5 Chapter 5: A Dance of Blades

Steel clashed with one another. None of them budged. Parry after dodge, it only continued. The sounds of their blades never went away, as if it was an instrument being played albeit, one that could end their lives in an instant.

It was clear from the two of them that they have complete mastery of their blades. They continued to play with one another, defending, provoking, attacking. Their movements were not wasted, a clear sign of experience.

Their blades locked again but the moment it did, Allendis drew his knife, aiming for her neck. She was startled at his surprise attack that she immediately created some distance between them.

"What's the matter?" Allendis's voice was devoid of emotion yet his question was a mocking one.

"Nothing noteworthy." Kriemhild lied. It did not occur to her that he would resort to such tactics. Black Demon or not, she expected him to fight fairly but that type of thinking would only endanger her.

Up until now, they were studying each other, learning from each swing, growing from each scrape. She would not like to admit it but she was enjoying her time with someone so skillful with a blade and she guessed the same of him, seeing a small smile from his usual stoicism.

She held her curved single-edged blade over her shoulder with both hands, ready to strike again.

And she did so with grace.

His defense was nigh impenetrable, and his offense was downright brutal. Still, she noticed that he was unwilling to use much more complex attacks, preferring a more efficient style but she felt he was holding back something.

He noticed that her attacks changed, instead of acting and reacting fast, she was becoming more active and agile. This was not good. He needed to change this stalemate if he wanted to keep up with her.

And he did so with ferocity.

She was naturally fast, she might even be faster than him. Not only that, her strikes were precise even with her dance like movements, any foe would be devastated to face her. But she had one weakness.

She relied too much on her weapon.

She saw him closed the distance and swung a horizontal slash. She immediately put a defensive stance to block his sword. Instead, she felt an intense blunt pain from her abdomen.

Kriemhild glanced at her side and was surprised that instead of a blade, it was his fist. She used her blade to to create a space between her and him, before she coughed in pain.

Allendis's face was so cold. So emotionless. Like a corpse. He wasn't just a mere warrior. He was a killer.

"You lack pride in your sword skills." She pointed her sword at him. The beautiful woman stood confidently though she still felt the pain he gave her.

"Yes. Is that a bad thing? Does it make you sick?"

She glared at him hard. She knew his type. A man who lacked pride was a dangerous one. Not one to do such things for the blade but for survival or enjoyment. It was almost paradoxical from the way they fought.

"I have a question." She heard his voice, still so cold. It reminded her of her uncle, though surprisingly it felt oddly devoid of anger.

"What do you want from us? You've been following us since we left the minstrel's crowd." So he noticed her. Good, that meant he was perceptive enough to spot danger, meaning he had plenty of experience.

"I came to test you." Kriemhild said to him. There was no point in telling lies from him. The more

"For what? You want me to join your army?" Allendis's voice was emotionless as before yet guarded with his wording.

"No, instead..." She threw her sword aside. "I want to hire you." She saw his eyes grew colder. He still did not trust her. Bad, but that could be fix quickly.

"So you dragged me here to the forest, fight me, almost got killed, just so that you can hire me?" His words sounded incredulous if he had a tone to begin with.

"Aye. You're a mercenary aren't you? One with an infamous title."

He still had his guard up. His eyes never leaving her for a second. Kriemhild could tell that he was not happy bringing up the topic of his title but she had to be truthful on the matter.

"Why would you go all through the trouble? Why not just contact me directly? Then we could've save our time with this farce."

"Too many questions..."

Kriemhild sat down on a nearby log. She clutched her stomach in, still not over the pain. For someone who had a slender look, he sure pack quite a punch.

"That was a strong hit." She was not one to divert attention nor joke around but disclosing her reasons was not exactly easy.

"Answer the question already." He told, his tone was laced with impatience. It was the first time she actually heard a semblance of emotion that wasn't anger.

"Tell me, do you know why the kingdom of Bolsung is so feared?"

He stayed silent for a moment. He wasn't into politics but when he thought of the country, he was reminded by their fearsome warriors. He would know since he fought against numerous warriors bred from Bolsung. Their skill were only matched by their ruthless nature.

Kriemhild smirked at him. "I can already tell your answer, and that's mostly the reason. In order for us to reach the pinnacle of strength, we are put to a harsh training environment. We were told to survive on our own, we hone our skills so that we can be of used to the kingdom..."

