“It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it.” - Maurice Switzer (Mrs Goose, Her Book)

  ???

  Sundays at the Imperial Officers Academy were days of rest, especially for the second years, and even more so for the third years. Only the truly studious ones still spent the day in the study rooms or training halls.

  Thus, Nathan Hunt was understandably displeased to be dragged out of bed and out of the Academy before dawn on a Sunday, nearly two days since the entire commotion with Kaela Merrin. And just as long since Rem was filled in on the truth of what had been plaguing the kingdom.

  Nathan dismounted from Hunter, tying the reins of his horse to a nearby tree that looks just as dead and desolate as everything else in the area, watching as Leighton and Rem followed his actions, their horses pawing at the dry, cracked ground. All three of them were dressed in plain peasant garb, with travelling cloaks draped over their shoulders and pulled low over their heads to conceal their identities.

  Even so, Nathan couldn’t shake the unease that had settled in his chest. He isn’t entirely certain that this is the greatest idea in the world, bringing Rem to the Northern Holds where he was essentially Public Enemy Number One to everyone in the northern region.

  “I heard the rumours, but…” Leighton murmured, looking around the bleak countryside of the Northern Holds. “It’s worse than I thought.”

  Nathan said nothing, casting a surveying gaze.

  The lands of the Northern Holds have always been harsh. Not just due to the climate, whether it’s due to the snowstorms or blizzards during the winter months, or even typhoons in summer, and even the threats of bandits or raiders.

  But now, the landscape looked lifeless.

  Cracked roads, lampposts without oil, and signposts worn down by time and neglect. Crows were pecking at the rotting remains of what looked like a deer, though it was a miracle that there was any game left at all.

  “I still think this is a bad idea,” Nathan muttered beneath his breath, exchanging exasperated looks with Leighton, who, much like him, had been dragged out of his warm bed at four in the morning. It had taken them nearly eight hours on horseback to reach this part of the Northern Holds. The sun was now high overhead, blazing down mercilessly.

  “Point taken,” Rem said dryly. “I heard you the first dozen times when we were making our way to the stables at the Academy. And then another twenty or so times while we were riding here.”

  “And I still stand by what I said,” Nathan muttered. “You’re not exactly popular here, Rem, especially after the recent incident involving Caer Morden, Greyhollow, and Blackridge. And you came here in person without your Crownsguard?”

  “I need to see the truth for myself,” Rem insisted. “I know what you both and Yulia have told me. But I need to see it with my own eyes. And besides, I brought you two with me, didn’t I? It’s not like I am walking about without protection.”

  Nathan and Leighton exchanged exasperated looks. Rem’s poor Crownsguard was likely tearing the Academy apart by now.

  “Darrenshade’s that way,” Leighton said, consulting the map that he had, pointing towards the left where a vague outline of a village could be seen in the distance. “It’s one of the border villages under Lord Kael’s protection. Probably seen more attacks and skirmishes from bandits and outlaws than any other village.”

  Rem swallowed nervously. This was it then. Time for the truth. “Let’s go.”

  Nathan muttered irritably under his breath as the trio pulled their hoods over their heads. “This is a bad idea. And when things goes south, as it will, I reserve the right to say ‘I told you so’,” he grumbled, even as they started walking towards the direction of Darrenshade, following the direction of the river.

  Leighton rolled his eyes, but didn’t argue. Besides, while he too agrees that it is a bad idea to bring Rem here without any guards, it might also be a good idea for the Crown Prince to see the truth with his own eyes, and the consequences of his silence. And what would sink the message in better than one of the villages that had suffered the most from Rem’s indecision over the years?

  The air was thick with dust and desperation when the trio stepped through the broken gates of Darrenshade, careful not to draw attention. Even the sign with the village’s name was cracked in half. Fortunately, it seemed like the entire village was gathered in the central square, engaged in what appeared to be a village meeting. No one noticed the three strangers slipping quietly into the outer edges of the crowd.

  Thankfully, it seems like their peasant clothing and travelling cloaks did the trick. No one spared them more than a glance. The trio were just more strangers in a village that is barely hanging on by the skin of their teeth.

  “This is going to backfire,” Nathan muttered to Rem and Leighton. “Things are going to go wrong. I can feel it in my bones. My father is going to kill me. And that is if Nightray doesn’t gut me first.”

