101 Ways To Tame The Emperor

Chapter 14: Kill Or Be Killed

(Sabina)

WHEN the carriage suddenly stopped moving, I knew that the time has come to test our teamwork. I saw Matilde shivered but she did not say a word. I became very proud of her when she held her dagger with such determined eyes. I knew just how afraid she was but she was trying to be the bigger person here by hiding her fear in front of me. And I appreciate that.

Since we did not have enough time, I was only able to teach Matide a few self-defense moves these past few days. But I will make sure that she would not have to use the dagger today.

“We will take care of this. No matter what you hear, please do not go outside the carriage, my lady!” I heard Oliver said outside the carriage.

I rolled up the curtain so I could see what was going on outside. “Can you report the exact situation to me?” I calmly asked Oliver.

“There are about fifteen men on our right and fifteen more men on the left, my lady. Each of them is carrying a sword. There is also a group of assassins in front of us. They all have horses.”

“How many assassins are there in total?”

“They are about forty, my lady.”

Then it was forty against fourteen. The Count sent me a personal maid to assist me along with Matilde. She was in another carriage which had my personal belongings, some of our water, food, and other weapons. The maid was supposed to be our fifteenth member but she cannot be trusted with the weapons.

“We may be outnumbered, my lady. But have no fear; we will protect you with our lives. We will distract them and when the time comes, you can escape. For now, please stay here and don’t leave the carriage no matter what happens-“

My forehead creased. “And what do you want me to do? Sit still and wait for someone to slit my throat? Besides, what nonsense are you talking about? I do not abandon my own people. I will not reach the Imperial Castle alone. No one will be left behind today. We left the manor together. And we will arrive at the Castle together. Kindly tell the maid to come out and join Matilde in this carriage.”

Oliver was silent for a while but he looked touched. I did not have the luxury to wait for his reply. I made the right decision about not using the high heels the Count gave me along with the gown. I wore boots instead and since the gown was long enough, no one noticed it. Or maybe they did but nobody really paid attention. They just let me do whatever I please since they all thought I would be dying soon anyway.

To the Escorts’ surprise, I went out of the carriage while holding my bow and arrow. I gently pushed the bewildered maid inside to be with Matilde while I fight. I signaled the driver to get down and when he did, I climbed over until I reached the roof of the carriage. I would have moved faster if I was wearing pants. It was unfair that only the men were allowed to wear that in this world. Anyway, I like this position. I can see better and the roof seemed sturdy enough for me.

I’ve also practiced using the bow and arrow. True to Sir Richard’s words, the vessel never ran out of arrows. And maybe it was because of the magic the Mage put in the bow that’s why I found it lighter and easier to use.

“My lady, what are you doing?!” Oliver asked, looking aghast. “Please get down here! It is very dangerous up there!”

I stood on the roof and spoke in a louder voice for all the Escorts to hear. “It will be more dangerous if I will just sit back inside and wait for my death. We don’t have much time. I will only say this once so you all have to listen well. Today, we have to show the enemies that the House of Peiris cannot easily be defeated. The Count gave me plenty of gold coins today and I am willing to share them to you. For every assassin that you will kill, I will reward you ten silver coins. If you survive and reach the Imperial Castle with me, I will reward you a gold coin. And if nobody from our team dies today, I will give another gold coin. That’s why this will not be just about hitting the enemies. This will be about protecting each other, too. Try not to mind me so much. I can protect myself. Just do your own thing and avoid getting hurt. That is an order. Do you understand?”

The Escorts exchanged strange looks at each other. But Oliver and John were the first to kneel before me. “We will do as you wish, Lady Catherine.”

To my relief, the rest of the Escorts followed afterwards.

I smiled to appease them. It was the number one lesson that I learned back in my world. A superior cannot waver. She cannot lose hope or else the subordinates would lose theirs, too. “Thank you, gentlemen. Remember, it does not matter if we are outnumbered. As long as we act as one and we are swift, we have the chance. I am getting hungry. Let’s get this started now and finish as soon as possible so we can find a comfortable place to eat.”

I grouped us into three. The first group will deal with the enemies on the left. The second will handle the ones on the right. I, John, Oliver and the other Escort will target the assassins on the front. The whole time we were doing that, the enemies were just laughing at us. They were generous enough to give us a little time to prepare which means that they were not taking us seriously.

