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Taking my father's hand into mine, I led him out the
front door of our castle. In moments we were surrounded by our regular shield
of masculine guards and we began to slowly walk down the brick road, which led
to the Castle of Erodaire's outer gate. At first, I kept my eyes glued onto
the road, but I allowed my eyes to slip and look over at my father's eyes and
instantly noticed the fierce fire which burned inside of him. I lowered my eyes
to the ground and did not look at his face again.
"Open the gate!" a guard shouted to the gatekeepers
as we neared the doorway into the village. Seconds later, the heavy metal doors
started to squeak open slowly, their facade's dully grinning back at the sun's
rays as they bounced off their hard exteriority. I heard the screeching sound
of steel rubbing against brick and dirt as the doors grated across the road
and allowed us to see the village which surrounded our castle. I saw many stunned
Neopets look on in surprise as the doors revealed the royalty within, and some
of the pets even ran away in fear. I did not flinch at this sight, for I knew
that if I were a villager under my father's command, I would flee as well.
"Attention dwellers of the fair kingdom of Erodaire!
I present to thee, King Alastare the Royal Highness, and his daughter, Princess
Andra our Royal Lady!" a guard shouted aloud, the winds carrying his voice across
the village so that everyone could hear this announcement. "Make room for our
King and Lady!"
Taking in a deep breath, I stepped forward and
started to walk along the dusty streets, my father by my side. Many of the Neopians
were clad in tannish-brown clothing which seemed to hang on them loosely, but
still seemed to fit them in an awkward fashion. I looked up and tried my best
to catch the eyes of any of the villagers, but all faces were glancing upon
the ground as we regally passed them by. I sighed when I saw this, but I still
kept my head high as I walked alongside my father, but my thoughts drifted off
for I was never able to contain my own mind.
When I was young, I always remembered the stories
my mother always told me of young female adventurers who would go out into the
world and make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. They helped
the poor who needed help, and aided people to detect the good which lay hidden
within them. They discovered new land and territory, and all who met them had
respect for these young adventurers. How I wish I were able to fly away on my
wings and go out into the world and be exactly like those heroines...to be respected
and admired by all. That was my dream that seemed to run farther away as each
passing year fled by...
Sighing once more and once again pushing my ambitions
away, I continued to try my best to make eye contact with one of the many villagers.
I was quite surprised to see empty streets when I drifted back to reality; glancing
over at the guards around us, I noticed that a look of confusion and alertness
were in their eyes. Everything about us was quiet, and it seemed as if the entire
kingdom was holding it's breath. A dust-filled wind blew by us, blowing stinging
dirt into our eyes and blinding us for a few seconds. I heard the grunts of
the guards as they desperately tried to wipe the dirt from their eyes, and I
heard my father curse as he did the same.
"Something's wrong..." I whispered quietly and
stared around as my eyes searched for the trouble which I sensed, but I saw
nothing. My eyes fell upon the rooftops and I squinted so that I would be able
to see better in the sun's blinding rays. It was then that I saw a familiar
face sitting upon one of the roofs of the poorly made houses. She had pure,
blue eyes and the most serene yet strong-willed face I've ever seen. I blinked
a few times just to make sure that what I saw was real, and the image still
stood there, watching me behind one of the roof's chimney.
"Mother..." I whispered to myself, unable to
believe my eyes. At that exact moment, I heard a loud cry as a guard quickly
tackled me to the ground.
I gasped and looked behind the guard's shoulder,
now noticing a figure clothed in black wielding a deadly sword above us. The
guard, who's eyes were fierce and black, quickly whispered, "Stay down, My Lady,"
and he jumped up and withdrew his sword. I looked around me and saw other figures
draped in black surrounding us. They were all carrying swords which glinted
like pure silver in the sun, and the guards created a circle about my fallen
form to protect me. I sadly noticed that my father was part of the barricade.
Standing up, I looked up at the roofs once more,
but the figure of my mother was gone. A loud steel clash echoed into my thoughts
and I shifted my eyes from the rooftops and onto the battle which was happening
before my very eyes. The figures clad in black seemed to possess much skill,
and although the guards were trying their best to fight back, the black figures
seemed to be overwhelming them. I reached into my sash and withdrew a dagger
which I always kept close just in case, and I looked around as I searched for
my father's Mutant Draik form.
I heard a yell to my left, and my head quickly
turned to that direction. I saw my father standing over the fallen figure of
one of the masked Neopians, and in one quick movement he bent down and picked
up the sword which was lying near the body. With one look at the sword, my father
gave out another cry before he turned around and entered the battle once more.
