The Past 3

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.