The Bravousians

Her POV

My heart was pounding as my mind contemplated flight or fight. There were a few hundred soldiers in front of me so running to the woods was no longer an option. Running back the way I came would be like running into a burning building. My chances of survival, extremely low – and that was if I could get past the men. I looked to the left and right, there weren’t any armies but the men from the woods would get to me before I got out of their range.

Fight. I decided then and there that dying with daggers in my hands was better than being another prisoner. I took a deep breath, moved my head from side to side, and rolled my shoulders stretching out my muscles. This was it, my do or die moment and more than likely I was going to die. Mentally prepared, I took a defensive stance rotating my body to watch the men approaching me from both sides.

As I rotated, my shoulder collided with something hard and my adrenaline spiked. He was closer than I would have expected. All of the men I had seen in the camp were on foot and marching. I should have had more time before they reached me. My instincts kicked in and I knew I needed to react fast. After being attacked from the back, most people would try and turn to face their opponent. This move left your vulnerable points open and spent too much time in motion.

Instead I went low. In my opposite hand, I rotated the dagger so the hilt was forward in my fist and tried to punch him in the groin.

“Woah there, no need to go for the family jewels.” He shot backward palms open at his chest as if he meant no harm. I didn’t give him time to say anything else. I lunged forward daggers swinging, trying to make contact with any piece of flesh.

The man was huffing and puffing trying to dodge and deflect my attacks. I had to admit he was a better fighter than I expected, especially unarmed.

“Lord girl, give me a break. I am obviously not trying to hurt you.” I kept attacking despite his words. I had yet to land a decent hit and my irritation was growing.

“She’s small, feisty, and dead set on killing you Rupert. You may want to consider fighting back before she succeeds.” Another voice from the growing crowd called out.

“5 piece says she stabs him.”

“I’ll take that bet!”

“I’ll raise you 10!”

I stopped my assault for a moment to take in my surroundings. A handful of men had approached but were keeping a respectful distance from our fight. The rest of the two armies had merged and were combining in the distance.

I turned to look at Rupert, the man I had been fighting. He was tall, but not strikingly so with a slim-athletic build. The night was dark with the only light coming from the burning camp. His strong, clean shaven jaw line and straight nose were highlighted by the shadows and orange glow of the night. The colors accented his features as if he was born in firelight. I could tell his light colored hair was fine but thick appearing auburn as if it too were aflame.  

“Come on lass, kick his ass!” One of the men around us sneered bringing me back to the fight at hand.

“Really Sean?” He looked incredulously at the man who had urged me on, “You’re supposed to be my man.”

While he was distracted I bolted forward. He had a moment of surprise before slipping back into the defensive. To my shock he stepped forward leaning into my attack and grabbed my wrist. I quickly changed the grip on my second dagger and went to stab him in the rib cage. He jumped dogging it, but his hold on my wrist remained. He tried to spin us in an attempt to pin my arm behind my back, but I quickened my pace and dropped low trying to kick his feet out from under him.

He jumped away releasing his hold on me but never breaking eye contact. My eyes moved from his lips to his eyes and even in the dark I could see the smirk. He was playing with me, testing me, and he was enjoying the game we were playing.

I smirked back and relaxed my posture. I gave him the sweetest and shyest smile I could muster trying to play as innocent as possible.

“Don’t fall for it, she’s just using her womanly charms against ya.” I assumed one of his supporters was talking now.

Rupert surprised me by relaxing his own frame before laughing.

“Her womanly charms Patrick? She’s practically kicking my ass with daggers and a sweet smile is supposed to be my undoing?” He chuckled moving toward me. “You are a surprise, what is your name?”

I dropped my chin slightly and looked up at him through my lashes, taking a few steps forward. A warm smile filled his face and I almost felt bad when I kicked his feet out from under him and pinned him to the ground. I moved slightly so my knee was holding his arm behind his back and pressing him into the earth. With my now free hand, I held my dagger to the back of his throat and looked around me.

