by Rachel Angel
After a breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage and thick slices of bread, all downed with strong coffee, they strolled through the encampment.
“I hate this,” Harley said. “I hate that we have to have this war.”
“Me, too.”
“You know, I have family in Spring. They might be a new family that I never knew about before, but they are still family. And then there’s you. The enemy. I’m worried about all of you.”
“Believe me,” Oak said. “I torn as well. My allegiance to my father, to this kingdom forces me to take up arms and defend our territory and that of our allies, The Kingdom of Fall. But then my love for you, the child of Spring, the princess of Spring confuses me. I don’t want to hurt you or your family.”
“It just all seems so senseless.”
Oak nodded. “As happy as I am to have you here, you do know that you can’t stay for long, right?”
“I had planned to stay for a few weeks. I want to help.”
“It’s dangerous out here, Harley, and I don’t see how you could help. I would prefer you returned to the Academy, for your own safety.”
“I think you’re overly protective.”
“And I think you underestimate the gravity of the situation. I want you here tonight, in my tent, in my bed, and I’ll admit to being selfish in that want. But tomorrow morning, promise me you’ll go back to the safety of the Academy.”
Harley just looked up at him, unable to make that promise.
Chapter 8
The day spent at the encampment was troubling. There was something so disheartening about watching healthy young men prepare to potentially face death. Harley wanted desperately to find a way to bring peace to all The Kingdoms, but she had no power, no control. She had absolutely no say in the matter.
“Surely, you have some influence on your father,” she told Oak. The only option she had was to try to convince him to hold back.
After a long day of training, he had brought some dinner back to his tent and they sat at the small table, enjoying fried chicken, green beans and flavorful mashed potatoes.
“You’d be surprised by just how little influence I have,” Oak admitted. “Besides, these disputes, this war… it goes well beyond just my father. We have a treaty with The Kingdom of Fall, and we are bound by it.”
“Men!” Harley let out suddenly. While she admired all the men around her, there was something so frustrating about their bullheadedness. “Instead of sitting down like full grown adults and talking it out, you guys always have to go for violence. What will all this violence solve? What good will it do anyone if you are all killed?”
With tears in her eyes, she got up and paced between the table and the cot. “I hate it. I hate the thought of you out there fighting, risking your life, and for what? Some vague ideology that your father has about right and wrong?”
“Harley, please don’t get yourself worked up about this. Please.” He looked at her, his eyes warm and calm. “Come sit down. I know you’re hungry and you’ve barely touched your plate.”
Exasperated, she pulled in a long trembling breath, her gaze traveling over the contents of Oak’s meager tent.
“Please,” Oak said.
She sat down, but her hands still trembled with anger and fear as she picked up her fork. “I overheard some soldiers talking earlier,” she said softly.
“Talking about what?”
“A new general for The Kingdom of Spring. Younger and more battle-ready. They said he was stronger and smarter than the old one who was The King of Sea, Kingsley’s father.”
“Yes,” Oak said matter-of-factly, not meeting her gaze. “I believe I heard the same thing. Things like that happen in times of war.” He quickly glanced up at her with a crooked grin. “Out with the old. In with the new.”
She chuckled dryly. “Am I right in assuming that this new young general would be Kingsley?”
Oak looked at her, his lips pressed in a tight line, but he said nothing.
“I don’t know what to do,” Harley said. “I don’t know what to think. I’m sick with worry and you’re just sitting there as cool as can be. Death is at your doorstep, and you don’t care. Doesn’t any of this rattle you? Aren’t you afraid? For your life, aren’t you afraid?”
He reached out to put his hand over hers. “Harley. I know that all of this is ugly and unappealing, but you’re only going to be here for the night. Tomorrow, I insist you return to the Academy. I want to enjoy this night with you. I don’t want to talk about war, or death.”
“Right,” Harley said, her tone hard. “Let’s just pretend that all is well. We’ll have a quaint dinner, fuck around a bit and then go our merry way.”
“Harley,” he said gently as he squeezed her hand.
“I’m sorry,” she finally said, looking into his eyes. “I know you’re not responsible for any of this. You’re just caught up in it like everyone else.”
He nodded. “Then, let’s talk about something else. Tell me about this magical device that you made in your class. Tell me about these worlds that you’ve drawn, that you’ve created.”
For the next hour Oak did everything he could to lighten Harley’s mood. He marveled at her creations, laughed at her funny little anecdotes and encouraged her to keep up with her good work.
With dinner over, he brought her to his small cot and gently made love to her.
“Are you trying to leave your mark on me?” she whispered to him as he rocked back and forth, plunging his huge cock deep inside her.
“Is it working?” he said with a nod.
“I think it is.” She smiled and looked at him, wanting so desperately to remember his face, the feel of his skin, the scent of his body.
Making love to him was almost enough to make her forget the ugliness that was to come.
But not quite. When she was awakened at dawn the next morning, she felt the tension immediately take over her body.
“I don’t want to go,” she told Oak as he put on his uniform and prepared for the day’s training.
“You have to, Harley. You can’t stay here. It’s too risky. The longer you stay, the more the others will ask questions.”
