Hestaesia: Lost in Love

by K. L. Thorne

  Nightmare? Try dreamboat! She scoffed silently

  As if sensing her gaze, Lephas glanced across at her. He seemed taken aback to catch her eye. Before he could turn away, and whilst she was feeling brave, Lori shot him a sultry smile.

  He looked at her blankly for a moment but her stomach flipped when he smiled back.

  It was brief, and the commander looked away with a sheepish expression almost immediately, but Lori was certain that had been a flirtatious smile... Or maybe she was reading too much into it.

  She continued to plod through the snow, trying to ignore her aching muscles protesting and the numbness creeping into her toes.

  “Do you know where we're going?” she asked Lephas breathlessly.

  “Yes, we know this portion of the woods well. This is likely the very outer reaches of Black Pines,” he replied. Lori was glad to hear the commander puffing a little too, albeit nowhere near as badly as she was.

  “Black Pines?”

  “That's the name of these woods. They surround Banesteppe.”

  Lephas paused to step up over a raised hunk of snow. He turned and held a hand out for Lori. The faerie took it gladly and let the demon help her up.

  “Are we close? To Banesteppe, I mean.” Lori asked, swiping sweat from her forehead.

  “Not exactly. This is probably the very end of the woods. It'll take the rest of the day to get back, maybe longer depending on whether we can keep this pace up.” Lephas eyed her. “You're looking tired.”

  “You think?” she huffed.

  “Are you thirsty?”

  “Very. Pretty hungry too.” Lori’s stomach growled.

  Lephas whistled loudly. The soldiers that had started to get ahead of them once again stopped and turned.

  “We need to rest,” he called out, and the men obediently returned. Karn bounced through a deep drift of snow towards them.

  “Thanks,” Lori said quietly.

  “Here...” Lephas dropped his pack from his shoulder and pulled his water skin from the leather tie that held it in place.

  Lori took it greedily, refreshed as ice cold water slid down her throat. As she drank, she watched Lephas pull another of the linen food parcels out.

  The demon waited patiently for Lori to finish drinking. When she finally came up for air, he took the water skin and handed her the food parcel instead.

  Haros caught Lephas's eye and motioned him over. The two men spoke in hushed tones, their heads together.

  Lori couldn't hear them over the loud crunching of her biscuit, but she knew they were talking about her. Haros pointed out into the forest a few times and asked Lephas a question. The two men glanced across at her momentarily before returning to their conversation.

  Lephas looked troubled, frowning in thought. He shrugged and motioned to himself, then to the pack he held in his hands. Haros nodded and Lephas hooked the pack over his chest, rather than his back.

  Haros leant in and muttered something. Lori deciphered that it must have been some sort of lewd comment based on Haros's grin and the scathing look Lephas shot him. The commander stalked back towards her through the snow.

  She popped another small square of biscuit into her mouth. Though they were harder than any she had eaten before, they had a pleasant sweet and buttery taste to them.

  “These aren't half bad, you know. They're better than those berries.”

  “At least it’s not all over your face, I suppose.” Lephas grinned, clearly recalling the evening prior.

  Lori shot him a playfully sour look.

  “So, what's the plan?” she asked through a mouthful of food. “I presume you two have some sort of scheme going on. Why are you wearing your bag like that?”

  “I can't carry this and you on my back at the same time for any great distance,” the commander replied, pausing as if to gauge her reaction.

  “Why would you be carrying me?” She finished off the last of the biscuit and brushed the crumbs from her lap.

  Karn sat a short distance away, eyeing the strip of jerky that was left in the linen food parcel with great interest. She picked up the tough meat and caught the wolf's eye before taking a big bite out of it spitefully.

  Karn simply licked his lips and snapped his sharp teeth together.

  “I'm going to have to carry you. You're already starting to tire and we need to get back to Banesteppe tonight. It's doable, but not at the rate we're going,” Lephas reasoned.

  “Hm, not so keen on these!” Lori wrinkled her nose, holding up the strip of jerky. She flung it in Karn's direction, where it was enthusiastically received. The wolf made short work of the tough meat.

