Chapter One :: Princess Meets Knight

Seven years ago: Kingdom of Loire Island

Racing down the hall, she slid to a stop, as the door at the end of the hall was crashed open. Sucking in her breath in surprise, she made a sharp turn into her father's guest rooms and started for the servant's stairwell. Tripping on her skirts she came crashing against the badly carpeted stone steps. Hissing from the pain, she quickly scrambled to her feet and took to the nearest door to her left. Pounding feet followed after her and she made to barricade the door the best she could. The sudden hammering made her squeak in surprise as she slammed the servant quarter's doors closed and quickly hopped up another set of steps. Her long white skirt got caught under her feet again and she went forward, smacking her head against stonewall this time. Cursing in her breath she straightened herself just as the door caved in and two large men came rushing in after her. Screaming for help she ran up the spiral staircase and through a secret door small enough for her height.

Her heart was thudding madly in her chest as she made a silent trip towards the infirmary ward, where her older brother was kept in peace. Light brown hair fell from its braid atop her head and tumbled down in threads as she spun around in a circle and entered a room. Her knee struck a desktop and she seethed loudly as she rushed towards the window. Wanting to see outside. Leaning over the sill she stared down bellow where a fight was being held. Blood was everywhere, as dead bodies were discarded and trampled over fighting knights and peasants. Farmers held themselves greatly against the raiding bandits but most of them lost their lives. Too weak to match. Screams escaped women and children's throats as they were taken away from their homes or hiding places. Tears spilled from her eyes and she forced to look away as she quickly ran to the top level of the tower.

"Princess you should not be here." An elder nurse replied as she exited a room at the top. Seeing the ragged and tired girl she stopped. "What's wrong?" it was an obvious and stupid question to have asked.

Stopping in her tracks, the girl breathed in, the tears not calming down. "Father is dead and Yukito is wishing Touya to help him in the fight against the orange bandits." The women sucked in her breath. Crossing her fingers she prayed silently to the dead lord before letting the child pass. In the infirmary two younger nurses were peering out the sills at the death below, whispering and chatting amongst themselves about something. The small princess went right past them to one of the secluded beds, a dark purple hanging shielding the patient from view

Rushing to the bed she slid to her knees in sobs, yanking back and hanging. The occupant was sitting up, back propped up against the cold wall, the loose shirt revealing perfectly toned muscles of his chest, along with a long gash leading from his right shoulder to the middle of his abdomen. He held a steaming mug of tea in his grasp. He stared down at her when she suddenly climbed into the bed with him, straddling him as she stared with tears into his red-rimmed eyes. Shock was written across his pained face but set that aside as he began to play with her long hair that tumbled down around him. Her body was rocking as she sobbed out incoherent words. Noting the screams outside he placed the tea on the small table beside him and held the girl's face in both hands, making her go silent, though her body still horribly rocking against him.

"What's going on?" he asked sympathetically, knowing his little sister wouldn't disturb him unless it was something dire. She moved her head, the makeup she'd been playing with earlier smeared all over her small face. Staring deep into his intense dark eyes she forced the words out.

"We're under attack by the orange bandits of Loire and father has been taken by the under god. He left Touya, he's dead!" she hiccupped, burrowing her head into his neck. Shocked at the words, he wrapped trembling arms around her lithe frame as he stared at the far wall. "Yukito wants you to fight," she forced out. Immediately his body tensed and she sobs louder. He was in no shape to fight and he was still with a high fever from his fatal injuries.

Pushing her away from him he stared into her emerald eyes, completely making up his mind. "Kaijuu listen and listen well. In seven years you will finally be eighteen. I want you to promise me you will be in the kingdom of Avalon at that time, got it? Keep your identity away from everyone. If father is dead then already word has gone out to the other kingdoms."

"What are you talking about brother?" she asked suddenly making him shake his head. A loud scream echoed from the rooms below where other patients were and she shook violently, fearing who was there now. Knowing who was there now. They'd finally reached where she was.

"Listen, the trip to the isles is about five weeks. I want you to escape to there and find a Knight of Avalon by the name Lucus of Galore. Don't mention my name unless they ask who sent you. Use the title father gave me none else." Footsteps bounded up the spiral steps and she turned to stare at the door but he held her face between his hands, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Your name is Sakura of Greenland, no matter what you go by that. When everything's died done a few years move from the isles and travel to the Greenland's towards Avalon. Sakura promise me to always keep your title true but don't use it to get places."

