Katara

A blood-red moon appears among the bare branches and shrouds the thick forest in darkness. A bleak wind caresses Katara's bare upper arms and makes her shiver. Not just from the cold. An ominous feeling took over her stomach. Her insecurity eventually overwhelms her. Was it true? Was she safe? I can stand my ground, she said. Was that to reassure her sister, or did she need that reassurance herself? She looks around nervously as she tries to control her breathing. There was very little that could frighten her, but tonight was different... strange... An oppressive feeling that had already started during the party. The encounter with the knight had been cryptic, to say the least. She'd like to get to know him better, she'd thought. But that thought has now passed. It all seemed so genuine, so natural. There had even been a moment when she would have to agree with her sister. The thought of dancing with him again was tempting, and she almost gave in. Why the hell? Why am I still thinking about him right now? Why am I so attracted to him? Why does he feel so... Perfect? With a head full of questions, Katara could only sigh. The dark sky is filled with stars. However, these offer no answer, and the blood-red moon also stares at her in silence. The wolf in the distance shows his displeasure and howls at the moon. A raven caws behind her. "Control Yourself Katara". She shivers as she breathes in the cold night air.

When a dead branch cracks behind her, she freezes. Cold shivers ran over her spine. She tries to warm herself by rubbing her arms over her body. Her eyes are restless as the cold wind touches her blond locks. She feels it. There is a presence. "He... hello", is all she can say. There were shadows in the forest and one of them seemed to be moving. She sure knows now. She's not alone... Hastily she turns and runs into the dark forest. Behind her is the dull rumble of footsteps. They are accelerating. As fast as her legs can carry her, she starts running for her life. She hastily jumps over an old stump that blocks the dark forest path. However, she misjudged her jump. Her long purple dress with flowy sleeves and braided gold belt snags behind the dry wood. She falls and lands with a thud on the damp surface. Her tattered dress is the least of her worries; the flaming pain in her ankle, on the other hand... She moans in pain, grabs her left foot, and looks at her injured ankle. Stand up, girl. Your pursuer will find you if you don't go any further. He will catch you and maybe kill you, she thinks. As much as she tries to swallow the pain and stand up, she can't. The sound of footsteps grows louder as she drags herself along the rough forest floor. Perhaps she could hide in the shadows of ancient trees. With the courage of despair, she perseveres. She eventually hides under the ominous shadows of some withered blackberry branches as she watches with fearful eyes as the pursuer finally catches up with her. It's a muscular man. His dark black hair is neatly tied back in a ponytail and shows his tight sideburns.

An amused grin appears on his young hairless face when he discovers her. "Aren't you unlucky," he speaks in a rough voice with an unfamiliar accent. It resembles a raw Danish sound. In his soft, unshaven jaw appear deep lines when he grins. The sound of a branch breaking echoes under his boots as he grabs Katara by the hair with a black leather glove and pulls her face toward him. She could feel his warm breath on her face. It smells slightly of lavender. Katara groans and looks the robber straight in the eye. Eyes of dull gold. She recognizes those eyes. But from where? It doesn't take her long to remember it. The mercenary!

He grins. "I told you I would come back for you" he whispers in her ear. "Where's the book?" Katara bites her lip and glances at the muscular man attacking her. Her eyes fell on the sword attached to his hip in an ornate red sheath. This is not a practice sword. This was a sword forged to kill. A sword with a gold hilt. At the top was a knight in armor with a raised sword, riding a unicorn. The gold hilt is gracefully embossed. The Elven symbols worked into the curved double cross-guard tell her that it is a military sword. Is this a soldier? A captain or worse. A royal?

Would she be able to get the sword before he knew it? The mercenary chuckles. "If that's your idea, then I have to disappoint you," he starts. He pulls the long sword from its close-fitting scabbard. "You can watch it if you want. Then you know what to expect." Her pleading look is met with another grin and a dirty wink. "Come now, girl, you know the price paid for witchcraft and I intend to collect it." Katara stares at him. "Witchcraft?" "You know what I mean," says the mercenary. "If you have a few last words, useless pleas, or requests, I won't listen." He laughs, grabs one of her breasts, and squeezes her nipple. Her eyes show nothing but hatred as she slaps his hand away and then slaps his face. "Bastard!" His lip is bleeding where she hit him. "So be it," he says, casually, wiping the blood off with his gloved hand. "Then I'll end it now." He draws his sword. Katara's lip quivers as the villain moves to behead her.

"What" he roars.

Katara has no idea where Reki suddenly comes from, but there he is. He gripped the robber firmly with his leather vest. With a powerful jerk, he drags the mercenary back, away from her. Reki hurries away as the villain's sword whizzes toward him. The robber loses his balance and lands on the ground with a hard thud. His weapon was several inches away, lost in the fall.

Katara stares at Reki in awe. Where did he come from, in the name of the Goddess? What is he doing here? Did he follow her? "And who do we have here?" the mercenary roars as he tries to raise himself. His black leather vest creaks with every movement. Reki slightly bows his head and licks his lip before replying: "Someone who hates rats like you". "Rats like me?" asks the man. "Rats like you. Men with no honor. Men who have no respect for women and just attack them in the middle of the night." Katara is amazed at the calmness in Reki's voice. "Looks like this rat can eat two corpses tonight." growls the mercenary, trying to reach for his weapon. Reki warns him. "Do not do it". The mercenary laughs, ignoring Reki's warning, and manages to pick up his sword.

