N:   England, deciding to respect Derogan's distance, stayed where he was, but he watched as the prince galloped away. He wanted to answer the question but he knew any attempt to change the prince's mind would be in vain. He continued to watch the waterfall until he was startled by the shot. The noise also startled his horse and they got too close to the edge for his liking, but he was able to regain control. He immediately spun around and galloped to where he thought Derogan would be.

Since he was too far away, he only found Tunderstrike lying on the ground. England dismounted and knelt next to the injured horse, and saw that its breathing was irregular. Its blood pooled around the wound, and would occasionally whine in pain. The country stroked its mane, trying to comfort it as he tried to piece together what happened.

"Those rogues," he whispered to himself, mentally facepalming himself for not keeping them in check. He walked up to his horse, who whined at the sight of her dying companion. "Go ahead, girl," he muttered as he tried to comfort her too, "go and bring the others." Not knowing if she understood, she regardless circled around and galloped away.

Unsure of what to do with the fallen horse, he ripped the bottom of his shirt, exposing his bandages, and attempted to slow down the flow of blood. He picked up a musket that was left behind, along with a sword, he followed the drag marks where he hoped would lead him to Derogan.

M:   Rowen heard the faint gunshot, it wasn't loud enough to startle him but it did make him worried since it was close to where Derogan and England ran off too.

"Did anyone else hear that," he asked the countryhumans, "or am I just imagining things- WOAH!"

He shouted when a horse ran into him and Star Dust, knocking all three to the ground and burying the captain underneath both large animals, Anglo was right behind him and his horse reared up in response, throwing its rider off its back.

———

Derogan was terrified, he stopped struggling at this time and just silently walked in the middle of the riders, but that didn't stop the Prussians from lashing him with their whips when he would go too slow. His eyes were red and puffy from tears leaking out of them from the pain on his back and wings, but he refused to give the humans the satisfaction of hearing him cry.

"Keep moving," one of the men said, tugging on the rope around his neck.

The prince grunted but complied and tried to walk faster, his legs already starting to hurt from trying to keep up with five horses.

N:   England caught up to the group, but stayed far enough so that he wouldn't be seen. When he saw them, he knew he would be outnumbered and outgunned if he attacked them head-on. Muskets only held one lead ball and needed to be reloaded every time, so England, not carrying any spare ammunition, started to collect sticks.

He would go to the group's flanks, still staying hidden, and snap a stick. He would quickly hide so he wouldn't be caught. He would continue over and over again, surrounding the group with the sound of branches breaking, hopefully giving the illusion of a large group around them.

When he had stirred up enough confusion, he ran ahead of the group and ran in front of them, his musket tied to his belt and a sword in hand. "Who exactly do you think you are to disobey my orders?" The country put on an authoritative voice, holding up his sword, "We know traitors are severely punished."

———

When Anglo fell he landed on his injured wing, and although he had gotten better, pain shot through his shoulder. He stayed on his side until Saxon came over and helped him up. Together, they helped to unbury Rowen from both the horses.

"We heard the shot too," Saxon answered as he checked on the captain. He turned to Anglo who was with the horse who knocked them down, "Isn't that England's horse?"

"I think so- OWW" the winged country cried as the horse began to pull on his wing, trying to pull him in a certain direction.

M:  The Prussians jumped when England leaped out in front of them, they were tense already from apparently being surrounded, so then England appeared one of the soldiers reflexively fired his crossbow at him, thankfully it missed him and hit the ground in front of the country.

"Your orders," the leader said doubtfully, "you honestly think we would take orders from a Brit? We only serve the Prussian empire, Herr England, and Lord Prussia would be very displeased if we left Mandoria empty-handed. Step aside now, this matter does not concern you any longer."

"Help Sir England," Derogan pleaded but was silenced by a whip striking his back and wings, ripping off some loose bloody feathers.

———

"I think she wants us to follow her," Rowen said, "maybe she'll lead us to England and hopefully Derogan."

"That horse had better lead to them," a booming voice said from above, Mandoria landing right after.

"My king," Rowen said, his face looked rather fearful, "Sire I am terribly sorry, I did not intend for this to happen-"

"Now is not the time for groveling Rowen," Mandoria barked, anger was all over his face, "you and I will discuss your punishment at a later date, find my son and England, NOW!!"

Rowen shrunk at his king yelling at him, he never experienced Mandoria being angry with him before, but he wordlessly jumped onto Star Dust's back and waited for England's horse to lead the way. Mandoria glared at Anglo and Saxon but said nothing, taking to the sky to continue searching for Derogan himself.