  “Alright, but I'm not being flung over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes this time.” Lori got to her feet, stretching her back with a yawn. “And no funny business. Keep those hands to yourself!”

  “It was an accident, I swear!” Lephas spluttered, taken aback.

  “Hm, whatever,” Lori teased.

  Suddenly Karn's ears pricked and the wolf stood to attention. He stared intently into the woods and yelped. The short, sharp noise echoed through the snowy forest. A warning?

  Lephas and the others were immediately on their feet. Lori's heart began to race as she watched Lephas's hand drop to the sword at his side.

  “What is it?” Haros whispered.

  All demons had their eyes fixed on the woods in the direction the wolf was looking. The dark pines swayed and snow swirled up into the air as the wind continued to bluster around them.

  “I'm not sure,” Lephas replied. “But we need to go – now.”

  Karn let out a short howl, lips curling off his fangs. The playful sparkle in his eyes had vanished and the thick fur along his back stood up in spikes.

  “What is it? What has he seen?” Lori swallowed, adrenaline coursing through her veins.

  “It's nothing good, I can tell you that much. Quickly, get on my back.” Lephas knelt down on one knee.

  Lori hopped up gracefully and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. The commander was on his feet in an instant.

  “Move! South! Go, go, go!” He ordered.

  Haros and all four soldiers set off at a sprint, running as fast as the thick snow would allow. Lephas followed closely behind.

  Lori held on tightly to the demon as they barrelled through the undergrowth. Thorns and branches whipped at her but she kept her head down without complaint.

  There was another louder, longer howl from Karn.

  “Where are they?!” Haros shouted breathlessly from beside Lephas as they tore through the woodland.

  “I can't see them yet!” Lephas responded.

  “Who’s ‘them’?!” Lori cried.

  “You've got nothing to worry about, Princess!” one of the soldiers replied with a bitter laugh.

  “Come on, Little Dove. You must have known he would send someone to find you?” Haros pulled his sword free from his back.

  “Faeries?”

  “The King's Guard, to be precise,” Lephas replied. “Your father's men have found you.”

  “No...” she whispered, gripping Lephas tighter with her thighs.

  “There!” one of the soldiers shouted.

  Lori and Lephas looked up. A large, white war stallion thundered towards them, spraying snow and debris in its wake.

  Lori felt the blood drain from her face seeing her father's crest emblazoned over the horse's battle armour. The knight sat atop the mount had a long pole arm, and its sharp blade was pointed straight at them.

  “Sit tight and don't run from me!” Lephas shouted over his shoulder. His sword sung as he pulled it free from its scabbard.

  “Hold!” Haros shouted to the other soldiers as they primed their weapons.

  The youngest soldier dropped back and hopped up onto a nearby snow-covered boulder. He pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back and readied it in his bow. The forest fell so silent, Lori swore she could hear the string of his bow creak as he pulled it taught. Fr
om nowhere, she saw a frightened young doe leaping gracefully through the woods a short distance away. She prayed the animal would make it away from this place in time.

  There was a loud thunk as the demon let the arrow loose from his bow. It whistled through the air and embedded itself with a sickening crunch in the neck of the war horse.

  The creature let out a horrific screeching sound as it crashed to its knees. Dirty snow, branches and stones sprayed up into the air, and the knight was thrown violently from the saddle.

  Like lightening, Karn sprinted into the melee and made a bee-line for the fallen soldier. Lephas whistled, short and sharp. The wolf dove forward with a clear understanding of his master’s command.

  Lori squeezed her eyes shut, but not before she saw the throat of the knight ripped out, bright, fresh blood spurting through the air. Though she hid, pressing her face into Lephas's back, she couldn't escape the horrifying, gurgling scream.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Adrenaline raged through his body and blood pumped loudly in his ears. Lephas span to the left, just in time to block the flash of a silver sword aimed at his head.

  The swords clashed loudly, sparks flying. He sent the ambushing faerie sprawling with a vicious kick.

