Guardian(Part III): Desolation

Chapter 5: Emma

The young Knight I found in the courtyard of Chambers' Keep wasn't a lowly Knight of Chardan. I knew that from both the armor he wore, the sword he wielded that was unmistakable for one of Ilentia design, and the immense aura of light he gave off. He was a Paladin. A rather young one, by the looks of him. He seemed to be around my age, in his early twenties. After losing his fight with Jonathan Chambers in Chambers' Keep, I brought him to my tent through my translocator. He was out ever since his fight at the fortress, but he had healed his stab wounds before he went unconscious. I knew exactly what he would do when he woke up. He needed to find Princess Meridia and free her before Jonathan Chambers' rebels killed her, if that was what they planned to do in the first place. I knew she had Xyhra's blood, and that Xyhra's blood gave power that I couldn't even imagine to whoever carried it in their veins. The Paladin I found didn't have Xyhra's blood, but he had her power, which made his recovery vital to save the Princess.

Suddenly, I heard a loud cough from my tent behind me.

"Ser?" I gasped. I looked inside, and saw the Paladin beginning to sit upright, and then his eyes found mine.

"What's your name?" I wondered.

"Ser Gabriel Watson," the Knight answered. "Paladin of Princess Meridia. You look familiar."

"You saw me at Chambers' Keep," I enlightened. "I informed you that Princess Meridia was alive."

"That dark shape in the dungeon roof," Gabriel recalled. "That was you?"

"Yes," I answered.

"You're a... Blade of Midnight?" asked the Paladin.

"Emma Harroway," I introduced. "It's a pleasure."

"Where am I?" Gabriel demanded. "And how long was I out?"

"We're outside of Idrasyll," I answered. "And you've only been out for twelve hours."

"What about the Princess?" asked Gabriel.

"Slow down," I warned. "You're still recovering from your fight with Chambers. And also, his brother is preparing an attack on Chambers' Keep."

"Oh, no," Gabriel whispered. We both knew what an attack led by Evan Chambers meant. If he attacked a city or a fortress, he left no one alive, whether or not they were even armed, and the rebels were the furthest from true soldiers as they could get. That meant that if Gabriel didn't reach Princess Meridia before this attack began, then she would die along with Jonathan Chambers' soldiers.

"I'll have to recover along the way," Gabriel declared, standing up.

I rolled my eyes. I could tell that there would be no convincing a Paladin that the last heir to Chardan's throne could wait until he was better. There was also no possible way that anyone knew that Princess Meridia even existed, since it was believed that the entire royal family was killed off when Magrenshire fell.

"I'm going with you if you're insistent on that," I hissed.

"I thought the Blades of Midnight fought against Kings and their families," Gabriel growled.

"We fight against tyrants," I reminded. "Not ten-year-old girls. We save them, whether or not they're meant to sit on a throne."

"Alright," Gabriel understood. He took a step forward, but fell. I caught him before his face could hit the ground.

"But I think you could use at least a little more rest," I warned.

"Fine," Gabriel admitted. At least he knew that he couldn't save Meridia if he couldn't even walk forward. I sat him back down.

"Maybe after a few hours," I guessed. "Or I could go ahead of you to Chambers' Keep and find out what's between us and the Princess."

"You're really helping me out?" asked Gabriel. "And not the rebels?"

Anyone who had heard of the Blades of Midnight knew that we typically took the side of a war that was overthrowing a government instead of trying to save it, but the only reason that Jonathan Chambers started this whole thing was to grab power for himself, nothing more, even if he had tricked himself that his actions would save Chardan instead of destroy it. I knew the truth. Princess Meridia had the blood of Xyhra running through her veins. She was the one who was needed to preserve Chardan and protect it against the Abyss.

"Yes," I answered. "I defend everyone. Join me when you're ready?"

"Sure," said Gabriel. I couldn't imagine what he must have been feeling then. He had a duty to defend Chardan's Princess, and she was captured, and right now, he couldn't do anything about it because of injuries he'd sustained. I knew he could tell I wasn't lying to him, though, even though he didn't know me. I climbed to the top of a hill and looked into the distance. Chambers' Keep was behind several dozen hills and ravines between it and Idrasyll. It was either a foolish attempt at a natural fortification or a genius one at hiding a rebellion's headquarters. I took out my electronic binoculars and looked ahead. I could clearly see a watchtower on the horizon, with two of Jonathan Chambers' rebel soldiers standing in it. It was all I could do to keep myself from rushing forward to kill them without risk to myself. I had to approach the watchtower as quietly, but as quickly, as I could. I pulled my hood over my head and began towards the first ravine. I managed to make it across, avoiding the eyes of the watchtower, and across every other ravine and section of hills that stood between me and the gates of Chambers' Keep. I could eventually see the tower of the ancient fortress behind the snowy hills, and could sense Princess Meridia's aura hanging over it. The gates had a sorry excuse for an outpost in front of them, filled with a dozen rebel soldiers. Gabriel and I wouldn't be able to get into Chambers' Keep unless the men in the gate fort were dealt with, and I was too far away from Gabriel now to turn back without being followed.

"Here we go," I whispered to myself. I crept up to the door of the small building, and knocked on it with the pommel of one of my daggers. It was a noise loud enough to wake the dead, so everyone in the building heard it. I took out a smoke grenade, and as a rebel soldier answered the door, I cut his throat, then threw it inside. A huge cloud of smoke engulfed the entire inside of the outpost, impairing the vision of everyone inside. While they couldn't see, I either stabbed them or cut their throats open, and no one was left by the time the smoke was gone. My dark cuirass was covered in blood, as well as the blade of my dagger, and my hood. I wouldn't go any further, now. I told Gabriel that I would find out what stood between us and the Princess, and I did, and I dealt with it. All I could do now was wait for the Paladin to arrive where I was. I went outside and sat against the door to the "outpost".

"Well, Gabriel," I whispered. "Any time, now."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. I stood up and drew both of my daggers, then looked around to see what could be coming towards me. I couldn't sense anything, but there was something coming closer to me. I began to notice that the ground around the small building was lowering, or was I rising? Suddenly, there was a loud roar echoing through the air, and whatever I was standing on shook again. I hurled a translocator to the ground and warped myself to it, then turned around to see what I faced. It wasn't a monster. It was a machine!

"Wooooah," I whispered. This LWM had a cabin with a sloped roof that was supported by two long, mantis-like legs that allowed it to reach what must have been thirty feet in the air. On the undersides of the cabin were two large cannons and three machine gun turrets, while the top had two missile pods on either side of its roof. Two enormous arms with giant blades on the ends extended from its sides. Blades that could easily kill me with a single swing. It didn't seem to be using its arms just yet, though. I saw both of its cannons and all three machine guns aim right at me, then I saw the flaps of the missile pods open.

"Oh, no," I gasped. Every single weapon in the war machine's arsenal began to fire, and I held my hands out in front of me, in a pathetic attempt to shield myself from my death. Explosions erupted all around me, loudly and brightly, but I was still alive. I opened my eyes and looked around. I was under an aura dome, like what a Defender class Guardian Knight could use, but it wasn't a Guardian's aura I sensed in front of me.

"Gabriel?" I whispered. He looked behind himself, to me. It was Gabriel!

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I answered.

"Then let's destroy this thing."