Chapter 10
A za jolts awake. The carriage jerks to a stop, and there is yelling outside.
Jahar puts his finger up to his lips.
“Bandits!” The guards outside the carriage yell.
Jahar stands up quickly and pulls his bag from under the seat. He straps on shoulder armor. Then he pulls out an incredibly long and sharp silver sword.
“Stay in here. Don’t make a sound. Do not come out, under any circumstances. Worst case, we will clear a path and send you back towards home if need be.”
“Jahar, no! Please.” Aza begs.
“Everything will be alright. I have to go out there.”
Tears spilled down Aza’s face, scared for Jahar’s safety.
From what she’s heard, the bandits have been traveling to various areas around the continent, and they’re brutal, leaving carnage in their path.
Baba had been coming up with plans with his advisors as to how to stop them, but they never stay in one place, so they have been struggling.
Aza sends up prayers for everyone’s safety.
From outside the carriage, she hears grunting, swearing, and yelling, as well as the unmistakable sound of metal clanging on metal.
She stays curled up in the corner, covering her mouth so as not to make a sound. The bandits might not know that the Princess is in the carriage, although Aza kind of doubts that at this point; nonetheless, she tries her best to listen to Jahar.
Her heart drops when her carriage door is ripped open, and she sees a disgusting male with dirty, ripped clothes and a mouth full of rotten teeth.
He shouts, “It’s better than we thought, boys! Looks like we got a princess in our midst!” He stalks forward, “Oh, and not just any princess, the finest maiden in all the land!”
He reaches out his hand and grabs hold of Aza, starting to drag her out of the carriage.
“Get your hands off of me! You can take all of our gold and goods, just let me and my men go!”
“I don’t think so, lassy. You’re worth way more than anything in this carriage. More than the carriage itself. Do you think you’d still be worth as much though if me and a couple of my buddies have our way with you?”
Aza spits in his face.
“Mhm, I’m gonna give you one free pass because you smell so good, and,” he licks his lips, “you taste good too.”
“You are vile!” Aza spat, trying to pull away from him, throwing a fist and kicking him. Despite her efforts, she isn’t very strong, and she doesn't know how to fight or defend herself.
All her worries about herself fade, however, when she realizes none of her guards are in sight, not even Jahar, but a few other bandits are standing around.
Oh heavens! Please, no! Don’t let him be dead!
Aza screams now. Screams right in this vile monster’s face.
“Get the fuck off of me!”
“Oh, you got a mouth on you,” the man hackled. “What else does that pretty mouth do?” he asked as he shoved her onto her knees.
Aza continued thrashing, refusing to go down without a fight, even if it won’t be a good one. All she wants is to find Jahar. It’s killing her not knowing.
The man grabs hold of both of her wrists and some of her hair to hold her in place as he fumbles with his waistband. Aza closes her eyes.
In the distance, Aza hears shouting and then awful squelching sounds followed by agonized screams. She opened her eyes toward the sound and saw a tall figure looming in the distance.
As it comes closer, she realizes it is Jahar!
He cuts through them, sword flashing, chopping down bandits in his way.
He still has his armored shoulder pads on, but his undershirt is ripped and flowing in the breeze.
Underneath were layers of perfectly defined abs of honeyed skin.
Tufts of hair poke out from his waistband.
Aza can’t help the heat, she shouldn’t be feeling curl low in her stomach.
Right now is not the time to be massively turned on, considering the blood and carnage around her, and the fact that another man was mere seconds away from forcing himself on her—the same man who was now shaking in his boots.
“I will give you less than a second to remove your filthy hands from my princess,” Jahar shouts in a deep, menacing voice that makes all of Aza’s lady parts quake.
“Or, I just kill her,” the bandit yells, reaching for the dagger strapped to his side.
Aza throws her weight back and kicks him backwards with both of her feet. He stumbles away from her, and Aza heard a whoosh of air before a dagger embeds itself in his chest. The bandit sputters, blood leaking from his lips before he falls backwards, smashing into the ground and not moving again.
Jahar all but sprints over to Aza, dropping to his knees and grabbing her in his arms.
Aza thought Jahar was hot before, but nothing compared to unhinged Jahar.
What is wrong with me? Must be a trauma response having these completely inappropriate and unnecessary thoughts right now. Snap out of it, Aza!
