Her Very Own Hero

Elim had found his way into the palace just by pretending to be a guard. He listened attentively as they gave them orders about how to act the next day when some of the guards will be executed. He saw the mournful looks on their faces and he knew it was because their colleagues were going to die because of him. But he didn't dwell on the guilt. Death was nothing new to him. 

Even then, he still wished he could kill the king. But that wasn't his mission at the moment. His mission was rescuing Asha before she was publicly humiliated the next day. But as he observed the tight security around the palace he knew it would be hard to find where she was kept and take her away without being caught. And he couldn't risk that. 

somehow managed to find his way to Asha's prison cell, where he was greeted by the heartbreaking sight of her curled up on the damp, muddy floor, likely in tears. Determined to save her, he swore to himself and slipped away to rejoin the other guards, still pretending to be one of them while thinking of a new brilliant plan. 

Elim couldn't believe his eyes when he arrived at the village square the next morning, as the guard in charge of protecting the prince. The guards were being paraded through the open market, bound and forced to kneel on the ground while menacing figures with swords stood nearby.

"This will leave everyone shaken up when father is done!" Denna exclaimed with excitement, causing Elim to turn towards him in anger. But his mother chose at that same moment to look in his direction . He avoided meeting his mother's eyes, afraid of revealing his true identity to her. It was better for her not to know it was him, her son, since he couldn't determine if she was as cruel as the king or if she was on his side.

Scanning the entire market for Asha, he realized she wasn't among the prisoners yet. He couldn't keep up this act much longer! What if the king decided not to punish her anymore? He might have to leave without rescuing her! The thought pained him, and he tightly gripped his sword, wishing he could end the king's life then and there. But he dared not make a move or even glance in the direction of the king.

All he heard was the king's cruel voice as he ordered for the guards to be killed despite the wailing for their families for mercy. He boasted with pride at the brutal display while every other person flinched at his merciless actions. 

"You all had to watch as a form of warning for those who wish to betray me! For those who take the king's safety for granted! Bring the next offender out!" He bellowed as three more guards were killed before Asha was led into the village square. 

Asha started to weep when the guards pushed her to the platform with a wooden stick where Nemere had been flogged by her mistress a long time ago. She stretched her head to see if her family was there but she couldn't concentrate on that when she saw the long animal skin whip being pulled out by one of the guards. 

Her entire body trembled with fear as she gazed ahead at the lifeless bodies of the guards. It was all too overwhelming! The king of Maribah was a heartless tyrant! Internally, she resigned herself to the ugly fate that awaited her.

But just as the whip was about to strike her, a voice pierced through the chaos, demanding, "Stop, or I'll end his life just like you did to those men!"

Straining her neck, she caught sight of Prince Denna, held at knifepoint by one of his guards. Not just any guard—it was him! The man from the forest! What was he doing?

"Any sudden move from any of you, and I'll slit his throat without hesitation. And I'll take out the other one before I'm taken down!" Elim threatened, leaving the king dumbfounded.

"Don't harm my son! Please, I beg of you!" pleaded Denna's distressed mother.

"What do you want?" The king asked

"Let her go!"

"What..."

"Let her go!" insisted Elim, pressing his knife closer to Prince Denna's neck as he edged away from the guards.

"Quickly! Untie her!" commanded the king.

From his vantage point, Elim observed their every move, hoping they wouldn't dare to challenge him, for he wouldn't hesitate to harm Denna, despite being his half-brother. He watched as they hastily untied Asha and whisked her away from the platform.

"Good! Just one guard, release her and let her flee! Asha, run as fast as you can down the riverbank!"

Asha, bewildered, scanned her surroundings, searching for any sign of her family.

"Listen! You will never be free if you don't go with me now! Forget your family and run! Run for now!" Elim screamed and that was enough motivation Asha needed to run as fast as her legs could carry her towards the river while some of her villagers watched in shock. Elim held Denna at knife point, moving slowly from the village square which wasn't so far from the river, while the poor boy kept panting out of fear of being killed. 

"Now, I need everyone to stay back! If I catch even a glimpse of the shadow of one of you trailing behind us, I will have him killed!" He warned sternly. 

Dragging the prince gradually till he got to the riverbank where Asha awaited him, he quickly ordered to find her way to the old house in the forest where they had met before and she did that. 

"You know you can't escape being caught by my father… he's the king of Mari…"

Before Denna could finish what he was saying, Elim had already knocked him unconscious with the head of his sword. 

Swiftly scaling the cliff, he dashed towards his horse, wasting no time in assisting Asha onto the saddle before mounting behind her as they rode off.

"We must put as much distance between us and Maribah as possible, or the king's guards may catch up with us," he declared urgently.

"But what about my family? I never had the chance to say goodbye. Where are you taking me, and why? Maribah is everything to me! Perhaps the king might have a change of heart! I can't just leave!" Asha protested, her voice filled with uncertainty.

"Not anymore. Not after what I've just done. Now, you're considered guilty! Besides, the king would have still punished you for a crime you didn't commit," he explained firmly.

As they raced past a blur of bushy landscapes, Asha couldn't help but wonder if she would ever return to Maribah or see her family again. Tears welled in her eyes as she tried to push aside thoughts of the mysterious man who had rescued her.

——

"I told you, Father, didn't I? She planned it all! We've had a traitor among us all this time!" Mayo exclaimed as his brother was finally recovered from the river, long after Asha and her mysterious accomplice had vanished.

"Japthan, do you have anything left to say in defense of your daughter? You've witnessed firsthand that you are the worst father, the most negligent of them all! And for that, you shall be punished in her stead! Take him to the prison cell and bring his daughters to me!" the king commanded, pacing around his palace as if he had lost his sanity. "They will all suffer for her sins!"

"And Mayo, gather capable guards for a long journey. Odomudo must be found! He will deliver that girl and her accomplice to me alive!" he roared with fury.

Today, he had been humiliated, but it would not go unpunished!