"Your being stupid Touya, what are you talking about?" he shook his head, moving her as got to his feet. She grasped hold of his arm, not wanting him to go anywhere. It was obvious he was too weak even to stand. "Stop it," she rasped out in a squeal. Shakily he pushed her towards the drapes where a secret door held to the outside of the tower. "Go," he seethed to her. She shook her head but he pushed her away quickly, taking up the sword that lay sheathed on a small table. Watching in horror, he charged to the opening door.

"Sakura go now!" he yelled as a man came charging into the room in a dead rage. Sakura looked away from the sight and stumbled blurry eyed to the door, her hair covering half her face. A war cry of pain echoed through her mind and she froze just as a wet hand wrapped around the nape of her neck and pulled her backwards. Everything else went black.

Seven years later: Greenland Isles

She wove through people easily, using her lithe frame and medium height as an advantage to get through the crowd. Whistles and shouts ignited through the air as officials came trotting after her. She stopped for a few seconds in the middle of the market, glancing around. An idea came to mind, an escape to lose them. Picking up her skirts, she jumped over a cart of oranges and hid behind a large crate. Gathering her skirt sup into a ball she held tightly together against the wood. The owner stared at her but made no move to give her away. In fact, they were use to seeing her running away from Knights and other high ranked people. To them, she was an abandoned girl, raised to be a thief. But to the officials she was a regular miscreant thief that needed to be executed for her robbery. Her robbery has only gone to save her own life, or to help out the other miscreant children that roamed the roads without a home.

She peeked through the openings of the crates as two large men came bounding pass. Their swords smacking their thighs as they looked all over for, thinking they had the lead. People watched them passed, few hiding smiles at their stupidity. As they disappeared amongst the crowd, she scrambled out with a giant smirk on her face. The owner smiled, tossing her a fresh orange. Taking it gratefully, she jumped back over and began walking happily in the opposite direction, taking a shortcut between two stone buildings. Coming out into the clearing, the forest a distance away, she made right. Towards a visible chapel long since abandoned. It was her home. A large shadow overlapped hers while she walked and she smirked, recognizing the framework. Broad shoulders, sword at side, and the smooth way they walked. Stupid Knights, they will never learn. I am not one to mess with. Spinning around to catch them off guard, she was surprised to meet with a dark shade of brown. Unlike the other knights, he wasn't dressed in armor. Just a simple green tunic and breeches.

That brought an unknowingly grin on her delicate but dirty face. "If you're looking for Betsy and Joe, they went that a way." She pointed behind him at the village. He stared at her, not sure what she was talking about. She sighed, tossing the peeling of her fruit to the side. It smacked into a rock, leaving a streaky mess.

"Betsy and Joe?" he spoke, making her lose her grin.

"The two dumbbell knights that went running after some girl?" Cute, he commented in his head as he thought of two large knights. He finally shook his head, still not understanding. "If you're not after the girl or them, what do you want? If it's charity money for that bastard king up the hill then you came to the wrong girl mister. I'm as broke as a tree." the knight scowled at the use of terms against a king but he didn't say anything. His hand rested on the sword at his side, absently thumbing the charm at the tip it the hilt.

"Actually, I was wondering if you knew where I could find an Abigail of Greenland." She frowned at the name, her eyes going to his sword he continued to play with. What does he want with her? "Do you know her?" he asked when there was silence.

"What do you scumbags want with Lady Abigail?" She has a mouth, he thought idly amused. Her temper was flaring with each passing second and he was tempted to raise the anger just a bit more but he was on strict business. Too bad. He wanted to play a little.

"She is the witch of this village right?" he smirked when a slight hiss escaped her throat. "If you don't know who she is, I'll go ask someone else. I'm sorry to have…disturbed you of your walking."

"Don't bother," she seethed. Tossing the half eaten orange towards the crows, she wiped her slimy hands on her black tattered skirt. "I asked you what you wanted with the Lady. Don't you know it's rude to ignore a question?" he chuckled, making her raise a brow.

