46- THE KIDNAPPING OF LAD CARIZ

"Well, give the order, Commander. We will remove all the vagrants from the streets so that they can be useful to our city, or we will exterminate them."

"Very well, sir," says the commander. "By the way, the Nobles will soon depart, our men have taken care of cleaning the streets."

"Did you remember the blood this time as well?" says the Prince suspiciously.

"Of course, sir, that will never be a problem again," adds the commander.

"Well, after this, I want to meet with both of you again, for our new plans," concludes the King.

"Of course, sir. Should I give the signal to the guys, sir?"

"Of course, and fix yourself up and be in shape, boy. We must make a good impression on these gentlemen," says the King sternly to the Prince.

The commander leaves and gives an order to the guards who were outside the palace areas, and at that moment a trumpet sounds and a bunch of knights come out, cleaning the surroundings of any indigent or vandal in the area. They must finish the work they have been doing for weeks. After the blast of knights eradicating every living being in their path, a group of men with stretchers and bags come by, cleaning up the massacre around them.

While this was happening, in the Terevillen palaces, there were some disputes. In the guest room, all the nobles were somewhat anxious to know how they would solve the conflicts in Teresville. Some also commented on the possible increase in rebels that could destabilize the kingdoms and guilds of the continent.

Among all the waiting, finally, King Toslan appears with a very encouraging and exciting look. "Good evening, everyone! I apologize for keeping you waiting. My son and I have just come up with a plan that he is eager to tell you about. And since we are a family that takes responsibility for our kingdom and allies, we have a Plan B in case the first one does not yield results."

Prince Toslan did not expect this announcement and angrily, he has no choice but to go along with it. "Good evening, everyone! Lately, we have been informed of notable rates of crime on the streets. Our firm hand, as our King says, did not work entirely, as some decided to leave the city to join the ranks of rebels. To prevent this, we want to give our citizens a second chance to redeem themselves. If they are still unable to function for our city, we will take the necessary measures to prevent them from becoming a problem again."

Sirr Porus, a man in his fifties, bald and with a withered appearance, a nobleman of the Ambelóneos, comments, "Your plan sounds very good, Prince. But many of us still have concerns about the growing wave of rebels that could reach our lands. How do you plan to solve that?"

Before the Prince has time to answer, another noble interrupts. Lad Cariz, a young woman with clear eyes and wavy blonde hair, adds, "It's true, our farmers are already worried because thieves have recently raided several of their barns. And this has never happened before!"

Lord Fauste continues, an elderly tall man with smooth gray hair and a beard, "The rebels are a problem both inside and outside our borders. We have to eliminate them. If Ambelon feels that it can harm them, they should join us to eradicate them once and for all."

"Send our men to war for mistakes that you made?" comments Princess Laseo furiously. "I don't think so..."

"Calm down, calm down," says Prince Toslan. "There's no need to get upset. Cleaning our streets will help calm the increase in rebel ranks. In fact, we will educate many of these men from the streets to also be part of our army, so we won't lose valuable men from the kingdom. Ambelon has nothing to worry about, we will take care of this matter."

The King interrupts. "I leave everything in your hands, my son. These people trust you, and your legacy is at stake. Let's trust the prince and his great strategy, let's raise a toast!"

Everyone raises their glasses, some reluctantly, but Prince Toslan's words manage to calm some nobles, while others remain reluctant to his decision.

The meeting ends, and several carriages depart for the port to return to Ambelón. One of the drivers is somewhat drunk and amidst all the commotion inside the palace, he takes the opportunity to enjoy some barrels of wine that the servants of several nobles forgot to bring. When it's his turn to start the assigned carriage, he takes a little longer due to his drunkenness, leaving Lad Cariz as the last one in the caravan of nobles heading to Ambelon.

"Hey, coachman, are we going to stay here all night?" says Lad Cariz annoyed through the carriage window. The man, somewhat nervous, finishes adjusting the carriage ropes before finally starting. "Don't worry, my lady, everything is ready now."

Once the journey begins, Lad Cariz tries to rest while she reaches her destination. The coachman, however, despite knowing the routes by heart, is somewhat confused, which causes the carriage to constantly pass over bumps, further irritating Lad Cariz, who cannot fall asleep because of this.

The carriage had stayed far behind the caravan, which was being guarded by some soldiers. The coachman does not notice this, and after about twenty minutes of their journey, in the middle of the forest, amidst the silent night and a shining moon, a noise among the leaves is heard in the trees. The coachman realizes this and nervously begins to accelerate a little. Out of nowhere, armed men emerge and stop the carriage, including five rebels. Quickly and without a word, they force the driver to get down. They kill him on the spot without saying a word, with a light slit in his neck. The men search his pockets and find the keys to open the compartment for the passengers. They approach and when they open it, they see Lad Cariz next to her courtier, and both scream in terror. Quickly realizing that she is someone important due to her fancy clothes, they proceed to gag her and take her away, killing her companion and leaving a note in the carriage.

At around eleven o'clock at night, the Cariz house starts to worry since the young lady had not arrived, so they send a messenger quickly to the port. He returns with bad news: Lad Cariz has not yet arrived in the lands of Ambelon.

Upon seeing this, her father, Sirr Cariz, seeks his best men the next morning and sets sail to Torbel in search of his daughter. Once he sets foot in these distant lands, he heads to the city of Teresville following the direction given to him by the men of the Jalagh Defense. He finds the empty carriage and the kidnappers' note. After reviewing it, with tears in his eyes and a lot of anger, he quickly heads to Teresville, and the news quickly spreads throughout the city. The royal guard arrives at the crime scene in support of this family, which is an important ally.

When Prince Toslan learns about it, he becomes worried and starts giving more radical orders to his men. He does not plan to pay the agreed sum in the note left by the kidnappers. Instead, he plans to exterminate any possible suspect, focusing on the rebels.

Sirr Cariz returns to his land with a broken heart but leaves some of his men in Torbel to continue the search. This wealthy family did not have enough money for Lad Cariz's ransom, so in his search, Sirr Cariz heads to the capital of Ambelonea to report what happened. The news quickly spreads through the streets, causing uncertainty and internal conflicts.