Alliar

Jonathan stopped in front of a smaller tent — one I had not seen before — and he quickly shoved me inside, making me stumble with the chest in my hands. It was a small room with a medium sized table in the middle that held a large map pinned down on the surface and a small stretcher that took up the length of the back wall.

I wondered into the room and sat myself down on the stretch, placing the heavy chest next to me as I watched Jonathan who was just in front of the tent looking from his right to his left repeatedly.

Seconds later a small group of men began to fill the room making me a little uncomfortable. Demetri walked in last with a young man on his left and Jonathan following close behind him.

"Does someone want to tell me what the hell happened?!" He screamed making most of the men flinch. Demetri glanced my way and smiled towards me as if seeing me for the first time.

"They came in from the south. We weren't prepared for an attack." One of the men answered him.

"And why is that?"

The room was dead silent.

"Someone better start giving me answers before I start taking fingers!" he commanded at the top of his lungs clearly unimpressed by the results he was getting — or lack thereof.

"Three out of the seven companies were at the lake." One quickly said as he looked down almost ashamed.

"And that is why so many died." He nodded in understand before looking between the men. "You mean to tell me that two hundred men died because no one can follow one simple fucken order!" He yelled and threw his hands down on the table making it shake.

The room stayed silent, not one of them dared to speak.

He closed his eyes briefly as he shook his head from side to side as he stood back up and looked at each and every one of them individually before his eyes came to rest on me and Demetri who was now standing at my side. "Burn the dead."

I had never seen a group of people leave a meeting as fast as they did in that moment —scurrying off like hounds with their tails tucked between their legs.

"I'll see to it that all the arrangements are in place and we will leave as soon as we are able." Demetri nodded as he listed his chores and started walking out of the room and pausing.

We all looked over to the young blond man looking off into the distance, nodding and completely unaware of what was going on.

"Nicolai!" Both Demetri and Jonathan shouted in sync with each other making the younger knight — Nicolai — jump and shake his head clear of distraction.

"Oh yeah. Leaving." He nodded and started walking off after Demetri.

Jonathan rolled his eyes and came over towards me. He pulled out the chair by the table and bought it towards me until he sat down just opposite me. Reaching out he grabbed a hold of my chin and bought my face towards him as he examined my still muddy complexion. I no doubt had sprays of blood all over my face from when the dagger landed in the other man's head.

He sighed deeply as he leaned over and pulled a bucket of water that sitting just under the stretcher and ripped a small piece of his shirt apart. Balling it in his hands he dipped the cloth into the bucket of water and then bought it up to my face. I hissed as the cold cloth came into contact with the cut on my throat. "You're lucky that wasn't deep."

I let him clean up my face, and did as he told me when he said to hold the cloth to my neck until it stopped bleeding. He sat back and looked over my figure until his eyes landed on the part of my dress that was covered in blood, a lot of blood.

"Pull up your dress." He commanded quickly as he stood up and lifted his shirt up, off his body.

"What are you doing?" I pulled back a little.

"Shut up and pull it up." He didn't even wait for me as he grabbed a hold of my dress and pulled it up until my upper thighs were showing. Oh would you look at that, that's a lot of blood.

"I feel sick."

"Then look away." He waved me off as he wrapped his shirt around my thigh where there was a deep gash from when I had ran into him and his sword had greeted my thigh with a deep cut.

I bit down on my lip trying to hold in my emotions as the pain of the tight tie shot through my leg. He pulled my dress off and wrapped a sheet around my body after inspecting me for any more cuts or injuries. I looked at him and saw a few bruised on his ribs and blood on his skin but he was cut free.

"You had a good shot back there." He complimented me and I think my jaw dropped open as shock hit me at the compliment.

"Thank you." Although I was aiming for his stomach and I shot him in the head, but he didn't need to know that did he.

"Do you always hit your mark?"

"Never." My confession slipped out before I could stop it.

"You weren't aiming for his head were you?" He questioned raising his eyebrows and widening his eyes at me. Define aiming?

I gave him a small smile as I pulled the sheet closer around my body.

"So how does a kitchen wrench, slash ladies maid know how to shot?" He continued with his interrogation. Well, you see... umm... crap.

"My father was a knight?" I stated, well, it kind of came out like a question.

"That would make you a noble lady with a title and you wouldn't be a ladies maid to someone like McKinley's daughters." He rationalised with a sure expression on his face and a smirk splitting his lips.

"Blacksmith?" I tried again.

"Possible, a lot more possible then a knight's daughter." He nodded, accepting the answer. "Are you sticking with that story?"

"Yes?" I frowned a little unsure. "Yes."

"Are you going to tell me?" He finally asked. I was unsure of why he was asking me this now. He didn't seem to care who I was before, maybe he was reading the signs better then he should be. First Demetri with my hands and Jonathan with my necklace, they knew I was lying and hiding who I was. Was that why they kept me around? Because they weren't sure if I was of value to them or not?

Do I tell him?

"Do you really want to know?" I raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"No, not really." He shrugged.

He stood up and dragged the chair back to where he found it. He untied his belt and draped it over the chair while he went to work on pulling out all of his daggers, one from his boot on each foot, one from around his leg, and three from his belt. He placed them all down on the table before turning one of the daggers in his hands. Each dagger was the same, a dark silver blade with a black leather hilt and a sliver griffin.

My heart once again started racing, pounding in my chest like an off beat drum. Was this the end? Was he going to kill me now? They were leaving tomorrow, and I was collateral damage.

"Are you going to kill me now?" I asked trying to be strong but I was shaking inside. Petrified with what might happen.

"I'm thinking." He replied as he tilted the dagger and let the light bounce of the dark silver making it look almost like a black crystal.

My lips parted as I felt starved for air. I took a deep breath and tried to stop myself from shaking. A tear sprung in my eye, blurring my vision as I tried to keep the tears from escaping my eyes. "Please do me a kindness?" I sniffed. He looked back towards me and flicked his wrists, letting the dagger shift into his left hand where he gripped it tightly. "Do it quickly. While I'm asleep."

It was the least he could do really, a quick clean death, he owed me that at least.

He tilted his head as he watched me. I don't know what he was thinking or what he was looking at me for — probably looking to see which angle he was going to slice my throat. He walked over towards me and grabbed a hold of my chin, tilting it up to face him. "Go to sleep." He whispered.

I felt my eyes let go of the tears I held hostage. Sleep, right. Silencing a small sob I shifted my body until I laid down on the stretcher, my body curled in a little as I lay on my side. I moved my hands to lay just under my head and act like a pillow — like I had done the nights before. I closed my eyes for the last time knowing that I will never open them again.

I let myself relax as I tried to lull myself to sleep, the last images in my mind were that of Kya and I in the meadow during spring when all of the purple flowers began to bloom. Arthur, Sebastian and Tristan were tying up the horses as they yelled out to us to watch where we step because they refused to carry us when we cried.

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A little short I know but I really wanted to end it there ;)

Please vote and comment.

  -Dream_big96