"Good. Then let us proceed with our plan." Coram nodded and left.
JC walked back down into the medical wing. He saw Alex nod and sign her name on a few papers. She then turned back to the middle-aged man in front of her that had a wound in his side. She glanced around before she recited the spell. JC made his way over to her side when she finished. The man thanked her and left. Alex promptly put her head between her knees and breathed deep, waiting for the nausea that had set over her to pass.
"Alex," said JC exasperated. "What did I just get through telling you?" She lifted her head and gave a weak smile. "I don't know. Care to give me the lecture again?" He smiled and helped her stand up. Hiram than burst into the room. "Your parents are here accompanied by a legion of soldiers!" he exclaimed. "But Dain is attacking them!"
"Get as many villagers inside the walls as you can!" shouted Alex taking charge, her nausea forgotten. "When their armies get too close for comfort, raise the bridge! Get others posted on the wall and hurry!"
People immediately set to their tasks. Alex and JC ran to the stable. "We have to figure out what's happening!" They quickly mounted and rode out of the castle to the battle taking place. The silver of the armies of the Leo kingdom fought against the black of Dain. The soldiers converged upon each other. A small group began to ride hard for Alex and JC and they could see their friends in it. An arrow planted itself next to Iris and she reared.
"Come on!" shouted Alex, waving at her friends. They thundered past her and Alex brought up the rear. Arrows reigned overhead as both sides shot at each other. A searing pain went through Alex's shoulder as an arrow pierced her skin. Iris reared again and Alex lost her weak grip on the reigns. The second she hit the ground someone grabbed a hold of her. He broke the shaft of the arrow and dropped it, then he ran off carrying Alex into the woods. She was too distracted by the pain to realize that it was Jemis carrying her to his king. They disappeared into the woods as her companions disappeared into the castle.
"Where's Alex?" asked JC glancing around. "I thought she was right behind us," gasped Dei as Lance helped her off the horse. Everyone sat, struggling for breath. Their swords were marked and most of the girls had lost their daggers. Dei and Arianna were out of arrows and Justin sported a battle wound to his arm. "Something happened to her," growled JC. "I'm going out to find her."
"But the fight is still going on!" shouted Chris in protest.
"No it's not. See, you can't hear any battle cries. I'm going back out." He turned and he and Storm disappeared as they left the castle.
Jemis carefully sat Alex down in the throne room. She struggled to her feet, trying to make sense of her blurry vision. Blood dripped to the floor from her arm and Dain eyed it furiously. "She was not supposed to be hurt!" he thundered at those in the room. "It could not be avoided sire," whimpered Jemis in his defense.
"Go tend to her wounds, she must be ready for later."
Jemis nodded, leading Alex toward the infirmary. The whole time Alex was taking mental notes for later, marking the guards and the hallways. Alex tried to almost meditate; not ready for the pain that came with an arrow wound. Unable to pull out the head of the arrow, they pushed it through till it came out on the other side, making her scream. She waited for a sorcerer to come and heal her wound, but apparently they were going to heal her the way they did in the more primitive villages. They stuck a hot poker in either side of her wound, to burn away any infection. After this was done, they put a bandage on her arm, leading her back. "Now Princess Alexandra," greeted Dain. "I have a little game for show set up and you have no choice but to participate."
JC grew more frustrated by the second. His anger grew, as there was still no sign of Alex. What he didn't dare to admit was how scared he was. His imagination was doing overtime, coming up with gruesome images that he didn't want to think about. "Joshua!" shouted Roald as he rode up to him. "How is everyone?"
"They are fine, but I can't find Alex."
"Anywhere?"
"Anywhere."
Roald sighed with frustration. "Dain is overstepping his limits. Was a declaration of war signed?"
"No. Alex didn't want to sign the one they presented."
"Well, I will sign it. They kidnapped my daughter. This means war."
They sat in the war room and the document lay in front of Roald, ready to be signed. Then the guards burst into the room, pushing Coram in front of them.
"What is the meaning of this?" shouted Roald as everyone stood up.
"He has a message from King Dain." The room grew silent within a heartbeat. Coram smirked as he saw every face.
"What do you have to say? Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't kill you right now."
