Photo by Megan Ruth from Pexels
A man of height traipsed into the dimly lit hall with only one window and a fireplace the source of light. A chair carved from ivory and marble stones faced the window, but the hand on the arm rest signified the presence of a being resting in it.
"Your Grace. Word got back that she has been found."
Slender fingers flexed, gemstones and sapphire glinting brightly under the scrutiny of burning flames. The slight tap of a shoe on the terrazzo floor.
"Where is she?" Came the voice, soft like a feather against the wind.
"By the river Poignion. My men have the instructions to retrieve her."
Silence kindled in the room, growing to an unbearable disorder of the unknown.
"She better be in one piece." The mysterious woman said after several moments.
"Your Grace." The man bowed and retreated, leaving the woman whose emerald greens smiled at the moon.
"Cover me!" Ashton called.
Mountain man used his body as a blockade while Ashton swiftly withdrew, shielding Roma the entire time.
"Men are falling." said Mountain Man.
"Not for long." Ashton grunted as they lay hidden behind a tree. Ashton rose, "Keep her safe."
Roma quickly caught a hold of his wrist as he turned to leave, "Where are you going?"
"To end this. I won't be long." He spoke softly. Mountain man crouched behind Roma, his frame almost enough to cover her completely from the light of the moon.
Pulling out a sword tucked effectively at his waist, Ashton dived head first into battle. Running past gurgling sounds and falling warriors, he leaped into the air, the wild night a blanket to his form as he appeared stealthily in the midst of his foes.
The horrific sounds of cutting flesh and the unmistakable smell of copper burned through the night. Grunts and yells followed suit.
"What is happening?" Roma dared to ask the man whose face still remains unknown.
"Bad people." Mountain man said, his voice gruff and almost scratchy.
"They want to kill me."
"You will not die."
Roma's eyes traveled from his covered face to the scene before her. Ashton's fierceness and thoroughness rendering her speechless. Roma watched in fascination, her cogs turning the more she witnessed. The Dark Prince. As his sword ran through another heart, she understood then how he earned his name. His movements were ruthless, non-hesitant. He was truly a god of war.
A crashing sound and a roar, Roma turned to find Mountain Man engaged with someone. Her heart sped up, fear boiling in the deep pits of her belly. Gathering her wits, she takes off running in the opposite direction to be blocked by a pair of two men.
"We don't want to hurt you. We suggest you come with us." One speaks.
Like Mountain Man, their faces were covered. By the pointy ears pierced with multiple studs, she could tell they were Fae. Her feet move on their own and she seeks to escape but they are faster, pulling her by the arm to which she screams.
A sharp whistle and one of the men is taking out, his head dangling atrociously from the spear now attached to a tree. Roma's hand goes over her mouth in horror at the ghastly sight. Her legs give way as Ashton appears with nothing but a thirst for blood. His opponent tries to fight back but his defenses are weakened by Ashton's experience. Another head rolls...
Ashton, not minding his body soaked in blood, carries Roma. Mountain Man returns looking no better than his commander. The cleared space once lit with fire and returning men, now lay desolate with corpses and death.
Roma trembled at the nasty scrunch of Ashton's boots against pieces of mutilated flesh.
"Round up what's left. Find any foes alive. Do not finish them. I would need the information they have."
Mountain Man nodded and left his side. Ashton sat on a log away from the scene but close enough to be within eyesight. He began to examine Roma, who let him because she was simply too exhausted mentally to stop him.
"Are you hurt?" she shook her head, "Are you afraid?" She nodded, "No harm will come to you. That I can assure you." He finished.
"Is it the people? The men...they were sent, weren't they? They want to kill me."
"They can try. Nobody, for as long as I live, will be able to get a strand of hair from you. That is a promise, Princess."
Roma nodded, taking each of his words to heart. With a sigh, she laid her head against the crook of his neck on his shoulder, her body relaxing the slightest when he hums his approval.
© September 2023, @deraaa || All Rights Reserved