"Sorry ma'am," he used the formal word with a little bit of sarcasm that sent chills up her spine. He fell silent slightly, losing the sense of humor in his eyes as he studied her. When he spoke, it wasn't what she expected for him to say. "I have a sick comrade in the depths of the forest; I wanted Lady Abigail to help him but…you don't seem to know who she is."

"Hey you!" someone yelled. Cringing and cursing under her breath, she turned just as two large knights came rushing towards her, fighting through the narrow passage of the buildings she'd taken. Turning back to the curious man who was staring at the two knights coming towards them, she smirked.

"At the abandoned Chapel of the Priestess's is where you'll find her." smiling she ran past him towards the neighborhood area. She was fast as she jumped up onto a pole that held a sign for a closed pub. Hanging there, she remembered something else and flipped herself around easily, swaying ever so slightly. "Oh," he turned to watch her swinging on the pole, her face a giant smile. "Tell her I sent you." she pushed harder and her swing became forced. Her lithe body went upwards and she released the pole, landing atop of a roof and disappearing from sight.

"Wait I don't..." he sighed…I don't know your name. He turned as the two knights finally reached the area where she was once at.

"Hey why didn't you stop her?" one of the knights looked him over as the other cursed under his breath, turning to look in the direction she'd left to.

"Why would I need to stop her?" he asked, enjoying the show both knights held. The girls right, they are dumbbells. Their uniform was wet, faces unshaven and filthy. Obviously they'd fallen into something. Mud or watery hole.

"She's the Princess of Thieves, wanted throughout the isles. Didn't you recognize her?" the guy looking him over asked, his dark gray eyes steadying with his brown ones. Princess of Thieves? Her? That just brought the suspicion that she was peculiar brighter in his head.

"Sorry had no idea who she was. Besides, I have no business with the Isles." At the mention of that the other knight looked him over, his eyes growing big seeing the hidden emblem on the collar of his tunic.

"Why, you're a Knight of Avalon." He nodded, finally bemused. Turning he began walking towards the area she pointed off to. "What's an Avalon knight doing way down here?" the knight mumbled before he and his comrade took off on cold pursuit of the thief.

…

…

…

She sat in the shadows on top a roof. Her legs folded beneath her as she peered over. She kept her figure hidden well from the light of the orange sunset behind, not wanting to be seen just yet. Down bellow stood the knight from the village. It had taken him a while to reach the chapel; of course he went back to his comrade in the woods before he set out to look for the place. The girl hadn't exactly given him precise directions on how to get to the chapel that seemed to be in view, yet unable to get to. All the while, she'd been following him. The knights from earlier that day had finally given up on trying to capture her, knowing perfectly well they couldn't. Though they tried, she was just to smart for them. Sinking lower to the roof, she watched as Abigail finally came out of the large church, wearing a simple black dress, her graying hair loose around her tiny waist.

"May I help you?" the old woman asked in a breezy tone. The knight smiled politely, bowing lowly. Proper to such women of power.

"I was told you could help me." he spoke in a serious tone for that of business. The woman looked him over, her gray eyes taking in all of him.

"Is that so?" she spoke like a teenager. If he made the wrong move she would challenge him easily and he wouldn't even know it. "Who sent you?" the question was sharp and demanding.

"She didn't exactly tell me her name." Abigail eyed him curiously. He stood his ground even though he could feel her eyes go right through his flesh. Was she so powerful that she could see through to his soul? His life? "She said to tell you she sent me." He spoke uncertain. Maybe it was hoax to make him look like a fool like the thief girl made the other knights fools.

"Was she a devil child?"

"Uh…" he didn't expect the woman to say that. She smiled, seeing that she had caught him off guard. Stepping from her hollow she sized him up. He was clearly six feet tall to her four feet and bent over frail body.

"About this high, long brown hair, dimple, emerald eyes, and skinny body in a black skirt?" she asked him. He nodded dumbly. "Don't know her." she turned away and began walking back inside. The girl on the roof practically screamed as she listened in on how her so-called guardian toyed with the knight.

"Wait, you just described her perfectly." He defended. Opening his mouth to continue, he stopped himself when he heard the old woman laugh haughtily.

"Of course I did sonny, she's my devil child. A nuisance telling all these people they could come to me. Have you seen her recently? I need her to run an errand."

