She was born Princess Gwenwyn Helena Anannet Egger, first-born child of the Great King Heralf, ruler of the Militant Kingdom of Rramnon. Shortly after her sixteenth birthday, Gwenwyn's father sent her to the Trade Kingdom, Terrafeuw, with a very spe...
The excitement caused Grapeseed to retreat slightly, but she managed to hold the horse firm.
The King held up a large hand, and silence swept through the fairgrounds.
Only the distant storm dared to make a sound.
Then the bell tolled and, like a crashing wave, horses and hunters rushed towards the Royal Forest at great speed.
Her vantage point, just at the edge of the forest, made the whole experience rather terrifying.
King Griggory's horse stopped in front of her.
"Best be getting inside, sweet Princess." He called out as his horse, Adonis, fought to enter the forest. "It would be a shame for you to get caught in this weather."
Before Gwenwyn could even nod a reply, King Griggory urged his horse forward and disappeared in to the forest.
Soon after, as Gwenwyn was circling back towards the Terrain Palace, the rain started to fall.
It started lightly, but soon shouts from merchants and venders could barely be heard over the din as the wind picked up speed.
She watched them scurry about in the distance, as she urged Grapeseed around the edge of the forest towards the palace lawn.
Thunder clashed loudly,
water slapped her across the face,
and then a large bolt of lightning hit a near by tree, and a terrified Grapeseed shot off into the forest.
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~~~Change Character Focus
Jenkins struggled to get his horse back under control after the branch came crashing down. The pouring rain had obscured his vision momentarily, but he was soon able to take in his surroundings.
His heart literally stopped.
Where was she?
He scanned the horizon but couldn't see her.
He edged his horse around the fallen branch and was relieved to see that the rain hadn't yet washed the tracks away.
Jenkins didn't think. He turned his horse towards the forest and rushed in after her.
The storm grew in intensity.
Wind howled against his ears.
Wet tree branched slapped his face.
His eyes burned as he looked for any sign of where she might have headed.
"Princess?" He continuously called out, but the storm drowned his voice. "Princess Gwenwyn? Can you hear me?"
Another bolt lit up the forest, and for a moment he was able to see her figure in the distance. Without hesitating, he urged is horse further into the woods after her.
She was heading away from the hunters and the Royal Forest, which forced him to push his steed even faster. Her current direction and speed, would bring her dangerously close to the horse trails, and thus the overhang.
He cursed under his breath as his horse struggled to continue in the downpour.
When he finally reached the overhang, Jenkin's eyes panicly scanned for her.
He looked out towards the ocean and visibly paled at the sight of the storm heading towards them.
He needed to find her, and soon.
Jenkins pushed further into the woods, hoping to find some- any sign of her.
As the tempest hit land, another bolt of lightning came crashing down near him. He thanked the Sea when he saw her silhouette only a few trees ahead of him.
Then everything in him fell apart.
As the sky blackened three sounds cut through the howling gale.
The cry from a horse.
A loud snap.
A woman's scream.
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~~~Change Character Focus
She was vaguely aware of someone yelling.
Her head pounded, and her body shivered uncontrollably as she struggled to breath.
Someone lifted her off the ground, and a searing pain in her shoulder forced a cry to escape her lips.
The pain was immense.
Swears and curses came from side as a warm blackness slowly enveloped her.
"Look at me." The voice jolted her into awareness, but it sounded so far away. "Damn it Gwen, look at me?"
She struggled to obey, but even the slightest movement caused the pain in her shoulder to return angrily. Her chest heaved and she fought to drawn in breath. Pain and panic caused her to hyperventilate.
The voice released a few more curses.
She would have chided them for the use of crude language, but she couldn't think past the sheer agony she that flowed through her.
"It hurts." She managed between labored breaths.
"I know." The voice responded, their breathing just as shaky as hers.
A moment later the ink black sky was replaced with the loveliest shade of blue she had ever seen. A blue sky filled with aching worry. Then, the blue darted away and above her was only black.
Was she hallucinating?
"Bare with me." She heard, before someone beside her moved swiftly and adjusted her position. A sob escaped her. Two large hands held firmly onto her shoulder while a knee supported her back.
Gwen," She heard them apologize, the voice so close to her ear that she could feel the warmth of their breath, "please forgive me for this."
Before she could contemplate those words those large hands jerked suddenly and the sound of a sickening pop came from her shoulder. The noise registered above the howl of both wind, rain and sea.
She cried out in agony as heat seared the entire right side of her body.
He caught her in his arms before her world went black.
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