N:  When Mandoria arrived Anglo's wings fell to the ground, feeling the angry vibrations emitting from the king's wings. Both of the English felt the heavy gaze of the king, but Anglo felt extra guilty that he wasn't able to take care of his own son, and may have affected Derogan in some way or another.

The winged country mounted and trotted up to the captain, followed by Saxon, who has been silent throughout the entire encounter. "I am deeply sorry that you have to deal with us. We will both help in any way possible."

———

England flinched when the arrow landed in front of him, and again when he heard the whip crack. He picked up the arrow and, despite wanting to help Derogan upfront, couldn't afford it in front of the Prussians.

"Ok fine, you only serve the bird Prussia, but do you really think that he would be satisfied with just the prince? I mean look at him," he pointed at the young country, "there is nothing you can get from him. Doesn't your Lord Prussia want to take the Kingdom of Mandoria for himself, so presenting him with a child who is so immature you even wonder how he would be king."

He walked up to the Prussian leader, cautious of the weapons he and his followers were carrying, "You taking Prince Derogan is only a temporary fix. Mandoria has another son who could easily become king and Prussia would quickly get bored of the child. Do you want to bring to Prussia a half-hearted attempt to appease his hunger for more? However, I propose something else."

He walked away to his original spot, got his musket, pointed at the sky, and shot. He grabbed his sword and stuck it into the ground. "I suggest that you take me instead of the runt. Think about it, British Empire would want me back, and with Prussia having me as a bargaining tool, could use me as a way to gain lands all across the globe, increase his army tenfold, and could walk over the Kingdom of Mandoria with ease. It's your choice: give Prussia a Kingdom or give him an Empire?"

M:   Derogan was hurt by England's words, he understood why he was saying them, to convince the Prussians to let him go, but it didn't stop him from feeling pretty useless right then.

"You misjudge Lord Prussia's desires, Brit," the leader said, "a Mandorian's price is ten times greater than an English's, Mandoria himself would bring a kingly fortune to whoever brings his head, be it attached to the body or not."

The Prussian started circling England, "With the prince in our hands, Mandoria would do anything to get him back, he would give his crown over his kingdom and all the winged countryhumans. With those nations at his command, half the world would be his, even your pet dragon will bow to Prussia."

"You won't get away with this," Derogan said, "Father wouldn't give his crown for me." his wing dropped to the ground, "who would want an immature runt anyway."

"Lord Prussia would," the leader said as he stopped circling England, "he's been complaining about wanting a new toy to play with, you're small but I'm sure you would pleasure him well enough."

Derogan whimpered at that statement and moved his wings to cover his lower region.

———

Rowen didn't speak to Anglo, he wouldn't even make eye contact, he just had Star Dust follow England's horse. When they found Thunderstrike, the downed animal had already passed away, so Rowen didn't bother to get off his horse to check on it.

"This is Derogan's horse," he stated the obvious, "he was shot by a musket, so whoever killed him must have taken Derogan and England." He turned to Anglo, "do you happen to know if any Prussians were looking for Saxon, that is the only nation who would want to abduct the prince."

N:   "When I first arrived here, there was a band of Prussians who attempted to seize Saxon, so we can assume that they did not follow the warnings of Mandoria and stayed in the kingdom." Anglo then felt a vibration in his wings, and he was able to tell that it was Derogan, he was able to vaguely detect discomfort so he tried to send some vibrations to the prince to notify him that they were coming.

Saxon had dismounted and approached Thunderstrike, he knelt on one knee and picked up the cloth that was at the wound. "I think," he showed them the cloth, "that one of them, maybe England, came after and the other, probably Derogan, was the one who got caught." He put down the cloth, observed the horse, and closed its eyes to respect it. Saxon then began muttering under his breath, as if praying, as he laid one hand on the steed. He then stood up, mounted his horse, and trotted ahead.

"Before Christianity was introduced," Anglo explained, "horses were very significant and important in our religion since they linked with our gods like Odin." He too rode up to Thunderstrike, plucked a feather from his good wing, and placed it on the fallen horse. "Derogan is ahead," he said to Rowen before following Saxon.

———

"Why are Prussians so bloody stubborn," England whispered to himself, watching as the Prussian leader circled him. He glanced at Derogan, and seeing his face, felt bad for saying what he said in front of him.

