Chapter 5: Gwendolyn! [1]

A group of armed guards dashed towards the extensive grasslands just west of Fallon, on the border of the Grande Fae Forest, because Ulgarm, the guardian of Fae Forest, was spotted attacking a young man with silvery white hair near the southern farmland.

"Follow me."

A woman who would have been known only as the most beautiful lady in the province if not for the scar in the shape of a claw on her left cheek, a wound incurred by Ulgarm four years ago.

Her body dashed forward with quick steps, shoulders wearing iron pauldrons, thick gauntlets supporting her left hand, holding a dull iron sword and a small bronze shield on her right forearm.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Understood!"

Two middle-aged guards followed her two steps behind, as was the protocol for fighting against the wolves and dissuading Ulgram from attacking.

'I hope that young man can survive...' The woman's steel gauntlets touched her dark wound.

Although no longer grotesque in this world, a woman's beauty was the most important when finding a partner for life.

Sadly, Celestina's rules and tenets were harsh and strict; despite being depicted as a benevolent mother, some rules were too harsh for the gates of marriage.

Women who were found to have offered their bodies to another man or suffered injuries that affected their faces and bodies; this included and was not limited to those with diseases or widows.

Once confirmed, the church would judge them as impure.

This rule meant that a man was given a chance to break off the engagement and marriage without being seen as a sinner who abandoned his wife in the eyes of Celestia.

However, this did not mean they couldn't become lovers and never get married; many pagans, adventurers and others who didn't have a livelihood would sleep with many women, never performing the marriage ritual.

It was mainly those with a trade or rooted livelihood that would be affected, forced to choose between the easy choice or the beautiful woman that may have been with others before them.

"Captain Gwendolyn! The boy... man is fighting Ulgram! He seems to be some mage!" Her subbordinate state, his longbow primed and ready to stop to shoot at any moment.

"Hold your bow; what can your enhanced eyes see?" Her steps slowed to a half jog, now a powerful walking speed as her lips exhaled her hot breath faster, taking small snorts of air to keep herself ready and limber in case there was a battle with her old nemesis.

Gwendolyn grasped the handle of her sword, a light sweat filling the inside of her gauntlets as the clang of her armour sounded, turning to face her subordinate, Michael, as if to hurry his answer.

The evening sun slowly moved towards the hills, signalling the end of the day's sunlight, causing her to become anxious.

Monsters became stronger during the night.

"Captain, the boy is holding onto the wolf's back; a strange red light is flashing while he is..." Michael was a little reluctant to trust his eyesight.

"Go on, stop being wishy-washy, Mike!" The second guard is a black-haired old man named Jeffory.

These two were as close as brothers, born and bred in Fallon town, so Gwendolyn didn't interfere with their bickering.

She was also curious about the scene as the image of the boy and white wolf entered her sight from a tiny dot growing with each step.

"He's... biting him... the boy is biting Ulgarm! Like a crazed monster!" Michael said with a light shout, but his words only caused Jeff to feel a sense of fear; these two didn't see the world like Gwendolyn and thus seemed slightly panicking.

"Don't worry, that boy is just a little different...." Her voice was stern, husky and filled with a commanding power that helped rouse their morale as they moved faster; her eyes locked onto the scene of the boy fighting desperately for his life, or at least that's what she envisioned.

When they were about 300 metres away, the white wolf's body dropped to the ground and smashed into the dirt with a thud, while the boy bounced into the air and rolled along the ground, his mouth filled with a thick red liquid.

'As I thought, this beautiful boy is a vampire... a stray, or maybe a fallen noble? Who knows, but he killed the monster that afflicted my heart... I feel so relieved...'

"I wonder, will this boy recoil upon seeing my ugly face?" Gwendolyn whispered as she rushed faster, the strange uplift in her heart making her running pace increase with her racing heart.

"Did you say something, Captain?" Mike asked, his heavy steps sinking into the wet mud on the floor, his eyes no longer flickering with the green, wispy light.

"Nothing! Hurry, let's get him to my house. His wounds are minor, and I have the correct medicine for any wolf attacks!" Her voice was melodic, filled with a heroic charm.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Understood, Captain!"

The two men felt rallied by Gwendolyn's powerful voice as they moved to pick up the handsome boy; his face was quite beautiful, with short, pointed ears and a messy head of silvery white hair. Mike touched it and found it was softer than his wife self nightdress or the cotton pillows.

While Jeff noticed he was a fortunate man, using the cloth to hide his lower body, trying to block the sight from his captain as she was rumoured to have an aversion to males, both men helped to carry him back to the town with short, slow steps, dragging their weathered brown leather boots through the thick, soggy mud.

The final moments of Celestina's bright sun waved her final goodbyes, vanishing across the horizon as the twin moons of the goddess Lupera began to shine, an unsettling howl sounding from the forest, like the call of lament, sorrow and anger.

The death of Ulgarm, guardian of their forest, was noticed. Tonight would be long and arduous for the town watch.