Legend of the Swords

6: Dimitri

Holding Erilyn in my arms as she cried for the loss of Peter stirred something in my heart. This strong woman, heart broken over such a devastating loss, was so small in my arms. She felt so frail, so close to death herself. And all of this made me feel this urge to protect her, to never let her go, to make sure she never cried like this again. I held her tighter, resting my cheek against the top of her head until she calmed and began to pull away. "I'm sorry I keep crying in front of you." She bowed her head, ashamed. 

"Please do not apologize. If anything let me be the one to tend to your tears." I placed a gentle finger under her chin and raised her face so she was looking up at me. Her eyes were red from her constant rubbing, but even with her hollow eyes she was beautiful. She held my gaze longer than I expected her to, but eventually turned away and fidgeted with her hair. I couldn't help but acknowledge how even this small action pulled at my heart.

"We should probably head back. I have to make sure the doctor is certain he can take in the kids and then fetch them." Erilyn sighed as she started back towards town. All I could do was admire her, her beauty and determination to put others before herself. She was extraordinary and was going to make a fine queen. I walked quickly to catch up with her and then put my arm around her shoulders, holding her close enough that she didn't have to feel alone. She looked up at me briefly, but didn't say a word or push my arm away as she came to terms that this would be the new norm for as long as she needed it.

We walked back to the doctor's office like that, and I slowly found myself distracted by the feeling of her warmth on my side. I was so distracted that I failed to notice the signs of threat, and when I opened the door to the doctor's office, all hell broke loose as five men attacked us. Erilyn immediately took on a fighting stance I didn't realize she was trained to do, hitting a few with the shovel she was carrying before drawing her sword. I however, was not quick enough and ended up punched in the gut and getting manhandled by four larger men. 

"You might want to drop your sword princess." One of the men said as he held a dagger to my throat. Well this is a pathetic situation. How the heck did I get captured and she didn't. I was furious, but in this situation there was nothing I could do, and there was no way Erilyn was going to be able to take down all of these men. 

"Don't your highness! Turn and run back to the horses!" I yelled. This got me a slap across the face, my eyes going white for a second before the sting started pulsating on my cheek. 

"Your sword princess?" The man asked, his dagger close to piercing my skin. I could feel the sharp edge just barely resting against my throat, ready to cut. Erilyn surprisingly shook her head and dropped her sword. Looking at her I could tell immediately something had changed. She wasn't scared, nor did she feel threatened. If anything she looked bored and, having dropped her sword took in a long breath of air and sighed. "Why are all men idiots?" She stated before she ran abruptly up to me and round-house kicked the guy who was holding onto my right arm.

"Boss!" the man who had hit me yelled. Erilyn turned her focus to him and kicked him too, right where it counted, and he fell down with wide eyes. She gave him another kick to the head before punching the man who had been beside him. He seemed surprised by the strength of her punch as he stumbled back. Erilyn dropped to the floor and kicked his feet out from under him. She then grabbed her sword again and stabbed him in the stomach. The other two men seemed scared and fought to be the first ones out the door. I looked after them, frozen in place by the shock of what I had just witnessed, and then looked back at Erilyn. 

She had barely broken a sweat and was casually wiping the blood from her sword on the shirt of the man she had stabbed. He laid on the floor, a pool of blood forming around him and I realized he was dead. "Erilyn, there's something you haven't told us." I said, watching her nonchalantly put her sword back in her sheath. At my words though, she looked at me with a pained expression on her face. "You jumped in heels off of the balcony today, climbed down from the terrace last night, and now fought and won against 3 large guys without a single drop of sweat. No random woman in the kingdom can do all of this. This was trained work, advanced work."