Jason had taken a sword meant for her. Lirya had been the one who should have died, not Jason.

He’s not breathing! She thought, Oh, Ziocrat have mercy!

Lirya directed her eyes at his face, unable to look at the wound. His eyes were open and unseeing and she reached over and gently shut them. Tears dripped from her eyes, but she knew not why. Jason had only been an acquaintance—nothing more. Yet, he had sparked such a change in her life that she could not forget.

Leus knelt by her side, his face filled with regret and his eyes shadowed. Lord Rowan stood motionless with a blank face and made no attempt to follow up on the murder. The room was frozen in a state of silence.

Suddenly overwhelmed by nausea, Lirya slumped against the wall with her eyes closed, desperately trying to keep her previous meal from resurfacing.

What felt like a few moments, and an eternity passed.

<--<< >>-->

“Lirya… look!” Leus whispered, tapping her shoulder gently. He noted that her complexion looked better and that she breathed easier.

Witnessing a death like that, especially when taking into account that he died in her place, would be hard for anyone, Leus thought, then his attention was captured by a pale, flickering glow.

He turned and found that small wisps of light fluttered around Jason’s body.

What in the name of the gods is this? Sorcery?

Leus watched in fascination, and fear, as the wisps flew about and gradually the wound on Jason’s body began to close.

That was when he reached over to alert Lirya, for he knew that out of all of them, she was the one agonising most over Jason's death.

“It’s magic of some sort… look, Lirya, they are healing the wound on his body,” Leus said quietly.

Two pairs of incredulous eyes watched as the wisps patched the entire wound with new flesh and muscle and skin. Gradually the wisps drifted upwards, healing the other bruises and cuts before heading to Jason’s forehead where they coalesced into one form—a gleaming golden circlet embedded with precious gems. The light faded as the wisps diffused into the circlet.

For a moment, nothing happened, then Jason's body shuddered and his eyes opened slowly.

<--<< >>-->

Jason took in the startled faces of Lirya and Leus as he sat up and found his body free of the pain that had plagued him this entire time. He flexed his fingers and moved his legs and found everything working as it should.

I… died?

A thought struck him, What was that… creature that… saved… me?

Actually, what will happen now? Lirya means nothing to the lord now, but she is my friend—yet I am a squire in the service of the lord. Lirya needs to escape this castle, else she will most certainly die. Lord Rowan is very ruthless.

“What in the Abyss?!” That exclamation was wrung out of one of Lord Rowan’s guards as he beheld Jason, living and breathing, when he should have been cold and lifeless.

Lord Rowan whirled around and his eyes alighted upon the circlet on Jason’s forehead. His eyes bulged as though he could not believe his eyes and he muttered strangely under his breath, “Golden… that can’t be! It has always been a Bladesworn! And why now, of all times?”

Oh no… Jason thought, What’s going to happen now? Is he going to kill me for real now?

Jason eyed the lord warily as Lord Rowan bowed to Jason and failed to conceal both a fleeting expression of fear and a cunning smile.

Lord Rowan licked his lips, “Say, boy, are you interested in learning more about what just happened? I can tell you! And I can teach you everything you want to know!”

“What-” Jason frowned, but was cut off again by Lord Rowan.

“Ah, you’ve taken a liking to my daughter too, right? You can marry her! It would be the highest honour, of course! You can be my heir if you marry my daughter—the Throeyns family would be honoured to have you!” Lord Rowan continued in a rushed, respectful tone, stumbling over some words in his haste.

Jason narrowed his eyes, glaring at the lord, then his face cleared.

Of course, it would be better to go along with the lord and try to escape when the situation permits. I also need to know what happened. I am sure that I died, yet he calls me ‘guardian’.

His face morphed into an easy-going grin and he stood up fully, dusting off his tattered uniform.

“I’d love that, my lord! Lirya is a wonderful girl and I would very much like to know more about what happened… and what a ‘guardian’ is,” His wide, bright smile betrayed nothing of the thoughts that ran through his head as he spoke, “However, I do find myself… needing a change of clothes? They seem a bit… ruined.”

His meaningful undertone was not missed by lord Rowan, who quickly replied, “You don’t remember what happened? Well, no matter, no matter! I shall get you clothed in the finest of robes—come with me. Lirya, wait in your room—I shall deal with you later!”

Lord Rowan briskly left the dungeon with his two guards in tow and accompanied Jason to a large, warm room with sunlight streaming in through the windows and filled with polished wooden closets. The lord set about opening doors wide to reveal row upon row of beautiful robes of all colours and textures and styles.

