An incoming knife rapidly flew passed her cheek as she swiftly dodge an unexpected attack, her sharp instinct felt the danger ahead, the slim and sharp weapon had made no sound as it cuts through air and only the glint from the cold metal was noticeable as it was thrown in a dangerous speed.
Eve didn't think twice as she rushed away from being seen, with a trained soul that had re-lived a hundred--maybe thousand lives, she immediately adapted into the current situation.
She swiftly dodge another incoming attack and blocked the second one with her own arrow, precisely hitting the blade as she made her way to a large tree, making sure she was not an easy target.
She opened her system and found the person hiding just a few feet away.
One person. Armed. Probably too confident enough to take me down alone.
Eve clicked her tongue and she lean her back as she tried to sneak a peek at the assailant.
Who sent him?
Who would have the guts to send an assassin at a princess? This is too early for that, didn't Rosaria have three or five more years before she was assassinated?
The mare made a sound and moved frantically away from her spot, as if it knew the person who had attacked its owner might attempt to hurt it too. She didn't stopped the horse from leaving the forest, escaping is impossible for now.
She can't afford to turn her back to run and make herself a free target.
Eve checked the rest of the map and it showed the terrain of the area and saw he was the only one around, this new comer was closing in very quickly.
The dot came closer and closer towards her as seen on the system, as if it tried to lessen the gap from its prey.
Eve had noticed the shadow and heard the rustling leaves, she dodge the next attack when the man thrust his weapon from the side, missing his target. The blade had hit the trunk, it stabbed into the tree deeply, the force he used could be seen on how deep the metal blade had sink in.
The tree shook as he tried to take back his knife and successfully removed it.
"Sh*t" it was a local language, and the man sounded young and pissed.
She couldn't see the attackers face as he was hiding his appearance behind a clothed mask around his face, the man was dangerous, as he uses small combat knives and ruthlessly swing his arms towards her in precise movements.
He intended to kill her in the isolated place, a perfect place to disposed of her body and take her head to present it to his employer.
The killer's eyes showed his frustration in being unable to murder easily, he rushes towards her and lessen their distance but Rosaria was not panicking as she dodge his attacks and shot her arrows to block them from cutting her skin. When he gets dangerously close, Rosaria easily disarms him with her own hand knife, blocking her attacks and finding an opening to render him useless for a few seconds. She might be small but her technique were more impressive and complicated, Rosaria was able to disarmed him and create another distance for her to secure the knife back to her holster and use her bow.
Swish, the sound of his blade sliced the cold air as he tried to block her arrows. He was quick to switched in defense and return to aggressively attacking her with knives coming towards her one after another.
" You f*cking sh*t! " he curses out when his knives were thrown aside by her arrows, Rosaria had to matched his speed and it was slightly making her fingers shake.
A sweat formed from her face as she continue to hide behind trees and moving around to lost his aim.
"A foul tongue, he might be unaware of my identity."
Eve calmly and quickly moved again, golden eyes focused on one hella pissed killer. She was starting to get tired, with her stamina still low even after the daily training, her hands were trembling visibly now and her feet ache but didn't showed any weakness, her steps were still light and she continued to hold her bow and arrow.
Finding a way to return his attacks.
When she jumps back and made a few distance from the attacker, she didn't hesitate to aim and shoot.
But the first arrow missed this time. She had to quickly retreat and take her second arrow and aim again.
The arrow swiftly flew and passed by him only a few inches from his neck and Rosaria knew the moment she let go of the fletching, that it won't hit.
The missed shot created a chance for the man to sprint toward her in an alarming speed. He was fast, but she had good eyes looking at his every move. One knife after another, it flew past her as she manage to dodge them as each blade stab the trees and the ground with the force used to throw them.
She takes another arrow and draw the string, putting more strength on her arm, and then released.
And this time, it gazes the man's arm.
When she hit him, she was finally getting the familiar feeling of the bow and precision.
That's when Rosaria started to fire rapidly and continuously back at him. Standing almost fifteen feet away, her figure stood imposingly as she fires back.
The sound of arrows slice through the air echoes in the forest as she rapidly release them.
She hits him straight into his chest and shoulder, he stumble back from the pain and incoming shot.
Three hits out of ten, she missed too many and is loosing more arrows.
The attacker hides behind a tree and Eve also ran behind one, trying to see if she had more bows or deciding to retreat since the man had finally been shot, he will not be able to move and chase her persistently this time unless he was eager to die from blood loss.
She heard a few rustling of the leaves and heavy foot step, fast approaching towards her direction. Rosaria takes another arrow and decided to continue to fight back seeing he might not give up until he kills her.
Her golden eyes glint dangerously as she crouch down and moved to another spot, where the assassin was hidden at the moment.
This time, she was set on offense rather than defense.