"She ran off when the knights came after her. She's your daughter?"

"Of course not, I just look after her. She's the devil I tell you but I love her like she's my own. Got to, her brother made me promise to look after her since she was forced from her home or kidnapped as you people call it. Oh, look I'm talking to much." The knight frown, only able to catch some of her words but he caught the drift of it. She wasn't hers and she was a runaway or a kidnapped runaway. The normal past for thieves.

"Listen, Lady Abigail…"

"Just Abi,"

"Abi," he bowed as he followed her into the chapel. The girl frowned. That blasted old hag just told him my life practically. She must have been drinking her potions again. Sighing heavily she leaped off and landed like a cat on the ground. Straightening her clothing, she marched into the abandoned church after them.

…

…

…

The old abandoned chapel inside was decorated with old monuments and pictures of dead or over ruled kings and Queens, some of a princess. One of them, he noticed, resembled the thief he'd run into but only vaguely with her hair and eyes. He paid no attention to it as he continued to walk at the slow pace behind the woman, examining the rest of the rather dusty place. Embroidered hangings of different style from different kingdoms hung in angles, separating parts to be rooms. He stopped in his tracks, realizing something. That most of the hangings were of the same insignia. Dark purple color with a bright pink cheery blossom flower crossed over with bloody swords, a gold crown above it all. It was the mark of the dead kingdom of Loire. A kingdom that no longer possessed life since the king and its heirs had died. The witch had disappeared when he turned his gaze and he ran forward, finding her going down a set of stairs. He followed her down into the basement, where the same blankets hung, covering up openings into different parts of the room.

"Tea?" she asked unexpectedly, stopping in the middle of the basement where a small table and some cushions were. He nodded and Lady Abigail disappeared behind one of the hanging blankets. He took his chance and looked around the room, sitting down. "What did you want to see me for?" her voice echoed sweetly but slightly sardonic.

"Uh…my friend," he answered, casting his brown gaze around the different family portraits drawn by different artists. One of the caught his attention more then anything. Like the one upstairs he paid no attention to, this one was of a girl. It hung by a gold frame of the Egyptians writings, a sketched picture of the girl from the market place. The image was burned at the corners and her image was a lot younger in age. She was poised in front of a castle with a dark red and black flag flapping in the wind. Her long light brown hair was covering half her face, emerald eyes bright from the sun overhead. He focused his eyes on the necklace around her neck, the small bell with a black diamond with a carving circling it. A clang made him sit upright and stare around at the blanket which was opening on it's own as the old woman came walking through.

"This friend of yours, what exactly is wrong?" Abigail asked coming back into the room with a tray of steaming tea.

"So far it's just a fever but I'm afraid it's gotten a lot worse over the past days." She nodded, as if understanding. Pouring the hot substance into two cups, she handed one to him without eye contact and began pouring a third cup. He stared at it but disregarded it as she handed him a small pouch from her tattered skirt pocket.

"He's gotten Ingra. Must have for about a month unless it was recently. Such a sad sight to see, walking through the mists." She said lowly as she sipped at her cup, her gray eyes casted down.

"Mist?" behind Abigail the girl from the village dropped down stealthily from the ladder, her hands wrapped around the sides of it. She didn't bother hiding the angry look in her eyes as she took a quick glance at the old woman.

"It's the fog surrounding Greenland's Bay. We call it the Ingra Mists because Ingra of the Isles put a spell on that area, hoping to entrap her lover from leaving for the Evolution War against Marcel. I'm surprised you didn't get affected as well." She remarked tightly, sitting crossed leg on the overstuffed cushion. Abigail regarded her for a few seconds, a giant smirk on her face. He was looking right at the girl, his small cup in his hands, burning.

"I never did go through it. I came from the back isles searching for my father's troops." He turned to Abigail, who was smiling brightly at the two. Her eyes were darting from him to the girl, before resting on the teakettle.

"You're very unfortunate then…ow!" the girl glared at the old witch, who looked as innocent as anyone could get. The knight looked around, not seeing the old woman move from her spot but a ripple in the air around her answered his question. "What you do that for Lady Abigail!"

