The hatch at the end of the tunnel flew open and Brett stuck his head out to see if the coast was clear. He signaled the others and they climbed out into the fresh, cool air of the night. The forest was quiet and the breeze was cold. They all slowly climbed out of the tunnel to a safe location.
“What do we do now?” Ashley asked. “We have no kingdom, we have no protection and we have no one to help us! We’re all doomed.” Ashley then started to cry. Mary-Kate tried to comfort her while Brett and Marc-Andre decided where to go from there.
The main points to focus on were a shelter for the night and to scout around to see if there were any enemies close by. Brett volunteered to scout around the woods while Marc-Andre collected firewood and what he needed for a shelter.
Brett went off into the woods and Marc-Andre got some dry logs and braches. Before long, a roaring fire was burning brightly bringing an end to the cold winds. Brett came back after an hour and told his three friends that there were no enemies. As he walked over to sit down, he collapsed to one knee. Mary-Kate noticed that Brett’s shoulder wound hadn’t been tended too and that it was still bleeding, after two hours.
“Brett, come here and let me tend to your wound.” Mary-Kate suggested. Once Brett went over and leaned back to a tree, Mary-Kate took some spare materiel and made a dressing to cover the wound and stop the bleeding.
“Do you think we have a chance to getting the kingdom back?” Mary-Kate asked him. Brett looked at her and pondered his answer. “Tell me honestly.”
Brett looked into her eyes and then looked down. “We will do our best, that is all we can do.” He said as he once again looked into her eyes. “But no matter what happens, I will never let anything happen to you or Ashley.”
She thanked him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Brett continued to look into the fire and reflected on what he could do to get the kingdom back. Everything was stacked against them. They needed allies and it was the hardest thing to do without a kingdom to offer services in return. He would have to think up a plan to return what was rightfully theirs.
