So excited from last night's adventures, the group was planning their next raid the next day. They scanned the villages near them on Neve's map, deciding where to take their next step.
Neve mentioned a city called Catarion, a few day's ride from here. She said she knew the city quite well, saying her and her parents would visit there during the warmer seasons to stock up on items they couldn't find in the far north. That was enough to convince everyone else that it was the perfect place to raid. With Neve's previous knowledge of the city, they'd be in and out in no time.
Given it had worked so well last time, each member of their group had taken on their previous assignments, prepping in what ways they could to do it faster, better, and still get out alive.
Using what little materials she had found, Taryn had managed to craft a few more explosives. Neve was still teaching Zeph how to sword fight, promising him that if he did well enough in their lessons, he could help Taryn distract the guards. Andre helped however he could, helping Taryn find raw materials in the forest to craft arrows and explosives, teaching Zeph how to wield a sword when Neve was too tired, and cooking dinner for the three of them when everyone else was too exhausted to even stand.
Thankfully though, Andre seemed to be much more awake and present in whatever he was doing, which probably meant Zeph wasn't keeping him up as much at night. Though the kid had a gift, she could only imagine how hard it would be, especially seeing the death of the people you love. And so, she hoped that at least for now, his visions were subsiding, even if for a little while. Then, Andre could get some rest, and Zeph wouldn't have to wake up screaming in the middle of the night.
Taryn was a little ways from camp one day, practicing her archery. She pulled the arrow back, taking a deep breath as she focused on the tree in front of her.
"Hey," Andre's voice said behind her.
Startled, she jumped at his voice, letting go of her arrow as she watched it shoot into the air.
"Next time, can you wait until after I've shot the arrow to talk to me?" She said, turning around to face him.
"If you didn't know I was here, that's on you," He said.
The two laughed and Taryn slid her bow over her shoulder. "What's going on?"
"Nothing," He said simply. "Neve and Zeph are off doing their thing, I had finished the last of my jobs, thought I'd go and find you,"
"You want to watch me practice shooting arrows for the rest of the day?"
"Do you have a better idea?" He said.
"Alright," She took her bow back off her shoulder and grabbed one of her arrows, lining it up directly to the tree in front of her.
"So where did you learn archery?"
She let go of the arrow, watching it stick perfectly straight into the bark in front of her. "My-- my father taught me," She said. It felt weird to call him her father. Lucien had always insisted on her, Calinn, and Ophelia calling him by his first name. Any mention that he was their father got him all flustered. Taryn could remember the look on his face perfectly. His cheeks would turn red, his eyes nearly wide open. She would ask what was wrong and he would insist everything was fine. He wouldn't look her, or anyone around them for that matter, in the eyes until they had moved onto a new conversation and he had calmed down.
"Your father, huh?" Andre said, snapping Taryn back to the moment.
"Yeah. He taught me how to use a sword, staff, bow, crossbow, even a mace."
"Impressive, must've been nice being a noble,"
"I mean, I didn't have to worry about where my next meal was coming from, but my family and I... let's just say we don't get along very well. My brother and I hardly even spoke to each other, and I tried to avoid my mother at all cost." She shook her head, wiping some tears from her eyes. "Sorry, I don't usually talk about those kinds of things."
Andre fidgeted with his fingers. "Are you excited for tonight?"
Taryn nodded. "I am. And you?"
"I am too."
Taryn slid her bow over her shoulder, sitting down next to Andre. "Why haven't you left yet?"
"Do I need a reason?"
"I'm just curious, that's all."
He leaned back on his hands, thinking to himself. "There wasn't anywhere else for us to go, and you and Neve seemed pretty nice."
Taryn leaned closer to him, dropping her voice to a whisper. "Anything else?" She asked.
He gave her a sly smile. "I think you know,"
He leaned forward, as did Taryn. He grabbed her hand in his and she rubbed her fingers through his dark curls, their faces inches apart.
"There you guys are!" Neve said, bursting through the trees.
Taryn immediately dropped her hand and stood up, adjusting the bow on her back. She glanced back towards Andre, who simply stood up as well. Zeph ran out of the woods behind Neve.
"Are you ready?" He asked excitedly.
"Yeah," Andre sighed, glancing towards Taryn. She walked up to him, patting his shoulder.
"We'll talk later, alright?" She said, smiling at him.
He nodded and the four headed back through the woods.
Once they had packed up camp, they took their horses to the edge of the city. The four crept forward, getting a better look.
"Neve, are you sure this is the place?" Taryn asked.
"It has to be," Neve said, glancing down at her map.
"This is a lot bigger than you said it would be,"
"I guess they've expanded?"
