The princess and her knight

ScarletNova

Otaku Mode Activated
Original poster
MYTHICAL MEMBER
Posting Speed
  1. Speed of Light
  2. Multiple posts per day
  3. 1-3 posts per day
  4. One post per day
  5. Multiple posts per week
Online Availability
11:00pm to 2:00am weekdays 11:00pm to 4:00am weekends
Writing Levels
  1. Give-No-Fucks
  2. Beginner
  3. Elementary
  4. Intermediate
  5. Adept
  6. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Female
Genres
Fantasy, magic, adventure, comedy, anime, slice of life, high school, fandom, romance, but I am always open to many others.
Aria wasn't sure what had happened. While traveling to marry a prince she was just about to meet it seemed that her company and her were attacked. Most likely some group of people out to either steal the princess or kill her. There were many cases of that. Fortunately none of the these happened. She was however separated from the group with only one knight still with her.
 
Sleepless, Idacrous lies soundlessly upon his makeshift mattress: his cloak. His hands behind his head, the male's gaze beholds the rays of faint moonlight that filter through the thin material of his tent. This night holds a certain silence that unsettles his gut, disallowing him from the slumber he so greatly desires. A turn of his head redirects his gaze to the sheathed sword lying just within arm's reach and, as if following some train of thought in his mind, his right hand moves to slide across the length of the sheath with endearment. This sword, afterall, has been his most faithful friend through the years.

It is as his fingers are at the midpoint that he snaps his gaze towards his tent flaps and bolts to an upright position. With a trained sense of efficiency, the male slides into his leather boots, buckles on his sheathed blades (a sword on his left hip, a knife on his right), and dons the cloak. Then grabbing his satchel, he completely ignores his armour and steps outside. It is with a focussed gaze that his attention immediately locks upon the princess's tent.

With long strides, the worried knight rushes into the princess's tent. It must be bad as Idacrous doesn't even bother with manners as he whispers a quick "Your majesty. We must leave. Now." There is no commotion in the camp thus far, but male's sensitive nose can smell death and it is coming closer. Aria has just moments to respond before she will be led out of the tent and to an escape route via the back of the camp and into a forest.

As they cross into the woods, the camp starts to explode with the sounds of screams, struggle, clanging metal, and finally fire. Despite this, Idacrous urges Aria onwards. "Don't look back Princess."
 
Before Aria understood what was going on she was being led away from her tent. No matter how many times this happened she could never get used to it. Being a princess it seem almost normal to have to watch her life everyday. It was still a terrifying feeling. Not looking back was one of the hardest things to follow. She hated leaving her people behind to die. She wished they would be alright but that was a dream that in this world would rarely ever come true. It was Sir Idacrous that was leading her away from the camp site, at least he would be okay then. She continued to follow his without any hesitation or question she knew she had to or her life would be in danger. If her life was in danger apparently so would be the future of her country. She just closed her eyes and tried to pretend the horrid sounds couldn't be heard.
 
The forest is cold around them, hostile even. The twigs crunch loudly beneath their feet, eyes seem to watch them from every which direction, the branches from above seem to cut through the night air, threatening to grab the two. Little moonlight filters in through the woods, making the going even more treacherous beneath their feet.

Despite all of this, Idacrous retains a practiced focus on both the princess and their surroundings. He knew that their attackers would likely have no problem slaughtering their way through the camp and would soon find the princess's tent empty. He also knew that their trail wouldn't exactly be the hardest one to follow.

"Keep going," Idacrous urges, pushing her to run as quickly as she can. He strategically places himself behind the royalty so that he would be the first target should their pursuers catch up.

As they continue, something snaps the male's attention to the forest to the right of the princess. Tensing his leg muscles, the knight speeds his run to a sprint to close the gap between himself and his royal charge. Fingers already finding their home upon the hilt of his blade, the knight directs his sword in an arc into what appears to be the thin air beside Aria's shoulder. However, there's a hiss as his blade cuts through a hand that wasn't there a second ago, followed by a scream of agony.

Predicting that the princess may panic and slow her running due to this incident, the male again whispers in an urgent voice, "Keep running. I'll make sure you're safe."
 
Aria gasped, where did that the person come from. It startled her for sure and almost made her loss her footing on one of the roots peeking out of the ground. She stumbled a bit but kept going as she was told. It was the only thing she could do. The best thing to do in these types of situations were to follow and listen to her knights. They knew what to do and how to protect them. She trusted them out of all the people she knew. Sometimes even more than her own family. Yes, there could always be cases were there was a imposter posing as a knight but Idacrous was a real knight; one she could trust. It was hard to run through this woods however, easily tiring her out. "Please tell me Sir Idacrous when we will be safe. I need to rest."
 
Idacrous could tell that the princess was getting tired and he really doesn't blame her. It's been a long day of travel and it's not like Aria got much sleep before the attack hit. Couple that with the fact that she doesn't spend all day training for endurance like he does gives the knight a very keen awareness to the fact that they need to find shelter soon.

