The Fae Prince

Chapter 4

Felix came to with the thrumming cadence of hoofbeats beneath him.

He realized that he fell asleep, most likely from the adrenaline rush of murdering the Warlord dissipating as they moved further away from the bleak fortress. He was sitting in front of Hongjoong as their horse maintained a steady canter throughout the night. There was thankfully only a fierce ache in his back currently due to a paste hastily applied by one of Hongjoong's men – Seonghwa – as well as his own healing. The persisting rain came to a stop minutes ago and Felix could now make out the seven other figures astride their own horses as they rode adjacent to them.

"Why are we only going at this pace? Wouldn't it be better if we moved faster," Felix questioned Hongjoong.

Time was imperative. They absolutely had to put as much initial distance between them and Miroh as possible. The Warlord's guard would definitely begin searching for Felix and the band of mercenaries as soon as his disappearance as well as the Warlord's death was found out. Felix knew firsthand how skilled those ruffians were. He dreaded to think what they might do if he was caught again. He doubted they'd kill him but there were worse things than death as Felix was quickly learning.

"No, we risk overexerting the horses if we do. Better to move consistently than needing to rest them. Also Your Highness, as much as speed is an advantage, we also need stealth. We are still in close proximity to Miroh, imagine the consequences of news reaching the castle of our movements. Then all of Mingi's hard work of laying false trails would have been for nothing," Hongjoong replied.
"Besides, we're almost to the border and I'd prefer to sneak by as quietly as possible".

Felix said nothing, digesting the mercenaries words and seeing the good sense in what he was saying.
"I understand that you may have trouble trusting humans but have a little faith Your Highness. This isn't the first of our scruples with the people of Miroh and their bitch of a Warlord."

Before Felix could further ask what Hongjoong meant by that, one of his men suddenly rode close.

"Captain, the border's up ahead. Time to cloak," he reported.

"Cloak up!" Hongjoong ordered.

Felix watched as all the riders fell into a triangle-like formation with Hongjoong and himself at the point. Hongjoong was no mage but as he demonstrated before, he did a marvellous job of concealing the group from what Felix could feel. The magic was almost tangible to him, the mercenaries illusion magic activating and effectively hiding them.

"Keep quiet Your Highness," he furtively whispered.

Felix immediately did as told as he saw Miroh's eastern borders come into view. The mountain range here faded into the Eastern Hills and later into plains where there were multiple small kingdoms and settlements scattered between here and Levanter. Felix could almost taste the freedom beyond the imposing mountains.

But first, there was the matter of getting through the border check.

Miroh was an extremely militaristic country as Felix knew. As such, he wasn't really surprised that the main passage through the eastern range border maintained a small castle of soldiers to protect it. The building was heavily garrisoned by a force big enough to overwhelm them if caught. The main problem however, lay in the river that blocked the pathway. The river sluiced down through the highlands and eventually ran further southward into a distant lake from what Felix saw. Going the long way would delay them for days, days Felix couldn't afford as he was sure the manhunt for him would proceed by daylight if not sooner. It also wouldn't do to use the treacherous, rocky trails that ran through the mountains, especially with their horses.

The only way through was the large oak drawbridge beneath the structure that lowered over the river. Felix trusted Hongjoong and his men, they had made it in to get him after all. He just hoped they could get out with no less skill than before. Meanwhile, Hongjoong remembered that the lever for the drawbridge was in the eastward battlement that overlooked the very direction they headed.