"It's fine," Andre interjected. "We're freeing prisoners, it will be easy enough, despite the size of the city,"
Taryn wasn't convinced, but they were already here, and these people were waiting for their Northern Savior, as Mattias had called her and Neve, and now Andre. She could only hope that Andre was right about this one.
"Alright," Taryn said. "Andre, you, Zeph, and Neve will head in. I'll be watch out. This place is bigger than we planned, so if you can't get everyone out, we're just going to have to leave them,"
Neve tilted her head. "Taryn, that doesn't sound--"
"Do as I say," Taryn ordered. "I'm not letting anyone get hurt tonight, alright? Especially with--" She paused for a moment, trying to keep herself from looking at Andre. "Especially with... with Zeph joining us. I don't want anything to happen to him, or to either of you."
The other three nodded, agreeing in silence.
"Once I'm out of sight, I want you three to go in, okay?"
They nodded again.
Taryn turned and ran further down the city wall. She stopped at a tree just beyond the field of a view of the guards. She climbed as fast as she could, reaching the top in no time at all. As quickly as she could, she hopped from one tree to the next, getting increasingly closer to the city wall. She finally landed on a large pine, it's long branches stretching into the city, the perfect place to cause her distraction.
Once she was perched in place, she saw Neve and Zeph walk in, Andre behind them, dressed in his Southern armor. Taryn grabbed one of her explosions and tied it to an arrow. She slid the arrow into her bow and pulled it tight as she waited for the right moment. She scanned the crowd, looking for the perfect place to strike. There was a surprising amount of Southern soldiers, even more so than usual. The differing shades of black and red scattered the streets. There were hardly any Northerners in sight. Taryn's confidence in their ability to pull this off suddenly plummeted, her heart sinking in her chest.
Right as Andre and Neve were heading for one of the buildings, Taryn let go of her arrow. She watched as it whizzed through the air, landing on the top of an empty market booth. The explosion from the arrow set the booth on fire, quickly spreading to the other booths, and even onto the street.
Before Taryn could take in the sight of destruction, a dozen bows were pulled out of nowhere, all aimed at her. Someone knew they were coming here, the entire mission had been compromised. Her options were limited, and she was going to run out of time before she could make a decision. As thoughts rushed through her mind, she saw a far off Andre, Neve, and Zeph all kneeling before their Southern overlords, hands bound behind their backs. Before Taryn could even attempt to try to think of a way to rescue them, the arrows beneath her fired, hitting just below where she was standing. She turned to watch them, the small explosives tied to them bursting on impact. She let out an ear splitting scream as the branch beneath her was blown from the tree, sending her tumbling through the air as she fell.
Everything she had worked so hard for, everything she had done to make things right, to distance herself from the dreaded Southern kingdom, it would all end here.
But Taryn never hit the ground. Her body was stopped midair, the soldiers beneath her parting to make way. She turned her head to see Mattias staring at her, his hand in the air as he stood at the head of the parted soldiers. Zeph, Neve, and Andre were all kneeling beside him, each one with a respective guard behind them. Mattias twisted his hand, turning Taryn with it. He lowered her onto the ground, a guard immediately coming to bind her arms, another guard stripping her of her weapons.
"YOU'RE A COWARD!" Taryn screamed. "You should've killed me when you had the chance!"
Once she was properly tied up, Mattias flicked his wrist, sending her flying towards him. She stopped mere inches from him, staring up at his face. She took in every detail, fearing it might be the last face she ever saw. She noted the scar that trailed from the bottom of his cheek, up across his nose, and over his eyes and into his hair. She noted his hard jawline, that complimented his neatly trimmed hair and cleanly shaven beard. How she had ever called this man her friend, she could only wonder.
"Oh, come on now," He said, giving her a sly smile. "Don't you think your mother would want you alive?"
"That woman has no respect for life, especially not mine," Taryn spat.
Mattias dropped his hand and Taryn dropped to her knees, a sword firmly pressed against her back once her knees hit the stone. "One move and your life is over. I don't want to kill you Taryn, but I can. You don't want to end up like your sister now, do you? Naive, a fool, and most importantly, dead."
"Fine, take me, but let them go,"
"I'm afraid I can't do that. They're accomplices, they're guilty of treason just as much as you are. And to think, you had so much potential. Lucien put a lot of faith in you, such a shame to disappoint someone you were so close with, but then again, he wouldn't even call you what you really were,"
"Don't you say it," Taryn spat.
"If I was him, I'd be disgraced to call you my daughter as well,"
"Lucien?" Andre muttered, recognizing the infamous Southern name.
