Final Blow

Brig's eyes, so full of anticipation, suddenly dimmed.

The rock, which had collided with his head, ricocheted to the side as he tumbled to the ground unconscious. Because of the sudden rockslide, Ethyn's neck--and his life--were saved. Glancing up briefly, the young man saw the face of an angel peeking down at him from the top of the boulder.

Rose had obviously made her way around the top of the ledge, saving him before he met his doom. A warm feeling grew within his chest. "Watch out!" The princess screamed.

Pulled from his thoughts, Ethyn raised his sword again as the final assailant hacked mercilessly at him from every direction. The man was desperate, but his anger was transferred into the power of his strikes.

But with only a single opponent, the tide had finally turned. Even battered and bleeding, the young knight was more easily a match for his final enemy.

When the soldier from Lakyle stopped his feverish swooshing, Ethyn took the opportunity to mount an attack of his own. Hit after hit was blocked as the thin soldier slowly backed away from the redheaded knight.

The onslaught seemed never-ending, and the skinny soldier began to wonder if the person before him was a human or a monster. Neither man would yield. This fight could go on forever without a clear winner.

That's when disaster struck.

Ethyn missed his diagonal sweep by a hair's breadth and left open his guard for a moment. The young knight released his right hand from his sword to catch his balance.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the thin soldier raced into the breach to claim the prize. Ethyn's life would be ended in the blink of an eye.

The soldier of Lakyle was so eager to finish off Ethyn that he missed the sun's glint off a small dagger which materialized from the young man's tunic. It seemed the Guardian was not the only one who could bring a weapon from thin air.

The dagger gently slipped into the soldier's chest as Ethyn' ducked under hislong sword. The motion was so seamless, the thin man did not have time to process what was happening before he tumbled to the ground in agony.

Ethyn whipped around with a blade in each hand to help the Guardian, but that battle was also on the final blow. Kent's most recent headlong strike was deflected to the ground by the indomitable Guardian. Spinning behind the knight before he could pull his sword from the dirt, Silver kicked Kent in the back, knocking the pompous man to the ground.

With the sudden feeling of the cold blade against the back of his neck, Kent grunted. He released his sword and splayed his arms out on the warm grass. The fight was finished.

After placing his boot firmly on Kent's back, Silver stowed his weapon and took out his familiar leather thongs. "You know how these work by now, I assume." The Guardian jerked the older knight's hands behind his back and bound them.

"That was impressive." Ethyn could not help but admire the cloaked figure. There were so many things he still wanted to learn from the man in the hood.

"I know...though what you did at the end was a little too underhanded," Silver said to Ethyn without sparing the redhead a glance.

'Was he watching and fighting at the same time?'

Ethyn puffed out his chest indignantly. "Well, since I was injured and you weren't able to help, and--you know--the man was trying to KILL me, I did what I had to do to...Wait you meant my aim was too low, didn't you?"

All the wind flew from the young knight's sails as he realized that his long-time mentor was giving him advice that could save his life. Ethyn felt foolish. Silver shrugged.

"You complain when I don't let you have the extra men and you complain when I do. There is no making you happy..." The Guardian's voice was flat. While Silver often lacked enthusiasm, a complete lack of emotion was terrifying.

It was then that Ethyn realized just how much trouble he was truly in. "I'm sorry..." he began, but Silver held up his hand.

"We will talk about this later." The Guardian's eyes flashed.

"Oh, trouble between friends?" Kent scoffed, his voice finally beginning to return after the pommel punch.

"Not as much trouble as you are in..." Silver lifted the prisoner roughly from the ground. He tossed a few sets of cuffs to Ethyn. "Tie up the rest of them and bring them over. Soldiers from the fort should be picking them up shortly."

Ethyn's mouth dropped open. "How do the soldiers know to come here?"

"I left them signs to follow." Silver shoved Kent against a wall and went to check on the man who had been attacked first. Then he moved on to tend to the man with the broken leg, resetting it in a less than gentle fashion.

"And, uh, how did you know where to find us?" Ethyn called across the cove.

"Well that is probably due to the only blasted thing you have managed to do right today." Silver's words made Ethyn's wince.

"And that was?" The redhead hesitated. Into the entrance of the cove, Courage pranced happily and met his master with a nudge from his muzzle. Ethyn raised his eyebrows. "Sending Courage to go and find you, of course! I completely meant for him to seek you out and bring you here..."

Ethyn's eyes darted away. He was ashamed to admit that the horse had followed his orders far better than Ethyn had intended. Although Courage went to 'get' the wrong target, it had been the right target in the end.

'That blessed horse saved my behind. I owe him extra apples and carrots for the next week at least.'

Reluctantly, they tended the wounds of their enemies before tying all of them together.

Silver then went to retrieve the two men that he had incapacitated on the other side of the wall. They were just coming around and beginning to struggle against their bonds.

"Get up," Silver ordered. The thought of how close the men had come to touching his sister made him ball his fists.

The threat of the cracking knuckles was enough to stir the men into listening. Soon they were with the comrades awaiting transport.

Now that there was no longer a threat, Ethyn looked up at the lovely lady watching them from the top of the wall. She sat with her legs dangling absentmindedly from the boulder as she watched the men work. Rose smiled at him, and he felt a pang of guilt.

"I never meant to put your family in danger," Ethyn said to Silver.

The Guardian inhaled deeply. "Watch them while I go get her down."

Ethyn's stomach clenched. His friend wouldn't even talk to him about it. How deep was the hole that he had dug that the Guardian would not even acknowledge his apology? The redhead shuddered.

Silver made his way to the entrance of the cove and stopped below the Princess. He looked up, the hood shifting with him but not falling. "It's safe now."

Rose grimaced. "Should I come down?" Her heart began to race even more than when she was about to be captured.

"It will have to wait," Silver said, his head turning suddenly as he listened. "I think the men from the fort have found my markings and are finally here to collect their lost prisoners. Stay up there and stay hidden."

"But..." Rose looked out through the tree and spotted movement. "What if it isn't the people you are expecting?"

"Then all the more reason for you to stay hidden." The man in the cloaked shooed her away with his hand.

Nodding, Rose pulled her feet up on the top of the boulder. "Are you sure it will be alright?" she asked as she disappeared from sight.

The cloaked figure nodded. "I am sure it will be fine. But just in case, have another rock or two handy..."