Part 2

By the time Tim woke up, the rays of first light had just begun to peek through the heavy draperies. There was a problem.

The typical quiet of the living quarters was disrupted by the thundering of horse hooves and distant shouts. The kid felt his

stomach churning and gingerly sat up in bed, his hair was tangled from the restless slumber.

He mumbled to himself, "What's going on here?" as he slipped from behind the blankets and made his way to the window.

The sight before him took his breath away: two columns of armed horsemen were advancing on the main street of the

settlement, which led to the living quarters. Tim felt his heart thumping in his throat. There had been no need for troopers in

the community for a long time - violence was something that happened in old stories, not in their peaceful world under the

King's protection.

"Awaken! Get up!" The corridor echoed with Aroon's voice. "Soldiers have arrived in the village!"

Chaos reigned in the following minutes. Tim was unable to reach the window and was unable to see anything as everyone

hurried to the windows to see who had arrived at the living quarters. From the outside, a girl screamed: someone was crying

and looking for her friend.

"Cease! Silence yourself! Slow down!" Master Ledren's voice cut through the noise as he walked toward the upper corridor.

"Everyone stay in their rooms until we clarify the situation!" he instructed them before running down to the courtyard of the living

quarters with five armed guards.

The troopers dismounted from their horses and poured into the courtyard, numbering maybe twenty or thirty men in their unit.

Master Ledren was preceded by their leader, a slightly thick man with a round, smooth face and a cunning look.

"Master, good morning! This unit is under my command! Could we spend two days with you?"

Master Ledren took a while to respond. There was silence, even among the birds.

"Good morning. Yes, you may stay," said the senior instructor at last.

"We'll also require enough supplies for a week! We'll use the governor's funds to cover it."

"That is not applicable here! The King gives us our drink and supplies! I can only supply your guys with enough nourishment for

one day."

One of the troopers, a tall man with a scarred face, went forward.

"Old man, it wasn't a request! Whether you like it or not, we'll obtain the supplies we need!" he said, then turned to his companions

and asked, "All right, boys?" His companions laughed.

Tim observed from the second-floor window as the situation became more tense. The fat commander grinned pleasantly.

"All right, this should be sufficient for today. To the dining hall, soldiers!" he called out to the group. The troopers marched into the

hall with joy.

It was breakfast time, eight o'clock. Before heading down for breakfast, Tim felt he needed to use the bathroom. He made his way

to the door.

"Where are you going?" He was called after by Aroon.

Tim rushed to the restrooms where he immediately relieved himself and washed up, returning in a few minutes.

The sleeping quarters was deserted.

As Tim sprinted down from the floor and arrived at the courtyard, he noticed Lia frantically making her way to one of the dedicated

classroom to hide inside, but a trooper guarding the horses noticed her and grabbed her arm firmly.

As he ran his palm over Lia's upper body, the man smiled and said, "Well, look what a beauty!" He drew the frightened girl close to

him. Tim clinched his fists in rage and leaped from the third step of the stairs onto the trooper, forcing him to lose Lia and stagger

back before attempting to draw his sword. Holding his hand, Tim gave him a headbutt to the stomach, but was struck by the trooper's

kick as he doubled over, landing hard with his knee bleeding and palms burning from the scrape, feeling the liquid trickle down his leg.

The man turned to face Lia, who was frozen in terror. He pulled out his sword.

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"Come here, girl!" he yelled. Lia began to approach the man gently, her eyes watering. Tim was also afraid, but he slowly rose up, his

entire body stiffened, hatred bubbling inside him. The trooper nervously held the blade towards the boy.

"Don't force me to use this, kid! Stop now, or I'll chop off your leg and make you watch while your girlfriend enjoys a real man's embrace!

Recognize?"

The trooper raised his sword as Tim approached him. Lia stared behind the trooper as she suddenly froze, fear showing on her face.

"Come here, I said! Are you deaf?" the trooper roared, advancing on Lia. When Tim noticed that the sword was no longer aimed at him,

he got ready to strike once more. But before he could take action, the tall man who had laughed at Master Ledren - the one with the scarred

face - came into view. After tripping his buddy from behind, he kicked the falling man multiple times and then struck him in the face with his

fist. After that, he gave Tim and Lia a ferocious glare.

"You two, leave this place!" He yelled at them, "Now!" Tim grasped Lia's hand and dragged her along with him. The scarred-faced trooper

continued to kick his companion, and Tim could still hear him.

"You can't hurt my little sister, you worm!"

Tim was perplexed. This scarred man appeared to have a moral code, despite his vile view on other issues.

Reaching the first room on the ground floor of the sleeping quarters, Lia squeezed Tim's hand as they walked in together. Everyone looked

at them, with all of Tim's group present - Aroon consoling the hungry Tolle who was gripping his stomach, the girls sobbing in the corner -

while others moved away from the window, having witnessed all of the interactions between the troopers, Tim, and Lia.

Lia addressed Tim.

"Look, Tim! What happened out there..."

"I couldn't let him take you!" Tim's head dropped. Aroon approached them and listened intently.

Lia reached for Tim's chin and as he gazed up at her, they stared into each other's eyes before she leaned over to kiss him on the lips, the

kiss tasting simultaneously sweet, hot, and salty from the tears still covering her face.

After the kiss, Lia whispered a soft 'thank you' before hurrying to the girls, who eagerly questioned her about the courtyard incident as she

sat down with them. In the meantime Tim stood uncomfortably in the center receiving applause from the boys until Aroon stepped forward

to give his friend a hug.

"You truly are the king!" he said, and handed Tim a handkerchief to clean the blood from his hands and knees.

A few minutes later, Master Ledren came in via the open door. The pupils sprang to their feet.

"We can go eat breakfast!" Tolle yelled, but the instructor held out his hand.

"Sadly, no. All of our supplies - both prepared meals and the raw ingredients - are currently being loaded by the governor's men. The good

news is that they won't even be staying overnight; they'll be departing shortly."

Tolle was distraught, but the rest of the youth were relieved. After turning around, Master Ledren made his way to the entrance.

"What should we do, Master?" Tim questioned, and the man replied in a low voice.

"A guard will be stationed in front of the entrance. Stay in the room! Look after the girls!"

He quickly departed after saying that, and Tim turned to face Lia, who smiled back at him. Tim's worries were instantly allayed by this, and he

proceeded to lock the door. The drapes were drawn by Aroon and another lad. They all took seats in small groups on the floor. Lia then took a

seat by Tim, placing her head on his shoulder and giving the boy a hug. Aroon took up residence next Tim and Lia as well.

"What do you think - will they leave?" Aroon asked Tim.

Tim considered this before turning to Lia. "That scarred guy... did you hear what he said, Lia?" the girl shook her head, her dark eyes gleamed

with fascinating beauty.

"No, I didn't hear, Tim," she said kindly, and Tim's only desire was to kiss her crimson lips again.

"He said: 'You can't hurt my little sister, you worm!'"

Aroon questioned, "Did he really say that? From up here we only saw that you knocked down the bastard with a champion jump, then

headbutted him in the stomach, and you were about to charge at his sword."

"Did I really do that?" Tim gazed with wonder at Aroon.

"Yes, like a real bodyguard!" Lia purred, nestling closer to Tim. Aroon watched their happiness with envy.

When Aroon eventually said, "A bodyguard who protects the Queen,"

Lia boldly interrupted, "No, he's a bodyguard who protects me," and Tim caressed the girl's hair.

"You are my Queen, Lia!"

After blushing, the girl hurried to kiss Tim.