The Burden of Destiny | Sequel to The Aura Within

25 | Left For Dead

After fighting back against the Obsidian Knights for what felt like an eternity, exhaustion had begun to take over every muscle in Hope's body. There was very little she could do with only a stolen sword at her disposal. What she really focused on was the sense of deja vu from all of this-- the fires, the stolen sword, the same enemies from before. This could've been an unfortunate case of bad luck, but she had a sinking feeling that this could've been some kind of twisted curse that continued to haunt her.

Hope shook her head from the thought. Right now, getting the two nobles with her to safety was her priority at the moment. However, doing it alone proved to be more difficult than she anticipated. Obsidian knights were at every corner waiting to attack, but she managed to at least fend them off. Using her aura was out of the question for two reasons: it was dangerous to use it when the person is exhausted and she was ordered by Nicholas to not use her powers in front of ordinary people. The latter had an exemption regarding her partnership with the Rota Knights, but anyone outside of them was out of the question.

As soon as hell broke loose, Hope immediately went into action. The moment before the siege was out of her mind, but she did find herself worried for the others. She hadn't seen anyone once the siege began, so all she could do was pray that they're still alive. Hope felt like a fool for thinking nothing could go wrong. She let her guard down only for a moment just to enjoy a night of what was meant to be a celebration of unity.

Now, it had all crumbled down as the chaos ensued.

A fit of dry coughs left Hope's lips once they reached a clearing in the depths of the forest. No one should be able to find them here, especially since most of the fighting was at the front and northern parts of the palace. Finding the forest entry through the southern part practically saved their lives.

"We should be safe now," Hope assured once she recovered from her coughing fit.

"Young lady, forgive my bluntness, but you look terrible." The nobleman with her looked concerned.

He was right-- she did look terrible. Her long, blonde hair had fallen out of the fancy updo Soleil spent a long time to style and the minimal makeup she had on was smudged. Ash and sweat stuck to her like glue. Her heels had been abandoned quite early on when the attack unfolded, leaving her feet exposed to the cool earth beneath her. The state of her dress was the most tragic of them all.

The blue fabric had sustained tears of various sizes on the outer layer of the skirt, leaving it literally hanging by a thread. Her straps were close to falling off, but the upper half of the dress fit her tight enough to where she didn't need to worry too much about accidentally exposing herself. All in all, one could easily tell she fought her way out of battle.

"Let me take over," the nobleman insisted. "I was once part of the Rota Knights. I know how to fight in case we get ambushed."

Hope sighed deeply. She was going to interrogate him further about his previous occupation but now wasn't the time. If she had to force herself to keep fighting, she would collapse in an instant. Soleil wasn't here to help her recover quickly either.

"Fine." Hope tossed the sword at the nobleman, who had caught it with ease. "I'll still be here if you need support, but where do we go from here?"

"Good question..." the nobleman hummed. "Maya, you're good with directions. What do you say?"

"Since this forest is located in the southern part of the palace, we should aim for Verdant Trail," the noblewoman, Maya, suggested. "That should take us to Azure Village. From there, we can take a wagon to get back to Viridian Village."

"That sounds easier said than done," said Hope with dismay. "If we head east, we can make it to Acacia Valley and head to Indigo Palace. It's the least patrolled area from what I can tell."