Back to Alisa's Point of View...
Boom! The explosion was so loud that the ground shook slightly. I grabbed onto Kirin's hands to stabilize myself. He pulled me closer in his arms to protect me as Zed got in front of me. They worked together to block me from any danger, but it wasn't enough.
I looked past Zed and met the angry eyes of my brother. Oh no! He actually followed me! He looks insane with rage! Why is the duke with him? These thoughts rushed through my head in a few seconds. Soon, my questions were answered.
Alexander pulled out a weird version of a megaphone and began to speak loudly. "Elisabeth Blanchard, you are coming with me if you do not wish to see this entire village destroyed!" I was shocked! He obviously had more bombs and was crazy enough to destroy the entire village. I could not allow that.
I looked around to see the scared faces of the villagers. People who had accepted me as one of their own and been so kind to me. I couldn't repay their kindness with death. That would be horrible, and it would be all my fault.
Alexander grew impatient and boomed, "Elisabeth, I know that you can hear me. I will give you until the count of three to come to me, or else, prepare to watch this village burn!"
I could hear it in his voice that he was not bluffing. I looked toward Kirin, and a tear left my eye as I whispered, "Don't worry, I won't let him kill anyone. I will find a way back to you."
Alexander started to count, and with each number, he threw down another bomb.
Kirin looked torn. He did not want to let me go, but he also did not want to sacrifice his entire village. He hesitated, and I took the opportunity to escape from his arms and his hold on me. I ran towards the airship and waved my hands in the air.
"Wait, stop blowing up the village. I will come with you!" I yelled as loud as I could while holding up my dress and running.
During the chaos, Zed had slipped away and motioned for Blaise and the other warriors to follow him. Tobin followed them, eager to help. He couldn't allow some new threat to his home to take away his sister-in-law after holding the village hostage.
Everyone else hid or tried to shelter their loved ones. As much as they loved Alisa, no one person was worth the lives of the entire village. There was nothing they could do for her except hope that she would be ok.
Abby noticed that Blaise and Tobin had left and rushed after them. She had an idea! She caught up to them behind a wall and called them in a hushed yell, "Hey, over here. I have an idea!"
They all huddled around her to listen eagerly. They knew that Abby, Katie, and Alisa all had good ideas. If she could come up with a plan to help, they would listen.
"Tobin, do we have more fireworks left over from the play?" Tobin looked confused for a moment, but nodded. "Excellent, go get them as discreetly as you can. Tell Arno and Yuno if they want to help, they can. You all can shoot the fireworks at the airship."
He looked baffled at her suggestion. "Those fireworks will not be enough to damage that airship. They look pretty, but are useless as a weapon." He wanted to know why she suggested such an idea. There was no time for them to play!
"They will work perfectly as a pretty distraction. While they are distracted, Zed can take the other flying machine up to rescue Alisa.
Zed nodded, but thought of something. "That machine is hard for one person to fly. I will need another person if we are going to rescue her.
Blaise volunteered immediately. His warrior instincts were on full alert. "I'll go, we can't allow a threat like that to get away!"
Abby looked reluctant to let her husband go, but knew he was not the type of person to sit on the sidelines and watch as a threat escaped after ruining their village.
She nodded. As they were about to head out into other directions, a low voice joined them. "I will go as well. I can't let him get away with my bride!" The determination could be heard in Kirin's voice. They all nodded in agreement as Tobin left for the craft shop.
The other men left to get the other hot air balloon. Luckily, it was finished and in storage. This would be the trial test, but there was no time. They had no guarantee that the madman would keep his promise not to kill everyone after he got Alisa. After all, it would be more beneficial for him if there were no survivors to report his crimes.
The only one who was guaranteed to survive was Adam due to the protection of the mountain spirits. It was a small consolation, but it would be best if no one died. They could always rebuild buildings, but people are irreplaceable.
As they were making plans on the ground, Alisa was being lifted into the airship on a rope attached to a large bucket. As soon as she reached the airship, Alexander roughly grabbed her and heaved her into the ship. "What has gotten into you, Elisabeth?" He roared at her and went forward to slap her.
Duke Orla snapped out of his shock and caught Alexander's hand just before he could touch Alisa. "Do not touch her. That was not part of the plan. None of this was part of our deal!" He stated in a calm fury. He was shocked and appalled by Alexander's madness!
Alisa scrambled as far away from her brother as possible, but there were limited spaces to hide on this airship. She knew the duke would protect her. He was not the type to abuse women. He was the one who had once saved Katie, so she trusted that he would protect her against her crazed brother.
Alexander's eyes widened in surprise that the duke had stopped him from disciplining his sister. It was the least that he could do for all the trouble that she had caused him. Whatever, if he wants a spoiled wife, that is his problem! I will not have anything to do with her soon. In his mind, if a man did not discipline a woman, she would become spoiled and willful.
"Fine, as her betrothed, you can choose how to discipline her for running away and almost marrying another unknown man!" Alexander spat out and turned away from them. He went to the front of the airship and was ready to leave this mountain. He had retrieved his wayward sister. The next step was to return to Annalaias and collect his reward.