Sierra tapped her foot as she waited by the horse stables on the castle grounds. She kept herself hidden behind so forest cover. Soon, she saw a familiar silhouette coming in her direction.
She noticed that the person was running towards her, waving their hands in the air.
"Sierra! Run!" She heard Ida’s voice loud and clear.
But it was too late.
As soon as she turned around, Sierra found the tip of the blade at her throat. She gulped as she reached for her sword as she took a step back. She was surrounded.
"Sierra Bancroft, you’re under arrest." The guard said to her.
She looked straight into his eyes, unwavering. The guard was younger than her, she could tell. He barely had any experience. Opal slithered up Sierra’s arm, coiling loosely around her neck.
The little snake bared her fangs and hissed at the guard, causing him to stumble back. Sierra folded her arms. She had nothing to fear.
"Under arrest, for what?" She asked haughtily.
The guard gulped, uncertain of how to reply. None of them had expected her to throw the question back at them. They were at a loss. Sierra sighed. She took advantage of the distraction and drew her own sword. She kicked the sword out of his hand and pointed her own at his throat.
"rcy, Knightess Sierra, rcy!" The guard begged.
All the others dropped their weapons too, much to her surprise. Ida finally caught up with Sierra. She was gasping for air, catching her breath. She was understandably surprised to see that the guards were cowering before her when monts ago, they had their swords at her throat.
"What did you do to them, Your Grace?" Ida asked as she covered her mouth with her hands, uncertain of what to make of the scene.
"What did I do to them? Nothing!" Sierra confessed, "they just surrendered."
"Please Knightess Sierra, you... you are our only hope!"
One of the guards begged.
It soon beca clear after speaking to the guards that many in the castle were unhappy with the way Cedric was running things. They were unable to speak up against him in fear of getting killed.
They relayed the horrors that had gone one behind the castle walls since King Frederick’s death. Sierra knew better than to take everything with a pinch of salt, but it was enough to turn her stomach.
"Please, Knightess Sierra! You’re our only hope!"
"Yes!" The other guards agreed.
Sierra shook her head.
"Don’t say that," she said sharply. She didn’t want to play the heroine.
That was not what she ca here to do.
"Sierra, this is the perfect opportunity for you to take him down! The servants of the castle have witnessed the horrors of his conduct. He’s not fit to be King," Ida reasoned.
Everyone agreed with her.
"It’s not that easy," Sierra sighed.
Cedric still had the command of the royal army. He also had elite soldiers who were loyal to him that were acting like his secret police. They prosecuted anyone who stepped out of line.
Rembering that crucial detail sent a shiver down her spine. She glanced up and around, worried for everyone’s safety now.
"All of you need to leave," she said to them in a whisper.
"Leave? What do you-"
Blood spewed from the guard’s mouth. Everyone else yelped in shock and ran in all directions. Sierra drew her blade imdiately as she ca face to face with the assassin who’d stabbed the guard from behind with his sword.
There were six of them in total, and all of them had their faces covered to keep their identities hidden. But sothing about one of them caught her attention. One of them seed to have a familiar-looking weapon.
Without hesitation, Sierra lunged forward to fight off the assassin. She pushed Ida out of the way, telling her to get to safety before turning back around to fight off the assassin.
"Drop your weapon! Or the maid gets it," an assassin warned.
He had a dagger at Ida’s neck, one that looked oddly familiar. And that voice... could it be?
"I’m sorry, Sierra... I..." Ida was in tears, shaking like a leaf.
"It’s alright, Ida. It’s alright," Sierra did her best to console her while keeping her cool.
Sierra held up both of her swords so that they were within the line of sight of all the assassins. She carefully placed them down on the ground and continued to hold her hands above her head.
"I surrender," she said carefully, "Don’t hurt her."
There was a mont of silence, one that felt like it went for a little too long. The assassins began to withdraw their weapons. They closed in on Sierra little by little.
But before they could get to her, each of them was taken out one after the other by a series of daggers. None of them ca close to laying their hands on Sierra.
Five, she counted five who dropped dead before her.
Where was the sixth?
A cold shiver ran down her spine as she felt a presence draw close. She could feel a pair of hands about to wrap around her waist. Her reflexes kicked in imdiately. Sierra elbowed the assassin behind her and created distance between them.
She spun around to face him head-on, ready to put up a fight regardless of what happened, only to see a familiar figure bent over with their hands on their stomach. The familiar weapon she had seen just monts earlier was strapped to his back.
Ida was standing on the side, with her hands over her mouth.
"It’s great to see you too... sweetling," Alistair’s familiar voice croaked.
Sierra gasped in shock, realizing what she had just done. She has elbowed her lover in the stomach.
"Alistair? Oh dear, what have I done?! Are you alright?" She gasped in quick succession as a myriad of thoughts and questions flooded her mind.
As she was about to reach out to him, Alistair wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in a tight embrace. The mont she felt his arms around him, everything else lted away.
The anxiety she had, the fear, the worries. Nothing else mattered at that mont.
Only he mattered.
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