With her eyes locked at the system map and watching the man on on the feed, eyes focused on her target in and readying her position, pulling back the feather and aiming at the his direction.
When she was just a few feet from him when he blindly thrown his last blade at her, and Rosaria had manage to block it with another shot of her arrow. He thought he had a chance and turn things around, he takes out his sword and Rosaria had to slightly put another distance.
" I won't let you play around anymore! " The man looked dangerously crazy, he hadn't removed the arrow on his chest and looked like he could tolerate the pain.
Upon seeing how his so determined to kill her, Eve decided to be even more cautious and alert. She glared at the man and planned to use her hand knife to disable him seeing his weapon, she was running out of arrows.
If things turn badly for her, she might to activate her card. It would be a waste of chances but she needed to be alive in this world, and also, it looks like this man wanted her to have a painful and slow death.
with a sword on his hand this time, he was prepared to shorten the distance as Eve was ready to even switched to her hand knife and throw it towards him when a sound of galloping hooves echoed in the forest.
Eve had to look at the side and saw an incoming person appeared, riding on top of her own horse.
She couldn't even imagine what happened next. The attacker made a choice to lose his life along with the woman he was trying to kill, it was clear that he was desperate for her death when he rush out of his hiding and rush to Eve's direction.
She was going to drop her bow and take out her hand knife when the attacker suddenly was taken away swiftly as Minerva's rider grab him on his collar before he could stab Rosaria with his sword.
She had and unstable footing and fell from her butt when she lost her balance.
Rosaria had panted as she watched the man being taken away ruthlessly swiftly.
Minerva's rider had no mercy as he slammed the man's head on passing trees, the sound of his body making hard impacts on every surface as screaming in pain could be heard in the whole forest, when his body suffered from the blows it opened wounds and bloody marks making Eve at loss words. The rider dragged his body before returning to the woman's side once the shouting of the dying man had stopped.
Rosaria wouldn't have seen the scene clearly if not for the system map.
What the --
It happened too fast that she was baffled and left sitting on the ground, confused.
A few seconds ago, Eve was confident enough to take the killer down, even if she would have to win it with a few bruises and cuts, she could do it and in no way she would lose even if Rosaria's body was fragile and untrained for such harsh workout, but suddenly Minerva, who had ran away had returned and came rushing towards her direction with an unknown person mounted on her, mercilessly killing the assassin.
Eve couldn't believe what happened.
She also realized who the person is, when he came rushing in, she was too shock to noticed the scent in the air.
It smell like smoke.
The one she smelled before, when she first came to this place.
She wasn't that shocked seeing him, she had long know she wasn't alone in the forest but who could have guess there was a third person near her.
Rosaria did feel too trusting at the stranger yet so she secretly picked up her combat knife that had fallen on the ground, the stranger had finally decided to make his presence official.
If it wasn't for the brushes that he had past through, Rosaria would have thought it was the wind shaking the leaves. The early evening moon light glowed in the sky yet didn't reached earth, Rosaria's only means to see his appearance was by the flickering light produce by the oil lamps that she had scattered around.
She had turn to looked and saw a large man riding a horse heading her way, he appeared out of no where minutes ago with Minerva, which the mare acts calmly as she gallop towards her owner.
The body of the assassin was left a few feet, behind a large tree, his corpse unseen from Rosaria's angle.
The princess looked at the newcomer while her hand holding on her weapon, she watched him cautiously. Yet her instinct felt no danger when seeing him, what she felt was a sense of gratitude and respect under her cautious gaze.
The man had stopped in front of Rosaria and then unmounted the mare. Rosaria was still sitting on the ground as she crane her neck looking up. When he descended, he wasted no time and went straight to her, his eyes glued to her face.
Without a second thought, he lessen their distance and observed attentively the woman in front of him, looking down on her figure that stayed on the ground.
Rosaria was surprise to see his appearance but then her surprise turned into curiosity.
An unfamiliar face.
He wasn't in any of Rosaria's previous memories.
" Who? " Her words were unfinished, it left her lips in a breathless whisper.
"Who the hell are you? Why is his purpose approaching me and saving me?"
He looks down at the woman and removed his blood stained gloves, before taking out his hand and offering for Rosaria to stand. Seeing his slightly worried expression, she pauses for a moment and decided to accept his hand without anymore concern of his motive. She used her free hand to take his own and he lifts her back on her feet without any problem. She was a bit startle by his strength at this moment.
" Thank you " She says and retrieved her hands quickly, he looked at her openly and it made Rosaria wonder what he was thinking, she glances back and when their gaze meets, Rosaria felt something running on her spine and her vision slightly blur.
A familiar chill that she felt before but forgot when she felt it, a comfortable thrilling sensation that made her chest warm.
"What was that??"
