The Scarlet Phoenix and the Prince of Winter

Chapter Twenty Six

"Surrender it to us and you will not be harmed," said the leader which was holding a sword. "Do not underestimate us. We are skilled in combat," he added. Maybe he sensed that we were not really thinking of surrendering to them right away, so they are trying to scare us from the get-go.

"Hold on tight to me, Rainha," Prince Kao then said to me after that. "It looks like we will be in for a rough battle."

"It won't be as rough as you expect it to be if you will just put me down you know?" I told him. I admit, it is hard for me to let this rare kind of a moment pass, but I would rather go down and live than hang on to the Crown Prince's back and die. It's obvious what should my priorities should be right?

But the Crown Prince could be hard-headed if he wants to. And this is one of those times. "I told you to cling to me as tight as you can!" he said indignantly. It was almost a scold that's why it made my heart pound. "They are not kidding when they said that they are good in combat! They can take you away!"

"But---"

"No more buts, Rainha. Just do what I say, okay?"

"A-Alright..." I finally said although that only made me more frustrated and scared. If don't put me down to the snowy ground, then how the hell is he going to fight these goons properly? And is he really expecting to win this fight when he has someone on his back? What is he? A sadist?

"It looks like you guys have no plans in obeying my order, so I have no choice to make it hard for you," said their leader who sounded determined to really take this bracelet away from me. "You know what to do, boys! Make them pay for not listening to me while I was still kind to them!"

There were grunts and shouts of men announcing the start of the battle, and my heartbeat doubled from the fear of getting hurt by these unknown assailants. I saw them come for us from every direction, so all I could do was close my eyes and pray that they don't kill us. But that did not happen as I heard some of them groan in pain or shout with agony. I don't know what was actually happening because I could not open my eyes from fear. All I did was to hold on to the Crown Prince who was now moving aggressively too. He was moving fast and with the intensity that I was literally holding on for dear life.

However, the sounds that I was hearing did not sound like the Crown Prince was in actual trouble so that made me wonder. Was he actually fending them off successfully? I did not want to open my eyes again because I feel that if I ever open them and saw brutality and blood I think I will pass out.

I could hear shouts, plus the sound of metal hitting another metal and to me, that was the cue to open my eyes. I was wondering how on earth was the Crown Prince still standing and fighting all of these guys without receiving damage to his body? Surely, he was winning this, right? Because if he was losing this then he would have fallen to the ground by now! But that is not happening, so that means that he is actually good with combat too, and was on par with these goons!

"Who are you? How did you learn---?"

"Why would I tell you about my personal life?" I heard the Crown Prince replied to the goon and there was the sound of metal slashing again followed by a scream of someone being tortured with pain. It was then that I opened my eyes and saw that at least four men were all on the ground, and some of them were wounded as the white snow was slowly turning into red.

I almost fell from the Crown Prince's back when I saw the blood splattered on the ground and some of these guys were lying there, already unconscious. I don't know what to feel first. Should I feel horrified first that people just died here, in front of me? Or should I feel impressed first that the Crown Prince really did defeat them despite the circumstances?

"What are you doing? He's just one man and he's carrying a girl with him! Why did you let him get you, you buffoons! Get up and kill him! We only need the girl!"

I saw the remaining guys go and attack the Crown Prince simultaneously and I was about to close my eyes again because for sure this time I think this might be our end--- but again, that did not happen. Before they can even go near us, two of them already fell down from what Prince Kao did to them.

At first, I was confused as to what he was doing, then I saw that the Crown Prince was holding something in his hands. I think they were daggers? I am not quite sure, but they are these small sword-like blades with handles that my brother used to have too. The Crown Prince was throwing these daggers at these goons like darts.

My mouth fell open at this. So this is how he managed to defeat most of them. Impressive! As expected from someone who will be the future king of this kingdom! But to be honest, I should have not been surprised because I know that the Crown Prince was well-trained in combat thanks to the Royal Guards. But these goons did not know that so they were actually the ones who underestimated him.