When the Prussian had stopped talking, England grabbed for his sword and threatened the Prussian. "I had fucking enough of you disgusting Prussians, being a sheep to the oversized chicken Prussia. Don't you bloody dare talk about my son, he and no one else is bowing down to that terrible excuse of a kingdom," he growled, "And NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE PRINCE."

He went and attacked the Prussian leader, but was quickly countered and dodged an attack from another Prussian. With the arrow in his other hand, he slashed at one's face and stabbed another. The country was gradually being overpowered as he took their attention from Derogan.

M:   "No, wait, stop," Derogan shouted, he tried to rush forward to stop the fighting but the two Prussians that stayed with him yanked on his ropes, he started choking from the rope around his neck but he still struggled to get in between the battle.

"E-England ... go... I-I'm not w-worth it," he gasped, not realizing that he was choking himself.

"That is enough out of you," one of the soldiers said, "why don't you go to sleep."

He yanked on the rope so hard that Derogan almost fell over, then he started clawing at the makeshift noose that was closing off his airway. He didn't fight for very long, his arms falling to his side and falling to his knees as he started to lose consciousness, but before he blacked out, he thought he felt a familiar vibration in his wings, then he fell completely to the ground.

When he finally "went to sleep" the Prussian soldier loosened the rope just enough so the prince wouldn't die, though not allowing him to take a deep breath yet.

"Sir, England isn't worth it, let's just take the prince and go before the Mandorians realize-", He couldn't finish that statement as he was bodyslammed off his horse by a very angry father.

Mandoria wasted no time in drawing his longsword and charging the leader. The Prussian too drew his sword and faced off with the king, followed by the two who were holding Derogan captive.

———

"I understand," Rowen said, giving a respectful nod to Anglo, "here all animals are respected, horses included, the royal priest will come here to bless Thunderstrike so he may have a peaceful afterlife in the kingdom of the Great Beyond. When an animal we hold dear passes on, we bring their body to the forest so they may be returned to nature."

He stopped when he heard an angry yet painful scream coming from where they were heading, making Rowen's blood freeze.

"Sire," he shouted, bolting off to help his king.

N:   Anglo and Saxon followed after the captain, approaching the source of noise, until they stumbled across the battle. Saxon quickly hopped off his horse, grabbed for a nearby sword, and threw a crossbow at Anglo.

"Go help your king," Saxon yelled over the noise to Rowen, "we will deal with the rest."

When they split up, Saxon watched as Anglo made his way to England, so he headed to Derogan. He parried attacks that came at him, killing anyone who got too close, and when he arrived at the prince, his sword was bloody.

He knelt down and rested his fingers on the younger country's wrist. There was a heartbeat, shallow but there. He stood over Derogan, his sword in hand as he grabbed at the ropes tied to him and began cutting him loose.

———

England, during the fight, was badly injured, having reopened his stomach wound and an arrow to the shoulder. He was going to be killed if the Prussians didn't divert their attention to Mandoria. He stayed on the ground, unable to move, until he saw a familiar face approach him.

"Fa, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone and I made things worse-"

"Not now," Anglo replied, although England could tell he was angry, "right now we need you to get out of here and to get better. After that, we will talk." The winged country lifted up his son, looping his arm around his waist and slowly making their way to his horse. Whenever a Prussian got too close, Anglo would shoot an arrow with his crossbow.

M:   Mandoria was looking pretty worse for wear, with three Prussians attacking him from horseback he was overpowered quickly and knocked to the ground. His clothing was tattered and drenched in blood, his wings hung limply from his shoulders, and blood leaked into his eyes from a gash on his forehead, partially blinding him. Rowen charged in and pulled the Prussians away from his king, Mandoria stood to keep fighting soon after.

Eventually, only the leader was left, his horse bucked him off and ran away from the danger. He jumped up to attack but Rowen drove his sword into the Prussian's chest, killing him instantly.

When the dust settled, all the Prussians lay slaughtered on the forest floor around the group, only one horse was slain and the others were long gone. Rowen turned to his king and paled at the sight of him, he looked like he had just risen from the grave.

Mandoria was clutching his throat, trying to slow the bleeding from a laceration there, when he heard Rowen gasp he looked him dead in the eyes, there no longer was anger in his expression, just a small spark of thankfulness. Mandoria gave his captain a weak yet grateful smile, then his legs gave out from under him and he collapsed on his side to the ground.

"SIRE!!!" Rowen shouted, running to his king in a panic.

(Am leaving too many cliff-hangers, please let me know if I am)