"They both have their horses and can ride at a full gallop. We on the other hand, have the whole darn army with us and they're on foot." Char nodded and turned to look at the legion of soldiers behind them. She then turned and looked over at Dei. "How are you holding up?" she asked.
Dei shrugged. She hadn't said much since the news. Her mind kept flashing back to everyone that she had met or seen in the villages. Lance rode up next to her.
"It's going to be okay. We will defeat Dain and then you can once again join in on the festivals." Dei looked up at him, and nodded. He reached over and held her hand within his own. She smiled and squeezed his hand as she turned to look ahead. Justin sighed. "I can't believe that that happened. It's just so hard to take in." Char nodded. "I know. I can only imagine the damage that he has done." They sighed and returned their sights to the road ahead, trying to forget what would be waiting for them at the end of the journey.
JC awoke as the light hit his eyes. He stirred and glanced down to see that Alex was still asleep in his arms. "Alex, come on, we should get going." She moaned and opened her eyes. She sighed and got up as JC released her from his embrace. She stumbled to the stream as JC started to pick up their belongings. After both had freshened up and the camp was cleaned up, they mounted their horses, riding hard for Madrigal.
"How much farther do you think we have to go?" asked Alex as they rested their horses, only going at a walk. "Actually, I think we're almost there. If we gallop now, we should be there within a few minutes." Alex nodded and they spurred their horses into a gallop once again. Alex held her breath as they crossed the ridge that overlooked Madrigal. She gasped as the sight met her eyes.
The kingdom looked to be in shambles. Smoke leaked into the sky from the fires that had long since died. Houses no longer stood on their own, fences were torn down, and wagons were only a stack of wood. The bricks of the castle were smudged with black. Walls had been knocked down and the setting sun multiplied the whole effect, the red in the sky giving the scene a gruesome feel of destruction.
But none of that was the worst. The sounds that met their ears couldn't be blocked out. The cries for help, the cries of pain, and the cries for loved one's lost. "Oh my God," Alex choked out. The world that she had known, her very life had been left in shambles. "Everything. It's....it's ruined." They dismounted and walked down the ridge, making their way to the first village. They walked through the burnt streets, the smell of rot
unbelievably thick. Alex walked into a house that was on its last legs, JC close behind her.
They heard cries coming from behind a door that was bordered shut. They went to it and together managed to get it open. "Princess," gasped the woman as she stumbled out, followed by two children. "Thank you."
"What happened?" asked Alex, sitting he down.
"It was King Dain. He attacked several days ago. However, his attack did not stop with the coming of night. It wore on. Only until recently has he retreated, to replenish. The army tried to defeat him, but without the King, they didn't hold up."
"Oh I am sorry. I shall go to the castle and we will send out workers to help rebuild your house and replenish your stock."
"Thank you Princess," replied the woman, bowing low.
"I can't believe it JC," she said as they walked out of the house.
"This was my life. I was to protect these people and I let them down!" She fell to her knees on the ground. "None of this is your fault," JC said as he kneeled down in front of
her. "This was all Dain's doing and you had nothing to do with this. You had no clue he would attack while you were away. Don't blame yourself for this Alex. Let's get to the castle and then we can come and help clean everything up, okay?"
She looked up; her now bloodshot hazel eyes, meeting his crystal blue ones that were filled with sincerity. She sighed and nodded. "Thank you JC." He nodded and hugged her quickly. They mounted their horses and rode through the villages as tears continued to roll down Alex's face. There were too many people crying out for help, crying out for some release. As they came to the castle, the drawbridge was open and everyone was moving about. "Princess!" shouted Hiram, the one who was in charge while they were gone.
"What is being done to rebuild?" she asked as they dismounted.
"We aren't rebuilding as of right now. We are trying to heal the wounded and figure out what our losses are."
"Forget losses. We must help our people. Immediately." Hiram bowed and ran off to help.
"JC what should we do?" she asked looking around at the mayhem that had ensued.
"Let's help with the wounded," he said. They walked through the castle, making their way to the medical wing to see how they could help.
Alex glanced around quickly to see if anyone was nearby. She closed her eyes and silently recited a healing spell. The small child stirred as Alex finished and opened her eyes. "Am I all better now?" she asked, looking down at her once broken leg.
Alex nodded. "You're as good as new."
"Can I go out and play?"
"Well, um..."
"Sure you can," said JC walking up to them. "Tell you what. Come with me and I'll show you the playroom in the castle."
"Really?" she asked as her eyes got wider. JC nodded. "Yep."
"Yea!" The girl hugged Alex before she placed her small hand in JC's much larger one. JC smiled before he led the little girl off down the corridor.
Alex sighed and rubbed her eyes. The medical wing was packed with nobles and villagers. She and JC had been working hard for the past couple hours and patients were slowly but surely getting better. Alex was constantly being interrupted due to the fact that she was the only member of the royal family there, so she was in charge. She wearily got to her feet and went to an old woman that had a large gash on her head. Alex had been using her magic to heal these people and she grew weaker each time that she did use it.
