She caught his expression suddenly changing from flushed shy boy to a sudden solemn old man. The air suddenly became icy as both of them felt a present of an unwanted traveler. A roar of thunder suddenly strikes, traveling as quick as the wind.
"What's happening?"
"We have pests on a hunt…"
Johan stood quickly as Elena straightened the hem of her dress. Johan opened the carriage door, his hands reached out for a sword on his waist and jumped out of the carriage while it moved. The man seemed to be used to these kinds of stances as he did not even hesitate to leave her inside the wagon completely surprised.
Elena peaked through the window, behind them was Bowellich, a subspecies of monsters that has thick snake-like skin that normal weapons like knives cannot penetrate. They were very common in the Westfield of Probiterra, they were known to be excellent hunters because even with their large build that is far bigger than that of a human, they are silent killers like a snake. These types of monster are usually very active during the water season when the weather is not too cold and not too hot.
"Please stay inside the carriage…"
A voice suddenly approached her from behind. Elena quickly turned around and found a young man, probably in his twenties, looking at her with blank eyes. Her heart pounded hard upon seeing the pursuers, but the man looked almost relaxed and unbothered as his eyes finally moved towards the five Bowellich in sight.
"What are you still doing there, Miss… I told you to stay inside."
Elena caught herself completely out of it at the wrong time. Before she placed her head back inside the carriage, a sweeping wind passed by quickly. She had no idea what happened, but Elena felt a sting on her left cheek.
"Inside now!"
As if by instinct, she dunked inside and touched her cheeks. Thick red blood stuck into her fingers, something just cut her cheeks and she didn't know what it was.
In a few moments, the roaring thunder penetrated through her ears louder than usual. Elena covered her ears with the drying blood still on her hands. Her body completely trembled as she crunched down onto the carriage's wooden floor away from the door and tightly shut her eyes, wanting to be invisible in the moment of fear.
Am I going to die like this?
She thought to herself as the King of Ibreotha came to mind. His malicious grin brought her skin to crawl as she imagined him looking at her helplessly with his pale green eyes just like hers.
Is this what the king wanted? He didn't kill me himself… was it because this situation is far more satisfying? I didn't kill anyone! Why should I suffer?
The carriage shook and in a second, it became completely tilted that her body suddenly leaned forward, hitting the door widely open with her body, throwing her out and exposed to the gruesome battle between the knights and Bowellich. From five Bowellich, the monster became a gang of twelve monsters, completely outnumbering the knight's of Saintshield. For those few seconds, she felt completely exposed and helpless once again. Her short-lived bundle of comfort inside the carriage had completely vanished as soon as Elena realized the carriage had been thrown to the cliff, where she was, only inches away from. Horses attached to the carriage were also carried along with it.
Then a shrieking scream like wind traveling, surfaced behind her. She caught the hunter's attention by the blood dripping from her wounded cheeks. Though she wanted to scream from the top of her lungs, she found herself completely frozen from fear as her teeth grinded against each other in nervousness. The cold drop of the water was making her feel numb, yet aware.
The Bowellich that stood behind her did not move yet, only watched her as if curious to know what she was. After a moment, its big structure walked stiffly towards her. Their distances reached her proximity very quickly as the hunter moved without a sound only then a sword suddenly came flying from the opposite direction. Thick white blood came gushing out as the heavy sword, used like a spear, hit the center of the monster's chest.
"Princess!"
A familiar voice emerged among the Knights who were occupied with dealing with the Bowellich. As the scene of the sword dances to the beat of the rain rhythmically dropping onto the ground, a frightened Johan Antonov came forward, running towards her in high alert. His face became completely distorted as soon as he caught sight of her wounded cheeks.
"Wh-who did-- Fuck!"
His clear eyes suddenly ignited fire as if he just relinquished a death threat. His face darkened as soon he caught sight of the monster who had threatened her life, lying on the ground. Quickly, he scooped her up, dirt and mud had already on her face. She flinched from the sudden movement, her right side suddenly became sore from being slammed out of the carriage door.
Johan quickly moved her to a safer place, away from the sight of the battle. He took off his tassel and quickly ripped a piece of fabric from his tunic. The fabric tears from the implied strength and he quickly covered her bleeding cheeks using the cloth.
"Why didn't you call for me?!"
An unexpected anger came from Johan's mouth. Elena blinked in surprise as the man seemed to have been shaken up upon seeing her on the ground in a hopeless state.
"I-I didn't... to burden--"
"Stop it."
His jaw tightened as if suppressing the anger that had just suddenly poured out of nowhere. He looked at her with cold eyes as his brows creased, completely halting her from making a useless excuse.
Johan quickly vanished from sight after looking into her wounds, though it bled quite a bit, it seemed that the wound on her cheeks would not leave a scar. Elena sat behind the huge solid rock, concealing herself in the sights of the hungry hunters who wanted a piece of her.
As the rain continued to cloud her vision, Elena hugged her legs closest to her chest, which suddenly reminded her of the soreness on her right shoulder. In the far distance, the faint sounds of grumples and screams mix together. Elena curled her body tighter and lowered her head to her knees, looking like a human ball. As the adrenaline started to subside, the soreness of her shoulder became more evident. As fatigue finally creeped in, her vision started going dark.
Elena raised her head, attempting to rid of the sudden dizziness that invaded her. Next thing she knew, the ground was shaking as if it was trying to make a hole from where she was sitting down. She quickly got up, removing herself from the spot that seemed to be the one area that was moving. Suddenly, the mudded ground started collapsing, creating a dark hole, which was slowly expanding.
Elena grasped from the sight, realizing that her body was suddenly burning from an unknown heat, traveling from the right side of her face, where the cut was, to her neck, moving its way down to her shoulder and arms as if trying to paralyzed her. The burning sensation felt terrible that the rain dropping onto her skin felt hotter. Her head spun from the terrible pain, leading her to lose balance. Before anyone could get to her, the ground's narrow gap collapsed, creating a bigger hole, consuming her into its darkness.