Under the Cursed Grand Magus

Chapter Three

Arrows covered the sky, falling down on the mercenaries with terrifying accuracy. Stella, holding onto the bars of her cage, seeing the attack unfold in front of her, felt it became difficult to breathe, and her strength was drained from her body. Her mind had gone blank from the fear that filled her heart with every arrow that rained down around her. One such arrow buried itself in the wood floor of her cage, having grazed her thigh. "Ah!" Stella cried out from the sharp, burning pain, the white of her skirt was stained red and Stella's heart beat harder against her chest. Another girl cried out, and Stella fearfully glanced back to see an arrow lodged in the shoulder of a villager. Hot tears filled Stella's eyes, streaming down as she realized that their lives meant nothing to the Cursed Grand Magus. I don't want to die! Thought Stella bitterly, "Can't you go any faster?!" she cried out to the mercenary steering the wagon, "I don't want to die either!" The man looked back at her in shock, the blood drained from his face, with a black arrow piercing his temples. Alice screamed when the man's body fell from his seat only to get crushed under the wagon. "Somebody save us!" cried Alice, as the horse continued running with no one to guide it, another volley of arrows rained down, striking several more mercenaries.

The wagon tilted harshly, almost falling over as the horse rounded a bend in the road. The volley of arrows subsided, and the bandits yelled among themselves, getting further ahead of the riderless wagon. A sharp crack rang out and the wagon became unsteady as the horse struggled to keep running. Stella looked at the wagon which was beginning to break because of several arrows that had lodged themselves near the bolt that connected to the horse. The wood finally broke, freeing the horse from its weight and cargo as it ran off down the dirt path. The wagon rolled on its own before coming to a stop in the middle of the road.

Stella's body was trembling, cool sweat peppered her forehead and her breathing was shallow. Gasping for air, Stella looked over her shoulder to the others in the cage. Some of the women had slumped on the bars. One other lay unconscious with an arrow buried in her shoulder. Molly looked at Stella, panic in her eyes and Alice was a sobbing wreck. They sat in silence for what seemed several minutes. Stella's body began feeling heavy as the adrenaline began to wear off, her hands began to slide down the bars, loosening her grip. Stella's hands were deathly pale from how tightly she had been holding onto the bars. Now her body felt cold, weak and Stella was plaqued by tremors as she tried to get her breathing under control. Her head began to feel foggy and Stella thought she could hear the sound of distant hoof beats. The sound of metal on metal mixed with the hoof beats was overshadowed by the sound of men's voices, "There's an abandoned wagon up ahead! Looks like some of the captives are still inside!"

"Surround the wagon and scout the area! Let's make sure it's not a trap!" Called out another man, "Yes Sir!" Responded the riders in unison as the sound of the hoof beats grew closer.

A company of soldiers dressed in dark armor was led by a handsome man with platinum blonde hair wearing black armor astride a silver steed. The soldiers slowed, surrounding the wagon, while others rode near the treeline to scout the area. "We have one woman seriously injured, and one with a leg wound, the rest appear to be startled." Said one soldier guiding his horse close to the injured women. "My Lord Runegard, allow me to stay behind and tend to the women." Requested the soldier, he was a young man with gentle features and short dark hair. "Very well, Trenton, you and those four will stay behind and attend to them." The voice of Margrave Runegard was smooth yet firm sounding pleasant to Stella's ears, nothing like what she had been expecting. He rode his silver horse up to the wagon, passing over a glance at the frightened women. For a moment, his eyes met Stella's, feeling her breath catch in her throat at how refined his features were. She couldn't help but stare at his handsome face and silver eyes. He paused, focusing his gaze onto hers, "They may be startled, but I'm certain they'll be just fine." Mused Margrave Runegard with a smirk, "I leave them in your hands." before looking away and riding on ahead, Margrave Runegard said, leading the rest of his Calvary to continue their pursuit of the mercenaries. Stella's cheek felt hot at seeing the Margrave smirk, having caught her staring at him. Feeling flustered from embarrassment, Stella kept her head down to hopefully hide her burning cheeks from view with the help of her bangs. Margrave Runegards Calvary was soon out of sight and Trenton, along with the other soldiers, dismounted, tying their horses along the treeline.

"Alright, let's get the wagon off the road." Trenton, along with the other soldiers, surrounded the wagon, grunting about the weight as they pushed the wagon to the side of the road. Once the wagon was off the road, the men broke the lock on the cage and urged the women to come out. However, everyone was petrified of what they had just experienced, and even Stella couldn't bring herself to let go of the bars completely. "It's okay, you can come on out now. No one's going to hurt you now." Trenton stuck out his hand for anyone to grab. Stella looked at his outstretched hand and timidly let go of the cold bars of the cage. Shakily she crawled to him, but her body felt too heavy, her arms were straining to hold her up. A pair of strong hands slid under her arms, pulling her out of the cage effortlessly, "It's alright now, you're safe." Before she realized what was happening, Stella was cradled in a man's arms. Looking up at him, Stella realized Trenton was smiling warmly as he carried her to a nearby clearing. Setting her down gently, he ruffled her hair, "See, you're safe. I need you to wait for me here while I help the others. Can you do that for me?" His voice was gentle and soothing, "Y-yes." Stella managed to say with a stiff nod.