"Zaina, where is Miranda?" Dimitri questioned as he pulled back and stared at the girl who did not show any changes in her expressions. She was calm and relaxed as she had already gone through what she was supposed to tell the man who was more observant than she had imagined him to be.
Zaina had already prepared herself for the question and she smiled to herself, praising herself as well as her friend, Miranda for their smartness, more to Miranda though. It was her who had given her the courage and the hope she needed at her desperate time.
"Milord, Miranda's relative is ill and she has gone to meet her family in her village," Zaina uttered. She did not specify which relative of hers was sick as that would make things difficult for the girl in case Dimitri were to investigate the truth. Zaina had heard Miranda speak about a distant relative of hers from her mother's side who was on her death bed. So, she was, in fact, not lying to Dimitri.
"I s
Cathal had reached Hollis the previous night and had waited for the break of dawn to meet the Lord of Hollis. Although he had prepared himself to meet the Lord and speak to him, he could remove the distress and uneasiness in his mind that had taken its seed the moment he had departed from Volar.His trepidation only grew and terror settled in when he too heard about the dead men found at the entrance of the kingdom gates. He knew that the Lord would be fuming by now, and this was not the right time to meet him; especially when it was his kingdom men who killed the men of Hollis.The moment he had arrived at the palace, the guards had given him a look of hatred and disgust. It was not that the men hated the people of Volar, no. Unlike Dimitri and some fawning and fussing ministers who agreed with everything the Lord demanded without thinking, just for their greed and selfishness, everybody else from the kingdom of Hollis, including the knights and the other men treated
"What if I want nothing but war and want to kill your Lord? What will you do?" Dimitri asked, a sinister smile making its way on his face. His smile made him look all the more evil and cunning and Cathal, for the first time after entering Hollis, did not feel afraid of him."In that case, we the people of Volar will fight until our last breath. But we will not lose hope and accept our defeat without putting our best." The man spoke, determination and confidence dripping in his words. He was certain that these words of his would make the man before him lose his cool and irk him. But he was here on his Lord's orders and he had taken up the responsibility to negotiate and bring peace between the two kingdoms.Dimitri raised an eyebrow listening to Cathal's bold words. "May I know what your name is?" He questioned, his menacing smile not leaving his face. 'I appreciate the people around Eldrick. All of them are strong and courageous, unlike the men in my kingdo
The courtroom, Hollis.Cathal stood outside the courtroom while he watched all the ministers and high ranked knights enter in one by one. He did not bother to even smile at them, especially after what had happened to him in the guest room. The moment Dimitri had tried to poison him, Cathal had lost all the respect he had for Dimitri and Hollis. Now, all that remained was hostility and hatred for the enemies.Cathal and the four knights who had accompanied him for protection waited for a few moments until one of the knights of Hollis called them inside. The previous time when he had met Dimitri, Cathal had requested his knights to stay outside, while he decided to face the man himself. However now, he had asked the men to accompany him as he was not certain how things would turn out in the courtroom. Dimitri was not a man who could be trusted and there was no way he was willing to take risks and put his life at stake.Cathal entered, the four knights tailing him
"I, Cathal Bringe, the messenger of peace from Volar, with the power bestowed upon me by the kingdom of Volar and Lord Eldrick, declare that the kingdom of Volar is at war with the kingdom of Hollis." Cathal declared and held his sword in front of him ready to fight anybody who wished to attack him.Following his words, the four knights behind him too held their swords, their eyes sharp and on high alert. They gazed around the hall, counting the number of people who seemed to be ready to attack them.Unlike Cathal who was not well versed in the tactics of war and attack, the four knights who had accompanied him knew the stratagem and schemes of battle. They had already sensed that the number of knights they could see was not the correct count. There were many more who were hiding in the dark and the four knights had estimated their count and positions.Seeing the five people ready to battle it out in the courtroom, the knights of Hollis too steeled themselves, p
Cathal and the four knights left the palace at once, not wanting to stay at the place where there was a danger to their lives. Also, they could not trust anybody from Hollis now as they were at war. Although there were rules to be followed when two kingdoms were at war, they were certain that Dimitri would ignore all of them and attack them relentlessly if they prolonged their stay."Minister Bringe, we must be careful until we leave Hollis." One of the knights alerted the man who was lost in thoughts. The five men were riding towards the inn where they had stayed the previous night to retrieve their belongings."I understand. Everybody, please be wary about your surroundings and if possible, let's all stay together. We do not want to die here, on the lands of our enemy." Cathal stated and the four knights nodded. It was an honor to die for their motherland, but it was a dishonor for them if they were to die in their enemy kingdom, after being captured by a
The entire arena was plunged into silence. Dimitri stood in front of all the knights in his army, with his hands behind his back. Although the knights could not detect his state of mind, they were sure that he was anything but normal and fine at that moment. His calm expression gave nothing away. But it could not be said the same about his eyes, which looked sinister and vexed even from afar.The Knights held their spears waiting for the man to speak. They had already got the news of what had happened in the courtroom and rumors had spread across the kingdom about the possible war between Volar and Hollis. They wondered if this was what their Lord would address seeing how annoyed and provoked he looked.Dimitri stopped walking on the podium and stood before his army, cunningness oozing in his expression. "I am annoyed." He started and darted his keen eyes across the arena, taking in the curious expressions on their faces. "And, all of you here must be knowing the reaso
"Anyway, let us get back to what we were discussing before. What topic were we on before I killed the knight?" Dimitri started to walk again, his sudden change in demeanor stunning everyone. Dimitri did not stop this time, even though he saw many knights stiffen as he approached them.Nobody answered this time, and Dimtri went back to his position from where he could look over everyone. "I was pointing out the faults and weaknesses of our knights and as far as I remember, the list is a long one. Now, I am starting to wonder if I am rearing useless buffaloes in my army."As soon as Dimitri uttered these words, most of the senior knights clenched their fists in anger. This was the first time they had been humiliated this way and that too by a man, who had taken over the throne years after they had been granted their knighthood. However, none of the knights had the courage to retaliate against him and they stood silently, swallowing all the insults that had been thrown at
Eldrick and Talay had spent the entire night coming up with plans to help Zaina escape from Hollis. They had to make sure that nobody got caught, while also keeping themselves safe. Talay had already studied the layout of the kingdom as well as the guards' location in the entire kingdom during his stay at Hollis. He devised a plan keeping all his findings in mind.While Eldrick was in charge of Zaina, it was he who was supposed to help her brother, Alden escape from Dimitri's clutches. Since Laurier was busy dealing with the spies, they had kept him out of the plan, deciding to intimate him later when he joined him.The plan was devised to perfection and it was be executed two days later. Other than the three men who were involved in the plan and Raelynn, nobody knew what they were up to, not even Eldrick's trusted advisor, Minister Oakley.Eldrick had made sure to keep their actions a secret lest he should raise suspicions among the people on the kingdom.