<--<< >>-->

Lirya and Leus had followed the lord out of the dungeon but ducked away as soon as they could.

“What now? Jason’s gone all funny,” Lirya whispered.

Leus, who had recognised the charade for what it was, stifled a laugh.

“He’s doing it to protect you. As long as you hold some value in Lord Rowan’s eyes, you won’t be killed.”

Jason’s protecting me…? Again?

Leus’s voice shook her from her thoughts, “What do we do now? I believe that we only have two viable options,” He explained, “Either we can run out of here like Ziocrat’s on our heels, or… we can run out of here like Ziocrat’s on our heels. In other words,” He grinned, “We shouldn’t stay here a minute longer than we need to.”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Lirya’s mouth curved in a tiny smile—the first, since Jason’s untimely demise and reincarnation, “I suppose that is true,” Her face fell, “But this is my home…”

She thought, It's all I have ever known, but is it really home?

Then she answered her own question aloud, “No, it's not. I don’t know what it has been, but it has not been my home! Ever.”

Leus smiled and took her hand, pulling her in the direction of the courtyard.

You know… I never really noticed in all the time I’ve known Leus that he had such an adventurous streak. He’s not scared at all—on the contrary, he seems to be enjoying every minute of it, she thought, a grin appearing on her face.

“Strange… how I already trust you, Leus,” She whispered.

“What did you say?” Leus questioned, “I couldn’t hear that.”

She noticed the sparkle in his eye and the easy grin that graced his face. Truly a changed person…

“Nothing.” She shook her head.

Leus smiled.

<--<< >>-->

Jason peered incredulously at the fine clothes.

“Choose anything you like! If you want some advice, I must say that I do have an excellent taste in clothing myself!” Lord Rowan beamed, gesturing to his vast array of clothing. Indeed, he was dressed in a fine, fur-trimmed, brown overcoat buttoned up with a row of shiny silver buttons. The sleeves were trimmed with silver embroidery and he wore a splendid blue cape, fastened at the shoulder with a golden clasp.

Jason directed a small smile to the lord and said, “Yes, my lord. What would you think suits me? I would love to have your advice.”

Lord Rowan nodded and quickly took in Jason’s figure before heading to one closet to grab a pair of boots and to another to grab various items. In a few moments, he had reappeared before Jason with his arms laden with a variety of garments.

“Please try these on! Afterwards, we will have some refreshments and we can talk about your marriage to my daughter and about your powers. I will step out now,” Lord Rowan said, heaping the clothes into Jason’s arms.

Motioning to his guards, Lord Rowan left the room and shut the door tightly. Jason peered at the clothes, then quickly changed his shirt before promptly climbing out of a conveniently located window.

I’m not staying here a second longer than I have to, He thought.

<--<< >>-->

Leus led Lirya to the castle stables—a place she could have located herself, were it not for her scattered mind. The past day had thrown her into a different world—one that she was struggling to find a place in.

They entered the stable with a loud bang, startling the stableboy within, who had been brushing one of the horses. The inside of the stable was dimly lit and stank, but the horses were in prime condition.

“Ready three horses!” Leus ordered the stableboy, “We’re going on a hunt.”

He turned to Lirya and asked, “Are there any weapons nearby?”

She snapped out of her daze and answered, “Ah! Y-Yeah… Behind the stables.”

She pointed to a rough wooden door near the back of the stables where bales of hay were stored. He quickly grabbed a sword and a couple of knives before shouldering a bow and quiver of arrows. As he returned, the stableboy had finished preparing three horses and he offered to lift Lirya onto hers.

She stopped him, saying, “Wait! We can’t leave Jason! We need to wait for him!”

Leus sighed, “Lirya, if we don’t get away now, we might get stuck here. We can leave the third horse close by so your friend can find it, but we need to get away from here! It’s your life at stake here, you know!”

Her face fell and he instantly regretted his harsh words.

“He was locked up and hurt because of me! And he didn’t even know me… so how can I leave him behind like this?” She cried.

Guilt? Is that what is preventing her from saving her own life? Leus thought, I can’t understand her motives… but I’ll go along with it. I did say I wanted to help her, after all. And no high noble of any standing would go back on their word.

He nodded and handed her a knife.

“Just in case,” To which she smiled and fastened the sheath to her waist.

“Stop right there!!” The loud voices shouting and the heavy footsteps getting closer alerted Leus and Lirya that the guards were closing in.

