Bonded

1. Kasim

"Clarissa , am I clear ?" said Kasim.

"Yes , Sir". I replied.

"Now go get some sleep . Tomorrow is a long day ahead." He said.

"On your command , sir ". I said.

I moved upstairs into the attic. I prepared my bed and laid down. My body was aching  of the load I had to carry so as to get some information from a lady. She is one of the queen's lady and she happen to know about the Prince's schedules. I disguised myself as a servant and offered to help her in carrying the sacks of grain.

We walked together to the market while on the way , she poured out all the information regarding the Prince's schedule of the upcoming week. Being a talkative one , she also told me about the queen's jewellery , ravishing dresses and other irrelevant things in which I wasn't really interested . But I had to listen to her nonsense the entire way and also bear the load of the heavy sack . That lady had a shrill laugh which pierced through my ear drums every time she laughed.

After returning back to my cottage which lies a few miles away from the town and adjacent to the forest I gave Kasim all the information. Prince Eric is visiting the nearby town to share the grief and comfort the poor farmers who lost their harvest due to heavy rain this month. And this is the perfect opportunity when we can execute our plan. Kasim was pleased by the idea that we can finally implement first stage of our plan.

Kasim is the only closest person I have in this world . When I was five , I lost my parents and Kasim was the only one to adopt me. I don't remember what my parents were like , how they looked or what they did for living. But according to Kasim my parents used to work for a noble. I try to imagine my parents sometimes. My eyes and lips like my mother and nose like my father.

Since then Kasim looked after me and cared for me. He can be stubborn sometimes but he is the only one who provide for me and I'm grateful to him for that.

The next day,  I woke up early and prepared all the necessary things for our short trip.  I wore a loose white shirt inside black corset,  green trousers and my brown riding boots. My attire perfect for riding.  I pleated my hair and placed a hat on my head.

Kasim was preparing the horses in the stable and his expressions were intense. Whatever we are planning against the King is quite imperative and necessary for Kasim and also for me. No one wants to step forward to rise against the king so Kasim took the responsibility of taking a revenge.

All these years I've been trained for this day only. Hurting the prince will serve our purpose the right way. All his life, Kasim has never spent a single day thinking about this day. He's been betrayed and so were the others but no one else cared to do something about it.  Or I can say that, the others don't have the courage that Kasim have.  No matter what , I'll always be on his side.

We rode through the dense forest at a moderate pace. Kasim suddenly decided that we should part our ways as he has to make some arrangements for the execution of our plan. So he took the short path to reach before the Prince's arrival and I took the long path.

I was riding for an hour when I heard some hustling from behind. I quickly moved my horse in the direction of the disturbance. I noticed that there were half a dozen men riding on the horses who were attacked by some bandits . A man who looked like a Royal was their main target and the rest of the men were trying to defend him.  I could tell, they were his guards.

The guards were outnumbered by the bandits.  The Royal one was also fighting with his sword but about four bandits were attacking him at a time.  Many of the bandits were killed, but still a lot of them were remaining.

Suddenly the Royal man lost control of his horse and fell on the hard ground of the forest. He might get killed,  so I quickly wrapped a cloth around my face and jumped down my horse.

A bandit was about to pierce his sword through the Royal man heart when I blocked his blow with my knife and pushed and kicked him away with force .  Then I gave my hand to the Royal one offering him help. He was looking at me with puzzled expressions and for a moment we both were staring in each other eyes.

Then suddenly he took my hand and I helped him to get up.
Five more bandits came charging on us,  so I punched one of them in the stomach and slayed his neck with my knife.  Then I picked up a sword lying on the ground and began fighting with the other bandit.  While the Royal man was fighting with the three other bandits.

After a few attempts when the bandits were not able to win so they ran away.  I dropped the sword and wiped my knife on the clothes of one of the bandit laying on the ground. The Royal man was staring at me observing my every move.

" These bandits have a habit of attacking the Royals,  trying their luck to steal some riches. You should have taken other route, this area is surrounded by these people." I said to the Royal man while plucking the leaves out of my hairs.

"We will be careful next time. By the way thanks for your help". He replied looking straight through my eyes.

"No need to thank me. Well,  I guess. I should take my leave now. " I said picking up my hat.

"Before leaving, it would be a pleasure if you would tell me your name". He said.

" I don't tell my name to strangers " I said turning.

That man suddenly grabbed the cloth on my face and pulled it.  In panic I suddenly lost my balance and fell.

I was laying on the floor when that man got down on his knees and offered his hand.

"I'm sorry,  my lady.  I didn't meant to cause you any harm. But I think that makes us even now. " He said looking at me.

I looked upward in his eyes for a moment,  then got up on my own refusing his help.  I took my cloth from his hand and without saying anything moved towards my horse and left in a hurry from that place. I accelerated being worried about getting late.