  “Then we’ll die for a good cause,” Leighton replied dryly. “Though I thought you didn’t care about what Heiress Nightray thought?” He ribbed Nathan lightly, though he knew that his friend had a point. Yuliana Nightray isn’t going to care that it’s Prince Rem’s idea if something goes wrong.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “I have self-preservation instincts, thank you very much,” Nathan hissed at Leighton, annoyed.

  “Shh!” Rem hushed his two arguing friends. “I’m trying to listen.”

  Nathan studied the bodies packing into the village square.

  The villagers of Darrenshade were all a fraying mess of worn faces and hollow eyes. They looked better than those at Ashbrook, at least, as they still have some grit and fight in them. But it’s obvious that they’re all starving and suffering as well. A mother not far away clutched her baby, trying to hush her baby’s weak and wheezing cries.

  At a stall corner not far away was a boy in threadbare clothing. His feet were bare, and he was slumped over, barely moving. Nathan is honestly afraid for a moment that he might just be dead.

  And in the middle of the angry crowd, trying to calm them, was Darrenshade’s village chief. Like every single citizen in the village, he was gaunt, and his face hollow from hunger. The villagers were all shouting over one another, trying to make themselves heard, and the village chief’s attempts to calm them down was futile.

  “This is getting out of hand!” One young man shouted, shaking a fist. “How much longer do we have to wait? Until all of us are dead?!”

  A woman nodded. “We all heard the reports and even the rumours,” she said grimly. “Caer Morden, Greyhollow, and Blackridge were wiped out last week. Thankfully, they all survived. But Lord Kael’s soldiers weren’t so lucky. Even still, they all lost their homes.”

  The murmurings got louder and angrier, sounding like buzzing bees.

  “Please, everyone, please calm down!” The village chief tried again to calm down the angry villagers. “I will try to reach out to the Imperial Palace again—”

  “No help is coming from there!” Another man shouted, furious, shaking his fist. “How many times have we tried to beg for aid from the capital? And what did they do? They ignored us! They abandoned us!”

  Rem flinched.

  “Our people are all dying! We’re all starving, sick, and even being picked off by bandits like we’re nothing!”

  There were angry murmurs of agreement. The village chief tried, yet again, to calm down the crowd. “I can reach out to Lord Kael—”

  “Lord Kael can’t help us anymore!” One woman snapped. “He’s done what he can! Even he can’t stretch his coffers any further, when he got more than just Darrenshade to worry about!”

  “What is the Crown Prince doing?!” One angry young man snarled, balling his hands into fists. Rem flinched again at the venom in his tone. “It’s been years since the war ended, and things are worse than ever! And if he won’t do his duty as prince, then maybe he doesn’t deserve to wear the crown!”

  Rem winced. Those words are vaguely similar to what Kaela, and even Yulia, have both told him. On either side of him, Nathan and Leighton both looked at him sympathetically, but they said nothing.

  There was a loud whistle from above just then. As one, every head in the village square turned towards the watchtower next to the broken gates of Darrenshade. A young man was up on the platform, having been keeping watch on the surroundings.

  “What is it, Emmett?” The village chief asked, though around him, the rest of the villagers tensed, exchanging worried and even terrified looks.

  “We have incoming,” Emmett called back, already scaling down the watchtower as fast as he could. “Bandits! And from their clothes, it’s the same ones as last time!”

  “Again?!”

  “Hide the children!” The village chief called out. “Get the women inside! Anyone who can still fight, grab something!”

  “No time!” Emmett cried, finally landing on the ground. “They’re already here!”

  And then, a ragged group broke through the broken gates of Darrenshade. Men and even some women amongst their group all in mismatched armour, brandishing rusted weapons, and cruel grins.

  Next to Rem, Nathan tensed, one hand falling onto the pommel of his sword, concealed by his travelling cloak. On Rem’s other side, Leighton followed Nathan’s actions, subtly shifting so that he is standing in front of Rem, using his height to his advantage to conceal Rem.

  “Leighton—”

  “Stay quiet,” Leighton hissed back.

  “Good people of Darrenshade, we’re here!” A large, scarred man cackled. By how the villagers were looking at him, and even the rest of the bandits, this man is likely the leader of the bandits. “We’re here for our monthly fee!”

  The angry mutterings from the villagers grew louder.

