Caden only had a second to decide his actions. Should he fight back, proving his accusations right, or should he flee and hope for a better future. Then came the decision about Katherine. What should he do about her? Can she survive outside of the castle? Does he just leave her here to defend for herself? These questions all ran through his mind as his body moved on instinct.
He grabbed Katherine with his left arm around her waist and jumped through the stained windows of the hall. They fell twenty meters to the ground below, which was more than enough for Caden to handle. Katherine still seemed to be in shock as she failed to scream let alone say anything.
He ran with her pulled close to him until they made it to the cabin in the woods. He would need his supplies and a few more if he was going to go on the run.
Luckily so far, he had not had to hurt any of the guards. They, he thought of, as innocents. He didn't want to hurt them for a single man's greedy desire. He still had his pain and he still had his anger, but now they were directed at one person. And one person only.
He put Katherine down inside his cabin near the fire place. He used a fireball spell to quickly light the fire as he thought it would help calm her down. He rummaged through his cabin for extra animal pelts, food, and anything that he may find useful on the trip ahead.
He found Katherine staring at the flames as he strung the backpack over his shoulder. He stood behind her watching her shiver. It was more from shock than from the cold.
"We need to leave." He told her calmly so he wouldn't freak her out even more than he already has.
"How did this happen?" She said softly as she craned her head in Caden's direction. "How did I miss this?"
Caden didn't know what to say. He had always thought of her as the smart Queen that none would go against. The one Queen that reigned upon adoration and affection. Not one of fear and respect. However, she missed any and all signs from her closest adviser and now he has control of the kingdom.
"We can think about this later. We need to leave." He told her again as he grew slightly impatient. He was used to being by himself and only having to worry about the things he did. Now he had to care for the Queen. This will be a big mission for him.
He offered his right hand to aid in her getting to a standing position. A hand that she took in her own. She stood in front of Caden with tears rolling down her cheeks. Her entire life is over. Everything that her family had built, kept, and grew is now gone. Gone because of her. Because she was not smarter. Because she allowed swine to infest her castle.
Caden was at a loss as to what to do. He never had to deal with this back in his own world, nor did he have to deal with something like this here. His right hand still holding her right as she clutched it tightly. She was beginning to break down and he couldn't help. So he did the only thing he could think of and pulled her into a hug.
She seemed to be taken aback by the sudden action before her arms around his back pulling them closer to each other. She cried into his chest as he softly stroked the back of her head. They stood like that for a few minutes until she calmed down slightly. The tears stopped but her face betrayed her sadness.
As they pulled apart, Caden dropped his hands to his sides while Katherine used hers to wipe the remains of her tears from her face.
"Thank you." She said as her hands made their move upon her face. It looked like she was slightly blushing, by Caden attributed that to her crying.
Caden didn't say anything before turning towards the door. He heard the soft patter of feet behind him and knew that Katherine was following him. While they walked he struggled with his inner self. Something was changing within him and he didn't know how to stop it.
They were unaware of the destination they were going to and all they knew was that they needed to get far from this kingdom. Tristan would most probably put a bounty on their heads so they knew that if they wanted to avoid any further danger, they needed to be quick.
Caden walked deeper and deeper into the Dark Forest hoping that his destination would be a joyous one. He hoped that he did not have to properly hurt any innocents along the way. That is the one thing his consciousness held onto.
To give Katherine credit, although she was uncomfortable with the long walk, she kept on. Without whining or complaining she carried on following Caden.
However, their good fortune was not to last forever. It had to run out sooner or later. They came upon an overturned carriage that was set alight as shouts could be heard from within. Laughter boomed around the burning carriage that caught Caden's attention.
He found seven strongly built men to the left of the carriage. They were dressed in the normal tempered leather armour that most bandits and thieves wore. Two of the men held a young girl each. Both of the girls seemed to be of beastmen descent as their furry pointed ears pressed back upon their heads.
They were both shouting and pleading to be let go as they watched the carriage burn.
The closest girl was larger than the other in both height and weight. She has to be either an older sister or the mother. Caden thought to himself softly. He knew what these men had in store and he knew that if he wanted to avoid unnecessary danger he would not get involved. But he had to. He knew that he had to save the second girl. She looked to be only eight or maybe nine years old.
Both the beastgirls seemed to be wolf or large dog in nature as their long furry tails were tucked between their legs. Both wore a one piece dress that was plain to the eyes of Katherine yet it was elegant to the eyes of Caden. It was elegant within its simplicity. The larger girl's dress was dark blue while the shorter one was pale red. Her face streaming with tears.
It was strange though that the appearance of the little beastgirl was a mix of human and beast. She had the ears and tail of the beast yet the body of a human. She must be a mixed breed. The mother on the other hand was covered in fur from head to toe with a set of well-endowed breasts. Both had a golden shine to their fur.
Caden was thinking of a strategy when the unthinkable happened. One of the large men to his left unsheathed his sword quickly and plunged it into the chest of the larger woman. It was quick and caught Caden off guard. He stared at the larger beastwoman as she slowly fell to the ground limply and lifeless.
The smaller beastgirl crying for her mother. So it was her mother. Caden's subconscious concluded.
Caden quickly unsheathed his obsidian short sword and lunged forward. He needed to end this quickly in hopes to keep both Katherine and the beastgirl safe.