She sat down next to the old woman and placed her hands above her head, reciting the spell. This time things almost went black as the spell took effect. She gasped and opened her eyes as the woman opened hers. "Your highness! Thank you very much for healing me!" Alex smiled and waved it away with a trembling hand. "It was nothing."
The old woman looked at her concerned. "Are you all right? You are looking to be rather pale."
Alex shook her head. "I shall be fine. Thank you for your concern." The woman nodded and left to go help others. When she was gone, Alex rose on weak legs. She shakily walked to the other side of the room. Strong arms caught her from behind and helped her sit down. "You need to stop using your magic," said JC as he crouched in front of her. "It wouldn't do well to see their princess faint, now would it?"
She half-heartedly smiled. "No it wouldn't. I just can't bear to see these people in pain. I want to help them the best way I know how and that's by healing them using my magic."
JC sighed. "I know. You need a break. Why don't you come with me and we'll watch the children for a while?" Alex nodded and they walked to the playroom where the children were. She pushed open the door to hear laughter. She turned to JC and said,
"That's the best thing I've heard all day." He smiled as they walked inside and sat on the floor. "Hi!" smiled the little girl that Alex had healed earlier. "I forgot to tell you that my name is Sophie. What's yours?"
"I'm Alex and this is JC."
"Oh I know JC. He gave me a piece of chocolate as a treat!"
"Oh, he did, did he?" asked Alex, looking at JC as he blushed.
"Un hun! Then he picked me up, threw me in the air, and caught me! That was fun! Can you do it again JC?"
Alex laughed at the girl's persistence. "Go on JC. You don't want to disappoint Sophie now would you?" He lightly shoved her as he stood up. He picked up Sophie and tossed her in the air like a rag doll as she squealed with delight. Alex thought about what a great father JC would make. Soon a little boy shyly walked over to Alex and handed her a book. "Could you read this to me?" Alex smiled as she nodded. The boy climbed into Alex's lap as she opened the book and the kids crowded around. JC sat down next to her and Sophie got comfortable in JC's lap."Once upon a time.."
"How much longer do we have till we get there?" asked a very frustrated Ana.
"Probably a day, maybe two," replied Joey.
"We need to move faster."
"We can't do anything about that and you very well know it," said Chris.
"Not without completely leaving the army behind." Ana sighed. "I know. It's just frustrating." Dei nodded. "I know it is. All we can do is keep our heads on straight."
The nodded and headed toward the thin trail of smoke that hovered ominously in the distant sky.
Alex silently closed the book. The children had fallen asleep. Even the little boy named Keith and Sophie. She looked helplessly over at JC. "How are we supposed to get up without waking them?" JC shrugged. "I don't know that we can."
"So, what? We stay here until they wake up?" JC looked at her and she sighed. "All right. I'm pretty tired anyway. If they need my word on anything, that's just going to have to wait." She closed her eyes and leaned back. She smiled when she felt JC's arm go around her. She soon drifted off to sleep.
Keith and Sophie yawned and opened their eyes. They turned and looked up at Alex and JC who were still sleeping. They carefully climbed down and walked away with the other children, leaving JC and Alex alone together.
Hiram came into the room looking for Alex. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw them. JC had his arm around Alex and his chin rested on her forehead. What surprised him the most was the fact that she had a smile of contentment on her face. Unsure of what to do, he cleared his throat, waking the two in the process. Alex opened her eyes and jumped up when she saw Hiram, JC only a step behind her.
"Um, I need your approval on these princess," said Hiram, trying to ignore the evident blush present on their faces. She looked over the papers that he handed her and frowned as she read them. "I'm not approving these," she said.
"Why not?" he asked confused.
"Because I don't feel like," she replied sarcastically. "Because I'm not going to sign this, causing our people to basically live in fear as to what is going to happen to their kingdom." Hiram bowed and backed out of the room. "As you wish your highness."
"What was it?" asked JC as she turned back toward him.
"It was a declaration for war. I'm not signing it. We're going to deal with this in our own way."
"But Alex, you know that my father is coming with his army right now. How can we avoid going to war?" Alex sighed. "I don't know. We'll figure it out sometime. Right now though, I'm going to go check on the progress of everything else and then go out and see what can be done there." JC nodded. Alex opened the door and Keith and Sophie both ran into the room. They ran and each one latched onto one of JC's legs, making it
hard for him to walk. Alex started to laugh as he tried to make his way toward her. She fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
"We're not going to let Alex off now are we?" he asked. Sophie and Keith let go and went toward Alex and began to tickle her, making her laugh even harder. "Stop, stop!" she shouted through her laughter. JC smiled from where he stood, watching her play with the kids. "Help me out here JC!" she shouted. He kneeled down and they both began to tickle Sophie and Keith, making them laugh. When they pulled away, all sat gasping for breath.
Hiram opened the door and said, "Your highness, there are some things that we need you to look over." Alex's face fell and she nodded, standing up. "I'm coming." She followed him out of the room.
"Is she going to be okay?" asked Keith. JC nodded. "She'll be fine. Why don't you guys go and play some more why I go take care of some things." They agreed and hugged him before they left and JC went to go find Alex.
Fifteen