Joining A Group
2100 Words
"Stay down where I can see your hands or the next blow would be on your head this time...!" a rough gruff voice bellowed out and I could feel a blunt object stabbing at the back of my head as I laid down in the ground in a fetal manner.
I was clutching hard at my abdomen that might have been hit by that blunt object that was currently stabbing at the back of my head. "If a blow ends there, it would be the death of me," I reckoned to myself as I gritted my teeth and let out a groan as I try to endure the pain and hope it ebbed away soon.
I slowly stretched out my hands in front of me and showed that I was not holding nor hiding anything. My sword was thrown aside when I fell as I was curled up in that fetal position to endure the crunching pain.
With my weird way of wearing the cloak to utilise the hood as a pocket and with the bulge of my knapsack over my back underneath, I looked like a horrendous and disfigured human being anyone that feasted their eyes on. Pretty much like the 'Hunchback of Notre Dame'.
Soon I heard scuffling noises as the earlier group that I had noticed closed in on my prostrating position. "Ben, is this fella dead? His figure is truly grotesque and he looked like as if he had a hump on his back. Is this hair right on his whole face? My goodness, he looked almost like a monster...!"
I heard a lady's voice mentioning to the person whom I presumed was named Ben that had delivered me with a hit that made me doubled over instantly. "Don't be fooled by the looks of it. Looks can be deceiving..."
A sudden kick was delivered on my left hip and I instantly turned over and the hood that I made into a pocket had covered my face partly. I took one of my hands and made into a ball of fist and pressed it hard on my abdomen.
"Hey you, scoundrel rebel, look at me and tell me things that I want to know! You'd better don't have tricks up your sleeve or death would be swift on yourself. Are you alone and are you part of the rebels that had made a run at our town ?" the rough gruff voice belonging to Ben spoke up.
I had my eyes closed at all time and I was grimacing in pain and tried to hold it back. Tears unconsciously streamed down my cheeks as I staggered to form my words and told him, "I am not a rebel and I am from Darlington as well. I am alone and they had killed off my family back then."
"Frank, go and frisk him. He might have some information pertaining to the rebels. Don't worry, I've got my arrow trained at him. One false move and he's a goner for good." another female voice spoke up and I knew that she was the one that had tried to struck me with one of her arrows earlier.
I heard some shuffling noises as a pair of feet came close to me and untied the cloak before forcefully removing it from my back. The moment part of the hood that had shielded part of my face was revealed, I heard a few gasping sounds of surprise and shock at the revelation.
"Th... This is the Lordship...! Oh my goodness... What have I done...?!" I heard the one that had clobbered me earlier named Ben was utterly shocked at looking the body that was lying down in a fetal position now.
"My Lordship, please forgive your citizen. If I knew it was Your Lordship, I would not have caused you any harm." I squinted and saw Ben who was holding to a thick branch in his hands and he was on one knee. I made a quick glance around and saw everyone doing the same exact manner.
A timid young girl's voice broke the silence as I heard shuffling feet and a silhouette before me. As my eyes got used to the surroundings, I recognised the voice and the person that stood before me as Heather Lanford, my long-time childhood friend from school...!
"Your Lordship... It is me, Heather. Are you alright?! Are Princess Tanya and the Royal Majesty with you?" the young girl by the name of Heather held my face in her hands as I continue to lie down on the ground and clutching my sore abdomen. For her answer, I simply shook my head and tried to sit-up.
Seeing how I was unintentionally brought down by Ben earlier, the one who had frisked me earlier named Frank helped me to sit up on the ground. "Princess Tanya and the Royal Majesty had perished in the Manor. I'm the only survivor of the Macleod."
"Please help me up and don't stand on ceremony. This is not the place and time for any chit chat. We need to break away from here as soon and as far as possible." I beckoned the rest of the survivors of Darlington and the two men helped me to be back on my feet.
The pain was slowly subsiding as I stood up with my fist still pressing at my abdomen. The blow from the branch might have broken a rib or two but it was directly aimed to knock the wind off me.
"How many of you are from Darlington and others that are gathered here?" I queried Heather who was supporting me with her arm as we gathered around and walked towards the direction that was led by both Frank and Ben.
"Oh... There's the Gardner's, Levi's and Chowdry's and that makes us 12 people from Darlington. We're the last Darlington citizens and I am unsure if there are any other survivors out there." Heather replied me flatly as her thoughts flashed back at her friends' fates back then at the town.