Still sensing other attackers approaching quickly, the male scans the vicinity before spotting the smallest of crevices along a rock wall. Reaching out with his free left hand, the knight tries to turn her run to the left. "Over there, there's a small crack in the rock wall. Looks like there could be a cave. Run for it and squish in. I'll take care of the rest." A pause. "Be careful."

Assuming she understands, the knight continues his run behind her, stopping only when he's a couple feet from the cave opening. Grounding his booted feet, the male pivots around to face the vast forest. His eyes narrow as he hones his senses towards those hidden in the darkness.
 
Aria notices the cave in the rocks. With the help of Idacrous she was able to move towards the opening of the cave. She ran into the cave and hid as far as she could. It was dark and eerie but it was the best place she could be. She couldn't run anymore and her fear of the attackers made it hard to think. She watched the knight, wanting to shout of for him to be careful as well but that would just give her hiding spot away. She would then end up making the situation worse. He would probably be able to fight the people better without in the way.

She held her body tightly, trying to forget about the cold and dampness of the cave. She shivered a bit, curling up to give herself more warmth. She was startled by a few bugs, something she in all honestly wasn't really used to. Living in a castle with servants and other types of 'employees' she usually didn't have to deal or at least for very long these types of conditions. She was stronger than people thought though so she held on quietly waiting and hoping that her and Idacrous would make it out of this alive and preferably unharmed.
 
As Aria disappears into what he hopes is safety, the male manages to lock his gaze on the remaining foe emerging from the shadows of the forest...a female with a blade of her own. Her strides are long and there's an eerie sense of confidence about her.

Idacrous braces himself as the female rushes towards him at an incredible speed. He arcs his sword up and into his opponent's with a resounding metallic clang that sends fierce vibrations up both of their arms. His left hand simultaneously reaches for his knife, which is then engaged in a swipe for the enemy's abdomen. However, the female that he is battling has quite a bit of skill of her own as she narrowly spins away from the slash.

The death dance that follows has both warriors dancing through the shadows of the trees before Idacrous's knife finally makes contact with the other's leg. The deep gash draws plenty of blood, as well as evokes a blood-curdling scream from the attacker. In a flash, she flees into the darkness, leaving the Knight the ability to return to Aria.

"We're safe for now," is spoken as he enteres the cave. A pause. "You're cold," he then notices. Giving the other plenty of room, he hands her his cloak before leaving once more. He returns shortly with firewood and starts a small fire. It is under the light of the flames that Aria will be able to see that Idacrous did not emerge from the battle unscathed. Satchel placed on the ground, the male is then removing his shirt to tend to the slash that he received on his left side.
 
She closed her eyes as she heard the scream. It was a woman's, at least that meant it wasn't her knight. She opened her eyes slowly when she heard someone coming towards her. She made a sigh of relief when she saw it was Idacrous. She took his cloak gratefully with a smile and wrapped it around her body. She waited for him to come back with the firewood. She noticed his scratches. "You are injured." She said to him. "Please let me help you." She took his left arm softly and examined the wound.
 
Idacrous frowns as the other's hand moves to touch upon his arm. As if by instinct, he moves his arm away from the princess, the movement only causing him to wince further at the wound suffered upon his left abdomen.

"Princess, you should sleep."

His gaze lifts to the royalty's eyes, only to drop again as he rummages through his bag for a flask and a bandage. As if afraid to offend the female, he offers, "I've dealt with worse. It will be an early morning tomorrow and you'll need the energy."
 
Aria was a little saddened by her knights reaction. She wanted to help him but she couldn't force him to make her help him. She turned away a bit. "I suppose." She said to his comments and rested her body onto the caves ground. It wasn't very comfortable but she was definitely tired enough to fall asleep there away. She curled up with his cloak, wrapping it around the body. "Thank you for saving me." She said as she closed her eyes.
 
Idacrous wasn't one for much words, much less to one of royal stature. As the princess speaks, his gaze turns towards the other momentarily before he offers, "It's my duty. And you're welcome."

The knight's gaze lingers for a moment before he removes his shirt and returns to tending his wound. The flask he procures appears to contain some sort of alcohol and after he cleanses his wound with it, the male wraps up the injury with the bandage. For decency's sake, he does this as quickly as possible before he dons the white shirt once more.

As the embers of the fire die down, the male accustoms his gaze to the darkness once more. He stays up for as long as he can before he slowly drifts to slumber with one hand ever on the sheath of his blade.

---

Birds chirp outside, heralding the coming of the morning. Should Aria wake, she will find that the knight is nowhere to be seen, though his satchel is still in the cave.
 
Aria stirred. Her eyes began to twitch slightly, then slowly opening them. She lifted her body up and moved her head around looking for her knight. She was in shock to see only his satchel in his place. "Sir Idacrous?" She said out loud as she stood to her feet and made her way to the sunny outside. She could hear the birds chirping, it had a sort of calming feeling to Aria yet she still wondered where Idacrous went. He would surely return though, right. She noticed a flower near the edge of a tree and went over to it. She pulled it out of the ground and brought it up to her face, to smell it's beautiful scent.
 
