His Royal Maid

A powerful loud cry of distress rose in the air chaperoned with a heavy sound of running horses.

On the horses appeared men in armors and sharp swords in each hand as their large angry eyes fixed on their approaching enemies from the other side of the intense battle field.

The scream of women and children filled the background, dead bodies with blood spilling out of different parts of their bodies was seen on the ground, more soldiers fighting endlessly with loud clashing sounds of swords.

"Prepare for war!" A loud cry emitted from the crowd as the soldiers fought among themselves. Swords were stabbed deep into their chests, blood splashed on their faces and the whole kingdom became a battlefield filled with the dead bodies of soldiers including women and children who couldn't escape the claws of war.

"Blood of blood! We won't leave until we have conquered!" A large man with long beards and brutal eyes spoke out from among the crowd. He glanced at the men surrounding him one after the other, thick blood plastered on his face but he didn't care about it at all, the blood in his veins rushed through him violently.

"The king of Ceiptu has degraded me and my kingdom to the last level, this is a revenge that I must have, no one dare insult me and live the next day to tell about it" King Anox, the king of Dunab spoke out in the large crowd of soldiers who scanned at the dead bodies of their rivals. They have killed more men than required including the king of Ceiptu who laid dead on the cold ground, blood gushing out of his open neck.

With Stern eyes, King Anox stared at the dead body of the king, he felt at peace knowing that he had conquered and the war between his kingdom and the kingdom of Ceiptu was finally over.

"Gather the remaining women, young girls and children back to my kingdom. They shall serve me and I will make them suffer and pay for the deeds of their dead king!" the angry king swore with deceit.

He dipped his hand into his armor, brought out a brown rag and wiped the blood off his face. Slowly, he rested his gaze on his second in command, Andrew, a brutal soldier just like the king.

"Make sure that they are brought into the kingdom for inspection, I shall choose who will live and who will have to die by the sword!" he announced and without waiting for a reply from Andrew, King Anox galloped out of the kingdom and down into the woods along with three other men who followed him on their horses.

Some group of women and young girls with chains all around their body were dragged down the woods along with the soldiers who had no mercy on them.

"Increase your pace! We need to get to the kingdom before the sun sets!" Andrew announced loudly to the weeping women who couldn't dare to raise their heads for the fear of being killed.

Among the weeping women was a young brunette who walked quietly with great fear. She didn't dare to look up, with tightened muscles, her heart leaped almost a thousand times and the soft breeze that blew around them shoved her hair into different directions.

Her slender figure fitted slightly to the chains bound around her hands, her red lips shone brightly and her deep blue eyes fixed to the ground,her gaze not leaving her bareless feet.

"Susan" an older woman next to her whispered very faintly just to avoid her from being heard by the angry soldiers.

With trembling fingers, Susan raised her head, she turned to the older woman whom she was very familiar with back at their kingdom.

"Your gown is stained with blood, the soldiers must not know that you are on your monthly period, they might have you beheaded for this" the woman spat out in a whisper, her eyes filled with pity to the young girl in front of her.

Susan's heart dropped immediately, her knuckles became white with terror and her eyes began to flicker visibly scared.

"I...I..I had no idea it was coming out today" she whispered back to the woman with so many thoughts running wildly through her mind.

"The war came suddenly and so did your stain but you must find a way to hide this from them, the soldiers must not see this at all" the older woman chipped in and didn't say another word to the already frightened Susan.

Susan was torn apart as she drowned in an ocean of deep confusion. She scanned around but at the sides of her were soldiers seated on their horses as they walked on the lonely path deep in the woods. No one could help her, she knew that she was doomed and the chains tied around her hands prevented her from doing so many things. She must not let the soldiers find out about her stained dress, she must find a way to hide this and stay alive, no way will she die because of this.

The Journey continued, the wood was so quiet that the only sound that could be heard were the sound of the horses feet.

"I don't want to hear any whimpers at all, any woman who let out a single sob will be killed and her flesh will be laid here to be devoured by wild birds!" Andrew let out with anger and deep irritation as he stared at the helpless women before him. He was the last soldier on the road, he did this just to prevent any woman from trying to escape although it might seem to be impossible due to the chains tied around them.

None of the women dared to make a sound, with total silence, they got closer to the kingdom of Dunab, a kingdom known to be ruled by the ruthless king Anox.

Seeing the large city gate in front of her, Susan looked up with glittering blue eyes filled with fear and worry. She gulped down really hard with wonders on what might befall her in a strange kingdom she knows nothing of.

The plain of Bermont that was occupied by the four kingdoms of Ceiptu, Dunab, Blanco and Djon, was is in relative peace at the turn of the century. The plain hadn't always been peaceful; a handful of skirmishes between the kingdoms had occured in earlier times, and sometimes, it had seemed like a full-scale war would break out. But none of these happened. The aging king of Ceiptu, King Quincy, at the height of the furore, organized the other kings into a sort of union, which required them to be present at his palace bi-anually to discuss matters of peace and security.

