"Damn." Bastian muttered under his breath as he drew his sword.
There were twelve, he counted. If they ran into the streets then he was sure they would be followed and spotted by more.
Looking discreetly to his right and left he made sure of where two of his enemies were, then as they both charged him he ducked and they collided.
Smiling to himself he observed the two men who were lying unconscious. But his savouring didn't last long and he heard swords being drawn from their sheaves.
Sighing he turned and quickly dodged one attackers blow. Shifting to the right he sliced the man's arm then kicking him on the knee he unbalanced him and sliced his neck.
More men came towards him and he dealt with them in equal measure.
"Bastian!" He heard a familiar voice call. Sighing he punched his current foe in the face and elbowed the one sneaking up behind him, no doubt the one the flower was trying to warn him about. Stabbing the one before him he grabbed a knife and thrust it into the man behind him's stomach.
Spinning in a circle he saw one last soldier, a young one by the fearful look in his eyes. Bastian couldn't help but smirk at the soldier's fear and pulling the knife from the stomach of his latest victim he aimed to throw it at the man.
A pair of grey eyes appeared in front of him and he glared at them angered.
"No, we can escape without any further bloodshed." She said firmly as her eyes moved from his and roamed the bloody scene behind him.
"We can't leave witnesses." He stated, his hand still raised to throw the blade.
"Why not? They will know it was us anyways." She retorted weakly.
He scoffed and was about to refute her poor claim when a loud horn sounded.
Sharply he shoved the flower out of his way and hurled his knife at the young soldier who had blown the horn, he got him in the neck and the boy collapsed to the ground grasping his neck.
Grabbing the flower by her slender shoulders he shook her furiously, "This is why you shouldn't try to stop me."
He wished to continue his assault on her bad judgement but he could hear the shouts and clanging of metal signalling that they were short on time.
Grabbing her wrist he pulled her harshly out of the place and releasing her hand he ran through the colourful streets of Waxingville. He could hear her small footsteps clacking behind him.
Turning an alleyway that he could see had an exit he stopped. Panting, he rested his back against the brick wall and attempted to catch his breath. The flower did the same next to him, her long, dark hair a mess on her shoulders.
Once they had caught their breath he turned on her, "What were you thinking?"
"I was trying to spare someone's life." She responded, her grey eyes sharp.
"Ha! You only doomed us."
"I did not, we're still alive."
"You don't get it do you?" He said as he stalked towards her, cornering her between him and the brick wall. Her grey eyes were wide as he placed his hands on either side of her slender frame.
"If we don't kill them, they kill us." A lesson from General Krayt, the general who'd taught him warfare and was by his side during his first fight between Mathuba and Cadarama.
"This isn't some fairytale where everyone's happy in the end, this is the story where the strongest survive." He said watching as her grey eyes began to shine with tears. His heart tugged but he ignored it as usual.
"Y-you have blood on your shirt." She said looking down at his shirt.
Looking down himself he saw the spatters of blood.
He simply moved away without a further word and checked his shirt over.
"Over there! Check everywhere, we won't let them escape this time." A loud voice said and he quickly ducked behind a pile of rubbish, the flower did the same across from him.
He peeked above the heap and saw nothing. Looking forward he could see determination in the flower's eyes.
Raising himself again to see if he could spot any enemies he saw two men standing at the front of the alley.
His heart began pounding and his hand went to his sword. He knew that he wasn't a great swordsman but he'd overseen these men's training. He knew how to defeat them.
Forcing himself to be calm he turned his head and saw two more men appear on the opposite side of the alley. Swallowing his fear he unsheathed his dagger and sword.
Closing his eyes to gather courage he stood and cursed himself.
"Oi, there he is!" One of the men yelled.
The flower shook her head silently at him and he shrugged with the facade of a proud smirk.
One of the men came at him with a yell and he dodged him and while the man flew past him he pushed him to the ground.
A second attacked him and he cut his sword arm, the man losing balance Bastian quickly slit his throat. Throwing his two knives at the others he finished the fight victorious.
The first man was still lying unconscious on the ground. Bastian clicked his tongue and as the flower protested he stabbed the man through the heart.
"No!" She yelled as though she was the one who'd been stabbed, "How could you do that?! He was not fighting you."
Bastian squinted his eyes, "I believe he had been." He stated spreading his arms indicating the dead men surrounding them.
Her lips folded as she stared sadly at the men on the ground.
Rolling his eyes he grabbed her upper arm and pulled her out of the alleyway and attempted to find a path out of the city.