The sealed memories

The door creaked open, revealing a line of soldiers standing in formation, their armor gleaming in the fading light of the evening. Their faces were set in grim determination, hands resting on the hilts of their swords. The leader, a tall man with a scar running down the side of his face, stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he took in the scene inside the cottage.

"There she is," he said, his voice cold and authoritative. "The princess. Hand her over, and no one needs to get hurt."

Elaine stood protectively in front of Elara, her eyes blazing with defiance. I could see her muscles tensing, ready to fight if necessary. The air was thick with tension, every second stretching out as we all stood on the edge of violence.

But I wasn't about to let them take her without a fight.

"Over my dead body," I growled, stepping in front of Elaine and Elara. My hand instinctively went to the hilt of the sword at my side, the weight of it familiar and comforting.

The leader's lip curled into a sneer. "So be it."

The soldiers moved as one, drawing their swords and charging into the cottage. The space that had once felt so warm and safe was now a battlefield, the sound of clashing steel ringing out as I met the first attacker head-on.

The fight was brutal and chaotic, a blur of movement and violence. I swung my sword with all the strength I could muster, every strike fueled by a desperate need to protect those behind me. The soldiers were well-trained, their attacks coordinated and precise, but I fought with the ferocity of a man who had nothing left to lose.

I could hear Elaine behind me, her voice shouting words of magic as she cast spell after spell to fend off the soldiers who tried to get past me. She was holding her own, but I could see the strain in her movements, the exhaustion beginning to take its toll.

Elara huddled in the corner, her eyes wide with fear as she watched the battle unfold. I could feel her gaze on me, a silent plea for protection that only fueled my determination.

But as the fight dragged on, I could feel myself beginning to tire. My movements were slowing, my breaths coming in ragged gasps. I had taken down several of the soldiers, but more kept coming, their numbers seemingly endless.

Then, out of nowhere, a sharp pain exploded in the back of my head. The world spun around me, my vision blurring as I stumbled forward. I tried to regain my balance, but my legs gave out beneath me, and I crashed to the floor.

Everything was a blur—colors, sounds, the sensation of cold stone beneath me. And then, as if from a great distance, I heard Elaine scream my name. But the sound was quickly swallowed by darkness, and I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness.

As I lay there, on the edge of oblivion, memories began to flood my mind. Fragments of the past, long buried and forgotten, surged to the surface, overwhelming me with their intensity. I saw flashes of my childhood—my parents, my home, the dreams I once had. I saw the girl I had once loved, her betrayal cutting through me like a knife.

And then, I saw something else. A memory I had never known, a piece of the puzzle that had been hidden from me. It was Elaine, placing a seal on my chest, her eyes filled with sorrow and regret. I could hear her voice, soft and trembling as she spoke words I couldn't quite understand. And then, the seal cracked, the power within it breaking free, and everything went black.

When I woke, I was alone.

The first thing I noticed was the silence. The cottage was eerily quiet, the only sound the crackling of the dying fire. I blinked, trying to clear the haze from my mind as I pushed myself up onto my elbows.

My head throbbed with pain, the aftermath of whatever had struck me, but I forced myself to focus. I looked around the room, my heart sinking as I took in the scene before me.

The soldiers were gone. The door hung open, swinging slightly in the breeze, but there was no sign of them. The cottage was in shambles, furniture overturned, and blood staining the floor. But the worst of it was the emptiness.

Elaine was gone. Elara was gone. And I was alone.

Panic surged through me as I stumbled to my feet, my mind racing. What had happened? Where had they taken her? The questions battered at my consciousness, but there were no answers, only the cold, empty reality of the situation.

I staggered to the door, my heart pounding in my chest as I stepped outside. The cool night air hit me like a shock, clearing some of the fog from my mind. But it did little to calm the rising tide of fear and anger that was building within me.

As I stood there, struggling to make sense of what had happened, I heard a distant voice, carried on the wind.

"...the witch...to be executed at dawn…"

The words cut through me like a knife, and I knew, without a doubt, that they were talking about Elaine. The soldiers had taken her, and now they were going to kill her. And I couldn't let that happen.

The anger that had been simmering inside me burst into a full-blown inferno. I had already lost too much—my home, my family, my dreams. I wasn't about to lose Elaine too.

Without another thought, I turned and ran, my feet pounding against the ground as I raced toward the town. My body screamed in protest, still weakened from the fight and the blow to my head, but I ignored it. All that mattered was getting to her before it was too late.

As I ran, the memories that had flooded my mind in those last moments of consciousness continued to swirl within me. The seal that Elaine had placed on me, the power it had held, the reason for it all—it was all coming back to me, piece by piece.

And with it came a new understanding. I wasn't just some victim of circumstance. There was a purpose to all of this, a reason why things had played out the way they had. And now, that purpose was driving me forward, giving me the strength to keep going.

I would save Elaine. I would stop the execution.