When the Blade Calls (Open Novella Contest)

Chapter 3:

Leaning her full weight onto her arms, Ariadna firmly pinned both his wrists against the ground, watching with satisfaction as he struggled briefly without avail. His arms were surprisingly weak for a men that had to be at least twenty-five years old. She studied his face. Eyes which seemed to flicker between shades of grey and green returned her gaze coolly, showing no signs of defeat. His expression was unfathomable. His dark brown hair had grown out roughly and stuck out in all directions, and he had a similarly messy beard cropped close to his chin. The smell of wet wood and mud clung to him, and dirt was caked all over his body. A mere peasant who frequents the wood, Ariadna mused. Nothing about him stood out in particular, and yet, he seemed somewhat familiar...

"I would take you to the authorities, but as you probably know, there are now none since this place is in ruins," Ariadna stated, trying not to show the uneasiness she felt at the way he seemed to scrutinise her without fear.

"That I am aware. So, why bother chasing me?" he smirked, tilting his chin slightly.

"Unlike you, I have a set of morals I actually abide by as well as a sense of integrity," she retorted.

Quirking his eyebrow, he grinned amusedly. "Ah, so here we have the ever noble and righteous defender of the people. But alas, such defenders are no longer of use. The kingdom is in ruins all because of the evil sorceress Imogen. The citizens of the Kingdom have either been killed or have fled. There are none to defend."

This was no peasant. His speech and his mannerisms could only have come from that of a learned person rather than a peasant thief who stole out of desperation. Who was this man?

"That is no excuse for crime, you thief. The other races may have retreated back into their respective realms, but humans remain here. We must continue the struggle for peace and eventually fight back. Are you not a human as well? Surely you aren't going to give up on your own people?" Ariadna spat back.

At the word 'thief' he had winced, but allowed her to continue till she finished. "Look, I swear I'm not a thief, I just needed the bread. And no, I most certainly have not planned on giving up the fight. In fact, I've spent the past few years trying to secure something that will help defeat Imogen," he replied carefully.

"Really? What is it?" she demanded.

"Well, I can't show you if I've got both of my wrists pinned down, can I?"

Ariadna narrowed her eyes, "Why should I trust you? How do I know if this isn't just a ruse to escape with the bread?

The thief sighed dramatically. "I guess you'll never know then. You'll just return the bread and return to your unexciting life while I'll just starve to death," he deadpanned. Seeing her raise her eyebrows, he added, "And you'll live knowing that not only did you miss an opportunity to save the Kingdom, you also indirectly contributed to the death of the one person who offered you that opportunity."

Ariadna glared at him as she pondered over his words. On one hand, he was a thief. On the other hand, what if his words were true? If he really had something that could defeat Imogen, that could be a complete game-changer for the Kingdom. No more starvation, no more living in fear. Lives would be rebuilt, everyone would return back to the Kingdom, and everything would be back to normal. Long had Ariadna dreamed of following the footsteps of her father, to become a warrior and fight for the glory and honour of the Kingdom. Her father had often told her, "Ari, the King has done so much good for all of us, uniting the realms and creating harmony among races. It is our duty to defend the throne till the very end." Perhaps this was fate, giving her a chance to prove her worth and do her part for the Kingdom.

She slowly lifted her left hand, freeing his wrist. He gave a lazy smile as he reached for something in the pouch tied to the belt around his tunic and pulled it out.

It was a sword, but it's blade had been broken off almost all the way to the hilt. The cross guard was intricately designed, with the outlines of the main races of the kingdom, mainly the elves, dwarves, goblins, and the dragons. In the middle was unmistakably the emblem of the King. There was a huge ruby set in the pommel of the hilt, and the entire sword seemed to gleam faintly with a golden light. Ariadna was speechless.

"Is this...is it really? But..."

"Well, it most probably is what you think it is but just so we're clear, yes, this is Aetherius, the sword that once belonged to King Richard, the creation of all the races in the Kingdom. It was broken by Imogen, and reforging the sword is our only hope if we are to defeat her. So please do me a favour, let me and have something to eat and this," he nodded at the hilt, "is all yours."

She stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Look, my wrists are starting to hurt, and I'm still starving, so please make your decision quickly," he looked at her pointedly.

Ariadna released him and helped him up. "I'll pay for one of your loafs and return the rest."

"Thank you. Here, take it," he said as he held out the hilt to her.

As her fingers wrapped round the hilt, however, she exclaimed, "Wait! You're coming with me, right? I don't know what to do with this?"

He gave her an uneasy look. "I was planning to let you do everything on your own, but now that I think about it, you must be only 16 years old."

"I'm seventeen!" She protested. "And you're coming with me unless you want to be pinned down again and locked away to starve!"

He snorted before grunting his assent.

"Also," she added, "now that we're going to stick together, we ought to introduce our names. I'm Ariadna Bryant but you can call me Ari." She stuck out her hand and looked at him expectantly.

"Fredrich Ospan. Call me Fred." And they shook hands.