THE DANGEROUS ROAD

Cord- the sorcerer's daughter had not left the fortress since she was told about her father's death over a year ago but now she's leaving- not to pick flowers as she would have loved to do but to escape from danger. She saw the intruder looking straight into her eyes; she could see the fire that burned in his soul and a terrible anger waiting to explode like a volcano but there was something else too- something almost divine beneath the beastly aura of violence. 

"Princess Cord, dock!" one of the guards protecting her shouted to warn her of a branch hanging in her way and she bent her head just in time as they kept riding hard into the woods. 

The guards had one job: protecting Cord even if it cost them their lives. 

Suddenly, they heard the howl of a wolf from a distance- it was blood-cuddling. They could almost feel the whole forest vibrate. They didn't stop though, they kept riding hard on their horses away from the fortress. 

Just before they got to the Blade lake river, they heard the howl once more and a big black wolf leaped out of the woods, the wolf ripped off the head of one of the guards and disappeared into the woods again- leaving the guard headless on the floor with his horse running off into the dark. They didn't stop riding hard, they kept fleeing while shooting arrows in every direction- hoping to hit the strange beast with their arrows. 

The wolf leaped out again, this time it attacked the 3 guards closest to Cord. It disemboweled one with its sharp claws, then it sent the second one flying with a headbutt, the guard slammed against a tree and dropped dead immediately. Before it could pounce on the third, Cord screamed in fear. The sound of her screaming knocked the wolf back into the woods. Her scream was so powerful the wolf crashed into trees- breaking them and knocking them over for about a hundred meters. 

"Is it dead?", one of the guards asked with his voice shaky. 

"Shut up and protect the princess! We can't let down our guard until we've removed the head of that animal" the captain of the guards ordered. 

The guards surrounded the princess and kept her in the center as they stayed alert for any further sign of danger. All the while, Cord could hardly breathe. She was scared because she had never seen such an amount of carnage in her life. 

"What just happened? Why is that beast trying to kill us just after a boy intruded into our home? And how did I send it flying into the forest with a scream? What's happening to me???" Cord wondered in her mind. 

Out of the darkness, they heard a loud howl but it wasn't just a howl this time, other wolves howled in reply from different parts of the forest. 

"Damn! Are there more of that thing? We're dead! Forgive me Princess Cord, we're going to d…" one of the guards screamed and the captain cut him short with a slap. 

"Shut up abuli! If you're going to die, die with honour or I'll kill you myself right now! Anyone who tries to flee will die by my sword. Stand your ground and defend the princess!" the captain ordered. 

Before the captain could finish talking, a pack of wolves leaped out of the forest to attack the guards from all sides. It was chaotic everywhere. While the guards were fighting off the wolves and losing, Iron bath (in his full wolf form) leaped out of the woods and dragged Cord into the dark. He dragged her faster than the human eyes could follow, taking her deep into the forest.

When he had taken her far enough, he dropped her at the base of a big Tic tree. Cord watched in confusion as the wolf transformed into the boy she saw earlier in the palace. He was completely naked with with the chiseled outline of his body showing under the full moon. 

She tried to scream but Bath (a shortened form of the name Iron) hit her on the neck with the edge of his palm before she could make a sound. She fell unconscious immediately and Iron bathi caught her before she hit the ground. He then lifted her unconscious on his shoulder as he ran away with inhuman speed. 

Arisi regained her consciousness 2 hours later on a boat. There she sat with her abductor (Iron bath) rowing the boat. She was scared but also confused. She wondered why the boy would- or whatever he was- would go through so much trouble and kill all those guards just to abduct her. She wanted to ask, but she was gagged and tied.

"I see you are awake. Pardon me for tying you up and gagging you. It's a necessary precaution after your scream last night. Not like your evil dad didn't do much worse to other kids but it's natural for Love land men to be polite" Cord said. 

So they stared at each other for the rest of the boat trip without uttering a sound except the occasional muffled noises Cord made. 

It would have been a shorter journey but Cord chose not to take her to the usually busy bay in order to avoid public scrutiny- it would prove to be a little hard for him to explain why he had a girl tied up and gagged in his possession. Besides, he was still keeping a low profile. So, he took her to the Python's Head bay instead- it was believed that a mighty python lived in the shallow waters of the bay and it would often hunt those who go there so almost everyone avoided it. Except the Camelon assassins who used it from time to time to move in and out of the kingdom undetected. 

When he got to the bay, he tethered the boat to a tree and climbed out of the boat with Camelon on his shoulder. She was thrashing and kicking and pounding on his back. 

"Let me go!" she kept trying to say through her gagged mouth. 

"I can't hear you princess. Stay still or I might have to put you to sleep again", Iron bath said to her. 

Out of nowhere, a little girl of about 8 years came to him. She wore a white gown with a wooden cap shaped like a python head. 

"Hello mister, my daddy said you should pay a tribute before you can pass through our home" she said. 

"What are you talking about girl? I don't need to pay any tribute. I've never even heard of such. I've been passing through this bay for quite a while and I've never even seen you? Besides, what's your name and who's your dad?" Iron bath replied. 

"You will pay a tribute or my daddy will be angry. Only our Camelon friends are allowed to pass without tributes. You don't smell like them. You're not Camelon" she said. 

Iron bath was getting impatient at this point, he wondered if the kid was with a band of robbers or something. To make it worse, she told him he was not an Camelon to his face- how dare she! 

"Now, listen you little brat. If it's money you want, I don't have any money on me. You can have my boat though. Just tell your 'daddy' to stay out of my way. I have no intention of shedding blood this early" Iron bath said like he was scolding the girl. 

"We don't need money. Give us what is dearest to you or daddy will be angry. Daddy will be very angry" the little girl said with a genuine look of concern that made Cord pity her a little. 

"Okay, what do you want? Honestly, that boat is the most valuable thing you can get right now. There, take it and go okay?" Iron bath said with all the softness he could muster. 

"Give her to us, she's a perfect tribute. We'll accept her." the little girl said as she pointed to Cord. 

Iron bath was shocked by the demand. Though Cord was a target he was sent to kill, he felt like he couldn't give her up for the world. 

"Look here you brat, I'm not giving you nothing. Now, get out of my way before I send you crying to your daddy" he said. 

"Daddy will be angry. Daddy will be angry. Daddy will be angry." the little girl kept muttering as she walked away. 

Cord watched her walk away for a bit before turning to continue his journey with Cordi kicking and thrashing on his shoulder. 

That instant, he picked a sound coming from the water- it was the sound of something big swimming towards the bay. Suddenly a monstrously huge python came out of the water and charged towards Iron bath.