Fighting and Escape? (Anna POV)

There were about thirteen soldiers and two mounted horses. They yell as they charge me and I slide into a fighting stance Vea had taught me. I sidestep two blades and drive my sword into the chest of the third soldier that was behind them to the left. I pull a dagger from my belt as I turn my back to the third soldier and drive it into the throat of one of the soldiers surrounding me. I adjust my grip on my sword and pull it from the chest before flipping over the soldiers’ heads, landing outside of the circle, after kicking two more in the head. I throw my dagger at the mounted soldier, pulling another as I drag my sword across another throat.

‘Five down, keep going’ I think to myself as I throw the dagger in my hand into the air. I send a spell to it to guide it around the circle that formed around me again. I see it slit three more throats as a parry a blade headed for my head. I dodge again and again barely feeling the blade's scratch my arms and legs as I fight. I feel the spell on the dagger snag and fail as I drive my sword into another chest. I pull it out and draw a dagger from my boot. Just as I am about to throw it, I hear a yell from behind and parry yet another blade headed for my head.

I snarl as I gather magic into my chest and push it out blasting everyone around me off their feet. I pull my last dagger from my other boot before pulling all of my daggers back to my person. They spiral around me as the last six, that still surround me, jumped back with wide eyes. I send the daggers spinning in the air to the throats of four of them as I jump forward cutting the throat of the fifth soldier. The last soldier watched as I turned towards him. He was still on his horse with a spear in his hand. There was carnage around me as I summon the daggers back into place on my person.

“Tell me, why are you after us?” I ask as I slowly walk toward his horse, I was still out of reach for his spear but close enough to see that he was the same age as me.

“King's orders,” he says in a gravelly voice.

“Ah, so you follow blindly, not asking any questions?” I ask my face forming a smirk. “It is that of my family dies,” he says swinging off of his horse.

“You could join me. Save yourself, make them think you died,” I say as I place my last dagger away, along with my short sword.

“And then what. Be killed by your king or serve in his army, betraying the men that brought me up,” he said rolling his eyes at me. I smile at him raising my hands in a calming gesture.

“No, my King and I have an arrangement. Yes, I work as a slave in his kitchen and my sister is his wife’s companion, but I have the right and power to protect those I come to care for. They are allowed to work or not work under him. They just have to swear to be neutral in the conflict and not spill secrets or spy on the king or his family,” I say walking within his range, should he still wish to attack me. His posture does not change but I can tell he is thinking about my offer.

He looks over the carnage behind and around us, then over my form. I know I look intimidating with blood and grim clinging to my form. His eyes reach my face once more and I give him a kind smile.

“I would like to think about it; however, I do not know how to proceed from here. If I go with you but decide to go back to Draggerfall, I will be interrogated. If I decide to stay, what will prevent me from being interrogated here?” he questioned lowering his spear and placing it next to him the point to the sky.

“Magic,” I say with a grin, “I will place a charm on your person that will prevent any information to be given. Be it magical or mundane information gathering techniques.” He looks confused for a moment before nodding his head.

“Alright, I will go with you for now, until I decide,” he says dropping his spear to the ground.

“That is good to hear,” I say with a smile as I approach him with my hand out to shake his. He takes my hand and I gently push magic through his arm until he feels it in his chest. As he gasps at the feeling I bind him with a temporary spell to prevent him from spilling secrets.

“Once you decide this spell will be permeant, but for now no one will know what you keep,” I say.

“What is your name?” he asks.

“Anna,” I state as I slow the flow of magic.

“Carter Canamore,” he says still holding my hand even when the flow of magic had stopped. I smile at him before letting go. I hear carriage wheels and hoof beats coming closer even if they were still a way off.

“Come, we must get to safety before anything else happens,” I say walking past him. “You should lose some of your armor and the crest before we move though,” I say walking to his horse and ripping off the crests I find there.

“Yes, I should,” Carter says before taking a dagger from his belt and cutting the leather straps holding his chest plate together. I watch as the chain mail armor underneath is exposed and he cuts the crest from his undershirt. I take it and the crests I find from the horse into my hands and send a fire spell up my arms to burn them. I swing myself into the saddle and turn the horse to the mountain.

“Come,” I say over my shoulder to Carter. I wait until he got on the horse behind me before I surge the horse forward. When we get to the entrance, I dismount from the horse and place my hands on the stone wall running my magic through once more. I enchant the entrance to prevent anyone other than the queen and my sister to pass through.

