20

"It's not a tale I would love to tell at the moment, besides only the king saw the content of the letter, not even the queen read it. As for the cause of the war, I would be happy to narrate that after the princess has been rescued and the battle ended." 

My shoulders dropped in disappointment, all that anticipation was for nothing, not even a little explanation, I was lost staring at him anyways. Since I was behind, I didn't stop looking at his long hair and back, I found him too attractive to look away until,

"What do you want with her?" Allesio inquired of him and I was back to anticipating.

"I know what I am doing Allesio so I do not appreciate you questioning me like your child, as a guard you should know we don't talk about these things outside," His tone was authoritative but his voice was only audible to the air beside his lips.

I concluded that the world had chosen to keep me suspended or let me suffer the stressful climbing of the stairs in boredom amidst both men wondering if I was going to live or die.

I was lost staring at Adriel and weighing the option of life and death that I didn't realize when we had reached the top of the stairs. Adriel instructed us to wait while he went out of the door first and made sure that no one was in sight.

He knocked twice shortly, which indicated that it was safe to come out, I went ahead while Allesio came from behind, my heart didn't stop racing and from the back he said,

"Relax, stop acting like a child," I must admit that it took self-restraint not to hit Allesio, I only stared at him and ignored him like no one spoke a single word.

On our way towards the palace exit, Adriel stopped suddenly like he remembered something, he turned around briskly and waved his hands in several directions passing information that only Allesio understood.

Before I imagined what was happening, Allesio grabbed me from behind and took a few steps back, his hands covering my mouth shut, and his grip was like that of a python strangling his prey for consumption.

Once we had gone back enough, Adriel threw his sword to the point close to where I and Allesio had just been and Allesio pressed tightly onto my lips which made breathing a bit difficult.

My eyes widened in shock as the sword landed on the ground. A large number of spears, nearly a hundred if I wasn't exaggerating, fell from the roof with their sharp ends pointing downwards, the clashing sounds of metals rubbing against each other echoed through the hallway and it brought two unwanted guests.

It appeared that was a trap, but how fast they had set it up was a mystery, I mean we left there not too long ago and nothing like that happened. I then understood why Allesio took me back and held me in such a way that I couldn't struggle. The trap was triggered by a sudden movement which amazed me because spears are objects without life, "how were they placed in such a way that caused them to react to sudden movement?" I wondered.

As for the unwanted guests, two men of average height dressed in full armor rushed toward us at full speed. I watched Adriel move back quickly and picked his sword before they got closer.

He didn't hesitate to fight them to the best of his ability. Allesio left me as well and joined the fight as Adriel wasn't doing so well with both men at his neck, he looked very tired and stressed and that made me wonder why he intended to fight and save the princess in that state.

The clashing of swords soon came to an end and Allesio threw a spear into his opponent's lap. I gasped at that sight and I knew it was going to remain in my memory for ages. The opponent dropped to the ground after a loud screech in pain, while Adriel held his sword across the neck of the other.

I thought that was going to be the point where they ended the lives both men by killing them before my very eyes but that was far from the case, while Allesio punched and kicked the one bleeding profusely from the lap, Adriel spoke to the other.

He kicked and punched his stomach and face and threatened to slit his throat with the sword all while demanding the location of the princess which I thought he already knew.

Adriel had made sure to leave his opponent armless and had beaten him till there was no life left to live yet he refused to disclose the princess's location. Adriel gave up on him and threw him into the wall with great force and then turned to the injured one.

But I was short of words when the injured Knight took a knife out of his sheath and stabbed himself before Adriel could lay a hand on him. Both men were surprised as I was, he ended his life to avoid disclosing the Princess's location.

My body trembled and little goosebumps formed all over my skin, I couldn't bear to see the blood flow while he died slowly before our eyes. The one who was thrown into the wall also struggled to breathe, the pain he felt was no doubt excruciating.

I knew he was an enemy but as I watched him bleed, my heart sank. It was horrific to watch.

I was so lost in anguish that I had no idea when Allesio took my hand and was walking away. I moved like a living dead and was unaware of everything around me.

"Knights are heartless," I said to myself without saying it out loud. How did I continue to love Adriel so much after I saw him do that before me? That led me to imagine how many more lives he had taken, even in that battle alone I believed he had killed lots of enemies yet that is who I dream of daily.