It was a resounding blast of the whistle that woke everyone up in the morning. They all go up and were given five minutes to brush their teeth, freshen up and come out. They all rushed out when they were through. They were arranged in two groups. The man who everyone longed to see came out and addressed them. He was the head warrior of the Abasia Kingdom. He commanded great respect and notability from everyone. They all stood still focusing on him. He stood on the platform and began gradually. " Hmm! I officially welcome you all to the palace. You already know who I am, I don't need any form of introduction. I am the head warrior. You all already know why you are all here. Without wasting any more time because we are all behind the clock, your training begins today. We only have two weeks from now to train you. We shall pick the best twenty among you to embark on the missing to save the princess. You already know the prize that follows. Come back with the princess and have your futur
" I knew we will make the final list, I already knew it," Jack said. When the others had left the palace. A few minutes later, the head warrior called together the twenty chosen ones for admonition. " Finally, we have what we are looking for. Thank the gods that you were bestowed this great privilege to go on this mission. All you will need will be provided in your luggage. We shall leave at the first light at dawn tomorrow. The king and all the Chiefs will address you soon." The Chief warriors informed the twenty chosen ones. He sent them back to their quarters to have their baths. He gave them just five minutes to do so. King Abasiama Ekpeyong sat on his throne with his chiefs by his side. The twenty chosen youths all had seats facing the great king. They awaited his final farewell speech before they went on the expenditure. " My children, I can't tell you how I'm feeling right now since the absence of my daughter. It is my prayer that the gids of our land guide you."
The journey to the land of Amah was very tedious for the two groups. This was because they had to pass through the forest unseen. It took the groups two days and a half before they got to the boundary bof Amah Kingdom. Jacquard's group was called MGA which meant mission group A while Jack group was called MGB which meant, mission group B. The leader of MGA was called Drake. He was the oldest among the boys and had more knowledge about different missions. He lead his boys to Amah Land and they pitched their tents in the forest a little farther from the kingdom. "We shall camp here until night fall. We shall send two of us into the kingdom as spies. They will go in disguise and ask around. We want to know how weak or strong the guards in the palace are. They also have to learn many other things as well," Drake said. Jacquard and another guy called Uchendu were sent on the errand. This was because they were the two most wise and intelligent among the others. They
Jacquard and Uchendu became attentive. They knew the guards were more than twenty only those stationed at the princess room might be twenty. They expected bye drunkard to mention the weak points of the guards but he seemed to be carried away by excitement. " Tell us, what are the weak points of the guards?" Jacquard asked patiently. "Oh, the weakness... The weakness," the man said and began to doze off. They did their best to make him reveal it but he did not. He soon slept off and began to snore. They became fed up, night was falling gradually. They needed to get back to the camp. " I think we have to take the little information we gathered back to the camp. They would have been expecting us. I don't think we will be able to get anything more from him. We have to go back now," Jacquard advised. " I think you are right. Let's go back to the camp at once," Uchendu agreed. They left for the camp to inform the others of their findings. Upon getting there, they are already prepared t
Drake and the others went to the room where the princess was kept. They opened the door and saw her lying in the bed but she was not sleeping, wide awake. As soon as she saw then, she became alarmed and stood up to defend herself. She did not know who they were because their faces were covered." Who are you? What did you want from me?" She cried out holding a small kitchen knife. Drake drew closer to her and took off his mask. Don't be afraid, Princess, we are from Abasia Kingdom."Otutu informed her. The princess became relieved and lowered her weapon. " Oh, may the ancestors be praised. Finally, I am going back to my father, to my kingdom and to my people." She said joyfully. Then she suddenly remembered. " What about my father, King Abasiama Ekpeyong? How has been faring since my capture? "" He is doing fine now. You know how it is with the king whenever you are away. But before we left the kingdom, he was fine. We promised him that no matter what, we will make sure we bring you
The fight between the chosen youth and the warriors of ah kingdom was so fierce that many of the youth were killed. But before this happened, the youth had done a lot of damage. They killed as many as possible and also set part of Amah's palace ablaze. Those who were still alive among the youth ran as fast as their legs could carry them into the forest while a hot chase followed suit by the Amah warriors. The groups scattered all around. Among the twenty Chosen youths, twelve were killed including the leaders of the two groups. Drake and Josh. The rest went their separate ways trying to save themselves. Jacquard had gone far into the forest with the princess still strapped to his back and Uchendu was still trailing him. When they were sure that they had gone far away from the Amah Kingdom into the forest, they decided to rest. "My princess, I seek your permission to rest for a while. We did not know where we are right now but I believe we have left the Amah Kingdom far behind." Jac
