Annabeth Chase wasn't your typical teenage girl. She was sixteen years old, tall for her age and one of the best horse riders in the Kingdom, better even than some of her father's soldiers. She was also heir to the throne of Anglia, which is a title we better not forget. It might also be added that she was hotheaded, stubborn, had too much pride and carried the fight that many would say was missing from her father. She was very rarely compared to her mother, who had disappeared eleven years ago and was widely presumed dead, those who remembered her however said that Annabeth's wit and intellect could have come from no other.
Luke Castellan, captain of the royal guard currently did not care about any of that. The two of them had been on a hunting mission in Anglia's extensive woodland since just after their midday meal and now, as the sun continued to retreat over the horizon he was tired, cold and hungry and he wanted nothing more than to get home and relax in front of the fire. Annabeth however showed no signs of wanting to leave. They were following a disturbed trail that she was convinced had been made by either bandits or werewolves and he was afraid that she might actually be right. He had been riding with his shield on his arm and his sword out for the past half hour.
Bandits were fairly common in Anglia, but never this close to the capital, but then again the regular army patrols through the forest roads had become less regular recently, what with the rising levels of crime within the city. Anglia had been going through one of the longest peaceful spells in its history, and with no war to force King Frederick into action, or to occupy its citizens the whole country had fallen into a lull, allowing certain criminal lords to stir into action. The focus on preventing this spread in the big cities had resulted in the country being almost left to it's own devices.
"Listen!" Annabeth said urgently, causing him to start, and forcing him to focus back on the situation at hand. "I can hear talking - just ahead!"
Taking her word for it he urged his horse forward, putting himself between the princess and the possible danger. "Stay behind me!" he said, ignoring the formality that he usually had to use in her presence, it was awkward enough in a non-life threatening situations given the two had been friends ever since he was assigned to the royal guard nearly four years ago, proprietary could be dammed now.
Before either of them could say another word though the conversation quieted. They had barely began to move forward when the undergrowth that lined the path burst open and 4 figures leapt out. They were all male, of a stocky if slightly short build and completely covered in dirt, that was not what caught the princesses attention though. In each hand they carried a long curved knife, the metal shining slightly in the faint moonlight that was able to reach them through the forest canopy. For a moment the bandits stared at the two, hatred in their eyes, clinically assessing their most valuable belongings, then they charged.
Obviously judging Luke to be the greater threat, three of the men went for him with the other easily ducking under his sword and heading straight for Annabeth, her horse was fully battle trained however and it leapt forward to meet the attack, lashing out with it's legs. Taken by surprise the bandit only just managed to avoid the steel clad hooves but the horse's movement still knocked him backwards several steps. By the time he had recovered and began advancing once more Annabeth had drawn her sword and in one fluid movement, one that she had been taught by Luke himself in the castle training grounds, she wheeled her horse around, leaned forward and hacked towards the man on the ground, cutting him in the arm. The bandit withdrew to the undergrowth once more holding his injured am, where the horse couldn't follow. She briefly tore her glance away from him, looking to see how Luke was doing. This momentary lapse in concentration was almost fatal as without warning the bandit through himself from the bush at Annabeth's horse, knocking her from its back. The stallion charged away, spooked and she lay on the forest floor, winded and somewhat dazed.
She was aware that there was definitely some sort of danger but she couldn't recall exactly what it was. She watched as three men attacked a soldier on a horse but as the soldier was disarmed his horse reared and galloped away, the soldier clinging on desperately as the three other men chased after him. The fourth man, the only one left on the path turned and began to slowly walk back towards her.
The truth of her situation suddenly hit her, she remembered where she was, who she was and who that man was. The bandit was approaching with slow deliberate steps as if enjoying the moment before his kill. Her sword lay close by, just beyond easy reach, she leapt for it but the bandit was just a moment ahead of her. The weight of his body hit her and her boots slipped on the wet leaves. She crashed to the ground the weight of the bandit falling on top of her. The bandit put it's long knife to her throat and she stilled.
