The road was gone.
Not in the way roads usually faded into dirt or were swallowed by forest over time, this one simply ended. Broken earth, scattered arrows, and the bodies of the horses lay where the ambush had torn through them. The caravan's remains sat crooked in the mud, one wheel splintered, its contents long since abandoned or looted.
Smoke still lingered faintly in the air.
Bjorn stood at the edge of the wreckage, scanning the tree line. His posture was still but not relaxed. One hand rested loosely at his side, the other flexed slowly, as if remembering the last fight.
Behind him, Astra adjusted the strap on her sword.
"You are always this quiet after a fight?" she asked. Bjorn didn't look back. "Only when it's not over." Astra frowned slightly. "…You think they're still out there?" He replied quietly. "Yes, one of them ran," Bjorn added quietly. Astra blinked. "You let them go?" Bjorn's gaze didn't move from the trees. "yes" after a long silence. "…Why?" He glances towards her "To see who they run to."
That sat with her, He wasn't careless He was waiting. Bjorn turned and moved off the broken road into a small clearing nearby. The ground there was uneven, roots twisting through the dirt, patches of loose soil scattered between them.
He stopped near the center and turned back toward her. "Draw your weapon." Astra didn't hesitate. Her sword came free in one smooth motion, stance settling naturally. Bjorn nodded once. "Good. You've been taught," Astra smirked faintly. "I wasn't lying." He gestured with one hand. "Come on, then."
She moved first with fast steps, her blade cut forward in a controlled strike, sharp and direct. Bjorn shifted slightly, a step and the blade passed just short of him. Astra adjusted immediately, pivoting into a second strike. Bjorn blocked it with his forearm, not even trying to counter. Astra pulled back, circling now. "You're not even using a weapon," she said.
"Don't need one." That irritated her. She pressed harder. A downward slash. A quick pivot into a thrust. Bjorn moved through it all with minimal effort, stepping just out of reach, redirecting when needed, never fully committing. "Stop thinking about hitting me," he said. Astra frowned mid-motion. "That's the point."
"No," Bjorn replied. "The point is winning." She swung again harder this time, Bjorn caught her wrist, just enough to stop the strike completely, Astra froze. "…How?" Bjorn released her. "You decided what you were going to do before you did it," he said. "That makes you predictable." Astra stepped back, frustration flickering across her face. "I have trained for years "With people who let you follow patterns," Bjorn interrupted. She opened her mouth, then stopped because she knew he was not wrong, Bjorn gestured again. "Try again."
This time, she hesitated before moving. She stepped in slower, watching him, adjusting as she went instead of committing too early. Her blade flicked out not a full strike, just a test, Bjorn didn't move so, she changed it, Mid-motion, she shifted her footing and drove forward from a different angle, Bjorn's eyes narrowed slightly, He moved then faster than before deflecting the strike and stepping inside her guard. His hand tapped her shoulder. Astra stiffened. "…Dead?" she asked. Bjorn nodded once, he exhaled sharply, lowering her blade. "…Again." Time passed, the sun climbed higher, breaking through the trees in thin beams of light.
Sweat dampened Astra's hair, her breathing heavier now, movements slower but sharper. less wasted motion, at one point, she overextended just slightly. Bjorn stepped in instantly, to stop her. His hand caught her shoulder and pulled her off balance just as her footing slipped against a raised root. Had he not, her leg would have twisted under her.
She blinked, catching herself. "…You saw that?"
Bjorn released her. "You weren't watching your footing."
Astra glanced down, then back at him. "…You always do that?"
Turning towards her "Do what?"
"Step in before something goes wrong."
Bjorn didn't answer, He just gestured again. "Again." Later, she managed to force him back a single step. Just one, but she saw it. A small grin broke through. "I got you to move."
Bjorn snorted quietly. "Don't get ahead of yourself." Still, there was something almost approving in his tone. Astra sheathed her sword, rolling her shoulders. "…Why do you fight like that?" she asked. "No wasted movement. No hesitation." Bjorn didn't answer at once. His gaze drifted toward the trees. "Because I had to." Astra studied him. "You fought in the arenas, didn't you?
