The knights had barely burst into the room when the boy abruptly jumped to his feet, holding the sword in his right hand. He directed a malicious gaze at the girl, then returned his gaze to the door, directing both it and his sword toward it.
Alice wanted to say something, but seeing the angry gaze, she lowered her eyes.
At that moment, the door was knocked off its hinges, and four knights dressed in intricate metal armor burst into the room, blocking all possible escape routes.
Surrounding the boy and making sure he couldn't escape, they raised their shields and assumed stances. Soon after these actions came the sound of light footsteps behind the knights' backs.
"Lady Alice, did you really want to take such a catch for yourself?" the voice was filled with sarcasm and light mockery.
Hearing the voice behind the knights' backs, the boy gripped his sword tighter and prepared to launch a frontal attack, but at that moment something hit him hard on the back of his head.
The boy lost his balance and dropped his sword forward. As soon as he dropped to his knees, clutching the back of his head, the knights parted, and a figure appeared before him.
"Ah, you, dear sister, ruined all the fun for me," the man said dejectedly.
"You would have simply started torturing him, dear brother," Alice replied in a calm and firm voice; her face showed no emotions. "What are you doing here?"
The man, standing in front of the knights, quickly scanned the space, then spoke with a sly smile:
"I'm here for the valuable frame. This little street urchin participated in that expedition." Approaching closer to the boy, he disgustedly picked up the blade lying at the youth's feet with two fingers.
After a quick inspection and activating a spell on the blade, the man with long and well-groomed hair, dressed in light old world clothing, began to lightly swing it, as if playing with it.
"I've already questioned this youth; he doesn't know anything about any fragment. You're wasting your time," Alice maintained a calm appearance.
After playing with the sword a little, he disgustedly looked at Alice, then at the youth who was on one knee, holding one hand to the back of his head. Thinking for a moment, he thrust the sword into the floor and ordered his knights:
"The child in shackles and to the cell." His voice became serious, devoid of any fun.
"Stop!" Alice broke out and with a quick movement stood between the knights and the boy. "He said he doesn't know anything about any fragment! I personally questioned him."
"That means you questioned him poorly, sister... Now it's my turn," approaching closer to his sister, he looked into her eyes and smirked in his malicious manner. "Or do you dare to interfere with a more important figure like me?" His gaze was directed not into Alice's eyes, but into her very soul.
Alice shuddered almost imperceptibly, feeling something touch her soul. She cursed to herself and took a step aside, allowing the knights to approach the boy unhindered. However, he didn't show much resistance, as if he was in some kind of trance.
Putting large steel shackles on the boy, one of the knights grabbed the chains and dragged the youth out, not caring for his well-being.
"And God, wash this mutt; he stinks," the disgusted voice sounded behind the boy's back, and with that, the boy's consciousness finally lost concentration.
***
"How my head hurts," were the boy's first thoughts when he tried to rise, but then he felt completely deprived of the ability to move. He was lying on his stomach on something hard and constantly jolting.
Opening his eyes, he saw how stone tiles slowly floated under his gaze. Only a moment later did he realize that he was lying on a horse that was slowly galloping through the streets.
Looking around, he saw a cohort consisting of a small number of knights led by that bastard who commanded the cavalry.
Fully gathering his concentration, the boy began to twitch, trying to break free from the shackles, but already a moment later he felt a strong blow to the back. The whip lashed across his back like oil on a hot pan.
"Aagh!" a cry escaped the youth's lips.
"Don't twitch, snot-nosed brat," the knight ordered in a rough tone, who was managing the horse.
"I'll remember this for you, scum," the boy thought to himself and began to look around, assessing the situation. "How long have I been asleep?" Feeling that the pressure caused by the eternal jolting didn't bother him much, he decided that he had been unconscious for not long, or he was simply such that the discomfort caused he didn't feel like other people. However, for himself, he decided that he was still in the same city. The city was as if reconstructed. Examining each house, no taller than three or four stories, he noticed that each was built from large tiled stones, and every building was similar to each other, as if these buildings had a mandatory standard.
Peering into the alleys and assessing his chances of escape, in one of the alleys he saw a dark figure looking toward him; in the next alley, he noticed two more figures. And in the next alley, a completely metal-covered arrow flew toward him. The shot hit the knight who was carrying the prisoner on the horse, and for a moment time stopped.
The knight was hit in the slit between the helmet and armor, right in the cervical section. Choking on blood, the knight fell to the ground, and the horse, having lost its master and completely deprived of control, reared up on its hind legs and threw off the remaining load—the boy in shackles.
Falling face to the ground, he pulled his hands with the shackles to himself and tried to cover the back of his head. One of the knights shouted:
"It's an ambush! Everyone group up!"
But no one listened to their commander, as at that moment all the knights were dead.