"Ah? Blinding spell? Yes…"
"Good. We'll use that. How long do you think you can blind the wolves?" Artemis was thinking of blinding the wolves for a good few minutes and have her knights safely get the royal knights out of harm. Then, use a teleportation orb to distance themselves and prepare themselves.
In the novel, her knights suffered since they had to actively protect them under her strict orders while also fighting against the wolves. Alas, the wolves had been smarter than they expected and tried to go for the weakened ones first. This time, she wanted to at least get rid of the distractions before letting them fight. The plan was simple but she hoped it would work. Anyway, she believed in her knights and their skills. They came from the renowned Francia family and that was her guarantee.
"Wolves… Maybe around two to three minutes? The spell is not that effective against animals."
"Alright. Here's the plan; blind the wolves and escort the royal knights somewhere further using a teleportation orb just in case the spell runs out quicker. From there, we fight the wolves. Any questions?"
How could they have any questions? This was Artemis they were talking about, the only one who could fearlessly command them and the only one who has enough skills to actually do so. The knights shook their head and Artemis lead the group to the area near where the wolves were.
Blood immediately entered her vision and the horrific sight of mangled bodies made her lightheaded. From her sight, she could see the royal knights clashing against wolves twice the size of them. From her distance, she could see their atrocious mouth with their razor-sharp teeth dripping with blood. It was straight out of a horror movie. Artemis found herself frozen in place and she could only tremblingly order the mage to cast the spell immediately.
The mage closed his eyes and out from his mouths were incantations of strange words that seamlessly entered her ears like mystifying ancient music. Soon, she could hear the confused howls of the wolves as darkness suddenly blinded them of their vision and the knights immediately acted. They moved in a rigid discipline as they carried the injured ones and rushed to hurl over the confused royal knights. Artemis fumbled with her leather bag and grabbed a cold marble-like stone that shone with iridescent blue light. This was the teleportation orb that she was talking about. It was also her first time seeing this, but she had no time to have the pleasure of being in awe. As she quickly observed her surroundings and saw that the knights were all in range of the teleportation, she broke the orb with zero hesitation.
The surroundings changed. Artemis felt dizzy and saw the environment spin before her. Bile threatened to rise in her throat but held it in. The bitter and acidic taste made her feel dirty and uncomfortable. As her vision cleared up, she could see the knights faring better than her. But at least they were now far from danger. It was still the same marsh swampland, but she could no longer the wolves. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Young Lady, His Highness is not with us-" One knight anxiously remarked, afraid of how she would throw a tantrum.
"I know," She cut him off with gritted teeth. That was another problem. But for now, they had to quickly deal with the wolves lest they try to escape and let the situation become possibly worse.
"All able knights gather up and prepare, I'll immediately be transporting you again. And the healer along with and one more knight will be staying to guard."
All who heard her went into position and she gave the knight in command the teleportation orb. She figured they would know how to use it so she had no questions. After the knights teleported away and away from her sights, she let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. After this, she only had to find Ian and everything would finally be over. Finally. She can't wait to lay down on her soft bed once again and sleep away all her fears.
Artemis did not know how much time passed yet as she waited any longer, a rising anxiousness awakened inside her. She was afraid of her plan possibly going astray and having to actually take lead to solve it. She was too powerless to do anything and she was afraid of complicating things any further. She just had to put her trust on her knights.
A few more minutes passed and Artemis finally snapped. The growing fear of things going as predicted like the novels weighed heavily on her. As she got ready to stand up, the rustling of leaves on her side alarmed her. She turned her head to look and was instantly relieved to see her knights coming back with minor injuries.
"How is it?" She asked, an underlying tremble underneath.
"It went fine, Young Lady. The wolves were stronger than we anticipated, but we finished them all. It was a good thing that we escorted the royal knights out before clashing. The consequences would've been terrible."
Hearing their words, Artemis breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down on the logs to sit once again. Her trembling hand betrayed her façade of braveness. Now, what was left was finding Ian. It would be easier compared to the novel since she had her knights with her this time. She also knew where Ian was so she was confident she can finish this off before nighttime.
"Alright, good work everyone. We will rest here for a bit before continuing our journey."
Everyone else had no qualms with this and took this precious time to rest. Artemis went around helping with minor injuries by cleansing and bandaging it. They also took this time to eat a quick meal before finally departing. One knight retrieved the horses and Artemis mounted hers without too much trouble. She turned to look at the royal knights and gave a small smile, "We'll take charge from here. All severely injured knights should quickly leave now and receive proper treatment."
"Lady Francia, we are so ashamed of our lacking abilities. Please forgive us,��� They kneeled down in shame, finding it hard in their pride to actually need the help of some little miss way younger than them. But they knew how to accept faults. It was their fault for being too weak to protect their master even properly.
"It's all right. We all have one goal and that is to save His Highness. And you would do us great comfort knowing we don't have to protect someone. Are there any clues as to where His Highness his?"
The royal knights felt their face flush in embarrassment at the word of 'protect'. They gritted their teeth and answered, "We had him flee towards the east. That's all we know."
Artemis frowned in displeasure, "Without any escorts?"
Faced with her cold stare and frown, the royal knight found it hard to speak, "Yes… H-His Highness said he can take care of himself."
"That's very careless of you considering you're all royal knights. I've also heard that he was greatly injured. Even if he said that, it's your duty to protect him, right?"
"I—"
"Nevermind. In that case, we just need to quicken our search."
Artemis did not want to listen to any more of their ramblings and had them quickly return to the city. She and her knights immediately departed, afraid that things will worsen if they stall any longer. The winds rushed past their skin and the cold wind bit at her skin. She welcomed the feeling. This was what she really needed the most after that series of unnerving events.
After a few hours of constant traveling and a quick inspection of places, Artemis felt her back sore up in pain. They were very lucky to not meet evil beasts frequently and she could rest well without having to worry. Fortunately, they immediately arrived at the destination she wanted. A huge circle clearing in the middle of the gloomy forest caught her eyes and matched the description in the novel. This was the vicinity as to where Ian was hiding from the wolves with his injury. She did not know what he will do with his predicament if they did not arrive but she did not bother to know. All she wanted was to save him and get everything over.
"We'll stay here for now. All knights guard the area for potential danger. I'll look for His Highness here," Artemis dismounted from her horse and quickly stretched her stiff body.
"Young Lady…? How do we know if His Highness is in here?"
Right. They did not know yet.
Artemis cleared her throat," I probed the area and I could sense a human presence here. I'm going to take a look while you guard."
"Okay, we will carefully guide. Please be careful, Young Lady."
Artemis nodded her head and walked to the end of the clearing where clumps of huge trees covered the sun. Looking down, she could see a faint trace of footprints that were clumsily hidden by swiping mud against them. She bitterly smiled. Even when injured, he still did not let down his guard.