Godwyn could still make out the figures riding ahead of them, he knew it was the princess, and her entourage. His father had an informant who sat on the High King's court. And that individual had been paid a considerable sum, to tell them of the plan to sneak away the Princess in the Dark of night. The young prince Torwynn was to be her protection.
He knew it wouldn't be too much longer before their horses would fail them. Godwynn had known the moment Torwynn, and his Royal Guard had spotted them, the high elven group had picked up speed. However, it was all for nought. The mountains and valleys along this pathway were meant to be taken at a simple and steady pace….and the animals they rode were not conditioned for such hard riding, especially on this terrain…whereas Elven War Horses, were bred and conditioned using Magic during breeding to be capable of steadily Galloping for days, in all sorts of mountainous terrain. The animals he could see in the distance… were bred only for beauty, intended for the Vain.…Typical of the High Elves.
"Novus! We shall close in on them shortly" he snorted to his battle companion, and Right-hand man. "I expect us to have the Princess in our Custody within the hour."
"Yes sire" Novus smiled back. "She will provide great leverage in defeating Nolick."
"You know Novus, I've never tasted High Elf before" Godwynn chuckled to himself…"I bet she will taste sweet…like Alluvian Honey." His battle companion looked over to him and grinned sardonically at his commentary.
Their horses took the beaten path which dipped down below the horizon…taking the royal entourage out of view. It was but a few moments later they peaked back over the valley way, to notice A rider had gone missing, verifying his suspicions…."This is it boys…the horses are beginning to fail them…Swords out!"
They had gained quite a bit of distance on the Royal Party. Godwynn could now make out the signature green jewel on the Royal Prince's spearhead. "Oh, young prince…I'm coming for what you have" he muttered to himself, His Mithril sword drawn he raised it high above his head, to begin the push in a battle charge…Only a mile separated them from their prize.
"Finish off the prince…leave the Princess to me!" The dark prince howled, their horses, began to gallop even faster…their hooves glowing red, the battle magic in them roaring to life… Ahead you could make out the noise of two women screaming. The Lethorian prince coming to a halt, turned his animal to face the Dark Prince…without warning the Young Prince dismounted…and pointed his spear in the direction of the incoming attack. No…in the direction of Godwynn…The Lethorian wanted a one on one. An Evil smile spread across Godwynn's face.
"CEASE THE ATTACK" Godwynn roared…Torwynn must have known he would never back down from a one-on-one challenge. They were only a few hundred feet away from the group when they came to a halt, dirt flying through the air as the horses dug their hooves into the ground. Godwynn looked for the princess but saw no markings to identify her as one of the two females here. 'Hmmm…...Odd' He thought.
His attention returned to Torwynn, who was now slowly walking to the center of the area that separated them. Godwynn dismounted and grabbed his undrawn offhand sword from the saddlebag. He began twirling both of his swords in a menacing display…Torwynn returned the challenge with a graceful dance of his spear…the young one seemed skilled….this should be fun.
They each bowed their heads, and the battle begun. Torwynn started in first…lunging at the Dark one with an attempt at a piercing blow. Godwyn sidestepped and yanked on the spear, his double swords making a good grip unobtainable, yet he was able to redirect the Lethorian briefly. Torwynn recovered quickly, and met him with a boot to the chest, sending the Dark Prince a few feet back before he regained his balance. "Your quite good, like a prince of Lethoria should be" The dark prince chuckled…."But I have far more experience and have been tested on the battlefield many times over." They moved with the grace of Royal Court dancers. Weaving in and around one another, attacking and retreating… as the two went on Torwynn started to become noticeably winded, while the dark prince looked bored and had yet to even break a sweat…Seeing that the young High Elf was soon to be spent, Godwynn decided it was time to end this charade.
With that the Dark Prince brought the entire spectacle to a short and abrupt end. He darted forward in a blinding motion, sidestepping Torwynn's defense as he splintered the spear in-two with his Twin Blades. Spinning towards Torwynn, he then removed the head of the young Prince in one fell swoop. The decapitated body, landed with a thud upon the ground coming to rest beside his royal severed head…Black blood spread into a pool around the disgraced Prince's remains. His mouth agape and His eyes staring into oblivion.