“There’s no need to kill ‘em. Just a little stab will win us the prize darling.” Sean pleaded from the sidelines.

I looked up and noticed that the men were moving closer, some with their hands on their swords.

“What is the plan sweetheart? These men are mine. If you kill me, they will kill you.” He paused dramatically, “I would wager you had a bad experience with the Mortuvains, but we are not like them. Let me up and we will not hurt you.”

Sometime during the battle and banter my devotion to death had died. There was also something about these men that made me feel easier about my situation but I was still hesitant to fully trust them. Hating myself, I pushed my knee into Rupert’s back a little harder eliciting a groan, and then stood up. I dropped my daggers and held my hands in the air. The final sign of surrender.

The men rushed us. Two of them stepped forward and grabbed onto my arms. I noticed that they were only lightly holding me, more of a formality than detainment.

“That was some nice fighting lass,” I recognized the voice as Sean, “and we appreciate you not killing him when you had the chance.”

“Don’t be getting all friendly there, we still can’t trust her. What kind of woman knows how to fight like that?” Patrick kept glancing over his shoulder at me while helping Rupert to his feet.

“Calm down Patrick.” Rupert strode forward locking eyes with me, “If she wanted me dead, she already had her chance.”

He lowered his voice, “I promised we would not hurt you and I will keep my word. Do I have your word, you will not hurt me or my men?”

I straightened my posture and looked around me. The men present during our fight were all watching us but they seemed to be relaxed. I looked back at Rupert and couldn’t help but wonder at the difference between him and Sir Duggar. First, their men were completely different. Sir Duggar’s men had made me uncomfortable instantly. I couldn’t even count the number of them that attacked me, and when they held me, they were rough and groped me. Rupert’s men were barely touching me now, and before, they were trying to joke with me rather than fight.

Sir Duggar’s men seemed to be afraid of him. They avoided him and were quick to do what he said. Rupert’s men openly mocked him but seemed to have an inherent level of respect. Brotherly, that was the vibe I got.

Lastly, where Sir Duggar was slime and misery, Rupert was charming and jolly. I could see him loving mischief and a good laugh. I had met two military leaders tonight and the contrast between them was striking. Lost in my thoughts I stared into Rupert’s eyes tilting my head slightly. I felt like I could trust him so I nodded my head.     

“Good, we are going to head back to our camp now. I will arrange for you to have a horse. Please put this on while you are in our company.” I have no idea where it came from, but he handed me a cloak and winked.

His men released me and I put on the offered cloak. My immediate group started to walk away and I couldn’t do anything but follow. The crowd quickly parted and we were presented with two horses. Both were dark in color but I noticed the one led to me had a white diamond between the eyes. It took all my strength not to reach out and pet it.

Rupert walked to his horse and mounted in one swift motion. I realized he must have been riding when he saw me. The men all turned and looked at me and I realized they were expecting me to mount my second horse. Well this was going to be a problem because I have no idea how to ride a horse. I walked to the side where I knew I needed to put my foot and the man standing there dropped into a weird lunge pose. He held his hand out to me and I tentatively took it. He stared at me and I stared at him, both of us oddly holding hands.

“Miss you need to step up.” The man lunging gestured to his leg and then the horse. I’m sure these men expected me to mount gracefully, elegantly, or even efficiently but I’d say the words awkward, cringey, and stiff better suited my technique. What mattered was that I made it onto the horse and did not fall right back off.

Another man handed me the reigns and I tried very hard to model the cowboys I had seen on TV. I pulled them to the side and kicked my horse (more animatedly than I realized) and waited for the creature to move. Looking around, all the men had started moving away from me but my horse hadn’t budged. I tried kicking harder, but the damn thing remained immobile! Out of desperation, I slammed my heel into the horse’s flank and to my surprise and horror, it took off at a run.