“I hope the queen paid attention to my sister’s words about the path,” I say in a small quiet voice. Carter looks at me with a curious look.

“Did you say something Anna?” he asked guiding the horse to me.

“Nothing important,” I say as I grab the horse by the bridle and guide it into the dark tunnels. I take a left and then the second right before entering a towering cavern. At the end of the carven, I see the caravan had made camp. The fighters of the group were on guard as some of the younger men and women were looking for herbs in the meadow at the edge of the lake.

“This is beautiful,” Carter says to me still on the horse. I smile back at him still guiding the horse towards the caravan. I admire the cavern around us.

‘I can’t believe it has been so long since we last came Vea,’ I think to myself looking around.

The ceiling was covered in glowing stones that looked like stars, lighting the cavern enough to not use torches. There were cracks and missing pieces in the ceiling spilling in the moonlight. The lake was clear even from this distance and had fish swimming in between the glowing plant life in the water. The meadow surrounding the lake had tall grass about to my waist now, and if I listened closely, I could hear some animals scurrying away from the caravan. Where the caravan had set up camp was a few hundred yards from the only other entrance in the cavern. The opening would lead to thousands of tunnels, you could get lost very easily if you were not careful or knowledgeable. I smile at the sight and am relieved to see that they had listened to me, despite being scared of me.

“Anna, you are ok. We were worried,” Louise says standing by one of the fires in the middle of the caravan. I let go of the bridle and run towards Louise, grabbing her into a hug. She hugs me back for a moment before pushing me back to assess the damage.

“It is just a few scratches, Louise, I am alright,” I say with a smile. I hear Carter dismount from his horse behind me and walk them to the water to rest.

“Louise, that is Carter. He helped me with the soldiers,” I say in a low voice. Louise nodded her head accepting the lie before taking me by the hand over to a partly covered part of the lake.

“You can wash here. I will be back with some clothes,” Louise says before leaving me alone. I look out onto the water as I start to undress. The water is surrounded by taller grass and willow trees. I can see a slight slope under the water before a drop, going into the deeper part of the lake. I also see a few fish weaving their way through the glowing plants outlining the drop.

‘So, I’ll see the drop before I cross it, that is good,’ I think slipping my belt and boots off. I hear Louise behind me and turn to her with a smile.

“We only have men’s clothing, but I don’t think you will mind much,” she says with a smirk. I laugh before giving her a hug, grabbing the clothing from her.

“Thank you, Louise,” I say stepping back and placing the clothing next to my boots and belt. “I will leave you to it. I will also keep Carter from peeking on you,” she says with a wink as she left. I feel a blush go down my face up my neck at what she said.

‘I would not mind’ I think to myself as I feel my face flush. I hear Louise laugh as she turns her head and looks at me seeming to read my mind. Her laughter echoes around my head as I lift my dress and underdress off, leaving me naked. I walk slowly to the water to bathe. I step into the water until the water was up to my waist and start to rinse off the blood and grime from fighting.

My thoughts drift to Carter and his form. Carter was tall with a medium-length broad torso with muscular arms and legs. His skin was a darker tan, he had an oval face with a sharp jawline and cheekbones. Carter had thick well-groomed eyebrows framing ice blue eyes. His hair was a dirty blonde that was short, but the dirt might have dulled the color of his hair. The armor he wore was a white undershirt and leather breeches with chain mail on top. His boots were just high enough to cover his knees and he wore knee and thigh guards made of leather.

As I crouch down to dip my hair in the water, my thoughts were interrupted by a noise behind me. I turn my head and see Carter with a blush on his face staring at me.

“It’s not very polite to stare at a lady while she bathes Carter,” I say my blush full force on my face, not that he could see since I was turned away from him. Carter’s blush intensified before turning his back to me.

“I-I apologize, Anna,” he stammers, “I asked where you w-were and Louise said y-you were h-here.” I let out a laugh because of course Louise would send him here.

“What did you need Carter?” I ask as my laughter dies down. I dip my head rinsing my hair as he collects his thoughts.

“I was wondering where we would be headed after some rest,” Carter states, finally composed. I hum and stand from my crouched position.

