[Aelwood — South of Bosargia's Capital]
[September 21st — Year 662]
The young man carried the girl to his cabin, a simple structure made of old wood, damp from the weather and the passing years.
He laid her down on an improvised mattress made of animal skins he had hunted himself.
He leaned the bow against the wall and dropped the arrows on the floor.
Then he turned around.
She barely opened her eyes, just enough to observe the place.
She was pretending to be unconscious.
Waiting for the right moment to escape.
And also... to avoid thinking about what had just happened.
The boy, on the other hand, sat on the floor near the door.
He held the sword he had taken from the bandit's corpse and stared at it in silence.
He had taken many lives to survive in the forest.
But those...
Those were the first human ones.
He lost himself in thought for a few seconds.
"I'm the strongest," he whispered, a faint smile crossing his face.
Then he began to clean the blade.
Meanwhile, the girl quietly sat up.
She picked up the bow and an arrow.
"Let me go," she said, pointing it at him, "or I'll kill you."
The boy turned to her with indifference. He stood and looked at her.
His hazel eyes scanned her from head to toe.
"You're really skinny," he finally said.
She looked at him, her face pale, eyes still wet from what she had endured.
She wasn't crying. Maybe because she couldn't.
"Shut up!" she yelled. "Drop the sword!"
"If you go out at night… you'll die," he said calmly. "You're a weak man."
"That's none of your business," she replied, trying to keep her voice from trembling. "And I'm not a man, I'm a woman."
The boy raised an eyebrow.
"Woman...? What's that?"
She frowned.
"Are you kidding me?"
"I'm not touching you."
"It's a figure of speech."
"What's a figure of speech?"
"Forget it..." she sighed, resigned. "My name is Eliria. Who are you?"
"I'm the strongest man in the forest," he said proudly, "since my grandfather died..."
Finally, the boy let go of the sword.
"My name is Ryo."
Eliria slowly lowered the bow, still confused.
"Why did you help me, Ryo?"
Ryo shrugged.
"Because you look weak."
That's what he said... but deep down, he didn't know why he had acted.
"You didn't have to..." she said softly.
Ryo nodded slowly.
"That's true… I didn't have to. But I did."
"Hmm... Do you live here alone? What do you eat?"
Ryo looked out the window. The sky was dark and silent.
"I'll be back. I'm going hunting."
"At night?" she asked, surprised.
"The deer come down to the stream. If I'm lucky, I'll catch one... if not, a rabbit."
"Aren't there dangerous animals?"
Ryo shrugged.
"All of them are. But I'm stronger."
He took his bow, tied the quiver to his back, and left without another word.
The cabin returned to silence.
Eliria looked at the sword on the floor, then at the corner where he slept.
"Why do I feel like this?" she whispered. "I should be sad about the death of the king and his family. But I feel... free."
Then the pressure in her stomach forced her to move.
She sighed.
"Great... not even a bathroom?"
She pushed the door open carefully and stepped outside, circling the cabin until she found a group of bushes away from view.
She crouched down, uncomfortable, and just as she was finishing, she heard footsteps.
Ryo was returning with a bloody rabbit hanging from his hand.
He stopped when he saw her.
Eliria jumped up, startled, covering herself as best she could.
Ryo stared at her in silence.
His eyes paused on her legs, then on her embarrassed face.
He frowned, confused.
She glared at him, angry and mortified.
"What are you doing?! Pervert!"
Ryo lowered his gaze, still confused.
"You're female..."
"I'm a woman! And you're an idiot!"
"Is that the same?"
"NO!"
Silence returned for a second. Ryo looked thoughtful.
Then he raised the rabbit.
"We need to light a fire to cook it."
Eliria shot him a deadly glare. She sighed and went back inside.
For some reason, she didn't feel in danger around him.
Ryo followed her.
As they prepared to light the fire, far off...
a faint glow flickered through the trees.
Torches. Many.
Ryo froze.
"Someone's coming. We need to leave... they'll find the cabin."
He grabbed the bow and slung it over his back.
Then he took the sword.
Eliria hesitated for a moment.
Her eyes scanned the cabin one last time, stopping on the pile of furs where she had rested.
"Wait..."
She crouched and picked up the largest one.
She wrapped herself in it, hiding her white dress, her hair, and every trace of her royal identity.
"What are you doing?" Ryo asked, not understanding.
"If they find me... they mustn't know who I am," she replied firmly.
Ryo looked at her for a moment.
Then he nodded, took the princess's hand, and they disappeared into the forest.
The lights of the torches were no longer visible.
But something was wrong...
Ryo's instincts screamed that they were in danger. That something far too dangerous was hiding among the trees.
"Urrakar...?" he whispered.
"Who's Urrakar?" the princess asked as she followed him.
"I said I'm the strongest man in the forest," Ryo murmured, voice trembling, "but Urrakar is the strongest creature."
"But we're far from his territory… he shouldn't be this close."
Suddenly, he heard hoofbeats.
A horse was approaching at high speed.
By the time Ryo saw it, it was already too late...
A black horse burst through the trees, carrying a rider in full dark armor.
In his hands, a halberd ready to strike.
Ryo barely managed to lift the sword. The impact was deafening.
The blade shattered in half.
Ryo flew several meters backward, crashing into a tree.
His hands trembled.
Blood dripped from his mouth.
But he couldn't stay down...
He struggled to his feet, leaning on the trunk.
The knight dismounted.
His figure was imposing.
His mere presence made the air feel heavier.
"What is this iron monster...?" Ryo whispered.
Then he spat blood.
His bow had broken from the fall.
And the sword was now just a useless shard of iron.
But Ryo prepared to fight. He planted one foot forward and took a stance.
"Ohh... impressive," the knight muttered, surprised to see Ryo ready to fight unarmed.
He raised his halberd and struck.
An old tree beside him was split clean in two.
He stepped forward, stabbed the weapon into the ground, and left it there.
"Did you attack the royal carriage?" he asked in a deep, slow voice as he approached Ryo.
He stopped just a few steps away.
His gaze, hidden behind the shadow of the helmet, carried a silent judgment.
Ryo didn't answer.
He was breathing hard, blood trailing down his chin.
Behind him, the princess tried to hide in the bushes. But stepping on a dry branch, the crack drew the knight's attention.
He turned his head slightly.
That second was enough.
Ryo launched himself with everything he had left. His wounded body flew at him, aiming a direct punch to the face.
But the knight stepped aside, as if he had already seen it coming.
"Pathetic," he said coldly.
He struck him with a solid punch to the gut.
The crunch was unmistakable.
Ryo dropped to his knees in front of him, gasping, his body trembling and weak—yet his gaze still unyielding.
The knight turned around.
He walked to his halberd, still lodged in the ground, and grabbed it firmly.
Then he walked back toward Ryo, who was still kneeling and struggling to breathe.
Kneeling... but with his head held high.
"For the murder of the king, the queen, the two princes... and the princess," he said in an unrelenting voice as he raised the weapon with one arm,
"I sentence you to death."