The Rivals

Chapter I

    Danger, instinct, and realization were the motivating forces pulling me into consciousness in that moment. My heart raced in my chest faster than the compiling thoughts inside of my head at the profound realization that I am alone and that I am afraid. As I began to sit up from the position in which my body was thrown from the crash, I observed that the green grass around me was tainted a hue that matched the anatomy of a human and not of the forest. My eyes drew wide in sudden panic as my mind caught on to the elements of the scene that tell me the story of that day.
    Short term memory was the only thing that hindered me from making my next steps. I rose to my feet, turning around to excruciatingly bear witness to what lies behind me. Or rather, who, as I saw three of the King's guards lying around the toppled carriage, lifeless. My breath came in short gasps as I approached the wreckage. I quietly lifted my skirts to unsheath my dagger from where it stayed around my ankle. I gripped it tightly in front of me, my knuckles paling as I am sure all of my skin was.
    As I came around the side of the abandoned and splintering wood, I noticed that I was alone. I then began to think of ways in which we could have been attacked, while my memories patiently came back along with my breath. The original reason as to why I was on this road in the first place, was because for the first time in seven years, I had been summoned home. This carriage was sent to retrieve me and briskly take me back to where my father no doubt is anxiously waiting.
    I continued surveying the small area in the middle of the road, and decided to start salvaging what I could and making the journey on my own. In a brief moment of reflection, I prayed over the bodies of the guards and silently vowing to seek the justice they are owed. I then unhooked a cloak from around one of their necks, and unbuckling his sword from around his waist. I then stood up and began making my way back to the carriage seeing if any of my belongings survived. I was about to reach for the small velvet pouch left on the seat when I heard a twig snap beyond the clearing.
    My heart would have stopped, had it not been for my feet hurdling my body into a full sprint. I hastily threw the belt of the sword over my head, having the belt drape over my chest allowing me to hold the sheath at my hip. I unconsciously flew through the underbrush of the woods, and was only determined to survive. The countless surrounding branches of the trees reaching out as though to catch me before my attacker. After what seemed like a small eternity, I stopped running with all of the courage I could muster. I crouched to the ground, anxious to hear anything other than the constant flow of blood rushing through my ears.
    After a moment, I was confident that I was not being chased. I sighed and sank into the side of one of the million nearby trees. Although the weather remained fridged in preparation for the coming winter, my body felt as if it was on fire. I made quick work of taking off the guards cloak and casting it aside. As I was about to perform the same task with the belt connected to the sword, a sharp pain raked my body from my shoulder. I cast my eyes to see that the entire sleeve of my once gray dress, was now stained crimson.
    I carefully unlaced the bodice of my dress, exposeding a large gash that extended from the middle of my collar bone onto the outer edge of my shoulder. I brought a hand to the wound as a means of appraisal, I gathered that the wound was not deep. However, these woods were still prominently dangerous and I did not require any further remembrance.
            Despite the chill of late autumn, and the corresponding force of the season that passed through my hair and along my exposed wound, fever began to take its place within my body in small ripples. The pain that resides in my shoulder slowly spreads to my mind when I stagger to my feet, balancing my weight against a tree. I begin to walk as what feels like a race in my mind, and a traipse in my footing.
            The exhaustion and defeat won the race within my mind and body, as I began to wonder where I was and where I was going. A break in the trees enraptured my thoughts and attention, and I set off to drag myself up the small incline to meet the path. A road, perhaps winding in the direction of my home, or the home I had known for almost a decade.
            Blood marked my steps and whirled in my mind as I looked to the heavens, as if to find a sign or a constellation to guide me further. The sun's
position quickly sinking behind my eyes, and the utter blackness that enraptured my mind provided nothing, save for emptiness.

Thank you so much for reading! This is my first novel and I hope you enjoyed! Please vote and comment, as I would love to know what you think.
- S. M. Hoehn