The road to Jirule was a long and dangerous road full of bandits and wild cave lions waiting to kill anything that moved. Not to mention the weather being cold and brutal. So far Edward and his Knights of Wrath strangely had no trouble so far.

They are traveling to Jirule for a job they heard about. The job details were scarce, all they knew was that about fifty or so bandits attacked and killed many people in the small town of Jirule. They were to meet up with other knights to attack and kill all the men who were involved. The small Duke of the land offered 1,000 gold coins and one of his daughter's hand in marriage to any man that brings him the bandit's commander's head. Edward and his friend were going to Jirule not for gold or for marriage; they are going because it is there duty as knights.

The knights of Wrath are one of the four old Orders of Law in the country, but unlike every order, they have been shorthanded for the past year or so. This order of knights consists of three current members that are lead by Sir Edward. Edward's three knights are very different from one another. Edward's adviser and close friend, Damion, has followed Edward through thick and thin. Damion is also the sixth son of a great duke in the East by the coast. Edward's other two followers, Charles and Jack, are half brothers who are the complete opposite of one another. Charles is the shortest man of the group who always has time to crack a joke or two. Then Charles older brother, Jack, is a very tall and strong man that takes everything seriously.

"Sir Edward!" Damion cried out from behind him while riding his horse closer to Edward, "If we stop here for the night, we'll arrive there early tomorrow morning."

"It will be night in an hour or so," Charles said to everyone.

"Alright," Edward said, "this is a good spot to make camp." The men dismounted their steeds and hitched them to the pine trees nearby.

"While y'all set up camp, I'll go kill us some supper," Jack said while grabbing his bow and arrows of his saddle.

"No, I'll go,"Charles insisted,"you couldn't hit a deer if your life depended on it."

"

And you can?" Jack replied.

"I could hit a deer on horseback while doing your mum." Jack gave Charles a vicious look.

"Those two are at it an again," Edward said smiling while taking his swords from his saddle.

"When are they not at it?" Damion asked with a worried face.

"Alright, what do you want to ask me?"

"What makes you think we need to take about something?"

"You have been following me since I became commander of the group; I know when you are worried."

"Do you think the Queen is really going to send her knights to help us kill the bandits?" Damion confessed.

"No, more than likely Prince George will lead a dozen or so knights to try to prove himself more worthy of becoming king than his twin brother."

Damion tightened his fist in a ball and in angry like voice said,"But what if they didn't co...,"

Damion was interrupted by Charles yelling at Jack to give him the bow.

"Why don't both of y' all go!" Damion yelled at them.

"No," Charles said, "he'll scare the deer away smelling like that."

"I don't smell,"

"Yes, you do," Charles suggested, "you smell like you have been bathing in shit, and we only have one bow."

"You smell too runt," Jack replied angerly.

"I'll go hunting," Edward said while taking the bow away from Jack.

"I'll be back before dark; and Damion, don't worry about it, we have defeated bigger bandit groups in the past," Edward said while walking into the forest.

"But, that was before Judas," Damion whispered to himself.

Edward loved the peacefulness of the forest and its beauty. The forest was the only place he could go to think. For some reason, Edward keepted thinking about his father. He remembered his father telling him bedtime stores of knights in shining armor saving beautiful princesses, and the kingdom from dragons. He remembered telling his father that he wanted to be a knight to save princesses, and slay dragons. His father always told him he could be anything he wanted to be. After his father died, he did become a squire than a knight, but there was no princesses or dragons. There were only murders who needed slaying or some lord that need protecting. That was the truth of the world, not everything is what it seemed. As he was thinking and looking for deer tracks he suddenly heard a man screaming.

It was coming from straight ahead. Edward raced toward the direction of the scream when he got closer he began to smell smoke. As he got even closer, he saw fire through some trees. He stopped running. Now he was sneaking up to the camp.

While hiding behind a pine tree, he spotted three men laughing and drinking by a campfire. Their was sacks and boxes laying all around them with seven saddled horses behind the men, hitched to the trees. Edward couldn't make out what they were saying but, he could barely make out two words. The words he made out was screamed and woman. 'They seemed like merchants, but they were dressed like poor sellswords', he thought to himself. Edward decided to reveal himself to the strangers.