The young prince's Soldiers became enraged at the loss of their prince and attempted an attack on Godwynn…Novus and his men ended their attempts…just as quickly as Godwynn had ended The Young Prince. Bodies lay scattered among the ground, while the white blood-stained horses fled the horrific scene before them. Their fear-fill neigh's echoing through the nearby forest.
All that remained were two Female High Elves sat upon their steeds…heads bowed, tears streaked their faces, as their bodies trembled, too afraid to run for their lives. The dark prince approached them, grabbing the halter of one of the horses… "Which of you is the Atherian Princess?" The two girls looked at each other and began sobbing loudly. Annoyance flashed across his face, "WELL?!?"
"S-She's d-d-dead, My Lord, left on the Trail….her horse k-killed her" one of the girls bellowed.
"How might a horse go about killing a High Elf, let alone one of Royal Blood? Are you fools?" The prince asked, disgust filling his voice. "Do you not understand how hard it is to kill a Royal?" He scoffed his black eyes piercing through them, he didn't believe them, surely, they knew that it was incredibly difficult to kill a High elf of Royal blood…unless decapitated, their bodies would simply mend themselves…."What happened with this wretched horse, and where is her body?" He asked, his gaze bouncing between the two crying she-elves.
"The horse gave out highness, It Collapsed, mid-gallop and threw her against a tree…She wouldn't wake…she wasn't breathing, there was so much blood" The girl took a breath while the next finished the statement, "Torwynn made us leave her behind on the side of the path, he said we didn't have time to waste." Godwynn was now heavy in thought. She's most likely still alive, just in a state of shock, He remembered there being a missing rider when they had crossed over the hill. She would be somewhere in that last valley…hurriedly mounting his horse, he called to the women "If I were you, I would make myself scarce…I would hate to be around when the dead body of the Lethorian Prince is discovered." With that notion their eyes widened as the prince took off, his men trailing behind him. They began to back-track in pursuit of the princess….hopefully she wasn't dead. That would really mess with the plans Nyberius had in store.
He glanced back to see the two young maidens take off in the direction of the Forest Kingdom called Alluvia. They would easily find refuge there…. if they could make it past the Forbidden Boglands. But that was not his problem, and he held no interest in making sure the two clueless girls survived. If they deserved life, they would make it to the other side…If not, then they would no longer burden this realm with their existence. He turned to face forward to focus on finding the missing Princess, hoping her body wasn't now an empty shell.
It didn't take long to spot the where the fall took place, a large gash in the earth where the horse had fallen, footprint's and drag marks were all over the ground…The horse itself had apparently rested and was aimlessly trotting through the nearby forest when they come upon the area. Within moments Novus spotted the princess's body, beneath a large branch of trees. Her feet were sticking out, and royal slippers glistened, giving way to where she laid… The dark prince approached her, landing on his feet, as he jumped off of his steed. His right-hand man tossing the tree limb aside.
The prince stood there for a moment before prodding the body with his boot…her body moved, but only from the force of his boot, then slouched back to its original resting place, completely dead weight… her lips were blue, and blood pooled where her head lay. The girls weren't lying, she truly looked dead. The prince crouched beside her, His keen ears listening for any sign of life, if her heart was beating…he couldn't tell…he took his knife from his side, sticking the blade beneath her nose…
After waiting a moment, he began to see faint waves of condensation appearing and disappearing on his weapon…She was breathing…it was shallow, but it was there. The princess lived.
He instructed Novus to gather her up for him, while he climbed onto his Horse. He then reached out and settled her limp body in front of him. Normally he would strap a hostage, even a royal one, to the back end of the horse, or lead them by rope, but she was barely breathing, and didn't want to risk harming her further…at least not for now. When the Dark Kingdom was finished with her…she would no longer hold any value to them…
"mmmhm" She whimpered…her lip twitched into a frown before her face went lax again.
Unknowingly, the Dark Prince cradled her closer, setting his horse in a brisk Canter in the direction of Nyberius.