Her fighting spirit still roared under the surface but she was smart enough to see a lost battle when she saw one. She leaned forward and spat in the bandit's face, he leaned back, a look of disgust overcoming his expression.
"Make sure you leave all the wounds in the front!" she spat up at him, trying to conceal the waver in her voice. "I want all of Anglia to know that their princess did not die running away!"
The look of disgust on his face changed to confusion before terror began to take it over. His eyes glanced down to the royal coat of arms on her armor and he backed away quickly kicking her sword into the undergrowth. He looked her in the eyes and she saw the fear burning within them, fear of something that seemed more than just the royal families wrath. He turned and fled through the tree's his silhouette blending into the darkness.
Annabeth climbed to her feet and picked up her sword, her limbs were trembling, both with shock and exhaustion. She was fascinated, and if anything slightly worried. She knew about these bandits, she'd heard all the stories about them, they operated outside the law, her being princess shouldn't have sparked that fear in him that it did. There was another power in play.
A crashing noise in the trees interrupted her thoughts, and she raised her sword ready for renewed combat, but it was only Luke. He had finally regained control of the horse and looking at how tired it looked had come charging back ready to die in her defence. Annabeth had to endure over 15 minutes of him checking her for injuries, before sitting through a long explanation about how he had no chance of controlling his horse when it bolted and how he came back as soon as possible. She was eventually allowed to mount his horse and they started the journey home, a journey that would take even longer with her riding pillion. Silently she thought through all that had happened.
What was so scary that it even terrified a bandit? Her mind continued to puzzle over the worrying possibility of a foreign power controlling the bandits as she continued her journey home.
After a few minutes her own horse reappeared, whinnying happily to see them. Annabeth grumpily remounted him, utterly blaming it for putting her in the situation in the first place. They took the most direct route back towards the city and eventually the dense trees became more sparse as they began to come across the woodcutters cottages that populated the forests eaves. The trees then gave way entirely and revealed the plain that surrounded Whitehampton, the capital of Anglia.
It rose above the fields of wheat as if it were a ship, the bright torches on its stone walls seemed to beckon Annabeth back home. She spurred her horse on, already recovering from the shock of battle and desperate to tell her father about the evening's events. They raced across the plain, dust being thrown up from the summer dried roads, and they were soon riding under the city gates. It had been market day and although the streets were far emptier than they would have been in high afternoon, they were still full of the traders who were beginning to pack away their goods.
"It's the Princess!" The whisper ran ahead of her through the crowd of country traders. Annabeth wished she had something to cover her face, for a princess she was awful with attention and the fact that so many of the people around her were staring was causing her face to become an unnatural red colour. At last she reached the gates of the Citadel and upon seeing her the palace guards snapped to attention and opened the gates allowing her access to the castle. As soon as she had crossed the courtyard she dismounted and began up the stairs to the great hall, the green eyed stable boy already picking up her horse's reins from where she had left them on the ground. She never knew why she always noticed that particular stable boy's eyes, when none of the others held her attention at all. She shook her head and focused her thoughts back to the task in hand. She stepped forward and strode into her father's hall.
The room was grand, rows of tables filled the space, ready for when the King held his banquets, the flags and banners of long past wars could be seen in the shadows of the hall's roof, smoke stained from the fires that burned within the hall on every event day. At the end of the hall stood a raised dais on which the high table stood, in the centre of this table stood the grand wooden throne, the symbol of the political centre of Anglia on which her father sat when officiating state events. It sat empty now however and she walked briskly around the back of the dais to the small door hidden in the wall behind it. Knowing that Luke was right behind her she burst through the door without knocking.
The slamming of the door caused King Frederick Chase to start awake from where he had been dozing in his armchair. The room was a small cosy place, with barely enough space for all three of them to fit. The walls were covered in book cases, and the armchair in which Frederick sat was placed behind a small table on which sat a book that had obviously been abandoned when he fell asleep.