  He didn't have time to think. A second faerie knight charged him and lunged forward with a heavy, spiked metal shield. Lephas leapt backwards, the air rippling in front of his face, as the shield narrowly missed him.

  Sensing an opportunity, he struck forwards whilst the knight stumbled from his misjudgement. His sword sliced easily through the man’s thin chain mail and blood spurted from the faerie's mouth. Lephas drove his sword out through the other side of the knight’s body.

  The commander pulled his sword free quickly, keeping his back – and, more importantly, Lori – to his own men. The girl clung so tightly to him he could feel her trembling. She was no longer shackled. Why hadn't she made a break for it yet?

  Another sword flew towards him, this one much closer than the last. Lephas held up his forearm to block the attack, hissing in pain as he took the impact and his bones reverberated painfully. He saw confusion flash across the knight's face as the sword jarred against metal and didn't slice through his flesh.

  All the demons had built in metal plates beneath their armour. One very important piece ran along the length of their forearms and acted as a make-shift shield in an emergency.

  Lephas struck out, pushing his forearm against the ambusher's attack whilst simultaneously driving an upper-cut with his sword. He squeezed his eyes shut as hot blood sprayed into his face.

  “Lephas!” He heard Haros yell across to him.

  Three more faeries charged forwards. It hadn't taken them long to realise Lephas was the demon carrying the princess. He was their target.

  Haros leapt over a fallen body and released a small dagger into the air like a dart. It spun forward and landed in the hamstring of one of the charging knights.

  The man fell down with a crash and Karn appeared from the snow storm like a ghoul to make short work of him. The mountain wolf's silver fur had turned to deep crimson, already saturated in blood.

  The two remaining knights were upon him. Lephas ducked as one of the faeries swung a heavy mace in his direction. He charged forwards and barged the man off his feet.

  The second faerie attempted to land a blow against the back of Lephas’ skull but Haros was quicker. His friend flew into the melee to defend him. Before the knight had managed to strike, his sword arm was separated from his body just below the elbow. The faerie fell to his knees with a scream, holding up the bloody stump.

  The man didn't have much time to lament his condition. Haros flipped his sword expertly in his hand and sliced his throat on the back swing.

  Taking full advantage of the commotion, Lephas lunged and drove his weapon forward. He pinned his first assailant to the ground with a sword through the chest.

  “There are so many of them - fifteen or more!” Haros yelled and spat a mouthful of blood into the snow.

  Lephas scanned through the massacre for Zelrus' soldiers. The youngest, the demon who'd made those lewd comments about Lori, lay motionless. His eyes were glassy and his skin was sallow. The demon’s bow lay snapped nearby.

  Haros grabbed the commander's arm. “We're outnumbered! You need to get out of here! Both of you!”

  “No, we can't–”

  “Yes, you can! You need to get her back to Zelrus or all this is for nothing!” Haros turned to slash out viciously with his sword as yet another knight attacked.

  Suddenly Lephas felt Lori's grip loosen around his neck. The girl dropped from his back to her feet and sprinted away into the melee.

  He shouldn't have been surprised that she was running back to her people. He would have done the same thing if their positions were reversed, so why did he feel disappointment stinging at him?

  “Watch out!”

  Lephas was standing one second and then crashing painfully through the snow the next. His sword shot from his hand and he tumbled through the undergrowth.

  Another horse. He hadn't seen it coming.

  The commander gasped for breath. Pain speared his side and dark spots swam in front of his vision. He scrambled for his sword, but his stomach fell as he spotted it a few feet away – just out of reach.

  The knight had dismounted the horse but was no longer looking at Lephas. The faerie walked to Lori, who had reappeared to stand between them fearlessly.

  “Enough of this!” she yelled, hands on her hips. “Call them off! You've found me, I will come back with you willingly. There's no need for any more bloodshed here today.”

  “Well, well, well...” The knight's smile was sinister. Lephas saw Lori's confidence falter and she stepped backwards warily.

