A/N: Heey! Sorry for the super long wait! :P Sorry if it's so long! I kinda just got lost in writing it so it just kept on getting longer and longer and longer… oh, and sorry if some parts get to be kinda violent? Yeah. Please don't hate me for… uh… the stuff here. Anyway, yeah. Here's the next chapter:
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In the previous chapter:
"A-aiden," Claennis breathed out, "Y-you- "
Before she could continue her sentence they heard lots of people running. Aiden immediately dropped his hand, stood up and they both looked back to the village from the hill.
"The Princess is not in the castle. Did any of you see her?"
They were palace soldiers. And most of them looked really muscular and intimidating. They were looking for her.
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Chapter 5
"What a lot of guards! If there was a crime, it wouldn't cause this much of guards from being dispatched, even though the criminal was highly wanted." Aiden observed. "Then, that means…"
He turned his attention to Claennis.
"What did you do, Princess?" Aiden questioned.
"I snuck out." Claennis deadpanned.
Aiden sweatdropped as she stood up and dusted her dress.
"Let's get going then…"
"Wha—? But they're looking for you!"
"Exactly." She gave him an evil grin and took his hand.
"Let's go, Aiden." Aiden blushed, a little, from the sudden contact and just nodded.
"Ah! There she is!" One soldier shouted as they saw them make their way down the hill, with Claennis pulling Aiden along.
"After her!" The head guard shouted.
"If we don't succeed, then… Prince Fyren… will…" All the guards shuddered with this thought.
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When Claennis and Aiden looked back, the soldiers were running quicker than before. It's like they have a new motivation or something. If only they knew…
"Princess, do you truly want to escape from them that much?"
Claennis looked at Aiden's eyes, trying to figure out what he was planning.
"Yes, I do." She cautiously replied.
"Okay, then." Aiden grinned. "Don't let go of my hand, Princess."
She held his hand tightly and inwardly smiled.
Without warning, Aiden bolted, surprising Claennis with his agility. He ran so quickly that Claennis' feet were barely touching the ground and in a matter of seconds, the soldiers lost track of them. The soldiers have been looking in the forest where they entered, but saw neither red head nor the Princess.
"I-is he even human?" Soldier #1 gasped for breath as they entered a clearing in the middle of the forest.
"Nobody can ever run that fast." Soldier #2 said, panting. "Inhuman…"
"He didn't even leave any footprints from where he ran." The head soldier observed.
"This is crazy…" One of the several guards said. And the others agreed.
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In front of her, Aiden stopped running. Instead of running again, he just started to walk carefully and made sure that Claennis was close to him.
Seeing his cautious movements, she asked him, "What's wrong, Aiden?"
He scanned the area and whispered so only she will hear.
"We're being watched…" Her eyes widened and her heart started to beat quickly.
"Wha—what? Who w—" But before she could continue the sentence, a group of bandits surrounded them with sneers on their faces.
"Ah, it seems like we've gotten the best of luck today, my boys." The person who seemed to be the leader cackled and pointed his jagged two-bladed dagger at her direction. "The princess is here. We'd acquire easy money if we manage to get a hold on her!"
"Not if I can't help it." Aiden spoke up. Even if she doesn't see his face, she could feel his determination to protect her emanate from him.
He held her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
"Don't worry, Princess. I'll protect you with my whole life." He whispered to her. "I'll protect you even if it means I'll die because of it."
At his words, Claennis felt her heart flutter and she felt the heat go up to her cheeks. In her heart, she knows that he wouldn't go back on his word. She knows that she could leave her life in his hands. Claennis can trust him.
"Oh look. It seems like her highness has a bodyguard." One of them sneered as they glanced at Aiden. "A pretty skinny one too. Heh. It seems like the royal family's lacking some military strength."
"I bet that this boy will go down with just one hit. What do you boys think?" The others agreed with him, their annoying sneers still on their faces. Soon, they were all laughing. Laughing at Aiden. She wanted to get angry at them. She wanted to tell them that Aiden is stronger and smarter and better than they are. She wanted to slap those stupid sneers off their faces. They were in absolutely no position to ridicule him.
