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Twenty years have passed since the night I died. A tragedy caused by a simple candle left unattended. Even now I can remember the pain and fear I felt. But, I didn’t stay dead. Instead, I was reborn into a child’s body, in a new world.
This world was much different than the one I grew up in. Well, the first time I mean. This world was rife with magic, whereas mine had none. In this world, I am the daughter of a king, King Olyn.
Today, I’m sat across from him, strategizing. I was born into this world to fight a great evil. My father knew of my reincarnation as he had received a message from the gods when Mynlyth had awoken. At first, he was confused and didn’t want to believe it. But eventually, he came to terms with it. I had been trained for the last 10 years to fight Mynlyth and the time to defeat him was drawing closer.
“I believe we need to move our troops out of the capital father,” I stated. He shook his head.
“No, you are not yet ready Alessia,” He responded. He was hesitant to let me see any battle but was most afraid of going to battle against our biggest foe. I may be the savior, but I was still his only child.
“Father, I’ve been training for years. Our people die needlessly every day, while we sit and wait for me to be ready. We are out of time. If we don’t strike soon, we’ll lose Lyndel and Brennil, two of our biggest strongholds. Mynlyth gets closer and closer every day, we MUST attack. I must attack. ” I said, desperation filling my voice.
The King looked away from me for a long moment then let out a deep sigh. He stood up and walked to the window, staring out it with a sad look.
“You’re right. I can’t keep you from your destiny. The troops are yours now, my dear Alessia.” He turned and faced me again. “As King, I order you to return alive.” Tears welled up in my eyes and I stood up and ran to him, embracing him. My father wrapped his arms around me, hugging me back tightly.
“I promise dad, I'll return. You won’t lose me.” We stayed there, hugging for some time. Eventually, though, we did have to part. Both of us having duties to attend to, and preparations to make.
Two weeks passed quickly, and the day to leave came. My father and I shared our goodbyes, The King demanding I make it home safely once again, and I, of course, promised.
I rode on horseback, commanding my army from the front. I focused on the road ahead of me. A few knights rode to the front and began chatting with me. I knew them from training. Alex and Marcus. Both were nice guys, the few to treat me not as royalty, but instead as a fellow knight. I appreciated it.
“Well good morning. Needing a stroll in the garden today?” Alex asked, seeing the sadness in my eyes. I often went to the garden when troubled by something. “It’ll be okay savior. You’re a beast in combat, Mynlyth has nothing on you.”
“We’ll be done and home within the month, Alessia,” Marcus chimed in.
“Yes, I have no doubts about our victory,” I said, but, inside I wasn’t as sure. But the people following me needed me to be sure of our win. If I showed any hesitation, others may see that hesitation and hesitate themselves, making mistakes. Or, maybe it was for me. If I let myself admit weakness, would I make a mistake? Would I cost lives?
I stopped and held up a hand, signaling for my knights to stop as well. I got off my horse and got close to the tree line, listening.
Something wasn’t right. I spun around to face the knights, taking out my sword as I did so. I opened my mouth to tell them to ready themselves when I felt something wrap around my legs and drag me into the forest.
Vines twisted and wrapped around my legs, enveloping me more and more. I used my sword to hack away at the vines, but they just grew back quickly. Soon, my arms became immobile as well, the greenery creating a cocoon around me. I was moving fast, but I could hear my knights frantically chasing after me.
Suddenly I dropped down, below the ground. I was dragged through a large tunnel system. After some time I came to a stop. I wriggled around, trying to get free but quickly realized it was pointless. My fingers were clenched around the hilt of my sword but I couldn't move my hands. Thick vines were wrapped around my wrists, preventing movement.
I looked around me. I was in a large room, roots coming down from the ceiling and lining the walls. I heard footsteps approaching. I looked at the entrance to the room and a tall, black creature walked in. This was Mynlyth. A black, ethereal mass.
“Ah,” He said and got close to me. He put a hand under my chin and began laughing a deep, menacing laugh. “Here is the princess who is going to defeat me. Ha!” He picked me up and threw me against the wall. I slammed into it and fell to the ground. I coughed hard. He came to me and kicked me in the chest. All the air in my lungs escaped through my mouth and I was left gasping.
Blow after blow he beat me. I couldn’t do anything within these vines. Then I felt the ground begin to shake, and through the doorway came the Knights. Quickly they surrounded Mynlyth, and realizing he would be easily outnumbered, vanished in a puff of black smoke.
Alex and Marcus ran to me and cut me out of the vines. A healing potion was shoved into my hands and I drank it quickly. I felt my bones begin to mend, and my bruises disappear. I thanked everybody and we left before anything else could happen.
We made our way back towards the road and set up camp. I sat by the fire, holding up a cup of tea and staring off into the distance. I saw Alex sit next to me from the corner of my eyes.
“Hey,” He said. “How are you holding up?” I took a deep breath.
“I’m fine. I knew this would be dangerous.” I responded, not looking at him. He nodded, not saying anything else. I appreciated the silence.
At dawn, we set off again. It took us four days to reach Brennil; a bustling city that was a day or so from Lyndel, our destination. Lyndel was the closest city to The Great Forest, where Mynlyth now rules.
I spent the day shopping, gathering more supplies I might need. At dinner time I went to the tavern we had agreed to meet at.
