Oath Bound

Chapter Two- Zahir

 Though I had put on a brave front for Jyran, maintaining my image as the dauntless warrior knight who protected him... my pulse raced with fear and horror as I faced the men I thought had finally accepted me. They advanced upon me with sneering expressions, a brutal and animalistic pleasure in their eyes as they were at last allowed to raise their weapons against me.

I gritted my teeth, jaw tight and straining, as I lightly tossed the dagger in my hand to hold it by the blade; the hilt slammed into the face of the first guard who approached me, shattering his nose and splattering blood all over his face. It gave me a moment to slide back a step, closer to where Jyran had fled- protecting his escape as fury marred the faces of the royal guards.

The suffocating tightness in my chest eased when I could no longer hear his pounding footsteps, a sharp, aching pain taking its place. I had spent years at Jyran's side, my fingers curled over the silvered scar on my palm as I remembered kneeling on the floor with a child as we promised our lives to each other.

The whistle of a blade scant inches from my face pulled me out of the somber thoughts, my palms scraping the glittering stones of the courtyard as I bent over backward to avoid losing my head. A soft snarl left my throat as I pushed into the momentum of the movement, turning it into a neat tumble; my blade was already whipping through the air as I sprang back to my feet. It slashed across the arm of the guard who was attacking me, his grunt of pain hitting the air as his sword dropped from numbed fingers.

My sense of triumph was short-lived as the injured guard was pulled back roughly, another taking his place; my stomach twisting as I remembered his face from hard hours in the training fields. His uniform fit tightly across a broad chest, waves of dark brown hair pulled sharply back from strong features and deep, cold brown eyes. A scar crossed the bridge of his nose- a mark left by one of the daggers I held when I had still been a child, and he had underestimated the teachings of my people.

This man had hated me the moment I set foot in the castle, and I felt a shiver of dread crawl down my spine as he raised his sword with a smirk of snide satisfaction. I gripped my daggers tightly, trying to keep my voice cold and steady as I challenged, "What is the meaning of this, Harum? The king will see you punished-"

A hard scoff interrupted my words, my blades barely raised in time to fend off the guard's sword. He locked his weapon with mine, pressing me back a step as he leaned in to snarl in my face. "The king? You mean the damn fool who's gone so soft in his head he allows the seed of our enemy to flourish in his halls?" Harum's gaze was brimming with scornful derision as he sneered at me. "We destroyed your lands, your people, for a reason- allowing you to stain our kingdom only proves he's no longer fit to rule."

"Have you lost your mind?" I snapped the words, straining to break the connection between our blades; my arms ached from the pressure as I managed to get my blades free, whipping one of the daggers in a shimmering arc to force Harum back a step. "No matter your personal opinion, you serve the royal family- how dare you speak of the king in such a way?"

A cruel glimmer shone in Harum's dark eyes as he said, "I no longer serve the elderly king, so he holds no power over me." His thick muscles flexed as he swung the heavy length of his blade again; though I was faster, each powerful blow made my arms shake and burn with the effort of keeping his sword from meeting my flesh.

Realization dawned at his words, my gaze flashing to the arched entryway behind him; it led into the palace, into rich halls which would lead to the throne room. Guards stood menacingly in my way- keeping me from advancing even as Harum tried to strike me down. "Rebellion is madness, Harum!" I said, panic welling in my throat. I gritted my teeth, another blow forcing me back as I snarled, "You wouldn't be able to act on your own- who's behind this, Harum, who pulled your strings?"