He probably sensed Claennis' anger, since she was most positively shaking, so he once again reassured her by slightly squeezing her hand.
"Don't trouble yourself over this, Princess. I'm used to people talking badly about me."
"But… It's not right… I can't let them say bad things about you… I can't. It's not right…" She whispered to him while frustrated tears threatened to leak out.
"Many things in this world are unjust, Princess." He whispered to her solemnly. 'Just like the day that I lost—'
The bandit leader strode forward haughtily and brandished his jagged two-bladed dagger, cutting off his thoughts.
"Alright. Enough of this useless jabber. Time to get rid of this bodyguard and get the princess." The rest of the group grinned while cracking their knuckles and bringing out their weapons.
"You can try. But I highly doubt you could." Aiden gently pushed her farther from the bandits and let go of her hand. She was slightly saddened by the loss of his hand in hers but thought the better of it. 'He'll need both his hands to fight'. She reminded herself.
"Stay close to me, Princess." Aiden told her as he crouched a bit, waiting for them to attack.
'Dammit. We're surrounded at all sides. I can't leave her alone because they'll get her, but if I'll keep her here with me, it's possible that she'll get hurt too.' He gritted his teeth while eyeing the group of bandits. 'If we run away, they'll surround us again. I'll have to finish it here or else it will get worse if we're surrounded a second time. I have no choice but to take them all here. I can't get her hurt.'
He took Claennis' hand again. 'Getting separated from Princess would be the most possible worst case scenario. He concluded in his head. I better do what I can before it gets too late.'
Just by looking at Aiden, Claennis could tell that he was thinking so hard on this. She looked at their hands and blushed. 'He's doing so much for me… but I just don't know the reason why… I don't know which reason why…'
It's true. He could be doing it just because she's the princess, or just because he does. Before she could think about it more, the first bandit attacked.
The bandit # 1 advanced, swinging his club down towards Aiden's head. He moved their intertwined hands, telling her to step backwards and she complied. Right after, Bandit #1's club dug through the ground and was stuck. Moving swiftly, Aiden kneed Bandit #1 on the chest, stepped back and made a right roundhouse kick and Bandit #1 slumped to the ground, motionless. Obviously, the other bandits were surprised at his agility and not to mention, his strength. Well, that surprise only made way to anger, so three bandits from either side of them lunged towards them simultaneously in anger.
"Princess, please forgive me for my next action." He notified her right before he slung her over his shoulder, making her squeak with surprise, and he ducked as the three launched their attacks.
Stupidly, they bonked their heads to each other. Bandits #2 and 3 passed out, the other didn't. That bandit ran forward while rearing his fist back to punch him. Aiden smoothly side-stepped his punch, spun around and hit his left heel on the back of the Bandit #4's neck and the bandit, in turn, passed out. He heard running footsteps and turned around, seeing the five bandits approach them before dodging the fist of Bandit #5 and kicking him at the back of his neck, making him pass out. Immediately, Bandit #6 behind Aiden swung a mace that had spikes at him, thinking that Aiden couldn't react to it, but Aiden did. He did a back kick on the bandit with the mace, hitting him on the chest, which made him barrel to Bandit #7 behind him, in effect, stunning both of them them from the impact. The two enraged bandits unwittingly lunged towards Aiden, Bandit #8 was the one with his axe and Bandit #9 was the one with a hammer, both poised to attack. Aiden then kicked Bandit #8's hand forcefully that he dropped the axe. Then Aiden spun around and kicked Bandit #8's head so his head collided with Bandit #9's and they both collapsed. He looked back and saw that there were no other bandits left besides the leader, who obviously appeared shocked since his men were defeated by a thin boy. Since there were no other bandits that he could see, he placed down Claennis gently and turned his head towards her.
"Are you alright, Princess?" She looked a bit winded but she was fine, nonetheless.
