Anastasia was pacing around the room. A worried look on her face, one hand at her mouth biting her nail. She was on her hundredth lap around the room when Charlotte spoke up.
“Princess it is going to be fine. No one knows we are here. We are the proverbial needle in a haystack.”
“I know I just cannot explain it. I have a very bad feeling that something is wrong.” Anastasia started lap 101.
“It is just because Liza and Finn are away. You will feel better when they are back. Try to rest… here come lay down.” Charlotte moved over to Anastasia and started guiding her to the bed.
Sam was standing to the side of one of the windows looking down on the street. His eyes narrowed as he continued to watch an increasing amount of traffic on the street. All the people were headed to the west side of town, with no one headed to the east. A few of them were even running. Then several of the local guards ran through the square, heading to the east.
“Somethings wrong. Gather your things in case we need to move suddenly.” Sam looked over at the two he was charged with protecting.
Before Charlotte could even begin to respond a loud bell could be heard from the center of town.
“What? The warning bells. Is it a fire?” Charlotte looked to Sam in the hopes he had answers.
“It could be, but I don’t think so.”
Sam then saw a Guard moving to the square he then climbed onto a vendor’s table.
“EVERYONE MONSTERS ARE ATTACKING THE EAST GATE! MOVE TO THE NORTH SIDE OF TOWN AT ONCE! WE ARE EVACUATING TO THE CAPITAL!”
Anastasia’s eyes grew wide “Monsters attacking the town, during the day?”
“Ya that is really strange.” Sam continued to peer out the window hoping to gain additional info on what was going on.
“Why evacuate the town? The guard should be enough to deal with a few monsters.” Charlotte posed the obvious question to Sam
“That is the part that’s strange. Monsters raid at night and normally in small groups.” Sam said as he kept his eye on the square.
“I will go down there and see if I can figure anything else out.” Charlotte grabbed her sword and took off.
Anastasia came over to the window and looked out. As she did that Sam pushed her to the side.
“Don’t show yourself.”
Anastasia pulled her hands to her chests cursing her foolishness.
“I am sorry...” Anastasia peered at Sam’s face, the boy too young to hide the worried look. “What are your thoughts?”
“That this is because of you.” Sam’s blunt comment cut at Anastasia.
“Then I should do something.” Anastasia headed for the door
Sam grabbed her not taking his eyes away from the window “No that is a dumb plan. If this is because of you, showing yourself is likely what they want.”
“So, we just let the monsters attack the town?”
“What choice do we have?” Sam was still looking out the window, never looking at Anastasia.
“No, I don’t accept that. If these monsters are here because of me, I should help.”
Anastasia shook herself loose and started moving toward the door. Sam rushed to follow her, placing his hand on the door keeping it shut.
“Finn told me to protect you. I cannot do that if you go outside and fight monsters.”
“I will not let innocent people die to keep me safe.” Anastasia fixed a determined look on her face and locked eyes with Sam.
Just then Sam felt something slam into the door, it sounded like someone ran into it.
“Why did you guys lock the door?” Sam could hear Charlotte on the other side and realized he was still holding the door shut. Backing away he opened the door letting Charlotte into the room and quickly closing it back.
“This is really bad. I found a guard just outside directing people. I asked him why we needed to evacuate. He told me because there are hundreds of orcs and goblins at the east gate.”
“Bullshit they cannot count. No way hundreds of greenskins could get that close to a town. Not without anyone noticing.”
Charlotte shrugged. “I get what you are saying, but from the look on that guard's face he believed what he was saying.”
“Charlotte, how many guards would a town like this have?” Anastasia asked, trying her best to keep her fear from showing through.
“Thirty to forty, it will depend on how many are patrolling the surrounding area.”
“I take it that is not enough to hold off hundreds of orcs and goblins.”
“If they use the gates and fight intelligently, they may be able to hold out for a while, but not long enough for help to arrive.” Charlotte’s face took on a sad expression. She knew the guards knew this too, but still moved to the gate to defend it.
“Then it is settled, we will go to the gate to support them.” Anastasia said confidently trying her best to keep her voice from wavering.
“Out of the question. Like I said earlier this must be a plan to flush you out princess. Going to the fight is the exact opposite of what you should be doing.” Sam said, waving his hand in front of himself.