“Isn’t there some kind of magic that could put an end to all this? Can’t you wave a wand and make everyone play nice, nice.”
He smiled as he buckled his belt. “Unfortunately, no. Magic doesn’t quite seem to have the power to do that. Maybe one day… it will.”
“So, you’re going to go through with it?” she said. “You’re going to lead these men into battle… with whom? Me? Kingsley?”
Oak turned his gaze away and concentrated on lacing up his combat boots.
“Answer me, Oak. The least you can do is answer me.”
“My mission is to attack The Kingdom of the Sea. We have a treaty with The Kingdom of Fall, and we owe them for not harming you or Kingsley after The Kingdom of the Sea stopped being allies to Kingdom of Fall and became allies of Spring.”
Harley put her clothes on, her fingers numb, her mind blank. Her entire body felt empty and her eyes were constantly moist with unshed tears.
It was a nightmare. Sitting in her living room with her parents just a few years earlier, never would she have imagined herself fearing for the lives of the men she cared so much about. Never could she have imagined herself in such an impossible position.
“Don’t forget to put the shirt and sash over that,” Oak said. “You’re not out of the woods yet.”
Begrudgingly, she did as she was told.
“Stay here,” Oak said. “I’ll go get breakfast. Then you’ll go home.”
She didn’t argue with him. She knew it was pointless. These men, these leaders of kingdoms would do as they had always done; battle to the death to determine who got what. It was all so nonsensical.
Oak returned with a tray filled with scrambled eggs and crusty bread, but instead of sausage, there were three strips of crispy bacon on the plate.
“Thank you,” she said as
she sat down to eat. But the food, though it looked and smelled delicious, had no flavor once it passed her lips. She had no appetite, and no desire to enjoy her meal. But she knew she had to fortify her body before leaving. Forcing herself to take bite after bite, she emptied her plate.
“We’ll go for a little stroll. We’ll head straight out of the encampment behind this tent. No one will see us. I’ll bring you to where it will be safe for you to slide back to the Academy.
She followed him out of the tent, to the back and onto a narrow path in the woods. It was a beautiful day with the rising sun already warming the crisp morning air.
Who would want to die on such a glorious day?
“How will I know if you’re okay?” she said when he stopped in a small clearing.
“I’ll come find you.” He put his hand to her shoulder.
“And if you don’t,” she choked out with difficulty.
“Then someone will come find you and let you know.”
She was stunned by the coldness of his statement. As if death was of little consequence to him.
“Someone will come to tell me that you’ve been killed?”
“Yes.” Again, that annoying matter-of-fact tone.
Grimacing, Harley nodded and fought to keep from crying. It broke her heart, but clearly, it had little effect on his.
“Take good care of yourself. You should be safe back at the Academy. However, if anything should go wrong, either on your way back, or once home, use your magic. That alone should be enough to get you out of any situation. If it’s not, call my name. I’ll hear you. If you’re in dire need of me, I’ll hear you.” He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Stay safe.”
She had nothing to say as he turned and walked away, back to his encampment. Back to his preparations of war. She watched him until she could no longer see him, then turned to slip back home.
“No,” she suddenly said as she stomped the ground with her foot. “I won’t just leave it like that.”
She closed her eyes, knowing that she had to try. Instead of slipping back to the Academy, she hurried to The Kingdom of Sea. Maybe she could talk some sense into Kingsley, or at the very least warn him of what was to come.
She had walked for over two hours when she finally began to hear the distant crash of the waves along the rocky shoreline. She followed the sounds of the waves and soon saw the far-off glistening of the water under the brilliant late morning sun.
Smiling for the first time that day, she marched on. She knew that her goal was near, that soon she would be with Kingsley.
Suddenly, a small band of foot soldiers jumped out from behind an outcrop of rocks and blocked her path.
“Where do you think you’re going?” a young soldier asked.
“To the palace,” Harley said innocently. “I need to see Kingsley.”
A tall man with an untrimmed beard and cold, hard eyes shoved the young soldier aside and pushed past him to come stand over Harley.
Looking up at the massive, tall man, Harley quickly got a sense that things would not go well.
“What do you want of the Prince, wench?”
“I wish to discuss a matter with him.”
The massive man let out a loud harrumph and looked back at his men. “Did you hear that, fellas? The little maiden here would like to discuss a matter with our crowned prince.” He turned back to her with a grimace.
“And what would a wench from The Kingdom of Woods have to discuss with our crowned prince?”
“I’m not from The Kingdom of Woods,” Harley said.
“Looks like you’ve caught a live one, Oldman,” a soldier said to the massive man.
“A live one indeed,” Oldman said with a hungry lick of his lips. He reached out to finger the sash that she wore.
When Harley looked down at the sash, her heart jumped up to her throat. The sash was embroidered with the Woods emblem.
“If you’re not from The Kingdom of Woods, how did you get this?”
She looked up at Oldman and back down to the sash. “I… I… it was just…”
Oldman raised his fist up high. “Tie her up!” he shouted. “Tie her up and bring her back to the castle! We’ll show her what we do to spies from The Kingdom of Woods.”
