A Princess Named Harry: Book 2

Chapter 39

On the day Harry left to join Kahil and the knights in the war, she had been a thorn in the king's side. No matter how many times he told her no, she wouldn't stop asking to go.

"Please, Father? I'm really good with my sword! I can help Kahil and the army!

Please?" She had asked him that with such a pitiful look on her face.

"No." He said sternly as he shifted through his documents.

"Father, at least hear me out!" she begged him.

"No. My answer is final no."

The king meant it when he said no. He didn't want his daughter to go off to the battlefield. His main reason was because of Caroline. She definitely wouldn't like it if she found out that he let her only child participate in the war. He thought rejecting her sternly would make her stop asking, but it did the exact opposite. Harry didn't let his answer stop her; she continued to beg and beg him for permission each day. He was growing tired of this everyday recurrence.

"Harry, I said no. Besides, it's not like the war will last that long anyway. We now have the advantage in numbers. Even if they all possess magic, they won't stand against our numbers."

With that, Harry finally stopped asking him and quietly left him alone. He was confident she had gotten the message. Later that night, when he finally finished his work, he sat back in his chair to take a break. After a couple of minutes, he would make his way to Caroline's room for the night.

He had barely been able to rest for one minute before there was a loud and frantic banging on his door.

"Yes?" he asked drearily. "What is it? What's wrong? Especially at this time of night."

The door flew open, and Paula, along with two other young maids came rushing in.

"Your Majesty," she cried. "She's-she's!"

"What's wrong? Spit it out."

"Her . . . her . . . something's gone wrong!"

The king instantly thought about his wife and hurried in the direction of her room. When he burst open the door, he was surprised to find nothing wrong.

"What's the meaning of this?" he asked Paula and the maids who had followed him. "There's nothing wrong with her."

Paula bit her lip and squeezed her hands together. "When I said her, I didn't mean Her Majesty."

"Then what her are you referring to?"

Paula looked like she was about to cry. "Her . . . Her Highness, Princess Harry has gone missing!"

The king froze. "What? Tell me, what do you mean by that exactly?"

This time, it was one of the young maids who spoke up, "We went to get Her Highness ready for bed, and she wasn't there. She was gone!"

"And she took all her stuff with her, too!" cried the other. "Her sword in her room is gone."

The king flew into a wild rage. "Order everyone to stop the knights from departing!"

"That's," a butler made a sad expression. "They've already left, Your Majesty. A long time ago."

"Then send the remaining knights after them."

"Even if we go now . . . "

The king felt his blood boil. "Useless!" he shouted. "All of you!"

He raced outside to see if they were truly gone. They were. The king clenched his fists tightly. "Kahil," he muttered quietly. "You better keep her from getting hurt, or so help me, I'll denounce you." The defeated king could do no more; his stubborn daughter had won.

•••

Harry crouched down nervously. In a couple of minutes, they were all to storm into the destroyed palace to take down Varian and his little army. Kahil specified to take them alive. She wondered how long that order would last. She was so nervous that she could barely remain still. Luckily some familiar faces were around her.

"You nervous, Princess?" Marcus asked. "Is this your first time in a real battle?"

Suddenly, Ivan hit Marcus hard on the back of his head. "Of course, she hasn't participated in a real battle!"

"Lower your voices, you two!" snapped Laura. "You guys are being so loud! Do you want those magic users to find us?"

"You're being louder," hissed Marcus.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Laura made a disgusted face. "What are you, six?"

"That's what I'd like to know! You're acting just like one!" exclaimed Marcus.

"You're both being loud and acting dumb," hissed Cambrel. "Now shut up both of you."

Everyone became stiffly quiet. Harry turned her sights back onto the ruined palace. She hoped Varian wouldn't come out to fight. She wondered just how strong he was. If the magic users were complimenting his strength and one feared for his life, she wondered just how terrifying he really was.

"Get ready." she heard Kahil say. He had been looking through the spyglass. "They're coming."

Harry and the others prepared for battle. They thought they were ready for anything but . . .

"We're already here," said a voice.

Harry and the rest of the knights turned around quickly. Miko stood over them, using her water power to solidify stilts. Everyone wielded their swords, but within seconds, they were surrounded by the six soldiers.

Harry was right, this had been a mistake, but now there was no way out. If they all wanted to make it back to the camp alive, they would have to fight. If they won, that meant a great victory for the Cardiaire army, but if they lost, the price would be their lives. Harry stood up and took out her sword. She was ready to pay such a price.