There was a long pause. Their weapons lay forgotten on the ground. Allendis did not utter a word and listened the her plight. If this was a year ago, he would have found their conversation completely meaningless. Less words more battle, words to live by if danger was your best friend.

"We were feared because hardships turned us into the fearless. And the people...they are suffering because of us...and with a war is about to break out, who knows how many of them would continue to suffer, not just my people but Valhalla's too."

Both of them were quiet. Only the cool winds passed their hearing. Allendis let her words sink into his mind, reminding himself of his past goals and how pointless it was unlike her's.

"I just...want to stop it all."

For all her life she hated how everything worked. She hated how her own kingdom was such a harsh and lifeless place. The Prince and Princesses of Bolsung were trained warriors since the day they were born. Handpicked by the king to serve the the kingdom to war on other lands beyond Eddan. She herself was put through so much stress and training in order to reach her potential, so did her mother and her sister and their ancestors before them. She knew that she was naïve to think that she could stop her uncle and change her kingdom for the better but she just had to try. She owed it to her mother and her people to try.

Allendis still looked at her with the same impassive gaze yet she knew that he understood her. Her pain and so he remained silent. The unspoken understanding was shared between them as his presence soothed her.

She looked up to him and he was surprise to see an overwhelming sadness in her clear violet eyes. "Do what you have to do. You have your own responsibilities to deal with and if stopping this war is the right thing to do...then I'm not obligated to stop you."

"Well said Allendis."

They turned to the source of the voice and found his white haired companion. Adelaide covered in her cloak. Her axe was hidden behind her yet Allendis noticed the soften grip she had in case something bad were to happen.

"How long were you awake?" Allendis asked the imperial princess.

"Long enough."

The Kriemhild saw Adelaide walking towards her. Adelaide's footsteps were soft and slow. From what Kriemhild could see underneath, she was quite short but well built for someone with a noble air around them.

"So miss, what do you want with my mercenary?" Adelaide asked. Her face was obscured by the hood, only her lower face and white hair was visible to Kriemhild. Allendis remained silent and observed what was happening.

"I want to ask for his help to save my kingdom."

She crossed her arms, Adelaide was confused. "Why would you need his help? As far as I know he's just a mercenary?"

"If it's him then we might have a chance." Kriemhild said to the princess.

"Those are some high expectations for me." Allendis decided to cut her off immediately. His reputation was not something he liked to discussed and knowing the chances of winning just because a someone reliable was on their side was an unrealistic assumption.

"Not just you, I want to create an army to stop my uncle and if I'm gonna do that, I have to the best of the best to stand a chance against him and the Four Horsemen."

"I have to agree with Allendis, for a warrior of Bolsung to depend on a nameless mercenary is certainly far above what he's capable of." Adelaide reasoned. She looked between the two warriors with a curious look.

"I'm not a mere warrior of Bolsung, I am princess Kriemhild of Bolsung, niece to king Gunther." Kriemhild told them.

They gained completely different reactions. Allendis wondered what was up with him meeting princesses all of the sudden while Adelaide was on guard, she was face to face with an enemy princess. She had to be cautious.

"Just my luck." Allendis muttered.

Adelaide stood there, no doubt her brain was concocting something.

This was a great opportunity, she would be their first ally and a royal of Bolsung to boot. Her strength and knowledge would be invaluable. But there was a possibility that she is a spy for them.

She looked at her companion, she trusted his instincts and his experience. Frankly, she wanted her to join them but it seemed liked Allendis was a bit skeptical.

Allendis saw the look on her eyes. He let out an exasperated sigh and nodded to her plight. Adelaide walked up to Kriemhild and extended her hand.

"We would gladly help your cause of you help mine."

"It would be rude for allies to not introduce themselves, right?" Kriemhild told the imperial princess.

"But are you sure you would ally yourself with your enemy?" Adelaide's voice was steely. It was a tone Kriemhild and Allendis was all too familiar with.

Kriemhild put her guard up, "What do you mean?" She slowly asked.

"Would you ally yourself to Adelaide von Helregin of Valhalla?" She said. Her smile was gone and her eyes were dark. What Kriemhild saw was a face not that of a princess but that of a ruler.