“What does that matter? I will not sacrifice innocent lives to save my own. If I can help I must”
“I cannot allow that. I have a job to do and that is protecting you.” Sam puffed his chest out and tried to act as Finn would.
“I don’t need your permission. You are going to have to physically stop me, because I am going.” Anastasia reached for the door, but Sam pushed it shut again.
Charlotte stood between Sam and Anastasia pushing her body against Sam to shove him away from the door.
“You heard the princess. We are going to help these people. Either help or get out of the way.”
“FUCK! Fine I will go, but I need you both to stay here. Whoever is behind this is doing it to get you out in the open. We should not play so easily into their hands”
Anastasia kept her resolve “No we stand a better chance of keeping casualties to a minimum if we all go.”
“This is my condition. You both stay here. You know I am the best fighter out of the three of us. With my help the gate will hold.” Sam stood a little taller to show confidence.
Anastasia looked to Charlotte who nodded her agreement with the plan.
Anastasia pulled her hands to her chest and leaned toward Sam.
“I am trusting you with this Sam.”
Sam rolled his eyes and blushing slightly. Without a word Sam left the room and headed to the east gate. He found about twenty-five guards there. There was less than he was hoping for, but it should not matter much. Sam was confident fighting at the gate he would be able to handle most of them on his own. He would just need the guards to prevent them from going around him.
Sam raced to the battlement over the gate and climbed up to get a better look. The guard standing there turned giving Sam a once over.
“Little young for an adventurer ain't ya boy?”
Sam did not reply. The guard shrugged. “Either way I never thought an adventure would help hold the gate… thanks for that.”
Sam ignored the guard’s comments as he surveyed the sight before him. Several hundred feet away a large gathering of Greenskins was just standing there. It was made of mostly goblins with a few orcs mixed in. They were all shouting and jumping and making a general ruckus but not really moving from their position. What were they waiting for? It was like they wanted to give the town time to prepare.
None of it made sense. Here was an unheard of gathering of greenskins attacking a large town in broad daylight. On the same day a princess on the run had snuck into the town. To top it off, they were not really attacking, they were just standing there. Suddenly a job he worked with Resse a few months back came to his mind. Sam looked around and found what he needed. He grabbed one of the bows the guards had laid out. He quickly notched and fired an arrow. He aimed it high in the air so it would make it to the greenskins.
“Damnit boy what are you doing? You want them to start the attack? We need to buy time for the civilians to get to the capital.”
Sam ignored the guard again and watched as the arrow flew toward the mob of greenskins. He could just make it out as it passed harmlessly through an orc.
“An illusion!”
Sam dropped the bow and broke out into a sprint not caring that people would see his speed.
“FUCK how could I be so stupid. Finn is never going to forgive me.”
Sam makes it back to the inn Anastasia and Charlotte were at. He dashes toward their room kicking open the door with his blades drawn. Quickly he assessed the situation. Three robed men were in the room. One was standing in the middle of the room, his robes pitch black with red and gold trim. He had a hood pulled over his head. His face was wrapped in cloth covering everything but his eyes. He had a pair of long curved daggers in his hands.
One man stood over Charlotte in the corner. It looks like they had bound her hands behind her back and forced her to her knees to keep her under control. The last man was kneeling in front of Anastasia who was bound but also gagged. Her face twisted in terror as the man before her was painting something into the floorboards.
The room was large for an inn as it was meant for several people but there was still not a lot of space. Sam did not want to launch an attack in such a small area as it would risk hurting those he should be protecting. Not able to help himself, Sam thought of what Finn or Resse might say. He smirked as it came to him.
“You know guys you should think about changing your outfits. It is kind of obvious you are the bad guys.”
The robed figure in front of Anastasia spoke. His voice twisted and it came out almost like an echo. “I had hoped the distraction would have worked better than that. No matter, we had prepared for this contingency… Kill him.”
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At the sound of the man’s command Sam launched his attack first trying to end it quickly. He brought his blade down on the man in front of him. He was preparing his next move to take out the man in front of Anastasia when his momentum suddenly stopped.
Sam was shocked when the first robed figure caught his blade and was not blown away by the force.
The same twisted and echoing voice came from this man too. “You get a little taste of power and think you’re strong.”
Sam swung his other blade at the man’s face but it was deflected by a second knife. Sam then pushed the man to create some distance and reevaluate the situation.
