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962 Words
The brief past
As Yuri followed the hunters toward the towering gates of Xuanhe Kingdom, her steps grew slower.
For a moment, she could hardly believe what she was seeing.
Three years.
Three long years of running, hiding, and surviving.
They had finally reached a place where they might be safe.
Beside her, little Jing stared at the city walls with wide eyes.
"It's so big," the child whispered.
Yuri smiled faintly.
"Yes, Young Miss."
The sight of the kingdom stirred old memories she had buried deep within her heart.
She remembered the night they had fled the palace and her homeland.
The palace had been filled with screams and flames as a powerful faction seized control of the kingdom. Loyal servants were arrested or killed, and those who remained faithful to the royal family were hunted without mercy.
Jing had been only a year old then.
Too young to understand the danger surrounding her.
There had been three of them then.
Yuri herself, whose duty had always been to care for little Jing, and Lian, the maid who was as skilled with a sword as any trained soldier.
In those days, Yuri often relied on Lian's strength.
During the day, they disguised themselves as poor travelers, keeping their heads lowered whenever they passed through villages. At night, while Yuri cared for Jing, Lian remained awake, standing guard against bandits, wild animals, and the soldiers who hunted them.
Many nights, Yuri would wake to find Lian sitting beside a dying campfire, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword, her eyes fixed on the darkness beyond the trees.
"Get some sleep," Yuri would whisper.
Lian would only smile and shake her head.
"One of us has to stay awake."
At the time, Yuri had believed they would always continue their journey together.
She never imagined that one day she would be walking alone, carrying only the memory of her dearest friend.
Until one unfortunate evening.
The sun was setting behind a mountain range when Lian suddenly stopped.
Her hand moved to the sword at her waist.
"What is it?" Yuri asked quietly.
Lian's expression darkened.
"We've been followed."
At that moment, arrows flew from the trees.
One struck the ground beside them.
The horses panicked.
A dozen armed riders emerged from the forest.
Their armor bore the crest of their own kingdom.
Yuri's face turned pale.
They were not foreign enemies.
The men were sent to eliminate the last surviving member of the royal bloodline.
They had finally been found.
"Run!" Lian shouted.
Yuri immediately clutched the child to her chest.
"But—"
"Run!" Lian repeated. "I'll hold them back."
The soldiers surrounded them.
Their leader smiled coldly.
"Hand over the child and we may spare your lives."
Lian unsheathed her sword.
The sound of steel echoed through the valley.
"You'll have to kill me first."
The soldiers charged.
Lian met them head-on.
Her blade flashed like lightning.
One soldier fell.
Then another.
And another.
Despite being heavily outnumbered, she fought with incredible skill, refusing to allow a single soldier past her.
Behind her, Yuri hesitated.
Tears filled her eyes.
"Lian!"
Lian glanced back briefly.
Blood stained her sleeve from a fresh wound.
"Yuri, listen to me carefully."
The warrior maid tightened her grip on her sword.
"If I fall, they must never find her."
Yuri's arms tightened around the child.
"Lian..."
"Protect her."
The soldiers closed in from every side.
Lian smiled sadly.
"You were always better at caring for her than I was."
The child looked at the warrior maid with wide innocent eyes.
Lian gently touched the little girl's cheek.
"Live, little one."
Then she stepped forward once more.
"Now go!"
Knowing there was no other choice, Yuri turned and ran.
She carried the child deep into the wilderness while the sounds of battle echoed behind them.
Clashing steel.
Shouts.
Cries of pain.
Then silence.
Yuri's hands tightened unconsciously around Jing's shoulder.
Even after three years, the memory remained as vivid as the day it happened.
She could still see Lian standing alone against impossible odds, sword in hand, protecting them with her life.
She could still hear her final command.
"Protect her."
Those two words had guided Yuri through every hardship that followed.
Whenever hunger threatened them, whenever storms forced them to seek shelter, whenever fear whispered that they would never find safety, Yuri remembered Lian's sacrifice and found the strength to continue.
She had never returned to that mountain pass.
She had never seen Lian again.
But in her heart, she already knew the outcome.
Lian had given her life so that Jing might live.
For days afterward, Yuri traveled without rest, fearing that the soldiers would still be pursuing them.
The child often asked where Lian had gone. Each time, Yuri could only hold her close and whisper,
"She's protecting us."
Even when years passed, Yuri never forgot the sacrifice her friend had made.
The memory of that final battle remained with her through every hardship, every storm, and every lonely night. It was because of Lian's courage that the little girl survived.
A gentle breeze carried the scent of flowers from the city ahead.
Yuri blinked away the tears gathering in her eyes.
"Lian," she thought quietly.
"We made it."
Her gaze fell upon Jing, who was happily following the hunters without a care in the world.
The child did not remember the kingdom she had lost.
She did not remember the people who had died protecting her.
She did not remember Lian.
But Yuri remembered enough for both of them.
As the gates of Xuanhe Kingdom slowly opened before them, Yuri silently swore once again that she would protect Jing, no matter the cost.
Just as Lian had done three years ago.
- Writer