He thrust his sword into the closest bandit as it cut through his chest swiftly and with ease. As he pulled the sword free he kicked the lifeless body forward into the man that previously held the older beastwoman.
He twisted his body left to avoid an arrow shooting for his chest. He ran with great speed towards the archer on the far end of the group. He dodged two more arrows coming for his head as he twisted to his left once more, bringing his left leg up and around connecting it to the head of the archer, snapping his neck instantly.
He refocused on the remaining five men as he equipped another short sword in his left hand. This one was at least half the size of his obsidian sword and honestly could be called a dagger rather than a sword.
It was silver in colour with a bright red gem in either side of the small hilt. Katherine immediately remembered the dagger from when she gifted it to him before he went off to fight the Demon King. Why would he keep it?
Caden threw the shorter sword forward as he rushed to his right. He cut down another of the men with a downward diagonal slice burying the sword through his should and into his chest. He raised his left arm and watched as the dagger found two of the remaining four men. He cast a powerful explosion on sword as it burst outwards.
The explosion cratering the earth while blowing apart the two bandits. He unwedged his sword as he walked over to his short sword slowly. He kept his eyes on the remaining two men. He found that the little girl had already disappeared and he would need to focus on that later.
He sheathed his weapons and raised both of his hands to the heavens. He suddenly thrust them towards the grounds while crossing his right arm over his left. The ground around him began to crack up and rise into the air as a loud grumble came from the earth. The shaking instilled fear into the remaining two bandits.
Caden pulled his arms back until his hands were next to his chest as they began to take on a golden glow with a red swirl roaming around the light. He pushed his hands forward letting the accumulated power unleash upon the unfortunate bandits.
Two large columns of golden light with a reddish swirls swimming around them soon formed into a large column of powerful energy.
The two remaining bandits tried to dodge to the sides as they hoped to avoid the spell but they did not expect for the column of energy to split and follow them.
As the energy hit their bodies, a large red explosion burst forth shaking the surrounding trees, extinguishing the fire of the carriage, as well as causing a loud boom that almost deafened Katherine. This was one of the spells being a Hero afforded you.
Caden stood tall as he surveyed the surrounding area, scanning for any signs of a hidden bandit. He knew of some of their tactics so he needed to be sure.
He turned slowly upon hearing a rustle in the bush behind him and found Katherine walking out of the bush with the small beastgirl beside her.
Upon seeing her mother, the little girl rushed towards her. She knelt down beside her mother crying her heart out begging and pleading for her mother to awaken. Katherine knelt down beside her comforting the girl.
Caden remembered hearing screams from within the carriage so he went to investigate. Inside he found three men, two of a slim build. They were most probably the carriage drivers. And a larger man with his hands tied behind his back. The rope still there, hanging loosely on his burnt wrists. None survived. And all looked to be in immense pain.
Caden found an area near a very large tree about a few dozen meters from the carriage crash and using his strength and speed dug four holes. He intended to bury these people as they should. With the proper respects. While Katherine comforted the little girl, Caden moved swiftly to get her father and the other workers to their graves without her seeing. This he did successfully.
He walked over to the fallen mother and softly picked her up. The little girl complaining that he shouldn't touch her. Katherine, however, did her part, she kept the girl company as Caden buried her mother next to her father.
The little girl seemed to catch on what he was doing and her complaining ceased. Instead she hung onto Katherine and only moved when Katherine did.
Once the four were buried Caden moved some broken pieces of the carriage that seemed to avoid the fire and used them as the gravestones.
It took about an hour to finish all of this and now Caden and Katherine stood watching the little girl pay her respects.
"We have to take her with us." Katherine said softly as she watched the little girl shake in front of her mother's grave.
"We can't." Caden replied as his mind began to think of all the things they might be put through and didn't want a little girl to go through the same.
"This is the order of the Queen. You can't say no." Katherine said as she stuck her tongue out at Caden but quickly frowned when it failed to produce a smile on his face.
"We will be going through the harsh reality of the outside world, and you want to bring a little girl into the mix." Caden said as he glanced at Katherine who stared wide eyed at him. "What?"
"You referred to her as a girl." Katherine said as a soft smile spread across her lips.
"Why is that interesting?" Caden asked as he became slightly confused.
"Girls of her heritage and that of the beastmen are not treated the same within my kingdom. As much as I tried to change that, it never stuck. People see them as less than human slaves. Just beings to relieve their stress and fetishes on." She said as her face contorted into one of disgust before it softened once more. "Yet you don't. You see her as a little girl."
"That's all she is." Caden responded as he turned to face the little girl who had now moved to Katherine's right. "How can I see differently?"
"It's just amazing." Katherine said as she cast a soft smile towards the little girl. "And she is coming with us, no matter what you say. Otherwise she will be caught and turned into a slave. Which I cannot allow." Katherine demanded as she held the hand of the little girl tightly.
"Fine. She can come." Caden replied when he heard about her fate. He couldn't allow that.
"But one more thing." Katherine said as her voice dropped low. "And you might not like it."
"What is it?" Caden said as he turned to Katherine and stared into her eyes. He gave off an intimidating aura which strangely didn't affect the little girl. Instead she let go of Katherine and made her way over to him. She now stood right in front of him staring up into his eyes.
Caden felt his insides squirm at her gaze and found that he could not deny her. Something within him was stopping the thought process.
"You need to give her your slave mark." Katherine said with a pained expression.