A second encounter

She thought that her mind was playing tricks on her when an incredibly fast-flying object penetrated the wind right next to her ear, then her mouth dropped open at the sight of an arrow that pierced through the bald man's skull right when he was about to grab a hold of her.

Panting, Adela's head spun in a circle looking for the source of that arrow, she needed to understand whether it missed her head by mistake, or whether by a miracle, the aid of the Archduke had arrived.

She did not have to look too long before finding them.

Stationed right where the shallow sunny side of the forest ends and the deep dark side begins, two men in cloaks rode their horses, the shadows their attire cast on their faces allowed them to remain hidden from Adela's eyes, yet the air around them was nothing less than foreboding.

The rider on the left looked like death itself in his black garments that were a striking opposite of the white stallion beneath him. And the rider on the right who was slightly positioned behind the black rider looked even more intimidating – a monster soaked in blood atop a chestnut stallion with one of his hands holding a bow and the other loading a new arrow on its string.

A jolt of pure shock burned Adela's spine. The fear she felt facing the man who was mere seconds away from attacking her was nothing in comparison to how helpless she felt against three cruel fingers that could end her existence in one release from a convenient distance. Her heart thumped as if it wished to break free of her ribcage when the man pointed his bow toward her.

She closed her eyes and held what could very well be her last breath.

Adela's eyes snapped wide open when another arrow ripped its way through the air, she was unable to repress a sharp cry of panic when she saw a dark-haired man falling to his knees next to her, he collapsed, face-first, down to the ground.

Her shaking hands dropped the sword she was still holding as if it electrified her, she curved forward and emptied her stomach violently.

"In the name of Kaiser de Lanark! I demand you make your intentions clear right now!"

Adela raised her head and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, hope filling her heart then dispersing as quickly as it gathered when a moan of pain left the knight who stood sheltering her from the unknown riders. His left hand held his right shoulder that was oozing blood and he seemed to be struggling to draw oxygen into his lungs.

"In the name of...Speak…Spea…"

Unable to withstand the pain anymore, he got down on one knee and silently beseeched the protection of Extremizer, for the two riders who might be noblemen were his sovereign's only chance of leaving this forbidden place in one piece.

White and black dots filled his vision after that.

"Arkin!"

The knight groaned his last before losing consciousness and collapsing next to her, the potent minty smell that seemed to come out of his shoulder wound let a shaking Adela know that he was poisoned.

Hyperaware that one of the two men had dismounted his horse and was now walking toward her, she cradled Arkin's head with both of her arms and glared up with a blurry vision caused by her unshed tears.

"Do not touch him... my friend over there believes that your lover has been poisoned,"

His amiable tone was reassuring. She swallowed down the pain, the fear, and the injustice now that she needed to sound as composed as possible while trying to reason with the black rider, "This man is not my lover, but an honorable knight of the first order,"

Fiercely trembling, she laid Arkin slowly on the ground and double-checked his wound. It was illogical of her, but she wanted to trust the dark rider, "I-I need to wash the wound, I need water…The poison they used on him…It is not life-threatening if removed, but his wound…I need to sterilize the area and thoroughly check this size…I-I might need to stitch him,"

"…Are you perhaps a doctor?"

Her trembling head shook twice, the best negative response she could come up with at the present moment.

"Well, you seem to know what you are talking about…Did you say you needed water?"

She looked at the black rider with hopeful eyes, "Sire, do you happen to know your way around this forest? P-Perhaps you can save my knight…I mean…Perhaps you can save a dear life, the Archduke of Lanark favors this one greatly and shall handsomely reward your noble deed,"

She flinched when the rider removed the cloak from over his head, then gulped to calm her nerves down once he raised his gloved hands up, palms forward. He had kind blue eyes that looked as if trying their best to comfort a scared animal.

The handsome face of the blond man was familiar to Adela, even if she had never seen him before. She was late to understand why she was quick to let her guard down against him. A nobleman, her subconscious categorized him before her scattered mind was able to.

He posed no threat to her.

"You need not remain wary of me; I came here to carry the wounded knight who solely took five armed thugs down trying to protect an innocent woman... If you permit me to, that is,"

They came uninvited, as if a dam crumbled down, streams of tears made their way down her muddy cheeks as she nodded, giving the nobleman what he sought.

"Good. You can ride with my friend; we shall accompany you both to a source of water and then back to the safety of your lands… Does this sound like a reasonable offer to you?"

It was no reasonable offer, but the miracle she awaited. And the nobleman in black garments who seemed like death moments earlier was — in Adela's eyes — an angel who fell from the sky and came straight to her rescue.