The Sanctuary of Stars

A Time Traveling Romance Novel

I stood at the brink of our encampment, my fatigued eyes surveying the shrouded darkness encompassing us. A second scream reverberated through the night, closer than the last, heightening the anxiety among my men and me.
By the fourth scream, all my men stood poised, weapons at the ready, sleep banished from their thoughts, their focus trained on the impenetrable woods ahead. The sun had yet to grace the horizon, but a faint light began to seep into the new morning.
"Mayhaps we should-" I began, but André, my second in command, swiftly cut off the speaker. The man fell silent, his unease palpable as he started pacing, wrestling with his thoughts.
I could discern the longing to assist the distressed woman etched on my men's faces. In ordinary times, I would have dispatched a group immediately, yet the constraints of our treaty bound my hands. A breach of the agreement between the Eastern and Western kingdoms loomed large, and so, we stood at the border, hope flickering within us, waiting for the woman to cross over.