  Without hesitation the knight backhanded the princess across the face and the princess fell. She spat blood into the snow and her arms shook beneath her weight as she hurriedly attempted to get to her feet.

  The faerie grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up, craning her neck back painfully to look at him. The princess didn't react, just clenched her teeth. Blood dripped from a cut on her cheek.

  Something wasn't right. Lephas fought to get to his knees but the deep snow sucked him in like quicksand. The knight had a malicious, but familiar, sparkle in his eyes. These men hadn't been sent to retrieve Lori... They had been sent to kill her.

  “What is the meaning of this? Release me!” Lori snapped, clawing at the man's hold on her. “I command it!”

  The knight laughed. “Ah, Princess. Your commands mean nothing here. You ran from him? Dared to defy him?”

  The faerie slowly pulled his sword from his belt. Lori's beautiful eyes widened with fear and she fought against his hold anew. Lephas leapt forward for his sword, the metal handle slipping clumsily from his grip in the snow.

  “His patience has officially come to an end with your nonsense girl. He can't tolerate such insubordination. No one defies King Lazuli – not even his own daughter. You'll learn that the hard way.” The knight shook his head and brought the blade up to her neck.

  With a guttural yell, Lephas heaved himself up to his feet and charged forwards. He snatched his sword, but it was too late. The faerie's weapon swung back for the killing blow.

  “No!” Lephas roared.

  In a flash, large bloody fangs encased the knight's arm. The man screamed in pain and his sword dropped from his grip. It narrowly missed Lori as it fell.

  Karn. The large wolf had three arrows sticking up out of his back, blood pouring freely from the puncture wounds, but still he fought with the knight. Tissue and sinew were ripped from the man's arm. Thick blood coated the snow and the faerie thrashed wildly.

  Lephas let out a short, sharp whistle and the wolf did as he was trained. He finished the fight.

  “Karn! To me!” Lephas yelled and the wolf obediently hobbled to his side, leaving the knight's twitching body forgotten.

  “Get out of here!” he shouted at
the wolf. “Home! Go home!”

  Karn paused, his dark eyes staring defiantly up at his master.

  “Now!” Lephas pushed him away. The wolf threw his head back in a long, sorrowful howl but darted away into the woods as quickly as his injuries would allow.

  Lephas hastily lunged forwards to grab Lori and dragged her to her feet.

  “We need to go!” he shouted. The girl said nothing, instead she tucked against him and gripped him tightly. He took that as her consent.

  Lephas scanned the gore-filled clearing for Haros. His heart stopped as an arrow was loosed and its barbed tip landed in a thick, muscled shoulder. Haros bellowed in pain and his hand released his sword as muscles and tendons were severed. The weapon clattered to the floor. The two knights he was fighting lunged at him and knocked him down.

  “Haros!” Lephas raised his sword and ran forwards.

  The demon was on his knees, folded forwards so his face was nearly in the snow, with his arms pulled back. A faerie was hurriedly binding his wrists. They weren't going to kill him; they were capturing him. Haros caught his eye as he approached.

  “Get out of here!”

  Lephas faltered.

  “Go!” The demon roared, desperation evident in his voice.

  Without another word, Lephas grabbed Lori and slung her up over his shoulder. This time the princess didn't protest.

  He ran as fast as he could, arms pumping at his side. The demon risked a glance over his shoulder, relieved that the faeries weren't aware of his escape yet. He didn't expect that to last long. They still had horses, they would catch them up easily.

  Spurred on, Lephas leapt over a fallen tree, holding Lori steady as he did so.

  He stumbled as he landed. The princess squealed and gripped him tighter. He kept pushing, faster... He had to get away from here.

  The demon’s throat burnt as he sucked icy air into his lungs. His heart pounded so loudly he thought for sure it would escape his chest. The pain in his side was like a hot poker but still he fought on.

  The ground underfoot became gradually rockier and the snow began to thin out. He tripped, barely remaining on his feet.

  “Let me down - you're going to fall! I can run!” Lori thrashed against his hold.