Poisoned - 1

Loreille crawled to the tree, resting her head against the tree trunk, she watched the fight between the man and the guards.

When she saw the man fighting, Loreille thought that he was foolish to fight off those guards alone because he was outnumbered but now he had singlehandedly killed off more than half of the guards she was baffled without words. 

As the man charged forwards on his horse, sword clashing with the guards, he didn't notice when a stealthy guard struck from the side, slashing the horse's legs with a deadly blow and punctured it heavenly on its stomach.

 The horse let out a blood-curdling whinny, a high-pitched "NEEEEEEIGH!" as it buckled and collapsed,the legs crumbled beneath it.

He was thrown off balance, but he quickly leapt off the horse's back, avoiding a nasty fall. He landed with a soft thud, his black clothing and gear absorbing the impact, and swiftly regained his footing, drawing his sword again to finish what he had started.

Loreille gasped when she saw the horse collapsing and instantly blamed herself for it. If she hadn't run away then the guards wouldn't have chased her and killed the horse. But even as regret curled around her, another thought burned just as fiercely —If she hadn't fled, then she would have been shipped off to a gloat of a king who wanted to take her as one of his concubines.

Lost in the depths of her thoughts, she was oblivious to the danger lurking behind her. A guard crept up stealthily, his sword raised against her neck, ready to strike at anytime. With a sudden tight grip, he sized her arm, jerking her upright from the floor. 

Fear slammed into her like a physical blow, stealing her breath away. Her heart racing, her palms turned sweaty, her temple broke out in sweat as her mind went blank.

'Was she really destined to die today? After nearly escaping death, she had thought the heavens must have given her another chance but it seemed she was wrong because her life now hung on a single slash of the guard's sword pressed closely to her neck that if she so much as breathes, it would cause a cut. 

Again, for the umpteened time, her eyes were turning misty, tears strolling down her cheeks in volumes.

"Hey!!" The sudden angry voice of the guard made her jerk,

"Stop right now, unless you want this girl to die!" He screamed at the man who was almost done killing his fellow guards - just two remained. 

The man's face was painted in blood, his sword dripping with the warm blood of the dead guards. He stopped amidst his actions looking up to see the girl's life hanging by the guards sword. For a fleeting moment, something flickered across his face—annoyance?

Then, without hesitation, he finished off the two guards. His movements were precise, merciless. One guard's body crumpled to the ground, then another. The only sound was the rustling of leaves and the quiet, uneven breathing of the guard who now held Loreille hostage.

The man took slow, deliberate steps toward them, his gaze burning—not with panic, but with something colder, more dangerous. A deadly promise.

Stopping meters away from them, he threw his sword away which instantly lit up the guards face but horror was replaced when he brought out an arrow from his quiver and aimed straight at them.

"W-what are you doing?" The man stammered, panic settling in, "you're going to kill her!" He made Loreille whose lips were still quivering and cheeks stained with her freshly brought tears from her eyes to stand in front of him, using her body as his shield.

Loreille stared into the hollow eyes of the man which looked like a burning molten of fire, but he didn't spare her a glance.

With a stretch of the arrow attached to the bow, he released the arrow at them. Loreille closed her eyes quickly, waiting for the sudden pain in her chest but she felt a gush of air whip past her hair and soon a crying and a loud thud followed by the guard's pained grunt. Loreille's eyes snapped open to see the guard stumbling backward, the arrow lodged in his shoulder.

Only then did she release her breath, coughing and inhaling fastly. She placed one of her hands on her knees whilst hitting her chest with the other one. 

She raised her head looking at the bloodied dead bodies smearing the ground. She didn't know the exact number of guards but she guessed they were more or around fifty.

She looked at the man who had saved her life, glaring angrily at her. His cold eyes made her remember his promise to kill her onsight upon their next encounter. She quickly turned on her heels in an attempt to flee before he killed her when the raging tone of his voice halted her in her actions.

"Why did these men wish to capture you?"

She turned, her eyes wide with fear. 'He's going to kill me! He's going to kill me!!' her mind racing. 'God help me!'

"I'm a runaway maid from the palace. I didn't want to be killed, I have a family to feed sir," she lied, wiping away her tears which weren't so hard to form because she had been crying.