She thought and worriedly put a hand on her chest, she snaps out of her daze and looked curiously back at him, seeing how he was also lost in his thoughts. She couldn't help but frowned from feeling something towards this man, she was wondering if the system had finally taken over her mind but she was recalling the sensation she had felt.
It was familiar, too familiar that it made her afraid of expecting and hoping for things that will never happened.
She shakes away the negative thoughts and decided to forget about those feelings that settled dangerously in her chest.
Rosaria offered a smile and place her combat knife back to her holster.
"I could have handled that without you but still, thank you for your help " she says and saw how the man had now looked at her with a raised brow and then looked down to her bow that was left on the ground.
Rosaria thought about his sudden appearance and how he came rushing in on her horse with a fiery eyes..
Rosaria looks down at her hands and realized they were still held by the man.
"Didn't I removed them? "
She shook her off his hold and fakes a cough.
" You- is there anything I can do to repay you for... your kindness? " she says and thought "should she called that kindness? killing a man mercilessly out of nowhere?"
He seemed to focused more on her hand and Rosaria saw what made him interested enough to ignore her words, she looks down and found her trembling hands where filled with cuts and blood. Upon seeing the injuries, she finally felt the stinging pain too late.
" Ah this is such an unlucky day " She sighs as she watch her hands continue to tremble, Rosaria was about leave and help herself from cleaning her cuts on a nearby stream when the stranger held her wrist all of the sudden.
This made her slightly jumped from the touched and Rosaria looks back to him.
" You're hurt " he spoke softly and his thick voice seemed like it didn't used the language of the Rosemond. She almost didn't understand him with such accent.
" Yes...." she blink as she was wondering why he cared about her injuries with a concern look on his handsome face.
Rosaria let's him watched her injuries and she let's him touch her wrist, as she didn't feel uncomfortable around him, this was very worrisome. Who was this person and why does she feel like it was okay for her to get this close at him?
His larger hand takes her own to the stream just a few feet from where they are. Rosaria then sat down near the stream and the larger man followed, he started to attentively and gently wash her bleeding palm and after being satisfied cleaning the small cuts, he takes out a few things from his pocket.
Rosaria's eyes didn't stayed on his pocket for too long when her gaze settled at the man's face.
He was someone unknown by the previous Rosaria's, as her memories couldn't recall any man with THAT face. His features were rough and cold yet she could see how he poses no threat. He has an imposing figure and noble appearance, as if he belong to a the upper class society.
Rosaria watched him and felt he had no malice towards her, nor any odd behavior.
"Or maybe he is skilled enough to conceal it?"
The man was tall and was hard to miss with all of the dark fabrics he was wearing. Under his dark clothes, she could see from the shape of it's outline of his figure, broad shoulders and wide chest, with a lean waist.
He had a tan olive skin and visible scars could be seen his face, and as the world was coated in hues of the last ray of light from the nightfall kissed his skin, as if he was drenched in honey.
Rosaria could feel callouses as his large and firm hands gently clean her minor injuries, he was careful with her and it was honestly making her feel respected as a person. He proceed with wrapping her hands with a clean cloth.
"Although I don't want to immediately judge him without knowing his true character."
She stared at him and observed his expression. This stranger was definitely a handsome man, his appearance would make the noble women swoon.
"It won't hurt to be careful, I need to get information from him because his sudden appearance in front of me is quite suspicious."
When he finished, she checks and was amazed by the cleanly wrapped clothe in her finger. She gave him her thanks and looks at him again, he was also paying attention to her expressions.
Now that they have met each other's gaze again, Rosaria had felt that annoying feeling again...
her chest tightening..
As if it felt something familiar and yearned for something, someone...
She shakes the feeling and ignores the sudden emotions that suddenly came out of nowhere.
Rosaria then introduced herself and gave a friendly smile to disperse the awkward atmosphere.
" My name is Rosa by the way, what may I call you? "
The man looked at her carefully, watching her expression in the flickering light of the early evening. The twilight greets the earth and the sleeping city of the empire. Rosaria looks at the horizon and her shoulder relaxes. The man stared at her as he opened his mouth to reply.
" Ilios.. " he says shortly and his deep voice caught her off-guard, Rosaria had turn to look at him and saw his expression.
He looked unsure whether or not to say his full name nor not, his expression was different this time, she thought about it.
People with surnames are either mostly part of the middle class and upper class depending if one has inherited it or was granted with it..
In this type of world settings, those who don't inherit or receive a name are said to be slaves, sold to be traded for a few pieces of golds and goods. Those who hold only a single name, are mostly part of the lowest part of the lower classes.
Usually they are the slaves that have been purchased and their masters have granted them a name to bound their existence to the person who bought them.
Rosaria had assessed his clothes and his whole aura.
"He doesn't look like a slave, much less a person from any lower class families."
