“Hey uncle Faust, how long till we get to cousin’s place?” A young boy who looked to be about eight to ten years old asked while cradling his head with his arms. His elbows rested on the window sill of the horse-drawn carriage and his expression was lazy as he looked at the orange ball in the sky slowly disappearing over the horizon.

The carriage in which the boy sat bobbed and swayed as its wheels turned over uneven terrain. The light sounds of horse hooves connecting with soft ground accompanied that of wheels turning over dried earth and moist earth. Earth sunk to reveal shallow hoofprints that spoke of the tiredness and fatigue of the mounts. Every once in a while, a bitter neigh of resignation would escape a horse’s mouth as it was spurred on by its rider.

The darkening sky cast the forest undergrowth into an early nightfall that did nothing to abate the sombre atmosphere.

It was then that an energetic whinny cut through the air. It was accompanied by a spirited trot that was counter to the dispirited mood that pervaded. A white horse that looked markedly stronger than any of its present contemporaries made its way from the rear of the carriage and slowed when it reached the window of the little boy.

“The horses need to rest little highness,” A middle aged man wearing a grey cloak with a sword strapped to his waist responded. The man had rugged features and a full black beard that gave him the appearance of a gallant war general. The only thing missing was the war armour as the man wore casual clothes with light chest armour as one would expect of a mercenary or adventurer. “There’s a stream not far ahead. We can water the horses there and rest up for a while. If we ride through the night, we can make our destination by sunrise.”

“Hmm,” the young boy nodded slightly. With an exasperated sigh, he sat back down in the carriage.

He looked at two other people that were seated inside with him. They were women. They were both dressed in the uniform meant for attendants. One of the women was young, looking to be just about thirteen or fourteen years old. The other was noticeably older but not quite into the middle ages yet. She looked to be in her late twenties. They were both beauties in their own right. One exuded a mature feminine allure while the other possessed a pure and untainted beauty that came with the innocence of youth.

“Do you think father will be alright, auntie Rose?” The young boy directed the question to the older woman. Despite the tiredness in his eyes, Rose could still see the anxiety residing within.

She gave a reassuring smile before nodding. “Your father is very very strong. He will definitely win.”

“Then why did he send me away? And those people who kept chasing after us, are they not afraid father will come for me?”

“Of course, they are afraid, little highness,” the lady chuckled. “That is why they have come for us when your father is on the battlefield.”

The boy furrowed his brow not quite understanding her meaning.

The younger girl moved from her place across him to kneel in front of the boy. She tousled the boy’s red hair and giggled. “You’ve always been foolish, little Red.”

“I’m not stupid!” The boy snapped as he wriggled his head free from the girl’s hand.

The girl didn’t seem to mind and continued smiling as she returned to her seat. “What would your father do if his enemies got their hands on his only heir? Wouldn’t they threaten him to his death?”

“But…” The boy wanted to continue but did not know what to say. He also understood. He understood which was why he was so despondent. He was so weak! His father and mother were fighting formidable enemies and he couldn’t help with their burden.

The boy sighed one more time before looking at the dark forest outside. The only thing he could do now was to pray for his parents’ safety.

Not long after the carriage came to rest at a relatively clear part of the woods. The little highness alighted the carriage with enthusiasm quite eager to stretch out his legs. He took in a deep breath of fresh air as he took stock of his surroundings. The horses were quenching their thirst in a nearby stream. Alongside them, some men armed with swords, bows, and other different weapons cradled water with their hands before drinking it. Others splashed it onto their faces trying to kickstart their systems that were operating way beyond their limits.

A distance away from all that, the middle-aged man named Faust was surveying the surroundings as he placed a rune engraved stone on a tree. He circled around the entire encampment as he repeated the action on different trees. His actions were meticulous and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle’s as he gazed into the dark forest beyond searching for any danger that may be lurking.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

After he completed a full circle around the encampment, the runes on the stones glowed a kaleidoscope of colours. Then a translucent white emanated from the stones to connect to form a dome that shrouded the encampment. Once fully covered, the translucent light faded and disappeared from view.

Faust exhaled lightly in relief.

The journey had been more perilous than he expected and he had had no time to collect his thoughts. He thought back to the experience over the past few days and his brow knit tightly in worry.