I entered and the sound of cheering filled my ears. I saw my friends and sat down next to them. Alex slapped my back.
“There she is! Our fearless leader!” He said. I smiled, unsure of what to say back. Some ale was placed in front of me and I happily drank it.
I asked Alex how his wife was, and he told me she had recently given birth to a little girl.
“Congratulations Alex, are you enamored with her yet?” I asked.
“Of course, I can’t wait to get back and see her. She’s adorable. You will have to come to pay us a visit and meet her.” I agreed.
We all drank happily, and I was reminded of my time at the Knights Academy. I was nervous on my first day, a place like this was normally no place for a princess. But I was the exception. Sure there were girls at the academy, but a princess was far too important to see battle. I sat at the front of the classroom, and before class started two boys came and next to me. One of them leaned in real close and said
“Looks like we got ourselves an overachiever here. Sitting here at the front of the class.” My face turned a deep shade of red. Overachiever? I just didn’t know where else to sit!
“Where are your manners? To speak to a princess like that!” I responded. He laughed.
“Princess, Noble, Commoner… we’re all the same here. I’m Alex.” He said and extended his hand. “I was just teasing. Welcome to the Knights Academy Princess Alyssia.” I shook his hand. “This is Marcus. He doesn’t speak too much, but he’s a good guy.
Through the years at the Knights Academy, those two would become my closest friends. I trusted them with everything. And they never let me down.
The next morning we left. The trek to Lyndel was peaceful. I expected some sort of monster attack on the way, but none ever came. We got to Lyndel and found it empty. The city in ruins. Marcus whistled.
“Looks like we’re too late. Mynlyth has already attacked.” Marcus said.
“Split into your groups. Search for any survivors. Alex, Marcus, Drya, and Albert we’re heading to the castle.” I said and began walking through the empty streets of the city.
The doors to the castle were already open. I took a step inside and gasped. The noble family living here and all their staff were lying on the floor, in piles, viciously slain.
“Mynlyth…” I said angrily under my breath.
“Why… why would anybody do this?” Drya asked, her eyes wide at the brutality of it.
“He’s the embodiment of all the hatred and cruelty of this world. He has no conscience, he does this for fun.” I responded. We made our way through the castle, stepping over bodies. Albert said a quick prayer for each person we passed.
We got to the dining hall and I pushed open the heavy doors. Mynlyth was sat there, at the head of the table, eating.
“Well, well. You escape me once, but come back to face your death? How very brave. I will make you regret it.” His deep voice echoed through the hall. I took out my sword and ran at him. Our swords clashed and I jumped back. Albert charged at him but Mynlyth smiled as he ran his sword through the knight's chest. He tossed the man aside easily.
“Fuck. Run!” I yelled at the others. Alex and Marcus turned away from Mynlyth, Alex grabbed my hand, seeing that I was about to stay and fight, and forced me to run as well. Marcus followed behind, but I didn't see Drya. Shit. I heard a scream come from the dining hall. Then silence. Alex led us out of the castle, out into the courtyard. We kept running into the city square.
Marcus took out a horn all the knights kept and blew into it, signaling the start of a battle.
The sky turned black and rain began to pour onto us as a black figure emerged from the castle. I heard a couple of screams as the figure moved towards us. I grabbed my sword and steadied myself.
“Form a circle! Backs together!” I ordered Marcus and Alex. Mynlyth got closer and closer, and then suddenly my sword struck metal. I pushed the intruding sword away with mine and broke the circle we had formed.
I again ran at Mynlyth, our swords crashing together with a loud clang. I saw something coming at me and dodged out of the way.
Creating a perfect opening for Mynlyth.
My eyes closed, expecting impact. But instead, I heard swords clash. I opened my eyes and saw Marcus fighting the demon. He was holding his own for now.
“Alex! Get Alyssia out of here! Now!” Marcus yelled. Alex grabbed my arm and pulled me up. We ran towards the group of knights, who looked at me and waited for my orders. Right. That's my responsibility.
“Groups two through four, get to the gates. Arm the artillery weapons. Five through eight get to the field outside the gates. The rest of you, we’ll lead him to the field for our final fight. Now go!” The group dispersed, everybody, going to their assigned stations to let the others know where to go. I headed back to Marcus.
He was still holding strong. I turned to Alex to say something when I heard the crash of metal. I looked behind me and Marcus was crumpled on the ground. His sword was embedded in his chest.
I looked around me.
“Go. All of you. Go. I’ll lead him. But help the others.” There was a few words of protest, but everybody left.
I walked to Mynlyth, my sword readied. I swung my sword at him before he had the chance to say anything. I slowly let him out of the city. Swinging my sword, backing up, and letting him follow, then attacking again. The process was slow, but eventually, we left the gates.
“Now!!!” I yelled.
Nothing. I heard a deep laugh. I looked around the field. Bodies were strewn all over. I saw Alex in the distance, fighting off a monster before he too fell. I turned to Mynlyth, only seeing red. I charged at him, finally able to break down his defenses. Soon he was on his knees. I plunged my sword into his chest and mutter a short incantation. The sword began to glow gold, and Mynlyth faded away.
I fell to my knees. All my knights. Every single one of them was gone. I wept for some time for my fallen comrades before making my way home. Mynlyth was dead, my destiny fulfilled.