The Escaped Princess

Part 25

I'm woken by the rough arms of a soldier shaking me and dragging me to my feet. I'm removed from my cell, led down the corridor to another plain windowless room and sat on a chair. My ankles are secured to the chair legs and my hands tied forcefully behind my back with rope. The guard then leaves, closing the door behind him. I wait for something to happen. When nothing does I try to tug at the bindings on my wrists but only succeed in rubbing my arms raw from the rough rope, and not actually making the ties any looser. I wait and I wait and I wait. I think I even drift back to sleep at one point when suddenly the door opens and the most imposing man I've ever seen walks in. As I stare up at the giant of a man two other guards enter and stand behind me. The man stands in front of me and speaks in a deep gruff voice. "Here's how this is gonna go Princess. I'm gonna ask you questions and you're gonna answer. If you answer them properly then it's all good. But if you don't answer, or I don't like your answer, or I think you're lying then myself and my friends here are gonna hurt you. And we'll keep hurting you until you give us the answer we want or you're dead. Understand?"

I stare at him saying nothing. The man raises his eyebrows then slaps me across the face so hard and fast that the whole chair tips over and I hit my head on the floor. Immediately a guard rights the chair again. Pain radiates across my face, a thousand times worse than the hits I took from Joseph or Lord Fagan, this man is not messing around. He looks at me again, "Do you understand?"

"Yes" I answer.

"Good. First question, how many men make up the Aleti army?"

General Srumthro must already know the answer to this question, this isn't a closely guarded secret so it must be a test. I answer honestly, "about 25,000."

The man nods. "Where are they stationed?"

"I don't know."

"Don't like that answer." The man nods at the guards behind me and one of them swings a metal pole into my stomach, knocking the air out of my lungs.

"But I don't know. I haven't been at council meetings in Carrard for months. Last I heard some were stationed at Vamanst and there's always a garrison permanently in Carrard."

"What about Leforth?"

"Yes there's a large garrison stationed at Leforth." I don't mention the soldier movement I learnt about when we were there but this is clearly a mistake. Another blow from the metal pipe comes my way.

"Lying again, Princess. Soldiers are being sent from Leforth to Albeck, you know this. What plans are in place in the event of an attack or invasion? What emergency resources does Aleti have?"

"I don't know" I say, shaking my head with a sob.

Another gesture from my interrogator sees the two guards behind me leave the room. They return moments later carrying a large tub of water. Placing it in front of me they unceremoniously grab my head and plunge it into the water. I struggle as much as I can and try to keep my mouth closed. My head is yanked back and I gasp for air.

"What plans are in place in the event of an attack or invasion? What emergency resources does Aleti have?"

Keeping my mouth shut I refuse to answer. Pushed down again, this time for longer, I can't hold my breath and end up opening my mouth, water rushing in. They release me a moment later and I'm able to cough up the water and breathe again.

"Perhaps the princess needs some thinking space. Perhaps some time alone will jog her memory." The guards untie me and drag me back to my cell, throwing me to the floor. Soaking wet and shivering uncontrollable I crawl over to my 'bed'.

Hours pass in the murky darkness though it's difficult to really tell how long goes by, the only source of light coming from a lantern which burns in the corridor outside and filters through the small barred window set into the heavy locked door. I drift in and out of sleep, my dreams filled with horrific images. Leforth burnt to the ground, innocent people slaughtered. The harsh faces of the guards coming to torture me again. The giant man approaching me with a knife. The Gallavanties also murdered before my eyes. And Sam. Sam's face when he found out who I really was and left. That almost haunts me more than anything. Because whilst I can convince myself that everything else is a nightmare, not reality, this one image I know to be true. At some point the door opens and a cold bowl of stew, chunk of bread and cup of water are shoved through. Clearly they don't intend to starve me to death. After that I'm left alone again in the endless gloom. Occasionally I hear footsteps or the guards mumbling from further down the corridor but no-one comes to get me, no-one speaks to me. This abandonment goes on for so long that I think I'm going to lose my mind and I almost wish that the guards would return for me. Just so I can hear another human being's voice again, just so I can get out of this cell, even for just a few moments. But when I do hear the tread of heavy footsteps heading my way I can't help but cower in the corner again. The door opens and two guards enter. Silently they walk over and haul me up, roughly pushing me out of the cell where two more guards wait. I follow them down the dingy corridor, two soldiers in front, and two behind. They take me to the same room as before and I can't help but hesitate on the threshold as I stare once again at the small wooden chair in the centre. One of the guards grabs my arm and forces me into the chair. Again my arms are tied tightly behind my back. Before they even say or do anything I can feel the fear trickling up my back as they stand staring at me and tears start to fill my eyes. I close my eyes and try to breathe, chanting to myself 'Stay strong, stay strong, stay strong' over and over again in the hopes that I can convince myself. It's not really working. The silence drags on and my fear continues to build as the soldiers do nothing.

Finally the door opens and I get a shock when General Srumthro himself enters with a swagger. "Good morning my dear, how are you? I hope the accommodation is to your liking." He says as someone carries a large cushioned chair in and places it opposite me. The General takes his seat before holding out his hand and being given a cup of tea. He sits there drinking it with a smug smile on his face. "I would offer you a cup but unfortunately my guards here tell me that you're not exactly being cooperative with answering their questions, and unhelpful guests don't get luxuries like cups of tea or proper beds. Of course were you to provide us with some useful information, that could all change and your stay with us could be made much more comfortable for you."

I say nothing, staring at him with open contempt.

"Never mind. It really doesn't matter. Your country will be invaded and crushed regardless of you holding your tongue or not."

"Why? Why are you doing this? Aleti hasn't done anything against you."

"Well now that's not technically true, you did offer support to King Sala when I initially deposed him. Tried to help him back on the throne until I had his head cut off."

"That was nearly seven years ago" I try to argue.

"Yes, it's taken slightly longer than I anticipated to squash out some little resistance but now that control is absolute in Karhaner I've become a little bored. Everyone does exactly what I say here. So I've decided it's time to expand my empire. Ruling one country just isn't enough any more, I want to rule the world." He says with a mad glint. And as I look him in the eyes I realise that is exactly what he is. Insane. Mad with power. There's no reasoning with this man. He will invade Aleti and probably more countries after that.

Defiantly I say, "You won't win. They'll stop you. My father and his army will stop you."

"Oh really?" The General chuckles, "Oh I do like a girl with some fighting spirit. I think I'll keep you when I'm done destroying your country. It's always fun to have a fiery minx around to entertain me and you're quite a pretty little thing."

"You really think it's going to be that easy to invade Aleti? They're allies with Navas now. You're biting off more than you can chew."

The General tips back his head and roars with laughter at this. "Oh you are such a stupid naive girl, you think Navas will come to Aleti's aid? I know King James. He won't do anything. Why would he? He doesn't care about Aleti. Your father's an idiot for trying to do a deal with him. And in the process he gets rid of an ally who might have actually helped in Cobback." The General is grinning at me like a psychotic hyena. "You father's a moron, weak and spineless, and soon he'll discover exactly what his actions have lost. And you my dear will be there to witness it all."

Turning to the guards he says, "Make sure a prisoner's transport cage is made ready for our departure next week, the Princess will be accompanying us to the front line."