The fourth day of mach brought another death. It was a fragile boy, he simply fainted and was left behind, I didn’t have the strength to help him, I barely managed to keep going. We received very little food and water. Only as much as not to die but not enough to replenish the energy we needed to keep going. It was a torture. The boy was picked up and I don’t know what happened to his body. Adrian was leaning on me, she looked tired and worn out.

“Kian, I think I can't go anymore.” She whispered into my ear. At some point we dropped any honorifics,they were pointless. I looked at her and all the other faces around me, something inside me snapped. 

“Hold on Adrien, just a bit longer.” I set myself free from her. Not far away I could see that kight, sit Lot was it?

“Sir Lot!” I shouted.

He turned around and looked at me.

“At this rate none of those people will survive. You took them to turn them into slaves but they will die on the way. Please sir, let them use the wagons, at least for the rest of the day.” 

The knight was silent for a moment. He was assessing the situation, at least it looked like it.

“Fine, your highness.” He smirked. “Let all of them on the wagons, however not the prince. Since he wants to play his part as a hero, I let him do that.” 

I bit my lips together. He can mock me all he wants, as long as I manage to save at least one person it’s still worth it.

I looked up at that knight.

“Thank you sir Lot for your considerate kindness.” And yeah, I smiled. It was an insincere smile yet I did my best. The man was silent for a moment and then he gave another order.

“After all of them are placed on the wagons, we can go faster.” Then he looked directly at me.

“Untie that prince.” A guard came and cut the ropes. It was such a relief. My wrists were sore, the constant rubbing tore the skin and made my wounds bleed. 

“Now my prince, try to keep up with the caravane, shouldn’t you be able to show up at our camp by the sun set, I will kill one person every ten minutes.” Then he smiled, just as insincere as I did.  

The caravan was moving faster, for a while I was able to follow them but then with every hour I could see that I was staying behind. I was tired. My feet moved on their own but a little slower each and every time. I forced myself to keep going. At some point the wagons weren’t in the line of my sight. I could escape, leave this hell and find a place I could hide. An invisible leash, that is what they put on my neck. I was thinking about leaving yet I knew they would kill all the men and women. Was I ready to be responsible for about fifty souls that would die because I had enough? No I wasn’t and that knight knew it. 

I was running, god only knows how I could pull the rest of my strength to run. My lungs were burning and I was struggling to catch my breath. I was fighting against the time as the sun was setting. 

I reached the camp, just before sunset. I dropped to my knees, unable to make any more steps. 

“Well well, the little prince managed this time. let’s see if you can make it tomorrow.” I knew that voice even without looking up. I just stayed on the ground pounding for air. 

Adrian and three other boys came to help me up. 

“Come Kian, you need to rest.”  She took off my shoes and tore her dress to bandage the blisters that were bleeding most. 

That moment I started to cry.

“Shh Kian. I know it hurts.” Adrien was trying to comfort me.

“That’s not it, Adrien. I barely made it today. What if tomorrow I come too late? They will kill somebody. How should I face you all?” I kept sobbing.

Somebody reached a hand towards me.

“Here, your highness, I saved some water for you.” It was a young girl with blond hair. Some more came to me, giving me a bit of bread or some more water. I looked at them with a surprise in my eyes. 

“It’s fine your highness, you could run away today and yet you came to us. You are a true prince. No, a real  king.” Those words said by a boy close to my age were echoing in my head. That night I slept without any dreams for the first time since the destruction of Deremoth. In the morning the whole caravan moved on and I was following it. I did my best to keep up the pace. 

We were now climbing up a hill and I saw that the road we were heading was writing like a snake to finally turn right . If I climbed down this rock I could save time. I was good at climbing. My mother hated it but it never stopped me from trying out some dangerous stunts. 

I looked down the steep rocky slope, I could do that. I turned round and saw the dirty faces staring back at me. I took a deep breath and started climbing down the slope.

“Look, the little royalty finally decided to run away.” one of the knights remarked.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of it.” Lot responded and they moved on. 

That evening I was waiting for the caravan to reach a perfect spot for the night. It was by a river and I even managed to drink some water before they came.

When the guards were tying us for the night I could hear my inmates murmuring two words. “Prince Kian.” As they were bowing their heads before me.  

“Looks like you turned that boy into a hero.” Said an officer looking at Lot.

“Wait and see, I will crush his pride.”