Ol' Flint the Crow

The Princess's Tale pt. 5

As the hag forewarned, there were those among her people that disagreed with Todd. They were desperate to abandon the castle, take the secret tunnel, and find a new village too start a new life. To do that they would steal all of my family's treasure they could carry.

And Granny could just not keep her mouth shut. She blabbed. I knew this when one of Hobble's rangers dragged a family of three into the cave. It was a middle-age mother, haggard and grey-of-hair. She would constantly wring out her hands in worry. With her was her daughter and son. There was also Granny, looking as guilty as sin.

"She was leading them here!" the ranger snapped while casting Granny on her knees.

I liked this ranger. His name was Shrouder. No white shown from his eyes. They were black as night with pupils larger than any man I had ever seen. Built like a lean wolf with his back arched, he would snarl like a wild animal ready to devour his prey without mercy. He was not like Hobble.

Yanking Granny by the cheekbones I ordered her to tell me, "Why did you bring them here?! Didn't I tell you to keep our presence a secret?"

"Your Royal Highness!" the mother of the family of three pleaded. "It was my fault. I begged Granny to take us to you. Listen to me! I beg of you, Princess Tabitha!"

She bowed low with such humility that I laughed. Taking a seat at the head of the rangers, I threw out my hand and allowed the woman to continue. It was amusing at the very least to listen to her groveling.

"Once, I had a husband and two other sons," the woman trembled as she explained her story. "But Todd... His stubbornness led them to their death. During the bandit attack, my husband died by a flaming arrow. Then my two other sons were stabbed in the back during the second siege. Now Todd is forcing all to fight with him to keep the bandits back. Everyone must help in the upcoming battle, he says; that includes me and even my two youngest children. But I won't let it happen! Not anymore. We must flee. The others agree that our only hope is to abandon the castle while we have the chance. You, Princess Tabitha, you must help us! Please. For all our children's sake, save us from Todd. We will follow you to the ends of the earth, if you can only lead us away from him!"

Although, my fingers itched to reach for my knife and plunged the dagger clean through the woman and her children, I held my anger. Patience, I thought, was the best course of action. In fact, these foolish townsfolk were falling right into my hand. All I needed to do was offer them the false promise of salvation. After that... death to the traitors!

"Do you swear your undying loyalty to your princess?" I asked the mother.

She nodded her head weakly.

Choosing my words carefully, I said, "I will not stand treachery, mark my words! You townsfolk have already shown your subversion against the crown once. How can I trust you won't do it again?"

"I swear, my lady!" she pleaded, clenching her hands together and telling her children to follow her example. "We, and those in the castle that share our attitude, are your humble servants to the end."

My mind wander to my people still locked away in the darkness. "What of my people? They are still down in the dungeon where you helped lock them away to be starved and tortured.

"W-we will free them, Your Majesty!" Granny passionately interjected for the other woman. "Once we gather as many to our cause, we'll bring them to you along will all the treasures tucked away in the vaults. Then we will start a new life out in the wilderness away from Todd's tyranny."

I had to calm myself before answering since it would have given away my emotions along with my ulterior motives. "N-no. Todd must be stopped. Capture him and bring him to me alive! He must pay for his crimes. Then we can be free... All of us can be... f-free... That is my demand. Or do you wish to wander through the wilderness alone and leaderless? Chances are the bandits will find you and kill you. But with my rangers leading us, we can secretly travel these lands without fear. They will teach us the ways of stealth. That is your only chance for you to survive."