Heir to the Empire

7. The Shadow

The Broadsword gleamed its smooth metallic display of death. It was terrifying. As the Knight pulled it from his back it left Loldirr scampering in retreat quickly.

She could try to run but the fields where green for miles and there was simply nowhere to hide, it was either fight or die. Pulling her bow off her back she quickly raised an arrow at his forehead and released knowing the shot was pure.

The ting she heard as it ricocheted of his helmet and fell harmlessly to the ground was the most devastating noise she could have heard.

Raising another arrow she released it knowing that armour, despite its incredible quality, still had its weaknesses. As it penetrated deep into the Knight's neck she let out a whelp of relief.

A noise escaped his terrifying helmet, a noise that sounded like a chuckle. With his broadsword in hand, he seemed to stride forward gathering speed into a steady trot and then it quickly turned into a sprint.

Loldirr released two more arrows, both finding the target, but he didn't slow down one bit.

Charging straight into Loldirr, he pushed her with great force off the floor making the archer smash and slide along the dusty ground in agony.

Loldirr held her chest tightly and struggled to grasp any air. She was completely unaware of where her enemy was now standing. Eventually, she managed to watch as the knight was circling around her, broadsword still in hand.

Coughing up blood, she was now regaining her breath. Her bow was nowhere to be seen and all she could do was frown at the towering menacing figure circling her.

He was toying with her!

With the frightening unexpected speed, the Knight sprinted up to Loldirr. He could have easily cut her down but it was obvious that he wanted to enjoy this kill.

To her side was the satchel and cloak, within the cloak was the sword. She grabbed it and pushed herself to her feet.

Swinging the broadsword at Loldirr's side and then the head, Loldirr ducked and dived out of the way before lifting the sword to block the next blow. She almost lost her footing as the blow came in. He hit like a sledgehammer and was blatantly much stronger than she was.

Loldirr was constantly on the defensive, avoiding the blows before blocking a couple and staggering back to try and maintain her footing. He was ruthlessly quick for his size and didn't seem to be slowing down any time soon.

She thought back to the sword training that Edric gave her. "If you continuously defend you can never win unless you are fitter than your opponent. Tire them if you can and be patient, look for a weakness and strike true." He had also said that she showed promise but was certainly not the best swordsman he'd met. Not exactly an endearing form of praise and not really a thought that was helpful at this time.

She looked around to find something to gain an advantage especially as she could feel herself struggle to maintain this onslaught she was receiving.

Manoeuvring around, Loldirr made sure the sun was on her back. Using the glare she tried to press an attack. For one brief moment she managed to push forward almost getting a swipe at his torso but once again his movement was extraordinary, his footwork managed to get him to avoid the blow, twist away from the glaring sun, and performing a thundering kick which made Loldirr tumble backward.

He was above her in a flash towering over her like a bear ready to take his final pounce.

Waiting for him to drop his sword through her gut she just looked at him wiping the blood dripping from her mouth. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing fear in her last moments.