Lady of the Blade

I

The smell of smoke lingers in the air, followed by shouting from outside. Lady Grayson hurries into her daughter's room. She lights some candles, waking her up. One of the servants bring in a few more while keeping an eye on the hallway.

"Ava, darling," Lady Grayson hurrily wakes her. "We need to leave now."

"What's going on?" Ava asks, stretching. She sniffs the air before leaping out of bed. Her mother starts pressing against the wall covered by a tapestry. Ava wraps a rope around her waist before using it to hold up her dagger. She puts on her emerald green cloak before turning to her mother. The passage swings open and Lady Grayson starts pushing her daughter towards the entrance.

"Go straight to the capital. Do not stop for anything. Your father and I will be there soon."

"I am not leaving the two of you."

Lady Grayson nods at the servant and he hurries over.

"Keep her safe, Andrew," she orders. He grabs her wrist as Lady Grayson puts her necklace on her. "Be safe my child."

Ava gets pulled out against her will. The light from her room is blocked as the wall closes. Andrew pulls Ava along the passage, using a torch to light the way. She tries to pull her arm away, but fail to. He turns to face her.

"We do not have time for this," he snaps. "We have to get out of here. Now stick to the shadows and do not get into trouble."

Ava nods her head and the two hurry down the passage. The main sound is their feet hitting the stone steps that is backed by the screams in the distance. The duo make it towards the exit of the passage and out of the building. They start heading towards the stables, trying to avoid being attacked. This fails when a man runs towards them and Ava stabs him with her dagger. She throws the body off of herself before running faster.

"He had blue colors on," she informs him.

"Looks like a political strike."

Eventually Andrew pushes the door open and Ava places the sadle on her horse. She flings herself on and Andrew hop on behind her. She kicks the sides of the creature beneath her. They go flying out the doors and towards the woods. There is a shout before an arrow goes flying past them. Another one speeds through the air, lodging itself in Andrew's back. He loosens his grip on her and fall off the horse.

She makes it to the edge of the woods before turning the horse around. Her home is in flames, casting elongated shadows. A small lump lay in the distance, choking her up a bit. Two people are pushed to the ground. Metal cuts through the air, killing one. A familiar scream breaks the silence before being cut short. She turns towards the woods and hurry towards Camelot.

~~~~

Arthur Pendragon hurries down towards the entrance of the castle. A white mare gallops into the square. The lady on the horse was a wreck. Her red hair is knotted and her brown eyes are puffy. Dirt cover her clothes and face. She is dressed in a nightgown and an emerald cloak. The more concerning part is the dried blood on her.

"What happened?" Arthur asks, helping his old friend down. "Where are you hurt?"

"This isn't my blood," Ava responds. Servants start running towards her. "We were attacked."

At this point King Uther was there.

"Let's get you cleaned up and get some rest."

Gwenevere leads her to one of the spare rooms. Arthur turns towards his father.

"What are we going to do?"

"I'll send some knights out to check out the home. Until then, we should be grateful that Ava made it out alive."

Arthur hurries off towards where she would be. First he fought some ass at the market and now he learns of the attack on the Graysons. The prince arrives at the door, knocking lightly on it. Morgana opens the door before sliding out. Her dark hair is pinned up and her blue dress compliments her eyes.

"She's getting dressed right now," she informs him. "She has only a few scratches, most likely from branches."

Gwen steps out, simply nodding her head. Arthur pushes past her to see the red head on the bed, trying to keep herself together. He sits on her bed and wraps his arms around her. She breaks down, tears starting to stream down her face.

"They killed them," she cries. "They k... killed my p... parents."

He holds her and let her continue to cry. What is he suppose to do in this situation? He lightly rubs her frizzy hair down and rest his chin on top of her head. She can't possibly be comftorable laying on him like this though. He has a knife strapped to his side and bits of armour on. This doesn't seem to phase her though, for she cries herself to sleep. She must have barely slept. It's a two day ride from here to her home with stops.

But knowing Ava, she probably didn't stop till she got here. He moves from under her and pull a blanket up. He looks to see her dagger is on the nightstand. It might make her feel better knowing it's there. Such an odd piece. It looks like two snakes which smooth out to be two prongs for the blades. A family heirloom. Serpents are the symbols of her house though, which explains the figures. Gwen pokes her head in.

"Let her rest, my Lord," she mutters. He nods his head and leave his old friend to sleep.