◆ Aelith
The pain came in waves.
Each contraction tore my body from the inside, stealing the air from my lungs. My fingers slipped on the damp stone of the cave as I tried to stay standing. The smell of wet earth and moss mixed with the metallic taste of blood in my mouth.
"Lady, you need to rest!" Merin's voice sounded distant, muffled by the sound of my own heart pounding in my ears.
"No... there's no time."
I forced the words out. Outside, beyond the cave entrance, the forest was too silent. That kind of silence that came before disaster. They were close. I knew it.
We had been running for days. Weeks, maybe. Time had lost meaning somewhere between the destruction of the palace and the death of the last member of the royal guard. There were only four of us left now: Merin, two guards whose names I could barely remember in the haze of pain, and the two maids who insisted on accompanying me.
One of them, a firm-looking woman who had been with me since before the wedding, pressed my hands against the stone.
"Almost there, my lady. But you need to push. Now."
There was no choice. There never was.
I gritted my teeth and obeyed. The pain exploded into something bigger, sharper, so intense that the world narrowed until only that moment remained. Then, in the midst of the chaos, the fear, the absolute exhaustion, I heard it.
A cry.
Weak. Tremulous. But alive.
"It's a boy."
The maid's hands wrapped the small body in a rough cloth. She brought him to me, and for a brief moment, everything seemed to stop. I looked at that tiny, reddish face, eyes still closed.
My son.
But the relief lasted less than a breath.
The sound came from afar, but unmistakable. Roars. Not from one or two. Dozens. And among them, something worse—human voices shouting orders.
"Lady!" One of the guards appeared at the cave entrance, his face pale in the dim torchlight. "They're close! We need to leave now!"
My jaw tightened. I didn't need to ask who "they" were. I already knew.
I forced my body to move. Every muscle screamed in protest, but I couldn't stop. The maids helped me up. My legs trembled, threatening to give way at any moment.
"Prepare the horse!" Merin shouted to the other guards.
"No." I tried to protest. "You need to—"
"With all due respect, my lady." Merin turned to me, his face firm. "We'll stay. You flee."
"Merin, I won't—"
"It's not a choice!" For the first time, he raised his voice. "We swore to protect you. And that's what we'll do!"
One of the guards brought the last horse that remained. A tired animal, but still strong. Two of the maids were already mounted on other horses nearby.
"We'll go with you, my lady." The younger one said, firmly.
The maids helped me up. Every movement was agony, but I forced my body to obey. One of them placed the swaddled baby in my arms. I looked down at that tiny face.
My son.
Merin held the horse's reins, looking directly into my eyes.
"Live." His voice was firm, but I saw tears running down his face. "Protect him. And live."
Then he slapped the horse's flank.
The three animals bolted.
I held the reins with one hand and the baby with the other, clutching him to my chest. The forest passed in a blur. The two maids rode beside me, protecting the flanks.
Behind us, I heard screams. Clashing metal. Roars.
The battle had begun.
I didn't look back.
We followed the north trail. The horse ran, but my body could barely stay in the saddle. Each gallop was a new wave of pain.
Then I heard it.
A scream coming from above.
A high-pitched scream coming from above.
"Shit!" The maid to my left shouted, looking at the sky. "Wyvern tamer!"
I turned my head up. Shadows cut through the clouds. Huge wings. Three of them.
Wyverns.
The first one swooped down.
"Protect the lady!" The older maid pulled the reins, turning the horse.
"No! Keep going!" I shouted.
But they had already made their decision.
The two positioned themselves between me and the creatures. Light began to shine in one of their hands. Mana condensed, taking solid form. A spear. Made entirely of white, pulsating light.
The first wyvern attacked. Claws met flesh. One of the maids screamed.
"Go! The other yelled at me, holding the spear. "Go now!"
I slapped the reins. The horse bolted.
But something was wrong.
I felt it before I saw it. Displaced air. Too close.
The second wyvern didn't go after the maids.
It came straight for me.
I tried to duck, but too late.
The claw tore my back.
Pain exploded. Sharp. Deep. I almost fell from the saddle. The baby slipped from my arms.