"Ahh, Annabeth! What brings you to see me this evening." Frederick sat up straighter running this hand through his graying blonde hair, evidently trying, but failing to make himself look more presentable. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and smiled at her. His eyes flicked toward Luke, who was standing just behind her in the doorway and concern flashed across his face.
Annabeth crossed her arms huffing as she narrowed her eyes at her father. "What makes you think I wanted anything, I might have only came to see you because I wanted too?"
Frederick let out a laugh "Annabeth you only ever come to see me when you have something urgent to tell me... or if you want something." She opened her mouth to protest but he continued. "And if this was one of the rare occasions where you just wanted to say hello, you wouldn't have brought Luke with you." He nodded at him as Annabeth's face flushed pink.
"So!" Frederick exclaimed, "What is it, did you manage to hunt an exciting animal in the forest today?"
Annabeth rolled her eyes, ignoring his obviously forced enthusiasm for the hunt, he had made it perfectly clear before that he was far more interested in the internal political matters, rather than the patrols and hunts she took part in herself.
"No, I have something very important to tell you father." She said, hoping that she could actually gain his full attention.
"Oh it must be serious" he said jovially to Luke, "She only ever calls me father if it's a matter of life or death, or if she's done something wrong."
"We ran into some bandits in the woods!" Annabeth shouted over him frustrated, taking at least some satisfaction at the look of shock and horror on his face, a look that only becomes more obvious as she recounts the story.
"So there is obviously something going on out there so I think I-" Frederick interrupted her by pulling her forward into a hug as he truly realised how close he was too losing her. He pulled back scanning her for any obvious injuries.
"Have you been seen by the physician yet?" he muttered frantically, stuck somewhere in between hugging her sympathetically and patting her down, as if any injury would just jump out at him.
"No Dad I haven't, I came straight here to see you because I need your permission to lead a force after them."
"No! Absolutely not, you are not going back outside these city walls for a long time young lady."
"But I'm the only one who knows where the bandits were!"
"Apart from Luke!" Frederick announced triumphantly. Annabeth deflated, already sensing that this argument had been lost.
"But even then I -"
"No buts, Luke is a trained guard, has more experience than you, and is not the heir to the kingdom, I am not sending you out on something that could be a wild goose chase and risking the chance that you could be killed."
"How will I ever get that experience if you never let me do anything though." She was whining now and she knew it but it was so frustrating. She was never allowed to attempt to be a leader to her people as they never got to see her. What good was a Princess of Anglia who had no fighting experience, and therefore didn't have the respect.
"Annabeth, you will be able to gain the experience when I am sure you are skilled enough to stay safe." He turned away from her to look at Luke and she knew the matter was closed. She slumped backwards as he continued to talk. "I want you to lead your guard out and attempt to round up these bandits, bring back some prisoners, I want to find out if there actually is someone organising, and if there is I want to know why."
"Yes sir". Luke spun around and walked out the room, as Annabeth followed him she heard her father's voice, so quiet she was sure she wasn't meant to hear it.
"She's too much like her mother, I can't lose her too."
Annabeth winced and closed the door behind her, and looked up to see Luke waiting for her in the great hall.
"You know he doesn't mean anything by it Annabeth, he knows you're a good fighter, but it's his responsibility to keep you safe, he's got to protect his heir."
She nodded slightly and gave him a thin lipped smile. "Anyway I've got to gather this patrol, I hope I'll be back for the banquet."
"Stay safe." She murmured to him before stepping forward and folding her arms around him.
"Save me a dance and I will." He whispered into her hair. She gave him a real smile this time as she stepped back.
"Of course I will." Luke gave her a mock salute before turning and walking back out of the hall. As the door shut on him the smile drifted off her face. What good was a princess who couldn't even lead her own guard.