Heart Over Sword

With the creatures slowly closing in on the princess, she looked frantically for an escape. But as her heart tried leaping out of her chest, her breathing becoming heavy, she found herself panicking. She was not one to panic, but when eight of those vile creatures were hunting her down, she had reason to. She was confident in her skills as a fighter, but she was sure to die if they reached her.??

Evanna's pace slowed down as the highly uplifted roots started to entangle around her ankles. It was becoming harder to locate where to place her feet. She scrambled through, her fingers clinging onto the damp bark from where she kept slipping on the wet roots. Her eyes continued to dart around as she moved forwards, but she started to feel the air being sucked out from her lungs and the trees closing in on her.

Tears pooled in her eyes as she heard the approaching sounds of branches snapping and the vibration of the ground from the faceless' legs crawling towards her, ready to attack. A sharp icy pain suddenly started to throb in Evanna's skull, and without looking, she leapt forwards just as a creature's pincer stabbed the spot she was in. The feeling on her head had yet to go, and she gasped when her eyes landed on another faceless creature directly above her, its long legs spread out on either side of her, clinging onto the trees, its white face forming..??

Evanna reached for her swords. She should take out these two and try and get away before the others catch up. Though she was now starting to doubt her ability in getting out of such a situation. Arawn's face flashed across her mind, and she felt a tightness in her chest. Should she have put her trust in him???

Evanna couldn't answer her own thought as a pincer came directly towards her. The princess instinctively turned on her side, bracing herself for the contact she couldn't evade, her swords crossed in front of her, but then she felt something wrap around her ankle.

"Ah!"

She was yanked backwards and fell through the rooted ground. The screech of both creatures pierced her ears as she landed awkwardly on her bottom. Evanna gripped her swords and jumped to her feet. She looked around, ready for something else to attack her, but her sixth sense told her the only danger was coming from above her. It seemed, from what she could see, that she was now trapped under the roots.

One of the creatures above struck its pincer through the gap. Evanna fell through, but the height was too great for it to reach her. It then tried its legs and screeched even more as it continued to try and get her, its prey. Evanna sighed and let out a shaky chuckle, but this only infuriated the creatures more.??

"At the sssame time." She heard one of them say. The ground above her started to shake some more, and dirt began to crumble down above her. They were using their sharp legs and jumping down on the same spot, trying to make the gap she fell through big enough for them to jump through.??

Evanna stepped backwards then turned around after feeling a tap on her shoulder. Her eyes widened when she saw one of the roots move and point away from her. She looked in the direction it indicated, and although it was dark, she could clearly see a path of neatly placed roots on the ground.??

"Thank you," She whispered, unknowingly responding in the ancient tongue of the trees.

The vibration of the ground above and the constant sound of the creatures trying to get to her made her halt her escape. Those things were intelligent and could communicate with one another, but just how smart were they?

"Hey!" She yelled at them, but they continued with their attacks on the roots. "Hey!" She screamed again, using her hands around her mouth to make her voice grow louder. They stopped for a moment but seemed to ignore her.??

"Just a thought! But there is only one of me.. and two of you! Which one of you will have me?!" She yelled and finally heard their attacks stop. She didn't know if her plan worked or if she just goaded them into getting to her quicker.

"The human isss right.."??

Evanna gulped, waiting for their attacks to increase but instead, she heard the rumbling sounds and screeches of the creatures fighting one another. Evanna grinned and didn't wait any longer to see which one would make it to her; there were still six others nearby. She set off at a sprint, gripping her swords tightly and followed the path.??

The princess didn't know how long she followed the rooted tunnel, but her legs and feet were aching from such an activity. However, she kept pushing forwards, although nothing was chasing her just yet; the idea of those creatures reaching her in such a small space was uncomfortable, to say the least. Evanna stopped when the tunnel split into two paths; she was unsure of where to go or if she should climb back out now. But her hasty decision came after hearing the screeching echo through the tunnels, vibrating through the undergrowth.

Evanna took the path to the left and soon realised it was a mistake. The trail was not steady, the little light she did have had vanished, and she found herself tripping over as the space seemed to get more narrow around her body. She was now wriggling through the roots, and with the screeching becoming increasingly louder, she started to use her swords to hack her way through as she climbed higher. She placed her blades in one hand and reached upwards, testing how far she was from the ceiling.??

When her hand reached through a gap and felt the cool breeze on her skin, she knew what to do next.

"There she isss!"

Evanna called on her gift and outstretched her hand behind her and towards the faceless that easily hacked through the roots. The golden dust like magic swirled forwards, and before her, she could see the outlines of small trees growing from the ground and barring her off from the creatures. Her energy suddenly dropped, and her hand flopped to her side, but she knew those things would get through it. It was merely a barrier between them to provide her with more time. Evanna inhaled deeply, calling on her gift again, this time using all of her power, placing her hand on the roots above.

The roots above her exploded, providing enough space for her to climb out from the undergrowth. She scrambled onto her hands and knees above ground and coughed vigorously from the inhalation of dust, but when she pulled her gloved hand back, she saw blood. Evanna realised she put too much stress on her body through the gift. But it was either that or die in the ground. She crawled forwards, her mind still set on getting further away from those monsters now in the ground.??

Even in her weakened state, she was determined to make it through the night and out of Direwood forest. For herself, her mother and others who relied on her. She was the princess of Dunhurst, part elf, human and something else. She still had her whole life ahead of her and was not about to give up now.