Jahar leans back away from Aza, “Where did he go? He was supposed to watch your carriage and signal if anyone got too close. I had to help the others; they were getting overwhelmed. I’m going to kill him!”
“I… I think they already beat you to it.” Aza stutters, pointing to the body lying under the carriage.
“Fuck!” Jahar sighed, regrettfully. His eyes are lowered momentarily before he looks up and asks, “I know a lot just happened, but are you hurt?”
“N-no. Just a little sore from tugging, but no real wounds. You… you should check on him. He might still be alive.”
Jahar stands and goes to check on the fallen guard, one Aza does not recognize, which makes her all the more sad. He bends down and checks his body over. Aza is sure that he’s dead, but she sees him begin to stir with Jahar’s intrusion.
“It’s alright, kid. Don’t sit up too fast.”
“I’m… I’m so sorry. They snuck up on me. I remember something hitting my head, and then everything went black.”
Jahar still looked like he’s about to yell at the young guard, but briefly glancing at Aza must change his mind.
“What’s done is done. We must recoup and get out of here as fast as we can. For all we know, there could be more.” Jahar announces.
The guards move quickly to right the carriage and move the bodies out of the road.
“We are far closer to the Bashar Kingdom than our own, and I think we should continue on our way there. A few of the men are injured and need to be tended to.” Jahar tells Aza.
“Yes, of course. We will continue.”
“I’m… I’m sorry. I should have stayed with you. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if anything further happened to you. I am truly sorry you endured what you did. Please, forgive me?” Jahar practically begs.
Aza can’t wrap her head around how this force of nature, who practically cut down men where they stood, could be standing in front of her, like a scolded animal, begging for forgiveness.
“There is nothing to forgive. You were put in an awful position. Regardless, you still saved me.” She rests her hand against his shoulder, where there is no metal or cloth cover, sending what feels like electricity through her.
Jahar clears his throat and steps back, “Forgive me, Princess. I should clean up quickly and fix my attire.”
“Of course.” She says as he begins walking away, “And Jahar?” She calls out, and he turns back to face her. “I didn’t realize how much of a badass you truly are.”
Aza swears she sees him blush as he continues.
What in the world just happened? Were they really just attacked by bandits?
Aza wouldn’t be surprised if this were one of her cruel visions that haunt her, but this was real, even if it didn’t feel real. She takes a few more moments to breathe deeply and tether herself, and let a few more tears fall, before she heads back to her carriage.
She is expecting Jahar to get in with her, but instead, the young guard who was lying under the carriage is told to get into the carriage. Aza looks at Jahar, hurt flickering in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Princess. His head injury is pretty bad.
He can not operate a horse right now, so I must take his place.
Will you keep an eye on him? Don’t let him go to sleep.
Can you do that for me? We are not very far from Bashar; you actually slept most of the day, so we will be there shortly.
And then if you want to talk over things, I will be here for you, okay? ”
“Okay,” Aza says in a weak voice.
Aza gets into the carriage and inwardly says goodbye to Jahar.
She spends the rest of the journey keeping the young guard entertained so he would stay awake.
She finds out that his name is Iren and he has just finished his guard training.
He apologized profusely to Aza about all that had happened, but she told him it was not they who deserved blame; it was the fault of the vile bandits.
Aza finds him pleasant enough, and he helps the journey move by faster.
Aza thinks that Jahar might have been over exaggerating their closeness to Bashar, as it has been quite a while, but they finally announce to Aza that they are arriving.
Relief loosens something in her chest as she peers out the window.
When their carriage pulls up to the front entrance, guards come out to greet them.
Ramsee opens the carriage door and helps the young guard out.
Aza follows behind them. Aza hears Jahar announce that they were attacked by bandits, that some of the guards need medical attention immediately, and that the King needs to be made aware of the bandit attack in his territory.
“Does the Princess require anything?” One of the Basharian guards asks.
“Nothing myself, just that the injured are tended to. But I would like an audience with the King after we have settled in, if he is not otherwise engaged.”
“Yes, my lady, we will fulfill your requests.”
“Thank you.”
“The servants will show you and your remaining guards to your room, and we will provide extra guards in the meantime for your coverage while the others are tended to.”
“That is very much appreciated, Sir.”