I look at the girl sitting in front of me, my arms crossed in front of me. She doesn't meet my eyes, only avoids them. I stay standing above her, now changed into my Knight's uniform with my sword on my hip. I had informed the Knight Master about what I figured out, and he along with some other Knights went to meet the carriage that held the supposed Lady Nicole. I glare down at the girl, and she winces even though she doesn't see my eyes.
"Would you like to try again." I say.
"I've told you the truth..." She whispers. "My name is Melinda, and I'm not really Lady Nicole's sister..." I wait. "The girl that you meet isn't Lady Nicole either...her name is Synthia and she's my older sister..." I wait some more. "We were given the job to impersionate the Noblemen's daughter, and I was to be a daughter not many knew about that had escaped the bandits that attacked the city and run ahead to make you all go look for Synthia and Renyoldo." She looks at me. "I'm sorry... We did it for money for food, and shelter." Her eyes plead with me.
"Who hired you?" I ask. She looks away.
"He's our boss."
"What's his name?"
"He's the King of Bandits..." She let's her lose hair fall in her face. "Not many know his real name, but everyone calls him Pascal the Rascal. He's taken care of Synthia and I for a long time now...so in return we work for him. He figured if he could get one of his own in here then he could become rich and powerful without many knowing." I grip my sword's hilt tigtly.
"Do you realize what you could have done!?" I ask. She winces. "You could have gotten Adam killed! Or the Queen and King!"
"I'm sorry!" She looks at me with tears in her eyes. "I only did what I was told! Pascal has taken care of Synthia and I for as long as I can remember! He saved us from starvation and illness!"
"Yea, you look like you've eaten!"
"We haven't had much food at camp! This was supposed to get us enough food for all of us! And if Synthia and I were here then we'd always have what Pascal wanted for us! A home!" She starts to cry, but I only look at her with disgust. "Please...understand..." She whispers.
I turn my back on her and walk out of the room, closing the door. I hear her weep, but don't go back in. I hear footsteps coming my way and turn to see Adam's right hand guy, Henery. I look at him, unsure what he's doing here.
"Prince Adam wants to see you. I got the prisoner." I shake my head.
"She's not a prisoner, she's a confused kid who only did what she was told by people she loves." He looks at me, unsure how to responde, so I just walk down the hall. "Be nice to her." I call over my shoulder, still walking.
"Of course!" He answers.
I walk towards Adam's room, knowing that's where he is. I hear talking behind the door I pass, hearing the girl who posed as Lady Nicole's voice saying she won't say a word till she see's her sister. That's when an idea pops in my head and I decide to make Adam wait. I open the door and step in. The Knight in there looks at me, unsure what to say.
"You want to see Melinda, Synthia?" I ask, seeing shock as I use her real name. "Yes, I know your name. I also know the name of your Bandit King, Pascal the Rascal right?" Her face pales, and I notice her hair is no longer proper looking. "If you want to see Melinda, then you had better tell me where this camp of his is. Or I will promise you that you will never see her again. Or your Bandit King." I turn and go to walk out.
"Wait." She says. I stop, not looking at her. "If I tell you where the camp is, you'll let me see my sister?" I say nothing. "Please! I just want to see Melinda!" I look at her over my shoulder.
"If you tell us and it's accurate infomation, then I shall see to it myself that you'll see your sister." Her eyes narrow.
"How do I know I can trust you? Your the one who got Melinda to turn on me and tell you the truth, aren't you?" I don't answer. "I figured. She wouldn't talk to a man about the plan..." She looks down, sighing, then looks at me. I see a fire in her eyes, and I can see the strength that Melinda lacked. "Fine. I will show you were the camp is if I can see my sister!" I nod.
"I wil ltalk to the Prince, I will be back." I start to leave agian.
"Wait.." She whispers, causing me to look back at her. "Tell him that I am sorry..."
"Why do you care?"
"I know what it's liked to be tricked into thinking that someone loved you..." I smrik.
"The Prince had never meet or spoke to Lady Nicole, he didn't know if he would love her or even like her." I leave then, seeing her shocked face.
I walk to the other side of the North Wing, knocking on Adam's door.
"Enter." He says, so I do. I look at him. "There you are Cindy."
"Hello Adam. Are you alright? Did anything happen?" I shake my head.
"Other than being tricked, no. They were not meant to kill me, only to fool me so I would marry that woman. What is her name?"
"Synthia. She works for someone known as the Bandit King."
"Bandit King?"
"Yes, Melinda told me about him. No one knows his real name, just calls him Pascal the Rascal. Synthia is going to lead me to their camp in exchange to see her sister."
"What?"
