PART II: The Cut Rope
"Follow the smoke!" Sang yelled out to his men as he rode on his brown horse. The banner of his family—the sun rising from behind a hill—stained with dirt and mud as it was held high by one of his soldiers that rode behind him.
Sang's tall and silky golden-blonde hair fell on his shoulders, radiating as his horse dashed between the trees and through all the mud, leaving some distance between itself and the rest of the less experienced horses that Sang's men rode.
One of the very few men who was able to keep up with Sang's horse yelled out to Sang, "My lord... please... We should wait for orders!"
Sang was not fazed at his words and continued to ride fearlessly towards the source of the smoke.
Once he arrived, he saw an old man with mud covering his family's sun on the back of his white armor.
The old man turned around. His sword was sheathed on his belt.
He stood empty-handed. The old man said as he bowed his head slightly to greet Sang, "My lord... what brings you here?"
Sang looked around before he answered. He looked at the pile of burning bodies, then at the old man again, then asked, "I thought we ordered to burn those piles in pairs of two. Where's the other soldier accompanying you, old man?"
The old man let out a small laugh, then said, "That young boy rode home, Lord Sang... He was scared by one of those... things... He pissed himself and left me by myself in the middle of the forest."
The old man looked back at the pile of bodies, hiding his true emotions.
"Have we met before, old man?" Sang asked, without changing his firm and cold tone.
"Yes, I do believe we have met before, my lord. It was back when you were named the new heir for the Sunrise estate... I was at the party like the rest of the knights." The old man answered.
"You are a knight?" Sang asked, as the last of his men joined him.
"Yes, my lord," the old man answered as he smiled at Sang.
"And why is a knight doing the job of a soldier?"
"I am a former knight of House Grimwith. Unfortunately, as you know, my lord, all knights serving under them were abolished of their knighthood." The old man answered.
"And why here, old man... all the way to the west filled with farmers and peasantry, when your home in the east holds wealth, trade, and nobility?"
The old man's smile weathered away slowly beneath the rain, then he answered, "Why does anyone ever flee their home, my lord..."
"Because they fear for their lousy lives." A common sellsword from behind Sang answered, then laughter erupted between the lowly soldiers that rode behind Sang's soldiers and knights.
Sang looked back with disgust, as the laughter slowly died out. The old man chuckled, then answered, "You're wrong, boy... It's for the safety of their loved ones... And my loved ones were here... I came all the way west to teach and protect my son.
"Sang looked at the old man quietly for a moment, then asked, "And where is he now?"
The old man looked back at the corpses, then after a moment of silence, he answered, "He shat himself and ran home after he was scared by them... I ought to teach him a thing or two about being a man" The old man pointed towards the bodies.
Sang looked around one more time. His aid rode up towards him and said,
"My lord... Please If the countess learns of you mobilizing the soldiers when she isn't here... She will punish us for following your orders... I beg of you spare your men punishment and ride home... No one will learn of this if you turn back now."
Sang looked at the soldier and said, "If you fear my mother's punishment so much, all you had to do is refuse my orders and remain home... You know I wouldn't punish you for such a thing."
"My lord, you know that the Countess would punish us for refusing to follow your orders as well."
"Then tell her I ordered you to stay." Sang answered as he looked around one more time.
Sang's gaze was caught by the horse tied to a tree... and next to it, a rope was tied to another tree, cut by something sharp. Sang slowly rode up to that same tree as everyone watched on, and he jumped down from his horse and knelt down in the mud and checked it.
He then looked back at the old man and asked, "Why would your son cut the horse's rope instead of just untying it?"
"Like I said, my lord, my son was scared and full of shit and piss. I am grateful he was calm enough to cut the rope and not the horse's neck." The old man laughed nervously.
Sang stood up and walked up to the old man. His red crimson eyes stared at the old man, watching as an eagle watches its prey, awaiting a nervous lie.
"Yes... it does seem like your son... or whoever cut that rope was in a hurry... like they were running away from something... or someone."
The old man sighed, then answered, "My lord, please forgive me for saying this, but it is just a rope my dumb pupil cut while he ran back home... I don't know why you are looking into this so much... If there's anything you wish to know, just ask—"
And just as the old man was speaking, the sound of Amal's cries stopped his next words and caught the attention of everyone.
Sang quickly drew his sword and held it on the old man's neck. "Tie him." He ordered his men, then he walked towards the source of the sound.
He walked towards the small bushes where the sound came from and put his hand in them to uncover the infant. He knew Nex wouldn't be able to fit inside those bushes, so he had nothing to fear.