But Prince Kao was still panting from doing it. I could feel his deep breathing and I wished that he would finally let me down. But he still doesn't want to do it so I guess I'll have to watch what he's going to do next. Now, there are only three of these unknown men left and they looked like they were torn between running away and fighting with all their best.

"Are you still going to fight me?" Prince Kao told them. I saw one of the goons' legs were shaking and I had to bite my lower lip to stop a laugh. "I am good with aiming at targets, you know. You saw what I can do," he added, pointing at their comrades lying on the ground. "If I were you, I will run away now that you still have the chance."

"Don't make a fool out of us!" yelled the leader who sounded very mad. "We are not weak just as you thought!"

"Oh really? Then come and fight me then!"

"Let's kill him! On the count of three!" One! Two---"

But the leader already dropped dead to the ground. I gasped loudly when I realized what just happened. Prince Kao had thrown a dagger at him, and it hit him in the neck. He fell down clutching his neck which was now red from the blood spilling from it. The other two looked at their leader in horror.

"You can still run, you know," Prince Kao told them, and without much farther ado, the two remaining goons run out of our sight. It was only then that the Crown Prince finally put me down on the ground. "That was fast."

I could not help but hug him. "You did it! You defeated them!" I know that I was not supposed to do it but I could no longer keep my glee. "And you are so good with those daggers! Wow! You are really incredible!"

"I have to be good with combat too, you know," he told me and I could feel that he was irked when one of the goons was kind of boasting that they were good in combat, too. Maybe the Crown Prince did not like that. "These idiots thought that I would easily get intimidated by them? What a joke. I have to learn how to fight in many ways so that I could protect myself from any kind of danger."

"Of course! You are trained for that! Why did I not think of that? I thought that we were going to die!"

He laughed at what I said and then proceeded to check on the dead bodies in front of us. Upon looking at them I suddenly felt sick. I wanted to vomit and my stomach churned uncomfortably.

They died. People just died now from the encounter. I know that it is not my fault nor the Crown Prince's, but I could not help but feel a little twinge of guilt from being alive while they lie on the snow,

lifeless.

"What are you thinking about? You look gloomy." He finally finished checking the dead bodies and has found something. He held it and I saw that it was a huge pendant. I think I saw that sign somewhere before, but I was not sure where. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes... I guess I'm just... you know... I'm just overwhelmed by what just happened. People just died, you know."

He nodded. "That's okay. It's not your fault."

"I know."

"Come on, let us go back to the snow carriage. We have to leave this place right away. There is a chance that they might come back with reinforcements."

That scared me so I started walking towards the path where we came from but Prince Kao again carried me on his back. I blushed profusely when I felt his back again while I lean my head on his nape as he walked on the deep snow.

"Is that the first time you witnessed someone dying in front of your eyes, Rainha?" he asked me softly while we walked silently on the dark and the cold. The snow was falling from the sky but it did not matter to us right now. I could not even feel the extra cold because my mind and body were still fixed on that encounter making me forget that we were treading on the snow and enduring the cold. At least for now we forgot that winter was forever and I like it.

"I think it was my first time."

"You are not sure?"

I nodded, but then I realized that he could not see it so I said 'yes.' "I know it's ridiculous to say this, but I think that there was a high chance that I saw my father die. I was with him when he died. So this might not be the first time that I saw someone dying. Technically, that is."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I don't even remember it happening."

"Just don't think about what happened earlier, okay? The more you will think about it, the more it will become vivid."

"Okay."

"And you don't need to feel bad about them dying either," he added. "It was their choice to attack us. In combat, or in any war, once you decide to fight, you also choose to risk your life. So if you die it is no one's fault but you. They tried to kill us, so we fought back. It's that simple."

I nodded again. I get what he was trying to say but still... my body was slightly shaking from that scene. I think it will take some time before it gets erased from my head so I need to be mentally strong about it.

We finally reached the snow carriage and the coach was frantic about what he saw. Of course, who would expect that the future king of Aure would appear out of nowhere carrying a girl on his back? Anyone would have the same reaction. But as much as I like his reaction towards the two of us, I know that what he was thinking was not the case. And I know it very well.