  “You already stole everything!” One young man snarled. “You took everything from us! We got nothing left to take!”

  The bandit leader’s eyes gleamed with greed as his gaze fell on the young women amongst their midst—most who tensed and either clutched at the arms of those near them, or tried to hide.

  “Oh, you still got something,” he cackled. “Your women are quite the lookers. You even got children.” His beady eyes fell on the few children amongst the crowd, most who clutched at their parents in fear. One young woman carrying her baby tightened her grip on the child, fear apparent in her eyes. “The whorehouses will pay us well for the women. And slaves sell well across the border.”

  Rem’s breath caught. Even Leighton and Nathan were exchanging horrified looks.

  Under Alathia law, slavery had been outlawed for decades—since the time of Rem’s great-grandfather. The military, and especially Protectorate and Black Ops, cracked down hard on the black market auctions, especially those that deal in slave trading.

  And while brothels are technically still legal in Alathia, as the sex trade can’t be abolished entirely, Protectorate kept a very strict watch on them. Any new prostitutes or courtesans brought in are investigated thoroughly to ensure that they aren’t victims of traffickers.

  ‘No… This can’t be happening… Not here. Not in Alathia.’ Rem thought to himself in horror. Is this what the Northern Holds are going through for years, and Rem has no idea?

  Beside him, Nathan was already moving to unsheathe his sword. But before he can even get his sword out of the sheath, an arrow whistled through the air, piercing the skull of the bandit leader cleanly.

  The man was dead before he even hit the ground.

  “W-What…?”

  There were blurs of movement then, with dark figures appearing from the shadows like wraiths, their movements precise and lethal, even as they wielded their blades or arrows with ease. Some perched on the rooftops, shooting arrows with precision at the screaming bandits, who were for once, the ones screaming and begging for mercy.

  But there was no mercy from the new arrivals.

  Rem’s eyes widened when he caught sight of the insignia on the shoulder of one of the new arrivals. The head of a silver wolf. An insignia that everyone in Alathia knew.

  “It’s House Nightray!” One woman cried out, relieved. “They came to save us!”

  “Mercy! Mercy!” One of the bandits screamed just moments before he was cut down mercilessly by a silent Nightray operative, similarly dressed in the Nightray colours of black and silver, with his lower face masked.

  “Leave none alive!” came the order from the lead operative, and there were shouts of agreement from the other Nightray members as they cut down the bandits mercilessly, with arrows flying through the air towards the ones trying to escape.

  Rem’s eyes widened when he recognised the voice of the lead operative.

  “We thought we were going to die,” One woman wept, falling to her knees in relief, even as a Nightray operative knelt beside her, examining her sick daughter in her arms. “We thought that no one was coming.”

  Another Nightray operative spoke—a man, this time. Rem’s eyes widened when he recognised the voice of Jaden Nightray. “Lord Kael sent us,” he said. “Reinforcements are being organised. Food and supplies are on the way. It’s going to take time. The Ten Great Houses are distributing what we can evenly. But rest assured that help is coming.”

  The villagers broke into exhausted cheers.

  “We’re saved! Did you hear that? We’re saved!”

  Even the village chief looked ready to weep in joy. “We got so many sick and injured here,” he begun. “Our food stores are almost empty, and there hasn’t been a single deer or even rabbit seen around here in months—”

  “We know,” said the lead operative. “Lord Kael is mobilising troops. But until he can send his soldiers here, we’ll station our people in the area.” She hesitated. “If you can provide a list of urgent needs, we’ll handle the rest.” She gestured for a nearby Nightray operative, who nodded, stepping forward to confer with the village chief.

  Then, the lead Nightray operative turned, her eyes falling on Rem, Leighton, and Nathan at the back. She paused for several long moments, even as the rest of the villagers scattered—whether it is because they were getting tended to by the Nightray assassins, or because they were returning to their homes to stay out of the way.

  Then finally, she pulled down her mask, revealing the face of Yuliana Nightray, who doesn’t look pleased and impressed at seeing Rem, Nathan, and Leighton. And it is clear that despite their peasant clothing and travelling cloaks, she had recognised them immediately.

  “And just what,” said Yulia coldly, her voice sharp, “in the name of the Goddess, are the three of you doing here?”

  Rem swallowed nervously. He knew that sound of Yulia’s voice.

  He was in trouble.