The Thread Of Fate

Chapter 2

Eventually, my daze faded and survival instincts kicked in. I turned my attention to the girl as I needed answers from her but she had to calm down, poor child was almost hysterical.

"What is your name?" I knelt besides her on the floor.

"Leah" she sniffled.

"And why are you crying Leah?" I asked softly. She didn't answer and just stared at me. I waited. Eventually she did relax a little.

"He said he would kill me...and my parents if I didn't do as ordered. My papa fought the soldiers but...." she sobbed.

What kind of a person would blackmail a child?

"You did as he said." I spoke firmly, "Your parents will be fine. You will be fine too. I need you to concentrate, alright ? Will you help me ?"

She nodded as I hoped she would. I then asked her if she had any idea about the drink. She thought carefully for a few seconds, trying to recall anything relevant.

"He...the king said that he would kill two birds with one stone...I'm so sorry..." she broke down crying again and I sighed.

I had no clue what Nish had meant by that statement. I didn't feel poisoned. My body felt fine. I was only a little tired but that was normal. While I was nervous and frustrated, I knew my only option was to wait it out.

"Don't feel guilty. You did nothing wrong, alright ? You saved your parents. You're a hero." I smiled at Leah, "Cheer up!"

The door opened once more and I knew it was time to face the music. The guards walked to me and put a cloth bag over my head. I didn't think of protesting but it was flattering that Nish had sent a group of 8 guards to get me. I tried paying attention to where they were taking me but all I could sense were stairs. Soon enough, we reached the destination. I could hear voices and tried to focus.

"Ah! My daughter! She is here!" Nish sounded cheerful. The bag was taken off my head and I was pushed forward into a hall. The throne room. He was looking directly at me.

"Your daughter?" I choked out a laugh of disbelief.

He has finally lost it.

"Beautiful isn't she?" He continued, facing away from me.

"You wish for my lord to marry her? Why would you give your daughter to your enemy? Do you wish for her to lead a slave's life?" The orange haired man spoke up.

He had a hand on his sword hilt, hanging at his waist. I read him in one quick glance. His body language reflected authority and the dressing screamed that he was in the army. It would be strategic to bring the general to the negotiations.

Then the wheels in my head made sense of his words, replaying them again.

"I am not marrying anybody !" I couldn't help myself then. It was do or die.  I decided then that if I was going down, I would go down with a fight. I reminded myself that not going down at all would be preferable.

Nish was right next to me and I knew he wasn't fit enough to dodge my move. I lunged for his sword and he tripped, trying to back away. Luckily, I did grab the sword before he fell. I unsheathed it and shifted into a defensive crouch . My sword fighting skills were excellent. It was one of the few things that had enabled me to survive for so long. If anyone wanted me to get married, they would find themselves sliced into two.