The Battle Of Hearts A Choice Between Power And Love

Chapter 18

Philip's POV

There he stood in our path of escape, the only thing between us and the gates of his castle. I took my gun out and aimed it at his shoulder and shot, only for the damned guard to push him out of the way and die in his place. Angered by the turn of events and a waste of my bullet, I aimed it again.

This time, no one was getting in my damned way.

I shot the prince and with that, he fell to the ground, following his trusted guard to it. But as we walked past them, I heard a gasp. It was Annika. The guard - still conscious - grabbed onto her leg and pulled and before I could catch her, she fell to the ground on her hands and knees. Anger coursed through me due to my simple incompetence to catch her before she hit the ground.

William pried off his hands from her, which led to the guard and William getting into physical combat, with one and the other on the floor. William slammed his face to the ground. I took that chance to shoot the bloody idiot on his head. His life finally drained from his body as he now lied lifeless on the ground. William got up, brushing the wounds he had got with a hit.

With that, we rushed out of the palace. Some of my army-men were waiting for us at the gates. They helped us take the king to safety. We got on our horses and rode to the camp we set up earlier, where Amaia and the hand-maid of the princess were waiting for us a little further from the battlefield. It took us a while to get there and we tried not to get close to the battlefield on our way through it. After a while, we got to the camp. Many tents were set up next to one another. It was also dimly lit to not attract the eyes of the enemy. Few guards were stationed in front of it, guarding the doctors and people in the tent. I got off my horse and went to the princess to help her down from hers. I sent the horses out to be tied. We all went in with the now-unconscious king. William lied him on a cot Annika stayed next to him Amaia rushed in followed by Lakshmi he looked completely drained Amaia got on her feet to have some glucose ready for him and injuncted it to him Lakshmi carried a tray of cotton and antiseptic and cleaned his wounds gently

Annika got up from where she kneeled next to the king she brushed her skirt and got up brushing her elbows that drew my eyes to her elbows which was scratched and a hint of blood was seen i held her hand right above the elbow making sure not to touch the wound in her hand she gasped at my sudden touch "your hurt"i sated to obvious "its alright its just a scratch" she glances back at her father "you need some one to look into your injuries too Annika" i said  she looked hesitant "please" i added softly she nodded i let out a sigh of relief even though i didn't think she would accept the help i lead her to another tent "your hurt let me have a look at that" i said softly

I made her sit on the cot the tent again was dimly lit like the previous one i grabbed the matchbox and lighted another lamp and kept it on the table and i pulled the stool and sat i took a piece of cotton and dipped it the antiseptic liquid i brought her hand forward and gently dabbed the cotton over the wound she hissed almost immediately i looked up at her its stinging she says i gave her a small smile "i know its supposed to sting" i said to which she scoffs at me i shook my head and looked back at the wound "its ok it will stop hurting in a while princess just look at me don't look at it" she seem a little shocked at my words but obeyed never the less i smiled at her compliance "can you hurry with it?" she asked "i can try but i don't want to hurt you" i said  "that's all its aright" she says done with one hand i moved to the other are you hurt in your leg i asked as i remembered that she fell on her hands and kènes she shakes her head 'its alright Lakshmi will look into it you don't have to me-'

'Annika please just let me' i asked looking up at her i take her foot and placed it on my kness her anklets jingling as i lifted her foot off the floor the sound so so quite yet felt like a melody on its own