It had been too perilous!

It doesn’t make any sense! We expected the prince’s evacuation to be leaked but precautions were taken. Even if His Majesty’s relationship with the elves was discovered, a decoy was already sent ahead of us. Even the elves don’t know of this plan. Faust’s frown deepened the more he thought about things.

They had been attacked by ‘bandits’ numerous times on this journey. It had happened too many times to be a coincidence. And the thing that made Faust’s scalp tingle was that every attack was just a notch stronger than the last. In the beginning it wasn’t a problem as the convoy was well equipped with well trained soldiers from the king’s imperial guard. But as the attacks became more frequent and enemies stronger, deaths begun to appear.

Faust had felt a very bad premonition. It was like the enemy was… probing… to see the extent of their strength.

Faust had felt like a bird in a cage, like a giant hand was manipulating things from the shadows, slowly driving him into a corner. The only silver lining was that the unknown enemy seemed to be apprehensive about him. Thus, Faust leveraged the other party’s hesitation and did not show too much of his strength. Since the other party could not see through his strength, it meant that they should be either weaker than him, or roughly at the same level.

When he realized the enemy’s ploy, he immediately ordered the convoy to travel at the fastest speed only taking breaks to water the horses. The attacks stopped but only for a while. The attack following the pause was the most harrowing. It was obvious the enemy realized that he was onto them and sent people far stronger than the previous times.

The fight was bitter.

The battle claimed nearly half the platoon after losing only two men across three probings before.

But even then! Faust did not use his full strength!

Even as his men were in dire straits, he did nothing. Faust watched with gritted teeth as they were cut down one after another. What was once a platoon of twenty of the most elite soldiers in the kingdom was halved in a single incursion.

May the gods be with us. Faust said a silent prayer and exhaled.

Faust walked back to what remained of the convoy and he saw his remaining men arrayed in what may seem casual to the untrained eye. To him though, he could clearly see that they surrounded the little highness in a protective circle with his two attendants. Faust sighed again as he lamented the good men he had lost earlier.

Just as he was about to bite into his rations, his expression flickered as he looked in a certain direction. Without thinking, he stood up in a hurried but relaxed manner to investigate the disturbance. He didn’t want to agitate the already taut nerves of his men. He tuned out the childish ramblings of the little highness as he walked to the nexus of the formation he had set up.

“I knew there was no way His Majesty’s relationship with the Woodland elves could have been discovered,” Faust sighed as he beheld the figure in front of him.

It was a black shadowy humanoid figure. It had an ethereal body and looked like a genderless human with no face or any other distinguishing features. Currently, it was spasming in place as if strapped with electric bindings.

“A high-level shade,” Faust observed the creature in front of him seriously. “Dark mage…”

His expression was serious as he thought about the ramifications. Its aura is erratic. Quasi-great mage… hmm. That should be a high-level shade anchored to a weak soul.

Without thinking further, Faust unsheathed his sword and with one swift motion sliced through the air sending a white coloured sword beam through the shade. The creature released a shrill shriek as it disintegrated like ashes in the wind.

Back at camp.

“You may not believe me sis Lena, but father is very strong! From when I was a babe father has been able to fly!” the little highness exhorted with great enthusiasm.

The teenage girl who was addressed as Lena listened as she giggled from time to time. “Oh, so you aren’t a babe now?”

The little highness pouted and flared his nostrils angrily, “I’m being serious! You’re too young and haven’t seen the world! There are people out there that can flatten an entire city with a single slap. For someone like you…” the little highness raised his nostrils to look down on the girl. “They’d just have to breathe in your direction.”

The boy laughed heartily but his voice hitched the next second. He had inadvertently reminded himself of the foes his father was facing. But just a second later his eyes gleamed and he continued to laugh. “But my father is the strongest of them all!”

Lena put a hand over her mouth as she tried to stifle a laugh but failed. She couldn’t hold it in any longer when she saw his abrupt fall but quick rebound. She giggled uncontrollably at the little tyke’s antics.

Rose also smiled as she looked at the two younglings bickering. The journey was hard but it was small moments like these that they were fighting for. Soon however, her expression changed as Lena’s giggling turned to coughing fits that drew blood.