Dagen’s POV
The moment I stood erect on my feet, a wave of arrows was shot in my direction. Philemon responded quickly by standing in front of me, but it did not help much because the arrows were coming at me from every side. Without saying anything to each other, we backed each other and began blocking the arrows as best as we could. Soon the arrows stopped coming, but there was no enemy in sight. I walked to check on my horse, Thunder, who had not been spared in the assault.
I was not too worried, as I was aware that Thunder was no ordinary horse. Beneath her lovely soft fur was a skin that was as thick as a diamond. I was almost certain that nothing could pierce through her skin and if any arrow could cut into her skin, I was confident that the poison would have no effect on her. Thunder was a special breed, a special type of horse.
We finished our food quickly and took turns standing guard through the night. At the glimmer of the first light of the next day, we resumed our journey once more. This time we encountered no arrows, but the forest sent her wildest of beasts to harass us.
By the third day, we were nearing the brink of the forest and the day had been unusually uneventful. However, just before we reached the mouth of the forest, we were surrounded by about fifty men. In simpler terms, we were being ambushed. I could tell from the demeanour of the men that surrounded us that they were not mere thugs but trained soldiers. Someone had sent them and their purpose was very clear; they were here to kill.
They rushed at me and Philemon and attacked us on every side so that we had no respite. They meant business too, because their attacks were calculated and well-targeted. Within minutes of fighting, I was already growing tired, and their numbers had not dwindled significantly.
I noticed, however, that the men attacking me sought to get me off Thunder. I smiled inside of me when I observed that. When they had rained arrows at us the previous day, it had been to test our strength. They knew that as long as I remained on Thunder it would be almost possible to hurt me badly. One of them even went as far as to drag me with force off my horse.
The fight continued for hours. It was a strange sort of fight. No words were exchanged at all and except for the clash of steel on steel, all was quiet. The men seemed not to grunt or moan at all in pain. They did not cry out even when they were handed a deadly blow.
Hours later, there was nothing but a pile of dead bodies around us.
“You've done well,” I commended Philemon. I had to make a mental note to reward him greatly upon our return to the palace. In the past few days, he has saved my life several times.
“I only perform my duty, Your Majesty,” he returned. I smiled because I knew he would say that.
We made it out of the forest bruised and tired, and our journey was still far from over. We still had the desert to contend with. The advantage here, however, was that it was open; there were no clusters of trees to mask danger. Our journey took us another three days until we finally arrived at the border of the Dark Moon clan.
Naturally, we were stopped by guards who stood at the city gate. I held up my identification tag to them and the guard who had stopped us was surprised.
“Do you come in peace, Alpha Dagen?” it was rather strange for me to leave my pack to come here. In truth, I do not think I have had any business with King Napoleon. I knew him only by his reputation. He was not one to attend many gatherings either, and he was closer to the vampires than he was to us werewolves.
“I do. It is why I come vulnerable; I come only with my servant,” I said, looking in the direction of Philemon's innocent face. The man seemed satisfied by my response but made us surrender all our weapons regardless.
We were then escorted to see King Napoleon.
*****
I was told that the king had important guests with him and I had to wait. I tried not to be offended. After all, I had come unannounced and with a request. More so, if he really was Regina's uncle, then I had offended him and I could only hope that he would forgive me and allow me to see her.
King Napoleon kept us waiting the entire day without offering us a room. Much later, a guard of his came to report to us that King Napoleon was no longer receiving guests, so we had to return the next day.
King Napoleon obviously had something against me. I knew that if the situation was reversed, I would not treat royalty the way he treated me. Had Regina damaged my reputation in the presence of her uncle? It would not be her fault if she had. After all, I had given her a reason to do so.
“If I may speak, Your Majesty. You deserve better than this,” commented Philemon. We had not even been offered anything to eat.
“What I seek is greater than any embarrassment he may want me to face. I shall return tomorrow, but first, we must find an inn to settle in for the night,” I returned dryly, my throat patched from dehydration.
“I will take care of it.”
We slept in an inn that night and considering that we had been sleeping under open air these last few days, the room was a welcome relief.
I awoke the next morning and this time I was able to see King Napoleon.
He was a man of fine stature, but he looked nothing like a warrior. He spoke eloquently too and appeared to have no rough edge about him.