"Don't worry about it. By the way, how long more do we need to travel? There are children along in this group, right? Shouldn't we stop for a short break and tend to their needs?"
"Your Lordship, we could make a short break in about an hour or so. There's a small rocky outcrop right ahead and we could rest for a while bit. Thank you for your concern about our kin."
"Please accept our deepest condolences towards the Royal Family." Ben bowed deeply in my direction and I bowed back in reply. At the mentioned of his condolences, I felt a pang of grievances tugging at my heartstrings as I could not have the courtesy and decency to properly perform the last rites for my own family.
I looked straight on and I can't stop the waterworks again. Heather who noticed me sniffling, gripped my arm tighter around her arms and she softly advised me, "I know the Royal Family deserves a proper ceremony. Nevertheless, Your Lordship has to become stronger in mind, heart and willpower."
"Your Lordship is our future leader and hope in rebuilding what we had lost and with Your Lordship's rule, I am sure the Royal Family gave you their blessings. The rest of the citizens here are experts in their own field and we could slowly rebuild our foundation."
I turned around and looked into Heather's brown eyes and for the first time since the onslaught of the rebels, I finally found new hope and confidence. Somehow looking at that peaceful face makes me feel at peace.
I swore to myself that I would uphold the Macleod's family name and rebuild Darlington.
"Thank you, Heather. You are truly a friend indeed and in times of need and dire. The same goes to all of you here, lend me your expertise, knowledge and strength. We would be able to pull this through and together we shall not perish."
"Yes, Your Lordship...!" everyone chorused their acknowledgement and we continued walking towards our next destination led by both Frank and Ben. Alongside Frank was his wife, Gwen that wielded a longbow on her back.
She had a leather quiver on her sides and was holding on to a short bow which she used it to shoot some brown-haired rabbits that would be used for our meals afterwards.
She had used a dull arrow but had sharpened it with her small knife. This way she would not be using her precious arrows that were tipped with sharpened metal arrowheads in case it got stuck into a rock and got damaged.
At least with a ranged weapon, our chances for survival in the wild as well as against unknown enemies and beasts would fare higher. We trudged on for some time and Jack Levi's wife, Kayla, busied herself by constantly foraging the area around her as we walked.
There were roots and wild plants that I presumed would be used to cook along with the game that Gwen had managed to acquire ahead of us. Looking around me, the survivors bowed when our eyes met and we all felt fortunate because each one had a specific role to play in our survival towards the unknown future.
If all goes well, we might even meet several other survivors from Darlington even if the chances were slim and close to none. We walked for what it seems to be hours, and soon reached a small clearing with a rocky outcrop close to a brook.
The children quickly gathered dry wood for the fireplace and the women prepared a simple meal of rabbit stew. Fortunately for them, they managed to grab a few cooking utensils before they leave the town. It was a simple meal but fully able to satiate our hunger and replenish our lost energy.
We dare not make a camp but just enough time for us to take a short break for a quick meal to replenish our thirst and hunger. Danger would still be imminent and we might still be in the influential area of those rebels.
I knew that the journey ahead was still far even after hours of trekking. But with the assurance of Gwen the huntress, she knew the parts of the wild forest like the back of her hand.
She was able to determine the direction of by touching the barks of trees and determine which type of animals existed in those part of the forest.
It was a break of about 2 hours before Gwen the huntress took the lead from then on as we trudged on towards our next destination — the first temporary campsite.
"Your Lordship, we would trek on for some time before we make a camp to rest for the night. These parts do not have any wild animals so it would be safe for us to spend the night in the open."
"We will stop soon an hour before dusk." Gwen advised as she bowed and moved ahead of the group after making her report.
We trudged on wearily as the Levis were not used to trek for a long time as well as over a great distance. We soon reached our intended destination and quickly make a temporary camp and heat up the meal we had taken for our lunch earlier.
The children were fed and once they had eaten, fatigue overcame them and soon soft snores were heard. The children slept where they had plopped on the ground and weariness overtook them.
"Your Lordship, the three of us would take turns to perform watch. Please take your rest and we would be moving out by the break of dawn." Ben motioned to me as he prepared the rotational watch with Frank and his wife.
I sat down on the ground and used my cloak as a spread and my knapsack as my pillow. As soon as I lay down and placed my head on the knapsack, I immediately dozed off and had a dream.
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