Chapter 7

There were screams resounding through the previously packed tavern late one night and the backdoor leading to an office was opened by a man in a brown tunic. "Boss.... The knights...ar- here..." The man uttered before a sword was stabbed through his chest. Blood gurgled from his mouth as he fell to the floor revealing a cloaked figure standing behind him, with a blood-coated sword drawn.

"Hadrian De Lacour I presume or should I just call you The Highway Butcher," The cloaked figure stated as they stepped inside and closed the door, letting the sounds of fighting outside dim. The man behind the desk scowled as the figure approached him without nary a worry.

"It has been a long time since anyone called me that. You did your homework I see," The older graying man growled, clearly unnerved by this strange man. He looked the cloaked figure up and down as the oil lamp cast an eerie glow in the room.

"You were notoriously hard to track down. I'm impressed that a man like you even has such loyal people working under him, given your reputation at least." The smirk that Hadrian could see under the hood caused his eyes to narrow.

"So what do you want now that you found me?" The older man asked, not falling for the goading statement made.

"I have a very lucrative job for you," The man said while pulling down his hood. Hadrian's eyes widened as he realized whom he was face to face with now.

"What exactly do you want from me," Hadrian muttered as his fist clenched.

"Just a bit of highway robbery," The smirk the other man had was predatory as he laid out the details of the commission.

One month later as winter neared, a tightly guarded ornate carriage made its way along the road leading south. There were at least ten knights escorting the carriage. Four were on horseback while the others marched alongside it. The forest they were traversing had long ago lost its leaves and gave off a much eerier feel as the winter months set in.

"Commander Gripton," A voice asked as the Commander, a man close to his mid-fifties, in question galloped with his horse close to the carriage.

"Yes, your Highness?" The knight commander asked.

"How far do you say we still have to travel?" a head of blonde hair poked out of the carriage window as arms rested on the ledge. The boy in question was only a teen.

"It's another two days travel to the Markison estate, my liege." The man answered.

"I don't see why I am the one that has to head out to one of the summer estates. Just because I got into a spat with grandfather." the boy huffed.

"I might not know what the spat was about but your grandfather is an obstinate man sometimes. At times like this it is best to let him cool off." Commander Gripton answered.

"You have known grandfather Sewlin for years now. I always forget that." The young Prince remarked as he looked at the knight.

"Yes, I was your grandmother's personal knight before she was chosen as the royal consort, your highness" The man confessed with a nod.

The conversation dwindled afterwards as they progressed through the forest. Nearly half an hour later the horses neighed violently causing the carriage to lurch and the procession came to a stop with a loud call to arms.

"Prince Grimmel please stay inside!" The knight commander beseeched as he and his men readied their weapons because not so far down the road a fairly well-equipped group of bandits stood blocking their way. The bandits were more numerous than the knights and as every combatant focussed on the upcoming skirmish none took notice of the young Prince's sinister grin.

Even with the knights well trained the battle had been clearly one-sided. The bandits outnumbered them three to one and the situation became much direr when the coachman was killed and the bandit leader yanked Grimmel out and put a sword to the Prince's throat. The knights could do nothing but lay down their arms as their charge was being threatened.

Things went from bad to worse as the bandit's gleefully dispatched the knights one after the other leaving only the Knight Commander laying there bloody on the dirt road.

"Enough," A command rang out and the Commander looked slightly towards the direction while trying not to aggravate his wounds. His eyes widened when he saw the Prince walking towards him, looking very much in charge of the situation.

Grimmel came to a stop before him and bent down slightly while fiddling with a small dagger. The Knight Commander's eyes widened even more as he came to the realization that the entire attack had been planned from the start. "W-Why?" The man asked as he tried not to spit out blood.

"You know why," Grimmel said as he continued to fiddle with his dagger. "I can't have anyone questioning my legitimacy,"

"I-I've never...." The man said as Grimmel's eyes narrowed. "I've never questioned your legitimacy!"

"That's a lark," The Prince's laugh was hollow. "Especially since you're the reason why it's in question again. I know Gripton," Grimmel said as he bent down to look the dying man in the eyes. "I know," He muttered.

"You... weren't just my grandmother's knight, you were also her lover and you continued to have an affair with her after she was married." The Prince declared as he angrily cut the knight's cheek. "Not only that! No, having my grandmother wasn't enough for you was it! Grandfather also knew about the affair and actively participated in it! Rumors of my father's legitimacy ran rampant when he ascended the throne and now that I am to be named Crown Prince they resurfaced. Who's fault do you think that is, huh?"

"W-Wait... prince.. It's not," Gripton tried to utter but Grimmel's shout of "SHUT UP!" Rang through the sparse forest.

"I frankly don't care what you have to say." Grimmel announced. "I'm here to clean house. Nothing will stand between me and the throne. Not you, not my father and definitely not the rest of my relatives." With that said Grimmel plunged the blade into the man's rib cage and into his heart.

As the prince was cleaning his dagger a large hand clamped onto his shoulder and he was surprised when he was suddenly shoved down onto the dirt. "What's the meaning of this?!" Grimmel shouted as another divested him of his weapon.

"Change of plans prince," The man holding him down announced.

"This is not what we discussed!"

"Yeah well we figured you're worth a lot more as ransom than what you're paying us." The leader stated as a rope was tied around the prince to keep him immobile. "Why should we settle for twenty gold coins when we can get at least two hundred?"

"HOW DARE YOU TRY AND SCREW ME OVER!" Grimmel shouted as a rag was put in his mouth, gagging him.

"Where is the boy at?" The leader called out and one of his men answered that the person they were talking about was tending to the horses.

"BOY! Get yer ass over here!" The leader shouted. The person that stepped forward could only have been slightly older than the prince. He was holding the reins to the knights' horses that hadn't been injured.

"Did you forget my name again? How many times do I have to tell you that it's Krogan." This earned the young man a slap though.

"Do you think I'd call you by the name your whore mother chose?! You're Boy and that's the only thing you'll ever be!" The leader bellowed as his eyes narrowed. "Now you take this," he gestured to the bound and struggling Prince "and take it to our base camp. We'll be there once we pick these bodies clean."

Krogan sighed but acquisited and as he was dragging the prince over one of the horses he got shouted at again. "And boy! We expect a warm meal when we get back! So help me Thor if it isn't ready!"

Krogan kept his mouth shut this time but he nodded stiffly before mounting the horse the prince had been slung over while taking the reins of the other two horses to guide them to the camp.

Grimmel was still grunting and struggling as the horse set off with a small gallop. Krogan barely paid the other any mind.

The camp was quite a few leagues away into the forest. It was quite a ways off the beaten path and once they reached it the prince was unceremoniously dumped on the ground near one of the tents.

The horses were tacked to a tree while Grimmel made unintelligible noises behind the gag.

"What?!" Krogan asked, frustrated as he ripped the gag out after he made a fire and got a pot of water going.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!" Grimmel shouted.

"If that's all you have to say then the gag's going back in," Krogan stated, annoyed.

"Wait!" Grimmel quickly shouted. "At least give me some water,"

"Fine, fine." Krogan replied while grabbing a waterskin. "You're going to be a pain in the ass aren't you?"