gogrofera@g*******m

The forest of Hingeshi was a part of the Tovib empire, but the ruler had given up on it generations ago. It was a dense and thick forest full of dangerous wildlife, it’s only inhabitants being a band of bandits who had terrorised Tovib so much that their leader was called The Terror of Tovib. Robbery, pilfering, kidnapping, assassination; there was nothing these bandits wouldn’t do for money. Nobody was ever able to catch them because nobody knew that the forest of Hingeshi was their hideout. The Terror of Tovib had a strict policy to hide from the few travellers who would take the short but dangerous route that went through Hingeshi. But he couldn’t resist himself when one day he saw an army of more than five thousand men marching through the forest. He called his right hand man Scout to see what it was about. Scout grinned. “I already sent Jim and Tim to mingle among them posing as fellow travellers.” He took out a folded banana leaf from his pocket. “They left this message for us.” Terror snatched the leaf from Scout’s hand and read on. “Princess Isadore of Anguna is going to Halolem.” “For her nuptials,” Scout added while rubbing his hands together. “We could- “ “NO,” Terror roared. “We cannot compromise our hideout.” “Halolem is a rich country. Just imagine the amount of ransom we could get for the prince’s betrothed.” “What about Anguna? Isn’t it nearer?” “The greedy bastard was easy to persuade,” Scout thought but said, “Anguna is a small state. The ransom they would pay will not be worth giving our hideout.” Terror shook his head. “We are not giving away our hideout. Assemble everyone, find out whatever anyone knows about Anguna and Halolem and send a message to Jim to gain more information.” By evening Scout had everything his boss had asked him to do. He met Terror with a bunch of maps under his arm. “So, this is Anguna.” He spread a map on the wooden stump they were using as table and pointed at a small area. “Our esteemed guests have been travelling for three days now. They have around four thousand soldiers and one thousand horses who are all from Halolem. Then there are other five hundred men and women who are the cooks, the servants, the maids etc. The princess’s carriage is right in the middle.” “And what about Halolem?” Terror asked. Scout opened another map and called out, “Patt?” A lean boy with brown mop of hair popped out of the bushes. “Impressive,” Terror said. “But next time try hiding downwind.” The boy smiled and took over from Scout. “Halolem is here.” He pointed at the map. “We are here. If we take this route here,” he traced a path on the map with his index finger. “We can reach Halolem in about a month.” “A month? That is too long.” Terror shook his head. “We are better off raiding Tovib.” “We all need not go,” Scout supplied. “I’ll take Patt here with me and we both can deliver the pretty princess to the prince. You will be free to raid Tovib to your heart’s content.” Terror raised an eyebrow. “Only you two?” Scout shrugged. “We can take Tina along if you want.” Terror smiled and didn’t reply. Instead he turned to Patt. “Patt, you used to live in Halolem. Do you think they will pay the ransom?” “King Charles has lots of coin, no matter how poorly his subjects live,” Patt replied with disdain. “And he is reputed to give his son Robert everything he desires.” Scout stroked his chin. “Then the question is how much Prince Robert desires her.” Terror smiled. “Enough to send an army of four thousand men to secure her and take her without any dowry.” The plan was simple. Jim and Tim would put a paste of sleep inducing herbs in the curry. After everyone was asleep, Terror and Scout would go to the Princess’s wagon and abduct her. Jim and Tim would stab anyone who moved. Patt was the look out. Rest of the gang would wait among the trees. Everything worked according to the plan, until they went inside the wagon. It was empty. “Where is she?” Terror whispered to Scout. “Not here,” he replied. “Let’s move.” Outside, they found Patt whispering to Jim and Tim, “Someone just sprinted from there.” “It’s her,” Terror and Scout said in unison. Terror ordered Tim to go inform the others while the rest of them went in the direction Patt mentioned. A girl covered in a black shroud ran through the forest. Her heart raced faster than her feet. Just when she had thought that her dreams would come true, life had handed her a new surprise. And now there was nothing left for her to do except to run away. But she was not to be spared that easily. She felt something hard hit her head from behind. A small shriek escaped her lips and her hand went to clutch her head. She stumbled and would have hit the ground but a pair of strong arms intervened and scooped her up. “Jim,” the owner of the hands