A Restless Night

Rays of moonlight pierced the forest’s canopy, illuminating Emma’s sleeping figure. Lucian had insisted on keeping watch first, even before they decided on a place to rest. He also gave her his jacket to use as a blanket, taking the ring out and keeping it in his trouser pocket just in case. On their way from the trail, deeper into the wilderness, the couple had gathered some wild raspberries and blackberries to eat. These were carried in a small pouch made from a torn piece of Emma’s dress. The skirt of the dress was unrecognisable compared to earlier, as tears and mud were littered all over it.

Lucian had decided against starting a fire, as it would serve as a beacon for any possible pursuers. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword as kept an eye on his surroundings. Unless they had been spotted beforehand, the lack of campfire would only hide them from humans or anything with intelligence. Animals with stronger noses would be more likely to stumble across them, with no fire to deter them.

He had only just taken a step, ready to silently train, before he heard a loud snap from his right. He stopped, straightening his stance as he listened. He believed that an animal heavy enough to break a branch or large stick wouldn't bother to stay quiet. After a moment of silence he was filled with concern. With only a few steps he was beside Emma, gently shaking her. His voice was naught but a whisper.

“Em, I think we’ve been followed. Keep watch while I check it out.”

He then suddenly spoke in a raised voice.

“I'm going to take care of some business, keep an eye on everything for me!”

With that, he walked to the right of where he heard the snap for a couple minutes. Unable to find any peeping eyes, he scooped up something from the ground and proceeded to climb into a tree. Lucian was more nimble than most knights, so climbing the tree posed little issue. Then, as quietly as he could, he made his way over to where he had heard the noise through the trees. The sound of the strong winds managed to disguise the sounds of him crawling between branches.

It didn't take long before he saw the source of the snap. A group of five people were crouched behind a bush, eyes on Emma. They each were dressed in padded armour, every one of them holding a weapon of some kind. Questions raced through Lucian's head, until he quickly formed a conclusion.

These people were bandits who had been following them since they passed the trail. Their padded armour was typical for newer bandits, as they usually couldn't afford better until they had been on many successful raids. Three of the group had short swords, while the largest wielded a warhammer. It looked out of place, as it was of much better quality than their other gear. The final one was raising a bow, an arrow already starting to be drawn. They were taking aim at Emma!

Panic set in as Lucian pulled out a decently sized stone which he had grabbed from the floor earlier. The branch below him swayed as he threw the rock, with as much force as he could, at their head. The archer's bow fell to the floor as he slipped out of consciousness. Lucian didn't wait for this, as soon as the tip of the arrow started pointing down again he was scrambling down the tree. Once he felt solid ground below him, he scooped up another rock, spinning it before throwing it at the first person to charge him.

The group were clearly panicking, as two of them had broken off and charged towards the source of the danger. The other two, one wielding the warhammer, stayed behind and protected the bowman.

This second stone hit its target, striking the man’s throat. His neck was instantly crushed, causing him to gasp for air which was just out of reach. His legs failed him, forcing him to fall to the ground. He didn’t even realise it yet but he was already a dead man. He could only watch on while bloody bubbles leaked from his mouth as Lucian continued his slaughter. A solemn look had appeared on his face as his sword met the blade of the second bandit who charged him. After several of her sloppy strikes were deflected away by Lucian, he plunged his sword straight into her heart. Blood began to pool around her chest as she collapsed to the ground. The night returned to silence as her fate was sealed: from living as a rat to dying as one.

In less than 30 seconds from throwing the first stone, 2 members of their group had perished. Lucian dashed forwards towards the remaining duo who remained standing. The pair gave each other a nod of understanding before meeting Lucian head on. Lucian lunged for the larger man first. A direct hit from that warhammer would likely end the fight instantly; however, before he could go on the offensive, the hammer was already poised to strike. Behind him, the second bandit was readying a strike from behind. All Lucian could do was pray to the Lord as he grabbed the tip of his own sword with his off-hand to hopefully weaken the overhead strike.

