Shortly after the two elven knights barged in the dining room, an explosion came, shaking the entire castle, making the lights flicker until it disappeared completely.
It sounds like it came from the west side of the castle, the entrance on the opposite side of the double-door I passed to come here. The same direction the four of us are running towards right now. I'm panting hard, not because I'm not fit to run through this massive castle, but because I'm shaken down to my core.
My blood went cold, the color drained off my face after that male knight mentioned an attack. I felt my soul left my body when the explosion came.
The only ear-shattering noise I have ever heard was from my grandmother's screams and my auntie's quarrels. But to hear a real, loud explosion paralyzed me in place. Faye grabs my hand, forcing me out of my chair, and drags me out.
A second explosion set off coming from the same direction. The castle shook violently once again. However, the walls stayed intact; even from the extreme shaking, the castle walls seem to have nothing as minuscule as a crack.
I just don't get why we're running towards danger. Shouldn't we be getting as far away as possible? Does this castle not have an underground hideout or something?
"They must have thought we'd fled to the left side of the castle where they're waiting to ambush," the female elf running beside me blurts out, her pitch-black eyes looking straight forward.
"Do they take us for fools, thinking that we'd fall for their tricks a second time?" the male elf let out a harsh laugh, "how numbingly tactless."
So whoever is attacking has used this tactic before. Why would they try the second time again? They are indeed brainless.
I remembered the castle to be empty this afternoon, but right now, I see panic-stricken creatures that may be workers of the castle running about, hiding behind furniture and slamming the doors to random empty rooms. My eyes catch one of the troll chefs hiding behind huge potted plants.
Faye's grip tightened on my wrist, pulling me with her as she runs at full speed. My legs are trying to catch up with her; she's so fast. More elven knights joined, circling Faye and me.
The door that leads us to the outside is right ahead of us. We should be on the far west part of the castle, near the entrance by the courtyard. But I don't see any ruins from the blast. The walls are still standing. This entire part of the castle is unharmed. Would that mean the explosion did not reach the castle?
The cold night air brushes past my cheeks as we step outside. Coming to a complete halt, I gasp. This is the site of the explosion. What once was a beautiful garden, well-maintained lawn, and a strongly built wall is now destroyed.
The blast looks to be aiming for the castle, but the castle surprisingly remained undamaged. Everything but the castle is eradicated, and there are still bits of fire left behind, lightening the dark outside.
"How?" I managed to breathe out.
"Surround us! They might still be lurking near," Faye says, pulling me close to her. Besides the sound of fire, it was oddly silent, which agitated me. Who knows what would appear from the darkness.
My eyes wander throughout my surroundings, which I regret as I spot a dark figure by the trees. I try to look away and alert Faye, but my eyes decided to stay, staring at the figure. Then I see it, those red, piercing eyes staring right at me. The figure moves, its eyes blinking as it propels its slender tentacle-like arms forward. Before I knew it, something big flew towards us as if it was thrown by that dark figure.
It seems to come in slow motion, and with all my might, I screamed with trembling lips, "T-TREE!"
Out of instinct, my hand shoots in front of me like I could stop the tree that's flying midair. I feel someone tug on my arm, pulling me away and the blonde-haired knight with icy-blue eyes steps in front of me, brandishing a slightly curved, silver sword in his right hand, waiting for the right moment as he jumps and slices the tree in half.
I was on the ground with Faye, who pulled me towards her, my heart beating out of fright. The knight turns his head towards me, his blue eyes gazing right at me. And he smiles, the smile that would make your heart race. But this isn't the right time, nor is it the place for such heartwarming moments. I look away, getting back on my feet, calming myself as Faye asks if I'm alright.
Get yourself together, I tell myself. I struggle to answer when a loud, violent shouting came from all around us. The elves circle us for defense with all their weapons out, brandishing different weapons; swords, spears, hand axes, some even holding two swords, and other weapons I have yet to know.
The shadowed dark figures are running towards us as the laminating light from the fires reveals their forms. There I see two types of hideous-looking creatures that I've never seen before. They look like warped versions of creatures I have met in this kingdom.
I see four horses – no, centaurs. Although they are not the centaurs in children's fairytales but something more terrifying. The horse's head is intact, with a man's torso attached to its back as if it was sewn there. Its arms long enough to scrape the ground holding spears and metal shields. Their skin and muscles exposed, with no fur or skin. It's a nightmare.
Rushing forward are four hooded little gremlins, no taller than dwarves, but their razor-sharp teeth behind their hooded, shadowed appearance say otherwise. They're fast, sprinting forward, blades in front, and some swinging cloth fling rocks and lead.
"Knights of Dazia, prepare to fight!" the blonde-haired elf shouts to his companions, turning to look at Faye and me, his eyes lingering at me for a while before looking straight back, "protect Rose and Faye at all cost."
Thunder strikes the dark sky, brightening the battlefield for only a few moments. In just a blink of an eye, the horrible looking creatures raise their weapons, striking the elves with full force. It became chaotic in just seconds, swords clashing, creatures brought down but only to get back up striking back ten times harder.
My body started to shake furiously at sight. I wanted to cover my ears to block off the loud sound of crashing metal. Faye wraps her left arm around me, holding a slightly curved dagger with a yellow and green handle in her right hand, being alert if a creature might break inside the circle.
Only yesterday, I was back at home, doing my usual routine. My relatives nagging me about my marriage with Wilbert, and now I stand in the middle of a battle between elves and creatures of the night. I flinch seeing some of the elves being stabbed in different places, some already losing an arm. Doubt was already eating at me. I doubt the elves are going to win this.
I scream, seeing the centaur - looking creature drop an elf's lifeless body on the ground, creating an opening in the circle. The hideous body attached on the horse's back grins wretchedly, his eyes falling on me. He spins his spear, stepping over the corpse with strong hooves and into the circle.
My body wanted to collapse at that moment, but as I was about to scream, Faye steps in front of me like lightning, charging towards the creature with just a dagger in her hand.
No, I wanted to tell her to stop or run after her. But my feet are glued on the ground, unable to move. I couldn't bear watching what'll happen next as I lift both my hands to cover my eyes. For the first time, the darkness felt comforting.
I hear Faye scream following the sound of tearing skin, the sound that flesh makes as it gets sliced in two. I start weeping. I pictured the thought of the creature holding Faye's head in my mind making me scream as I hear a loud thud as if bodies dropped to the ground. I open my eyes, dropping my hands, my eyes widening at sight in front of me.
Faye stood with a blood-smeared face holding two heads up like it's some trophy she's trying to show off. She catches my frightened expression and quickly drops the heads and rushes in my direction, lunging forward in front of my eyes when an edge of a spear pierces Faye's stomach from behind, bright blood staining her beautiful white dress.
"FAYE NO!" I cry, about to approach but halted.
The spear withdraws, causing Faye to fall on her knees, showing the creature that stabbed her. The hooded creature raises its spear, aiming to slice her head off when the blonde-haired elf stabs the creature on its side, lifting its small figure using his sword and flings it away. He bends down to Faye.
A sound of a horn interrupts the fighting. The creatures took this opportunity to retreat, dealing their last blow before running away to the direction where I saw the figure with red eyes. The elves looked confused as to why they were retreating.
Just like that, the fight was over. I run to Faye, who lies on the ground, her eyes fighting to stay open. I fall on my knees beside her. Not knowing what to do, my trembling hands try to reach out to her, but I retreat it covering my quivering lips as tears flow down my cheek.
"Hurry, get her back inside the castle!"