But when he dug deep into the bush, it cut his finger, but he did not react. He uncovered the crying baby in the bush and watched as her smooth skin was rendered with slashes from the bushes.
He halted, looked around towards the trees and bushes, then stood up and went back towards the old man, then asked, "Which way."
The old man looked at Sang, then said, "I will only tell you if you swear to not harm me or her."
Sang nodded, then said, "I swear it on my family's honor."
And after a small moment, the old man sighed, then said, "South... He rode south... Ride there and you will find his tracks." The old man nodded towards the way Nex rode.
"Untie him." Sang ordered. "Wrap her with something to keep her warm, and stop hiding her in those bushes. It's cutting her." Sang added as he and his men mounted back on their horses, then rode south.
The old man ran towards the bush, then dug her out, not flinching at the cuts that wounded him.
He carried her over towards his horse and took a small piece of cloth from the bag that the horse carried, then he wrapped her with it and held her tightly.
The old man sighed a sigh of relief, then said, "Next time, make sure the people chasing you are close enough to see which way you fled, boy." Then he mounted his horse with amal in his hands and rode east.
Meanwhile, back in Kalaa, in the office of King Leofric in the Silver Keep, Actaeon's ears rang in pain after he heard the news from King Leofric's mouth."No... He can't be... How..." Actaeon muttered aloud.
The darkness of his missing right eye had swallowed the reactions of Sao, Tazan, Riger, and Tex as they sat on his right, and he looked Leofric in his eyes as he delivered the news. He knew Leofric did not take those words lightly, and yet he couldn't help but ask, "How... Who... And why?" as tears poured down from his left eye.
King Leofric did not answer; moreover, he couldn't, for he didn't know the answers. He just awaited for the moment of grief to pass. As Actaeon got lost in his own thoughts, the weeping sound of a giant from his right interrupted his thoughts as it filled the entire room and even the halls of the keep, as he himself ignored it and kept looking for answers to his questions.
Suddenly, a calm and old voice from his right asked, "Are you sure... Your majesty?" Riger asked.
Leofric halted for a moment, then he looked at the Countess and answered, "That is why Lord Sao is here today, Commander Riger. I want you to confirm the description of the young boy the Countess of Sunrise found dead in her territory."
"You mean he could still be alive?" Sao asked with a shaky voice.And before King Leofric or the Countess could even answer, Bronn answered, "No... The child... is dead... My wife confirmed it with her own eyes.
"Actaeon looked up and said, "Forgive me, my lords, but I find it hard to believe that an eleven-year-old child that has survived the Grand Bazaar Massacre all by himself without any major injury is gonna die in some small nobleman's territory without seeing his body myself... Or at least without—"
"The body of the infant that was with him?" the Countess asked, interrupting Actaeon.
Actaeon froze in place... "That's right... The infant... How could I have forgotten her..." he thought to himself quietly.
But the Countess knew the look of guilt on his face and continued, "What... Have you forgotten about the infant the black-haired boy carried?"
Actaeon's face lit up, then he immediately asked, "Black haired?"
The Countess answered firmly, "Yes... The black-haired kid, with a scar on his neck that looks like his throat was slit, and a burning wound to his chest, among other cuts and slashes... The imperial dog that killed him called him Nex..."
"Nex had white hair... All children of the royal family of August have had white hair for the past seven hundred years... It isn't Nex—" Before Actaeon even finished his words, Sao cut him off.
"Not Nex... Nex had black hair... I have seen it myself. He only dyed it so no one would know of it, but I guess whatever happened on his way to Stella made his hair go back to its original color." Sao locked his hands together and ground his teeth with rage as he uttered those words.
Tazan added between his cries, "Bu... But Nex did not injure his neck... It isn't him... It can't be... It can't..." Tazan returned to his loud cries as he wiped the unending tears that poured down from his eyes.
Actaeon added, "He's right... Nex's neck wasn't injured. Whoever this kid is, it ISN'T Nex. I mean, think about it—black hair is more common than white hair... It is clearly someone else that just happens to carry an infant."
The room went silent. Riger sighed as he put his head between his hands in disappointment. King Leofric kept staring down at the ground in guilt. The Countess looked away from the suffering as she closed her heart to the emotions that came out of the young boys in front of her.
Sao broke the silence as he slowly said between his own silent cries, "Actaeon... A kid came to me... He told me that Prince Nex is in danger and that he was headed towards Stella... Being chased by Andras's men... And... And... During the last seven hundred years... no one has worn the black hair other than Nex's mother... Aurora..." Sao broke into tears as he uttered those words... confirming to everyone in the room that Prince Nex, son of Aurelian and Aurora, was dead.