5. LET'S GO

She was taken with other hostages, they all had their hands and legs tied to one another and formed a straight chain as they walked in the cold night to the shelter where they pitched their tents far at the end of the town. The Princes and the Beta were on horses leading the troops to the camp but no one said anything till they got to their destination, only the sounds of horse hoofs, legs and dangling of chains were heard.

“it will be better if you all sleep early because we will be setting out in the morning, I don’t want a situation where anyone will delay our journey by being tired, anyone who is tired will be helped by being sent to eternal peace with the sword so you all should rest as much as you can within the given hours” the Beta announced but no one  was strong enough to answer him, they were all silent and looking at him before he motioned to the soldiers to take them to their own tents where they were chained to the ground and the soldiers were assigned to guard them in case they try anything funny

“If anyone tries to run away, don’t bother to waste your energy, just kill the person without hesitation, it’s an order” the Beta informed the soldiers guarding the tent before turning back to sleep in his own tent.

He met Jaqen and Falkor talking in front of their tents and went to them instead of retiring in his own tent

“I can see you brothers are catching up, how about we talk more while drinking? The night is a bit cold and some alcohol will definitely set our insides on fire” he suggested with a smile

“That’s a good idea, I have been fighting all day so I think I need some alcohol to replenish my strength” Falkor replied and they both burst into laughter

“You can go have your drinks by yourself, I will like to rest now since I am tired” Jaqen replied and turned to enter his own tent without waiting for their response and that made the Beta’s face turn blue due to the anger he was feeling within

“That weird brat, how can he skip the fun of having some drinks over victory” Falkor snapped but the Beta just smiled

“Leave him, let him rest like he wish to. We can go have our fun by ourselves” Beta Loras remarked and Falkor chuckled

“That’s true, the alcohol will even be enough since it’s just the two of us” he replied heading to the tent

“I know right?” Beta Loras supported and followed him into the tent

****

All night, Elora could not sleep. The scene where her mother dived to take the sword instead of her was playing in her head numerous times. She could not forget the last meal she had with her mother just some few hours back but it felt like it has been some years back, everything happened in a flash.

Loud thunders were playing the role of firecrackers in the night and a strong wind took over, it shook the tents and everywhere but the soldiers did a great job because the tents didn’t remove no matter how strong the wind was.

A huge downpour of rain came down that very night, the rain was so heavy that the soldiers outside had to come into the tent for safety. The lights that were put on were thoroughly beaten by the rain and went off making everywhere pitch dark.

All through these turmoil, Elora’s eyes were wide opened. She couldn’t sleep a wink, she was just scanning the room through the darkness but could see nothing, she could only hear the sound of the women snoring in the tent and that alone made her madder

“How can they sleep soundly in this situation?” she said to herself as she placed her folded elbows under her head to support it when she finally lied down

As she was thinking about random things, she remembered where the lightning flashed to reveal the face of Jaqen when he asked if she wanted her head to roll beside her mom’s dead body

“That son of a bitch, I pray dogs will feed on your carcass” she muttered and closed her eyes for the hundredth time that night but this time, she lost the battle with sleep

She slept off.

****

It felt as if she had only slept for thirty minutes when she heard the soldiers hitting the gong signaling for them to wake up and get ready for the journey. Her eyes flew open and she saw that it was dawn, the darkness had lightened up and they could see what was in their fronts bit by bit.

“Are we going already?” she heard someone asked beside her and turned to look at her before answering, she was a little girl who was about ten years of age

“You poor thing” she heard herself whisper before nodding

“I think they are waking us up to get us ready, we will get going soon it seems” she replied and watch the small kid burst into another round of fresh tears

“I don’t want to go, I want to go back to my mother, she will probably be waiting for me when she comes back from the market” the little girl cried

“Your mother is not around?” she asked facing the kid who nodded immediately with all her face filled with tears

“She went to the market to sell her goods and didn’t return since morning, she wanted me to tag along but I refused blatantly because I wanted to pick fruits with my friends, now I have been taken against my will. I think I am being punished for being disobedient” the little kid cry harder making Elora speechless for a while

“You are not being punished, I am sure something will work out in our favor” she said trying to comfort the little kid even though she knew she was lying, nothing will work in their favor, they don’t even know their fates.

“Are you sure something will work in our favor? I doubt that” the kid countered and she bit her lips, she was about to reply her when they heard a loud voice sound from outside

“Bring the hostages out, we have to set out early if we are going to reach the capital today” Beta Loras instructed

He and Falkor ended up sleeping in the same tent the last night after consuming several bottles of alcohol but that didn’t make him sleep in, he has trained himself to always wake up at any time he sets his mind so it was a piece of cake for him.

He washed with face alongside the Princes and the hostages were brought out to wash their faces too before they all set out on the journey.

After travelling for up to two hours, the sun was already getting prepared to rise, the day was already clear and one could see what was in front of them clearly without trouble. They marched towards the forest leading to the capital and after travelling between the thick trees for more than five hours they got to see towns and houses.

By that time, they were already tired and famished, they could not move at a good pace anymore so the Beta signaled to the soldiers to stop and provide food for everyone so they can rest and eat before continuing the journey.

The soldiers made fire and went into the town to bring baskets of potatoes which they roasted in the already made fire. They took the Beta’s and Princes’ portion to them under the big tree where they sat before giving out one potato each to the hostages. They were merciful enough to lead them to the river where they had the chance to have their fill but they drew water back for the masters who were waiting at the place they were resting.

They resumed their travel after resting for thirty minutes and they got to a little town where Prince Jaqen halted his horse

“I think I will be stopping the journey with you here” he announced facing Falkor

“You don’t want to come to the palace? Why are you always running from the pack?” Falkor asked facing him

“You should know that the pack is not meant for me, I love to live freely and the pack wouldn’t allow that” he replied with a shrug

“A Prince should live in the palace, don’t you think you have lived as a wanderer enough” Beta Loras remarked

“I don’t think someone will be happy if I decide to stay in the palace, I should just enjoy myself out here” he replied with a sly smile

“No matter what you think, you are a Prince after all, who would dare touch a Prince?” Beta Loras said with a small smile

“There is someone who will, someone who is fearless” he replied and turned his horse to face where he was going to

“Take care of yourself brother, let’s meet again soon” Falkor stated ignoring the bickering

“Sure, the hunting is around the corner so take care of your body, My Prince” Beta Loras supported before bowing a little and Jaqen turned his horse to his destination before riding away.

“You had better hide very well because I will make sure to kill you as long as I see you” Elora thought as she watched him hop away

“Let’s go” Falkor roared and the journey began once again.