“How much further?!” Mylon shouted, but Sophia didn’t answer. Instead she kept running. Mylon was surprised at how fast she was: even he was having difficulty in keeping up with her. She was indeed a wonder to behold. Mylon had never seen her when her hair was ablaze as now. It seemed to suit her: she almost bloomed with energy and excitement. Briefly he thought of what it might feel like to be with her, not just as a comrade but as a lover, but he dismissed the thought as quickly as it came, mainly because of their circumstances, but also because of his feelings for Bree.
Suddenly from out of the shadow and undergrowth two troopers appeared. “My lord!” one shouted out as he looked back nervously to the advancing creature. But Mylon just indicated for them to follow as he picked up his pace to catch up with Sophia, who by now was some distance in front of them. However, it would be almost impossible to lose her: her hair lit up the whole woodland around her like a fiery beacon. Then she stopped. Mylon, Poppy and his men caught up with her and waited, studying the creature intensely. “What is it?” Mylon asked, risking a look back at it. But Sophia didn’t answer, she just stared at it as it advanced closer, quickly closing the gap between them. “Over there!” Sophia shouted, pointing towards an area of large trees. “Get your men to pan out… I’ll lure it over.” She placed her hand on Mylon’s arm. “Get your men to go for the head… Nothing else, just the head.” She glanced back once more. “The slime on its body could be poisonous, so keep clear of it.” Mylon nodded and indicated for his men to follow him, leaving Sophia alone to lure the creature to follow them. Hair blazing, she sent two more fireballs into its head. It cried out in pain but didn’t slow down, too intent on reaching its prey.
To Sophia, time seemed to slow down. Everything felt to be in slow motion as the creature loomed towards her. She sent another flare into its head: it reared up its huge neck and slammed it into the surrounding trees. It was now close enough now for Sophia to see that she had inflicted a lot of damage to the creature’s head: one of its burning red eyes had been dislocated from its socket and swung around like a ball on a string, and its face so badly burnt, in parts burnt right down to the bone. She paused as the creature got closer and when it was almost on top of her she hit it once more with a blue flare, this time catching it under the neck, burning and ripping off flesh. It was then that she realised that it wasn’t the creature’s head that was its weak point, but its throat and neck. She turned and ran in the direction of the large trees. The creature changed direction to follow. As she reached the trees, she shouted out for all to hear, “Not the head… go for the throat!” She hoped that Mylon and his men had heard her. She paused again, breathing heavily, her hair fully ablaze.
The creature lurched forward, almost landing on top of her as it came crashing down with its two front legs, making the earth shake once more. But this time Sophia didn’t fall, she managed to keep her footing and attack the creature again, this time sending two blue balls into its exposed throat, one after the other. Sophia knew now that she had hurt it quite badly, as it swung its long neck around and hit one of the larger trees, but unlike the smaller trees, this one didn’t shatter and Sophia could hear its skull crack as the creature’s head hit the tree. It cried out in agony as it thrashed around aimlessly, uprooting one of the large trees as it lurched forward again; but this time, as it lunged over the fallen tree, one of its up-pointing roots embedded itself into its stomach. Again the creature cried as it tried in vain to free itself.
Mylon and his men took the opportunity to attack while Sophia distracted its attention by firing volleys of blue fireballs at its head. One of Mylon’s youngest troopers was the first to reach it, and without hesitation leaped into the air, crying out the elven battle cry before embedding his short sword into its throat. By holding onto it, he allowed his weight to cut down its throat. Seconds later, another of Mylon’s men rushed forward: this time he stuck his sword in the beast’s good eye. The creature reared up before collapsing on the ground, thrashing from side to side with such force that it threw both troopers off. One landed safely on the muddy ground, but the other, younger trooper was thrown against a tree and fell lifelessly to the ground.
Mylon and Poppy ran to his aid, but could see straightaway that there was nothing they could do for him. The young lad had broken his neck and was dead before he hit the ground. Mylon paused for a second to look down at his young face as the chaos played out behind him. With tears in his eyes and newfound determination showing on his face, he stood up. “Stay here,” he ordered Poppy, then gave out an almighty cry as he rushed towards the creature with his sword in hand. He leaped into the air and came down onto the creature’s head with such force that he embedded his short sword into its skull almost to the hilt. The creature thrashed its head, knocking Mylon to the ground. Poppy ran forward and managed to pull Mylon away just before its head hit the ground. Seizing the moment, Sophia rushed forward and from just a few feet away, summoned every ounce of power she had left and fired it into the empty eye socket. The whole head exploded, covering her, Mylon and the other elf in blood and skin.
For a few moments nobody moved: the air was filled with the pungent stench of burning flesh. Mylon was still lying in the mud next to Poppy, and Sophia stood with her arm hanging loosely by her side. They all looked exhausted by the experience, but Sophia looked worst of all. Using her powers had taken a great deal of her strength; Mylon got back to his feet and walked over to her. To him, she still looked as beautiful as ever, even in this state. For a second or two they both stood, staring at the huge, dead creature lying in front of them. Without looking up, Mylon said, “Well, that’s two down… how many more to go?” Without answering, Sophia turned back the way they had come. “Let’s get back and check to see if Kreedy is okay… There’s no saying how long that thing’s been here.” With that she walked off, Mylon glanced over to where the trooper lay, and Poppy now knelt next to him. She looked up at Mylon. “We can’t just leave him here,” she said, now looking back down at her fallen friend. “I’ve known him since basic training… We can’t leave him.”