She just nodded, knowing not what to say just after watching Aiden defeat 9 bandits with only kicks. In short, she was speechless for the second time today, which was caused by the same person.
"Good." Aiden then stared at the leader and spoke to him, "I've defeated your men, so it will be in your best interest to leave. I don't like hurting people, so I suggest you leave. You've lost."
The bandit leader just cackled. Just hearing his cackles sent shivers down Claennis' spine. Something's not right… She thought as he continued.
"Oh, I'm far from losing, little boy…" His eyes glinted menacingly. But before Aiden could react, a 10th bandit came out from the bushes and in a blur, punched him on the stomach forcefully, knocking the wind out of his lungs. Aiden fell on his knees and coughed, bracing himself on his hands as he did.
"Aiden!"
His eyes widened as he recognized the fear in her voice and turned around. He saw Bandit #10 holding Claennis with a hand holding her wrists behind her and an arm around her waist as the bandit walked towards the bandit leader. In the bandit's hands, Claennis tried to fight back, but to no avail. This bandit seemed to be the right hand man of the leader since he looked more powerful and experienced than the rest. Two more bandits stood beside the leader. Just how many are they?
"Princes—" He started to stand up but another bandit popped out of the bushes and kicked him on the stomach, making his vision become blurry, as he coughed again and fell on his hands and knees. He felt blood trickle down from his mouth as he coughed. He heard four more bandits come out and he heard Claennis call his name worriedly, surprisingly, for him, somewhere far in front of him.
'Dammit… I've been careless… I should've… expected that there would be something more… under that bandit's sleeve… dammit… I have to do something…' He thought to himself as he tried to blink out the black spots on his vision.
Not giving him any more time to gather his bearings, Bandit #11 kicked his side, making pain flare up on his side.
"Not such a tough guy now are ya? You little brat!" The other bandits sneered at him as they repeatedly kicked him. 'I… have to do something…' He thought to himself amidst the pain.
"Stop it!" he could hear Claennis' voice somewhere ahead. "A-aiden!"
Hearing her voice call his name seemed to have made Aiden stronger. When Bandit #11 was about to hit him with his flail, he caught its chain as it wrapped itself around his left forearm and slowly pulled himself up. Aiden willed himself to stand up, even though his side was still flaring up with pain. Right when he stood up, his head swam and he had to blink several times to get rid of the vertigo that was threatening to overcome him. He spotted Claennis looking worried at him while she was still being held by the right-hand bandit.
"Let her go." He masked his expression and stared stonily at the leader's eyes. The leader merely cackled, though there was a hint of uneasiness in his voice.
"I don't think so." He turned towards the other bandits: the two beside him and the five around Aiden. "Finish him!"
Without a warning, Aiden quickly pulled the bandit who was holding the flail. While the other bandits ran towards him, he punched Bandit #11's face and kneed him on the stomach. The grip on the flail loosened right when he sensed Bandit #12 run towards him and back kicked the bandit's jaw, stunning him. Almost immediately, Bandit #13 came behind him and swept Aiden's feet. But before his back could fall on the ground, he braced himself with this right palm on the ground and kicked Bandit #13, at the same time, holding the flail on its handle and whacking Bandit #14 after he stood up, knocking the bandit out. Suddenly, he felt Bandit #15's arms pin his to his sides from behind him as Bandit #16 ran in front of him, readying his mace. Aiden roundhouse kicked Bandit #16 and hit Bandit #15's jaw with his head, effectively making him loosen his grip on Aiden. He kicked off with his left foot, so now he was in the air. Aiden, now freed from the arms of the bandit, placed both his palms on the shoulders of Bandit #15 and twisted his body around, slamming his heels on the stomach of the bandit, stunning him. As he stood up one bandit was left, except the leader and the right-hand bandit, and as the bandit charged, Aiden just kicked upwards, hitting the jaw and elbowed him on the stomach, then went behind him and drove his heel on the back of the neck of the bandit.