Edward stepped out and said, "Nice evening gentlemen." The strangers were startled, grabbing and unsheathing their swords.

Edward lifted up his hands in a sign of surrender with the bow still in his left hand. "No need for those," Edward said smiling,"I'm just a simple hunter."

The men looked at each other for a moment and sheathed their swords. One of them finally said, "Sorry about that."

"You just can't trust anyone these days," said another one.

"I'm Arthur," The older man in the middle of them said. "the gentleman to my left is Bill and the other one is Roy. We're merchants heading to Jirule."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Edward. I was hunting and I heard someone screaming so I came to make sure no one was hurt."

"It was Roy who screamed, he burnt his hand over the fire," Bill said.

I glanced at his hand, it was bleeding, but it looked like someone or something had bitten him. Bill started to slowly walk around behind Edward. 'They must have noticed me looking at his hand.'

"Funny," Edward said, "his hand doesn't look burnt."

"And you don't look like a hunter with those two beautiful swords around your waist," Arthur said.

"Well, you never know when one is going to break," Edward replied still smiling.

"It's getting dark, why don't you stay for the night," Roy suggested, "we have plenty of food and ale to share."

"How kind of you," Edward replied, "but I'm not scared of the dark, I bring the dark." The smile disappeared from his face, like when the sun disappears and it becomes night.

"It wasn't a request," Arthur demanded.

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Suddenly, a fourth man walked out of the forest yelling. "She hit me with a rock! But don't worry about it though, I was able to cut her, she'll die soon."

That's all the evidence Edward need to know that they where bandits. Edward threw his bow at the two men in front of him while drawing his two swords one in the left hand and one in the right hand. Then turning around and slicing open Bill's throat. Bill fell to the ground clutching his throat while gargling his own blood. The three bandits drawled their swords again. Roy stupidly swung first, Edward blocked his swing with his left sword and split open his stomach with the other.

Now Roy was suddenly on the ground screaming in pain, like a rabbit screams when it's caught by a wolf. Edward swung his swords at Arthur, but he blocked all of them. The fourth man came running at Edward with a sword at hand. Edward's swords were locked in with Arthurs. Edward quickly kicked Arthur in the jewels and turned just in time to counter the man's strike. Stabbing him in the chest, killing him.

Only Arthur left now. "You're a knight," Arthur suggested.

"Does it matter who I am."

"Yes it does," Arthur said, "because when I kill you..."

"Enough!" Edward yelled while slicing into his skull. The fight was over as soon as it started with Edward standing untouched, and their blood on his swords and on him.

It was night now. The air quickly became crispy cold, and a little snow also came out to dance on the dead. Edward was standing there just thinking about everything that just happened. Edward remembered that the fourth man was saying something about a woman he cut on the leg that got away from him. If I go back to get Damion and the others to help find her; wolves will find her first or she bleed to death, but if I go now I might find her first. But which direction did she run?

At that moment Edward realized that Roy was still alive. "Where is she?" Edward said as he walked over to him with his sword out.

"Why should I tell you." Roy painfully stuttered out while his hand was on his stomach.

"Enough people have already died here today why should another,"

"If you spare me I'll tell you."

Edward looked at his wound and told him, "Even if I wanted to save you I couldn't, your wound is too bad."

"Well I guess I'm gonna die; I never imagined that it would be today," Roy said.

"Yea, but it's not too late to save someone else life." Roy pondered on the words he told him. He finally lifted his hand and pointed in a direction.

"That is the direction Henry chased her in when she got away."

"Thank you, are you ready," Edward said in a stone cold voice while pointing his sword at his heart.

"But I'm no ready to die, at least not now," Roy said crying.

"I don't want to die in a cold forest; I don't want to be forgotten."

"We all have to die someday," Edward told him.

"Well, at least I'll see my mother again. I miss her. She always loved me no matter what I did. Did you ever know your mother?"

"No, she died to disease when I was only a month old."

"Sorry to hear that," Roy said saddend. Roy breathed in a deep breath.

"I'm ready." He said in a creaked sad voice.

In one fatal sword thrust to the heart, it was over. It was now time to go into the forest to find someone he didn't know. For someone that might already be dead.

