Heir of the Sword

26 | Tempus

Tempus {time}

For a moment Arya and Aaron both stood frozen in shock. It was as though time itself has come to a standstill. But after the second was over, both of them went into a more appropriate stance. Aaron unsheathed his sword while Arya lifted up her dress to remove the knives that were strapped to her knee.

They both gave each other a glance before running into the palace. Everything had gone into frenzy inside. There were knights running through the hallways but Arya knew right away that most of them had been given the evening off. Those who hadn't would have to be in the ball.

"Has anyone been injured?" Aaron asked a knight as they ran by.

The knight shrugged his shoulders. "We don't know yet but the priority is making sure that the royal family is safe."

Arya wanted to smack herself with the hilt of the knife. She had left Lady Zelie alone in the throne room without any personal guards. She knew that Lady Zelie would be able to defend herself but Arya wasn't she if she had brought any weapons with her. If anything were to happen to Lady Zelie, she knew she could blame herself.

As they entered the right wing, Arya saw a masked man dressed in black running in the opposite direction. She dashed forward and slashed the man across his right calf immobilizing his movement. She was slower than she should have been but that was due to her dress.

Aaron joined her moments later as he held the sword under the man's neck threateningly. "How many more intruders are there?"

"Fourteen," the man croaked.

Arya nodded before hitting him on the hand with the hit of her knife effectively leaving him unconscious. Arya couldn't believe that fourteen assassins had been able to sneak into the castle. But she did know that since the Heres Gladii was an open event for all the different countries, they must have snuck in as representatives of different countries. But that possibility only existed if they had come on the orders of their monarchy.

Arya and Aaron moved forward trying to get rid of as many assassins as they could. As Arya turned around the right corner, she was nearly attacked by another man but she was lucky enough to step back allowing the man to merely swing at the air.

The man had a sword while she had knives, which put her at a disadvantage. The only thing that would help her in this battle would be her speed. There is a reason as to why only the fastest and most nimble fighters used knives as their weapon of choice.

Arya raced forward and met his blade with her two knives. The two metals clashed and sparks flew from the collision. She gritted her teeth and firmly planted her feet into the ground to avoid being pushed backwards. Arya suddenly stepped back taking the man by surprise as she charged forward she saw Aaron had already cornered him from the back. They had gotten him.

For the next few foes, the pattern was the same. Arya and Aaron would both take turns attacking and then they would swap their position after every enemy was defeated. After what seemed like hours the hallways were quite once more.

As Arya and Aaron kicked open the door to the ballroom they were relieved to see that the royal family was fine. Sir Samuel stood by them while a number of assassins had been tied in the corner of the room. Kalvarian Knights were armed in the place making sure that nobody made a move.

When Arya looked up to meet Lady Zelie's gaze she saw relief. She turned around to look for Yasmin and Silvia and found them also safe comforting other guest who had never dealt with traumatic experiences before.