Mylon went over to her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “What was his name?” he asked. She looked up, tears filling her eyes. “Kar,” she said, now looking back to her fallen friend. “We must leave Kar here… for now…We’ll cover him and return once we’ve established the area is safe.” She looked up and Mylon gave her one of his reassuring smiles. She nodded, closed Kar’s eyes and got back up and walked over to a large branch of a fir tree that the creature had broken off. She lifted one end and tried to pull, but only managed to move it a short distance before she had to drop it. Mylon walked over, gave her another smile, and grabbed the branch and together they covered their fallen comrade.
Once they had finished covering Kar’s body, Mylon called out to see if there were other troopers in the area but none answered, he knew that there was at least one more unaccounted for, and had no idea what could have happened to the others. Poppy had walked off to one side. Having thought she had heard something, she knelt down and pulled away a few fallen branches. “Over here, my lord,” she called out, Mylon rushed to her side. “Is he alive?” he asked. Poppy nodded. “I think so.” With that, she leant over the trooper and felt for a pulse. Satisfied that he was alive, she tapped him lightly on the cheek and then gently shook him.
At first, the trooper did nothing other than moan, and then after another light tap on his cheek he opened his eyes. He looked up at Poppy and then to his king, and on seeing Mylon he tried to sit up. “Don’t get up,” Mylon ordered. He placed his head back on Poppy’s shoulder. “Are you okay to be left with him…? I need to find the others and then we’ll be back to get you.” Poppy nodded. “I’ll be fine, my lord.” Mylon gave her a brief smile and headed off back in the direction they had come. Poppy watched after him: she enjoyed every moment she spent with him, and the circumstances of their time together it didn’t matter to her as long as she was with him.
Back
at the clearing, Lilly watched as Alk made his way across the clearing, half-carrying the injured trooper. As they approached, she got up and helped Alk to set the injured man down. “Where are the others?” Alk asked, looking around. “With lady Sophia.” Alk slumped down next to her, trying to get his breath back. Although he would never admit it, he wasn’t as young as he once was and at times found it hard to keep up with those younger than himself. “Is he alright?” Lilly asked, looking at the young trooper. “Ya… he’s just had the wind taken from him… He may have broken a few ribs, though… but he’ll live. We’ll sort him out once the creature has been taken care of… Now where did you say they went?” Lilly pointed. “The king has said for you to wait here until he gets back,” she continued, a little sheepishly. He shot back up onto his feet and looked back down at her. Lilly could see that she had upset him. “Wait… me… never!” he shouted. “Why would he order such a thing?” Lilly looked down at her hand. Alk was quite a formidable character and her superior: the last thing she wanted was to upset him any further than she already had. “Sorry, lass,” he said, patting her on the head, “you’re just following orders.”
Alk then took a moment and studied the woodland, listening out for any sounds that would tell him where the others were but the woodland had gone quiet. It seemed that all hell had broken out only a moment ago. He looked down at Lilly who was trying to massage her leg, but she flinched each time she touched it. Alk was no expert but her leg didn’t look good and he was surprised that Lilly had made it this far, which just showed how strong-willed and dedicated she was. He smiled with pride and said, “I need to know what’s happening.” Lilly smiled back and nodded. “Stay here… I’ll be back in a tick,” and with that, Alk disappeared into the trees.
Lilly shuffled over to the trooper, who by now was fully awake, and smiled. “I’m Lilly.” The young trooper sat up and looked around and then said back at Lilly, “Tramsin.” Lilly smiled again. “Well, Tramsin… where does it hurt?” she asked. “Where doesn’t it hurt?” he replied jokingly. “It’s mainly my ribs… but I’ll be fine… just a little winded,” he continued, holding his left ribcage. “Just lie back until the others return,” Lilly said, as she placed a handful of moss under his head.
Inside Kreedy’s cottage Walt had managed to drag himself off the floor and was leaning against the sink, rubbing his head. Kreedy was still at the door trying to decipher what was going on outside. The kitchen, along with the rest of his home, was a mass of books, pot, pans and any number of items scattered throughout each room. Every one of Kreedy’s columns of books had toppled over, making it next to impossible for him to move around without stepping on his precious books. Neither Walt nor Kreedy spoke for a good few minutes. Kreedy was intent on finding out what was happening outside, and Walt was only too happy to stay where he was until it was safe to do otherwise.