"You fickle brained child. You send me one of these knights and yet you don't get along with him. He's such a handsome young man too." she opened her mouth to answer to that when a loud crash resounded from upstairs, rattling the chandelier above their heads. The knight watched as the girl hoped back up and grab hold of a hanging rope. Tugging hard, a small tile from the ceiling disappeared, revealing blackness.

"If they're looking for me I'm not home. I haven't been for three weeks got it old witch?" before the lady could even answer her; she jumped up professionally and flipped up and out of sight.

"Does she always do that?" he asked, remembering when she went on the roofs. Standing up, he buckled his sword back to his waist and whipped his head up as pounding footsteps came bounding above head.

"She's my devil in this world. Most likely my end as well." Abigail looked at the knight with gloss over eyes. "Take care of her; she has many bottled up secrets that make her unique. Don't let her do something she might regret once again. She may be tough on the outside but she's fragile." Without warning a giant white flash filled the room, blinding him. Blinking back tears he searched the room but she wasn't there any longer, not even a trace. Great,

…

…

…

Crap, night came quicker then I thought. He scowled himself for taking so long at the village. He didn't think he was that long at the old chapel but when he'd walked out unnoticed it was dark. Taking up the reins to the black mare that stood patiently near a large tree, he began walking back towards the clearing where he left his friend to rest. A faint whistle in the distance told him the knights of the village have caught onto the thief princess, which made him smile faintly. Princess of Thieves, he repeated in his mind as he took in her appearance in his minds eye. Then all at once the image of the girl in the picture popped in his mind along with her. There was such a resemblance, despite that major age difference. The girl was most likely six or five and the thief looked to be seventeen, eighteen.

Without really noticing, the trees around him got thick before they lightened slightly. The moon glowed above him, lighting what little way towards the clearing. The mare huffed against his skin and he stopped, looking at it only to stare at his reflection from its black eye. You're right I shouldn't be thinking about her while I'm walking in the dark. He thought ruefully, almost speaking what the horse was thinking. Patting its long mane he began walking against. A ruffling noise against the litter of leaves caught his attention and he turned just in time to avoid getting sliced by a sword. The moon glinting off a bad reflection of his own terror and surprise. Bringing his own weapon out, the two swords clashed together in a loud clang. The knight over powered the attacker and pushed him back with his foot.

"Eriol what the hell are you doing!" he barked when he saw his blue haired friend collapse to the ground in sweat. Releasing the mare's reins, he rushed to his friend's side and helped him sit against a large willow tree. Pulling the sword from his grasp he let it fall besides his own.

"You looked like a bandit," Eriol replied in a whisper. He frowned, seeing his friend was a lot sicker then when he left him. "Well?" he pulled away, going over to their pack. Eriol shifted against the tree, his eyes dropping close from his fatigue.

"I found some old witch, she gave me medicine." Eriol smiled meekly at that, forcing to keep his self awake. "She said the cause was because you went through some witches mist of a curse."

"Curse?" he watched as his friend pulled out some steaming water from the small pit fire dug deep into the ground. Pouring it into a tin cup he went back over to Eriol. "You don't believe that do you?"

"'Course not," dropping a few of the small knots that were revealed in the pouch, he handed it to Eriol who hesitantly drank it. Immediately he began coughing, letting the tin drop to the ground and spill the hot water everywhere.

"Are you trying to bloody kill me?" he barked harshly before coughing again. "That tasted like Meilin's cooking." That brought laughter out of the two then Eriol started coughing again.

"You should rest. Tomorrow we'll see how well that damn medicine worked before I get more and we head back to Avalon." Eriol sharpened his gaze as he stared passed his head. it was unexpected but he turned around to see nothing. When he looked back, he still held the same sharp gaze out into the darkness. "What?"

"I heard something." They were silent for a few moments. Listening. "Just keep talking, we'll see what happens." Just as he said that there was a small groan of pain before it went silent again. Eriol shifted slightly and gazed at his friend with sick eyes.

"Did you know that if this medicine doesn't work Tomoyo's going to personally kill you?" it was out of the blue question.

