The Son Of Snakes

Bonus 2 - The Princess Of Death

Melinoe dashed through the forest, weaving left and right as crudely made arrows flung themselves past her. She mentally cursed at herself for getting into this position, having been distracted lately.

Could you blame her? She has watched the man she loved kiss her rival. It was not a very fun feeling, that was for sure.

But Ria, her, and the others girl had been talking about an idea which seemed...a little crazy, to seem the least.

But in her eyes, it was all worth it. Ria may be her rival, but she was also her good friend. Someone she wouldn't mind sharing with.

But because of all of these thoughts which had looped around her head countless times, she was distracted and caught by surprise.

An arrow lodged itself into her shoulder. She grit her teeth, bearing the pain as she dove to the side in a small little ditch. She hid there, silently hissing as she held the shoulder the arrow was flung into.

Luckily it wasn't her sword arm, so she could still fight. Problem was, she was outnumbered by who knows how many.

"Damn centaurs." She annoyingly muttered to herself.

The creatures of the small mountain had been terrorizing the neighboring village when the crew of the Xeno arrived, and suddenly they found themselves in a new quest to drive them away from the town.

Negotiating hadn't worked, and they were quite quick and hard to track. So they needed to somehow get the centaurs close. Athena suggested having them try to ambush one of them, only for the rest to appear and take them out.

Melinoe acted as bait, approaching the small mountain alone so that they could reveal themselves, while the rest of the group waited in the planned spot.

And here's where the problem happened.

With everything going on in her head, she mixed up the location they had chosen to wait in with another one they were considering, leading to this situation.

Melinoe was ambushed, and without backup. And despite her strength, the number of centaurs was still overwhelming.

'Damn it Melinoe!' She inwardly screamed at herself, biting her lip as she heard the crunching leaves of multiple centaur hooves.

They're walking right by where she is.

She needed to be ready. She gripped her sword, the blessing on her shoulder starting to lightly glow.

And then suddenly an arrow whizzed through the air, making contact with a centaur as she heard it's half-horse body crash into the ground.

Another centaur screamed something in a language Melinoe couldn't understand, and suddenly the centaurs were in formation for their unknown foe.

"Mel." A familiar voice spoke to her side.

Melinoe smirked, looking over to her side to see another person now with her in the ditch.

"The others are on their way. Are you okay?" Nikolas asked.

"I'm fine." Melinoe whispered.

"You're injured." Nikolas stated.

Melinoe sighed, but a small still played on her face. He was always so perceptive, despite not even having sight.

It was part of what made her respect him so much.

"Stay still." Nikolas quietly spoke as he took his blindfold off. He placed the hand holding the blindfold on her shoulder as he gripped the arrow with the other hand.

In a swift move he pulled the arrow out as Melinoe clenched her teeth in light pain, before then wrapping his blindfold around the wound to stop the bleeding.

"Your blindfold..." Melinoe spoke in surprise as she looked at the scar across her love's eyes. "...it's going to be ruined."

"That's okay." Nikolas replied.

Melinoe couldn't help that huge grin that grew onto her face at those words. He cared for her. He cared for her a lot. It was obvious with his actions.

"I'm going to become your favorite." Melinoe stated, poking him in the chest. "I promise you that."

She grinned, and with renewed energy and a cleared mind she jumped out of the ditch, brandishing her sword.

She'd hold off on the blessing for now. Better not to burn the whole forest. And besides, she could handle these centaurs without it. The centaurs quickly locked onto her, bows at the ready.

"Come at me!" Melinoe laughed.

She dashed through the forest at high speeds, successfully avoiding the various arrows that were flung at her. She jumped off a tree, quickly decapitating a taken off guard centaur.

Another with its bow aimed at her was suddenly shot in the face with a different arrow, and Melinoe didn't even need to look to know who it was.

In a manner of seconds the centaurs were dispatched, either by blade or arrow. Melinoe stood next to Nikolas, smiling as she heard the rest of her friends approaching in the distance.

Joining them on this journey was the best decision of her life. And even then, it was only thanks to Nikolas that she escaped that accursed device.

"Nikolas." Melinoe spoke. "I love you."

Nikolas was still for a moment as Melinoe's heart pounded, but she refused to allow that to stop her. She stood in front of him, awaiting his response.

Nikolas lightly touched at his chest.

"I love you too." He whispered.

Melinoe's smile widened as she grabbed Nikolas by the front of his shirt, pulling him towards her so that their lips crashed together.

They held that position for a few seconds, Melinoe basking in the feeling of warmth which filled up her whole mind and body.

"I knew it wasn't over!" A faint voice cried out in the distance.

But that didn't matter.

Because she was loved by the man which changed her entire world.

And she was going to become his number one.