"I told her I'd let her see her sister if I got to go to the camp. I want to meet this Bandit King-"
"There is no need for that Cinderella." I turn to see the King and Knight Master enter the room.
"What? The Bandit King could know where Lady Nicole is."
"Lady Nicole's parents have just arrived with a message from the Badnit King." Knight Master says. "He wants Synthia and Melinda back or Lady Nicole dies." I frown. "And he wants the Knight that caught them to make the exchange along with the Prince."
"When?" Adam and I ask.
"You have a week to ride to the Great Lake with Melinda and Synthia. Some of his men will be waiting for them with Nicole."
"A week! IT takes longer to get there on horseback than a week!" Adam says.
"We can do it." I say. "Vivan and I have riden up there in a week, I'm sure we can do it again." The Knight Master nods.
"This is your first real mission as a Knight, don't fail." He looks at me. "Your to protect Adam above all else, Lady Nicole is second." I nod. "Adam, you'll worry about Lady Nicole. She is your fiancee after all." Adam nods. "Now go, you have a week from midnight tonight."
Adam and I turn and race outside to the Horse Stalls, finding that Vivian and Lightening are ready for us. Two Knights hold our prisioners for us as the Horse Master finsishes tightening Lightening's saddle. I take the bow and arrow that's handed to me, and Adam takes a helement.
"Good luck Madame, missure!" The Horse Master says as we jump on our horses. "God's Speed!"
The Knights helpd Synthia on Adam's horse, and Melinda on mine. As soon as we're set, and my bow and arrows are in place on my back and Melinda in front of me; and Adam's helement down and Synthia in front of him, we take off at a trot. The gates open so we don't have to jump it like usual, we just run straight on. I feel Melinda shift, trying to get comfy on the front of the saddle. I hear my bow hitting my back with a soft THUNK. I lead the way, knowing a quicker way than the path that leads around the bad part of the forest. I hear Lightening behind us, starting to huff and puff.
"We should slow down for awhile to let the horses gain some stamina back." I yell back at Adam.
"Alright, just don't stop!" He yells back.
"Alright!"
I slow Vivian to a fast walk, holding onto Melinda so she doesn't fall off from the bumbiness. The sun sets, causing the dark forest to be even darker. I instruct Melinda to light the lantern she's been holding, and we have light. We don't stop the whole first night other than one time when we crossed a small creek so that the horses could drink and we could all relieve ourselves. Then we set off again at a slow trot, watching for holes in the ground that would twist a horses ankle like a twig. Melinda fell asleep as the moon rose, but I think Synthia stayed wide awake the whole night, watching us. We finally stop when the moon reaches it's highest point in the sky.
Midnight.
-~-~-~-Seven Days Left-~-~-~-
We dismount, making a fire and putting out the lantern to conserve oil. I lay Melinda on a pile of leaves, and Synthia sits beside her wide awake. Adam and I take turns sleeping and watching them, but they never try to escape from us. I sit by the fire awake, my turn to watch when Synthia finally speaks for the first time since we made the deal.
"Why are you doing this?" I look at her. "You said the Prince has never meet Lady Nicole, yet you both are going after her."
"He may not know her, but he is doing what he knows is right."
"How does he know marrying a stranger is right?" I shrug.
"That's his decision. He's willing to try to get to know her and love her for the Kingdom. His mother would rather he chose his wife himself, but she and the King made a deal with a Noblemen a very long time ago." I poke at the fire. "So Adam is going to try. If they do not fall in love, then he will pick his bride at the Ball."
"Oh..." And that was all we spoke.
I woke Adam up for his shift when Synthia fell asleep. He told me he'd wake me before Dawn so we could move on. So I fall asleep, dreaming of the Ball and Knighthood.
-~-~-~-
Adam woke me before Dawn, when the animals started to stir. We woke Synthia and Melinda when camp was packed up, and we set off. We rode as long as Vivian and Lightening could ride at once, then stopped and had lunch on the outskirt of a nice field. The horses ate grass while we ate our food. Once we had finished and the horses were ready, we set out again. We rode the rest of the day, not stopping until night had fallen and the moon was nearly at it's peak. We stopped then, doing what we did the night before. Only this time, Synthia didn't speak to me.
-~-~-~-Four Days Left-~-~-~-
It's been three days since we'd left the Palace, and we had a routine for our days. We'd start riding before dawn, stopping when the horses were tired and we found a good stopping place, then riding until the moon was nearly at it's peak. Adam and I would take turns on watch duty while the other slept. Some nights Melinda would talk alittle about the ride and sights we'd seen that day just so it wasn't so quite, but mostly we would all reamin in silence. We were less than halfway to the Great Lake and only two days from the closest town to the Lake. Once we were at the town, we could take it easy as long as nothing delays us. I could not wait to see the Great Lake, I hadn't seen it since my last birthday when Vivian and I rode there in less than a week.
