Knights of The Dauntless Princess

Chapter 35: Secret Group

"My men caught wind of some news!" Ranz began. "There's a group of people here in Priya secretly planning a rebellion against the kingdom!"

Upon hearing that, hope seemed to light up again in Amara's eyes. "Really? Where can we find them?"

Ranz shook his head and took a deep breath. "I'm not sure. I want to make sure if this is true or just a trap to lure us out! Desmond's men are fervently searching for us! We still need to be careful!"

"A secret group in Priya?" Louie interjected, as if pondering, and they glanced at him simultaneously.

"Do you know anything about this?" Amara asked. "Are you familiar with them?"

Louie furrowed his brow as if deeply contemplating something. After a moment, he nodded in response, "If I'm not mistaken, that group... is led by my grandfather."

Upon hearing that, they were all taken aback.

"W-What!? Your grandfather?" Cyrus exclaimed.

"L-Louie? Are you sure it's them?" Amara asked.

"Just like my mother, my grandfather was also a soldier under Emmett's command during his youth. But when Lord Lennox died, and they learned that they wanted to assassinate my mother, they formed a secret alliance. Furthermore, their ranks grew larger and stronger when Priya suffered and soldiers began to exploit them beyond their capabilities."

Amara's smile widened upon learning this, "If that's the case, then we can be allies with them—"

"I'm sorry, dear princess, but it's not that simple," Louie quickly said, lowering his head while furrowing his brows. "My grandfather and I have never really agreed on anything, even though we share the same goal. Also, do you remember when we first met? To be honest, I wanted to kill you then, and I'm sure that's what they want to do to you now. This kingdom blames you for all their suffering because you killed our beloved king, Lord Lennox."

Amara was stunned by what she heard, feeling as if her heart was being squeezed tightly. The sin she didn't commit was still haunting her at that moment.

"I see, I understand," she replied.

"Princess," Cyrus said with sympathy as he looked at Amara.

"Maybe we can convince and explain things to them?" Ranz suggested. "I'll face them if necessary! Just tell me where we can find them!"

"With my grandfather's stubbornness, I'm not sure, but we can give it a try," Louie replied.

"Dravis?" Cyrus called out to Dravis, noticing that he seemed quiet and lost in thought. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing, I think I know how to persuade him," Dravis said in his usual tone of voice.

Ranz frowned, raising an eyebrow, "Really? How arrogant! And what do you think you'll do to convince them?"

"You'll see," Dravis grinned and then turned to Louie. "You know where they are, right? Can we go see them now?"

"H-Huh? Um, sure," Louie replied, seemingly caught off guard.

"I'll come with you!" Amara said as she saw Dravis turning away.

The young man stopped and looked back at her with a cold gaze.

"No, you stay here," Dravis said. "We'll handle them."

"B-But—"

"My dear princess, as Louie said, who knows what might happen to you there? Leave this matter to us," Ranz added.

"Don't worry, princess! I'm sure we can convince them!" Cyrus said, winking at Amara.

Louie, on the other hand, held Amara's hand and kissed it, "My grandfather and I have deep misunderstandings, but for your well-being, I will set aside my pride."

Upon witnessing Louie's gesture towards Amara, Cyrus and Ranz seemed to flare up in annoyance.

"Hey!!! I'm the only one allowed to do that to the princess!!!" Ranz shouted.

"You bunch of monkeys! Stay away from my princess!!!" Cyrus exclaimed.

Amara let out a sigh at their renewed commotion, but when she lifted her gaze again, she was met with Dravis's intense and probing stare. Her eyes widened, and she wanted to call out to him, but he suddenly turned away.

D-Dravis.

The three young men bid farewell to Amara, but Dravis left without saying a single word to her. As they had said, the girl was left in their camp, and sadness once again enveloped her heart.

"Princess!!!" Shiloh called out when she saw Amara sitting under a tree, lost in thought.

She looked at Shiloh and noticed Erica with her. "Oh, hello."

"Why are you here? Didn't you go with big bro?" Shiloh asked, sitting beside the princess.

Amara shook her head, and a hint of sadness appeared in her eyes. "No, I couldn't go with them because they said it might be dangerous for me to join their journey."

"What? Why? Do they have enemies?" Erica asked with concern. "Is our big brother in danger?"

Amara shook her head and smiled, "No! There's nothing to worry about. I'm sure they won't be in danger, especially Louie because they're going to see your grandfather."

Shiloh and Erica's eyes widened, "W-What? Grandfather? Uh-oh!"

Amara was puzzled by their reaction, "W-Why? What's wrong?"