"Yes," he exclaimed as he busied himself into making a small fire. It got a lot darker then when he was traveling back. All he could see was his friend's outline and the outline of his own hand. Stabbing the sticks into the soft earth he began to do the old fashioned rubbing to create the fire. "But that medicine will work and Tomoyo will not know that you were sick in the first place. Her temper is as bad as Meilin's and guess what…we both would be pinned to a bloody tree by arrows if she found out about this." he paused. "It's your fault for teaching her how to shoot an arrow in the first place."

In the shadows she watched them below, giggling slightly at the comments they made about the two girls, Tomoyo and Meilin. Then all at once they were talking about Avalon. She propped her back against the biggest limb of the willow tree and listened. The breeze of the ocean nearby cooling the night into a clear hazy mist of darkness. Her mind wandered; as she listened to them talk about returning and the engagement the one sick knight was in at the moment. "In seven years you will finally be eighteen. I want you to promise me you will be in the kingdom of Avalon at that time, got it? Keep your identity away from everyone." "What are you talking about brother?" "Find a Knight of Avalon by the name Lucus of Galore." She jumped down from the tree branch she was sitting on and…

"It's not very wise to sneak around at night." A cold voice retorted. She froze, feeling the cold steal of a sword pressed against her throat as hands pinned her own above her head. A knee locked against her body, keeping her from moving anywhere.

"It's not very nice to press a sharp sword to a girls neck." in the darkness he saw her smirk even as she struggled against his hold but only managed to press her small body closer to his strong one. He tightened his grip on her loosening wrists.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, keeping his voice low.

"I want you to take me with you to Avalon." She spoke with ease, still struggling to get released. He was stronger then he looked. "Find a Knight of Avalon by the name Lucus of Galore."

"What?" the sword was faltered a bit but she didn't dare take her chance just in case. She stopped struggling and looked into his darkened eyes through the shadows of the tree.

"Take me with you." she asked desperately. He stared at her completely amused and bewildered. "Come on, it's not like your friend can help you with any bandits that try stupid things while your traveling and if you need more medicine I could get it for you." Her heart thrummed against his and he felt his pulse rise at the feel of her skin against his own.

"Now why would I allow a thief as yourself travel with me to Avalon, let alone anywhere near me and my sick friend?" Her smile got guiltier as he stared her down.

"'Cause I'm a very crafty thief?" She looks so innocent. He thought as she blinked continuously, flattering him as he stared into her gaze.

"But I disagree," she frowned and he smirked, lowering his head to her ear. "You're more then crafty, you're cute." He was breathing on her neck, sending chills through her body. Sinking against his body completely, she lifted her face ever so slightly, trying to see into his eyes again.

"Then there's your reason to take me with you. I'm cute and crafty and you know you need me." she seductively flirted but he didn't buy it one bit. Pressing the blade close to her throat, he whispered into her ear more closely.

"But I never agreed. You see, knights normally don't take the Princess of Thieves with them to a land very independent, no matter if they're cute." Choking on her own tongue she glared at him but couldn't find the humor in his brown eyes when he backed up to face her.

"That's not fair," she whined. Her eyes flicked to the sides before landing on him again.

"What's not?"

"Using my title as an excuse not to take me even though it's a very good reason why you need to take me." a shift in the shadows made her stop before a small smirk rose on her pink lips. "I could make a deal with you." She continued to speak, the air around them becoming increasingly cool.

"A deal?" he released the sword from her throat but kept a strong grip on her hands. She was crafty and a bit of a slippery girl, he wasn't about to let her go completely.

"Yeah, if I save your life you have to take me with you and I'll also help keep bandits away from your friend."

"That's not a deal, it's a bribe."

"Suit yourself," she shrugged and instantly brought her leg up between them. Hooking her arms around the branch she'd been thumbing during their argument, she pushed him back and pulled upwards with all her strength. A dagger came whizzing through, embedding itself where her head use to be. Getting to his feet he stared at where she use to be, pulling out the dagger. It was double edged and green.

"They your friends?" he asked her as he looked up into the tree, knowing she was there. His hands wrapped around his sword as he stood in a stance, waiting from someone to attack. The darkness was darker, proving that someone was there. More then just someone. She jumped back down from the tree and stood next to him, a dagger in between fingers.

"Nope. Probably just ogres that are hungry for some fun." squinting into the night she tried to find a shape in the darkness. An arrow came whizzing by her head and she whirled around to face more darkness. Where were they?