“I am coming out. You can stay but you are in front of my clothing,” I say with a grin. He jumps and moves to the willow tree a few feet away without looking at me. I start to walk out of the water, looking at Carter’s back. I get to my clothing before grabbing my underdress to dry my body. I finish drying my body and start to dress. Once dressed in the pants and shirt, I wrap my hair in the cloth Louise had given me. I put my boots and belt on before reassessing my weapons. I clear my throat a few feet behind Carter to get his attention. Carter jumps once more before facing me with a blush on his face.

I stare at his face with a smile before turning to collect my old clothes and start walking back to the caravan. I see Lousie look at me before laughing at Carter’s face behind me. I sigh and walk to her. Louise takes my old clothing and puts them next to the fire. I sit on the log with Carter to my left and Louise to my right. The smell of food wafts all around us as I look over the caravan. When all the food was distributed, I stand up to speak. I send a voice amplifying spell to my throat so everyone could hear me. I clear my throat before speaking.

“I know a lot of you are scared of magic and those that are of different races. I also know you trust Veatrice with your life. My sister has protected most of you, taught you, trained with you, and feed you. She and I care about you and your safety. No matter what you think of us, we will protect you to our dying breath. We are loyal to King Gegory and to this country. Most of us have grown up together. Some of you even raised my sister and i. we are not any different from who you know us to be. Yes, we have magic. Yes, we are a different race from you. However, that does not change the fact that we care about you and this country,” I pause to let that sink in. I hear silence before continuing.

“Where we will be going is a place full of magic. A place that is full of different races and creatures beyond your imagination. Yes, it has dangers. However, I will protect you. King Gegory has an alliance with the leader of the Enchanted Forest. We will be headed for the castle and will be staying there until Queen Izabella and Veatrice arrive. After they arrive, we will move to Serrileone with an army, meet with King Gegory, and plan to move on Draggerfall. We will take back our homeland, you have my word,” I take a drink of water to help my dry throat.

“If you can not or have no desire to fight, you will not be forced to. You can stay in the Enchanted Forest until we come back. Those of you that wish to fight, will be trained, guided, and help us fight for our homeland. The training will be harder and faster, but make no mistake, if you decide to stop your choice will be respected,” I pause once more to let the information settle. I look out onto the many faces of the caravan, seeing their faces processing. A few of them already making their decisions with scared or determined looks on their faces. I smile at the crowd before speaking again.

“Please think about it, you have time. I will ask again once we reach the castle. No matter what you decide I will respect and protect your opinions and decisions,” I say before canceling the spell on my throat, and sitting down to eat. The noise around me rises but not in a panic, it rises in a true discussion about the information I had just given. Carter handed me my food and a refilled drink, giving me a small reassuring smile. He digs into his own food as I stare at him with a smile of my own on my face. Louise tries to be quiet but her giggles reach my ears. I look over to her, knowing that look on her face before starting on my own plate.

‘Damn you Lousie, putting thoughts in my head,’ I think to myself stuffing my face with the bread, herbs, and dried meat on my plate. After I finish my plate, drink, and conversation with Louise, I stand and walk to where the others placed their dishes to be washed. I place my dishes down and look for a place to rest. I spot a place near the water under one of the trees, with a good vantage point. I start to walk over as I hear Carter talk to Louise about a blanket and going to check on his horse. I look up at the tree as I reach the trunk. I start to climb, carefully testing the branches before putting my weight on them. I find a big enough branch that could hold my weight no problem, maybe another person also, before sitting on it. I look out across the caravan and meadow. I see many members crowded together for warmth by the many fires. The men that were on watch were brought food and company that would stay with them until the next shift change. I sigh as I relax into the trunk behind, closing my eyes for a moment.

“Is it safe to sleep up there Anna?” I hear a voice ask from below me. I open my eyes, look down and see Carter at the base of the tree. I had climbed halfway up into the tree without realizing it.

“It is perfectly safe and it gives me a view,” I say with a smile. Carter looks at me before returning my smile with one of his own, settling at the base of the tree and wrapping a blanket around himself.

“May you have sweet dreams, Anna,” Carter says to me looking up at the tree.

“You also Carter,” I say before turning my gaze to the ceiling of the cavern. It takes a few minutes for the noise around me to die down. However, it was the first light of dawn filtering down from the cracks in the ceiling for me to nod off.

“I hope you are safe Veatrice,” I say softly before falling asleep in the willow tree.