"Cindy, what if it's a trap?" Adam asked me out of the blue.
"I thought you were asleep." I tell him, looking over at Synthia and Melinda, both sleeping.
"I woke up." He said. "You didn't answer me."
"Then I suppose we will fight our way out as always. We'll take Lady Nicole and ride back before the Ball."
"And if they've killed her?" I look over at Synthia, looking at us with those big stormy grey eyes. "What if they've killed Lady Nicole? What will you do then?" She asks.
"Then I will kill whoever killed her." Adam says.
"Then?"
"I will return home, and mourn." He says. "I may not know her, but I would mourn all the same."
"For looks?" He looks at her.
"No. Because no one deserves to be murdered." She nods.
"I see." She looks down at Melinda. "Our parents were murdered..." She whispers. "Right in front of us." She stroaks Melinda's head. "The Bandit King busted in and saved us. Melinda was to young to remember, thank God. But I remember my mother's screams...my father cursing and yelling..." She closes her eyes. "If it weren't for Pascal, I'd be dead. As would Melinda." She looks at Adam. "If the Bandit King is there, and he murders Lady Nicole, take my life instead of his. He is a good man who would do anything for his own." Adam looks taken back. "Please. Kill me and not him. He's the only one who Melinda trusts other than myself, and he's to good to die."
"He kidnapped my fiancee." Adam growls.
"To support his own." She says. "He wouldn't do anything if it didn't mean that his own didn't get something they needed. In fact he only lets his bandits do a crime or kill for that reason." Adam stands, turning and walking into the dark. I watch him go. "Please." I look back at Synthia. "Don't let him kill the Bandit King." I don't reply.
Adam returns a little later, Synthia really asleep this time. He sits down and tells me to sleep, so I do.
-~-~-~-Three Days Left-~-~-~-
When I open my eyes, Adam is packing camp.
"Wake them up, we're going."
"Alright."
I wake them up, and get them ready. Melinda nearly falls off the saddle she's still tired. I hold onto her as we trot until we reach the river that leads to the Great Lake. We let the horses drink and eat while we do the same. Synthia stays quiet, and sits closer to the horses than Adam and I, making us watch her more. After lunch, we mount our horses and head off. By nightfall, we're nearly at the town. A few more miles, and we'll be there. We all sleep peacfully, Adam and I still take shifts watching the girls and around us.
-~-~-~-Two Days Left-~-~-~-
I'm the one awake before dawn, so I wake Adam to help me get camp packed up. We wake the girls and head out. Letting the horses walk since we have two days left and are almost to the Lake. Every so often, we let them trot to let some energy out, but mostly we walk across the vast field that surronds the town and Lake. I feel edgy for some reason, looking around, feeling eyes on us. I finally stop Vivian, causing Adam to look back at me and Melinda as I look around. The field is surrounded by forest, so really it's just a big clearing in the heart of the forest, so anyone could be watching us. I squint, trying to see someone watching us, but I see none.
"Cindy?" Adam says, most likely not the first time. "What is it?"
"I dunno, but I feel like someone is watching us." I frown, then look at him. "I think we should get to the town and go to your family's cottage." He nods. "Come on girl."
I click and kick Vivian, causing her to trot forward. Adam does the same, and we reach the town. People stare at us as we slow to a walk. A few Knights walk over to us, but nod when they see it's Prince Adam.
"Your highness." One says, all fo them bowing. "We had no word that you would be riding into town."
"It was last minute." He says. "We'll be staying at the cottage for the next three or four days."
"Of course." They bow again, letting us pass.
We reach the cottage and I take the girls inside as Adam takes the horses back to the Horse Master here. I take them to their room, the purple room, and let them settle in. I have a maid stay with them so I can go to the room the Queen and King gave to me. I strip my Knight uniform off, and slip into normal clothes. I stretch and do some warm ups to relax some tense muscles. I hear Adam walk past my room and stop, but just keep stretching and warming up. Finally, he knocks.
"Yes?" I ask.
"May I enter?"
"Of course." I reply. "It's your cottage." He smiles as he comes in, chuckling.
"True."
"Something you need?" I ask, still stretching.
"Checking in. What was wrong outside of town?"
"I felt eyes on me." I stop stretching. "And they were not friendly. I think the Bandit King is watching us, and I wouldn't be surprised if we got a note saying to come early."
"Prehaps we should see if anyone in town has heard of this Bandit King?" Adam says. "They won't tell us more than they already have, and Synthia won't say a single bad word agaist him." I nod.
"I'll do it. Everyone will be more intereasted in you being the Prince, to them, I'm just a girl."