It was dark and cold all around him as he wandered around the creepy forest looking for the woman. The forest was quiet, not a single sound to be heard. Edward came upon bright red blood. 'This must be hers?' Edward thought as he bent down to get a closer look at it. It leads deeper into the forest. He thought to himself.  After a few hundred yards the blood comes to a sudden stop by a huge boulder.

Edward peeked around the boulder to find a young brown-headed woman leaning on the rock. Her pale leg was covered in her blood.

"Hey, everything is going to be ok now," Edward said as he rushed around the boulder.

She didn't say anything. Edward quickly put his hand under her nose to see if she was breathing. He felt a faint cold breath hit his hand. She has just past out from losing to much blood, he thought. Edward ripped a strip of his black shirt off to use as a bandage for her leg. He wrapped it around her leg and tied it to stop the bleeding. Edward picked her up and laid her across his shoulder. Edward headed back to his camp with the woman on his shoulder passed out.

The three men sat around their campfire waiting on Edward to come back.

"Hmmm, it stopped snowing," Jack murmured to himself. "Edward should have been back an hour ago," Damion said in a worried voice.

"Relax," Charles said, "enjoy him not being here to tell us to shut up or to stop fighting."

"He's fine Damion, Edward is just taking his time back to camp," Jack told Damion.

"He better come back with a deer or something. I refuse to eat old, moldy bread and dry fish meat again," Charles said with a look of discussing on his face.

"I know why he's taking so long, he's just killed a massive deer and is having a little trouble getting it out of the forest. We should find and help him." Charles said while standing up.

"No, if that was the case he would have came here an hour ago asking for our help to get it out, runt," Jack stated.

"You think just because you're older you know everything."

Jack didn't say anything he just stood up and Charles also stood up. Charles looked like a midget compared to Jack.

"You don't scare me you ugly shit faced giant. Bring it on!" Charles yelled while throwing up his fists.

"Stop your squeaking dumbass."

"Stop acting like children!" Damion demanded.

"Seriously I don't know how in the world Edward puts up with you two. Now sit down and apologize to each other right now."

They both sat down in silence. "I'm sorry for calling you a shit faced giant," Charles confessed.

"I'm sorry for calling you a dumbass but, it's not my fault it's true."

"Damion, I apologized as you said and he d..."

"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP, BOTH OF YOU!" Damion stood up and shouted with anger in his words.

Damion breathed in a deep breath and sat back down. "How in the world did one giant and a runt become knights anyway?"

"Well that's a very long story," Charles said, "but it looks like we have enough time to tell you. Alright back about two years ago, there was this duke who offered a knighthood to anybody who brought back alive this young black panther that was terrorizing this nearby village."

Jack interrupts saying, "The short version is that we found a high duke's youngest daughter's house cat, and he knighted us for it."

"So y'all two didn't do shit to get knighted?" Damion asked.

"Yep," Jack replied.

"That's not true!" Charles said defensively.

"It took us weeks to find and catch that panther. Then we had to wrestle it down without hurting it."

"It was a black house cat, and I had to pull it off of your face since it almost clawed out your eyes!" Jack exclaimed.

"No, it was a young panther!" Charles insisted. Damion laughed and asked if Edward knew.

"Yes, I told him right after he asked us to join," Jack answered.

"Speaking of Edward, how did he become a knight?" Charles asked Damion.

"He was a squire to a high duke, and then he was knighted by him for some reason I don't know."

"Oh, how did he become a Knight of Wrath?" Charles continued.

"When you're not arguing or joking you're always asking questions," Damion said.

"Well, my mom always said to question everything."

Damion sighed. "On his Duke's fiftieth name day, there was a sword during competition and the previous commander was there since the Duke was an old friend of his. Edward competeted in the competition and got as far as the finals. But he lost to Sir Richard. Even though he lost..."

"Wait a minute!" Charles interrupted.

"What is it, can't you see I'm telling bloody story that answers your stupid qustions," Damion growled at him.

"Edward really fought the Red Knight?" Charles asked.

"Didn't I say he fought Sir Richard? Now, where was I?"

"Even though he lost," Jack answered.

"Even though he lost, the commander was so impressed with Edward's fighting style that he asked him to join them and he did."

"Man to think Edward fought the Red Knight," Charles said mesmerized.

"Yea, he did," Damion added.

