The sun had set several hours ago, but the trio could not stop. They had to reach the lake before morning, which meant travelling all through the night. All of them were exhausted and they knew the horses were even more so. In the cover of darkness, they were safe from peering eyes and could escape to safety without incident. Jurah was leading them, holding a torch out in front of him so he could see the trail just enough.

Artibain was at the back of the pack. Furthest point away from Jurah, who was full of immense rage. He was in charge of warning them if anyone had followed them through the night. He couldn’t help but focus his attention on Azareht who was trying to avoid her leg rubbing against her saddle.

She was still wearing the pants they had to cut, she looked ridiculous. One leg was fully covered and her injured leg was completely bare up until the top of her thing. He felt so much guilt looking at her in the state she was in. All of the terrible things they had gone through were because of him, he knew it. Yet she still believed in him, trusted him with her life. He sighed, running his hand over Dewdrop’s neck. He could feel how tired she was, but they had to keep going.

“We need to stop,” Azareth said. Her voice was so quiet they almost didn’t hear her. Jurah didn’t listen though, he kept ongoing. “Jurah the horses.”

“We can’t stop, I’m sorry,” Jurah said. He knew that if they stopped now they wouldn’t make it to the lake in time. He also feared the horses would not make it, but if that were the case then so be it.

“How much longer do you think?” Azareth asked. She knew she wasn’t going to win this one, so she just had to pray they could make it there safely. Jurah looked up at the sky, the moon was beginning to lower in the sky to their west.

“A few more hours, the sun should be rising just as we reach the lake,” Jurah said. Azareth yawned and went back to silence.

“We should let the horses go when we reach the lake,” Artibain said. “There might not be a boat big enough to carry all of us there.”

“No, that’s insane,” Azareth said. She was not going to lose Stormlight, not after all of the things they had been through together.

“He’s right, it might be our only option. The docks aren’t always full of large boats. There is a possibility that we may only have a dinghy to get us to the island.” Azareth felt her hands drop to Stormlight’s neck and gently run over it. Her eyes stung as she tried to blink the tears away.

“I’m sorry,” Azareth whispered, as she leaned forward against Stormlight’s neck. Stormlight let out a whinny.

“We need to stay quiet,” Jurah said, stopping the conversation. They continued on like before, not saying a word.

The sun was starting to rise, casting an orange glow all around them. Azareth could barely keep her eyes open, all she wanted to do was fall asleep. Jurah kept them going because he could see the edge of the lake through the thinning tree line. Artibain cleared his throat causing the three of them to stop. When Azareth and Jurah turned to face him, he put a finger to his mouth and then gestured for them to get off the horses. They all climbed down from their respected horse and looked ahead of them. There it was, Lake Criwar, shimmering through the trees. Azareth felt her breath catch in her throat. They made it, they had actually made it.

“We walk from here,” Artibain said. He began to pull his things off of Dewdrop and unsaddled her. Jurah did the same, dropping his things lightly on the ground. Azareth turned to Stormlight and went to do the same, but stopped. Her hands wouldn’t move anymore. She didn’t want to say goodbye to her friend. She leaned against Stormlight, running her hands over her neck and feeling a lump form in her throat.

“Az?” Jurah said barely a whisper. He had unsaddled Foxtail and was walking over to her and Stormlight.

“I can’t do it,” she said. Jurah could hear the sadness in her voice. He took her hand and lowered it from Stormlight’s mane.

“I will, say your goodbyes,” Jurah said. Azareth looked up at him and saw his eyes were red. She hadn’t even realized that the two men were also saying goodbye to their horses. Azareth walked around to Stormlight’s head and gently stroked her nose.

“I’m going to miss you,” she whispered. She gently rested her forehead on Stormlight’s. She could hear Jurah taking off the saddle. Jurah dropped the saddle to the ground, Azareth looked into Stormlight’s eyes and smiled weakly. “You’re free now.”

“They all are,” Artibain said. He was gently rubbing Dewdrop’s nose. “It’s better this way, safer for them.” Azareth nodded her head. Jurah walked away from her and over to Foxtail. He was gently brushing him down with his hands.

