It was meant to be simple,” muttered Garrick, the grizzled sergeant-at-arms riding beside Roderick, his tone deliberate yet edged with a knowing irony. “A diplomatic escort—nothing more than a routine mission to keep the peace between two uneasy realms. But it would seem the fates have little patience for simplicity.”
Roderick rode at the head of the caravan, his polished armor glinting under the pale moonlight as the trees whispered around them. The forest hummed, not with the comfort of crickets, but with a tension that coiled tighter with each step of the horses. The narrow road winded ahead, its edges swallowed by pines that loomed closer, watching.
Then it came—a sound like the hiss of a serpent: the whistle of an arrow slicing through the air. The first struck a wagon wheel, splintering it with a sharp crack. The second buried itself in the neck of the lead driver, who toppled silently from his seat, his lifeless body crumpling against the ground.
“Ambush,” one of the guards hissed, his voice sharp with dread.
Chaos erupted. Shadows moved among the trees, darting between the trunks like specters. The brigands, dressed in dark, ragged leathers, emerged with weapons drawn, their faces half-hidden beneath crude masks.
Roderick, without hesitation, drew his blade—a gleaming longsword honed to deadly perfection. He spurred his horse forward, his voice a rallying cry that cut through the panicked shouts of his companions.
“Hold the line!” he roared, dismounting in a fluid motion that seemed more instinct than thought.
The first attacker met him head-on, a rusted axe swinging toward his side. Roderick parried with a force that jarred his arm but sent the brigand stumbling back. The clash of steel rang out, the sound sharp and unrelenting as if the very forest recoiled from the violence.
One by one, the brigands came at him, and one by one, they fell. Roderick fought with a ferocity that was both calculated and primal, his sword moving in arcs of silver that caught the moonlight and left trails of blood in their wake. Sparks flew as blades met, the air thick with the metallic tang of battle and the guttural cries of dying men.
The guard who had warned Roderick of the ambush fought nearby, his shield dented, his voice hoarse as he shouted, “Behind you, sir!”
Roderick spun just in time to block a dagger aimed at his back, the force of the impact rattling his arm to the bone. He shoved the attacker back and drove his blade into the brigand’s chest with a final, decisive thrust.
When the last brigand collapsed, clutching a mortal wound to his chest, the forest fell silent save for the ragged breathing of the survivors. Roderick stood amidst the carnage, the polished steel now smeared with blood and dirt. His chest rose and fell as he surveyed the battlefield—a grim tableau of twisted bodies and shattered weapons illuminated by the pale light of the moon.
“Is it over?” a young soldier asked, his voice trembling as he clutched his wounded arm.
“For now,” Roderick answered, his voice steady but edged with weariness.
She stepped out from the shadows as if born of them, her figure curvy, yet commanding. Soft and graceful, yet every movement exuding power and confidence. Her hair, a cascade of dark curls, caught the faint light like the glint of polished obsidian. Her bright hazel eyes shimmering in the moonlight, glowing like embers. Sharp and unyielding, they were fixed on him with an intensity that made the air between them seem to hum. She was no ordinary woman; that much was clear. Her presence, a force unto itself.
Roderick’s grip tightened on his sword as he straightened, though he made no move toward her. She raised a gloved hand, her voice calm yet commanding, cutting through the silence like steel.
Beneath her composed exterior, however, erupted a sudden wave of overwhelming fear—not from the battle, nor any immediate threat, but something far deeper. It threatened to unsteady her, a force as overwhelming as it was unrelenting. Yet, she betrayed nothing. She stood tall, embodying strength and grace with every inch of her presence.
“You fight well, knight,” she says, her tone devoid of praise but not without a trace of acknowledgment. “But your victory has cost you more than you realize.”
The young soldier beside Roderick glances between them nervously. “Who is she, my lord?” he whispered, as if fearing the woman might hear him.
Roderick doesn’t answer, his gaze locked on hers. He didn't know who she was, but he knew enough to recognize a turning point when it stood before him. Whatever came next, they would shape the course of the night—and perhaps far more than that.
