Knights of Zothia: Momentum

Koz • Ten • Scent of Fear

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Chapter Ten

Scent of fear

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That night, I was rudely awoken by a pounding noise, not necessarily the sound, but more like the vibrations through the ground. Bloody hell, I guess I can sleep through anything–no wonder the Orcs were able to capture me.

What can I say? A princess needs her beauty sleep. Scratch that. It was a joke. I'm just lazy as fuck.

Someone started roughly shaking my shoulders. "Wake up!"

"Piss off. Can't a princess sleep in peace?"

"Not when Orcs are trying to knock-"

What the hell?

Did I hear what I thought I heard? Or am I going insane?

My eyelids instantly flung open, and I sat up. "Orcs?"

Kaylin indicated towards the wall which had shielded my home for the last hundred years. "They are attempting to get through."

"Good luck to them," I yawned. "That wall is metres thick and reinforced. What makes you think they can..." Massive cracks had appeared at the barrier's base, and several bricks had already fallen out. I gulped. "Oh, shit."

From beside me, Kaylin helped me to stand. "We need to go now!"

"Yep, totally not going to argue with you there."

To my surprise, our supplies, including mother's staff, were packed and hung from the wyvern sides. Wow, I guess someone either doesn't sleep or already knew Orcs were coming. I hope the latter wasn't true.

I made my way towards Saphire, but the beast kept looking behind me as the pounding increasingly became louder. She emitted a roar, almost deafening. "I'm coming! Fucking impatient thing!"

Just as I almost reached her, an explosion erupted from behind me. I turned around as a wave of dust mixed with rubble flew through the air at high speeds. My arms instantly shot up, protecting my face.

"What the...!" I took a breath; well, at least, I tried to. That was a wrong move on my part. Dirt mixed with dust and god knows what else went down my throat. It felt as if I were suffocating. I couldn't breathe. Before long, I broke out in a coughing fit.

Someone was behind me, one of their arms wrapped securely around my waist while the other held a cloth over my mouth, protecting me from the hazardous air. "You're okay. Just breathe, small breaths."

Of course, it was Xavier, my knight in not-so-shining armour.

"Xavier..." I coughed. "I c-can't..."

"Shhh," he pressed me against his firm chest, protecting me. When the dust had settled, my coughs finally subsided. Xavier had one arm remaining around my waist. "Better?" He asked, removing the cloth covering my mouth.

My lips parted to thank him. However, I got distracted by a gigantic round hole in the wall. There was a figure standing on the rubble. It was that hooded man, the very same, who had tortured me.

This bastard, I wanted him dead.

"Princess Ivory!" His voice boomed like thunder during a storm. The hairs on my neck stood up. "You won't escape!"

I stiffened in Xavier's arms. "Hell no! Not him again!"

"Who is that?" I heard Ava comment somewhere behind us.