Alistair led us to our horses. As we mounted them, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. Alistair seemed trustworthy enough, but we were putting our lives in his hands. And with the stakes as high as they were, we couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

  "Let's go," I said, nudging my horse forward.

  We followed Alistair out of the castle gates and into the twisting streets of the village. The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the cobblestone streets. The air was filled with the sounds of people chattering and haggling, and the smell of roasted meat filled our nostrils.

  As we rode through the village, I couldn't help but notice the way people looked at us. Some of them glared with open hostility, while others watched us with a wary eye. It was clear that the rebels had supporters even in this village, and that we needed to be careful.

  Alistair led us out of the village and into the surrounding countryside. We rode in silence for a while, following Alistair's lead as he navigated the winding roads and treacherous terrain. I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe as we rode through the dense forests and up the steep mountainsides.

  As the night began to fall, Alistair finally called a halt at the edge of a small clearing. "We'll camp here for the night," he said, dismounting from his horse. "I'll stand watch while you two get some rest."

  We nodded our agreement and began to set up camp. As the fire crackled and the night settled in around us, I sat staring up at the stars. It was hard to believe that we had come so far, and that we still had so far to go.

  We had no answers and we were still extremely vulnerable to attacks.

  "Hey," Thalia said, sitting down beside me. "Are you okay?"

  I turned to look at her. Her long dark hair was only faintly illuminated by the fire, and her pitch black eyes seemed to glow in the cool night air. I could hear the crackle of the fire, the soft neigh of a horse coming home, and the howl of the wind somewhere in the distance.

  "I'm not sure how to answer that," I replied.

  Thalia nodded, understanding in her eyes. "I know what you mean. It's a lot to take in."

  I sighed, leaning back against a log. "I just keep thinking–what if we can't find a way to stop them? What if the rebels win?"

  Thalia frowned. "We can't think like that. We have to believe that we'll find a way. We have to keep fighting, no matter what."

  "I know," I said, forcing a smile. "It's just hard to stay positive when everything seems so bleak. My father is dead, all my servants are dead...and now I'm supposed to do what, exactly?"

  "You're supposed to protect your people," Thalia said, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "We'll find a way to stop the rebels, even if it takes every ounce of strength we have. We can't give up now."

  I nodded, feeling a renewed sense of determination. Thalia was right–we couldn't give up. We had to keep moving forward, no matter how difficult the journey became.

  "You never really met my father, did you?"

  Thalia shook her head, twirling her braid. "We never crossed paths. I knew his name, of course. He was a vassal and one of the king’s trusted advisors."

  "He was a severe, odd man," I said. "But I'm pretty sure he loved me."

  "I'm sure he did," Thalia said softly. "And I'm sure he would be proud of you for what you're doing now. You're stepping up and taking on a huge responsibility."

  I smiled weakly, feeling a sense of comfort in her words. "Thanks, Thalia. It means a lot."

  We sat in silence for a while, watching the fire burn down to embers. The night was quiet now, the only sounds were the chirping of crickets and the occasional hoot of an owl.

  As we settled in for the night, I knew that the road ahead was going to be long and difficult. But with Thalia by my side, and Alistair as our guide, I felt like we might just stand a chance.

  We slept, clutching our swords, always alert for any sign of danger. Our journey had just begun, and we were ready to face whatever came our way.

  ***

  Alistair woke me for the second watch a few hours later. Though I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched from the shadows, the only thing moving out there were critters and bugs.

  The time for me to awaken Thalia came and went. I had too much on my mind to sleep, and there was no use in us both being exhausted. If one of us had to get a full night’s rest, it seemed like a better bet to have it be the better fighter. Which Thalia was…for now.

  By the time Thalia stirred in the morning, the sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon. Alistair had already started a small fire and was cooking up some breakfast. The smell of sizzling bacon and eggs made my stomach grumble.

  “Why didn’t you wake me?” Thalia asked.

  “You looked far more peaceful than I felt. One of us deserved a good night’s sleep,” I replied, leading the way toward Alistair.

  "Good morning," Alistair said, grinning at us as we approached the fire. "Sleep well?"

  "As well as one can sleep in the middle of a rebellion," I replied dryly, taking a seat next to him.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Alistair chuckled. "Fair enough. But the good news is, we haven't encountered any trouble yet. We should be able to make good time today."

  "Do you think we'll see any further attacks here?" Thalia asked as she sat next to me while Alistair handed her food.

  "Not for a while," Alistair replied. "I expect that the attacks have been meticulously planned."

  I nodded in agreement, my mind already turning to the next step in our journey. We had a long way to go before we reached our destination, and we couldn't afford to let our guard down for even a moment.

  "You don't think this herb person is part of the rebellion?"

  "Old Man Harlan?" Alistair asked, holding back a chuckle. "No. Most people say he never leaves the cave he lives in, he just sustains himself with herbs and plants. He's as fragile as he is wise. The rebellion probably doesn't want anything to do with him. There are children who’ve barely left their mother’s womb who would be better suited for combat than Old Man Harlan…not that I condone such things," he said with a shiver.

  I relaxed a bit after Alistair's reassurance. The thought of facing the rebels again so soon was overwhelming. Instead, I focused on the task ahead and the hope that we could find a solution to the rebellion, even if it meant seeking out Old Man Harlan.

  After finishing our breakfast–which was delicious, and had me halfway convinced that Alistair was trustworthy already–we packed up camp and mounted our horses. Alistair led us deeper into the forest, and I couldn't help but notice the way the trees seemed to close in around us, as if trying to swallow us whole.

