Flower Amongst Thorns [Boy x Boy]

Chapter 5

The swordsman was up against the final guard left standing now, who was putting up a bit more of a fight than the others, but in the last moment Artios managed to push him backwards after landing a solid hit.

The young man collapsed to the ground like the others had, buying the duo some time to get away until they woke up.

Or at least that's what Artios had thought until he felt himself plummeting towards the body of water below.

The thief had failed to pay attention to his surroundings towards the end, too focused on finishing the fight so that they could make their escape.

In the moment he hadn't realized that he had kept moving towards the edge of the trail until the force from the last blow sent him off in the other direction.

"Art!" He heard a loud but muffled voice call out before ice cold water consumed him whole.

It was okay though, Artios just had to swim to the land and climb back up to Ivy so that they could continue their trip. He hadn't gotten too far from the shore when he fell in, and a slight delay had always been accounted for.

Luckily they hadn't reached too far up the hidden trail before they were attacked, so the swordsman hadn't been thrown off an extremely high point.

Plus being a wanted criminal in more than one place, this wasn't the first time he was facing unforeseen circumstances.

Artios began to move his arms and legs to swim back up towards the light, but before he could break through the surface he felt a sharp tug on his hand.

Damn it!

Nothing could ever be easy for him could it?! Why did the universe always choose to throw shit at him?! There were other people in this world too you know?! Save some troubles for them!

The swordsman's ring had gotten caught in a bunch of stupid vines last minute!

Normally he would've just abandoned the obstruction in the water and swam to the surface, but he couldn't loose this ring, it was too important. Too special...

Artios struggled to pull his finger out along with the ring, in a panic and fear of loosing air soon. It was caught too tightly and whatever he did would only make it become more tangled.

He considered leaving it there and going up to get air before coming back down, but the object was too small and it would definitely get lost, especially if he drifted away due to the current.

This was the one thing Artios couldn't afford to loose.

Even though it was just a cheap metal ring with absolutely no value in the market, it was the only thing he had treasured throughout his life...

The swordsman gave another desperate tug, his emotions getting the best of him when he felt two lean, calming hands gently wrap themselves around his own larger one.

His eyes widened in shock as he looked beside him to see the blurry figure of Ivy giving him a small smile, before carefully working his way through the knots. The eighteen-year-old used his fingers to feel each one before dexterously opening it up.

The older man noticed that the teen had gotten rid off his cloak and was now simply in a loose shirt, and black leggings with a brown, leather belt criss-crossing on his right thigh.