Chapter 2

Anri and Horace


Anri hummed to herself in thought as Horace and she were resting while on their way to face Aldrich. After fighting their way through a mop of hollows, the two decided to rest in the cleansing chapel that resided within the cathedral of the deep. After a while, she began to speak to Horace.

"Horace, do you believe that other unkindled one is actually a good man?" Asked Anri, recalling the undead that they met at the crucifixion woods. Horace just growled, like he always did. Anri, however, understood him. "Oh Horace, why do you doubt him? He seemed like a good man." Horace then growled again, making her gasp.

"Horace!" Said Anri. "That's incredibly rude! He would never do something like that to me!" After calming down, she spoke again. "You shouldn't be so pessimistic with other man." Horace just growled again, making her sigh. "Whatever your opinion is of him, we may cross paths with him again." Horace just nodded in agreement. After a short while, Anri spoke up again.

"You know, he reminded me of this one knight that we encountered sometime ago" Said Anri. "He's just as fearless as that man." Horace just growled softly as the two remembered that man.


A few weeks ago


"Horace look!" Yelled Anri as she spotted a carriage being attacked by bandits. Most of the escorts were killed aside from one, who was struggling to keep them away from the carriage. The two knights were on their way to the lands of Lothric when they encountered this anomaly. Horace just growled as he began walking away from the carriage. "Horace! We need to help!" With that, Anri drew her sword and charged at the bandits. Horace just growled before following her, his halberd at the ready. Their arrival was unnoticed by all parties until Anri sunk her sword at the head of a bandit with a crossbow before killing another with a deep slash on the torso. Horace followed up with a charge at another bandit, halberd at the ready. The halberd managed to skewer the bandit with the spear tip of said halberd before Horace threw the man at a nearby boulder, leaving him to die from blood lose. Now seeing that reinforcements were here, the knight fought with more esteem vigor and managed to slice a bandit's throat. With the arrival of the two undead knights, the three managed to drive off the bandits away. Seeing that they were safe now, the single remaining guard looked at the two undead.

"You have my thanks." Said the man as he shook the hand of Anri and Horace. "My sister and her family would have been killed if it weren't for you."

"We were happy to be of assistance." Said Anri. "May I ask why you were all out here?"

"We were on our way to another kingdom for a diplomatic meeting when suddenly a group of bandits attacked us." Explained the man. "They managed to wipe out half of my men before we could retaliate."

"I'm sorry." Said Anri. "Will you allow us to escort you to this kingdom?" Hearing that made Horace growl in annoyance. They didn't have the time for this.

"If you are willing, then yes." Said the man. "I will be honored to have you alongside us. I will inform my sister of this arrangement." When the knight left to tend to his escorts and to speak to his sister, Horace looked at Anri and growled.

"*Sighs* I know Horace." Said Anri. "We must keep our identity as undead a secret." She knew that the living despised the undead and sought to imprisoned them in asylums or kill them whenever possible, no matter if they were former friends or family.


Later


"Tell me, why exactly are you two going to Lothric?" Asked the knight, now known to them as Edward, as the three escorted the man's sister and her family to a nearby kingdom. The journey should end in about a day or two. After that, the two undead will move on to their own journey.

"We're going there to seek out an old friend. One that we swore an oath to find." Said Anri, lying a bit to deceive the knight. If he found out they were seeking Aldrich, he may find out that they're unkindled, which leads him to assume they're undead and may try to kill them.

"I see. Well, I wish good luck on that journey then." Said Edward. "Lothric has been in a state of decay for quite sometime now."

"We know." Said Anri. "We've prepared for it, however." With that, Anri went back to eyeing the road for any danger.

"That's good." Said Edward, approval in his voice. "One must always be prepared for the worst in this world." He then sighed to himself. "That said, I'm sure glad that you two were here in our time of need. It shows that there are still good people out there that are willing to help those in need. Something that this world sorely needs more of." Edward then sighed as they walked. He then noticed that the sun was starting to set. "We should make camp soon." The two undead just nodded. It was a bad idea to travel during the night, especially if it was on foreign lands.


Later


Anri and Horace were guarding over the campsite as Edward was speaking with his sister.

"Do you think that they all hate undead? For no good reason other than paranoia?" Asked Anri. Horace just grunted, honestly not caring what their opinion on Undead were. "Perhaps we should ask for their opinion about undead?" Horace growled aggressively at that. "*Sighs* I know. It may cause suspicion. But still…" She couldn't say anymore when Horace raised his arm, his other bringing out his halberd. Seeing this, Anri brought out her own sword. The two then began to make their way to Edward, who was coming to them.

