Shape Shifting

The sound of barking dogs continued increasing incessantly driving more fear into the hearts of the pursued. Aria was no exception for this and she knew she would be killed if caught. Giving the escape her best shot, she jumped a log placed on the ground. Unfortunately, she tripped over and fell down. Searing pain ran through her leg and she looked at it. Her leg had got injured and she was bleeding. The barking increased and she knew that she would be caught soon.

"Leon!" she called out his name in the midst of the chaos.

Leon was running as if his life depended on it when the princess' called his name. Pausing in his tracks, he looked back and saw the princess' face full of sweat and agony. She was holding her leg with one hand while attempting to stand with the other.

"What on earth has happened to your leg?"He asked hurrying back to where she was. Helping her up, the duo walked in a slow pace to keep up with Lylla. The barking continued and when they looked back, they could now see the nights running through the woods. Some were on horseback while others were on foot. Once the knights spotted them, they released the beasts and ran after them as fast as they could. Lord Blackwood stood was on his black horse standing by a hill. "Take the princess and kill the rest!" He ordered. The knights ran down the hill like mad men holding their swords high in the air.

Aria looked back and knew that the knights would catch up with them soon. Once caught, she would either be killed or God knows what they would do with her. Her friends would also befall the same fate as her and this would be all her fault.

"You should go before they catch up with us. You can leave me as I will just slow you down." She said trying to put some sense to Leon and Lylla. Leon looked at Aria surprised by what she had just said.

"I can't leave you to be massacred by those ruthless power-hungry men. If you stay, I also stay." Leon was not going to leave the princess behind. He better die first than watch idly as the princess dies.

Lylla looked down at her hands and guilt washed over her beautiful face. "It's all my fault," she said looking at both Leon and Aria,"I led them to where you were. I'm sorry princess. I hope you will find a place in your heart to forgive me." A tear fell from Lylla's eyes and she knew she had to do this to prevent Aria's untimely death. Leon's eyes widened in realization and he could not help but worry.

"Don't even think about it. You could even....die,"the word came out as a whisper.

"But its the only way. Hurry now and take the princess away before they each us," she looked at Aria and smiled at her,"and I will repay you for what I have done."

"What are you talking about guys," Aria asked confused by the whole situation.

"Hurry now Leon. They might be here soon." Lylla didn't give Aria the luxury to find out what she was about to do. Leon took one final glance at her sister before he carried Aria and ran through the woods. Lylla smiled sinisterly before she started mumbling some few inaudible words. The world around her turned blurry and she soon fell down unconscious.

The last thing she saw were the footsteps of the approaching knights before her vision blurred and she closed into darkness.

"We found her My Lord,"the captain reported to Lord Blackwood.

"What about the others?"He asked alighting his black horse.

"They had already fled leaving the princess behind when we came. We are sure they haven't gone far and the other knights have followed their track. We will catch them soon and kill them."Lord Blackwood looked at the distant hills contemplating on what the captain had just said.

"Are you sure they left her behind?" He asked curiously as the captain led him to where the princess was.

"When your life is on the line, it seems loyalty disappears into thin air," the captain gave his opinion. Lord Blackwood stared at the woman who lay unconscious on the ground. He could not help but wonder what had made her to be in this state. She seemed unscathed yet she had passed out. Something fishy was going on here.

"Take her to the palace and find the others before dawn,"the captain nodded and yelled the order to some of the knights standing by.

Leon came to a halt when he was sure that nobody was following them. He placed Aria carefully by a tree and helped her sit down while he looked into her wound. The bleeding had stopped but it was still deep and contaminated. Tearing a piece of garment from her dress, he wrapped it around the wound making the princess to shriek in pain.

Once he was done, Aria eyed him while still in pain before she asked, "what did Lylla do back there? Is she safe?" Leon finished tending to her wound and lay back on the tree before he breathed heavily.

"She sacrificed herself in order to save us. She practiced a spell of shape shifting which no one rarely survives after practicing it. The chances of survival are minimal."Aria wondered why she had to do that. Maybe it was the guilt that ate on her.

"Should we presume that she is dead?" Aria asked her and immediately regretted what she had said. Leon's face turned sadder and paler at the thought of his sister's death. She was the only person who was close to him. But that was in the past now. Besides, she had made the choice herself even after he had warned her. Nevertheless, she was still his sister, his blood. His mother would never forgive him for this.

Aria watched as Leon wallowed in sadness as every second passed by. Why on earth had she made such a statement? Leon's eyes turned watery and she knew that this was all her fault. Still, she could do nothing to recover his loss. His sister had died protecting her. The only thing she could do right now was to comfort him. Taking a step closer to where Leon sat, she embraced him the way her mother used to when she had a nightmare and woke up at night scared. She would usually calm down and fall asleep every time she did this to her.

And it actually worked on Leon. He mellowed down under her embrace and collected himself. Aria was the only person close to him now. He swore to protect her with all that he got. Standing up and dusting his pants with renewed determination, he looked at the distant hills.

"Let's head for Eldrida."