Kreedy was standing with his ear pressed against the door when a knock suddenly made him jump. He stepped back into the room, accidentally kicking a pot that lay on the floor behind him. He looked over to Walt for a little reassurance, but Walt had already backed himself into a corner of the kitchen, having nowhere else to go. Kreedy was now visibly shaking with fear. Then came another knock. “Are you in there, Kreedy?” came a familiar voice. Walt stepped forward. “Lady Sophia,” he called out. “Well… are you going to open the door?” she continued, but this time sounding a little less tolerant. Very gingerly, Kreedy released the latch on the door and opened it just enough to see who it really was. “About time,” Sophia said as she pushed the door open, barging past Kreedy. “What on earth happened in here?” she said, but already knew the answer. “My lady,” Walt called out as he tripped and stumbled through all the pots and pans that were littered across the floor. “Walt,” Sophia said, with surprise. “What are you doing here?” Walt went to pull out his hanky to mop his face and neck but found that it was missing. Looking around, he picked up a dry dishcloth, and looked over at Kreedy. “May I?” he said, then, without waiting for Kreedy to reply, mopped the top of his head. “It’s a long story, my lady… but I got myself lost but luckily for me Kreedy found me… and Breeze saved us… both of us.” He mopped his face. “What’s happening out there…? Has there been an earthquake.” Despite the way she felt, Sophia had to smile to herself. Although she had always disliked the man in the past, today she couldn’t be happier to see him safe.
Mylon was on his way back to the cottage when he ran into what remained of his men. There were only five left and they all looked as though they had been in the wars and a couple of them were hanging on their comrades’ arms for support. “My lord,” one called out on seeing him, “thank goodness you’re alright.” Mylon greeted each with a smile and a handshake. “And the others?” he asked, looking in the direction they had just come from. The leader of the group, a junior officer, just shook his head. “We were on the creature’s tail right up to the point when it slammed itself into the trees… We were too close and were caught up in the carnage.” The young officer looked around him. “We are the only ones to survive, my lord,” he said sadly. Mylon tried not to show how he felt. He had been serving as an officer for well over twenty years and considered all of his men to be brothers, and as such felt pain and guilt for each and every man he lost. He patted the officer on the shoulder. After evaluating the situation and sure now that, for the moment at least, they were safe, Mylon decided to order his men to make their way back to the cottage. Apart from Alk, Sophia and himself, he had only four able-bodied men left, not including Poppy. Lilly had a badly injured leg, and there were two other injured men and two walking wounded: not the best position to be in, considering their circumstances.
Alk had missed meeting up with Mylon completely, taking the most direct route to where the creature had been killed, but on seeing the huge creature lying motionless on the ground, he stopped to study it for a while. He’d had a long and adventurous life but he’d never seen such a beast. He curled his nose up at the smell of burnt flesh and looked around him. Then, from somewhere ahead, he could just make out movement. Placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, he slowly walked forward. “Commander,” a familiar voice called out. Alk rushed forward as Poppy stood up to show herself.
“Where’s the king?!” he shouted. “Your orders were to stay with him.” Poppy wasn’t so easily intimidated by Alk as Lilly was, and she wasn’t afraid to stand up to him. “My orders were to stay here,” she replied. Alk watched as the trooper struggled to get to his feet. “Commander,” he said, but it was obvious by his voice that he was in pain. “Tramsin,” Alk replied formally, “how’re you feeling?” Tramsin stumbled a little, so Poppy grabbed his arm to steady him. “A little embarrassed for being too slow,” he joked. Alk stepped up to Poppy. “So where is he?” Still holding onto Tramsin to help steady him, Poppy stood upright before answering. “The king said he was going to find the others and then come back for us.” She looked over to the pile of fir branches. “And recover Kar.” Alk followed her eyes. “Kar was killed… in the fight.” Alk slapped Poppy on the back like he would any trooper. “Never easy, lass… never easy.”
Alk then turned to face Poppy. “Sad as it may be… It’s no excuse allowing your king out of your sight… I’ve trusted his life to you.” But Poppy didn’t back down. “It’s not that I had any choice in the matter, Commander… it’s not my place to question him… he is my king!” she shouted back. Alk was lost for words for a second, a little taken aback by her boldness. No one other than Mylon ever dared stand up to him… that was until now. He smiled. “You got some nerve, girl… standing up to me like that.” Poppy didn’t respond, she just stood her ground. She wasn’t too happy herself that she had to stay behind with Kar and Tramsin, but the fact remains that she had to follow her orders, no matter what Alk had to say about it.
Just then, the three remaining troopers came running through the debris of broken trees and branches. On seeing the creature, they stopped in their tracks. Alk turned
and called them over. When they were just a few yards away, Alk called out, “Where are the others?” The leading trooper walked up to him and saluted. “There are no others, Commander,” he replied, whilst getting his breath back. “The king has taken two injured men back with him.” Alk stepped forward. “You’ve seen Mylon?” The trooper looked surprised. “Yes… just a short while ago… he’s going to the cottage… he sent us here to help Poppy with the injured.” Alk turned to face Poppy. “You come with me, girl.” He turned to the young officer and the two men with him. “You three make sure to get this lad back to the cottage.” With that, the young officer gave Alk another quick salute and ordered his men to take Tramsin from Poppy’s arms. “Come on, girl!” Alk shouted, as he headed off towards the cottage. Poppy hated being called ‘girl’: she was as good as, if not better than, any of the male troopers and expected to be treated as such. However, she managed to keep her thoughts to herself and followed Alk as ordered.
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