The Beauty in Pain | Book One of In Pain Trilogy *EDITING*

11. Ambushed

Another arrow whizzed past Mynera's head, which was just enough to jolt her out of her initial shock. The arrow went through the dead priest's head. For good measure or just to show that they could, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she never saw chaos quite like this.

"Mynera!" Saenar grabbed her arm and pulled her into him. "Stay close to me! Don't move!"

"It's happening, isn't it?" She couldn't stop her fingers from shaking. "This is what I heard about in the forest! The attack! I should have informed the king, should have told somebody-"

"We don't have any time for that now. We have to get away from here." He pulled her closer into his chest, stepping back over the dead priest's body. Mynera huddled close to him. She could feel blood already seeping into her shoes, but she didn't complain. Fear had lodged her throat shut.

Then out of nowhere, a shadow loomed overhead. "Saenar!" she screamed. It was a huge, scarred man holding a massive axe. The ugly man grinned wide, seconds away from swinging the large weapon and severing both their heads. Mynera's fear had her freezing to the spot. 

So this was how she was going to die. On her wedding day, killed by a rogue, quivering like a coward.

Saenar, on the other hand, jumped straight into action. He ducked under the rogue's arm, and pulled out the two arrows embedded in the priest's body. Quick as lightning, he whirled around, the arrowheads glinting in the sun. Seconds later, blood gushed from the two sides of the rogue's neck. He sputtered, his fading eyes wide with shock, then dropped to the ground. Saenar grabbed the fallen axe.

"Stop staring and let's go!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her along. "It isn't safe here. Damn it, where are your goddamn guards?"

Where were they? Last she checked they stood at the door of whence she had entered, but that seemed like ages ago. Surely, they hadn't been ... no, she couldn't think about it. They were alive. Jagen and the Mutes were alive and they were looking for her.

Mynera was entirely too aware of the screams that surrounded them. Everywhere she went she saw flashes of red. The men who had attacked wore red armor but she knew there was blood too. Lots of it. There was no way of spotting her father, or her guards, or the king and queen. There was just too much fighting.

They caught them with their undergarments around their ankles, she knew. On the day of the royal wedding, when the whole city was so caught up in the excitement to look twice over their shoulders, and the guardsmen with their defense down, having been another unwilling and unaware victim of the festivities.

Saenar pulled them towards a crook in the wall, where the sun did not hit. The shadow of the corner fell over them both as he whirled and face her. "We have to get rid of this," he said, frantically grabbing her dress.

"What? Are you crazy?" Did he expect her to run naked? That would make her an even bigger prey.

"It's much too long, there's too much blood weighing down the train, and it's making us slower." He grabbed the dress. "I'm not asking you, Mynera."

"Fine." She tried to push down the shame she felt when her dress was torn to thigh high, revealing her legs. "But if you do that, I might as well get rid of this too." She ripped her veil and forehead tiara off. Her heart broke a little knowing that she was abandoning one of the only reminders of her mother but she pushed the feeling aside. At least she still had her mother's necklace, which she pushed beneath the front of her dress.

"We have to get to the throne room." Saenar's voice was curt, focused, his grip on her wrist strong and unyeilding. "Keep your head down and just follow me as fast as you can, all right?"