Sabre span around and tensioned his whip ready to strike. The approaching figure was a woman, clothed richly in long robs that trailed behind her. Truly quality worthy of royalty. The attire disarmed Sabre slightly as his whip slackened a little. "Brilliant… More thieving trespassers. What business do YOU have here?" She smiled and shook her head slowly.
"My only business here is to congratulate you! You have managed to capture and disarm the one who has been causing grief by impersonating royalty. In service to the crown, you may finish her and I shall grant you whatever it is you may wish for." Taira shook her head from down on the ground and scrambled to her feet. "You liar! You're no more a queen than I am a god, you sent those demons I know it!" The two's quarrel had left Sabre a little bemused. "Just who the hell are you two?"
Taira opened her mouth to answer but was outspoken by the woman. "Please…" she bowed to him graciously. "I am deeply sorry to stumble upon your home but my forces were seeking this rogue. She has been causing us quite some trouble. Now, please destroy her and nothing will come of this lake." She eyed Sabre up carefully and then smiled. "And you could even be knighted for your services." Taira sighed and shook her head before looking to the ground. "I don't think you understand me… I don't care for knighthood." He sensed something off about the woman's up-front kind approach to a seemingly tense situation. How did she find the lake in the first place? How could she waltz casually claiming to have just 'stumbled upon' it? Sabre continued cautiously. "I'd be VERY interested to know how you could stumble upon a place like this by accident… And until my questions are answered this girl isn't going to be touched." She laughed loudly, seemingly unphased by his bargaining methods. "Of course dear one. A Queen must know her land and likewise all of the people who reside in it. You may believe this oasis is hidden from all, but no place is hidden from the queen's eyes." She smiled and innocently knelt to pick a wild flower. Its stalk snapped with a silent 'tik' and she held It up. Sabre twitched seeing the woman take a sniff of the flower.
Keeping his movements slow, he edged backwards towards where he had thrown Taira's sword and kicked it discreetly back to her where she grabbed hold of it. "And with that one move… Your veil has fallen. I see why you're here… If you know of all the land and all of it's inhabitants then I'm certain that you would be aware that ALL flora on this land is SACRED to my family name! Get away from here." His gaze went from questioning to intent on murder. His blood almost boiling at the offence she had committed. Taira soon joined him and glared at the woman. "Your façade has fallen on blind eyes… leave here." The 'queen' met her gaze and began to pull the petals from the flower one by one, each one littering the ground where she stood. "Very well… but that was your only chance to save your home horse-tamer!" The last petal drifted to the ground as smoke started to billow from where it touched down. It cleared, revealing several demon-dog hybrids almost as a residue. "What now?" The dogs began to bark loudly and Sabre jumped back as his coat flapped in the wind and tried his hardest to fight the demons away. As much as Taira despised this mysterious figure in black, he had spared her death from this 'queen'. She wielded her sword and charged the demons aiding him in the battle. The battle seemed to go nowhere with the dogs being almost unaffected from Sabre's whip or Taira's blade until Sabre shouted. "Princess! I have a plan. Have them all follow me! There's another lake north of here! Get them there and I'll do the rest!" She blinked, surprised at now being acknowledged as princess but nodded. She broke away from the fight and whistled loudly. The pack snarled and turned their attention on Taira and began to dart toward her. Taira blinked not anticipating the speed of them. "Oh shi…" She started before turning and running north for her life. Seeing the pack gaining, he pulled her from the demon's path and ran through the treetops ensuring the dogs followed close behind. "Hold on!"
The trees began to thin out until they had reached another clearing. The waters looked a little dirtier but it was enormous! Sabre let Taira down and looked to her. "Stay here. If anybody is going to die in honour of saving my family's land, it's going to be myself." He leapt down from the tree and sprinted for the reservoir closely followed by the demon hoard. She blinked as he ran into the waters and watched closely. "I do NOT do the damsel in distress princess…" She grumbled, sounding unamused. As the waters splashed and were disturbed the dogs piled in afterward. He had swum to the centre and just waited there, partially submerged. Once all had entered, a scene of great pain was displayed right in front of Taira. The waters lit up fuelled by the harsh jolting power of Sabre's whip. The demons all screamed almost in unison as the quiet harmony of the forest was pierced. The screaming eventually stopped and demons floated in the waters… dead. Sabre was nowhere to be seen. Taira slowly shuffled down from the tree and towards the waters edge to search. "Come on… where are you?"
