Wrote up a post for a role play that I hope my partner will relish is well worth the nearly full week wait. I thought it was pretty good. It's always exciting when a lady fights back with all her might, especially when she isn't a properly trained knight.
From Peasant to Hero (with DudeMeister)
Her cheeks turned red and she looked at him with this look in her eyes that screamed for him to say the one other thing she hoped he might feel. Alas, it didn’t come and soon after giving her such a rich compliment, he departed her side with a bow and returned up to his post. Elarinya stuck her head out of the window of the carriage to watch him ride up. She still smiled and sat back in her seat, facing forward. Touching her cheek, she felt the warmth the rosy blush left and it only made her blush harder and actually smile. The feeling felt so foreign to her face but she welcomed it anyways. Leave it to Ulric to make her smile in a way she hadn’t in so long.
The ride was long and she dozed off plenty of times, her head resting on the steady wall of the carriage. Only as they entered onto the bumpy terrain, a sign of entering the heavily canopied and darkened forest, did she truly jostle awake. She sat up and matted her hair down a little bit, brushing her bangs out of her face. They were in the forest now, she could not fall asleep. There was a sense of doubt and anxiety that prickled her scalp. She had an uneasy feeling about something. That’s what the forests made her feel. They were beautiful to look at from a distance but never to wander through. That feeling grew more poignant.
The carriage stopped for a moment and she poked her head out of the carriage to find out why. It was only when Ulric rode up to her side, he explained what happened. The three men he sent up ahead a while ago to scout the area clear were no longer among the living. Danger. She was right in feeling that unease the moment they had entered the forest. Her heart basically started to hammer in her chest but it became even more as the full on ambush transpired. The events happened so quick, too quick. She wondered if it was planned or this was simply the work of thieves who did this for a living, always waiting and scouting for a possibility like this.
Not too long after, an actual fight ensued. She ducked down in the carriage in the space between the facing seats as she heard gushing sounds of blood being spilled, the metal clang of swords and groans of pain and agony as last breaths were breathed before the death of the fallen as well as the scent of spilled blood filled her senses and nostrils. It was repugnant and she covered her mouth, her eyes quelling with tears. She had felt terror before when she thought she may be mauled to death by wolves but it was so long ago, she had long since forgotten it. This was different. Wolves were one thing but against a band of humans, they would flee. This was human against human and more than her life, she worried for Ulric’s and his fleet.
The sound of something embedding into her carriage startled her and she sat up. She could feel the heat already of the fire on the carriage. Quickly, she was pulled out of the carriage before she could have hollered for help and placed on Ulric’s horse. He gave her steadfast orders that she knew to heed but she didn’t want to leave him. “Ulric.” She whispered his name in fright. Nothing more, with one swat to the rear, the horse took off. She was given an easy and clear path and kept her head ducked low as she held onto the reins, urging the horse faster. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks but she did her best to steer herself capable and fully competent to ride herself out of the forest.
Elarinya could see the clearing and the light reflected at the end of the forest. She was almost out when all of a sudden, a man on a swinging rope or vine jumped into her side and knocked her and Ulric’s horse down. She fell off to the side, away from the crushing blow of the fallen horse and struggled to make herself fall. She was shaking and her cheeks were stained with dried tears. The moment she did stand and turn to face her assailant, she was met with the tip of a blade at her neck.
“A fine lass you are.” His voice was thickly accented and there was a sneer in it to match the one on his face. A sneer that quickly turned into a leer as he took in her state of dress. Yes, the dress was modest and accentuated her figure but like all dresses of this time, the corset pushed up her chest and made for quite the tantalizing décolletage that was currently as she breathed rapidly through her nose. Her hands were held up beside her in a sign of easy and quick surrender. “It’d be a pity to waste your noble blood. I reckon we could fetch a hefty price for you. What they don’t know won’t hurt your price, we can still enjoy you.”
Over his shoulder, she saw the fallen horse. He was still alive but unable to stand yet. In one of the side bags attached to the saddle, she saw the glimmering hilt of what she hoped was a blade. If she could get to it…
The man lunged and Elarinya moved quickly to the right, deflecting him, which caused him to fall. She hurried to the horse and grabbed the hilt that stuck out of the saddle bag and turned, drawing a smaller sized sword, nearing the size of a dagger and wielding it before her to her assailant.
“Now we can be on equal terms if you are to subject me to debasement, Knave.” She hissed.
He cackled, a haunting sound that made the invisible hairs on the back of her neck stand up straight and tall. Standing, he held his sword out weakly toward her, not serious and definitely not finding her a threat. “You must be daft, lass. How can you possibly be on equal terms with me? You’re a lady. Do you know what I am?”
“A fool. What else?” She said it like it was obvious. “You place your misfortune in my hands for you seriously underestimate me.” He cackled again and without another word spoken more, he lunged for her. He was so quick and with a sword bigger than hers, she didn’t really stand much of a chance. As he tackled his body onto hers, the blade of his sword managed to cut into the layers of fabric and corset she wore and sliced her belly thinly. She didn’t feel it, even as the rip in her dress because saturated with her blood. The adrenaline coursing through her was too high and her survival kicked in.
His face loomed down on hers and turning her face like she might return his impending kiss, she instead bit down on hard on his nose, very hard that it felt like she might have nearly bitten off the cartilage. He groaned in pain and the blade of his sword sunk deeper into her flesh. That she felt but she took the moment of distraction to quickly gather her wits and plunge the blade into his flesh. But she knew better than to leave it at that and gripping the hilt with both hands, she twisted and a choked gasp came from him; most likely blood filling his mouth.
Twisting the blade once more, she pulled it out of him and pushed him off of her. Standing, she looked down at his lifeless form as blood spilled from his slacken mouth and she was breathing hard. By then, the horse righted itself back up and she climbed on top. She snapped the reins and the dazzling creature moved forward in a quick sprint, taking her fully out of the forest and a few paces away onto the green grass. The dagger in her hands still, she dismounted the steed and he stayed by but her legs gave out beneath her. Elarinya felt the pain of the slice to her stomach. Not lethally deep but enough to make her lose blood and feel pain she never experienced before. Her body twisted and she fell to the side as darkness clouded her vision. But she never let go of the dagger, the blade covered in blood that did not belong to her.
Word Count: 1,433
Your support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)