The one in front of Anastasia was still working on whatever he was painting and did not seem to care there was a fight going on. The one over Charlotte was also just watching. Did this mean they had confidence that the one fighting him would be enough. Sam’s youthful pride stung at the thought of these creepy robed guys looking down on him.
Sam pushed all the power he could into his strengthening and launched a flurry of blows at his target. This time the man had to take a step back. He was still able to catch the blows and deflect them, but it was clear he was struggling to keep up.
Then Sam saw an opening, his blade connected. The man was able to pull back, but Sam still landed a slash on the man’s upper arm drawing blood.
“What was that about power earlier?” Sam said mockingly.
The man with Anastasia finally stopped what he was doing and looked over at Sam. His echoing voice scratched at Sam’s ears.
“I see you have more than just a taste of the power. But it is not enough. Help him.”
The man over Charlotte drew his daggers and rushed at Sam. Sam was faster and able to block the attacks but had to take a step back at the suddenness of it. As Sam fended off the new attacker the original ready himself and charged in as well. Sam was now completely on the defensive. He was able to keep up with both of them for several waves of attacks.
Then one of the daggers ran over the side of Sam’s leg. Sam had deflected the blow slightly, but it still landed. Luckly not as deep as it would have been without the deflection. Sam gritted his teeth as he continued to block more blows. Then another blow landed, this time on his arm. Then another on the same leg. It was clear Sam could not hold off both at the same time.
Charlotte had been so relieved when Sam burst into the room. Anastasia and herself had been taken completely by surprise when the three robed men had barged into the room. They moved with such speed and power that Charlotte was not able to react. One of the men rushed right at her slamming her into the wall knocking the wind out of her. As she gasped for breath, she saw the other man go for Anastasia. He punched her in the gut forcing her to double over in pain. The man caught her by the hair and held her in the air saying something that Charlotte could not hear before dropping Anastasia to the floor.
Charlotte heard them say they needed her alive to help keep Anastasia in line. She was sure she would have been killed otherwise. Her hands had been chained together and she was forced to kneel in the corner. The man that seems to be the leader was preparing something on the other side of the room. She was unsure what they were planning to do. Why not run away? They had their prisoners. After several minutes Sam stormed into the room. Bring hope back to Charlotte.
That hope was quickly dashed as it appeared these men had the same strengthening magic that Sam and his companions had. Sam was able to hold his own against the first man even landing a hit, but the tables completely turned once the second one joined the fray. Sam was managing to stave off lethal blows, but the hits were starting to add up. He would not last much longer.
Charlotte hated her own weakness. This whole mess was because she was not strong enough to do her job. She was not able to stop the attack on the princess’s convoy, so they had to run. She was not able to even get the princess to the town, she had to make her go there alone. She was then caught and used as bait to try and trap the princess.
It was the princess that ended up finding the people that could keep her safe. The princess even had them come back and save her. That shame still hung-over Charlotte’s head. Then on the road to the capital Charlotte was next to useless compared to Sam’s group. She did not trust them at first. In truth it was her resentment at how powerful they were. They showed no signs of hostility or malice towards the princess or herself, but Charlotte could not trust them because of how weak she was. Now she was showing her weakness again. Completely unable to even stand to the three men that attack them.
Charlotte felt so useless. Liza had offered to teach her the secrets of the power they wielded, and for such a small price. Charlotte just had to give up her noble titles, she had laughed when that was all they asked of her. She had already basically thrown them away anyway. She was never going to live the life of a proper noble woman. Having a high-status husband and churning out heirs for him. That life sounded dreadful to Charlotte, but to be able to dedicate her life to supporting someone like Princess Anastasia, was like a gift from the gods. Charlotte did not deserve the honor of service to the princess. She had failed her so many times as of late, with her weakness. She was so tired of being weak.
As these thoughts raced through Charlotte’s head, she heard Sam cry out in pain. One of the robed men had driven his dagger into Sam’s thigh. Sam was not going to last much longer. They were going to kill this boy. He was not even an adult but was fighting his hardest to keep Charlotte and Anastasia safe. Charlotte hated herself. She was so tired of being weak.
She could not let this happen. Charlotte knew that if she did nothing Sam would die and something far worse would await Anastasia. The rage and hate she had for her weakness burned so hot in her chest she felt as if she may catch fire.
