Heart Over Sword

Evanna and Cilv walked outside of the inn to find the sky grey and cloudy as rain pelted down onto the mud-filled puddles across the ground. The three men were already sitting on their horses, waiting patiently with their hoods up, keeping their heads down away from the unrelenting sky. Evanna kept her head down as she walked towards Midknight.

He acted restlessly and nudged her with his head when she approached him. She looked straight into his eyes, and he calmed down, feeling better now that he knew her injuries were not serious. Tightening the bag onto Midknight, she then climbed on top, and he walked to stand behind the others. Nesrin kept herself out of sight and hidden inside her bag the whole time.

Without any words said, the group started to make their way towards the other side of the town. Ronan brought his horse back, so he rode behind the two girls. They all seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as they exited the bleak town. Though their journey had just begun, their eyes were ever watchful on their surroundings, even with them squinting against the mass of rain plummeting down on them.

The road ahead of them was bare, not a traveller or trouble maker insight. The only reason Ger and Axel agreed to leave in such weather was because of Ronan's rationale. Nobody would be out in the rain right now, not even to rob anyone. It meant they were as safe as could be in such horrendous weather.

Once afternoon came, the sky slowly started to calm its relentless onslaught towards the land below. The group had trotted throughout most of the morning without any breaks. However, the weather began to drain the life away from them, their body's feeling brittle as the wind had whipped painfully cold across their skin.

Evanna's eyelids closed as she felt the sun's slight warmth that was slowly unravelling from behind the clouds. Her head tilted up slightly so the sun could kiss more of her face and neck, the heat a welcoming feeling.

"Let's stretch our legs here and have some food," Axel said, turning his horse around so he could face the others in the group. Evanna opened her eyes immediately to find him looking at her in stunned silence. Sensing something was wrong, Ger instantly turned around to see what Axel was looking at.

She heard him take a sharp intake of breath as he looked at her neck, and then his eyes made their way up to her face. Evanna sat still on Midknight, unable to form any words as she stared back at Ger, scared of being judged.

The next moment she saw him jump down from his horse and leap towards Cilv, grabbing her by the leg and yanking her down so she would fall from the horse. Although she fell one-sided, she managed to twist her body mid-air and land gracefully into a crouched position. Looking at Ger, her lips curled up, and she hissed while grabbing the two daggers by her sides, her eyes not leaving his.

Within a second, he lunged towards her, and they collided into a tumbling mess on the ground. The clanging of metal on metal was the only indication to the others that they were deflecting each other's attacks. They rolled over to have Ger above Cilv, his blade against her throat and her own stuck in the ground behind them. Before the blade could sink deeper into her skin and make a mark, Cilv managed to kick him off of her with incredible power.

He landed roughly on his back a few feet away. Cilv charged towards him without her weapons. Yet her eyes were now shining with a smirk plastered on her face.

"Stop!"

Cilv stopped immediately at the princess's command, though she did not fail to hide her disappointment at the game she had only just started to play. Ger, however, jumped back up and grabbed his bow and arrow, aiming directly at Cilv.

Before he let loose of his arrow, Evanna jumped down and placed herself in front of Cilv, "I said STOP."

Ger lowered his aim abruptly, releasing a harsh breath, his face fuming with the interruption. He wanted to rip that smug woman's face off.

"What did you do to her!? Did you really think we would not notice the marks on her?" His questions were directed at Cilv "We do not need her, Evanna.. I should end her right now for laying a finger on you!" His voice was bristling with the rage he felt inside.

Ronan, at this point, had made his way to Ger's side to calm him down, "Calm it. She has nothing to do with it," Ronan said; Ger's anger-filled gaze was replaced by shock as he looked sharply to his side at Ronan.

He narrowed his eyes as realisation hit him, "You kept this from me. YOU KEPT THIS FROM ME?! Our priority is HER. My priority is HER!" His voice kept rising as he started to simmer at the brim, his anger clouding his mind as he kept thinking about all the possibilities of what happened to Evanna, and he, her best friend, was the last to know about it.

Evanna took a step forwards as she watched Ger. Her heart was pounding loudly as she tried to calm herself down. She knew he was just angry; he would never lay a finger on her. She repeated the mantra in her head.

"GER! STOP! Can't you see you are scaring her!" Ronan grabbed Ger by the shoulder, his fingers digging in deep to get his attention back to what was happening in front of him. Ger's gaze cleared, and he looked over at Evanna. Her face was pale and her eyes wide as she took a shaky breath in before taking another step towards him.

His anger had not diminished, but he tried to compose himself for her. He dropped his bow and arrow on the ground as he looked at his best friend. His eyes were pleading for forgiveness at his outburst. He could not stand to see her hurt, and he could not stand to see her, nearly shaking because of him.

"I ordered Ronan not to tell you guys", She spoke. Her voice sounded calmer than how she felt. Years of being a princess seemed to have worn off on her; she was taught always to keep a calm and respectful demeanour. Although this was not the case nine times out of ten, she knew when it was necessary.

"Why.. why would you keep this from me? What happened? Who did this to you!?" Ger's calm voice snapped at the end. He winced at his uncontrollable rage that kept bursting out through the seams of his composure.