Aiden stood up and stared stonily at the bandit leader's eyes. There was utter silence as they stared at each other. At the sidelines, Claennis was stunned by Aiden's ferocity. She never thought that Aiden could be so fierce. He looked too kind for that. But apparently, appearances are deceiving. Slowly, Aiden started to make his way towards them. She looked at the leader and he looked most positively scared. As Aiden took more steps forward, the right-hand bandit brought her near the leader as he brandished his two-bladed jagged dagger and lightly touched the blade on her neck.
"A-aiden!" When she felt the cold metal touch her skin, her heart started to beat erratically. One wrong move from any of them, and she could die.
"Now, now, you little brat." She heard the leader gulp a little but tried to cover it up with a sneer, though his mouth started to quirk downwards. "You… you wouldn't want your precious princess to get hurt… now would you?"
Aiden stopped walking and risked a glance at Claennis and then stared at the leader, who seemed relieved.
"Let's do it like this: you and I will fight. If I win, I get the princess. But if you win, you'll get the princess back." The right-hand bandit whispered something to the leader and the leader cackled. "Aaah, perfect, perfect! There's a catch: You can't use your kicks. Oh, and I won't use any of my weapons, as long as I won't need them. Fair enough?"
"Wh-what?" Claennis protested. "How is that fair? Aiden's wounded and—"
"Alright." Aiden stared at the eyes of the leader seriously.
"But! You're wounded! You—" Claennis could literally see his exhaustion. She didn't like seeing him so wounded.
"I have a chance to redeem myself, Princess." Aiden glanced at her and gave her a small fleeting smile before it was once again covered by his emotionless mask. He stared at the leader. "I have a chance to save you, so I'll take it, no matter how much it will cost me."
The leader cackled. "Don't blame me if you die, little brat!"
The leader ran towards Aiden and barraged him with punches, but all were blocked by Aiden's arms. Seeing an opening, Aiden ducked under the leader and elbowed his stomach. Then he slipped out from under the leader, spinning, and punched his jaw.
The leader cursed as blood flowed from his mouth to his chin and wiped it angrily with the back of his hand. "You little brat!"
He reached out behind him and brandished his two-bladed jagged dagger and swung it towards Aiden. Without realizing it, Aiden did a roundhouse kick at the leader. But before it could hit the leader, he caught Aiden's foot, sneering. 'Dammit! I messed up! I kicked on instinct!' He thought to himself.
"Heh. So you broke the deal, eh? Wasn't that cheating?" The leader sneered at Aiden. "Cheating—"
"—is what you bandits do." Aiden finished the sentence and stared at the leader stonily. After hearing his words, the bandit leader's face contorted in anger.
"Why you little—" From his angered face, it turned back to his sneering expression as a thought struck his mind. "Well, it's true. But, a thought struck me. I shall relish it while I can then."
Still holding the left ankle of Aiden, the leader sneered at him. "I noticed that you favor this foot than the other, right? So, what will happen if I do this?"
The leader cackled and squeezed tightly the ankle of Aiden with both his hands. Aiden stayed stony-faced, ignoring the pain that the leader was inflicting on his ankle. He wouldn't give the leader the satisfaction of him wincing.
"Aiden!" Claennis called somewhere behind the leader.
"How does this feel? Heh. Without your kicks, you wouldn't be able to save your princess anymore. How do you feel about that?"
Aiden just stared at the leaders eyes, unwavering.
"I don't care whatever happens to me. As long as I still have a way to save the princess, I will use it." He kicked off with his right foot, twisted around and kicked the leader with his right foot, making him release Aiden's left ankle. Right after his foot was released by the leader; he sidestepped and kicked the leader at the back of his neck. Then he stood up and stared at the leader's eyes before he passed out.
"That's all I have to say."
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A/N: Thankies for reading! XD hmmmm…. == Okay. I have to make Claennis learn self defense or something. I definitely have to make her learn some… that should stop her from being a damsel.
Thankies for reviewing: AgentStrawberryFields and JoyToMyWorld!
Well, you guys better review. Or else, well, hmm…. My bulls will run over you? Yeah. That sounds just about right. XD Pleaaaase review!