The arrow sunk quickly into August's shoulder before she even realized she was under attack. Initially the energy inside her made it so that she barely felt the impact but once the Aldham steel was imbedded into her, it slowly began to dampen her power. The light within her flickered for a moment before she spun to find a cluster of guards storming to face her. They were quickly growing in number inside the great hall.
August reached back and let her fingers firmly grasp the arrow before quickly pulling it out of her. Her entire shoulder felt as if it were on fire, the steel had left a wound deep enough to nearly immobilize her entire left arm. Not only that, but Aldham steel left marks that were uncurable, meaning that if she couldn't stop the blood that was beginning to flow from her wound, then all of the magic in the world wouldn't even save her.
But it didn't matter now, as the guards moved in. The man with the bow quickly lowered it and unsheathed a sword from his belt. In total August could count about ten of them. The energy in the room was strong enough that she knew she could rip out their throats easily but also after taking down nearly half an army in the courtyard she was unsure just how close to darkness her powers were wavering. And she knew that the moment she went dark, there would be no coming back. There would be no saving the princess.
So quickly surveying the room, August grabbed a sword swiftly from the hands of a statue in the hall. It was much heavier than the dagger she was used to, but the dagger had too much energy in it. Even touching it could send her over the edge.
She let the blade turn in her hand for a moment, letting herself become comfortable with the weight as she turned to her attackers. They stood silent for a moment before finally they charged.
Despite her powers, August's father taught her how to survive without them. When she was young, he made sure that she knew the essentials of living; how to build a fire that wouldn't burn out in an hour, how to hunt for a meal and most importantly how to spar with a sword.
Once a week he would take her out into the clearing and teach her the ways of combat. How to strike effectively and how to search out your enemy's weak spot and use it to your advantage. August started out like a newborn deer, unsteady on her feet and usually ended up with her own sword on the ground and her fathers inches away from her chest.
It was infuriating to her, that no matter how hard she tried she could never best him. Until she decided she had had enough. On her days off of sparing practice with her father, she would venture out and practice on her own using the trees as opponents. And slowly but surely she became quicker and more agile. More of her shots landed and the next time her father had taken her out to practice they were both surprised when she managed to disarm him entirely. She was scared he would be made at her but instead he took her into his arms and raised her high above his head laughing. It was one of her proudest moments with her father.
And now staring down the incoming assailants, August let herself fall back into the days of sparing with her father. Her feet firmly stood their ground as she brought her sword to the ready.
The first guard approached as they began their dance. She managed to dodge his first swing only to counter with a swift counter at his arm. He fled out of the way and to the side as she missed by a landslide. August could hear her father in her head, "Loosen up kid. Don't move against your attacker, move with them."
Her grip loosened slightly as he approached again. Swing one. She dodged. Swing two. She dodged. Swing three. August predicted it's motion before it even came, thrusting her sword forward and into the exposed chest of her attacker. His eyes grow wide as she quickly pulled the sword out and watched him fall to the ground.
Just as quickly as he fell, two more guards came forward to try their luck and she was ready. Dodging shots and pushing through as her sword connected with others. One by one the men fell.
August heard the echoed instructions of her father, "Veer left," "Take the shoulder," "Watch that foot," as she danced through the fight.
As the last guard fell, August looked around one final time to make sure she was safe. Her breath finally catching back up to her. It had felt like she ran a hundred miles, and it wasn't until a sharp pain radiating from her shoulder reminded her why she was so weak.
The arrow had done more damage than she had initially thought. Looking down she saw the puddle of blood she had been fighting in, but it became quickly apparent that it was her own. The pain came again, sharp and fast, bringing her down to her knees. August reached out, trying to grab at whatever energy she could find but it was no use. Whatever the arrow had hit, it was slowly eating away at her.
Aldham arrows were far less deadly than a rhyles, but it was no secret that the guard was known for poisoning their weaponry when they faced deadlier opponents. If she weren't doubled over in fear, August may have even been flattered that they bothered to.
The pain came once more. August's vision was going hazy as the blood continued to flow. Her head felt like she was trapped in a tornado, dizzy and out of control. She could feel herself falling into the haze when a voice shouted towards her.
"August!"
She managed to open her eyes just enough to see a girl with golden blonde hair sprinting towards her. Her princess.
But just as quickly as the moment came, it disappeared as August felt herself fall down down down into the nothingness. It all went black.
...
The princess came across the fallen girl lying in the middle of absolute chaos. Scattered around her seemed like an endless number of fallen guard members, each more broken than the last. But none of it mattered as she ran and fell beside August's limp body.
Izzy's mind was going at a million miles a minute. Her mother had used her power against her father. The king had once again tried to kill her and he had lied about the death of August.
He had lied. She couldn't believe it.
August had come back for her. After everything that had happened, after everything that being a rhyle in Aldham entailed, she still came back.
Izzy couldn't help but feel her heart swell before quickly being replaced by fear as she realized that the puddle of blood she was kneeling in did not belong to the guard, but instead her lovers.
"August, wake up!" She shouted, letting her hands rest on the girls chest as she attempted to shake her awake. "Come on, please."
The desperation in her voice grew. Izzy tried to lift her up but could only manage to worsen the problem. She saw the deep gash oozing blood from Augusts back. It would take so much more than an Aldham arrow to cause that kind of injury. She reckoned that it was another one of her father's ugly tricks but she didn't have time to be angry right now.
Her eyes filled with tears as she brought herself down next to August's body. She had never felt anything close to the feeling she had towards this girl before. Ever since the first moment their worlds collided, Izzy knew that she was different. She had risked her life over and over to save her and stupidly had done it again.
"Please come back to me," her tears fell onto her chest as she lowered her head onto it. Remembering the feeling of safety within her arms. How no matter what, August was willing to expose the darkest secret within her to keep Izzy alive. No one had ever cared for her as much as she, and now she would never have that again.
All because of her father. The greedy king who ruined everything he touched in hopes of gaining power. His selfishness had cost her the most important person Izzy had ever met. She knew that her mother had told her to run, and she could've. But lying on the floor of the throne room, next to her dying lover, the princess made her choice.
August would never leave her. And so she was going to stay right where she was.
So, when the heavy footsteps of the Kings boots approached, Izzy was not surprised. Instead she was ready. This was her fight and she was going to have to put an end to it. No one else was going to die in her place.
Izzy let her lips softly kiss August's cheek one last time as she rose to her feet.
She wiped away the tears that were clouding her vision as she faced the King across from her.
"Let's end this," she proclaimed. Stepping forward, empty handed, towards her death.