No!
I held him tightly, squeezing him against my chest even as warm blood ran down my back.
I heard a war cry behind me.
The spear of light cut through the air.
The wyvern roared, swerving at the last moment. The spear lodged in the creature's wing, tearing the hide. It wasn't a fatal blow, but enough to make it retreat.
"Keep going! We'll hold them off!" The maid's voice was distant now.
The horse stumbled. Lost its rhythm.
I slid from the saddle.
The fall was brutal. My body hit the ground hard, but I still held the baby against me, protecting him from the impact. The air rushed from my lungs.
The horse bolted without me, frightened.
Get up.
Get up!
I gritted my teeth. I put my hands on the ground. Every movement cost more than I had. Blood soaked my back, running down my legs.
But I forced my body to obey.
I got up.
The baby was crying softly in my arms. Alive. Still alive.
I started walking. Then I ran. Staggering, unsteady steps, but forward. Always forward.
Behind me, I heard roars. Screams. The maids were still fighting.
I didn't look back.
Blood ran, leaving a trail. My vision darkened at the edges. But I continued.
One step.
Then another.
Then another.
The city was close. It had to be.
I saw lights ahead. Walls. Gate.
Border.
Just a little more.
My knees gave way in front of the gate.
Voices shouted. Guards ran towards me.
"Wounded woman! Call for help!"
Someone held me. Bearded face, worried eyes under the helmet.
"Hold on! We'll take you—"
"No." My voice came out weak. Almost inaudible. "Take... take him."
I forced the baby into his arms. The guard looked at the child, then at me, confused.
"Who is—"
"Save him." The words cost everything that was left. "Please... save my son."
My vision darkened. The world spun.
The last thing I saw was the guard's face, holding my son.
Then, only darkness.
◆ Kael
The night was too quiet.
It had been three hours since I took over the shift at the north gate. Normally, this was the most boring post in the guard. Nothing happened at the border. Just occasional caravans, tired merchants, and the cold wind coming from the mountains.
But tonight was different.
"Did you see that?" Theron, my shift partner, pointed to the forest. "It looked like... movement."
I gripped the spear tighter. My eyes scanned the darkness between the trees. For a moment, nothing. Then I saw it.
A staggering figure. Coming towards the gate.
"Someone's coming!" I shouted to the observation post.
The figure approached. Torchlight revealed details. Woman. Torn clothes, stained with blood. A lot of blood. And in her arms...
"It's a baby!" Theron ran down.
I reached him as the woman fell to her knees right in front of the gate. Blood ran from her back, forming a puddle on the stone floor. The wound was deep. Fatal.
"Wounded woman! Call for help!" I shouted back.
I knelt beside her. I held her shoulders, trying to keep her steady.
"Hold on! We'll take you—"
"No."
Her voice was weak, but it carried something. Determination. Despair.
"Take... take him."
She forced the baby wrapped in bloodstained cloth into my arms. Instinctively, I held the child. It was light. Fragile. Crying softly.
"Who is—"
"Save him." She looked directly into my eyes. Even dying, there was a strength in that look that froze me. "Please... save my son."
Then her eyes closed.
Her body slumped forward. I held her with one arm, still holding the baby with the other.
"Theron! Help here!"
He came running, but when he touched her neck, he shook his head.
"She's gone."
I looked at the baby in my arms. He was crying, too young to understand what he had just lost.
"Who... who was she?" I murmured.
"I don't know." Theron looked back at the forest. "But whatever hurt her like that..."
The roar came before he finished the sentence.
Distant. But not distant enough.
"Alarm!" The watchman's voice echoed from the tower. "Horde approaching! Monsters in the forest!"
My head turned to the darkness. I saw movements. Shadows. Many.
"Damn!"
I looked at the baby. Then at Theron.
"Take him inside! Find someone who can take care of him!"
"And you?"
"I'm going back to the post!" I put the baby in his arms. "Go!"
Theron ran inside the walls. I grabbed my spear, adjusted my helmet, and returned to my position at the gate.
The horde was coming.
And all that remained of that woman was the son she had protected until her last breath.