Shiloh tapped her forehead, "Big brother might come back limping!"

Erica let out a sigh, "Maybe he won't even be breathing when he comes back!"

"Eh? W-What? Why?" Amara asked in confusion. Amara knew that Louie and his grandfather didn't get along, but it never crossed her mind that they would end up hurting each other.

Shiloh shook her head and stood up, "Do you want to come along? We're going to see Hannah in the kitchen!"

"We'll help prepare the food for tonight," Erica smiled and also stood up.

Since Amara had nothing else to do that day, she decided to join them. They went to the kitchen, and when they opened the door, everyone inside turned to look at them.

"Princess!!!" Hannah exclaimed happily and leaped from the stool she was standing on.

The cooks and some helpers also smiled upon seeing them arrive, except for one maid who seemed taken aback by massaging the dough—Nina. Nina had her back turned to them, avoiding to look at them. She hadn't expected Amara to come there as she thought she was with the guys again.

"Hello, Hannah!" Amara greeted the little girl with a smile.

"Hello, princess," Hannah greeted back and glanced at the two girls accompanying Amara. "Hello, Erica, hello, Shiloh!"

"Hi, Hannah!" Louie's siblings replied in unison.

"Will you help with the cooking too!? Yay!!!" the child happily exclaimed, and they all chuckled softly, except for Nina.

Shiloh, Erica, and Amara pitched in with the cooking, and the kitchen became lively and joyful. The day didn't turn out to be entirely boring for the princess, but still, half of her heart seemed unable to find happiness. Nina continued to keep her distance, not showing a single smile to Amara the whole day. There were moments when Amara wanted to approach Nina, but she couldn't as Nina would quickly leave.

Suddenly, Amara felt dizzy, and her vision blurred. She couldn't understand it, but she nearly stumbled to the floor when she stood up abruptly.

"Princess, are you okay?" Shiloh asked, noticing Amara's paleness.

"Yes, I'm fine," Amara forced a smile, even though she wasn't feeling well.

"Why don't you just rest for a while?" Erica said. "We'll take care of things here."

"N-No, I'm really fine—" Amara couldn't finish her sentence as she eventually lost consciousness.

"Princess!? Princess!!!" Shiloh and Erica woke her up, calling out to her.

****

Meanwhile, their journey was going smoothly for Dravis, Cyrus, Louie, Ranz, and some of their companions towards Louie's grandfather's fortress. It was located on the other side of Priya, a cave hidden within the forest.

"Are you sure we're going the right way? Are there really people in this area?" Cyrus asked, glancing around the dense forest.

"You know, this is the perfect place for people in hiding!" Ranz replied.

"Yeah, yeah! Are we still far away?" Cyrus inquired again.

Louie halted his horse and seemed to sense the surroundings, "We're almost there."

Upon hearing Louie's words, their eyes immediately narrowed. They could feel that aside from them, there were other people present, observing them.

"We're not here to fight, so come out," Ranz ordered as he stepped forward in that spot.

Shortly after, they heard some rustling from the tall bushes, and several men holding weapons emerged.

"Who are you!? What do you want here!?" one of the burly men asked sharply.

"Hold on, hold on! Lower your weapons, we mean no harm," Louie said, trying to remain calm. "We are here to see and talk to my grandfather!"

"Who's your grandfather?" the man asked suspiciously.

"My grandfather is none other than your leader, Captain Trevor!" Louie replied, causing the men to pause for a moment, hesitating to attack them.

They continued to exchange glances, seemingly communicating through their eyes. Dravis observed their movements and remained vigilant. After a while, the man speaking with Louie lowered his sword and grinned.

"You are saying that you are Captain Trevor's grandchild?" he asked, but they sensed something off in the tone of his question. "DON'T DECEIVE US! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE CAPTAIN'S GRANDCHILD TO APPEAR HERE! ATTACK HIM!"

And their suspicions were correct; they were not believed by them. They had no choice but to draw their swords and engage in the battle.

"Damn it! What's so impossible about me being here!? Tsk!" Louie exclaimed irritably, swinging his sword skillfully.

"Is this how deep your feud with your grandfather is!? This is getting intense!" Cyrus added, joining the fight with them.

"Ugh! Isn't there any other way to stop these lunatics from attacking!?" Ranz said irritably and punched the man who attacked him.

"I-I don't know! Maybe if my grandpa sees me, they will believe us!" Louie replied.

"Let's not waste any more time," Dravis said in a cold tone and walked away casually. He only punched those who approached him to keep them away as he continued walking towards the front. "All we need is to get inside the cave to confront him!"