She awakened frantically, her sleep plagued by nightmares of people chasing her. The sun was up and her horse huffed by her side, its head gently nudging the exhausted Princess. She used its reigns to help herself stand. Her side was tender as she moved.
She maneuvered her cloak out of the way to examine her torso. There was a faint bruise and another on her arm, the markings showing where one of the men had grabbed her. Everything happened so fast last night the Princess hadn't even realized she was hurt.
Other than the bruises, she fared well enough. Some scrapes on her hands, her legs red with a few scratches.
She bent over and probed her knee. There was a pink scar just above her knee, where Shade had stitched her up. Thinking back to their journey to Sagrada seemed so long ago now. After days of isolated travels she was craving companionship. At home she could have walked down to the kitchens and chatted with Sirey; or hung out with Ralf and watch as he trained David. Out here she had no one, only a horse.
Before continuing on, she checked her compass. Going around the army yesterday had thrown her off course, yet she figured there was only another day or two of traveling until reaching Bacciballum.
While walking next to her horse, Elysia planned her speech. If she was going to convince an entire kingdom to ally with Lyra, she was going to need a compelling speech. With time on her hands, she procured a persuading argument.
After many hours and several breaks, Elysia began to suspect she was being followed. There were no signs of it other than the nagging feeling in her gut. The woods were quiet and the fog was thick. Frequently, she glanced behind her, paranoid.
Just when she was giving up on the idea of being followed, she turned her head one last time and saw a figure on horseback not fifty yards from her. Quickly, she mounted her horse, checking back again. He was gone, absorbed by the mist.
She urged her horse to a canter. Her horse weaved around trees and occasionally veered one way or another to determine whether or not she was truly being followed. The figure remained determinedly behind her.
She pushed her horse faster and the figure matched pace. Knowing no good would come from this interaction, she readied her bow. Hopefully that would portray her intentions if this person continued their pursuit.
Curiosity made her wonder what this person was after. The first people she encountered questioned her motives as a foreigner. The men last night seemed intent on robbing her. This man appeared to be alone.
When the presence of her bow did not sway the man from following intently after her, she fired a warning shot. She had killed enough people already. If there was a way to avoid another death, she would take it.
Surprisingly, the action worked. He retreated back into the fog. Elysia turned around in her saddle, facing forward, but kept her pace quick.
After a few minutes, the sound of galloping hooves made her heart stop. The man's horse was galloping fast, gaining on her own. He was offset behind her to the right.
Elysia's horse had been invaluable thus far, but was no match for the speed of the other horse. He caught up to her with little effort and Elysia was forced to veer further left. If she couldn't outrun him, she would try to lose him in the fog.
Her horse was outmatched. There was no shaking this pursuer. He reached out for her and she leaned away. She grabbed a knife quickly and slashed it out towards him. He twisted away in time, but continued to reach for her.
"Stop the horse, Princess." She would recognize that voice anywhere. Shade.
Relief overwhelmed her. He was alive; she hadn't killed him! Then her pulse quickened: he wasn't here to help her. He was here to take her back. There was no way she was going to return after all she endured, not before making it to Bacciballum.
Instead of obeying, she sat forward in the saddle and urged her horse faster. Now that she knew her pursuer was Shade, she could switch tactics. After all, he couldn't hurt her.
Shade made a noise of annoyance. "You can keep running, my horse is fresh!"
He was right, of course. Eventually her horse would give out...or die. There was no use running it to death. She stopped her horse, dismounting instantly, and not so gracefully. Off balance, she stumbled to the right. Shade--who had managed to dismount his horse in record time--caught hold of her arms to steady her, his hands firm. It was a grip that was unrelenting.
She made an effort to fight against his hold. When that didn't work, she pulled her knee up hard, which he avoided by shifting over. While her intent was unsuccessful, she did manage to make him sidestep. She used his movement to push out of his grip and run.
"Really?" He chased after her easily, grabbing her cloak and yanking her to him. She whirled around, knife in hand and slashed out. Shade's eyes burned with annoyance.
"Will you stop?" He grabbed hold of her wrist mid swing. Without pause, she used her left to grab another knife.
To her complete surprise, she managed to slice his forearm as he reached to stop her. Blood dripped from his arm and he stared at her. Before he could say anything, she kicked her leg out, knocking him down. He pulled her down with him and they rolled until she was over him, her arm raised to strike again.
Using momentum, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled until he was dominating over her. He struggled to pin her arms down, a knife in each of her hands. The Princess struggled against him, trying to swing her arm forward. He stopped her right with his left, pinning her arm to the ground above her head. When her left arm swung for him, he pinned that one down too.
Both of her arms were pinned above her, the leaves crunching underneath, mud caking the back of her hands. She struggled against his grip. She couldn't move her legs or her arms. No amount of adrenaline or strength was enough to escape him, but that didn't keep her from trying.
"Stop fighting me," his voice was sharp in her ear.
Elysia shook her head, on the verge of tears. "I'm not going back, Shade! You can drag me the whole way, but I will not go back willingly. I have come too far and endured too much to turn back now. If I don't make it to Bacciballum and persuade them to ally with us, that's it, it's over. My kingdom will be ruined. So no," she stared into his eyes, "I will not stop fighting you."
There was silence. Though she didn't go limp, her efforts faded as she waited for him to respond. His words surprised her. "I'm not taking you back."
"What?"
"You made it this far. It would be a waste to turn around now."
She blinked at him. "Are you serious?"
He let go of her arms and sat up, his knees still pinning her down. "With conditions, of course." She waited for him to list them. "You obey every order I give you, you don't question my tactics, and you never--ever--poison me again."
She couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her. "Sorry about that." He looked less than amused. "I guess you have every right to be mad at me."
"Mad at you?" his voice raised. She braced for a lecture. "You went behind my back and poisoned me, which--by the way--could have killed me! Then you go off on your own leaving behind a trail of dead bodies. I finally find you and you almost shoot me with an arrow and manage to cut me with your knife...I've never been more proud."