It was merely three days after Emilia's baby, Eric, who was named after Becca's father, was born that it all started.
Becca was fixated on the baby and never failed to visit Emilia daily to check on the baby. And so she was at Emilia's home when the warriors from the northern border invaded her kingdom.
She heard the battle cries and war chants of the barbarians before she saw the smoke rising from burning houses and heard the screams and shouts of her people being slaughtered.
"Damn those barbarians! Father was right!" Becca said, rising to her feet angrily.
"What do we do?" Emilia asked in fear as she rushed to take her baby from Becca.
"Come with me. We need to go to the palace at once," She said, mounting her horse.
"But my husband isn't back. He might look for us when he returns," Emilia complained.
"It is better he searches and finds both you and the lad alive than he comes back and sees your corpse," Becca told her impatiently.
When Emilia still stood there pondering whether or not to go with her, Becca kicked her horse into a trot. "I have a kingdom to protect... Make sure nothing happens to you or the lad," She said before leaving.
The closer she drew to the castle, the more she realized that the barbarians were in the court already. Her heart was in her mouth already by the time she got into the castle, which was already guarded by barbarians who kept chanting.
Not once had she experienced a real war in her twenty years of existence. They had enjoyed peace, and now being faced with this scared her. Even though she was afraid, she wasn't a coward. She stealthily jumped down from her horse and drew out her sword before charging toward the barbarians guarding the castle gates.
One by one, she hacked them down and smoothly stepped out of the reach of their weapons. She had learned that the best form of defense was attacking and had also perfected the art of dodging blows.
Because Lumba warriors only carried spears alongside bows and arrows and only their nobilities had swords, she was faster than them.
She walked past the men who were on the floor groaning in pain and walked into the castle. But immediately she entered the palace hall; she felt the sharp end of a spear on her neck, and she stood still.
She stood still not because of the spear on her neck but because she saw her father on his knees and the barbarian king standing before him with a sword.
"What do you want here?" The barbarian king asked.
"This is my home! I live here!" She said in a rough, angry voice, even though her father kept shaking his head for her not to speak.
"Ah! I should have known. You're the young Prince Beckham. Where is your twin sister?" He asked with a smirk as he turned around to look into her face.
"What do you want with her?" Becca asked, narrowing her eyes, which were burning with barely controlled rage.
"After I behead you and your father, I intend to take her home as a wife for my brother," He said with a sneer making her grit her teeth in disgust.
She spied her twin brother hiding at the far end of the room behind the throne seat where they usually hid as kids during their hide-and-seek games.
"Unfortunately, the princess is dead. And had she been alive, she would never allow herself to be wedded to a filthy barbarian!" She said and spat on the ground.
King Eric looked at Becca with sad eyes; he could tell she was trying to save her brother's life. Of what use would it be to the kingdom for her to save the life of that weakling?
If she were to marry the barbarian prince, then maybe she would have a chance to regain the honor of their kingdom and save her people. King Eric thought sadly.
"Dead? When did she die?" King Robin asked, eyeing Becca suspiciously.
"Had you not been too busy planning on launching an attack on people who mean you no harm, you would have known the kingdom was grieving their dead princess," Becca said, looking at him hatefully.
"Please don't kill my son, do not wipe out my entire generation. Please show me mercy," King Eric pleaded, making Becca despise the barbarian King more as she heard him roar with laughter.
"I will burn your kingdom to the ground, and I will take your women and children as my slaves. I will take your jewelries and weapons as my spoils of war. I will take your horses and oxen, and I will behead you," King Robin said boastfully.
"However, because you have begged me for mercy, I will take your son with me. He will serve my brother instead of his sister, who would have been his bride," He said with a grin at Becca, revealing his crooked and dirty teeth.
"You better kill me today, or else I will murder your brother in his sleep if you take me to him, and I will kill you afterward," Becca threatened, making him laugh some more.
"I like the lad. It would be my pleasure to have you kill that brother of mine," He said, laughing hard. She missed the slight change in his eyes, and before she knew it, her father's head was on the ground.
"Father!" She cried in anguish.
"Burn down the village and bring every woman and child along with you," He said before wiping the blood on his sword on King Eric's clothes.
"I, King Robin, is now your Lord and King," He said before seizing Becca by the collar of her embroidered tunic and dragging her outside.
"What about the castle milord?" One of the men asked.
"Search every corner and kill everyone in it. But leave it standing for history's sake. I want it to be known that this was once a kingdom which was conquered by me," He said without turning around.
*************
"I heard about your father's death. Accept my deepest condolences," Charles, who was Ian's best friend, said to him over a glass of ale.
"Thank you, my friend. He was pretty frail and old, so it was expected, I suppose," Prince Ian said to him with a light shrug.
He had traveled for days to get here to see his friend. He needed a little break from the affairs of the palace and his hateful brother's presence.
"I take it Robin is now King?" Charles asked, looking at Ian curiously.
"You know he always wanted to be king. I can only pray that he has the wisdom to rule," Prince Ian said and gulped down a glass of ale.
"How far do you intend to travel this time? Especially as your father is no longer around to hold you back?" Charles asked, watching him keenly.
"You know my father never held me back. It is my mother who I'm worried about. I'm even more worried now that my father is gone," Prince Ian said before running his fingers through his long blonde hair.
"I was going to tell you this. I don't think this is the right time to travel. You need to be at the palace until things settle down fully, and you're sure your brother won't make a mess of things," Charles said with a sigh.
"I'll hang around here a couple of days. You know how restless I can be. I'll return in a few days."
Just then, one of Charles' servants came and bent to whisper something into his ears. He turned to look at Ian immediately.
"What is wrong?" Prince Ian asked in alarm. He could tell the news wasn't good.
"There is news from the merchants that your brother has attacked the kingdom across the southern border yesterday. News has it that he beheaded their king," Charles announced sadly.
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