Betrayal

Chapter 12

"Did you see that! It went straight in the eye. In the eye! Please tell me everyone witnessed my dagger going in his eye. I shall be very disappointed if anyone blinked at the wrong moment," Cecilia gushed. Her face was now covered in red marks, ghosts of her own fingers. They would soon fade but her excitement wouldn't.

"My compliments to the crown prince for being an adept trainer," Shah murmured with fraying patience. He surveyed his demolished opponents with a pinched look.

"Please! As if he can take credit for my witchly talents," The redhead giggled at the absurd nonsense the enemy had been spouting.

"Do not jest about such awful arts," The tall man hissed venomously making her freeze.

"Tell me you do not believe in such hogwash. You have given me the impression of being a man of sense," Cecilia implored.

"Unexplained things happen all the time," The dark haired man seemed to have contained the burst of emotion that he had exhibited moments earlier.

"Just like a dagger going inside a man's eye. Maybe I am magic," The girl replied cooly.

Shah just sighed as if he lost the battle both mentally and physically. He gestured for everyone to move in closer. Besides the bound men everyone obeyed.

"We need to remove ourselves from this area. There are bound to be more men in search. It will not do to remain vulnerable," He urged. Sir Russell nodded and the companions hastily began taking their belongings back in their arms.

"Open their bindings. Let's hear what they have to say about their adventures," The older gentleman gave Simon the order.

"Is it wise? They have held hands with the enemy. They have compromised our position," Cecilia was unnecessarily acerbic and received a raised eyebrow in her direction.

"I hardly think being threatened and tortured into revealing our location is traitorous behaviour," The researcher tsked and he sat down to rest while Simon worked on the bindings.

"I should have endured the torture far better than this lot," The girl scoffed.

"You would have been bleating like a goat the moment they threatened your precious hair," Clyde Chester spat the binding from his mouth and scrubbed his tongue with his sleeve.

"Hey! Do remember my hair helped us out today. A little respect would be nice," Cecilia answered tartly.

Lord Fanning looked wane and deeply affected by the incident. His hands shook as Simon made quick work of the bindings around his hand although at the feet he had to forgo the ministrations.

"I'm afraid they're bound for a while until we find a blacksmith," The young soldier was disheartened by his lack of success. Cecilia cursed viciously in the background as Sir Russell positioned two fingers on his aching forehead.

"It was horrendous," Lord Fanning murmured with a glazed expression as if he still resided with the enemy, "I have never faced anything of this sort."

"Did they promise to gut your eyeballs?" The redhead asked unhelpfully and was ignored by everyone for her lack of empathy.

"They took our samples even though it seemed they did not know their significance. They definitely did not care about our mission. Their only care was for our dangerous stranger," Clyde explained helpfully. The two men had a limited range of motion but they managed to start moving along with the group.

"He's not dangerous," The tall girl was ablaze at the implication.

"I beg to differ," The pointy nosed man gestured in the direction of the men laid waste by their new friend.