Inheritance

Chapter 12: The Arrozan Sword

Night was falling and Pollyanna hadn't slept for an entire day as she tried her best to catch up to the carriage that was rolling along somewhere ahead of her. I have to catch them before they make it to the castle.

Cold wind froze her ears and made her cheeks dry and red as she sped through the dark night—following the wet path that would eventually lead to the castle. She took deep breaths as her sore legs quivered beneath her.

Her muscles were as good and powerful as ever, but her head just wasn't in the game.

She took a break for a moment and leaned against a tree as snow continued falling softly. She panted and rubbed one of her arms self-consciously as her mind ever turned to unpleasant thoughts.

She blinked tiredly.

She thought of the many days she had spent in a prison of her own. She didn't fight at all while she was in there; she let the guards kick her in the stomach while she stood completely still and wallowed in the knowledge that she had failed and expected to die shortly.

She grunted furiously when she thought of it, unsheathed her blade, and sliced at the tree she was leaning on until the trunk was separated from the stump.

She panted heavily and clenched her jaw in frustration. Her errant thoughts led her elsewhere, then, to a far more dangerous place. Fjorn...

He mashed his lips against hers and he shoved her down on the bed and she reached out and ran her hands down the sides of his body and he leaned in for another kiss.

She gasped as she reached out and tried to shove him aside only to find she was not in the past at all and that she was shoving air aside. She shivered and sat on the stump of the tree she had cut down.

Pollyanna looked forward and let her mind drift from memory-to-memory. She thought of dragons and wyverns she had slain, she thought of men who looked her up and down provocatively but who she never dared touch, and she thought of her one failure. She remembered Eory being dragged away from his family as they were beheaded with tears streaming down his cheeks.

No! His scream tore through her mind and pierced the cold air.

Pollyanna gasped and realized she was just hallucinating.

She massaged her temples. "I can't believe I failed. I am the Arrozan Sword, and there is no greater thing in the world than a sword."

Yes...

She knew there was no greater thing than a sword. It could be used to attack, protect, and had no vile intentions--it merely did what its master commanded.

Pollyanna scowled determinedly. It can be used to avenge, too.

She wallowed in frustrated misery for a moment longer before standing up unsteadily. "I haven't got time to be wallowing like a goddamned woman."

Pollyanna sheathed her sword. I'm coming, Eory. I have to stop you from going to the ball. The king will definitely execute you. If I have to kill everyone in that castle, I will.

She propelled herself forward again and continued chasing her charge.