"His clothes are clean and there's no signs of any crease."
"Maybe he was trying to hide his identity."
If she looks at the system information and even in Rosaria's memory again, there was no mention of the man named "Ilios" nor his face wasn't bringing back any data.
"Well, I can't blame him if he's hiding his identity, you can't trust a woman was getting assassinated the first time you met her, and besides, I wasn't too honest with myself either."
" Rosa " she hear him again, his mature voice spoke her name as if he had tried to memories a passage from a holy book.
" Ilios " She calls his name also, testing the name from her tongue. She remember what it means in her own world, the sun. This man next to her was the farthest thing from being a man named after the warm sun.
He looked cold and sharp, gaze calculating and dark. He reminded her of someone, who also looked cold but was actually far from uncaring to her.
Rosaria smile sadly as her thoughts runs back to him.
This man's gazed back to her and it was serene unlike the fiery one she had saw minutes ago, his obsidian eyes fell curiously on her face and especially those golden eyes.
He retreats his gaze and looks back to the horizon outside the forest, he then spoke with his heavy accent.
Rosaria didn't miss the way his expression change slightly, if you didn't look closely, you would have missed it. He looks at the scenery in front as if something poke a needle in his sore spot.
" It's dangerous to stay out here without an escort especially at night, my lady " He spoke, voice deep and with an accent, and Rosaria looked at his features this time.
It must have been because the sun left it's last ray on the sky that she could still look him clearly, a high bridge and sharp noise, thin lips, sharp jawline, and a mole under her left eye.
He looks older, probably the same age as the main character, Christopher, yet unlike the scumbag, this man had an air around him that makes him unapproachable.
" Should I escort you back towards the town below? " He the turns his head to see her face, curiously looking at him.
" No need " She shakes her head, bringing her hand up to brush her silver hair through her fingers. " I can manage with just a short trip back to my...home"
Calling the castle her home felt so wrong for her, Rosaria almost want to sigh loudly thinking about what will happen the next few days.
Rosaria looks back to the place where Ilios had hid the corpse, before she returns her gaze back to the man in front of her.
" What will you do with him? " She asked and Ilios had briefly looked back to the corpse that he made sure was hidden from Rosaria's view, before he looks at her emotionlessly.
" ....to disposed of him " he says without any emotions nor hint of joking around, he was serious.
" ..... " she looks at him with an awkward smile as she sees hears his answer.
Rosaria wouldn't want to get into this man's bad side, he speaks of disposing a body as if he was just throwing away a trash of paper to the bin.
" I see, It was a shame I couldn't interrogate him and find whoever sent him to get rid of me " she looks at the sky, time was running out today as the last remaining afternoon light reminds her of what awaits back in that palace once she returns.
As she stared at the view in front as she unconsciously busied her hand, taking care of the tangled locks that resulted from the number of times she had pull her arrows and moved around, Rosaria failed to notice a large and warm hand subtly brush a few strands that had a left stuck between her locks.
He had retrieved his fingers as she turns to push her hands on her knees and stood on her feet, she pats her dress removing any dust, and shakes the leaves and dirt that had clung to her fabric.
Ilios watched her walked away, barefoot as she strides between trees and bushes like a forest fairy. Her long silver hair flutter lightly when the breeze touch the woman's skin.
He stayed seated, watching her call her mare and then collected the arrows around the forest. Ilios stood from his place and followed her, silently helping her with the arrows that were tightly stuck on the trees.
He pulls them out without a sweat and handed them to her.
She smiles at his kind intentions and thanks him when receiving the items.
" Thank you " she placed them back to her quiver, then turns towards her mare. Ilios saw she was about to climb the saddle and wanted to assist her, but saw how she was strong enough to handle that matter. Rosaria pats the horses neck and then set her gaze to Ilios, she then realized how tall he was.
He was about 196 cm or 6'5 feet. it didn't hit her until she was in a higher elevation and saw how he only lifted his head slightly to look at her.
Eve thought about Rosaria's current height, it was probably 162 cm or 5'3 ft.
"Yep, she was surprisingly a small girl"
She had to look up when Ilios appeared but now, there was no need for her to hurt her neck.
" I have to leave now, will I be able to see you here again tomorrow? " She wanted to know if she needed to expect his presence in her makeshift training ground tomorrow or will she be alone peacefully without him hiding from her sight.
She was already mounted on top of Minerva, the bow and quiver set on her back, her night gown unable to cover most of her legs but Ilios seemed to not mind some skin shown.
The man nodded as a response, Rosaria had gotten his reply and didn't waste any more time. She returned to the palace.
He watched her retreating back still emotionless but his eyes can't hide his thoughts as it followed her figure great interest and watched her as her figure disappeared in the night.
Ilios turns to leave once she was far enough for him to see.
Returning to the forest.