I took a few steps forward and bent down to pick up the blade, now realizing
why my father had such an angered look upon his face when he saw the sword's
hilt. The letters 'D.o.E' were imprinted upon it in blood red ink.
"Deathdealers of Erodaire..." I whispered again,
and my mother's kind face flashed into my mind once more.
"Princess Andra! Watch out!" one of the guards
yelled just as I quickly turned around and stopped an oncoming sword attack
with my blade. I looked into the eyes of my attacker and met pure blackness
underneath the many folds of cloth he wore. I stepped back awkwardly as the
attacker swung his sword once again to attack me, and I blocked it. He did that
once more, and I shifted my dagger so that I'll be able to block it, but at
the last moment he quickly rotated his sword and cut a deep gash into my arm.
I cried out at the unexpected pain, but I continued
to keep a firm grip on my dagger. The attacker took a few more swings at me
which I easily blocked before he switched his sword's position and created another
gash onto my other arm. At that moment, I hesitated as I stared at the wounds
upon me, and my attacker took that time and knocked me to the ground.
"Andra!" I heard my father cry, and I looked
behind my attacker's form onto an awful sight. All the guards were lying upon
the floor, never to move again, and the figures clad in black were holding my
father back with their swords. "Leave her alone you scums of Erodaire!!" he
cried once more before they knocked him unconscious with the hilt of a sword.
I watched in horror at the image of my father's
body crumble onto the dirt ground and lie there, twitching occasionally. I knew
that I will not be able to fend off any type of attackers, let alone the Deathdealers
who were the most skilled fighters in the kingdom of Erodaire. A flicker of
silver caught my eye, and I stared before me at the raised sword. I knew that
this was going to be the end, but in a last desperate attempt to save myself,
I grabbed my dagger and pushed it into the ankle of my attacker.
A cry escaped his mouth as he dropped his sword
and clasped his ankle in pain. This caught the attention of the other Deathdealers,
unfortunately, and they all started to advance towards me, their swords glinting
with malice. I bit my lip and gripped my blade tighter, for I was reluctant
to give them easy prey. A flutter of black flickered at the corner of my eye
in that exact moment, and it seemed as if the Deathdealers saw it as well, for
they stopped their advancement towards me and leapt at the oncoming figure.
The character which came just at the nick of
time had a pair of daggers in his hands, and with these daggers, he was able
to fight off all the Deathdealers at once. I stared in amazement at this newcomer's
agility and agileness with his weapons, and after the cloaked figure knocked
a Deathdealer upon the floor, the others turned and fled. In moments, they disappeared
behind the brown corner of a house near the end of the road, leaving their comrade
behind in the dust.
With one quick movement, the cloaked figure brought
an end to the Deathdealer upon the floor, and he quickly approached me. At first,
I feared that he was going to attack me, so I tightened my hold upon my blade.
But when I saw the clear, red eyes and the kind smile of this Neopet, I dropped
my dagger upon the floor and grinned up at him.
"It's about time you came, Oldraik," I laughed
as he helped me up off the floor.
"Sorry, I just wanted to see your skill with
the blade a bit. Quite...erm...surprising, your skill," Oldraik said with a
laugh as he dropped his hood and revealed his shadowy features. He still wore
the same secret-filled-eyes like always, and his skin was still as inky as the
deepest blacks. "I see you've been wearing my gift," he said and eyed the chain
about my neck.
"Of course!" I said and chuckled. A warm smile
played on my lips as I hugged him once more. "Thank you for saving me."
"No thanks needed; it was worth being able to
fight off those blasted Deathdealers," Oldraik said back to me with a wink.
"How did you ever get so good at fighting? I
thought that the Deathdealers were the most skilled sword wielders in Erodaire,"
I asked as I recalled his agility with the daggers. "Your performance was absolutely
astounding."
"Well, the key word there is 'thought', and you
thought wrong, Andra," Oldraik said back, mystery hinting in the tone of his
voice.
I laughed at this witty response from Oldraik,
and it was as if my entire world was finally going the way I wanted it to go.
I received the blessing of being able to know that Oldraik is safe and sound,
and that he was still a close acquaintance of mine. This was the first time
in my entire life that I was actually content with my life, and as a sign of
my happiness, I gave Oldraik a warm hug that he awkwardly accepted.
"Andra...?" I heard a familiar voice utter which
forced me to quickly release myself from my embrace with Oldraik.
I gasped and quickly looked over to where my
father was lying upon the floor. The only problem was that my father was not
lying upon the floor anymore...instead...he was up and as awake...and he was
able to clearly see me and Oldraik.
To be continued...
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