The princess looked deeply, " it seems we have met before." She said. " What is your name and which part of Abasia Kingdom do you come from?" The princess questioned him interestingly. " My princess l, I am just a nobody from a western part of this nation. It was a tribal war that chased my mother, brother, and me to the south. We lived in Ifakoko village not too far from Abasia Kingdom. When we heard that you were captured, we had to join the groups coming to rescue you. We were twenty chosen youths that came for you. I believe most of them might have lost their lives by now. I have to do all in my power to get you home, even if it means falling," Jacquard said assuredly. The princess looked at him. He was really handsome and brave. " My princess I perceive you might be thirsty and hungry. Let me go in search of the water of you." " No, no, don't leave me alone. I am okay. I just need to rest a while," the princess said. She opened the little bag she had with her and brought a con
They entered the hut and found a mat lying on the ground. On it, they laid Uchendu. " Let me look around to be sure of utmost safety once again," Jacquard said when they laid Uchendu down. " I will come with you." The princess said coming out to meet Jacquard. The former stared at her. " You don't have to, it might be dangerous. Besides, I will have to search for food from us." Jacquard protested. " I will come with you. I want to help. I can't let you go by yourself." The princess stressed further. They both went along. After checking around and being assured of the safety of the hut, they decided to go in search of food and water. They walked far into the forest and were lucky to find an old trap that had a rabbit caught in it. The princess smiled and they both took the meat from the trap. They walked farther still and came across a floating river. They filled Tyr Princess' container with water. Jacquard also looked around and found another container. They filled it with wate
I'm still surprised that she remembers me by my first name. She lets me pick the books that I want to, after we've returned the previous ones to their rightful places.When I'm done, she leads me back to her table, and make me sign on the record book once again, after re-writing my name, and the new date.Outside, I have three textbooks, all cramped to my chest. Damn, these are heavy even when they'd looked as though they would be light.I am about crossing the road when I heard, "Rash." It's a familiar voice. I turn to the person. Dean's grinning. He wears a black jacket on top, inner white shirt under and a blue jean. The sole of his canvas kinds of lit under the day light. "Hey." I say back, coolly."Um, what're you doing here?" Whilst saying, his eyes dart to the library's building, "oh, came here?""Yeah." Is all I say, staring into his eyes. I see they are green. They are so bright. The beauty runs in the family, don't you think?"Hey, what's up with you?" He notices.Well, h
"Rash!" Oh, boy. I hurry up and get a plain blue towel around my waist while there's another in my hands, being used to clean my face and torso. I get out of the bathroom and go to the closet. I put on a simple nylon black shirt, long enough that the hem stops around my thighs, and a khaki short. On the way, I slip into my flip-flops, getting down the stairs, I see aunt Melissa, giggling to the screen of her phone. She's Face-timing with someone, and really, I don't want to know who it is. When she catch my figure, walking to the couch, she quickly wraps it up and tells me. "So, what's the plan?" I shrug. She's placing her phone away, and concentrating on me. "I don't know." "You're a dickhead." She says. Well, I have a dickhead, the thought comes abruptly but I quickly shake it away. "What do you think...wait, where's granny?" "She's not around." Remember that I said she and granny never gets along. This is one of the obviousness that I mean. Granny is religious on her si
As Jacquard fainted, Jack couldn't believe his luck. He had always envied his brother's skills and successes, and now he had the chance to claim the glory for himself. He approached the unconscious form of his brother and the princess, carefully picking her up and cradling her in his arms. He looked down at her sleeping face, and couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation. He had always wanted to prove himself to the kingdom, to show that he was just as capable as his brother, and this was his chance. “Yes! This is my perfect victory. That’s right… I win!” He exclaimed joyfully. Jack's heart leapt with fulfillment although he did his best to conceal it. He felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders, and the weight of his envy and resentment had been lifted away. The mission to rescue Princess Diana was a success, and he was the hero who saved her. It was all he had ever wanted, and now that he had it, he could barely contain his elation.