Reki his leather black boots crack as he approaches the villain. Katara bites her lip nervously. The sword strokes alternate. An uppercut is parried by Reki. While Katara carefully crawls back, the mercenary takes a step to the right. Both warriors stared into each other's eyes as they circled each other, looking for an opening, swords pointed at each other. The mercenary goes for a horizontal stab that Reki can catch with ease. Katara's heart skips a beat when the men attack each other. The strokes alternate. Top left, top right, top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, top left again, and then top right again. It just keeps going. The mercenary can dodge Reki's vertical uppercut with great difficulty. Again, the swords are silent as the two men circle and look into each other's eyes. Reki goes on the defensive as the mercenary's sword flashes by like lightning. Reki counterattacks, his sword raised above his head, ready for battle. The mercenary easily catches him and ripostes. The sound of swords clattering mingles with that of the cold, foul wind. Growling, the mercenary rolls under a sword blow and strikes again. Reki parries and counterattacks. The blow is so fierce that he can knock his opponent's weapon away. The mercenary looks at Reki with puzzled eyes. "Surrender!" Reki shouts at him. "No way!" he goes in response. "Too bad," Reki replies, trying again to attack the mercenary.

Reki comes down to his knees, gasping for breath, when the mercenary hits him in the crotch. The villain stands up, grins and picks up his weapon again. Reki, meanwhile, scribbles with his hand still on his crotch, and turns again to his foe. He tries to swallow the pain. The mercenary watches in amusement as Reki throws herself before Katara like a guardian angel. "You give your life for a worthless thing, boy," he mocks. Reki doesn't give up. "A life is only worthless if it is not fought for," he replies. The mercenary laughs and attacks again. Reki manages to dodge the blow by turning quickly to the left and walking away. His shiny chain mail rings at this movement. Again, the blows followed one another. One above, one below. Reki's elbow hits the mercenary in the face so hard that his teeth chatter. He backs away. Growling, the mercenary rolls on the ground and immediately jumps back up to block another attack from Reki. The swords flash again, but this time the villain manages to make a swipe at Reki's Adam's apple with the flat of his sword. Reki catches his breath and his eyes widen with pain. In a reflex, he drops his sword and brings his hands to his neck. Coughing and spitting blood, he took a step back. The pain forces him to his knees. The mercenary watches in amusement as his opponent gasps... The mercenary goes for the attack. Reki parries, with difficulty, and headbutts the mercenary in the crotch. The mercenary doubles, this time not from laughing. Leaning on their swords, the two ruffs stand up. A short whisk, one uppercut, the crown whisk, one uppercut, the lady's whisk, one uppercut, the boar followed by another uppercut. The fight seems to last an eternity until a growling cry of pain finally puts an end to it.

"No!" shouts Katara. The mercenary his final blow has hit its target. Reki stares in disbelief as he sees his white coat of arms turn red. The mercenary's sharp blade glitters as brightly as the blood-red moon. Wounded on his side, Reki bends to his knees. Katara doesn't know much about sword fighting, but she can see that the wound is deadly. With a grimace, the mercenary takes a step back when he sees what he's done to his opponent. Reki grits his teeth as he places his right hand on the bleeding wounds. "You should have stayed in your temple, Templar." jokes the mercenary as he prepares his sword for the final blow. Reki blocks the attack, groaning with pain in his abdomen and peering at the mercenaries. How could this villain have taken him down? Reki has never lost a battle. There was no duel that he had more like a sham and now... Now he feels his precious blood flowing from his gut. He knew that in a few hours he would be gone. How on earth will Katara be spared now? She would die, and this was his fault, again... Sweat beads on his forehead. The villain quickly withdraws his weapon and stabs Reki in the shoulder. Moaning, Reki bites the inside of his jaw. "Reki" yells Katara grudgingly as the bleeding warrior slumps forward to the ground. "Reki" roars Katara.

The mercenary chuckles at her worried expression. "So that was his name huh" he mocks and turns to Katara. "My next victim," he proclaims, improving the grip on his weapon. Katara closes her eyes scared. She abruptly opens it again when the mercenary curses loudly again. Reki grabbed the man's calf with his last strength and pulled him to the ground. "I said" he started growling, and continues as he gets on his hands and knees; "stay away from the lady." A satisfied smile, appeared on Katara's lips. In the end, she had to admit that Selina was right. He was heroic. Reki smiles and crawls closer to Katara. "Are you okay?" he asks, and places his bloodied hand on her cheek. Katara nods vigorously. "Reki" she roars as the mercenary behind him tries to make another cowardly attack on Reki's back.

Reki turns swiftly, takes the dagger from his brown leather weapon belt, and throws it at the mercenary's face. The mercenary instinctively ducks. Unfortunately, he's too slow, causing the sharp blade to cut across his forehead. Screaming in pain, he places his hand on his heavily bleeding forehead and sinks to his knees. As the mercenary lands on his right side, Reki looks into Katara's eyes again.

"Talking about a heroic rescue," Katara mocks. "I was nearby" Reki replies with a grin. "What a coincidence", Katara jokes. Reki chuckles. Groaning, he clenches his teeth when a sudden sharp pain shoots through his organs. "Reki" Katara yells anxiously as the strong knight lands on his back. "Reki" she repeats, and crawls to the Crusader. Astonished, she lifts her hand from his stomach and stares at the crimson blood that adorns her palm. "No, no, no" she begs loudly and shakes her head. "Come on!" "Help" she yells and repeats; "please someone, help!" Desperately, she looks around but the forest is too dark. "No come on Reki, this can't happen. You can't die now" she begs. "Come on Reki" she whispers and tries to lift his head. "Katara" resounds cautiously. Startled, Katara turns her head. She stares in surprise at the young woman who emerges from among the thick trees. "Isobelle?