And who can blame them? This battle was really crazy. But we could use their lack of faith to our advantage.

My smile faded when the enemies began moving closer. It was time to kick some asses. I looked straight to my first target and released my first arrow for today.

(Malik)

“SHOULD we still go out there and reveal ourselves? It looks like we are not needed here, Your Majesty.”

 The amazement in Matthew’s voice cannot be denied. I did not have to look at my soldiers to know that they were just as amazed as Matthew. I mean, who wouldn’t? We came twenty minutes earlier in the forest than Catherine’s envoy. But we are hiding through a protective spell that’s why nobody can see us. We also heard and saw everything from the beginning. We heard how she commanded her twelve Escorts with that same air of confidence I saw back at the tavern.

And we witnessed how she used the gold coin method to trigger everyone to do the best that they can today while still managing to garner their affection at the same time. Catherine seemed to be a natural born leader. She started the battle through hitting the neck of the man who was about to attack their carriage. To hit a motionless target was difficult enough for some top-rank soldiers, what more a moving target who was riding a horse in a very swift manner? But she pulled it off like she had been using the bow for a long time now.

It boosted the morale of the Escorts as they began attacking and defending at the same time.

This was another revelation. Who would have guessed that Catherine was one heck of a great archer, too? It required intense focus and concentration. Archery mirrors a person’s state of mind. Both your mind and heart need to be at peace with each other before releasing the arrows. If you are not, the arrows will waver and will go the wrong direction. There were only a few royals I know who uses bow and arrow as a sport since most people lack the patience, dedication, attitude, and the ability to do it. That’s why aside from those people, the soldiers were the only ones who were trained to use them.

This just showed how calm Catherine is at the moment. Again, it was unusual. It was like she knew that there would be no Knights to rescue her or a fairy godmother to come to her and so she became her own fairy godmother instead. She became her own Knight.

Catherine was never considered a royal. And she was no soldier either. Yet, she could draw the arrow as good as the Morven’s top soldier. She stood on top of the carriage while looking as unyielding as ever with that seductive red gown of hers. She looked like a warrior princess with the wind playing with her silky hair that the rebels get distracted time and time again. And she never failed to use that distraction to her advantage.

Catherine made sure that her every arrow would matter because every target was hit. She could dodge the spears thrown at her direction and still strike flawlessly. The Escorts in her group did not have a hard time because she handled half of the men on the front. Now, they were wiped out.

“Oliver and John, you help the Escorts on the left side.” She commanded again. “And you,” she pointed the other Escort in her team who helped her in dealing with the men on the front. “You and I will aid the Escorts on our right.”

“As you wish, my lady.” The Escort replied in a now cheerful voice.

“Is everyone all right?” She then asked while pointing her arrow to her right.

“We are all safe, Lady Catherine.” The guy called Oliver answered. “How about you?”

She smiled as she wiped the sweat on her forehead. “It’s good to know that everyone’s okay. Remember the price for this, gentlemen. And remember to be safe. The goal is to safely reach the Imperial Castle together.” She emphasized the last word which brightened the men’s faces.

“How come that this side of Lady Catherine was not included on the report? How and where did she learn archery? If my memory serves me right, no one from the Peiris’ uses bow and arrow. I doubt that Count Quentin knew this otherwise, he would have added this information to his daughter’s records in order to improve her reputation.” Matthew exclaimed. “If this is not Lady Catherine who is doing this, I would have found her very unlady-like. But she manages to pull off that soft, elegant, and strong appearance all at the same time. I like her confidence, too. I think it’s very sexy. It’s such a shame that her Escorts could not keep up with her.”

I am beginning to regret allowing Matthew to tag along. This guy was noisy. He had been clapping like crazy for a while now. If not for the spell that can hide not just our appearance but also the sounds we make, we would have caught Catherine and her team’s attention and disturb them.

I smirked when I heard Matthew and the soldiers who were with us gasped again out of fascination. “Now, tell me. Does that look ‘timid’ to you? The House of Peiris must have thought they brought a cat in the Castle. Little did they know, it was actually a lioness.”