“See you later, old friend,” Jurah said. There was a sadness to his voice, his eyes teared up. Jurah gently pushed Foxtail away in the direction of the river. Artibain did the same, hoping Dewdrop would follow the male. As Dewdrop and Foxtail walked away from them to the small creek that flowed into the lake, Azareth looked back at Stormlight. She saw that the horse was looking at the river longingly.

“Go,” Azareth said. She nudged Stormlight away and then the horses began to walk away from her. She felt tears burning her eyes but brushed them away with her sleeve. The three of them quickly picked up what they could carry with them. Weapons at the ready, they slowly made their way to the edge of the treeline.

They crouched down behind some bushes, they saw what Artibain had suspected. Nearly a dozen human men were pacing the water's edge, their weapons at the ready. The men were accompanied by what looked to be twenty or so orcs. The orcs looked like how Azareth remembered them, all mismatched and harsh. Their weapons were in their hands, made from crude metals. Artibain, Jurah and Azareth were looking around, watching the large group’s movements.

“How the hell are we supposed to fight them?” Azareth whispered. Jurah looked around for any kind of path for them to take.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“We’re not,” Artibain said. “Look.” He pointed to a small rowboat tied to the docks nearly a hundred yards away.

“Perfect, if we stay to the trees we should be able to make it there before they notice we’re here,” Jurah said. He started to lead them in the direction of the docks.

The three of them tacitly moved along the treeline, remaining low to the ground praying not to be spotted. The dock grew nearer and nearer, the hope was beginning to swarm all around them. They were almost there, they were finally about to finish this unbelievable journey. A twig snapped under Jurah’s foot, causing them to freeze. Their blood ran cold, Artibain slowly looked to his left and saw a few men were looking in their direction.

“It’s now or never,” he whispered. Artibain shared a knowing look with Jurah, causing Jurah to swallow hard. He nodded his head once and looked at Azareth.

“Azareth, you are going to run to the boat as fast as you can, Artibain and I are going to keep them busy for as long as we can.”

“What? no.” Azareth shook her head. “I am not leaving you two, we’ve been through this before.” Jurah grabbed her hands and locked eyes with her, she focused on his face. There was something in his eyes, she felt her hands shaking in Jurah’s.

“I swear to you, we will see each other again,” Jurah said. She stared at him speechlessly, as he ran his hand over her cheek. “This is the only way for you to get there safely, remember? Our only goal.”

Azareth nodded her head slowly. She watched as Jurah and Artibain gripped onto the hilts of their swords. Then the two of them stood up and walked out of the trees and into the sight of the thirty or so enemy just yards away from them.

“Now!” Jurah and Artibain yelled together.

Leaping into action the two of them roared as they charged at the orcs and men running towards them. Azareth held onto her dagger tightly as she forced herself to run as swiftly as she could. Her leg throbbing more and more with every painful step of her foot. She heard the sounds of swords clashing together. They had begun to fight, two against an unthinkable number.

Azareth felt her chest tighten as her feet finally landed on the wood of the dock. She just had to make it to the rowboat. Once she was in the boat she could stop running and she would be safely away from the battle. Sliding to a stop on the still dew-covered wood, she dropped to her knees and panted hard staring at the boat. There were footsteps behind her, looking at the water’s surface she saw the image of a tall person behind her. Squeezing the dagger tightly in her hand she spun around, thrusting the dagger forward.

Her eyes opened to see Artibain’s father was now on his knees in front of her. His face was bandaged over the left side, covering the spot his eyes patch used to sit. Her hand pulled back, removing the dagger from his gut and letting him fall onto his side. His good eye burned into her as she shook her head and backed away from him.

“You will lose,” Dorzic said quietly.

“I’m sorry,” she said. She climbed into the boat and looked to see Jurah and Artibain were still fighting off the rest of the men and orcs. “I’m so sorry.”

Azareth took the rope that held the boat to the dock and cut it free. She stared at her blood-covered dagger for a moment. Horrified with what she had done, she couldn’t linger any longer. Pushing hard off the dock she picked up the ores and began to row away from the dock. Away from the beach, away from Jurah and Artibain.

