Having assured himself that Cassandra and Horace made it to the woods safely, Crowley threw his bow and empty quiver to the side. The castle grounds were no place for his favourite weapon. These were the place for knives and fists. And for prayers to whoever was up above that they would make it out alive.
He ran towards where several Clan members stood together. Launched his fist. Hit one of them in the jaw with such force that blood polled into the clan member's mouth. Then kicked the legs from under the second. With his two hands he grasped a head and brought his knee up to the nose; there was a blunt crack and he released the dark haired head. The clan member leaked from both his nostrils and his nose was twisted right. But he drew his fist back again and ploughed it into Crowley's stomach. The Ranger's guts smashed together, blood vessels bursting. Air was pushed out of his lungs with such force that he needed several moments to try and catch his breath. The pain was immense and for a second, Crowley doubted his ability to stand up again.
Thankfully, someone else took over the fight. The king himself punched his attacker's jaw, continuing with the battering until the fox-faced man fell to the floor. His chest rose and sank with each shallow breath he drew, gradually getting less and less until it stopped completely.
From the ground, Crowley lifted his right hand and threw it into the last man's chest. He watched him fall to the ground. The Commandant inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to shake the pain. A hand reached out and he took it. He found the strength to stand on his own legs again and looked up.
Duncan stood ready, anger flaring on his face. He gave his old friend a second to recover. Handed him his knife back. There was blood smeared over his tunic, but the redhead didn't think much of it. There was no avoiding blood on a battlefield. Nor did he think much of the swaying, because he himself was swaying on his legs. The king is ready to fight, so the king must be okay.
And so without thinking twice about it, Crowley followed his king, his friend, back into the depths of hell.
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Fight, Cassie. Fight.
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Long Live The Princess
FanfictionAn AU in which the Red Fox Clan infiltrated Castle Araluen years earlier. This idea came to me, quite literally, in a dream.