It was then she felt the mana flowing through her body, but it was different this time. She felt it freely going into her muscles and bones. There was no resistance like there had been in the past. In the surprise, she lost the feeling and the mana dissipating
“NO! I will not be weak anymore!”
Charlotte focused her mana on herself. The mana flowed easily this time, she knew what to feel for. She felt it pass into every fiber of her. The feeling of this power was incredible. She felt like she could lift a horse. The feeling slowed but did not dissipate. The power was now just resting within her. Charlotte locked her eyes on her target, the man closest to her. She then began to pull at her retrains. It felt like such a silly thing to be trying. There was no way anyone could bend the metal chains holding the shackles together, but for some reason Charlotte knew she would be able to.
The metal started to strain under her pressure. The pain in her wrists was more intense than she had expected. Being stronger did not seem to raise your pain threshold. This pain was nothing compared to the mental agony Charlotte had been going through the last few days, she could endure this. Charlotte felt the chains loosening before finally snapping. She quickly grabbed her sword the three men had so carelessly left on the bed next to her. She leapt for her target. The floorboards shattered under her feet due to the force.
Even in the small room Charlotte reached the man faster than she had expected. She was already bringing her sword down through his exposed back. The angle of her swing brough the blade down through his back diagonally splitting his torso wide open. The blade came to a stop just after slicing his spine.
Sam did not waste the surprised look in the other man’s eyes from seeing his comrade nearly split in half. Sam sweeps his sword through the man’s exposed neck, cleanly cutting his throat. The man dropped his daggers and gripped at his neck, blood spraying onto the wall. Charlotte placed her boot into her targets back then pulled her blade free.
The pair said nothing to each other as they turned to face the third man.
He calmly put the paint brush he was using down. He then wiped his hands on a cloth he had beside him. He then rose to his feet and turned to face Sam and Charlotte. His voice was even more creepy, as it showed little sign that his comrades had just died.
“Strange she did not use her power earlier. Well, no matter, the boy is on his last legs and her power is not that strong.”
The final robed man reached for his daggers and ready himself to fight both at the same time. The man made the first move, lunging at Charlotte one of his daggers outstretched. Charlotte saw it coming and used her blade to deflect it and steps to the side putting the man between her and Sam. It was a sound strategy to flank your opponent and force them to deal with attacks from both sides. It was sound but predictable. Sam launched his attack at the man, but he was tired from his earlier battle and his moves were slower than before. The man expected the attack and was already turning his body in the air and slashed his dagger raking it across Sam’s chest. Sam had noticed the counterattack and pulled back his movements some but not enough. The knife dug into the flesh on his chest scraping against his ribs.
Sam stumbled back and was holding his chest. The robed man looming over him. Charlotte did not hesitate and struck at the man who had his back to her now. He raised one of his daggers catching the blade before it dug into his shoulder. With a flick of his wrist, he shoved her blade away and quickly turned and launched his own flurry of attacks. Charlottes felt as if time had slowed somehow. The man was moving at a blinding speed but everything else around her moved at a much slower pace. Was her strengthening also speeding her mind so she could keep up with movements. She did not have time for such thoughts as she struggled, even with the slowing of time, to catch and deflect the repeat blows.
Anastasia was finally unattended. She moved her way over to the side of the table near the bed and she began to work the gag in her mouth free using the corner of the table. She could near the clang of the blades striking but could not waste time to see who was winning. In truth it did not matter. If Charlotte and Sam were winning, great. If they are losing, she could not waste time watching. She needed to be free so she could help them.
Charlotte was being pushed back slowly by the robed man. The strength and speed of his attack was overwhelming. She was using every bit of her new power to keep up. She watched his movements closely trying to predict his next attack vector, but also to see if he had any weaknesses. To Charlotte’s surprise he did. His speed hides the fact that his moves are sloppy with lots of wasted effort in each swing. This man was not a melee fighter she thought, he just relied on overwhelming strength to win fights.
Charlotte smiled at this thought. She had fought so many like him before. As a female knight she would constantly have to fight against men twice her size. She never minded it, if she could not beat them then she was not good enough to be the princess’s protector. She had trained under Nydia after becoming Princess Anastasia knight protector. This helped honed her already high skill even further. There were few in the castle that Charlotte had to use all her skill to fight. This man was just like all those before, he was all flash with no skill.
