The Woman

His POV

I am a seasoned warrior. I am trained for this. I am the best there is.

I always have to repeat this mantra before battle. It keeps my head focused and my fears at bay. I can never let my men know that battle makes me nervous. I may be the best fighter in the kingdom, but I know death doesn’t care.

We were originally planning on waiting a few more days to take the camp, but our scouts said there was a pretty good commotion this morning. They weren’t able to identify the person, but it was said Sir Duggar captured a prisoner of high regard. Whoever it was, they had managed to wound at least 10 soldiers before being captured. A few of the men were even claiming it was a powerful witch who stunned with her beauty before savagely attacking. The witch rumor had died pretty quickly. If Sir Duggar thought he had a witch on his hands, he would have set her on fire by now.

Sir Duggar’s prisoner had me infuriated. My men had a perimeter set up 10 kilometers around Sir Duggar’s base and we should have known about any stranger this close to the camp. My men should have apprehended them and we would have been able to determine their motives for traveling alone in this area. Everyone knew it was a warzone. The men on duty last night were already being punished for their negligence. They had one job and they failed to do it.

“I have word that dinner has begun in the camp,” my second informed me, breaking me from my thoughts.

“Do we know who the prisoner is yet?”

A hesitation… “No, Sir.”

I glanced over at my second and he seemed nervous. Not about the battle brewing, but about whoever might be our mystery man.

“What do you know O’Brien?” Usually, he was direct, informative, and his behavior had me uneasy. O’Brien was a good soldier and a good friend. If something was bothering him, it would likely bother me too.

“Well…” another hesitation, “we are getting more and more reports that it’s a woman.”

“You are trying to tell me that a woman fought off Sir Duggar’s men and made a ruckus of his camp?” I scoffed at the idea.

“That’s what the scouts are saying.”

“Well, if they are telling the truth, taking this camp will be a lot easier than we expected.” I chuckled trying to ease the tension that had grown between us.

O’Brien clenched his jaw and shook his head at me. “I’ve got a bad feeling that whoever Sir Duggar has is dangerous.”

***

My men were lined up and ready to go. Three of us would take out the guards at the entrance quickly and quietly. We would then move inward, taking out anyone we came across. Our goal was to kill Sir Duggar and burn this camp to the ground.

After we cleared the entrance, the next group of twenty would enter. They would kill anyone coming out of their tents due to the commotion and clear our backside. Once they made it past the first tent, the last fifty of my attacking branch would enter and kill anyone and everyone.

I nodded at my companions. We were ready. We pulled our cloaks over our faces and made our way out of the woods.

“Stop! Who ye be?” The guards were shifting and scared. Good. If they were scared they were untrained.

They raised their swords, but didn’t yell again. They should have already sent up the warning signal, but didn’t. We made sure their deaths were quick, the poor lads were swinging their swords with both hands and clearly had no idea what they were doing. I paused for a moment mourning the loss of two more farm boys made into pretend soldiers.

This would be the first camp we burned to the ground, and hopefully the last. The Mortuvain rulers wanted land and wealth. When the new king was crowned he set out to conquer. He took the army his father had created and started attacking on all his boarders. As soon as he would claim one territory, he would move to the next. His once great army was not stretched thin and their numbers had drastically fallen. To fill their ranks, they have been gathering all males over the age of sixteen and forcing them to into the military. The men and boys they captured were usually farmers or shepherds and had never held a sword before being thrust into the fighting.

This battle was far from fair. My men were moving through the camp like machines. They knew their mission and they were trained to complete it. All of my men were thoroughly trained before entering battle. We had one of the smallest militaries compared to our territory, but one of our men were worth five of any other’s.

We found Sir Duggar fighting close to his tent. My men had already taken care of his personal lackey but he was holding his own. Sir Duggar was one of the few remaining knights from the previous king’s army. He had never been a favorite until recently. The new king wanted land and money, and Sir Duggar was willing to give it to him if his extra-curricular activities were overlooked.

Sir Duggar was a sick fuck. He liked to play with his victims before he killed them. This mission was because of him. We were returning to our base when we passed through the small village of Prairie Valley. We had found the bodies of six children mutilated so horrifically, that we couldn’t tell if they were male or female. Several women, who we believe were their mothers, we lined up and chained to a wall across from them.

I hated Sir Duggar with every fiber of my body. I wanted to torture him every minute of every day for the next decade and it still would not be enough. A quick execution was far too merciful for what this man deserved, but I knew I had to kill him. There was always a chance that an alive man could escape and I could never allow that to happen.

My man disarmed Sir Duggar as I approached. O’Brien and the other grabbed him by his arms and forced him to his knees.

“Any last words?” My stomach churned at the simple mercy.

“I already fucked her.” Sir Duggar threw his head back and laughed like a mad man. My men holding him looked sideways at each other and then at me, clearly disturbed by his behavior.

I paused for a moment, debating if he was baiting me, simply trying to buy more time for someone, anyone to come to his aid. I knew I should ask more questions but his laughing continued. He wouldn’t give us any more information, only more riddles.

I swung my sword and decapitated him in one swift move, his neck cutting like butter. No moment in my life had ever been so satisfying. As his head fell to the ground, I saw movement. At first I thought it was one of Sir Duggar’s men, but they were too small, too delicate. I ordered my men to start burning while I watched, my eyes scanning the shadows looking for her. I noticed her again a few tents away. She was making quick progress toward the exit and I couldn’t help but follow.

I tried to stay hidden as we moved together. Knowing her destination I would move in front of her or to the side. She seemed to be oblivious to my presence. As I watched, I noticed she never attacked, only defended, and she was damn good at it. I saw one of the straggling Mortuvains charge her, she spun, stabbed, and easily ended his life. The way she moved was like a dance. Her feet were light on the ground, her stance low and on guard. Arms in only making small movements when necessary. Every use of her energy was calculated.

I had never seen anyone so beautiful.  

One of my men saw her but she managed to escape him. I caught his attention and told him to disengage. She still hadn’t noticed me, but I started to distract my men from her as she moved. I could not explain it, but I knew I needed to help her. I needed to see her reach her goal.

I watched her pause behind the last tent before the exit. I could see her debating how to get passed my men and she glanced back. I knew the fires had already started and this would be her only chance.

“Guards to me! Help burn these tents.” My men instantly obeyed and she ran. My heart leapt for her. For her joy, for her freedom, and because I would never get to know who she was.

But then she stopped. I saw the lines of my men hiding in the woods march out and I knew she wouldn’t be able to escape.