Azareth felt herself give in to her tears finally. All the feelings she had stuffed down for so long had finally been released. Tears blurred her vision as she watched her two friends grow smaller in the distance. Her arms grew weaker the farther away she got, but she didn’t feel safe. She wasn’t ready to stop, she needed to be on Doth. It seemed as though she wasn’t going to reach it, her whole body was ready to give up. Slumping down onto the floor of the boat she stared at the sky. The sun was now high above her, burning into her skin.

“I need to keep going,” she told herself.

She carefully lifted herself back onto the seat and faced towards the direction she was going. She could see it, the island, the kingdom, growing closer. She turned and started to row as hard as she could. She did not stop until the boat crashed into the dock. Looking to her left she saw it, the solid wooden dock of Doth. Carved into the poles of the dock was the crest of the royal family of Berlar.

“We did it, boys,” Azareth said with a smile painted across her face. She tied the boat to the dock and tiredly pulled herself onto the dock. She struggled to stand up, leaning to the pole nearest her for support. Looking around she was overwhelmed at the sights in front of her. Boats of all different sizes tied to the multiple docks, all supporting the kingdom’s flag.

As she stumbled forward towards the solid ground, she could hear the sounds of the kingdom grow louder with each limp. The cold breeze coming off of the water hitting her bare leg causing her to shiver. She just needed to keep going, she could see the road leading away from the docks and towards the large stone wall and huge wooden gate. As she limped to the edge of the dock she spotted the hills were covered in beautiful red flowers. Her heart was filled with so much joy, they were the flowers from the lullaby her mother sang to her all those years ago. Her feet hit the solid ground and she looked up at the walls of Berlar.

“I’m here,” she said. She continued to limp up in the direction of the gate. She prayed that she would be there soon. Her leg was throbbing the worst it had done since she was shot, she looked to see blood seeping through her bandage. As she finally reached the large gate, she looked and saw several armed guards were pointing spears at her.

“Who are you?” a large older man asked. Azareth panted lightly as she tried to think of what to say.

“My name is Azareth, I was sent here from Truffween,” she said. The men all looked to the older man for reassurance. She looked him straight in the eye and hoped that he believed her.

“Arrest her,” the man said. She dropped to her knees and stared at him horrified.

“Please, sir, you don’t understand. I was forced to leave my home to come here!” she pleaded with him. Two men came to her side and took her arms in their large hands. She dropped her hand down and felt herself go limp in their grips.

“Captain, you may want to look at this,” the guard to the right of her said. The Captain came forward and stopped in front of her. She stared at his boots as they were all silent, deciding her fate.

“Follow me, bring her,” the Captain said. The two guards lifted Azareth off the ground and began to carry her in the direction of the castle. Azareth never lifted her head, afraid to look up and see all the citizens of Berlar staring at her terrified. They stopped and the Captain gestured for the men to wait, as he walked through a door. Azareth could hear voices from the other side of the door, she couldn’t make out what they were saying. Footsteps grew closer and the door opened.

“Bring her,” the Captain said. The guards carried her into a room, she was tired. All she wanted to do was give up. She had made it to the island, but now she was a prisoner. The guards stood up on her feet, she leaned on her left foot not wanting to put weight on her still pulsing leg. She slowly looked up and saw in front of her three large thrones. Sitting in the middle throne was an older man, his hair was a dark brown and a crown of gold set upon his head.

“You look just like her,” the man said to her. He stood up and walked up to her. He looked at her with such emotion, she was confused. He looked her over, her hair a mess and she was covered in mud and blood. Her pant legs were different lengths, her shirt was ripped and tattered. He stood in front of her, taking her chin in his hand and gently turning her head. He looked at the back of her neck, staring at her birthmark.

“What are you doing?” Azareth asked, her voice weak from exhaustion.

“You looked just like your mother,” he said. “My dear daughter, you’ve returned.” Azareth stared into the man’s bright green eyes and saw tears forming in them. Her vision went blurry and suddenly everything was dark.