"You kill me and you won't see your dear princess again." A shocked look passed over everyone's faces. Roald's expression quickly turned to stone. He nodded, silently asking him to proceed. "We have a sort of surprise for you," started Coram. "We know you won't want to come into our palace, so we shall meet at the clearing. You have my word Alexandra will be there." They turned to look at Roald. His face was a mask of concentration. Slowly nodding his head, everyone walked out, about to go to the
clearing.
"Do you have any idea what is about to happen?" asked Justin. JC shrugged. "I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about it." They rode into the clearing and dismounted, facing Dain and his accomplices. "So nice to see that you could make it," said Dain sarcastically. "But now we shall put on a show for you. Well, not really us, but you will see. I only have one rule, you are not to cross pass this line during the game."
They looked down at the line drawn roughly into the ground. Roald nodded. "Very well." Dain grinned and clapped. "Then let us begin. Our first contender is Georg. Quite masterful with the sword with some magical knowledge as well."
A tall man with black hair and brown eyes stepped into the clearing, twirling a sword in his hand. "And his challenger. Jemis!" Jemis came out and pushed Alex down in front of him. She winced and clutched her shoulder, placing her hand over the wound.
"Alex!" They shouted and moved to go to her.
"Not so fast," snapped Dain. "Take one step over that line while the game is in progress and she dies." To prove his point, Jemis held the sword at her throat. They stepped back and the sword lowered. "Now, here is the challenge. One of you must win. You can only use swordplay and magic, no other tricks up your sleeves. If Alex wins, she may go. But if Georg wins, she shall be my wife."
Alex shuddered and he glared at her. He nodded at Jemis and he handed her a sword that she held with her good hand. "Her parents don't know that she can do any of that," whispered JC. Justin sighed. "Looks like they're about to find out."
"Now, no killing. Begin." Georg swung his sword down in a chopping motion, trying to defeat her right away. She brought her sword up, the collision jarring her bones, almost losing her grasp. She heard a gasp from everyone next to her,
surprised that she could even grip the sword right let alone use it. She and Georg began to fall into a rhythm. Parry, thrust, block, parry, jump, twirl, parry. Alex repeated everything in her head, trying to maintain control. Ignoring the searing pain in her shoulder, she wielded the sword with both hands.
Georg stepped back and whispered some words, making a throwing motion toward her. She dived down just in time to avoid being hit by a blast of energy. She quickly retaliated, returning the energy ball. "Alexandra!" gasped her father and mother at the same time. She glanced toward them, trying to shoot them apologetic glances, but Georg was swift. He ran toward her, the tip pointed at her heart. She sidestepped and sent an invisible force after him, sending him flying into a tree.
Georg gasped with fury, not believing that she was beating him. He shouted a spell at her in a foreign language. All of a sudden, her hands were clasped and she couldn't move them or her sword. He came toward her and she in turn shouted a spell at him, throwing him back and freeing her hands. She ran and leveled her sword at the base of his neck. "Match," she whispered.
Dain stared at her. She had won, again. He ran toward her, making the resolution that if he couldn't have her, no one could. She whirled and her sword sliced across his abdomen, causing him to fall in pain. She gasped and dropped her sword. JC ran toward her and she threw her arm around his neck, not wanting to let go. The exercise on her wounded arm made it very painful to move, so she didn't even try.
"Thank goodness you're okay," he said. She only hugged him tighter. He pulled away and met her eyes. He smiled wider, relief flowing through him. "Let's go back," he said quietly, and they walked back, leaving the guards to deal with Dain.
"I want an explanation Alexandra," said her father as Edmund tended to her shoulder. "I wanted to learn how to use a sword and magic," replied Alex as she
conceded defeat. "I figured that I could better defend myself and become a better ruler if I had skills such as those." Roald stared at her. "Who else knew about this?" he whispered dangerously.
Ten hands raised into the air. Alex sighed and closed her eyes; she wasn't prepared for what came next in the slightest. "Fine," Roald said shortly. "I'm not going to push it." He turned and walked out of the room, leaving a particular stunned Alex behind. "It can't be that easy. He must be planning something. I refuse to believe that that is it." JC shrugged. "Just don't think about it." She nodded and rotated her arm as Edmund finished. Thanking him, they left the room. Walking down the hall, they stopped when Hiram called at them.
"Princess Alexandra, Prince Justin, his majesty wishes to see you."
"Uh oh," they replied glancing at each other uneasily. They followed him down the hall, an uneasy feeling in their stomachs.
Sixteen