Queen of Darkness

Recruitment

Kane***
Today was selection day. The day the king's guard gained its new recruits. Every year, the soldiers returned to their hometowns and selected two of its most promising individuals. My battalion would be returning to the village of Blackwell. It was a village cut off from the normal trade routes, and it produced some of the finest king's guard warriors. I sat on my horse and watched my soldiers prepare for their return home. I could see the longing in the eyes of the newest ones for a chance to see their loved ones, but they all knew not to reveal their identities to anyone from their home village on pain of death. As I watched my men, two of my strongest warriors approached me. Hannah my second in command took off her helmet.

"Kane, Jacob and I are here to report on who will be recruited from Blackwell village" she said not breaking eye contact with me. That was why she was my second. When Hannah first came to my battalion, she was young but strong willed. During her training, she never backed down, and she always challenged the other recruits. It paid off for her. She was one of two women in my battalion, but she was my strongest fighter. Even now as she spoke to me, her confidence in herself never wavered.

"Who have the men chosen" I asked looking between her and Jacob.
"My brother is the first choice" Jacob answered hop filling his eyes.
"And the second one is a girl named Alleria" Hannah said giving me a knowing stare.
I sighed. "very well" I said dismissing both of my soldiers. Jacob obeyed and returned to the others, but Hannah stayed.
"You know what this means" she said.
"I am very aware of the dangers" I responded.
"You could overrule their decision" she urged as concern flitted across her face. "You remember what happened to the last woman who was recruited"
"How could I forget" I snapped. Hannah nodded and turned to leave. "Hannah"
"What" she muttered still with her back to me.
"I will protect this one" I promised
"You'd better" she scoffed before returning to the rest of the group.

I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. The last female recruit had died on my watch, and I knew Hannah would never let me live it down. I hated myself for letting it happen, and I hated the man who killed her. She had been young, no more than fifteen. I had been naive then. I had expected everyone to be as honorable as they should've been, but not everyone was. The man who trained her, one of my most trusted friends, violated her. I knew something had happened, but she wouldn't tell me. Days later I found her. She hung herself from one of the rafters in the stables. Hannah knew what had happened. She told me what Yusuf had done to the girl, but there was no proof. After that I removed the rest of my female recruits from his care and gave the responsibility to Hannah. She had done exceptionally well. My female warriors were the best in all the king's guard. No one dared touch them for fear of a broken hand, or worse. Amidst my musings, my battalion had mounted and was prepared to leave. I rode to the front, and we began our journey.

Two days later, we reached the village of Blackwell. We were in a clearing just outside the village. We waited till the sun began to set, then we entered the village. I stayed in the square and watched my men as the ventured down one of the streets. We had entered the village on foot, it was easier when you didn't have to worry about horses. I watched Jacob as he reached his old house. I heard the screams as he took his younger brother from their home. The boy he brought was barely seventeen, but he was strong. Jacobs family were blacksmiths, and it was obvious that this boy was a damn good one. He had the build of a warrior and I nodded my approval to Jacob. I turned to see Hannah quickly approaching me.
"Sir, we have a problem," she said gruffly attempting to disguise her voice from anyone listening.
"What is it" I asked
"We have a runner" she answered
"Fuck, they never make it easy. Tell the men to return to camp. I'll go after this one myself" I said to her
"I'm coming with you" she stated.
"Fine. Let's go"
We made our way to the forest near the edge of the village. Hannah motioned for me to stop. She took off her helmet and armour. I gave her a questioning look.
"The silver interferes with this" she explained
I nodded, stepping back from her. She crouched and drew a circle in the dirt around herself. She stepped into the middle of the circle. Hannah took a deep breath and froze. I watched her eyes cloud over. Literally, they turned white. Her entire body was stiff as if she were a statue. The forest grew eerily silent. We stood there for a few minutes. Suddenly, she was back.
"The girl is heading north towards the camp. She's following a stream just a few hundred yards from here." Hannah reported. She was gifted with sight which made it quite convenient when it came to tracking. Hannah literally had a birds eye view of whatever she was looking for.
"Let's go" I said, heading north towards the stream she saw.
Once we reached the stream, we picked up our pace. We followed the stream and the faint tracks alongside it. Soon it began to grow dark.
"Why haven't we caught up with her yet" I asked looking at Hannah. "Surely she's stopped for the night.
"The darkness won't stop her" Hannah said. "I remember her. it was years ago, but she's different. Alleria likes the darkness. I always found her quite odd"
That's when I heard it. A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the forest bouncing off the trees and surrounding us. I ran. I ran as fast as I could towards the scream, and into the ever pressing darkness.

**********
Yayyy part two is here. I'm pretty bored today so expect the next chapter later today let's be honest it'll probably be here in an hour, maybe two. Again please leave your comments and ideas. This is a creative space, and I'd love to hear everyone's ideas❤️❤️
Also if you like this story, don't forget to vote and add it to your library.