Chapter 52

“I don’t care if he bullies me, I just hope I find him,” Freya panted as she ran in the direction of the King. She spotted a horse running out of the forest and judging by the laces, she knew it was Miss Selena.

“What is going on?” She frowned as she continued to run towards the scene before her. She started to slow down as she realized what she saw. There were dead bodies of soldiers littered all over the ground in front of her.

She felt an empty hollow in her chest and the little lunch she had moments earlier threatened to spill out. She ignored the tangy taste of bile that sat on her tongue like an uninvited guest and dug her fingers into her palm to prevent her from emptying her innards. Freya’s hair was soaked through from the rain that was falling around her, rain that she hadn’t noticed until the droplets trickled down into her eyes. She didn’t have the strength to stretch out her arm and prevent the droplets from falling on her face.

“I’m sure His Majesty is okay, he has the brave Sir Gemini backing him,” Freya shuddered as she thought of the King and his Knight. She stopped in her tracks as she realized Gemini lay on the ground, his face deathly pale. She rushed to him, preventing her thoughts from going to the fact that no one might be protecting His Majesty.

She leaned down next to the big man, and reached under his arms, struggling to pull him under a tree to shield him. She heard him groan and she sat down to him quickly. He reached out with speed he shouldn’t normally have had and grabbed Freya’s arm, causing her heart to skip dangerously.

“The coward shot a poisonous arrow at me.” He mumbled slowly and Freya was taken aback by his milky white eyes and his chest rising and falling rapidly. “Sir Gemini, where is his Majesty?” Freya asked urgently, clamping a hand on the Knight’s much larger one. “Please…take care of-” And with those words, he lost consciousness again.

Freya felt a wave of uneasiness flood her body. She had no idea where she was and how long she’d walked among the corpses that lay dead on the ground. Her nostrils burned with the sharp tang of blood mixed with mud and water, her body shivering as she looked among the masses with impending urgency.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of searching, Freya detected a golden halo among the corpses. Her breath caught in her throat as she ran towards him, her jaw clamped strongly to stop her from screaming out. “Your Majesty!!!” She cried out as she ran to Lucius, almost slipping as she sat next to him. It was him alright, weak and pale, his eyes dropping yet his hand clenched around his sword as if he were still waiting to fight.

“Your Majesty, please hang on,” Freya stammered at the half-conscious King, who had been getting ready to attack feverishly but had stopped at the sound of her voice. “I need you to get up,” She insisted as she gripped at his arms.

“Freya…” He mumbled slowly. Freya knew there were people out there who put targets on his head, who were ready to strike him down if they had the opportunity. She hadn’t, however, realized the impact it would have on her. The King, lying there helpless and wounded. It had taken everything in her to stop herself from crying and puking but she couldn’t stop the tremors in her arms and she tried to move the King.

She then realized he was still in danger, and anything could happen at any moment. Eyes wide open with fear, Freya looked around with the caution of a frightened animal. She had to shield the King from any further attacks but she couldn’t understand how she could move a man of his girth across the field without attracting any unfriendly attention.

To her luck, Lucius’ horse stood to a distance from them, neighing nervously. Freya was too worn out to smile at his loyalty so she slapped its rear hard, hoping to frighten it and make it run in another direction. Which it did, to her relief, as it galloped away crazily. Freya prayed it was an ample distraction to any enemies watching until she was able to help move the King to a safer place.

Behind her, Lucius let out a painful moan and Freya’s heart clenched with hurt and anger, her face burning at the sight of him. She had no idea what to do, and it felt like her legs had been trapped in a sandpit, the sands slowly sucking her down into the ground, blurring her consciousness. “Stop it,” she commanded herself and punched herself in the arm. The pain focused her mind again and she began to think of ways she could help the King.

Thankfully, the King’s eyes had snapped open and Freya sat next to him. “Your Majesty, I need you to walk with me, please.” She asked slowly. The King’s eyes registered acceptance and he groaned again as he tried to sit up.

“You can lean on me,” Freya said, her voice almost a whisper.  The King wrapped his huge arm around her shoulders and Freya had to hold her breath as she shouldered his weight and help him walk across the expanse of the land to a safer place. She had lost all concept of time as she leaned the King into a small burrowed shelter she’d found a few miles away from where they’d originally been. She rubbed her numb arm and ran out to find leaves and weed to help cover their hiding place.

By the time she was finished, Freya sank with shaking hands in front of a burrow with water. Her hands painted the water red and she was confused about where she’d gotten the blood from. She shuddered as she remembered her proximity to the dead soldiers on the battlefield. Suddenly, her back became ramrod straight as she realized the blood might have come from the King. She ran to Lucius.

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