Love through lifetimes

New alliance

Kamarani's eyes flew open, and his senses kicked into high gear. The dull ache in his head throbbed like a steady drum against the rush of adrenaline coursing through him. He found himself lying on a rough wooden floor, with the air heavy with the musty scent of damp earth and something else which could possibly be woodsmoke. All around, it was completely dark, broken only by thin beams of light sneaking through gaps in what seemed to be a wooden wall.

His thoughts raced as he tried to remember pieces of what had happened, from the ambush, the arrows flying, Jarek fighting in his behalf, and the hard hit to his head. He was grateful to be alive, but for how long? He had to assume that bandits had captured him, very skilled bandits he had to admit. Even while unconscious, he felt a nagging suspicion that this was all part of a trap.

He pushed himself up, ignoring the groan from his tired muscles. Every part of him urged him to unleash the hidden power inside him and use the ancient skills he'd practiced since childhood. But he couldn't do that yet, he still did not know who he was up against and so he had to keep pretending.

He made a move to reach for his sword, which he found wasn't there, his fingers instinctively searching for the familiar curve of its hilt. Though deprived of his weapons and magic, he still held the most powerful weapon of all which was his mind.

He stood up carefully, moving with caution. Examining the tiny room, which had very few items, a wobbly wooden stool, a cracked clay pitcher, and a rough blanket were the only things there apart from him. He checked the door, which was just a simple wooden border held by a basic latch. While it wouldn't withstand much force for long, it would at least give him some alarm if anything came through.

Kamarani took a deep breath as he concentrated on what he could hear outside the door. He caught snippets of voices, the sound of crackling fire, and occasional footsteps. It was clear he was in some sort of camp, and judging by the noises, it was not small.

Even though he hated it but he prepared himself to come face to face with his captors. He had decided to act like a scared and confused prince who just wanted to survive. He planned to pretend to be weak, take advantage of their overconfidence, and then, he would strike.

Walking closer to the door thingy, he felt his hand shake slightly as he reached for the latch. Taking another deep breath he quickly opened the latch and swung the door wide.

What he saw when he stepped out was not what he had expected. He had prepared himself for a fight, the clash of swords and bolts of lightning or fire but totally not what he witnessed.

Blinking from the overly bright light, Kamarani struggled to adjust his eyes. He found himself in a small clearing surrounded by tough looking men wearing mismatched armor. They were heavily armed and wore masks that covered the lower part of they faces . But what really made Kamarani hesitate was their reaction.

Instead of rushing at him or shouting threats while waving their weapons around, they stood still with looks of surprise mixed with… relief?

Then, they all kneed down and placed they weapon the ground and shouted, " your highness!"

As if that was not strange enough , Kamarani watched as one of the men stepped forward. He was a large man with an ugly big scar that was stretched at his eye and goes down. Kamarani wondered where it actually ended.

Looking at him properly Kamarani found that there was something familiar about him. He tried to remember where he had seen this man before.

"My Lord," the man said in a deep voice, "thank the Gods you are still alive."

Kamarani looked at him, feeling both confused and suspicious. "Who are you?" he asked with a rough voice. "What is going on?"

The man paused for a moment, then took off his mask. Looking at him, Kamarani gasped, he recognized that face. He had seen it many times in the palace hallways.

"Captain Varron," Kamarani whispered.

Varron nodded, his eyes showing both devotion and haste. "Yes, my Lord. I served your father, and I promised to protect his heir with my whole life."

A wave of relief flooded over Kamarani, almost making him stumble. But soon after, doubt crept back in. "If you are loyal to my father, why am I here? Why did you attack my procession?"

Varron flinched as if hurt by the question. "It was necessary, my Lord. It was for your own safety, we needed to save you from Shekel."

"Safety?" Kamarani scoffed. "I nearly lost my life! Jarek got hurt, and who knows what happened to everyone else traveling with me."

"I can promise you they are all safe now," Varro said urgently. "But we must move quickly time is against us." He continued, "We have learned of your uncle's plan to get rid of you. You where not supposed to get any where your highness, he knows that with you around, his rule is threatened." Captain Varron explained.

" That is impossible! Shekel still needs me, he can not get me killed," Kamarani could not believe this, yes his uncle hated his guts but what would he gain with assassinating him?