A crackle of twigs is heard from a distance as someone clearly approaches the area. In time, it is Idacrous that appears with a smaller satchel slung across his shoulder and a rolled-up parchment in his hand. The expression on his face is grim, though he tries to muster a smile for the sake of the princess as he beholds her. Alas, he fails and instead returns to his sombre expression.

Stopping just short of the girl, he places the satchel on the floor before withdrawing a sandwich, as well as a drinking flask of water. "I'm sorry it is not much, but I couldn't salvage much from the camp. We'll need to eat sparingly until we can reach a village." He offers both food items to Aria while matching her gaze for a brief moment. There is a certain sadness there, which is confirmed as he speaks, "There's nothing left there. We'll have to move on ourselves."

Supposing that the other takes her meal, he'll then rummage through the new satchel to withdraw an ornate knife. Aria may recognize it as belonging to the leader of the escorting party, and also the Knight that trained Idacrous himself.
 
Aria noticed Idacrous's expression, a sadness to him it seemed. It was understandable, she was sure that he must have known some of the people killed just the other night. In honesty she didn't know her knights very well, she never got the chance yet still still felt for them. It was hard to see some of them come and go, usually meaning they had died. She let the flower drop out of her hand as she thought about this. She took the food that he gave her. "Please take some of it." She said trying to sound more cheery for him. She pulled the sandwich apart, splitting it in half. She raised her hand out to give it to him. "And do not say no. I will make it an order if you refuse." She tried to say it a little jokingly. He seemed like he needed something to cheer him up, especially when she saw the knife.
 
Idacrous appeared ready to refuse the food, even parting his lips in what was going to be "No." However, upon Aria's insistence and threat to make it a command, he reluctantly accepts the offered food. "Thank you."

The male finishes the sandwich in a couple bites before he heads back to the cave for his satchel. "The satchel I brought back is for you. It's small and light, so it should be no problem. There's probably enough food for another day or so in there."

His voice trails off momentarily before he's seen re-emerging with his own satchel slung over his shoulder, and his cloak assuming that Aria left that in the cave. Also in his hand is his knife, which he hands to the princess. It would appear that he has already replaced his knife with the ornate one he brought back from the camp. "Here. Use this in case we get into trouble and you absolutely need to. It's laced with poison, so try not to cut yourself with it."
 
Aria was glad he had taken the other half of her sandwich. She ate her's gratefully. She took the satchel and pulled it over her shoulder. "Thank you." She said again as he went back into the cave. After he cam out she stared at the knife for a moment. She slowly took it but she thought to herself that she would never be able to use it. She didn't feel that she would be able to even harm anyone. She hid it away and gave him another smile. "I will be sure to be careful with it." She looked around the area again. "Which way are we going?"
 
Idacrous eyes Aria momentarily, playing the options through his mind before he finally speaks. "We'll continue northwards through the forest where we'll eventually hit a road. We'll follow that to Hollow's End. If we make good time, we should make it by sundown and we can spend the night there." The male had opted not to take the route that would pass them by the camp again as he had just been there and witnessed the unimaginable carnage.

"Before we leave though..." The knight's eyes settle upon the female's attire. "I'm sure you know that Hollow's End is not exactly the highest regarded village in the kingdom. There will be plenty of thieves, mercenaries, and other criminals. I'd recommend that you take off your expensive jewelry. You can store them in your satchel." A pause. "There's nothing we can do about your current clothes, but when we get to the village, I'll arrange for you to dress down a bit. It will attract less attention. Apologies, your highness, if this discomforts you, but it is for your safety."
 
"It is alright. I understand. I don't need all this fancy clothing anyway." She replied to him as she began to unclasp her jewelery. Once she had taken them off she put them in the satchel as Idacrous said for her to do. "To be honest, some of it can get tiring." She gave him a smile. Then told him she was ready to continue their trip.
 
Idacrous watches the female remove the fancy jewelry with a thoughtful expression. Even after she has unadorned himself, he takes a moment to just regard the female, taking into account her words as well. Not that he had ever known the princess very well, but the ease at which she was willing to part from the items that give her status surprises him. "Let me know if your satchel gets too heavy. I can help you carry it. If you're cold, I can give you my cloak again as well."

That spoken, the male pivots about his right foot and takes a quick glance about the forest. "This way." His booted feet then start their northeastern trek with steps that crunch through the autumn flooring or the forest. With the sunlight streaming through the treetops, the going isn't nearly as treacherous as the previous night. However, the knight maintains the princess's pace so that he can walk beside her, yet still at a gait where she could feel that she's following him. With all the courtesy of a knight escorting a royal highness, Idacrous dutifully points out possible dangers as they near. "Watch out for that loose rock, Princess." "Careful of that tree root."

Aria will find that unless she initiates conversation, the knight keeps his comments only to topics that concern her personal well-being. When not talking, the male appears absorbed within his own thoughts, while still remaining diligent to their surroundings. Every so often, a strange noise will garner his attention, only to be ignored as it turns out to be a forest critter.