scolded in a hushed tone. “What were you thinking?” His brown eyes looked into her blue ones as they fluttered shut. She had slipped out of consciousness. “Sorry boss.” Jim said. “She is not dead. Is she?” “Just fainted. Let’s take her to the base.” Terror paced the little wooden room in fury. The girl lay on the made shift straw bed, still unconscious. As soon as he had caught sight of her face, he had regretted his decision to kidnap her. This was no ordinary princess. She was a woman of unmatched beauty. A beauty so divine that his men would fight him for her. Terror had seen the lust in the eyes of both Scout and Jim. She had to go, as fast as he could manage. Terror had kept an eye on her since last night and the only person he had allowed to see the girl was Tina. Tina had washed and bandaged her wound. A knock on the door disturbed his thoughts. He opened the door and found Tina outside with a basket of fruits. “Breakfast,” she said as she moved in. “Pack your weapons,” Terror said to her. “You are going with Patt and Scout to Halolem.” “Scout.” Tina scowled as put the basket down. “That jerkface.” “Patt knows the way. It will take you a month on horseback and a month back. Think the two of you can handle this one princess?” “I can handle her,” Tina said as she peeled a banana. “But Scout…” She paused to bite the fruit. “I don’t think Scout will be able to handle himself around her. I can’t guarantee his safety if he tries to…” Tina let her voice peter out. “Patt is still a boy,” Terror said. “I don’t have doubt on your capability of killing off ten men at once, but even you can’t keep eye on a prisoner twenty-four hours of the day for a whole month.” “And there is no one else you trust?” “Look at her,” Terror pointed at the princess. “Even in the dark of the night, I saw clearly what affect she had on the men. Even in the servant’s grabs that she is wearing, even with her eyes closed, she looks like an angel. What happens when there is animation on her eyes and sun’s warm glow shines on her face?” “What else do you expect from a bunch of bandits?” Tina said. “As long as the princess is delivered to the prince alive and will all her limbs intact, everything else is fair game.” Terror sighed. “Then there is only one solu- “ “She is awake,” Tina said pointedly, stopping Terror mid-sentence. The blue eyes opened and again saw the kind brown eyes staring at her. “Who are you?” she asked. She looked around and saw that there was another woman in the wooden room along with the man who she had met in the forest. The woman wore a sword on her hip and it was easy to imagine that there were knives inside her leader boots. The man had more or less the same kind of clothes but he wasn’t decorated with weapons. Judging by their attire, it was not hard to guess who they were. “Are you Princess Isadore?” The man asked. He was bent over her and his purple pendulum was almost in her face. He was tall, muscular and seemed angry at her. It did not bother her much. She was used to people hating her. Her head moved in affirmative. “Well, then we are the ones who will escort you safely to your dear prince,” he said and turned away. Isadore made a disapproving noise. “You are dacoits, kidnappers.” Tina smiled. “Well we prefer the term bandits.” “Is there any chance I could be escorted to somewhere else?” “Is anyone else willing to pay fees for our services?” Tina asked. The princess covered her face with her hands and shook her head. “Well, then no,” Terror answered. “I mean, if you want we can sell you to the highest bidder in the slave auction,” Tina teased. It earned her a displeased glance from her boss. “No thanks,” the prisoner answered. “Well then.” Tina shoved the fruit basket into her hands. “Eat up. We will be leaving soon.” “Why did you not eat the curry?” Terror asked suddenly. “What?” Isadore was perplexed with the absurdity of the question. “Why were you running through the forest when the rest of your party was sleeping?” “I was trying to escape.” The curry they had cooked was not what she had been used to eating. The flavours did not suit her palette. “How did you know?” “I did not. I was trying to run away from the marriage.” “Why?” “Because…” Isadore stopped. She couldn’t tell them the truth. “Uh, nothing. It does not matter anyway.” The two bandits left her alone to reflect on her situation while they discussed their own plans. “You, me, Patt and four horses should do the trick,” Tina said to Terror once they were alone. “And when did I say that I was coming along?” “You did not need to,” Tina smiled. “I’ll get the supplies and the horses ready. You should tell Scout that you are leaving him in charge.” “You know me so well Tina.” Terror shook his head in appreciation. “Too well, Terry, too well,” she answered.