly abandoned as the soldiers reached for their weapons. Ekohl had already reached the bow on his saddle, quickly set the wire, and notched an arrow. I watched as it flew with deadly accuracy into the woods, and seconds later a body fell to the ground from where it had been perched in a high oak.
I slowly lifted myself to a crouched position. I was covered from head to foot in slimy mud, but at that time, it didn’t matter. The soldiers quickly rounded up the wagons to formed an arc and block the arrows, then lifted the canvas off one of the wagons to reveal a store of weapons. They prepared crossbows, and I recognized the clicking noise as the same that I had heard from the woods. The soldiers began to fire volleys of arrows into the trees.
Suddenly, from behind us, a battle cry rose up and men raced from the trees. Everyone turned to the sound, and we realized all too late that we had just trapped ourselves with our own wagons.
Seeing that the edge of the woods on the side of the road would be less difficult to maneuver, I was tempted to lead my horse in that direction. Doing so, however, would mean breaking through the wall that the prince’s soldiers created around the carriage. Ekohl and I rode on one side of the carriage with the prince on the other, and around us rode the rest of the company.
We had just entered a small clearing when it was decided that the horses needed to be switched again. I had changed horses at the last stop, so I didn’t even bother dismounting this time. My boots were already caked with mud, and I learned that the soldiers don’t care for my assistance anyway.
I watched as the soldiers took saddles and harnesses off some of the horses and put them onto others. There was a fine line between chaos and order, even after at least ten previous swaps today. Ekohl finished putting his saddle on one of the horses that had been hauling the carriage for the past hour. He slipped his foot into the stirrup and swung his right leg over. After mounting, he guided his horse over to my own. The soldiers, apparently, were unwilling to accept any Kyshian’s help.
Ekohl didn’t say anything, so we both sat watching the disorder around us. Above the sounds of our own company sloshing about, though, I heard a sudden click. It sounded too distant to have been caused by any of the soldiers, but it was too loud to be natural. I turned to Ekohl, and saw that he had heard it as well. He scanned the forest with his eyes, and I did the same. A few moments later, more of the same dull clicks sounded from many directions at once.
I looked back to Ekohl, but he was still looking intently into the trees behind me. I was going to turn and see what he was looking at, but before I knew what was going on Ekohl lunged toward me. He grabbed me around the waist and tackled me to the muddy ground, twisting to ensure that I landed on top. Luckily I had been sitting with my feet out of the stirrups, but it still stung as we hit with a loud slap in the soupy mud. An instant later, an arrow flew over my horse, slicing through the space I had occupied mere seconds ago.
Ekohl rolled me off him and was on his feet before I could even catch my breath. More arrows whistle through the air, and the rest of our group is brought to the jarring realization that we are under attack. Saddles and straps were quickly abandoned as the soldiers reached for their weapons. Ekohl had already reached the bow on his saddle, quickly set the wire, and notched an arrow. I watched as it flew with deadly accuracy into the woods, and seconds later a body fell to the ground from where it had been perched in a high oak.
I slowly lifted myself to a crouched position. I was covered from head to foot in slimy mud, but at that time, it didn’t matter. The soldiers quickly rounded up the wagons to formed an arc and block the arrows, then lifted the canvas off one of the wagons to reveal a store of weapons. They prepared crossbows, and I recognized the clicking noise as the same that I had heard from the woods. The soldiers began to fire volleys of arrows into the trees.
Suddenly, from behind us, a battle cry rose up and men raced from the trees. Everyone turned to the sound, and we realized all too late that we had just trapped ourselves with our own wagons.