Heart Over Sword

**** Trigger Warning ****

If you are a reader with certain triggers, please be aware the first part of this chapter contains sexual assault themes, read at your own discretion or skip until you see these: ***

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Evanna was soaking in the bath, the wooden room divider by her side, hiding herself from Cilv. Unlike her, she was not so open with her body; it was only Maggie who had seen her naked without embarrassment. Cilv was the equivalent to an acquaintance, and even if they were friends, she would still bathe behind a divider or, more comfortably, a wall.

Sighing, she finally got out of the now slightly cold water; after drying herself off, she put her clothes back on, except for the dark blue top and her boots, leaving her in her breeches and black shirt. Evanna pouted as she walked towards the right side of the bed with her clothes in hand; she really did miss having a night-chemise to sleep freely in bed, though she loved her outfit for the day time, it was very restricting for bed.

Cilv was sprawled out on the left side of the bed, seeming more comfortable with her now than when they were meant to share a tent. Evanna walked over to Cilv's side to grab the jug of water placed on the side table. She found herself parched after the hot bath. As she started to pour the jug into the cleaner glass, she found it empty.

"Oops, sorry, princess.. I got thirsty," Cilv exclaimed, masking a giggle at Evanna's annoyed face. Grabbing her boots, she quickly slipped them on before grabbing the jug to take down to the bar. She huffed as she looked back at Cilv while taking the jug with her outside of the room. Evanna heard the woman giggle as she closed the door. She shook her head before making her way down the stairs towards the now quiet bar.

As she stood at the bar, she quickly got the innkeeper's attention; passing the jug over, she asked for it to be filled up with water. The man snatched it reluctantly and left behind a door. She did not notice from earlier where they needed to go to get water; maybe it was easier to serve the alcohol provided? Evanna leant her arms onto the bar as she patiently waited, ignoring the gazes she felt on her back. Though she did not realise they were the gazes of three men that had been humiliated earlier that day in the black market.

"Well, well, well… Look who it is…"

Evanna's eyes widened; she recognised that voice. She turned around to see the man from the market who accused her of stealing the jar with the fairy in. He was standing next to the two bearded men who towered over them, both with muscles and veins protruding from their arms. One was bold with a scar going from his right ear and across his mouth to the opposite side of his face. While the man on his right had short brown hair and a scar running across his neck like a knife had slit his throat before.

Evanna soon caught on that she was not in the best position to take on three men. It took Ger, Ronan and Axel to take down just the two of them earlier. Keeping her body relaxed and her face neutral, she tried not to appear aggressive in the hopes of not needing to fight.

"I did not steal from you, Sir."

They began to slowly walk towards her. So much for not fighting, she thought. On reflex, she went to grab her swords from behind her back, only to find them missing. Her eyes widened again; she removed them earlier, not thinking she would leave the room until the morning. Their eyes glistened after watching her pause her action after realising that she had no weapon on her.

"Grab her," Maurice spat.

The two men by his side came forward, reaching their hands out. She instinctively punched the bold man in the face who's jaw barely moved and only seemed to make him angry. Stepping back promptly, she grabbed a stool from behind her and smacked the legs of it in between the other man's legs. He groaned but still managed to grab one of the legs as she tried to pull it back, ripping it away from her hands and throwing the stool behind him; the bold man then smacked her in the face. The force was hard enough for her vision to go blurry for a couple of seconds. In that small amount of time, they grabbed both her arms and dragged her away from the bar. Leading her around the corner, to the far left.

Maurice then came back into view and said chillingly,

"You know.. there are other ways to pay me.. you have such a beautiful face.. and a beautiful body" He grabbed her cheeks roughly in one hand.

His tongue darted across his lower lip as his eyes moved from her face and down to her chest. Her body froze, eyes widening as her stomach churned at his words. She felt like she was going to throw up. The bold man on her right arm then grabbed her rear end harshly and leant down to smell her hair before saying, "And a fine ass too!".

The men barked out, laughing. She recoiled in horror, her heart pounding loudly as adrenaline started to pump through her veins, her palms becoming sweaty as fear was setting in.

Maurice then nodded his head to his men to take her into one of the private rooms across from them, leaving Maurice to walk behind them. The man on her left then loosened his grip on her arm to go open the door. In that split second, she remembered the dagger her mother brought her, sheathed behind her back on her belt. She used the opportunity to free her hand and grab the knife, turning around instantly to stab the man still holding her.