Axel had come forwards at this point also, he kept the same distance as the others, yet Evanna took an instinctive step away. Unlike the other two, Axel's figure was one of a giant, and his beard somehow made her think of what happened the night before. Ger and Axel eyed Evanna's response to him, seemingly to click the missing pieces of a puzzle together.

A man had attacked her, that was certain. Axel cursed under his breath and took a step back also. Guilt filled Evanna's chest as she saw a look of hurt flash across his face.

"I was attacked last night by the men at the market. I was not raped." Evanna deadpanned. Ger started to open his mouth, his body shaking with rage, but Axel clasped his hand on his other shoulder to quieten him.

"I am so sorry that happened to you. No words can describe how sorry-"

"What were you doing when this happened, Cilv?" Ger could not hold back any longer. His guilt and his rage were fighting each other as he interrupted Axel's heartfelt apology.

"This was not her fault Ger. I went down to get some water from the bar and-" Evanna began,

"AND WHERE WAS SHE!?"

Evanna was confused. She was, of course, in the room? Where else would she be?

"She should have been the one to get you water! Or if you insist.. Then she should have come with you to protect you."

"I can protect myself, Ger-"

"Clearly."

"If I had my weapons on me, I would have been fine…"

"You did not even go down with your swords?" A look of disbelief flashed on Ger's face; they stayed in probably the most dangerous town in the kingdom, and she did not bring any weapons down with her.

"I forgot-"

"Evanna.." Ger took a few steps towards her, she did not back away, but before she could do or say anything else, Nesrin flew right in front of Ger's face, shouting at him in Muranthian to back off. All of the men's faces wore a look of astonishment. Ger understood from the arm motions that she meant for him to move away.

He took a few steps back as he watched the fairy fly back slower this time and collapsing in Evanna's outstretched hand. Who, in turn, placed the fairy on her shoulder so that she could sit comfortably.

"How do we suddenly have a fairy!?" Axel said from behind, his arms now crossed against his chest, his face stern. All three men then shifted their gazes behind Evanna to the red-haired woman who was yawning out of boredom.

"Hmm.. Oh! That was me," Cilv said as she started to assess her nails, her lack of interest in the subject was evident. All three men glared at her. Her lack of empathy was concerning and caused all three of them to shift on their feet irritably. A look of disgust formed on their faces as their trust in Cilv wholly depleted.

The blame was evidentially on her. Ger took another step but stopped when the fairy stood up on Evanna's shoulder with her arms crossed over her chest.

"We do not have time for this. Guys, this is Nesrin. She will be accompanying us until she is able to leave," Evanna said in a tiresome voice before turning back towards Midknight. She did not want to waste any more time talking about the attack, the less they spoke about it, the more she could move on.

Axel sighed, "Look, let's eat, then be on our way."

After eating some food from their bags, the group started to make their way to the next destination before night would fall. The tension in the group was palpable. Nobody wanted to speak, Cilv was trailing behind them again, and Ger rode next to Evanna. She had to keep herself from rolling her eyes after Ger looked at her for the tenth time, or maybe he was checking out the fairy sitting on her.

~ Why did you interfere earlier? Ger would never hurt me ~ Evanna mind linked Nesrin, keeping her gaze ahead of her.

~ No, he would not. But he was going to place his hands on you. Not in a violent way, but you were not ready for that just yet. ~

Evanna was startled by Nesrin's response; she was unsure of what she said. Was she not ready for Ger to touch her? She did not know. Yet, the fairy knew, she seemed confident in what she said.

Looking down at her shoulder, she studied the fairy's appearance. Although the fairy seemed relatively young, maybe how a human would appear to be in their early twenties, her eyes conveyed intelligence beyond her years.

~Nesrin..~ Evanna had to stop herself; she did not want to be rude and ask the fairy of her age.

~ 120 ~ Nesrin responded to the question she did not dare ask. Evanna could not help but look down at her in surprise; the fairy giggled lightly at her reaction. There were still so many questions she wanted to ask her, but she knew if Nesrin wished to answer, she would have given her the information by now. Her mind-reading skills would have picked up on her thoughts surrounding the little creature.

~ I have so many questions. But there is one I must ask.. ~

The fairy sighed, knowing already the big question playing on the princess's mind. That little reaction provided Evanna with the answer to her unspoken question, but Nesrin still offered her a detailed explanation.

~ I wish I could help you, princess, but my powers do not work like that. I can neither heal your mother nor wave some magic spell to grab the healing gemstone you seek. For that, I am sorry. I feel the burden you carry, but although this journey will be challenging, it would be for anyone entering Direwood.. I know that you have the strength in you to prevail ~

~You can foresee the future? ~ Evanna was uncertain at this. However, her curiosity always got the better of her. Nesrin giggled at her question and the thoughts behind it. She found the princess delightful to be around.

~ No, Evanna, I cannot. But I can see the determination, the will for yourself to succeed in this mission. Not everyone is like that. You come from a very comfortable lifestyle, princess. You could have sent men to do your bidding. But you did not. You chose to be with them. To lead. You did not need to pay these men to follow you. They follow you because they believe in you ~

Nesrin's words put Evanna into a stunned silence. She glanced around at her companions, who were preoccupied with their thoughts. She presumed that they followed her because she was a stubborn princess. She never honestly thought more about it.