The Bleeding Heart

Chapter 10

Picture of Alexandra Daddario as Elysia Scott! =)) Note: Elysia doesn't look like this when she's in training though.  This side of Elysia is shown only when she's in her 'daughter of the Royal Adviser' mode. =))))

And thank you MickeyFoster for the wonderful picture!

The Bleeding Heart

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Chapter 10

Elysia stood there, almost frozen in her spot.  It took her five seconds to regain her senses and to load her bow.  She aimed at the Arian knights and shot.  The one who delivered the attack on Will did not see that coming.  One moment he was grinning at the blow on Orion’s prince, then he was struck by an arrow at the small of his back.  He let out a groan before falling on the ground, face first.  Dead.  And before Elysia could fire again,Ardenhad already begun attacking.  Blood spattered across the field asArdenleft his opponents with large, gaping gashes.  Four fell off their horses almost immediately, dead – two being shot down by Elysia, leaving eight more ready to strike.

But Elysia could no longer backArdenup as someone attacked her from behind, making her fall off her horse.  She scrambled to get on her feet but her bow was far from her and her arrows were scattered amongst the leaves.  The protection for her head was also blown off.  An Arian knight grinned sinisterly at her as he got down from his horse and Elysia found herself gripping the hilt of her sword.

“Damn,” Elysia thought.  “This might be the death of me.”

The knight she was facing was almost thrice her size and she felt a gulp run down her throat.  She licked her lips and her brain thought furiously of tactics she could use to win against the man.  Her bow and arrows was no longer an asset unless she could get a hold of them at that moment.  She had to use her sword.  She tried to remember Keith’s moves on their last practice and Franchesca’s advices to her in her swordsmanship.

The man lunged forward but Elysia dodged him with a step to the right.  The knight was angered by this and continued to attack straight-on, but Elysia evaded the attacks the same way as she avoided the first one. 

Elysia grinned to herself, “Blockhead.”

This guy might be strong but he wasn’t so smart.  When he finally realized that Elysia was trying to tire him out, he let out a growl.  Elysia’s eyes widened for a second before raising her sword just in time to intercept her opponent’s attack that was going straight for her head. 

Her knees were buckling from the pressure and she thought grimly that this guy had too much strength in his system.  She groaned as he was able to make her lose the grip on her sword.  Elysia sat there helplessly and as she was so sure that she was going to die in the next few seconds, Legion suddenly came to the rescue.  A distinct ‘neigh’ was heard from him before he raised his legs up and trampled Elysia’s opponent with his hooves.  Elysia gave her loyal horse a grateful look before finishing the Arian off with a stab to his heart.  He had been unconscious after the severe horse trampling and Elysia cringed as she heard the man’s groans before he convulsed and finally went still.

She took the sword out of his heart in a flash with no remorse or guilt in her heart.  She didn’t like killing nor the act of it but she was trained to do this.  She mumbled a short prayer on his behalf before picking up her bow and what was left of her arrows. 

She felt a stinging pain and realized that her shoulder had a deep gash.  She cursed under her breath, and tore a piece of cloth from under her left spaulder, wrapping it tightly.  Elysia felt the high pressure she was applying to herself and winced in pain.