Chapter 1: Eldric Stormbane, the Brightblade
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"Halt! Halt at once you traitorous schum! The King sends for your head!"
I could hear them shouting from a few meters behind. I tightened my grip on her wrist and increased my speed. She stumbled and almost fell.
I helped her up and whispered gently in her ear.
"Come on princess, do not give up. We are almost there. Freedom is within our grasp."
Lying to her left a bitter taste in my mouth, but there was nothing I could do.
We ran deeper into the Dark Forest, the shouts and insults behind us becoming clearer and clearer with every passing moment.
They were gaining on us.
Which made sense really. The King provided them with the finest horses in the Kingdom to chase us with. But I was not going to give in.
I was not going to give up the Princess.
I was not giving up my fated love.
I was also afraid though. Afraid of the King, afraid of the Knights on our tail, afraid of failing my love..
Afraid of the Dark Forest.
Even i, Eldric Stormbane, the legendary Knight Brightblade, knew better than to blindly enter the Dark Forest without preparation, without reinforcements.
Especially with my only true love.
But I knew it was the only way. The only way the King would let us go. I was hoping the Knights on our tail would cease the chase, since everyone on the Kingdom knew the harrowing entities that dwell deeper into the forest.
Alas, it was all for naught.
The onslaught was relentless. The Knights were just as legendary as I was, and not taking that into consideration was a grave mistake.
"Release the princess you commoner."
The voices behind me grew louder and much more commanding. My heart was racing relentlessly.
Because I knew exactly what would happen if we were caught.
Death.
She stumbled again and unceremoniously toppled down. I felt her grip weakened as she struggled to get up. I turned my head and looked back to assist her, and that's when I saw what saw holding her down.
She was stuck in quicksand.
"Eldric.... Eldric, I can't.."
She begged to me, her eyes swollen from fatigue and all the tears she had shed along the way.
Her beauty was just as pure as ever. Unblemished. Flawless.
Her ivory skin had tiny drops of mud, but those drops only made her skin tone more contast. She was deathly pale from all the exhaustion, that's when I realized that she could not continue any longer.
Even if i got her out of the mud, the was too tired to run even the next 10 meters.
And honestly so was I.
I was tired physically, exhaustion ached deep into the body. Into my very being. My arms hurt from fighting off dozens of guards in order to escape the Kindom.
I was beaten and battered all over my body. My bright silver armor broken and shattered in so many parts. Blood gushing out of the litany of wounds littered all over my body.
I was tired emotionally, my heart breaking every time I saw my love in that horrible state.
I wanted to do something, I knew I had to do something. But I did not know what. There was not was i could fight off those Knights all by myself.
It was suicide.
Surrender was not an option either. My death had already been an inescapable fate, but I was more worried about my love.
Her father, the King, was a very unstable man. Very unpredictable. Who knew what he was thinking at that very moment.
Probably daydreaming about the angles he would decapitate me in.
The real problem however, is how he would react if... when he finds out that I did not kidnap the princess, but she followed me willingly.
He would most likely decapitate us both.
And I did not want that to happen, so I had to make a choice. A very difficult one no less, for one simple reason.
I did not want to die as well.
I wanted to live. I wanted to survive, to conquer, like I always have.
I wanted to kill the King for all the suffering he has caused me and my family. I have been dreaming about the day I look into his eyes as his soul leaves his body.
His expression as I dug Moonlight, my blade, deeper into his heart.
I was so deep in though I realized that I had wasted a few precious moments.
I heard galloping sounds of horses gaining speed and distance. The world suddenly spun around. I held my head and grimaced, all while leaning on my blade.
I looked at the Princess and she looked back. Her expression was somber and pained, I felt my heart breaking once more.
She knew what needed to be done. She knew I had to let her go in order for both of us to have a chance at surviving his father's wrath. But also deep down...
deep down she also scared. She needed her knight in shining armor. She needed me, quite literally...
That look in her eyes, the look i will never forget. I wanted her so bad. I wanted her to be mine. I wanted to taste her there and then...
But we were never meant to be together. She was a princess whose beauty brought Kingdoms together. Whose beauty brought many Kings and Knights to their knees.
And I was one of those Knights, kneeling in front of her, holding her hand one last time.
I kissed it, a tear rolled down my bruised cheek. Then another, and another still, until a river was flowing down my face.
She smile and wiped a few she could.
Her smile brightened the whole whole Forest, chasing the darkness away. The darkness in my heart at least. She caressed my cheeks and spoke to me softly.
"It is okay my love. All is well. Now please go. Go now. I will explain to the King that you died inside the forest. Live, prosper and come back stronger. I will be waiting for you."
We were both weeping at that point.
I looked behind her and saw a few dozen silhouettes closing in with terrible speed, but I knew it did not matter anymore.
I was almost free..
They had reached the barrier of the Dark Forest, where was thick mud akin to quicksand surrounding the whole forest.
This was where the princess was stuck as well.
And there was no way in hell the horses were making it through.
Even i used Moonlight as an anchor to move across, and the horses were simple too strong.
I reached for the golden necklace hanging from the hilt of Moonlight, and placed it firmly on her palm and closed it.
"This is my promise to you princess, I will come back for you. Find a way to live, and I will be back to rescue you."
Then, I dashed away before the Knights reached her.