The Dragon Bond: Heirs of Lyra

Chapter 11

Henry's stomach rumbled with hunger. He had purposely skipped breakfast to avoid Princess Karolina. He knew if she caught sight of him she would ask what their plan for the day was and he did not want to spend another day trying to entertain the princess. She was constantly complaining of boredom and asking Henry if there was anything fun to do around the castle. He wanted to tell her that there was plenty of "fun" things to do around the castle, however, these things included weapons and danger. Something that wasn't suitable for a delicate princess. 

"You might want to quiet your stomach," Miles commented as they continued walking through the forest, careful to avoid stepping on any twigs or branches. "Wouldn't want the Nieblans to find us because they heard your belly wailing."

"Sorry," Henry muttered. 

"Didn't you eat?" Miles whispered and then stopped to wait behind the cover of a tree. 

Henry hurried to find cover of his own as he heard the crunch of leaves a short distance ahead. They were near the mountains of Lyra, a landmark that was close to the Nieblan border, but entirely Lyran territory. The fact that a couple of Nieblan troops were on the opposite side of the mountains and in Lyran territory was a huge concern for Henry.

Once the crunches faded away, Henry allowed himself to let his guard down a little and finally took the time to answer Miles' question. "I was avoiding Princess Karolina. She's so incessantly needy. I never get a moment to myself."

"Well she is your future bride. I'm sure she just wants to get to know you." 

"We have plenty of time for that," Henry argued. 

Miles turned his head to look in the direction of where the noise had been. He waited a moment before finally walking. "It's only been a couple days. Surely you can't already be sick of her?" 

"You know me," Henry said quietly. "I don't like to be idle for so long or have pointless conversations with people."

"You mean you don't like commitment." 

Henry stopped walking and glared at his friend. "What are you saying?"

Miles shrugged his shoulders to show he didn't mean to offend. "I'm just saying maybe the reason it's so hard for you to converse with your bride-to-be is because you're scared of commitment. Marriage is a big deal and it's a life-long prison sentence. You can never be with another woman again. And not only do you have that commitment, but one day you'll be king and have the responsibility to rule this kingdom until you either die or turn the responsibility over to your heir."

"I know my responsibilities," Henry said through gritted teeth. "I'm reminded of them every day, but it doesn't mean I have to like them."

"How about we just drop it," Miles offered. "If we're going to make a move on these Nieblans then we need to be quiet anyway."

"Fine," Henry agreed.

They continued walking carefully through the forest until they caught sight of the small group of Nieblans again. From this distance they could hear the group talking amongst themselves, their accents sounding ridiculous to Henry and Miles. Their words were much sharper, harsher sounding than the common Lyran tongue. 

Henry began wondering what their plan of action should be. It was only himself and Miles on patrol right now. Normally a patrol consisted of at least four people. The reason it was only Henry and Miles was because Henry had been too impatient to wait for the other patrol to return. He wanted to leave the castle as soon as possible and if he waited for the patrol to return, then he ran the risk of running into Princess Karolina and being forced to entertain her all day. 

Yesterday he had left his brother in charge of watching his bride-to-be. Admittedly, this wasn't his best idea ever, seeing as how the princess was completely terrified of dragons, but at least he got her off his watch for a while. The fact that he was able to annoy his brother only made matters better for Henry. Once he left Princess Karolina under the entertainment of his brother, he was able to spend the rest of the day on the training grounds, fighting his frustrations out. Not only did this allow him the solitude he needed, but he was sure that spending the day with Ralf would make Princess Karolina respect and long for Henry even more. 

She would see how boring and awkward Ralf is and long for the strength and companionship of Henry. And though Henry did not want to entertain the princess and converse with her, he was more than willing to show her a romantic night. 

"Henry," Miles hissed, grabbing the prince's distracted attention. "What's the plan? Do we simply report back to King Alan what we saw here or try to take a prisoner?"

Henry bit his tongue as he thought about his options. If they left the enemy group on their territory and reported it back to the king, then that didn't do them much benefit. Then again, the odds weren't exactly in their favor for a fight with the group. It would be five against two and though Henry was confident in his abilities, he wasn't sure he was willing to risk it just yet.

If they do decide to fight, then what would the goal be? Did they kill some of them and take one captive, or take them all captive? Once they attacked, they wouldn't be able to let anyone escape. Otherwise, if one escapes then they take the news back to Nieblan territory and war could be sooner than King Alan expected. 

No, if Henry decided to take action then he would have to make sure none of them escaped. Risk or reward was the game they were playing now. 

"Henry," Miles hissed once again. He looked at the prince expectantly, awaiting orders.

It was decision time. Henry looked around quickly, taking in his surroundings to help his decision. They were in Lyran territory which made Henry feel more confident. He knew this area well. On his right were the magnificent mountains of Lyra that towered above him, as if reaching to the heavens. On his left was the vast forest and in front of him were the Nieblans. 

"Maybe we should try to find one of our other patrols?" Miles suggested. Henry was taking too long to formulate a plan, which made Miles nervous.

Henry considered this. It would be the smart thing to do. A patrol couldn't be too far off but if they couldn't find one, then they risked losing the Nieblans. Though the mountains were Lyran territory, it wouldn't take long for the Nieblans to climb up the shorter side of the mountain and disappear back into their own kingdom before the Lyran patrol could do anything about it. And if the Nieblans did scale up the mountain, the Lyran patrol would be foolish to pursue them from that vantage point. 

"No," Henry finally said. "We don't have time to get another patrol for help. We're on our own and we can't let these filthy Nieblans continue to trapse around our land without consequence."

"So we're attacking?" Miles asked hesitantly. 

Henry took a breath in and then pulled his sword out of its sheath. "We're attacking."