Bow to the King

Chapter Twenty-Four

"I expected as much," Tristan replied calmly.

"He wants to talk with you the moment you return," the knight said with a grimace. Tristan could already imagine the war he would have to face with his father. The though brought a grimace to his own face.

"Thank you for passing the message on," he said to the knight. He turned his attention back to the map. "William, whereabouts would you say this clearing is?"

William leaned over and tapped a spot on the map, not far from where they were. "The clearing is large, it would be the perfect place for Eliad to stop, particularly if that is where his main force is. Unfortunately, they will probably see us coming from a while away unless we are stealthy. If we stop our horses here," William explained, moving his finger down a centimetre, "we could continue on foot. There are only ten of us. If we ghost from tree to tree we may be able to keep the advantage of surprise."

"What is the plan, Prince Tristan?" A knight asked.

Tristan frowned and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Rose will probably be held under guard. We cannot just march in and take her without being scene. I imagine this will turn into a fight."

"Yar! It's been too long since I have enjoyed a good fight," one man joked. The others laughed along with him. Tristan smiled but did not laugh with them, too focused on his mission.

"We know there are three men - Eliad and two others. But we do not know if he may have joined a larger force. We need to be prepared for the worse outcome. If there are more than thirty of them, we will be dangerously outnumbered."

"I can take on more than three men," one knight snorted.

Tristan smiled at him. "I do not doubt your abilities - any of you. But I do not want to risk the lives of my men. We should get as close to the clearing as we can and observe how many there are. If it is not a large force, we will attack using the plan William suggested."

"And if it is a large force?" One asked.

"Then we find another way to rescue Rose - one that will be unseen. Perhaps at night when they are sleeping."

"Why not just wait to attack at night anyway?"

"Because at any moment Eliad could hurt or kill Rose. The sooner she is safe, the better. I cannot wait any longer knowing she is in danger."

The knights nodded grievously, understanding the gravity of the situation.

"Remember, Rose is our priority. It is more important that we retrieve her safely than that we attack Eliad's force," Tristan ordered.

"When do we leave?" Samuel asked.

"Right now."

~

Rose sat still, breathing in shuddering breaths as she tried to calm down and prepare for what was coming. She had been awake almost the whole night, desperately trying to find a way to escape the situation. She had found none.

Her heart felt heavy. She hoped, beyond all hopes, that Tristan would somehow perceive that he was in danger and know that Rose still loved him. It was unbearable to imagine that Tristan would leave and fall in love with another while Rose was left in captivity. Rose inhaled another shaky breath and tried to swallow back her tears. If Tristan arrived and could see she had been crying, he would not believe her words. Eliad would kill him then.

A woman stood behind Rose, gently brushing her hair. Eliad was clear about making Rose look as presentable as she possibly could. Rose normally would have been grateful that she had washed and had clean, silky hair, but under the circumstances all she could feel was grief.