"Ogres?"

"In human language…bandits." She pressed her back against his and they slowly made turns as they scanned the darkness. She felt him stare at her for a few seconds making her sigh. She'd forgotten that knights were clueless about them. "Their ugly ass's are always painted green so I call them Ogres and to top it off they really do skin humans they catch as some kind of…ritual or some other." A war cry came from the knight's side and she knelt to the ground, pulling him with her.

"That's disgusting." Seconds later arrows came embedding themselves into the soft ground before at least a dozen green men came running into the area. The last man behind them holding torches to see by. His eyes went wide, seeing exactly what she meant. They were all green.

"Don't I know it," poising her dagger in an arch she charged the closest man, stabbing him in the side of the arm as he tried to chop her head off with an ax. Dodging a blow she sliced through skin with her dagger before high kicking him to the ground and flipping away. Once on the ground she ran forward, taking up the fallen ax he dropped and jamming blunt side into this chest, knocking the wind from his lungs. A low grumble and war cry came from behind her and she turned eyes wide. A large spiked mace came swinging her way and she ducked. Laying her back to the ground she kicked up and got him in the middle but he just keeled over in complete pain and began swinging his weapon around madly. A whistling noise rang through her ears as it passed her head just inches. Taking off guard she stumbled to the ground where he advanced.

A choked scream escaped her lips; though it came out more as a hiss before rolling out of the way where he jammed the mace into the dirt ground. Mud flying upwards. The guy growled, realizing he missed her the third time. No blood or pain of any sort had come to his hearing or feeling. Peering down and removing the mace, he blinked. She was gone. Taking a chance to look around, he was faced with a flying double blade back side as she swung with all her strength. He collapsed with a loud thud and she smirked but it dropped when she saw her friend swing down his sword on another. The blade shining from the men with the torches who were watching with great interest.

"Don't kill them!" She finally yelled when she saw him come down for a killing strike. Losing his concentration from surprise he looked over at her. In return, he got knocked to the ground. Groaning from the pain that shot through his lower back he brought his leg up and stopped the guy from crushing his body as he pressed a knee into his stomach.

"Are you serious?" he choked out as he stopped a double bladed ax from chopping his head off. With all his strength he tried moving the thick arm, sweaty palms making the green paint come off on his fingers.

"Trust me, they have the biggest…" she jumped up over a mace before it slicked through her waist. "…grudge against humans. One dies they come after you until…you die." Taking up one of the maces on the ground she bonked him across the face, getting out of the way before he fell on her. She was breathing hard as she used the weapon on another, locking his weapon with hers. Brute strength was the only thing that was being tested now. Hands tightening she screamed as loud as her throat would allow and jumped up, using the larger man as leverage and flipping into the air, disappearing into the trees above.

"I take it you're experienced?" the knight kicked off the guy and smacked the butt of his sword against the guy's throat. Spit landed on his face but he ignored it as best he could, scrambling to his feet for safety. She dropped down beside him, making him jump in surprise.

"Of course," she dropped the mace on the ground at their feet, the handle hitting her ankle. Wiping blood from her mouth she moved away, turning her body to look behind them. She placed her back against his and stared at the two remaining guys on her side. Their faces bloody and bodied tattered from her blows. "How many on your side knight boy?" she asked, keeping an eye on the men with torches as well. They would attack, she knew it. They just were waiting for an opportunity.

"Three," he re-sheathed his sword and tossed it to the side. It thudded heavily, briging up dust and dry mud. Shocked, she looked at the back of his brown head. feeling her movement he looked at her as well, their foreheads touching. "If I can't kill them I'll just use their weapons against them." A sly smirk rose and she smiled at his bluntness.

"If you didn't know already, they're really sensitive in the groin area." he turned quickly to look at her but she was already charging her two.

The three on his side charged as well, getting him off guard. One of them, a large man with no hair on his head but had a braided beard of beads and bones, swung a double bladed sword. It sliced through his skin making him seethe in pain. The tossing of sword idea wasn't so great. As it came again he ducked then rammed him like football player, knocking the large man into one of his comrades beating up on Sakura. She smiled gratefully, wiping blood from her bottom lip before jump kicking the remaining guy in the face. A strong arm wrapped around her thin waist before crashing her into the willow tree. Gasping for breath she pushed at the large body pushing up against her, something sharp like a blade made its way through her skin. That made her stop moving violently and struggle with the slightest movement that it still heart. Blades weren't her friends.

