The Knights Pet

Chapter 28

Before Pet could even open her eyes she took in the feeling of warmth that surrounded her. Her knights, all of them, had stayed with her through the night in the common room of the hall. The fire crackled comfortingly, still burning in the dim light, the fur beneath her soft against her bare skin. She felt like she could lay there for eternity, soaking in the hum of the ship's engine, a sound she had come to know and love.

She turned her body, resting on her side, her bright eyes opening just slightly to stare over at the men she had become so attached to. She would have never thought this would be her life when they took her from that godforsaken club, from the pit. She was told over and over that she would live a life of misery. That men can only be one thing, but these men were not that. They were gentle, they cared for her, they respected her as one of their own. She was their knightess and they were her knights.

As she had just started to drift back into the sweet abyss of sleep, a sharp unpleasant sound split through the air. The knights were awake faster than she even thought possible, standing and grabbing discarded items of clothing, big hands gripping onto weapons that sat not far from where they lay. She quickly followed suit, pulling on whatever layers of her armor that she could find and grabbing the twin blades that Kylo had gifted her. "What is happening?" she called as she stormed after the men, having to sprint to keep pace.

None of them answered, too focused on making it to Kylo. Trudgen noticed her struggling to keep up and hurried to her side, hooking one massive arm around her waist and hauling her along, his other hand gripping his vibroblade like it was thirsty for blood. "We must hurry. Hold on to me," he instructed. She didn't argue, just tossed her arms around his neck.

They pounded through the ship, headed straight for the throne room. The red lights flashing overhead made it hard to focus but the knights didn't even seem to notice. "Find Kylo. Now," Vicrul called over his shoulder, his hand already on the release latch for the throne room door. It slid open and in they went. The sight inside was not what they had expected.

Resistance soldiers, six of them, stood inside, but Kylo was nowhere in sight. He had likely fled before they even made it to him, always a step ahead. The soldiers looked startled at the sight of the knights, as they should have, freezing in place as their eyes searched for ways out. Trudgen grabbed Pet's waist and dropped her to the floor where she crouched in that oh-so-familiar way. She may have gotten used to life with the knights, but her feral instincts were strong and unwavering. The knights knew as well as she did that they would never go away, and they had no desire for them to.

Her face fell, her eyes locking onto her first target, her blades scraping loudly against the ground as she crawled forward. The knights descended upon the soldiers like shadows made flesh. The fight was bloody and brutal. The sounds of flesh slicing and bones breaking filled the throne room. The soldiers barely had time to raise their blasters before one by one they hit the floor. Pet moved on instinct, her blades flashing as she assaulted from the ground. Her movements were precise and unrelenting but she underestimated how many of them there were. Resistance reinforcements poured in through every door, blasters firing and stun bolts cracking through the air.

Pet tried to retreat towards the knights, but before she could reach them she felt a sharp pain in her side. An unforgiving hand gripped her shoulder and another grabbed her by the hair, her head meeting the cold hard floor and the world suddenly tilting around her. Her arms were pinned behind her back, and both blades taken from her hands. Trudgen roared her name from across the room, but his voice sounded far away as her legs gave out beneath her. Someone grabbed her around the waist, pulling her towards an exit as the knights fought on, a barricade of soldiers separating them from their knightess. She kicked and snarled but the pain in her head was enough to weaken her attack into nothing more than a nuisance.

"Resistance scum," Pet spat. The phrase was sharp and familiar on her tongue, words she had heard countless times listening to her knights cursing their enemies. "I suggest you stop talking before I silence you myself," the man holding her growled against her ear, tightening his grip so hard it made her whimper in pain. She struggled against his hold, kicking with all her strength, trying to wrench her arms away from him, but it was no use. She was weakened and barely half his size; there was no way out. So she did the only thing left she could. She screamed.

"VICRUL! TRUDGEN! HELP ME! PLEASE! CARDO! FUCK! HELP ME!" She continued to scream at the top of her lungs until they burned. They needed to be able to hear her, to be able to find her. The man holding her growled in aggravation, pressing his free hand over her mouth and nose, holding so tightly it cut off her breathing completely. He didn't let go, not even for a second, until she eventually went unconscious and stopped moving, going completely limp in his arms. "Get her to the ship. Make sure she doesn't wake up until we have landed, then take her to the general."