"Come to think of it," Jack said, "I've never seen Edward lose a dual."

"He wouldn't be alive if he did lose duals,"

"Who taught him to be a good swordsman?" Jack asked curiously.

"Well his duke is pretty wealthy and had good teachers for him, plus Edward being both handed helped him use two swords instead of a sword and shield. Then his commander taught him how to efficiently use two swords in combat so yea, he had great teachers."

"How did he become a commander?" Charles asked.

Damion fell silent. Jack noticed Damion was staring into the fire as he was thinking.

"It's not a good story," Damion finally said.

"It's a story that you should ask Edward about." They all fell back into silence for a moment.

The silence was broken by the sound of leaves crunching in the forest.

"Sir Edward?"

Damion slowly stood up and said with has a hand on the hilt of his ssword

"Yea it's me," Edward answered.

Edward stepped out of the dark forest and into the light of the fire. Damion was the first to notice the young woman on his back.

"Who's that?" Damion asked.

"That's not super on your back, is it?" Charles said.

"Correct," Edward replied while walking between Jack and Charles to his blanket that they layed out for him while he was gone. Edward lied the woman down on his blanket by the fire, next to Damion.

Damion bent down beside her and asked Edward about what happened. "The short version is her sell swords turned on her, but she was able to escape from them." Damion removed the torn cloth from her leg.

"That's a nasty cut," Damion commented.

"Will she be okay?" Jack asked.

"Yea she should be. Charles go grab the sewing kit and whiskey from my horse saddle." Charles raced off to grab the things Damion asked for in a blink of an eye he was back.

"Edward, go wash the blood off your clothes. We'll patch her up," Damion said while pouring ale on her wound to sanitize it.

"But what if y' all need me?" Edward responded.

"We won't, you will just be in the way. Plus you might freak her out when she comes to."

Edward stood up and walked off to wash up like Damion suggested he did. Edward stopped by his horse on the way to grab fresh clothes. He went to a small pond that was in a field across the road from their camp.

The pond was five yards wide and six yards long with tiny fish and frogs in it. Edward bent down by the pond and took off his leather clothes to wash the blood of-of them.

He dipped them into the water. The blood turned the pond red. The red pond reminded Edward about that dreadful day at that lake by the coast. Edward remembered how foolish and prideful he was before that day. The place where his master died. The place where Edward became a commander. No one was there to anoint Edward into leadership because they were all dead. He anointed himself at that red lake. On one knee over his master's grave, he swore his loyalty to his country with his late master's sword in his hand still dripping the murders blood on the cold, cruel ground.  The thoughts of the past started to make Edward sad and then mad. He was full of wrath toward the men that killed his master and his brothers in arms. He wanted to kill them all, but he already killed them that day, at that blood-stained lake, where he died.

Edward was staring at himself in the water trying to forget that day. The day where he buried his old life and all twenty Knights of Wrath. Edward's wrath-filled sapphire eyes stared right back at him through his reflection in the water. He began to hit his reflection in the water. He didn't like the stranger staring back at him.

"The woman will be okay; I patched her up the best I could," said Damion coming from behind him.

Without turning around he said,"Good, when will she wake up?"

"Any time now,"

"Thank you. Now, leave me. I want to be left alone with my thoughts."

Damion gave Edward a nod then he wondered off. Edward was alone again with his dreadful memories.

Edward took a rag that he brought with him and dipped it in his reflection. He used it to wipe the blood off his face.

Edward took out his master's sword and began to clean the beautiful blade. He wiped the blood off the ancient engravings on the bluish blade and he polished the sapphires at the end of the crossguard and at the hilt of the blade. When he finished, he took the other blade that his Duke gave him when he was knighted. He cleaned the firm steel blade and the wooden handle wrapped in fine leather.

Edward saw a small crack at the bottom of the sword, that wasn't there when he cleaned it the other day. He remembered when his duke gave him that sword on the day he knighted him. He said "It would last him his lifetime." He dried his swords with a different dry rag and sheathed them in their sheaths. Edward put on some fresh clothes and headed back to his camp.

Note from author.

Hello this is my very first Chapter of my very first book I've ever done so please forgive the bad writing and misspelled words. If you enjoyed or hated it please tell me why. Oh and liking things never killed anyone.