This proved to be effective and soon, the plain was peaceful.

This was until Anox, crown prince of Dunab ascended the throne.

Anox was erratic, impetuous, impulsive and unreasonably pugnacious. He became the king of Dunab after his father died. Owing to how arrogant he was, rumours spread that Knox was responsible for the death of this father, who had been quite healthy before his premature death.

Anox seemed to be in total disagreement with the ideals that King Quincy of Ceiptu held and tried to uphold thoughtout the entire plain. He was a ruthless man and even the citizens of Dunab started to groan under the weight of his oppressive and autocratic rule.

King Quincy was to hold a meeting in Ceiptu shortly after Anox ascended the throne of Dunab. Anox, in a show of defiance and impertinence, arrived late to the meeting. He strode into the council chamber clad in an expensive purple robe bejewelled with some of the rarest pearls in the plain, with a scowl on his face. He sat on one of the chairs around the large table.

The air in the council chamber was tense with expectations and anxiety, as many of the other kings had heard of the blatant arrogance of Anox.

"You're thirty minutes late," Quincy said to Anox in his deep but gentle voice.

Anox simply stared into space, not saying a word.

"It is important you realise that a lot of the other kings in this meeting have come from their distant kingdoms, and so, punctuality is important." Quincy continued.

Anox maintained his silence.

The meeting began in earnest with Quincy heading it. This irritated Anox to the point where he reddened and bit his lower lip, but he still said nothing. Various issues were brought up, but top of the list was the new group of bandits that were raiding the towns and night, pilfering goods and livestock, vandalising public property and commiting various other atrocities. King Langdon of Blanco kingdom was complaining about how the bandits had, in the dead of night, ransacked an entire town, and eventually evaded arrest by his guards, when he was interrupted by Anox.

"If your kingdom was strong enough, you wouldn't be getting raids from petty bandits." He said, in a rather placid tone.

"What?" Langdon spat, a frown twisting his face.

"I said if you weren't so yellow-bellied, you wouldn't have a bunch of lowlifes disturbing the peace of your kingdom," he said with more vehemence, turning to face Langdon.

"You do realise that this is a very sensitive issue, don't you, King Anox?" Quincy said. "Numerous lives and property have been lost."

It got tenser in the chamber; the sound of feet shuffling under the table could be heard. For a minute there was complete silence.

"King Anox," Quincy began again, "I think you should apologise to King Langdon, and then we can..."

"No," bellowed Anox, slamming his fist on the table, giving everybody a start.

Soon, the whole chamber was in an uproar. Violent words flew back and forth from the mouth of the kings and their security chiefs, with many threatening to leave and never return. Quincy, being the oldest and most venerable king Aminat them, tried to maintain order.

"Enough," he yelled, his voice rising above the din of the other voices. "Enough of this squabbling, like a bunch of kids."

"I am no kid, Quincy, you had better watch your mouth," Anox yelled back, pointing his index finger very close to Quincy's face.

Everybody was stunned at the impetuousness of Anox, and stared at him as if he was an apparition that had just suddenly showed up. For a moment, it seemed like nobody was going to say anything, until Quincy's warm voice suffused the air of the chamber.

"King Anox, your uncouth manners and impertinence has been a ripple in the waters of today's proceedings," he said. "On behalf of the other kings, I'm going to ask you to immediately exit the chamber room."

Anox crunched up his hands in tight fists, ground his jaw and heaved his chest.

"You cannot ask me to leave the council chamber," he spat. "I have a right to it as the king."

"Yes, you do have a right as king, but your manners are insufferable," Quincy said smoothly. "Please, avoid further embarrassment and exit the chamber immediately."

Anox turned to leave, his flowing robe dragging behind him. As he went out through the door, escorted by his three security chiefs, Langdon said, shaking his head, "his father was always so genial."

"I know," said Henry, king of Djon. "The most noble man in all of the plain of Bermont."

"I think we need to give young Anox some time," Quincy said stroking his beard. He had being close friends with Anox's father and had known Anox as a child; he thought the boy was pert and bold in a way that could offend, but he had also thought all those traits would phase out as he grew. He was surprised at how wrong he was.

*

Anox was fuming as he sat on his throne inside of his spacious throne room. He couldn't believe that he had been ejected from the council chamber during a crucial meeting. He refused advances from his advicers and guards.

"Leave me alone," he had yelled at them.

"Who the hell does Quincy think he is?" He said to himself. "He's going to pay, he'll pay dearly."

A wicked smile spread across his face and he said, "he's not going to know what hit him."

