Ol' Flint the Crow

The Princess's Tale pt. 5

With no other option but to accept, the woman and Granny agreed. I smiled with glee, unable to believe how foolish these townsfolk were. Then I sent them on their way after we made our plans on the day we would flee from Todd. They needed at least a day or two spread the word to the others. Once that was finished it was just a matter of freeing my people and bringing Todd to me.

However, nothing is ever that simple, for the bats caught word that the bandits were becoming restless. The next night, they planned to attack at the break of dawn in full force. They had built a battering ram to smash through the front gate. Knowing I needed to stop this, I called Hobble for assistance.

"What can we do?" I asked "If they invade the castle now, all our plans will be for not!"

There was a grin of tranquility that grew over the ranger's face, for he had the wrong idea of why I was worried. "Never fear, my lady. We can delay them for a day if we send the bats to poison their food supplies. There are these wild nuts that leek off a deadly toxin. The bandits know of this but that will make them believe that someone in their group has done the deed. While they fight with one another to figure out who of them are responsible, the townsfolk will have enough time to finish their preparations to escape. Also, I'm thinking that I should go down there and oversee their safety. I'm worried that Todd and those that are still loyal to him will not be so easily stopped. There could be unnecessary bloodshed for the townsfolk."

"What of it?" I scoffed.

Stuttering, Hobble said, "B-but Your Majesty. They are our allies now. Isn't their wellbeing important to you?"

"Listen to me, Hobble!" I glared up at the man and scowled. "Those people killed my parents. They murdered our people. They're not a part of us, and they never will be. Remember that!"

The ranger recoiled from me as if he had just witnessed a monster growling at him. Hobble was weak like that. But he was loyal enough to complete the task of poisoning the bandits' food. Although no one had died some fell deathly sick. This sent their attack on the castle to an absolute halt as they squabbled with one another. I laughed at how the bats explained it to me. So petty those barbarians were.

Pretty soon the day arrived went Granny and the other townsfolk would commence their uprising and escape of the city. I sent Hobble, Shrouder, and the other rangers to oversee that the mission was done correctly and that Todd was taken alive. I could not stress to them the importance of this. One thing I noticed was that Hobble seemed uneasy at my orders. He fell silent and could hardly answer me. It was a good thing that I gave other orders too Shrouder which I knew he would carry out without question.

I, however, waited up at the top of hill so I could have a good vantage point of the castle. Although, I yearned to personally help my brethren trapped in the dungeon, the bats filled the night sky and brought news as speedily as the events occurred. The youngest of the rangers, a clean-shaven man with a handsome face, stayed with me.

Translating the bat language for me, the ranger, named Trek said, "They're saying that the uprising has begun. Most are on Granny's side, but there are a few still loyal to Todd." Ten minutes past until the next report, "There was a skirmish! Some of the townsfolk were hurt... even killed."

"What of Todd?!" I demanded, fearing that a quick death had blessed him from my vengeance.

It took another ten minutes until the next batch of information was brought to us. "Todd's been captured! The squabble is over!"

"Tell the rangers to get the nobles out of the dungeon!" I said calling out to the bats in the air. "And remind Shrouder of my orders."

They immediately obeyed and skyrocketed to the castle, taking my commands with them. An hour passed by. All was silent. Even the bats in the sky had departed, not wanting to attract any unnecessary attention as the residence of the castle made their way quietly towards me.

When I noticed the dark outline of a sea of people traveling through the bushes near the base the hill, I signaled to my escort to follow me. We descended down the hill at breakneck speed. Suddenly, I tripped and fell. I would have dashed my head against the rocks below if Trek the Ranger had not reached out to hold me stead. It was my excitement for justice that was getting the better of me.

But first, we needed to flee as far away from the castle as we could. Ten miles away there was a mountain with a secret door that my ancestors use to take council long ago. This would serve as a safe haven. This is where Todd would pay. But fate has a funny way of taking from you.

"Traitors! Treachery!" I heard a familiar and sinister voice scream at the top of his lungs.

Rushing past tree branches that ripped through my skin, I found the rangers leading the townsfolk and nobles. In the townspeople's greedy hands, they held the treasures of Dermid in the hope that they could use it to buy a new life. Their arms shook and wobbled with their heavy burdens. They groaned as they marched; tried from their ordeals.

Strangely enough, the previously imprisoned nobles were rather lively and drifted past the thickets taking the evening in with their boggling eyes. It was the fact that they had not been abused for days by Todd. That and the life giving the berries they ate had given them a will to live. Their nostrils flared to breathed in the crisp night air like it were honey.

Although I wished to greet them with open arms, especially Gregory who I had not seen for ages, my full attention was focused on the rangers who were pursuing a prisoner that had just escaped and was weaving around the trees to lose his pursuers. It was Todd! He was getting away, heading back to the castle where the bandits were. If he attracted those robbers' attention...

"Traitor!" Todd kept screaming, filling the forest with his ruckus. "Ya betrayed me, Granny!"

WRRRTT!!!

An arrow zoomed past the trees, cut through bushes, and expertly hit the feeling man knocking him to the ground senseless. My heart froze. Todd was not moving any more. Not a peep escaped his lips. He was dead before I could realize it.

Like daggers, my eyes glared into the throng of people searching for whom had fired the arrow. Hobble, with a sigh, put away his bow over his shoulder and lead the group onward.

"Hurry!" he called to everyone. "We can't linger. We'll rest at the hideout."

All the townsfolk horrified at their previous leader's sudden demise hesitate for a moment but quickly agreed that the ranger was correct. Gathering what little strength they had, they followed. Behind them the faint smell of smoke drifted through the trees. It was Shrouder's doing. He had obeyed my command to set fire to the castle before he left in order to keep the bandits from making a home there. Unlike Hobble, Shrouder was obedient.

Hobble's actions did not sit well with me. Todd was dead. His suffering was over, and I could no longer take my revenge on him for causing me so much pain down there in that dungeon. It was all Hobble's fault. My blood boiled within me as I walked behind the ranger. Every so often, Hobble would look over his shoulder. I could see his cheeks paling. He knew all too well that I was displeased at him.

A few times during the march I would quicken my pace hoping to catch up to the ranger to speak with him. However, he would sense me creeping closer and increase the speed of our march, to the townsfolk's dismay. The only ones that kept up without any grumbling were the nobles since they had no burdens to bare and the fact that the outdoors gave them great vigor.

I had passed all of them and was hot on the ranger's heels.

"Hobble..." I said. When he did not take notice of my voice, I shouted again at him, "Hobble! We need to talk!"

However, Hobble brushed me aside and said, "W-we'll discuss things later, Your Majesty. Now is not the time."

I bit my tongue and spent my time burning with anger. Once we reached our destination. I was going to let Hobble have it!