Just staring for a moment. "…Something like that."
She rolled her eyes. "That's not an answer."
He grunted "It's enough of one." She crossed her arms. "They say the arenas decide everything now. Politics. Power. Who rules what." She paused. "Even the Black Throne."
Bjorn's jaw tightened slightly.
"I want to fight there someday," she said.
That got his attention. He looked at her fully now. "Why?"
Astra met his gaze without hesitation. "Because someone has to stop him Before his cruelty. Continues unchecked." Bjorn exhaled slowly. "That's not a goal," he said. "That's a death wish."
"Maybe," she said. "But it's mine." Bjorn studied for her for a long moment.
"Eh your choice kid…You might survive longer than most," he said. Astra nodded faintly Earning a small smile. "I'll take that."
The forest shifted, Bjorn's head turned instantly, Astra saw it a second, Bjorn's voice dropped. "Prepare yourself." Figures emerged from the trees, Bjorn's eyes narrowed slightly, these weren't the same, their movements were tighter. One of them stepped forward. "Target Confirmed," the figure said calmly. "The Blackwolf lives." Astra's grip tightened.
Bjorn shifted his stance shifted, so that's what that was the one that got away before during the attack. The largest of them moved forward Meant for him, Of course, Bjorn stepped up. "…Took you long enough." The fight exploded. Bjorn slammed into the larger assassin, driving him back, but the others split immediately. Two broke past, Astra met them head-on, she held her own, but they were faster, Smarter.
Bjorn tried to break away; the large one stopped him. "So, they're here for both of us…" Bjorn muttered. Astra fought hard but one slipped through. Bjorn moved, He took the hit meant for her, the blade cut deep across his side but he didn't slow down. He caught the attacker and crashed him into the ground, Dead, another came from her blind side Bjorn intercepted again. Another wound, Astra saw it now. "…Stop doing that," she snapped. Bjorn didn't look back. "Then don't miss. In case you haven't realized, they're not planning on taking you alive, unlike me.
The assassins shifted tactics, Cursed black Chains shot from the trees. They wrapped around Bjorn, arms, torso, legs tight, reinforced, the chains strained but more came. Bjorn exhaled slowly. Astra cut one chain, then another, but a strike knocked her down hard. "Bjorn!"
One assassin stepped forward. "Orders were clear," he said. "Alive." Bjorn huffed. "Figures." He looked at Astra. "Get up and go. Now."
She looked at him in shock. "I'm not leaving you."
"Yes, you are... Or else that dream you have, of sitting on that throne and making a difference, will be for nothing if you die today" He stepped forward slightly drawing all focus to himself. Astra hesitated, then she understood. Her jaw clenched then she ran. The assassins didn't follow, Bjorn watched her go and smiled then looked back at them. "…Hope you brought enough chain." They tightened their grip and dragged him away. The forest fell silent. The Blackwolf was taken alive.
A faint rustle from the shadows caught Astra's attention. Two cloaked figures emerged, moving silently between the trees. Bjorn didn't flinch. "you've been sent after me," he muttered. "Doesn't matter that you have me… the real threat is elsewhere." the assassins paused, eyes narrowing. "Elsewhere? You mean that cowardly girl That left you to the wolves to run back to her mommy? Ha" one Sneered and cackled. Bjorn's voice carried just enough for them to hear. "You can lock me away, strike me down… but the hope you seek remains alive, Safe For now, The key to everything as well as, my Strength and heart."
Astra froze as she Listened from the shadows. The words hinted at something precious he was protecting something more than the mission at hand. Even in the struggle, his words rang out: "Victory won't be yours. The true prize survives. "Before Astra could react further, Bjorn stepped back, letting the shadows of the forest swallow him. She could only watch, understanding the unspoken truth: someone important, someone he truly cared for, was at the center of all this danger. And now… it was up to her