hahaha!!! I am here with the update! I can do whatever I want to the story. The sense of power is rushing t my head. I could kill Kate! HEHEHEHE! OR, I could make Renault the bad guy! Oh, the power i have! There is nothing I cannot do! but i will be a good little angel and post it as AP has written it. sigh. somtimes i dont like being an angel.
okay, this post replaces the last post, right?
Pierre watched as the sun crept slowly toward the horizon. He had heard the barbaric outburst about an hour before, and had gone to the outskirts of the forest to see what the problem was; it would not do for Renault to escape. What he saw was Sinbad running away from the castle with several barbarians chasing him. Pierre knew this was not normal behavior for a horse, for they run from danger, not to it. This must be some desperate attempt to save Renault. He’s probably already out in those woods, just waiting on his “faithful steed.” He needed to distract the barbarians and the Kilowreans in order to give himself a chance to find Renault before he ran too far.
I’m going to have to begin the war, he thought with a sudden realization. These stupid barbarians are taking far too long. Now, where’d that scout replacement run off to? Shielding his eyes from the sun, Pierre began looking for the barbarian. Together they would begin this battle, this war. In the end, Pierre knew that he would get what he wanted: Kate. No matter what it took, she would be his.
He found the barbaric scout lurking in the shadows of the trees as the sun set and clouds gathered overhead. Pierre walked carefully up to the man. The man heard him from behind and, without bothering to turn around, said, “Hello, Pierre.” A sinister grin spread across the barbarian’s face as he turned toward the startled man who had approached him.
“This war must begin tonight!” Pierre declared.
“Ah, growing impatient, are we? Well, the Captain has his own timing about these things. It’ll happen, just maybe not tonight.”
“Oh, it will happen tonight, I assure you. You and I are going to start it.”
“Oh, really? And what’ll I get out of it?”
“You can be a Duke when I become King. You can have your pick of the area which you will rule under me.”
“A Duke, hmm. Well, that sounds proper enough. What’s to be my part in this event?”
“You, sir, shall shoot an arrow up toward one of the turrets, where guards are posted. The guards will shoot back, and the battle will begin.”
“And you will ensure my safety if I am captured after the battle?”
“There will be no one left to capture you, but yes. And my word is my bond.”
“Oh, there’s one more thing: when I shoot the arrow and the battle begins, what’s to say I won’t be hit on the return volley?”
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll find a way to avoid that.”
Back on the castle wall with his troops, Pierre watched as the barbarian scout fit an arrow to the bowstring. The arrow flew over a turret and hit a Kilowrean soldier square in the chest, knocking him to the ground.
“FIRE!” shouted Pierre above the confusion. The war began, and Pierre rushed through the stable and around the side of the castle. Because of Pierre’s intense desire for Kate, he had begun the battle as the sun neared the horizon—the battle that should have been delayed until the next day in order for things to work in his favor—for the barbarians to win.
He knew that he would have to find his solitary enemy and kill him. He drew his sword and walked cautiously toward the stream behind the enemy’s lines, following Sinbad’s hoof prints as they wound through the trees. As Pierre reached the stream, he noticed two sets of footprints in the deep sand, leading towards the dense forest.
Kate and Renault found a large rock hidden by trees and bushes. As they sat there for a moment trying to figure out the safest route back to the fortress, they heard the rush of arrows and the shouts of a thousand men. Their gazes drifted in the direction of the noises and they saw arrows flying.
“What on earth happened? Our men weren’t ready! And for some reason, it looks like we started it.”
“James wouldn’t have let that happen, though,” Kate argued.
Renault’s finger quickly reached up and pressed against Kate’s lips. “Quiet,” he whispered. “I hear something.” Leaves crackled under heavy boots as someone approached the general direction of the rock. Renault slipped down the ground, moving like a cat, and pulled Kate down next to him. The rock was now between them and the oncoming stranger. The footsteps continually got closer, but Renault and Kate had nowhere to run without easily giving their location away. They tensed as the footsteps halted, leaves settling softly into the ground.
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