The dead princess. Her eyes widened after the fact. She thought that Hel has assassinated her, that was what everyone thought, including her family.

There was only silence after the reveal, no one uttered a word, only the critters of the night made a sound. It was becoming quite uncomfortable for all of them. Allendis merely watched, Adelaide waited and Kriemhild was deep in thought. Suddenly Adelaide felt a grab on her hand. It was Kriemhild and grip was tight on her.

"Aye, I'm prepared to stand beside you both, no matter the consequences." Kriemhild told her firmly, her eyes looked into her own, filled with determination. If siding with them would help her people and her siblings, then it would all be be worth it in the end.

Adelaide smiled softly. To her, she would be another great ally and possibly, a great friend.

"Thank you lady Kriemhild." Adelaide smiled gratefully at the princess.

On the depths of the clearing was someone floating above the trees, unbeknownst to the three of them. A magical ball came to him as it spun around his hand as if it were alive.

"Good job boy..."

_________________________________________

Surely he was dreaming.

But everything felt so real.

He could smell the flames and blood that overwhelmed him, he could see the destruction that he was in. What was going on? His arms felt heavy, he was carrying something. He looked down to see what it was and much to his horror, it was not just something. It was someone.

And that someone was Adelaide's lifeless body.

He felt like screaming but it didn't came. He couldn't scream no matter what he did. It was as if he was being forced to silence.

He looked upon what the fields and saw the endless amount of corpses spreading far and wide from the burning ruins. The question popped up again. The unanswered question of where he was.

At the distance he saw someone closing in on them. At first he couldn't recognise him, even as he came closer, he didn't know who he was. His tall frame was covered in white armour that he could vaguely recall. His cold eyes were covered by his mess blonde hair.

"Burn in the in the eternal flames, Allendis." His eyes was filled with disgust and contempt. He didn't know who he was. The man raised his lance and aimed it at him. He wanted to dodge but he couldn't move a toe.

The lance descended and he felt pain. Excruciating pain in his chest and the burning sensation of his lance.

"Now do you understand?" He twisted his lance in his chest and was now face to face at him with an intense glare.

"You cannot save me."

As he felt his life fade away so too did the pain and burning sensation.

The ruins too was vanished, replaced by an infinite darkness that stretches afar.

"You are a very odd human, did you know that?"

He heard a voice and whipped his eyes only to see naked woman, or at least she would be naked if not for the black markings that covered her body and her silver hair obscuring her breasts.

"Why do you look so surprised human?" The mysterious woman asked.

He couldn't keep up with what was happening. One minute he was being killed by someone who he apparently couldn't save despite not knowing who he was and now he was greeted by strange being.

He saw her pointed ears perk up as her face lit up in realization. "You must be tired Allendis. Please rest for a moment."

He almost scoffed as her idea. What he needed was answers not rest.

"I did not expect our first meeting to be like this but it cannot be help." She placed her finger over her chin, she was almost deep in thought untile she saw the confusion on Allendis's face.

"Oh dear, it would seem you do not know what I am talking about. That could only mean that it is too early. This is definitely not what should have happened."

Again no matter how much he forced it, he couldn't find his voice and was stuck silent.

"Your eyes needs a bit more practice but I promise you that when you have trouble, I will be there to help you."

"But know this my host." She walked up to him, it felt like eternity before she managed to cupped his face. "The path you chose will be nothing short of painful. At the end, you'll be the one who will suffer the most."

Allendis had no idea what she was talking about. It sounded like some sketchy prophecy that some peddler would sell to kings. He still couldn't voice out his concerns and it pissed him off to no end.

"You chose this."

Before he could do something, he woke up looking at the wooden ceiling of the inn they were staying. He felt the breeze pass through the open window as he was basked under the spring sun. It was already morning and yet it felt like he rested for a few minutes with what he just saw.

He still had multiple inquiries about what his dream was. The man in white stained with blood. The woman of mysterious origins. The only thing he did know was Adelaide and her lifeless body and that was something he didn't want to think about. He felt sick all of a sudden, all he wanted right now was to sleep in today but he had a job to do.

He wondered when Kriemhild will be back from her uncle so that they could plan out their next move. He had a feeling that he should remain cautious until they leave Bolsung.

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