“I’m not. I’m not from The Kingdom of Woods. And I’m not a spy. I sweat,” she protested. “I’m a princess. I’m from…”
Her words were drowned out by a chorus of loud, raucous laughter.
A soldier came up to her and brought her hands behind her back, tying them together, then wrapping the rope around the pommel of his horse’s saddle.
For almost an hour, Harley followed behind the horse, often stumbling and having to run to keep up, lest she fall and be dragged behind the horse.
When they finally arrived at the castle, Oldman led her below where it was cold and damp.
“We have a special room reserved especially for spies, my dear.” He opened the door to a small cell with a sandy floor and no windows.
“No, wait,” she said, taking a step back.
But Oldman pushed her into the cell, followed her in and closed the door behind him.
“Let’s see what you have hidden under there, spy,” he said, tracing the neckline of her shirt with his sword.
“I told you. I’m not a spy. I’m not from The Kingdom of Woods.”
Oldman snagged the fabric of her shirt with the tip of his sword and pulled up, quickly cutting her shirt off her shoulders, leaving her with shreds of cloth to cover her breasts.
“Stop it!” she shouted.
“You have no say what goes on here, wench,” Oldman said. “You’re my prisoner, and I will treat you as I see fit. Maybe a little bit of foreplay will make you talk, make you divulge who you’re really spying for.”
Harley spat at him. “Wait until Kingsley hears about your mistreatment of me. You’ll see then who has the right to be treated so shabbily.”
“Right. Still clinging to your story, wench?”
“My name is Harley. Princess of Spring. And you’ll see soon enough that you’ve chosen to mess with the wrong… wench.”
Licking his lips, Oldman ogled her. “And what a pretty little wench you are.” He reached out to fondle a breast and Harley stepped back until she was up against the wall. “Don’t be afraid, wench. I won’t hurt you. Maybe we can even turn this unfortunate incident into something… more enjoyable.”
“Never!” she spat. “You will not find a single second of enjoyment with me, you pig!”
Oldman poked his sword into the fabric of her pants, tearing a large gash in them. He licked his lips again as he looked down at her bared thigh. “This just keeps getting better.”
No longer afraid, but simply disgusted by his actions, Harley put her fists on her hips and glared at him. “You know, it’s no wonder that a charmer like you has to take this route to even get close to a woman. I bet no self-respecting lady would ever voluntarily let you get close to her, never mind touch her. You’re a louse. You’re a lice infected louse. You’re the kind of man women have nightmares about; the pig. The big, fat, boorish pig!”
“Sticks and stones, darling,” he said with a grin. “Just sticks and stones.”
He reached out to grab her breast again, but this time, Harley struck his hand so hard he actually took a step back and held his pained hand in the other.
“You bitch!” he spat. “I’ve been trying to be nice. I’ve tried to go easy on you. But, you want to play rough? Hell, yeah. Let’s play rough.”
Harley remembered Oak’s words, about using her magic and calling his name. Only now it was Kingsley’s name that she mentally called. She had to get to him. Above all, she had to let him know what was coming. Over and over again, she mentally called out to him, urging him to come to her.
Nothing happened. Kingsley didn’t appear. Oldman still stood there, ready to attack. Harley quickly closed her eyes, hoping to stop Oldman.
“Bitch!” he cried out.
; She opened her eyes to see both his fists bound with leather strips, keeping him from groping her. Infuriated, he raised his fists above his head, but before he could bring them down on her, she closed her eyes again.
“Fucking bitch!” he let out.
She opened her eyes and laughed as she saw his fists bound to either side of his head with more leather straps.
“Want to continue to see what I will tie up next?” Harley said, shooting a menacing glare at his private parts.
“You really think a little bit of magic is going to save you, witch?”
Harley closed her eyes and Oldman instantly fell silent. She opened her eyes to see his mouth filled with even more leather.
Glaring at her, he nudged the door to her cell open with the tip of his foot, and gestured to the soldier standing outside to lock her up.
Though happy to finally be rid of Oldman, Harley sat in her foul-smelling cell, cold and hungry. The day was long and she had no way of knowing what time it was.
Over and over again, she called on Kingsley. She dozed off and slept a while, awakening from a dream only to find herself in a nightmare.
The cell was even colder than it had been and she assumed that it was now late into the night.
“Kingsley,” she said aloud in the small cell. “Where are you? Why don’t you come to me?”
She closed her eyes to concentrate. She could see his face, his lips, his beautiful eyes. “I know you’re there, Kingsley. I know that you’re so close, and yet…”
Then suddenly it was as if she really did see him. With her eyes still closed, she could see him in a large room surrounded by high-ranking officers. They stood around a large table, going over a map. Small stones in a variety of colors covered the map, representing various battalions.
“We have to consider the possibility that they will strike here,” Kingsley was saying to his men. He looked up suddenly, as if someone had called his name. Shaking his head, he leaned over the map again.
“Kingsley!” Harley called out.
Again, he rose and looked around the room.
“What is it?” an officer said.
“I don’t hear anything,” another one said.