That's when six horsemen came into view, carrying a royal flag, and royal seals gracing their uniforms.
Harlow narrowed her eyes as they came closer to the forming crowd. “Get back a little bit.” She said to the man next to her. The man moved back, knowing from her voice that she knew what she was doing. She took two steps back as well, blending into the crowd.
Ba-Bru-Da-Da-Dum!
A trumpet rang out, almost sounding rushed, as the six horsemen approached the crowd.
Five of the horsemen stayed behind as the front man dismounted his horse and stepped forward.
The man was older than Harlow, enough to be her father. He had brown boots that went to just below his knee caps, his black hair cropped short.
“Citizens of England,” He greeted them, speaking up a bit so they could hear him as he approached the area. “I'm looking for a Ms. Harlow McBride.”
Harlow contemplated running or simply not answering, but her anger got the better side of her and she stepped forward, apart from the rest of the crowd.
“Aye. That is me.” Harlow said, an eyebrow raised as she looked upon the man on horseback. “And you are?”
The man looked her up and down, his eyebrow raising gently and small, almost playful smirk displaying itself on his lips. “I am the King's Royal Advisor.” The man said, taking off his right glove and pulling a rolled parchment out of his jacket. “You have been summoned to appear at the royal court of King Wesley as soon as possible, under the unlawful act of Outlawry.” The man said, “His Majesty is rather upset with your actions as of late.”
The man sighed, almost out of boredom. She saw a small spark of what looked like disappointment, but kept from mentioning it.
Harlow tilted her head gently. “I'm being charged with Outlawry?”
The man nodded, again eying her up and down. “Doesn't seem like much a surprise.” He slowly got off his horse and rummaged through his things, pulling out a piece of rolled up parchment and holding it out to her.
Harlow stepped forward, looking at the man. She took the parchment from his hand and unrolled it.
It was true, the scroll was for her presence at the court.
Harlow nodded, looking up at the advisor. She chuckled gently, taking the parchment and ripping it down the middle. “I thought the protocol was detainment and trial. Shouldn't you be cuffing me up and taking me to prison?”
“The king specified that you should have this protocol instead. Seems your special, or something or another. The king will have your head for that kind of behavior, though.” The man warned, his eyebrow raised in amusement and curiosity, as he eyed the ripped parchment in hand.
“Ah, like he had the head of his own daughter.” Harlow said, an eyebrow raised. She knew it wasn't true. She knew her mother was alive, but she also know that most everyone in the country believed that she'd been killed.
The advisor rolled his eyes. “A good king is impartial to all, even his own family.”
“Your King is a coward!” Harlow snapped, letting the ripped pieces of parchment fly in the wind.
“Is he any more cowardice than you?” The man challenged, his voice depicting slight irritation as he fixed the glove on his left hand.
Harlow, anger billowing and stirring in her chest, smiled sarcastically for a moment, before turning to her left and grabbing a renegade plank of wood.
She immediately pummeled into the man, slamming him against the recently built marketplace wall. She heard the creaking and cracking of new wood as she held the man still.
His eyes immediately turned from boredom to fright as he found himself unable to move.
“Is anyone more cowardice than a man who entraps people and forces them to serve him as royal subjects? Is anyone more cowardice than a man who refuses to step a foot outside, on the bare Earth? Is anyone able to rule with an iron fist if they're to busy hiding behind mansion walls?!” Harlow shouted at the man as he tried to wriggle out of her grasp on him.
The sound of horse hooves and withdrawn blades resonated throughout the land that was once a village, as the horsemen came closer to the scene she'd caused.
“Look around you.” Harlow said, lowering her voice only so much, “This land was once where young children played and where good people slept. This was a land of peace and prosperity!” The man moved his head away, trying to look at his horsemen, who sat around her, afraid that any move they'd make would result in her impaling the man with the plank of wood she held.
Harlow pressed the plank down on the man, compressing his chest and causing him pain. “What you see now,” She said, pressing just a little more, “is what your king has done. This is how much he values his citizens' lives.”
Harlow pressed the plank a few centimeters down on his chest, again, making him squirm and wheeze for air. “You tell your king that if he wants me, he can come find me himself.”
“Harlow!” Enders' voice rang out in the chaotic silence. “You're going to kill him if you don't let him go.”
Harlow refused to turn her head and look at Enders because she knew the disappointment that waited to greet her.
Instead, she tried to fight the urge to plummet the plank of wood into this man's heart.
“I await King Wesley's army, and I await his throne.”
Harlow dropped the plank of wood and stepped away from the man, who'd pathetically dropped to the dirt at her feet. The knights around her eased up just barely, waiting for any sign of another retaliation.
The man scrambled to his feet, dashing to one of the horsemen who would take him to the horse he'd left just feet away.
He pulled himself onto the back of a horse, behind one of the younger knights. “Go!” He shouted, distraughtly.
“Aren't we going to arrest her?!” One knight asked, confusion lacing his voice.
“The king has given us specific orders! Retreat back to the castle at once!” The adviser shouted, his voice shaking and his face pale.
Immediately, the knights took off in the direction they'd come from, barreling past the destruction that was once a home.
Harlow narrowed her eyes as the men sped away, feeling Enders' grim presence next to her. He felt different to her, more serious and ominous.
Nothing felt right anymore.
No one seemed normal or just.
Fear started to reign.
But so did anger.
She'd been right.
This wasn't over yet.
And the worst was yet to come.
End of Book One
About the Author
Hey, Everyone! This is S. E. Roberts. I live in a cozy home in Central Florida, with my family. I aspire to be a full-time author and expand my writing horizons. I'm also expecting my first baby (Yay!). I hope you've enjoyed this book and I thank you for your support!
I am expecting the second installment sometime next year, so please stay tuned!
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