A single, battered and hooded figure crawled out of the water exhausted. Whip still in hand as he dragged it along the ground behind him. He stumbled three steps before collapsing to the ground soon after. The aquamarine sphere housed in the whip then cracking before shattering into hundreds of glass shards. "Ugh… You doofus…" she growled to herself as she ran over to him. She lifted his head and checked him over slowly before dragging him back to the sanctuary of the trees for some cover. As they came to rest, a new sphere then reformed back into Sabre's whip… a different colour this time however as he came to shortly after. She looked down at him with his head rested on her lap. The first thing Sabre saw was the young girl's eyes looking into his own. "Good to see you're still with us." He jumped in surprise and looked around confused. "I'm… still alive?" He searched around trying to check for something, maybe injuries? She put her hands round his shoulders to calm him down. "Sheeeesh… You're fine!" Once he eventually HAD calmed down, he looked at her again, only to be lightly slapped across the face. "THAT'S for leaving a damsel in distress up a tree."
"Pah… Indeed." He sneered. His gaze eventually settled as he looked at his whip. He noticed the sphere was a different colour but made no real fuss of it. "I'm making one thing clear princess, I don't trust you. But you know something about that sorceress… don't you?" Taira nodded slowly and shut her eyes. "Yes… Her name is Merlina… She was an advisory to my mother and father."
"To the crown?"
"Yes…" She opened her eyes. "My mother trusted her more than anyone else in the castle. She unfortunately didn't know that she was plotting whilst her back was turned. It was eventually the death of her… rest her soul." Sabre seemed a little taken aback from the girl's story and was keen to know more. "I had overheard many tales of regicide… Such would explain the doubts I have surrounding you. What about your father?" She sniffed unhappily. "Dead… With his heart broken from my Mother's death Merlina soon took advantage."
"What about those guards?"
"Searching for me…" she drew a sharp breath. "I was an only child… Thus less of a threat to Merlina's plans. I stole some old servant garments and tried to escape unnoticed. I was trying to get to Black Cauldron Mountain. Two of my father's knights both live there and I know both of them well, especially seeing I was close to the council." Sabre shut his eyes. "I see… So, you're on your way to try and stop this madwoman. I don't know how on earth she came to know of my family's sacred domain… and frankly I don't want to. But if your quest will help protect what is most precious to my family… then be on your way." He bowed his head and stood back. She pushed him teasingly and shook her head. "As for now… I'm not one for formalities. Besides… I'm hardly your run-of-the-mill princess as you've seen." Sabre growled quietly… hardly being one for humour. "The mountain you seek is further north beyond the forest."
"Thank you… Sabre. It is much appreciated." With the parting exchanges given, Sabre leapt back up into the trees and back south towards the lake. Taira watched him disappear and whispered to the wind. "Stay well… Sabre." She turned to see the vast mountain rising above the trees on the near-horizon Clouds had begun to fill the sky and the land darkened a little." She reached the foot of the mountain and stared up it. A long climb was ahead. Rain lightly patted down on her face as the clouds became even thicker. She wiped the raindrops from her brow and decided to seek shelter and rest before the ascent. She sought the cover of nearby trees and waited. The rains had also began to fall around Sabre's oasis. He looked to the skies puzzled… something was off…
In a castle keep not too far from the entrance to the forest, Merlina sat in a large window-side chair with her hands wrapped around a small crystal ball. She heard the summoned rain fall outside over the kingdom. "Hmm… She must be stopped…" she told herself, tapping her fingers against the artefact.
"The clouds mistress… they gather." A voice said from a shadowed corner.