However, the first person to come into view was not a guard, but Jason. He ran directly at them, pursued by a horde of guards armed with swords and spears, but he just grinned and looked at Lirya.

“Fancy seeing you here, Lir!”

Leus quickly helped Lirya onto a horse before mounting one himself and yelled, “Go! He’s coming… they’re all coming! Run!”

Jason vaulted onto the third horse and flicked the reins, shooting off. The sounds of hoofbeats closed in on them and Leus spurred his horse to action. He peered back and wished he had not—for what appeared to be a legion of guards approached quickly on horseback. He cursed and urged his horse to faster speeds.

Lirya was falling behind. She clung desperately to her horse’s mane as the motion rocked her sideways. Leus’ heart dropped as he saw her hand slip and her body tilted, drawing a shrill cry from her lips.

One of the guards galloping alongside the escapees at the time leaned forward and caught Lirya before she tumbled to the ground. Leus released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. The chase had ended as the guard slowed his horse but kept his arms firmly around Lirya. Jason had turned back and Leus stopped silently, dismounting his horse.

What will happen now? He wondered, Can we talk our way out of this? Use force? What do we do?

His mind raced for solutions—yet he found none. No feasible solutions to save them all.

“Thanks Reylous!” Lirya said, peering at the guard who had caught her. Reylous nodded tensely.

Reylous?! She knows the guard? Leus wondered, then shook his head. Lirya was a mystery to him. A noblewoman yet… so much more.

“Are you really… leaving?” A guard muttered, removing his helmet to reveal a bare youthful face.

Lirya nodded and Reylous sighed, “Lady Lirya, we are under strict orders to bring you back by any means possible. Lord Rowan has the artifact ‘Eyes of Truth’, so we cannot hide anything from him. I’m sorry, lady Lirya, but we must take you back to the castle.”

‘Eyes of Truth’! Leus thought, It is powerful lie-detection artifact forged in the Age of Kings and imbued with magic by wizards before they died out. However, it has a critical weakness—someone could lie if they perceived the lie as truth and believed it, or accidentally. Half-truths also render the artifact useless. Perhaps we can use this…

“Am I correct in assuming that you do not desire to return the lady to the castle, sir Reylous?” Leus asked carefully, eliciting a nod from the captain.

Leus replied, “In that case, this is what happened: You caught up to us but lost us again. You did everything you could to stop us, but we were too powerful. Do you see where I’m going?”

Jason’s eyes lit up, “We’re making a new ‘truth’ to fool the artifact!”

Lirya turned around and asked to borrow Reylous’s knife that was sheathed at his waist.

“Of course, my lady. What do you need it for?” He gripped the handle and drew it from the sheath and was about to take it by the blade to hand the handle to Lirya when she grabbed his arm.

As the stunned onlookers watched, she moved his arm, still gripping the knife, and cut a large gash in her arm. She flinched and released his arm.

“My lady!” Reylous cried, “We need to bandage that immediately!”

He reached for her arm, but she shoved him away saying, “No… remember this is for the truth! When I wouldn’t cooperate, you accidentally cut me with your knife!”

She gathered her hair in a bunch and said to Reylous, “Cut it! You did it, remember? That’s the truth! Bring him some locks of my hair and tell him I got away.”

In her eyes burned a new flame of fierce determination and her gaze was wholly different than just a mere hour ago. Reylous saw that too, and with one last breath of hesitation, he took a deep breath and sliced. Down fluttered loose strands of hair and Lirya was left with boyish hair that came down to her neck and a handful of the rest of her hair. She tied the bunch of hair in her hand together and handed the bundle to Reylous.

“I… I’m not going back there! Ever!” Lirya said hotly and turned, fingering her newly shortened, and uneven locks of hair.

Reylous helped her off his horse and looked to Leus, “My lord… what else must be done?”

Leus leapt at Reylous swinging his sword and the captain blocked it. Instantly, the young nobleman backed off, sheathing his sword and saying, “I attacked you, but you could not risk injuring me because I’m the only Ravenstorm heir. That is why Lirya got away.”

The captain nodded, then ordered his men to leave. Before he turned to go, he looked back at Lirya, “Good luck, my lady. We all wish you all the hope for your future!”

Both parties parted ways and left. Save a few strands of hair, nothing marked their passage.

<--<< >>-->

Meanwhile, one person was quite disturbed by Lirya Throeyns’s flight. As night crept in and the final total for the wedding arrangements was revealed, an anguished cry was heard from within Throeyns castle.