Princess Meredith moved down the trail, looking for signs of the soldiers that were following them. She knew they would be around somewhere. Mixed feelings assailed her. She still loved Tum even though she felt he had not done right by her. Maybe what he deserved was what she got in her own nightmare. Some thrashing. She was the princess; she would tell Alphonso what to do. She could not bear to see them die.

"My princess," Alphonso called, coming out from behind the tree where he had been hiding. Some of his men came out with him. There were about twenty men with him, all armed with swords and guns. Instantly, Meredith felt safer.

"They have gone to the cave," the princess said.

"Good. May they succeed," Alphonso said, grinning.

Meredith did not like the grin on his face. It was full of bad intentions.

"You will not kill them," she said.

"Why?"

"I want to take them as prisoners," Meredith replied.

"Anything you want, princess."

Meredith was confused. She was not used to so much power as she had always been behind her brother. Maybe she would even be a better ruler than he was. The first thing she had to do was send Sheer away in disgrace. He was a terrible adviser.

"Let us find them," Alphonso called out to his men.

Meredith followed at a distance. She felt terrible. Maybe she should just call off the assault and have the soldiers escort them home.

They walked past a giant troll lying on the ground with a bloodied face, knocked out. It was still breathing and was, therefore, alive.

"Hack the troll to death," Alphonso commanded.

"Leave the troll alone," Meredith countered.

The soldier who had marched close to the troll with his sword drawn turned to look at his captain.

"You kill the troll, you mess with the magic of the forest," Meredith continued, "and the forest can be very unforgiving."

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Alphonso nodded. "Let the troll be."

They continued up the hill. The princess had been up here before. It was here, in fact, that Buckle forced her to turn back. If the giant troll was the guardian of the crystal sword, then it could only mean that the grip had gotten their hands on the sword.

As much as she hated Tum at this moment, she also realized that the group was smart and strong. It was the kind of team she would love to belong to if she were a peasant. They could teach her the moves behind beating giant trolls, getting used to the city, and learning the ways of the peasants.

"Hangover the sword," Alphonso screamed.

From behind the captain, the princess watched the three of her companions look astounded.

"The sword or we will kill you three.

**

There were many things that Tum had expected: an army of trolls outside waiting to fight them for the sword; an enchanted army of dead men that the forest had killed while they were in search of the sword; an army of strange animals and creatures.

All of these, he knew they could fight off as long as they had the crystal sword. But he had not expected the soldiers from the palace to try to double-cross them. It made him wonder who they were working with.

"I come in the name of the king," he said. "You shall accompany us back to the palace. There, we will hand the sword over to the king."

"There is a new king now," Alphonso declared. "He would love for you to hand over the sword immediately."

"No!" Tum cried. "You speak treason!"

"It is you who speak treason by referring to the old king as our king."

"Run!" Tum screamed and dashed to the other side of the mountain, running sideways across the top. His friends followed. Gunshots rang out. Buckle moved too late.

Tum was already about to jump into the foliage on the other side when he heard Buckle scream and fall to the ground. He turned around. The soldiers were still shooting, but Tum noticed that the bullets were flying past Bonnie and him. Buckle was groaning on the ground. He ran towards him. The soldiers advanced, racing up the hill.

Before Tum could get to Buckle on the ground, he noticed a soldier close by and swiped his sword at the man, slicing him across the chest. More soldiers came, and more soldiers fell. When he had cut down three, the soldiers stopped coming. There was a loud noise, the stamping of feet. The ground vibrated. It was like the army of the forest was coming together.

"Fall back!" the captain cried. "Fall back!"

The soldiers turned tail and ran. Tum wanted to go after them with his gun but he stopped himself and hurried to Buckle's side. The latter had been shot in the tummy, close to his chest. The wound was ugly, and the blood would not stop coming out. The ground was still vibrating.

"Run…" Buckle managed to say. "Leave me. Save yourselves."

Tum and Bonnie refused. In no time, the valley was filled with trolls of all kinds, fairies, dwarves, and giants. They all stopped before them and watched Bonnie. Tum braced himself for a fight before he realized what was happening.

The creatures, every one of them, bow to the two before they turned and raced off into the forest again.

"Find… the princess," Buckle said. His breathing was getting troubled. He still felt bad about his spurned love advance, and now facing death, he wanted something different for his friend.

"I have to stay here," Tum objected.

"Go. Find that witch, I will be with him," Bonnie said. Tears were already welling up in her eyes.