THE HEART THAT REMEMBERED

The battle

Liam’s POV

The moment Alice disappeared beyond the trees, the cottage felt strangely empty.

For a brief second, Liam allowed himself to listen.

The sound of her horse fading into the distance.

The endless fall of the black rain.

The whispers of enemies surrounding him.

She was safe.

That was all that mattered.

Liam tightened his grip around his sword.

The blade reflected the darkness outside, covered in drops of black rain.

He had spent his entire life training for moments like this.

Not for glory.

Not for recognition.

But for this.

To stand between danger and the people he swore to protect.

A figure stepped through the broken doorway.

Then another.

Then several more.

Their faces were hidden beneath dark armor, their weapons ready.

Liam studied them silently.

They were trained.

Disciplined.

But they were not enough.

One of them charged first.

A mistake.

Liam moved before the attacker could even complete the strike.

His sword met theirs with a sharp clash, and with a single movement, he forced the weapon aside and sent the attacker stumbling backward.

The others rushed forward.

Liam didn't retreat.

He stepped into them.

Every movement was controlled.

Every strike had purpose.

He fought like someone who had been taught by the greatest warriors of Vale.

Like someone born for the battlefield.

The first attacker swung from the side.

Liam turned, avoiding the blade by inches, then struck with enough force to knock the weapon from their hand.

Another came from behind.

Liam sensed it before he saw it.

He turned quickly, blocking the attack.

The impact pushed him back slightly, but he held his ground.

A small smile appeared on his face.

Finally.

A real challenge.

The rain poured harder, making the battlefield around the cottage almost impossible to see.

But Liam didn't need his eyes alone.

He knew how to listen.

How to feel the movement of his enemies.

How to predict their attacks before they happened.

They had numbers.

He had experience.

A group surrounded him.

For a moment, the attackers believed they had won.

They were wrong.

Liam lowered his stance.

The next few moments became a blur.

His sword moved like a flash through the darkness.

He was faster than they expected.

Stronger than they imagined.

Each strike pushed them further away from the cottage.

Away from the path Alice had taken.

That was his goal.

Not just to defeat them.

To buy time.

To make sure they never reached her.

One attacker managed to get close enough to force Liam backward.

The ground beneath him became slippery from the strange rain.

But Liam refused to fall.

He remembered his father, King Orion, teaching him that a true ruler did not stand above his people.

A true ruler stood in front of them.

Protecting them.

He remembered his mother, Queen Josie, telling him that strength without compassion meant nothing.

And then he remembered Alice.

Her confused eyes.

Her fear.

The way she looked back at him before leaving.

Liam's grip tightened.

"No one touches her."

His voice was quiet.

But everyone heard it.

The attackers charged again.

And Liam met them head-on.

Because he was not just fighting as a prince of Vale.

He was fighting as the person who had promised to protect the lost princess.

And Liam Eryndor never broke a promise.