Lucian pushed the edge of his sword into the warhammer’s handle before it gained too much momentum, greatly reducing the strength that came at him. He was struggling under their brute strength as the tip of his sword sunk into his hand. A grunt escaped his lips as he braced himself for the second opponent.

He quickly glanced behind him, finding a quick-thinking Emma pinning the bandit to the ground. Lucian reprimanded himself for taking his eyes off of his opponent as he’s greeted with a devastating downwards swing. Lucian, who was caught by surprise, managed to side-step out of its path as he flourished his sword to only barely escape death. He jumped into action at this newfound opening. Lucian drove his sword into the bandit’s chest, twisted the blade, and ripped it free through their shoulder.

With his sword free, he turned around only to see Emma now struggling to keep the man on the floor. Before Lucian could even attempt to help, Emma struck them on the head with a rock using all of her strength. The bandit instantly stopped resisting, his body becoming eerily still.

This was the first time Emma had taken the life of a human. Her breathing began to speed up, hands shaking as she balled them into fists. Lucian couldn't even console her yet as he had noticed that the bandit with the bow had crawled a decent distance away. They were struggling to nock the arrow, hands trembling. As they finally began to raise their bow, a short sword came speeding into view. It sank itself deep into his shoulder, causing him to drop the bow. He simply screamed as Lucian stepped before him.

“How many more of you are there?”

His voice was cold and commanding, scaring the injured man.

“L-lots! Reinforcements are coming! The boss will beat the shit out of both of you! This will be the end of-”

A fist struck his jaw, forcing him to shut up.

“How did you find us? Who sent you?”

Tears were beginning to well up in the bandit's eyes as he hurried to speak.

“No one sent us! I swear! We spotted you while heading back to base, and thought we'd get a bit more to give in to the boss!”

This made Lucian sigh with relief. A group of criminals were a lot less scary than being found by the knights so soon after fleeing. He pulled the sword out of the bandit’s shoulder, causing him to start bleeding out. The bow was snatched off the floor and into Lucian's hands as he walked back to Emma.

Emma was doing a little better than the last he had looked at her, but she was still shaking.

“L-Luci… how do you do it?”

Lucian stayed silent for what seemed like forever. He finally found the words and spoke in a low tone.

“Back when I was a squire, I was scared of taking a life. It took a long time for me to speak to the knight I was training under, but what he said stuck with me.”

Lucian paused before putting his arm around Emma’s back and continuing.

“No sane person enjoys killing. For us with sanity to wield a weapon, we must acknowledge that sometimes it is necessary to prevent greater despair later on. You must think of something you wish to protect, and swing your sword in its name.”

Emma stayed silent, finally standing up before quietly asking,

“What next?”

“If what he said is true then we need to go. It won't be pleasant but we will change into different clothes, arm up and take whatever food we can get.”

A small nod which could barely be seen in the moonlight was all Lucian received in response. He wrapped up the wound on his hand and wiped the blood off of his dear sword. He then helped Emma get out of the dress before changing into a non damaged set of clothes one of the fighters was carrying. The shirt and trousers from his uniform were now half crimson, soaked in the blood of these criminals. He ended up taking a backpack, any food they had on them, a couple knives, the bow and a bundle of arrows. They also had 20 bronze on them. Lucian muttered to himself,

“Must have been returning from looting a small merchant caravan in the day…”

He turned back around after gathering the corpses together to see Emma dressed in the same attire as him: a mostly clean white tunic with a belt around the waist. Lucian had kept the belt from his uniform, as it was more convenient to be paired with his scabbard. They were now wearing simple leather shoes.

Lucian was about to tell Emma they were leaving, but with her fist still shaking he stopped. He walked to her and embraced her tightly. Honestly he had never wanted her to have to kill someone, but he couldn't be ungrateful when it was to save his life.

“Let's go, we need to be far away by morning.”

There was a moment of silence before he felt Emma nod. He released her from the hug, but kept a tight hold on her hand as they began their trek north-east. With his hand in hers, Emma felt a little less distraught.