"What is wrong?" Asked Edward as he brought out his sword. He soon got his answer when a group of bandits came out in visible view to them, all of them wearing leather armor with some metal for the chest. They all had either battle axes or swords, poorly maintained but still deadly, with only one crossbow with them. Edward cursed. He counted at least fifteen bandits and they had already begun to circle them.

"This isn't good." Said Anri as she looked at the carriage, which the family was now getting on for their protection. "They have us outnumbered and they're cutting off any possible way to escape."

"Then we must fight our way out." Said Edward as the bandits came closer to them. "I'll guard the carriage. You two lead the way." The two undead just nodded before charging. Seeing the challenge, several bandits charged at the two knights while the others charged at the carriage. Horace made the first move by charging at them with his halberd. Seeing the threat, the five bandits jumped out of the way. As Horace moved past them, Anri ran up to one and stabbed him in the throat. Seeing that she had killed one of their comrades, three of them went for her while the other went for Horace, who was running back to them. Anri was holding up her shield against one bandit while fighting another with her sword when the third stabbed her chest, making her gasp in pain. Seeing her moment of weakness, the other two used her moment of weakness to stab her legs before kicking her in the ground. Seeing that Anri was in danger, Horace went into a rage and sliced the head off his opponent, using his strength as an undead to do so with ease, before charging at the three bandits. Before one could raise his axe and bring it down on Anri's head, Horace stabbed in the back with his halberd before letting it go and tackling another to the ground, strangling him. The other tried to kill Horace, but Anri slashed his leg off, making him fall to the ground and allowing Anri to stab his throat. After Horace was done strangling his opponent to death, he helped Anri up and helped in bringing out her Estus flask. She took a sip from the flask and sighed in relief as the drink healed her wounds, restoring her. Nodding in thanks, she placed her flask in a small bag on her person. The two then rushed back to the carriage where they saw Edward holding off the remaining five, having killed the rest himself when they focused on the carriage. He was heavily wounded with three crossbows stuck in his gut with another on his right shoulder. He was panting heavily as blood spilled from his wounds. His back was against the chariot as the remaining five were standing their ground while the crossbow man was reloading his weapon. He was about to fire when Anri stabbed him in the throat. With the crossbow man out of the way, the two undead warriors charged in to assist, forcing the four remaining bandits to get out of the way. Seeing that the other two knights were back, one of the bandits brought out a skull that was glowing. He then threw it near the carriage. When it impacted the ground, the skull shattered, and the ground began to glow from where the skull landed. The three knights looked at each other before they begun to hear the sounds of dogs.

"Damn! They summoned reinforcements." Said Edward. "We need to get out of here!"

"How? We won't be able to escape with the carriage." Said Anri as the sounds of barking were getting closer. She then looked at Edward, who was holding on the carriage for support. "And you're wounds." Edward then looked at his wounds and sighed.

"You're right. Someone needs to hold them off." Said Edward. He then looked at the two knights. "Get the carriage and get out of here. I'll hold them off." Anri's eyes widen and was about to protest when Edward began to charge toward the bandits, who were shocked to see such behavior from the wounded knight. Horace growled to himself before going to the carriage and got on the reins. Once on the reins, he forced the horses to move out of the battle. Seeing that Horace was leaving the carriage and knowing that they needed more help, Anri sighed to herself and ran after them. As she ran, she thought about Edward.

"I'm sorry, Edward." Thought Anri.


Later


"I think we're safe now Horace." Said Anri as she walked besides the carriage. Horace simply grunted before making the horses stop. Once they stopped, the two opened the carriage. Once they open the carriage, they were met with the sight of a woman holding a young boy and girl together. The woman was a young brunette with blue eyes. The two children were obviously twins with their brown hair and blue eyes. "You're okay now. We're safe." Hearing that made the woman calm down and look at the two knights.

"Where's my brother?" Asked the woman with worry. Anri just shook her head sadly as Horace went back on the reins. "Oh no." The woman then looked down, looking ready to cry.

"I'm sorry." Said Anri as she closed the carriage and motioned Horace to continue.


Present


"We never managed to find out what happened to him, you know." Said Anri. "I hope that he survived that encounter." Horace just growled, obviously not believing that Edward had survived. "I know. Still, I'm glad that we finished his mission for him, even if the family treated us like dirt when they found out we're undead." Horace growled again, not liking to remember about the family. Ungrateful maggots. "I guess they just needed something to hate. After all, they lost a close family member." Horace just shook his head, not believing Anri's naivety. The two stayed there for a few moments before Anri got up.

"We should resume our quest for Aldrich. Its time we faced that monster and avenge our friends." Said Anri. Horace nodded and the two set out for Aldrich's tomb.