Tom batted away a beastly Innutukian blade with his own weapon before kicking his opponent into the wall. Taking a guess at where the man's exposed armpits would be, he swung up. Judging by the scream and accompanying dribble of liquid, the young knight found himself fairly assured of accuracy. He took Alice's hand into his own again and hurried down the hallway. 

Tom came to a door which led outside, if his memory served him well. Praying his guess was correct, he twisted the knob. It refused to budge. Taking a step back, the knight kicked in the dark, his move rendered pure guesswork through the darkness. The wooden slab rattled at his assault, but still remained. His second and third kicks did no better. 

Finally, Tom huffed and charged shoulder-first at the stubborn door. A loud crack ensued, followed by the young knight tumbling through the shattered slab onto slick grass. He clutched his throbbing shoulder as he rolled, fighting back the uncharacteristic profanities attempting to push through his unwilling lips. 

When his tumbling came to an end, Tom shook his head to clear his vision. Then, attempting to ignore the persisting pain, he leapt to his feet and cast his gaze back at the splintered door. Alice ducked her head and stepped through the jagged hole, emerging from the pitch blackness beyond to the pale moonlight outside. With worried eyes, she hurried over to Tom and stood close. 

Tom sighed. "What now?" 

"I was about to ask the same." Alice replied. 

The knight ran a hand through his hair, eyes darting about and mind racing. He gasped when he spotted an Innutukian swordsman dashing his way from behind a nearby wall, but a quintet of arrows from above porcupined his advance to a deadly halt. Tom glanced up to identify the archers, who turned out to be Mintfeldian guards. 

Tom wrapped his fingers around Alice's smooth forearm. "We need to get out of here. Fast." 

She nodded eagerly. "Lead the way." 

He dashed onward with the blonde senator in tow, headed to where he could only hope the stables were located. His blade met several Innutukian weapons along the way, but their heavy, unrefined armor proved too much of an encumbrance for them to combat his deft speed and precision. 

The stables were now in sight. Tom hurried toward them, but after casting a quick glance leftward, he skidded to halt. In a nearby grove of trees, the moon shone through a circular parting of branches, almost as if the luminary wished to emphasize the spot to any onlookers. And sure enough, there stood Exuberance, ears twitching as he chomped on moist grass. 

Tom raised an eyebrow. Why didn't they put him in the stable like they said they would? He exchanged a glance with Alice, who seemed less confused and more frightened. With a shrug, he pulled her along to the steed. 

"Perhaps now would be a bad time to mention, I am unskilled in bareback riding." Alice remarked. 

Tom spared her a moment's glance. "All the more reason I shall be the one riding." 

"You're only taking your horse?" 

"Of course! You would fare even worse on your own mount." 

Alice shrugged. "Fair point—watch out!" 

By instinct, Tom ducked. A blade whizzed right above his head. He inadvertently held his breath as frantic eyes scanned over his attacker. Only barely did he succeed in parrying a return strike. The other swordsman dodged, allowing Tom to back up and examine his new opponent. 

Unlike the weighed-down Innutukian warriors he'd encountered so far, this new challenger appeared to wear no armor, a foolhardy move for most anybody untrained in the Monteraynian schools of swordsmanship. Instead, black robes concealed the person's entire figure, topped by a dark hood. A touch of moonlight trickled through a fold of the cowl, allowing Tom to observe that a charcoal mask lay underneath, further concealing the fighter's identity. 

To his surprise, the swordsman stood back for several seconds, apparently examining him as well. Using his extra seconds, Tom ran through the few sword-fighting styles conducive to armorless combat, hoping to gain an idea of what sort of attacks to expect. Kemarian swordsmanship suited lightly armed individuals, though the style emphasized stealth and hardly held up in a prolonged conflict. If indeed his attacker had studied that discipline, an aggressive series of moves to close the distance would easily overwhelm and disarm them. 

Forbache also boasted of a style negating the necessity of armor, but it only suited one-on-one combat and utilized distinctive bladeless swords closely resembling enlarged needles. But Tom's current opponent held a saber, so clearly a thrust-oriented discipline wouldn't suit him or her. 

The cloaked swordsman lunged forward with a downward swing of the curved blade, snatching Tom from his contemplation. He angled his own longsword up to bat the blow away, kicking at his opponent's leg to gain some distance again. The fighter stumbled away. Tom also took two cautious steps back, glancing back for a second to ensure Alice still stood safely behind him. 

