"You and Zuph will be behind leading the others, while I and Luc will be ahead and lead the others," Liam said. "Elihu, you are in charge of the second batch of soldiers, and Zuph, you are second-in-charge. Is everything clear?" Liam asked.
"Yes," The soldiers replied in a chorus.
"Luc, you will be behind me," Liam turned to Luc.
"No Liam, let me not be behind you, let me be in front," Luc said. Liam just returned, they would not risk him being wounded, or worse killed. If anything happened to Liam, Wura would be devastated, they all would.
"You cannot be in front, I am king and I will lead," Liam made clear.
"At least let me ride beside you, you know why Liam, we cannot risk you getting injured... or worse..." Luc said.
Liam sighed, he had only just finished arguing with Wura about his safety, he was not about to do the same with Luc.
"Alright fine, you can ride beside me," He replied.
"Thank you Liam," Luc nodded.
"It is settled then, you all have your orders, go and get ready, suit up, sharpen your swords, grab your shields, we set out in five minutes," Liam said. All his men acknowledged his words and set out.
"Go and give the men a quick talk and inform them," Elihu turned to Zuph. Zuph nodded and moved quickly.
Luc went to go and get something to drink. There was no time left to waste, they would set out soon.
Liam walked away, he sighed. He needed to clear his head in the little time they had left.
"Liam, can I speak to you for a moment please?" Elihu followed after Liam.
Liam turned back and sighed, "Alright, go ahead,".
"Liam, are you alright?" he asked.
"I am fine Elihu, I am alright, what do you need to talk to me about?" he sighed.
"Are you sure that you are alright? You are stressed and I do know that you have no time to calm down but...".
"Elihu, you are right, there is no time to calm down, so tell me what you need to say," Liam said. The few minutes he had left with trying to calm down himself before they went out there.
"Alright Liam, I apologize if I am irritating you. So, where is Wura?" he asked.
Liam sighed, he did not want to talk about her, not at all.
"She is somewhere safe," He replied. He only answered Elihu because he knew he would continue to ask until he got an answer.
"Where exactly?" Elihu narrowed his eyes. He knew Wura, she wanted to go with Liam and she would not just back down because Liam said so, and how that she was silent and nowhere to be found.
If he did not know any better, he would say that Liam had knocked her unconscious and tied her tied her somewhere.
"Safe, and that is all that matters, now, if you have nothing better to say, then leave.".
Liam sounded irritated, Elihu was unsure if it was due to the situation or because of something else.
"Ever since you returned to the camp, you have not been yourself... are you sure that you are alright?" he asked.
"Elihu, stop asking irritating questions, just leave, or better yet, I will leave this place for you," Liam said and with that he walked away.
Elihu frowned, he did not know what just happened, he was unsure why Liam blew up like that. "What did I say?" he asked himself confused. Now, he was definitely sure that something was wrong with Liam and he had a feeling that Wura was the cause of it.
Elihu watched Liam walk away, he shook his head and went to join Luc.
...
"Liam!!!" called Wura in anger. She was furious, she felt like hitting him right now, how could he treat her like this and tie her up like a child?? This was completely unfair, she felt like screaming and telling him that she hated him, but she did not, she could never hate him.
"Liam, please, please," She cried.
"Oh Liam, please do not leave, please..." She shouted.
...
Liam walked aimlessly, he needed a break from everything. His mind was a mess, he was in a severe state of stress and the one he knew could relieve his stress and make everything better was the main cause of his anger.
Liam felt like kicking something, punching something. He would take it out on the battlefield.
Liam was about to return back to his men when he saw an elderly man come out of one of the tents with bloody hands and blood-soaked sheets in his hands.
Instantly Liam was sure he was the physician attending to Mero. At that moment, Liam felt his heart sink. He thought the worse.
He approached the physician. "How is Mero?" he asked,
"My king," The physician bowed quickly.
"There is no need to bow, tell me, how is Mero?" he helped the physician up.
"Fortunately he is doing well my king... although the arrow was deeply shot into his flesh, it was not deep enough to cause any permanent damage," The physician smiled.
Liam looked relieved as soon as he heard his words. As much as he was angry with Mero, he still cared about him and he did not want anything seriously bad to happen to him.
"That is good to hear," Liam replied.
"Yes, it is very good to hear, in fact, he is awake now, would you like to see him your majesty?" the physician asked.
Liam seemed to be giving it some thought. In the end, he shook his head. "No, that is not necessary, I should be on my way now, please take care," Liam said.
"Thank you my king, take care as well, and be careful," The physician said before Liam walked away.
...
"Liam, I have prepared your horse for you," Zuph said. He walked towards Liam with Nolan held by a lead.
They had all been waiting for him to return and Zuph knew that seeing Nolan would make him happy considering how stressful everything was.
"Thank you Zuph," Liam smiled. His face lit up as soon as he saw Nolan. Nolan neighed and Zuph handed the lead to Liam.
"Oh boy, I have missed you, I have missed you so much. Did you miss me as well?" Liam asked, he patted Nolan's mane and Nolan neighed as if responding to him.
"It feels so good to be back home," He said. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. At least one part of his heart was receptive to the warm feelings he felt in the moment.
"Alright men, are you ready?" Liam addressed them all.
"Yes my king," They replied.
"Then let us go on our way," Liam jumped onto Nolan and Luc handed him his sword and shield before mounting on his own horse.
The others mounted their horses and followed after Liam and Luc who led the way.
...
"Liam! Anyone, please come and help me!" Wura shouted. Tears were dropping down her eyes. She had been here struggling for the past thirty minutes. She was trying to get free but Liam had tied her so tightly that it was proving impossible.
It was not even the betrayal that hurt her most, instead, it was the fact that regardless of all she had said, all she had pleaded and begged for, Liam had went out there without her. The worry would kill her more than the betrayal did.
She needed to find a way out, she needed someone to come and help her so she continued to shout for help in hope that someone would come to her aid.
"Somebody help, please help me," She shouted. Finally, as if an answer to her prayers had finally arrived, a young servant, one of the apprentices of the physician walked into the tent.
"My queen, are you alright?" he asked looking worried.
"Oh finally, finally, please come and help untie me, I am not alright at all," She said.
"I apologize my queen, but his majesty gave me stern orders not to release you, no, not until he returns," The man said.
Wura almost felt one of her veins popping. How could Liam be so cruel? How could he be so wicked? Not only had he betrayed her and tied her up here, but he also made sure she would be unable to escape.
"Listen here, I am the queen, listen to me and untie me!" She demanded.
"I apologize my queen, his majesty said that I would be punished if I dare release you. It is for your own good. But you do not have to worry, I am at your service to give you anything you might need," He said. He sat down on the couch across her.
"His majesty said I should watch you and make sure you are comfortable," He said.