At the sound of her tight intake of breath the knight whirled around. She was squirming under a large body pressed against her, a long sword toying with her delicate neck as blood slowly slid from the split skin. His sword. Taking her advice he pushed up with his foot and brought it through the remaining guy's groin before socking him across the face before anything else happened. A muffled thump from his fall was all he needed before he made towards the willow tree. She was squirming more violently as the blade was brought in deeper into her throat, the blood smeared all along her chest as she squirmed with pushing him off her. Her legs were pinned and tangled in her skirts that she couldn't lift them up or else he knew she would have a long time ago.

"Hands…off!" he growled taking a fist full of fur the guy was wearing and dragging him backwards. She collapsed to the ground and gasped, feeling her lungs being filled with air. Going to her side he was going to see if she was alright when he turn was grabbed from behind, pulled back away from her. Strangling for breath he searched the ground for some kind of weapon. Grasping her neck to stop the blood flow, she looked up to see the knight strangled from behind.

"Makär y æ!" (Stop!) She shouted heavily seconds before a knife came down on the knight's throat. Eyes wide he was staring at the blade near his face. A gulped sigh was going through his mind, feeling it pressed tightly against his skin. A deep-throated laughter came from somewhere in the darkness and he saw her smirk tightly before tossing a dagger in the direction it came from.

"I see your aim is as worse as ever Cherry Blossom." A large man came walking from the shadows, holding her dagger in-between his fingers, blood trickling down slowly into his palm. She had nicked his skin.

"How long have you been standing there Yabar?" she stood up, her hand still at her throat as she faced the large green man. Blood had made its way from underneath her palm but it didn't matter as much as it looked.

"Long enough to see how horrible you still fight." She smirked but it wasn't exactly friendly. The wind around them picked up and she absently shivered but it wasn't of the cold, it was of the guy's face as it was revealed. He had a haunted look to him, dragon like eyes that glowed whenever angered. His ash colored beard braided with bones of birds and spikes from who knows what.

"Wait, you know them? I thought you said they weren't your friends?" the knight exclaimed making her look at him through the dark. The shine of the steel at his throat made her slightly pissed off but she didn't flinch to move in case Yabar attacked again that and the pain running through her neck was too agonizing to even move at the speed she was thinking of.

"Trust me, they're not friends." She turned back to Yabar. "If you knew it was me then why attack?"

"But you see my dear Cheery Blossom, we smell wandering humans, we attack. Its simple calculations that you yourself know of. And you should know this is our land and not the filthy scum's of a mortal."

"You're mortal too," she seethed before straightening her body and locking her gaze with the night around her. "That protection from the witch won't last forever and sooner or later you'll die like everyone else. Most likely at a fast pace."

"Becoming Queen of my clan has given you a giant head more then you need child. The witches protection will go on forever just like us." At the mention of her being the queen the knight looked up at her and winced, feeling the steel nick part of his skin. "With the way you're going at you will not get hers or our help."

"I never wanted your fucking help! I only came to you that night because I was young and stupid and needed shelter. I came to you today because I wanted permission but apparently going to you was a major mistake more then taking Yolanda's life."

"Ryu!" the guy at the knight's throat made to strike but froze, feeling something sharp at his abdomen. Looking down he saw the girl underneath the knight and jabbing a steel dagger upwards into his flesh but not enough to draw blood. The blood flowed easily from her neck and she saw double target as she locked gazes with the guy.

"Don't you know, killing one of mine means your owns death. We hate death as much as you so I'd remove Ryu from my man." She declared tightly to Yabar who had blazing blue eyes. He hadn't expected her to move, hadn't even seen her move from her spot a good distance away.

"Ryiet güi," (Release him) the sword was released from the throat and he instantly rubbed the patch of skin that felt sore. She removed the dagger as well, getting up and helping the knight stand upright. "I give you permission child, but I'm not sure that they will. Uyð hágeriy!" (Move out!) At the mention of move out, she spun around. A large fist came down causing her to black out and fall limply into strong arms.

To be Continued...