He was quick enough to seize her hand, holding the knife before it made contact with his chest; he then kneed her in the stomach. Her body crouched forwards as her breath left her harshly from the force of his knee. He pulled his arm back, ready to hit her again, but a scuffle from behind him made him pause. A loud, banging noise then made everyone stop.

The next thing Evanna sees is the bold man holding her, being pulled away, his grip on her hand loosened, releasing her. Without thinking twice, she straightened back up from her winded position she was in and turned around, instantaneously dodging a fist that flew at her. She swiped her dagger in front of her that scraped the other man on the face as he jumped back, leaving a cut under his eye.

But before he could try anything, she kicked him hard enough in the stomach for him to fall back through the door and into the room behind him. She did not know where the other two men were, but she needed to at least take this man down before the others returned. Walking into the room, the man with the neck scar had just pulled himself off from the now collapsed table on the floor. He wiped his cheek from where her blade left a cut. As he did, his face scrunched up in anger before charging at her and tackling her to the floor.

Within the next second, her head smacked on the ground with a loud thump making the outskirts of her vision go dark. Her mind was groggy; her thoughts were not clear as she tried to think about what to do. The man on top of her then wrapped his massive hand around her throat, constricting her breathing. He then used his other hand to roam across her body before groping her chest.

Her eyes started to water, and her heart began to pound loud in her ears; she tried to use her hands to claw his off of her. His other hand then started to go down towards the top of her breaches; the first button was being pulled open. Panic coursed through her. She looked to the side and saw her dagger on the floor.

Reaching out, she grabbed the dagger, and as she went to move it from its position on the floor, she suddenly felt increasing pain in her wrist. Making her release the blade. Her heart sank as dread filled her while she looked back to her outstretched hand and saw a boot leaning on top of her wrist. The second button on her breaches was now undone; tears were now falling silently down her face.

"Get up", A deep voice resounded in the small room.

Glancing up, Evanna sees a sword pointed at the man on top of her. He slowly removes himself from her with his hands raised up. Within a second, the hilt of the sword smacked him hard in the face, making him fall to the ground, and his eyes move to the back of his head before they closed. Evanna gasped from the release on her neck. She breathed in deeply, trying not to choke on the rush of oxygen that came down her compressed throat.

"* I should kill you all, but death is too easy, *" The same voice snarled.

The boot placed on her wrist stepped back. Still a bit shaken, she started to button up her breeches. Yet, she felt a bit safer, considering the person who rescued her had not made a move towards her. Shaking her head, she forced herself into motion, swiftly getting up from the ground and placing her dagger back in its sheath as she looked at the man on the floor before turning around. Taking another deep breath in, she tried to calm her erratic heart.

***

Her eyes finally rested on the man who had saved her. His long white hair fell down to his chest in front of him, and he had these startling blue eyes that seemed to pierce through her own. Before she could drink any more of his appearance in, he started to turn away and leave the area.

Evanna quickly made her way out of the room and stepped over the two other bodies on the floor, following the white-haired stranger to the front of the inn. Before the man clasped his hand on the door to exit the inn, she reached out and grabbed his arm. His body tensed at the contact, seeming to already know who it was before he turned to face her. It was then that she noticed the pointed ears that stuck out moderately from his hair. He was an elf. His face hardened after seeing where her eyes drew to, and he started to turn back.

"Thin-era" She thanked him quickly in his native language, the word rolling off her tongue easily. His shocked face turned back to look at her before a mask of composure fell over his features. He nodded his head once before grabbing the door harshly and left.

Evanna stood there dazed, forgetting about the bodies lying on the floor. Her hand then unconsciously went up to her hair as she started to pat it down and in place, when suddenly an incredulous voice from behind her shouted,

"WHAT HAPPENED HERE!?"

She jumped before turning back around to face an angry innkeeper, holding the jug of water and looking down at his customers on the floor. He took a double-take at them, making sure they were still breathing. She feigned innocence and responded, "They must have had too much to drink". Shrugging nonchalantly.

Evanna did not know how she appeared so calm. Walking back to the innkeeper, she quickly grabbed the jug of water and started to make her way towards the double doors that led back to the rooms. Just as she made it to the doors, she heard the front doors to the inn burst open. Looking behind her, she saw five hooded men walk in the direction of where the men on the floor were before the doors closed, hiding the view from sight.