Charlotte watched him closer and timed his attacks. He was using the same few swings over and over. Recycling every few swings and changing them slightly but once she saw a general pattern, she was able to start predicting them. This is when she was able to deflect them easier. She started to step in on him launching her own attacks in the small windows he left open.
Charlotte tried not to look his way, so she would not give Sam away. Sam had risen to his feet and readied his weapons. Charlotte shifted slightly to ensure Sam had a perfect line to the man’s back. She saw Sam ready himself for his attack and she tried to time it just right with him. Sam started to move, and Charlotte made a big overhand swing at the robed man. It was a move that would never land but she did not need it to. With the power she put behind it he would have to use both hands to block it, giving Sam clear access to strike. It should have worked, but that is not what the man did. He sank to one side and spun on his heel and used one dagger to deflect and slide Charlotte’s blade to the side. It was a much harder move to pull off compared to just blocking the attack. It was almost as if he knew the sneak attack was coming. At that though Charlotte saw Sam’s eyes widen in shock. He gripped at a dagger buried in his gut. Charlotte was stunned, cursing her weakness.
Ice lance
A large spear made of Ice launched at the robed man. He used his dagger to bat it away. Charlotte was already on the move not wanting to waste the chance Anastasia bought her. The man was deflecting the lance with one dagger and his other was still stuck in Sam.
Charlotte charged forward with her sword, thrusting it at the mans exposed back. This time he was unable to respond to the attack as Charlotte’s blade slid into this back. The sword drove easily through the man, bursting through his chest with a satisfying crack as his ribs snapped to allow the blade to pass.
The man was only able to utter a few words before falling to the floor.
“By humans!”
Sam slammed to the floor with the man. He was clutching to his stomach trying his best to stay awake. Anastasia who had worked her gag loose and managed to get her still shackled arms in front of her body rushed to Sam. She placed her hands on his exposed wound trying desperately to stop the bleeding.
“Blessed mother who sees us all. No no that’s not it”
“Blessed mother who watches us all. fill this child… that is not it either. Please Sam don’t die. Please don’t Die. GODS! I cannot remember the incantation.”
Anastasia could not think straight anymore. The thought of someone else dying to protect her was too much. She should be able to save him, but her mind was drawing a blank. Why did she not focus on her magic more? She would have been able to cast without incantations now if she had stuck with it.
Charlotte was securing the last robed man, confirming he was truly dead before racing over to help Sam and Anastasia.
“Hang in there Sam, we are going to save you.” Charlotte looked over Sam’s body and she knew without healing he would die any second. “Come on boy this is nothing.” Charlotte pleaded with him as she tried to raise Sam’s head to look at her. The color was fading from Sam’s face as his eyes grew vacant.
“SAM! No you cannot die. Not for some useless princesses like me. I won’t let you… DIE!”
Anastasia’s scream shook the very room. Her entire body began to glow with green light, her hands glowing the brightest of all. The wounds on Sam’s stomach started to mend themselves. Charlotte could not believe her eyes. Healing was an amazing feat to see in person, but she had never seen wounds close this fast. In a matter of seconds the wound on Sam’s stomach was closed and did not even have a scar. All the other wounds around his body had closed as well.
Charlotte reached for Sam’s face. It was still very pale and his eyes were closed. She checked to see if he was still breathing. She released her own held breath as she saw the faint rising and falling of his chest even feeling his soft exhale on her cheek.
Anastasia collapsed onto Sam weeping, she was still glowing brightly. Charlotte moved her hands to Anastasia who jerked in surprise at the touch. She opened her eyes and saw the wound on Sam had vanished. Then she noticed her glowing hands. She had somehow cast healing without the incantation. She pulled her hands away from Sam’s stomach looking at them. Charlotte quickly grabbed them and placed them back.
“Remember internal injuries should be healed longer just to be safe.” Charlotte held her hand on top of Anastasia’s as her other hand stroked Sam's head.
The two women stayed like this with Anastasia keeping the healing going until Sam’s eyes started to move around. It felt like forever but had only been a few more seconds.
Sam blinked his eyes trying to understand what was happening. He looked at Charlotte and she had a relieved look on her face. He then turned to Anastasia crying over him unsure of what it meant. Weakly he spoke.
“Did I …get him?”
Charlotte was the first to respond, unable to hold in her laugh “Ha, ya you got him...” Charlotte leaned her head over pressing her head on Sam’s and held him as best she could.