  As we rode, the forest grew darker and denser, and I began to feel a sense of unease. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched, that something was lurking just beyond the trees.

  We heard rustling as we continued to ride up the narrow path. "What was that?" Thalia asked, pulling her horse to a stop.

  Alistair listened carefully, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "I'm not sure."

  For a moment…nothing happened. Right when all three of us seemed ready to dismiss the incident as paranoia, a group of rebels emerged from the trees. Their faces were twisted in rage as they charged towards us, swords drawn and ready for a fight. My heart racing, I drew my own sword and prepared to defend myself.

  Thalia’s sword was in the air in the same instant, and Alistair’s was a mere second behind us. He carried a larger sword than either of us, preferring to wield it two-handed, but the oversized weapon did not seem to hinder him in the slightest.

  Mere seconds were all I had to prepare before the first blow was struck. Then my world became nothing more than the blurred features of my attacker and the ringing clash of steel.

  I remember the looks on their faces, the angles of their blades, the way their bodies telegraphed their next movements, but I couldn’t recall a single detail about what they looked like or where they came from. All my mind seemed capable of processing were the facts that would keep me alive.

  Thalia and Alistair fought beside me, their movements fluid and precise. We moved as one, striking out at our attackers with deadly force.

  The rebels had us outnumbered three to one, but we fought with a fierce determination and had years of training between us. Despite our training and skill, we were pushed back, struggling to hold our ground on the road.

  I felt the sting of a blade as it grazed my arm, and a wave of pain washed over me.

  But I refused to give up. I gritted my teeth and fought back with renewed vigor, determined to protect myself and my companions.

  Thalia was holding her own, her sword flashing in the sunlight as she deftly parried and struck. Alistair fought with a deadly grace, his movements precise and calculated. The rebels were no match for the three of us working together.

  Thalia claimed the first kill. A deft parry that removed a man’s fingers and left him open for a silencing thrust.

  I was close behind her, running my blade through my next opponent’s ribcage and twisting the sword free savagely.

  Not to be outdone, Alistair somehow managed to behead not one but two rebels with a single blow.

  Which left us with five more to cleave through before the battle was done.

  Confident now in our ability to hold our own, the three of us pressed the attack and worked together. Thalia and I had spent countless hours honing our skills together, so we anticipated one another’s next moves with practiced ease. Alistair’s predictable attack pattern with his two handed sword made it easy to anticipate where he would go next and adjust appropriately.

  They didn’t stand a chance once we found our rhythm.

  As the last rebel fell to the ground, I let out a deep breath. My arm was bleeding badly, but I knew I had to keep going. "Is everyone okay?" I asked, turning to my companions.

  Thalia nodded, her breathing heavy as she looked at my arm. "I'm alright, just a little winded. Are you unharmed?"

  "I'll live," I said.

  Alistair was panting heavily, sweat pouring down his face. "That was close," he said, wiping his brow with the back of his hand and staring down at the felled rebels. His eyes lingered on a bolt of fabric hanging from one of their belts, emblazoned with a triangle inside a broken circle symbol that the guard had told us about.

  I looked around at the destruction we had caused. Bodies lay scattered around us, and blood stained the ground. The forest was eerily quiet now, as if it was mourning the loss of life.

  "We need to keep moving," I said, trying to shake off the I said, trying to shake off the feeling of unease. "We can't stay here."

  Alistair nodded, already moving to gather our belongings. "Agreed. We need to get to Old Man Harlan as soon as possible."

  "Before we go anywhere, you need to bandage that," Thalia said, pointing to the bleeding wound on my arm.

  I grimaced. "There's no time to waste. We can bandage it at Harlan’s."

  "Agreed," she said. "We don’t have time to waste. If you don’t let me do this, you’ll bleed to death. So don't argue."

  "I don't have any fabric," I said reluctantly.

  "You have a shirt, do you not?"

  I raised my eyebrows, but I did as she told me, tearing strips of fabric from my shirt. Thalia expertly bound my wound, her hands gentle but firm. Alistair watched us silently, his eyes flickering with admiration.

  "You're very skilled," he said to Thalia as she finished up.

  I had to resist the urge to tell him to back off, though he was certainly correct. She was very skilled.

  She shrugged modestly. "I've had to patch up a few wounds in my time."

  "Well, I'm grateful to have you with us," I said, smiling at her.

  She smiled back, her eyes meeting mine for a moment before turning back to the path ahead. "We still have a long way to go," she said.

  We mounted our horses once more, luckily they hadn’t ran off too far during the battle, and continued down the path. The tense atmosphere lingered, but we rode in silence, lost in our own thoughts.

  As we rode deeper into the forest, the trees grew taller and darker, and the air grew colder. The light filtered through the thick canopy, casting eerie shadows on the forest floor.

  After a few hours, we finally reached the cave that was said to be Old Man Harlan's dwelling. It was dark inside, and the smell of herbs and plants hung heavy in the air.

  "Hello?" I called out, my voice echoing off the walls.

  There was no answer, only silence. But as we ventured further into the cave, we spotted a figure sitting in the shadows.

  "Hello?" I called out again, my hand resting on my sword.

  The figure emerged from the shadows, revealing an old man with a long white beard and piercing blue eyes. He looked at us with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.

  "Tristan Silverblade," he said. "I've been waiting for your arrival for many a gray year."