"What is it?" Neve whispered, turning her head towards Andre.
Mattias turned his head towards Andre and Neve, gazing upon their confused looks. He turned back towards Taryn. "They don't know," He laughed, and he laughed for a long time, as if this whole thing was some sort of sick joke. "Well then," He said, moving behind Taryn so they could get a good look at her. "May I present to you,"
"Mattias, don't do this," Taryn begged. Tears were welling in her eyes, she couldn't let herself cry here, not in front of Neve, not in front of Andre or Zeph, not when her life was one the line, but she couldn't hold it back. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed, flowing from her eyes. "Mattias, please!" She yelled.
He didn't listen; Mattias only smiled. "May I present to you, Princess Tayrn, daughter of the Head Guard, Lucien, and The Southern Queen, Renei. Heir to the Rhaydan throne, Powerless at birth, and a disgrace to the Southern Kingdom." The sword at Taryn's back dug deeper into her skin, and she realized that it was now Mattias holding the sword, controlling whether or not she lived. "All hail the heir, a tribute to her betrayal of both Northerners and Southerners alike. A curse upon this wretched land when she was destined to be the hero, bow, bow to her!"
The sword dug deeper into Taryn's back and she cried harder, completely unable to control the tears pouring from her eyes.
"Long live the queen," Mattias whispered, pushing the sword even further into her back before he withdrew it from her completely. Taryn toppled over, black spots appearing in her vision as the life drained from her.
"YOU MONSTER!" Neve screamed. Taryn looked up as ice shot up from behind Neve, splitting the ropes binding her arms and hitting the guard behind her in his face. She shot her hand to her left and ice broke the ropes binding Andre and Zeph. She then lifted the spikes up higher and threw them against the guards, making the guards go flying.
Mattias lifted his hand, aiming for Neve. Andre shot between the two, blocking Neve from him.
"Don't get in my way," Mattias said, pointing his palm at Andre before his threw his hand to the side, but Andre didn't move. Mattias stared in shock as Neve pressed her hand against the ground, covering the stone street in a thick layer of ice, guards sliding into each other as they tried to move.
"Get Taryn and Zeph and get out of here!" She screamed, lifting her arms above her head as a large barrier of ice shot between them and the guards.
"What? No, Neve, come on!" Andre yelled, picking up Taryn in his arms, Zeph right beside him.
"I'll hold them, I promise I'll be right behind you,"
"I don't believe you," Taryn muttered from Andre's arms. She was cold, very cold. She fought to stay awake, afraid that if she went asleep, she wouldn't wake up.
"JUST GO!" Neve yelled. She pulled one hand away from the barrier of ice, which the Southern soldiers were already making cracks in. She pulled up another ice barrier and pushed it up against Andre and Zeph's back, pushing them towards the entrance to the city. Andre looked back just as the Southern soldiers burst through Neve's other barrier, grabbing onto her and forcing her to the ground. Not taking any chances, Mattias knocked her over the head, rendering her unconscious.
"NO!" Andre screamed, but his voice was lost to the crowd of angry soldiers.
Knowing he didn't have much time left, and Taryn still bleeding out, he started running, checking to make sure Zeph was right beside him. They ran to the horses and Zeph quickly climbed onto one of the horses.
"Go, go!" Andre said.
Zeph flicked reigns and Andre hit the back of the second horse, immediately sending it following after Zeph. Andre climbed onto the third horse and flicked the reigns, galloping as fast as he could after Zeph.
"Stay with me, stay with me," Andre begged as they rode..
Taryn's eyes flickered open and she gazed up at Andre.
"Stay with me," He told her again.
She reached up and pulled his head closer to hers, pressing their lips together. If this was the end, this was the last thing Taryn wanted to remember, the last thing she wanted to think about. She let herself get lost in the moment, her hands gripping to his face as his fingers trailed through her hair, his other hand holding her firmly against him. Taryn had never known what it was like to love someone, but in that moment, she understood it all, gripping tighter to him, desperate to feel the touch of his lips against hers for just a little longer.
"I love you," She whispered, the words barely escaping from her lips.
Andre kissed her again, a silent way of saying I love you too. She embraced it, remembering every feeling, every gentle touch of his rough, callused hands against her skin as she felt her own life slipping away, trying to take her away from this moment, away from him.
He pulled away, gazing into her deep, charcoal eyes.
"Don't forget me," She whispered, leaning her head against his chest as she closed her eyes, praying it wouldn't be her final time, praying that she would wake up in Andre's arms, Neve and Zeph beside him as they told her that everything was alright, that it had all been a bad dream, and that she would recover soon.
She let out one final breath, she could only hope.