Dunab was the largest kingdom in the entire plain. Apart from an impressive land mass and a dense population, the kingdom also boasted the most developed and equipped military in all of the plain. However, they were not exactly feared, because the precedent of Anox, his father, was a most peace loving king.

Half a year after Anox was made to leave the council chamber due to his arrogance and sassy statements, an assassin was caught in the corridor that led up to king's bedroom. He was apprehended by some of the guards and, after being forced to confess, said that he was sent by Anox.

Aghast at the effort on his life, Quincy sent out word to all of the kings in the plain, including Anox himself, for an emergency meeting. Anox, however, was not present at the meeting. The other kings deliberated over the brazen defiance of Anox.

Meanwhile, Anox had called a meeting of his security chiefs. His plan was to execute a full-scale assault on the kingdom of Ceiptu.

"But what for?" Asked Francis, the overall head of security. He had been the head of all issues relating to security since the time of Anox's father, and together, they had maintained peace in the plain.

"What the hell are you asking me that question for?" Anox shot back.

"My king," began Francis, standing up, "I believe there is a better way to solve these trivial problems than fighting."

"Trivial?" Screamed Anox. "Did you say trivial, Francis?"

Anox looked like he would explode in rage; the muscles in his neck and face tightened, and his lips were drawn into one thin line, his eyes looked like they would shoot fire.

"My king" Francis began again in a placatory tone, "your father and I fought..."

"Don't," yelled Anox. His voice shook the walls of the palace. "Don't bring my father into this, he's dead and gone."

"Dead, yes, but his wisdom can be relied upon," Francis said, raising a voice. He was starting to get angry, and had decided to air his views damning the consequences.

"You will not disrespect me, Francis, not in my own kingdom," Anox retorted.

"The kingdom belongs to us all," Francis said under his breath. But Anox heard him.

"What did you say, Commander Francis?" He asked, lowering his voice dramatically.

"I said the kingdom of Dunab belongs to us all," he said in a louder voice.

"Guards," he yelled for the guards that stood armed with swords nearby, "take Commander Francis into custody."

Everyone was struck. Commander Francis had served the kingdom for decades, longer than any soldier, any guard, any servant. He had been faithful and there never was any reason to question his loyalty.

The guards, obviously uneasy with Anox's orders, shuffled on their feet, darting nervous eyes around the palace.

"I said arrest the Commander," he yelled, a spray of spittle escaping his mouth.

"You don't have to do this, my king," Francis said. "I've only wanted good for the lives of the citizens of Dunab and everyone else in the plain. Violence shouldn't be an option."

"Arrest the Commander," Anox screamed again, staring at the guards with menacing eyes.

They took tentative steps towards him, held him by his hands and walked him off to the dungeon.

*

Three months after Anox threw Francis into the dungeon, he and his army laid siege to the kingdom of Ceiptu, cutting off their supply of food and other resources that constituted the daily lives of the people of Ceiptu. The other kingdoms of Djon and Blanco, too afraid to be involved, were simply tacit while Anox and his soldiers tried to sack the kingdom of Ceiptu.

Quincy tried to hold talks with Anox to see if they can reach a compromise. He couldn't understand why the two kingdoms would be warring over something that would be considered minor. He sent letters, but they were not returned. He sent some messengers, but they were brutally slayed and their heads sent back to him.

Soon, feeling a need to defend his kingdom, he sent his soldiers to the outer walls to fight and the battle that ensued was one of the bloodiest the plain had seen. The Ceiptu army were outnumbered almost five to one, and very soon, Anox and his army broke info the kingdom.

Quincy was murdered in cold blood by Anox himself with a sword that went directly through his heart.

"Your father wouldn't have wanted this," he said to Anox after he was cornered.

"Don't tell me what my father would have wanted," Anox said in a low threatening voice.

He felt no remorse, no sense of wrongdoing as he drove his blade into Quincy's chest.

*

Anox and his soldiers proceeded to sack the palace after they had subdued the army and taken over the kingdom. They went to the treasury that was located at the base of the palace and began to plunder all of the precious jewels, expensive artefacts and mementos that were stored there.

Anox looked at the spoils of war that he had gotten from all of the bloodshed, and felt a wave of self satisfaction course through his bodies. He started to imagine how good the gold and bronze pieces would look in his own palace, how fitting the expensive regalia would look on his own body.

But then he had another idea.

He looked around and saw women and children that had been cowed from the violence of the battle, and instructed his men to take as many young women and children as they could.

"What for, my king?" Asked Andrew, who had been appointed commander of the army soon as Francis was thrown in the dungeon.

"We'll use them as slaves, Andrew," responded Anox in a smug tone.

"Ah, good idea, my king," Andrew said smiling. His face was splattered with dried blood, and he smelled of death.

And so little girls were torn from their mothers and siblins, young women, too, and were taken into captivity by the Dunab army.

Among those that had been captured was Susan.