"I- I'm the only daughter of my parents and sister to my younger brother. I'm being chased because I ran away from the cruelty of the Palace." She increased her fake tears praying that it will stop him from killing her but when he let out a taunting chuckle it sent a spark of irritation through her. She wiped her tear-streaked face, glaring up at him. Was he mocking her? After everything? 

Her chest heaved, her skin damp with sweat and lingering fear. She ignored the warning in her head telling her not to be so sharp mouthed with this stranger that promised to end her life but she could feel the rage within her burning fiercely than her fear. 

"What's so funny?" she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. Her voice wavered slightly, betraying the remnants of her fear, but she tilted her chin up in defiance.

"Do you know your way around this part of the forest?" 

"Why do you ask? Do you wish to kill me and bury me alongside these men?" She raised her chin, trying to show superiority.

"Maybe I do. I did promise to take your life upon our next encounter right? Why don't I do so now. It would save me a lot of stress from these guards. At least when they see your body they will turn back to report to their king without having to search the forest. I would be free from them."

Loreille picked up three words from all that he had said 'free from them,' and with her curious mind, she wondered whether the guards were also looking for him.

Now, looking at him keenly, she noticed that his features were different from the men she had seen in this kingdom - though she hadn't seen many but she had seen enough to distinguish between the people who were from her kingdom and the people who were not from her kingdom- and one of the feature of the people of Valentine was that they all had black hair but this man standing in front of her had grey coloured hair that looked extraterrestrial. 

'Is he a fugitive from another kingdom or is he a prisoner.' Loreille opted for the latter because he had said 'free from them' which she knew were the guards.

The man watched as Loreille was watching him keenly, she no longer dissipated the aura of fear and with the way she obliviously placed her hand under her chin, the man suspected she was scrutinizing him. 

"Be careful with your eyes. I might just pull them out and feed them to hungry vultures. I heard they have a thing for human flesh especially their eyes."

Loreille who was lost in her curiosity, blinked away from the man. She turned on her heels, walking away from the man only for her ears to hear the sound of a loud thud being her. 

Loreille was confused about the sound but because of the scary man behind her, she dared not to take a look behind her. She took a few steps before an eerie silence settled around her.

 The rustling of leaves, the distant chirping of birds—everything felt too still. A strange feeling gnawed at her gut. Slowly, she turned, her eyes scanning the bloodstained ground until they landed on him. He lay there, motionless, his dark clothing blending into the dirt. Her breath hitched.

Without thinking, she rushed towards the man and neared one of her fingers towards his nose to know whether his was still breathing.

His warm breath that fanned on her finger sent a warm electrifying sensation that made her jerk away from the man.

"Wait! Hold on a second! It shouldn't be my business whether he lives or dies adding to the fact that he would kill me. What if I save him now and the next time he opens his eyes seeing me around, he kills me without hesitation? It's best if I flee far away before more guards come for me." She muttered to herself. 

She stood up to her feet and began walking, locking away the weird thoughts in her head telling her to go back to him.

Loreille took another step forward, then stopped. Her fingers clenching and unclenching at her sides. The further she walked, the heavier her feet felt, like invisible chains were pulling her back. She gritted her teeth. Why was this bothering her? With a frustrated groan, she spun around and stomped towards him, her heart hammering with irritation she didn't quite understand.

She bent down trying to lift him from the floor but his weight pulled her back down. "What the hell!" 

She cursed when she couldn't lift him and she wondered how she was going to deal with him. 

After much thought, she looked towards the horse ,'Only if you weren't dead,' she muttered. 

"Yes!" She jumped moving towards the horse and took out the reins. 

She walked towards the man, tying it round his wrist while holding the other end.

"Yes, this is perfect!" She muttered, proud of her improvisation. Using all her strength, she dragged him across the ground.

Tightening her grip on the reins, her muscles burned from the effort. Every scrape of his body against the dirt made her wince. She threw a quick glance at his face—still unconscious. Good. If he woke up and saw this… she shuddered at the thought. The last thing she needed was to be on the receiving end of his fury. She kept her head down, muttering under her breath, "Just stay asleep, will you?"