The robed attacker leapt forward again, throwing a quintet of rapid blows Tom's way. The young knight managed to ward off each attack, but only with a concentrated effort. His brow furrowed as he backed off again. His attacker's moves seemed oddly familiar, frighteningly so. 

This can't be a Monteraynian swordsman, can it? 

Tom shoved the attacker away again, repelling him or her even farther with a wild swing of his longsword, nearly impossible to block with a one-handed weapon. While the swordsman regained footing, Tom mulled over the possibility. Rarely did any Monteraynian learn the ways of their swordsmanship if they didn't intend to become a knight, as any citizen not involved in law enforcement, military, or knighthood was prohibited even to bear a sword. 

And certainly the High Council even for all its flaws would not send a brother down here only to oppose us. 

Tom parried an uppercut. His opponent dodged. He blocked several more attacks. The onslaught continued on and on, saber blade hailing attacks on the young knight. Keeping Tom always on the defensive, the cloaked swordsman retained a strong advance, pushing the Monteraynian and his charge constantly away from their intended mount. 

A mild curse escaped Tom's lips as the blade flew far too close to his arm. A tattered patch of cloth floated down to the grass below. Before he could so much as look at the hole, Tom found himself forced to block another swing. Decidedly Raskan was his opponent's strategy—keep the opponent always defensive, for inevitably, they would tire and prove all the easier a kill. Novelty proved no encumbrance to the style's effectiveness. 

Tom intentionally opened himself up, and his attacker took the bait. The crescent blade sped for his shoulder, just as he intended. Tom leapt sideways to evade while swinging his own sword straight at the enemy's chest. He missed. 

Tom panicked when he realized he had unwittingly distanced himself from Alice. Their attacker had less distance to travel to reach her than Tom himself. With a war cry, he resolved to distract him or her from that fact. 

The robed swordsman appeared surprised by Tom's onslaught. Clumsily, the saber danced to block his constant attack. Smirking to himself, he recalled that weakness in the budding Raskan discipline. Somewhat weak in the defense department, the style's practitioners could do worse than to practice their guards more. 

With his advantage, Tom managed to place himself between the swordsman and Alice. Perfect. Now strike true but once, and you shall have an injured opponent at your feet. 

He rolled his eyes when another flurry of swings came his way. With speed and precision, Tom guarded himself, but ease chose not to accompany them. One attack in particular almost impacted his wrist, but he managed to rotate the crossguard to take the brunt of it. Then the enemy blade came in low. One finger amiss, and Tom's block would have failed to protect him. 

Then a series of low thuds increasing in volume came closer. Both swordsmen glanced over to see Exuberance galloping near. The steed showed no signs of slowing. 

Tom and his opponent both leapt back just in time before the stallion trampled them. In the process, his attacker tripped and became entangled in folds of black fabric. Alice tugged on Tom's sleeve and pointed. 

Sure enough, Exuberance came back around, skidding to a halt before them. Casting a quick glance at the cloaked swordsman, still struggling to escape the cloth prison, Tom hoisted Alice onto the horse's back before sheathing his sword and mounting himself. With arms wrapped around the blonde lady, he grasped the reins and ordered Exuberance forward, which the steed readily did. 

A grin spread across Tom's face as the horse increased speed. "God be thanked for you, my friend!" 

After a few bouncing steps, Tom craned his neck to view the saber-wielding swordsman behind them. He or she had succeeded in rising by now, but instead of pursuing, stood and watched their escape. The saber slid into its scabbard with slow deliberation. The young knight found himself with two questions. Who in the world is that, and why are they not pursuing us? 

With a shrug, he redirected his attention to the open plains ahead. Uncertainty lay behind him, and ahead as well, but one thing was sure as the heavens above. Alice Delquez had to be protected at all costs. Tom's feelings of inadequacy for the task were irrelevant. Guard her he must, at any cost. Exuberance trotted forward to the moonlit horizon.

**** 

A/N: ...And I said the last chapter was unnerving! This is just a whole 'nother level, if you ask me. 

[Insert obligatory reminder to vote and comment here, because Wattpad unfortunately won't convert your internal enjoyment into a higher ranking for me/my story in the algorithms.] 😂

Anyway, maybe we should talk about the elephant in the room. Who in the world was that unmarked swordsman? Who're they working for, and what're they after? If you have any theories/thoughts/etc., please vomit them into the comments here. I'm really curious to see what you're all thinking. 

Well, with that, I'm off to work! Have an awesome day yourself, and I hope to see you in next week's update!