Jacquard started to panic as he realized how close the warriors were getting. He knew he had to think as fast as possible and come up with a plan that could at least put him on the higher ground of the table of turbulence. "What do I do now? It’s only getting more and more complicated!" Jacquard thought to himself, with a faint trace of fear. "I can't let them catch me with the princess. We’ll be done for." He said He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. "Think, Jacquard , think," he whispered to himself. "What can I do to get out of this situation?" Just at the moment when he was still thinking, the memories of the charm song his mother taught him flooded his mind. "Maybe that's it," he said to himself. "Maybe the charm song can help me get out of this." He started to hum the song softly, hoping it would have the same effect as it did the last time. But as he hummed, he noticed that the warriors were getting even closer. He needed to sing the song louder. He too
Jacquard continued running through the night with memories of his past flooding his mind. He remembered the times he spent with his family before they were left by him and his brother, by the proposal of the neighboring kingdom's soldiers. The pain of leaving his loved ones was too much to bear, but the thought of the princess's safety gave him the strength to keep moving. He thought back to the time he and his twin brother, Jacquard uard, went to their friend's farm. They had so much fun working and playing together, but a little argument over who should carry the most harvest nearly ruined their day. Jacquard wanted to carry more than his fair share, but Jacquard insisted on carrying an equal amount. Jacquard smiled as he continued remember how the words of Lucky had diffused the situation in a lucid illusion. They all ended up carrying an equal amount and left the farm with big smiles on their faces. It was moments like those that made him miss his family even more. The memories
As Jacquard thought back to that day, he smiled to himself, remembering the fun they had at the farm. He could almost smell the scent of the fresh crops and feel the warmth of the sun on his skin. But his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rustling bushes nearby. He stopped in his tracks and listened carefully. “Shit!” He exclaimed. “What’s that? Oh my God I hope it’s not what I’m thinking?” He asked himself quietly in fear and trepidation. ”Is it the sound of Amah warriors approaching?” He continued to ruminate. He couldn't take any chances. He carefully placed Princess Princess Princess Diana on the ground and crouched down, ready to attack if need be. The sound of rustling bushes grew louder and louder, but to his surprise, it was just a small animal, a bunny for that matter, scurrying away. Jacquard breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the princess once more. “Such a drag. These animals sure can get one a really high blood pressure.” He said to himself, after wh
Jacquard was relieved that he had finally found some water. As he drank, he could feel his energy returning, and he knew that he needed to act quickly to save Princess Diana . He ran back to her side and gently placed his hand on her forehead. She was burning up, and he knew that time was running out. "Your Highness, can you hear me?" he asked, his voice trembling with fear. There was no response, and Jacquard felt his heart sink. He sprinkled some water on her face, hoping that it would wake her up. Slowly but surely, Princess Diana 's eyelids began to flutter, and she opened her eyes. She looked up at Jacquard , and for a moment, he could see the fear in her eyes. "Don't worry, Your Highness," he said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "I'm here to protect you. Just take it easy and drink some water." He held the water up to her lips, and she took a few sips. Jacquard could feel the tension in his body starting to ease as he saw her regain some strength. They couldn't st
Jacquard could still feel the weight of the princess pressing on his back as he moved further, making every step more difficult than the last. He could feel the heat of the sun bearing down on him, the sweat trickling down his face, mixing with his tears, and he just wished it would all end already. He couldn't help but think that they were doomed, that they would never make it out alive. But then he remembered his training, his years of preparation for a moment like this. He couldn't give up now, not when the princess's life was on the line. "Stay with me, Your Highness," he said, his voice strained with exhaustion. "We're almost there." He yelled. But Princess Diana remained unresponsive, her breathing shallow and weak. Jacquard felt a sense of despair wash over him. He couldn't carry her much further, and they were still far from safety. He didn't know what to do. As they continued to run, Jacquard could hear the sound of the Amah warriors getting closer and closer. He felt a
As they continued their treacherous journey, Jacquard's mind was racing with thoughts. “Could this be the end? After all I have gone through alongside my brother Jacquard ? Never! I won’t allow that. I promised mom I’ll be back. No! We will be back!” He swore to himself as encouragement. He couldn't afford to let the princess down. He had been tasked with her safety, and he was determined to see it through to the end. He could feel her weight on his shoulders dropping on every single one of his nerves, applying pressure on his well bred muscles and tendons, and he knew that if he stumbled, they would both fall. The adrenaline was pumping through his veins, but it was starting to wear off. The pain in his legs and back was becoming unbearable, but he pushed through it. "Are you okay, Jacquard ?" Princess Diana's voice was weak, barely audible over the sound of his footsteps. He was running as silently as possible to avoid any sneak attack… that was one of the military logics of the