gogrofera@g*******m

The Sorceress of Anguna

King Edmund of Anguna had only one child and she was renowned as the most beautiful creature to ever roam on the earth. Prince Robert of Halolem was not someone with whom he could see a happy future for his daughter Isadore. But Anguna was not in a position to survive an attack from Halolem. And that was precisely what King Charles had threatened by sending an army of four thousand men with one thousand horses. It was not a marriage proposal, it was a show of power, a veiled threat.

The proposal was accepted and the bride to be was sent away. But when the army returned on the sixth day and without the princess, King Edmund had no choice but to visit an old friend. One who hated him as much as he hated her. The Sneaky Sorceress had been allowed to live in Anguna only on the condition that she will help the king when in need. The king had now exhausted all of the three boons which she had promised. For a sorceress of dark magic, a promise is unbreakable, bound by the forces of nature and the threads of magic.

The Sorceress took out her magic orb and showed the king, how the prospective bride had run away into the forest in the middle of the night.

“She must be brought back. If she doesn’t marry Prince Robert, Anguna will be destroyed,” the king cried. “You have to make sure my kingdom is saved.”

“Yeah, yeah I know,” the sorceress replied. “I will leave at once for Tovib and bring her to Halolem. A simple little girl like her won’t be hard to manage.” She grabbed her staff. “All she needs is a little push.”

“But what do I do of the army outside my gates?”

“Manage. Tell them a lie,” she replied. “They were responsible for her. They let her slip away. The king is in Halolem. The general who is in charge is not sure what to do now.”

“I will try to stall them,” the king replied. “But remember, if you fail…”

“I never fail,” she answered and he left.

The sorceress packed a bag with her evilest curses and the most powerful potions and started her journey. She had been able to see the girl leave the wagon but the events after her run and her current whereabouts were untraceable. “It’s as if she is in presence of some sort of protective magic,” the sorceress said. “I will teleport to the last traceable place and proceed from there.”

The sorceress reached the forest of Hingeshi soon. She enchanted the flora to trace the girl’s path. Every bit of grass that she had touched, every shrub, every tree spoke to the sorceress. They led her to the band of bandits. Using her invisibility spell, she spied on them and listened in to their conversations. She glanced inside their minds to see the faces that had left for the journey to Halolem. She saw their wishes and their follies. If she did not have urgent matters on hand, she would have loved to play with them. These were the tortured and tormented souls that gave her power. “Another day,” she mused wistfully. She was already a day behind them.

The flora spell helped her as far as the forest went, but following the grass meant she had to travel the mortal way. She stole a horse from the bandits and carried onwards. A day went by, the forest ended, and the sorceress found herself on a highway. The spell couldn’t help her anymore but common sense was enough. The mortals had taken the road to Pondal. Whether you take the short route through the forest or the longer one circumventing it, there was no reaching Halolem without going through Pondal. It was a seven-day journey everyone had to make. She could have teleported to Pondal, but the chances of the mortals still being on the road were high and the sorceress intended to surpass them before they reached Halolem.

Further on the road towards Pondal, the three bandits travelled with their prisoner. In the front was Pratt on his spotted mare, followed by the two women on a black horse, a spare red mare with Terror bringing the rear on his white horse. They travelled in silence, with Pratt occasionally mentioning something about the path, Tina whistling when she was bored and Terror asking her to shut up. The prisoner was in no position to speak as she was bound and gagged. They had tried to put her on the red mare, but she kept falling. “What kind of princess does not know how to ride a horse?” Tina had commented. The only retort the prisoner had to offer was a deep sigh.

“We need to make camp soon,” Terror said when the sun was about to set.

“We can’t possible use an inn. We can’t have anybody see our princess now,” Tina said.

“If we carry forward another hour, we will reach the Tete mark. It’s marked because there is a stream to its left,” Patt informed.

When the mark came, they left the highway and went left into the forest. Once they found the stream, the bandits descended from their horses, made them drink the water and tied them nearby. The prisoner was also tied to a tree.

“I’ll catch some fish for dinner,” Tina said and walked into the water with her knife in hand.

“Patt, go find some wood to burn,” Terror ordered the boy. He scurried away.

The prisoner had started squirming. Terror walked to her and took off the gag. “What do you want?”

“Water.”

Her hands were tied behind her back. Terror shoved the waterskin into her mouth. She drank greedily. “Thank you.”

When he tried to put the gag back on she protested. “Could you keep the gag off for tonight? Why would I Scream. There is no one here.”

“Okay,” he said, “But if you try anything.” Terror crushed the ground under his boot as a warning.

She nodded. Terror took out his knife and started sharpening it on a rock. Tina was still in the water and Patt had not yet returned. Terror’s eyes did not leave the prisoner even for a minute. Her eyes stared into the sky.

“Princess Isadore,” Terror called. She did not reply. “Princess Isadore,” he said again but loudly.

She looked at him. “My name is,” she paused, searching for her next word, “Isadore.”

Terror rolled his eyes. “Really, you should try answering to it then.”

“I don’t answer to you,” she stated. There was no defiance in her voice. It was a sort of melancholy emotion that Terror failed to identify.

“You do as long as you are my captive.”

“You are not the only one.”

He glanced at Tina. “I am their leader.”

She scoffed. “You bandits are not the only one keeping me bound.”

Terror was excused from responding as Patt came into sight. Terror got up from his seat and helped him with his load. They had the fire ready by the time Tina returned with a big fish in her hands.

“So how do you like being a princess?” Tina asked her as she handed her the food.

“How do you like being the leader of the bandits?” The hostage replied with a question of her own.

“I am not,” she started but then decided that talking to the captive was not worth the headache. “You know what, I don’t want to talk to you.”

Terror who had been listening to the conversation had started to see that there was something strange about their captive.

"Are you the princess of Anguna?" he asked her.

There was a long pause while Tina stared at him with narrowed eyes as if asking him if he had gone mad.

"Yes," the princess finally replied.

"Is your name Isadore?"

"Yes."

"Is King Edmund your father?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to marry Prince Robert?"

"Yes."

Terror gagged her and said, "Patt, keep an eye on her. Tina and I will check on the horses."

"What were you trying to do?" Tina asked him.

"There is something wrong with her."

"Even if it is, I fail to see how it is any of our problem."

"But you do see it. Don't you?"

"Yes," Tina replied dejectedly. "Her answers are not straight. It's as if she is..."

"Bound by a spell." Terror completed her sentence. If there is magic involved, it can get dangerous for us."

"She had tried to run away from her people. She does not want to marry the prince. But she is bound to say that she does."

"She is also bound to say that she is Princess Isadore."

"I figured as much."

"If this is not the princess, then we have no business keeping her."

"We do. As far as Halolem is concerned, she is the princess and they will pay her ransom." Tina shrugged. "But then again, you are the boss and I will follow you, no matter what you decide."

"We stay as far away from magic as possible," Terror stated. "We have to kill her."