I DO NOT OWN THIS STORY!
This is a story written by Voltage and was on the Lovestruck app that was shut down due to lack of funding.
I am simply writing the stories from the app out as I prefer to read them this way and nobody has yet to do so.
I have typed this out word for word from the app except for a few bits to help identify people sense there are no pictures to see who is talking.
If you have any suggestions on how to make this flow better, please let me know!

Love & Legends - Saerys Route

Season 1: Chapter 4

"What is the MEANING of this!"

"Why, dear citizens, could it be that not even your poor beloved lord knows of the sickness lurking in his own home?"

"Surely not!"

Saerys' eyes are fixed on the intruder, his glare colder than deep winter.

I slide close to him and lean just enough to hiss in his ear.

"Who is this creep?"

"…"

(I think that's his way of saying 'Very bad news.')

"I will not hear such slander against a trusted retainer on this day of all-!" yells Reiner.

"Surely not, I say! Surely this could be no simple case of blissful ignorance!"

"This lurking calamity and the image of the Witch Queen herself, safe at the lord's castle on the eve of our celebration?"

"If you are implying what you seem to be…" says August.

The stranger only sneers, sweeping a look over the group before fixing it on Saerys.

"It is not mine to say what may or may not be, good knight, only to spread the word of those without privilege of the Lord's ear."

"Or would you seek to bind my tongue, mayhap with the edge of your blade?"

"Slay the dissenters, is this your Lord's way?"

August growls and looks to Reiner, who shakes his head.

"I will not have blood in the streets on this day."

The murmuring of the crowd has grown to a dull roar, the streets packed with hard-eyed onlookers.

"Good people, is it not strange that this woman, this vision of the Witch Queen, comes to you at the side of a demon?"

"And no ordinary demon, but one branded; see the fire in his eyes?"

"…"

(I have no idea how he's managing to keep quiet. This is slander!)

Even so, I can see the tension in Saerys' shoulders and arms, his knuckles gone white.

"Lord Reiner, there is little I would like better right now than to reduce this cur to-!"

"No, Altea. We defend if we must, but only that."

"I ask but one thing, my people: will you allow this?"

"See with your own eyes, think with your own minds, and tell them your answer!"

The roar of the crowd surges, and the stranger disappears into it.

From somewhere in there, a rock sails toward Saerys.

It's a lousy throw at best, but it makes up the townspeople's minds.

The crowd rushes forward as Reiner's voice rings out, steady and clear.

"To me!"

"With me. Move quickly."

He grips my wrist firmly, pulls me back behind Lord Reiner and the others.

"Form a wall! Protect Saerys and Lady MC!"

"Had I known the festivities would include a riot, I would have borrowed a suit of armor." Says Iseul.

"I am not sure we can hold back half the town, armor or no!" replies Altea.

The others stand strong between us and the crowd, and I have to shout for Saerys to hear me.

"I don't think we can just hang out here, Saerys!"

"Lord Reiner, what would you have us do?"

Reiner grunts, centering his weight to keep steady against the crowd.

"Saerys, take Lady MC and get clear of the town!"

"The city is not safe for either of you right now!"

Without another word, Saerys hoists me into his arms.

"Hold on."

"What are we-?"

Before I can finish the question, the world blurs as Saerys drops into a sprint.

The others, the crowd, the town; we leave them all behind.

Saerys doesn't slow until we're way past the tree-line.

I open my eyes when I feel him finally come to a stop; the wind when he was running full-tilt had stung.

"This should be far enough."

He sets me down more gently than I expected and steps away with a glance over his shoulder, back at the distant town.

(It looks like we covered nearly a mile in… what, a minute and a half?)

(One hell of a way to travel.)

(More to the point…)

"Okay, what was that all about?"

"Who was that guy and why does he have the world's biggest grudge against you?"

"My problems need not involve you."

"They are mine to contend with."

"Your problems just got you run out of town!"

"Saerys, I'm not just being nosy here."

"I'm worried about you, alright?"

"That guy looked like serious bad news."

Saerys paces the clearing, his hands twitching to clench into fists.

(This is the most upset I've ever seen him, I think.)

(Not much gets past his self-control even this much.)

"…The man is named Lennox. Lennox Arnold."

"He served the Witch Queen as a general during her reign."

"So what's up with him now?"

"What's with the whole 'turning up in the middle of a party and starting a riot' thing?"

"He never stopped serving her. Now he heads a …religion, of sorts."

"Devotees of the Witch Queen."

"What-?! But she was like, the worst thing that ever happened around here!"

"Why would anyone…worship that?"

He pauses his pacing and considers his words for a moment, his mismatched glare fixed on the grass at his feet.

"Evil is a matter of perspective. Some think only their own."

(And the people in town were so quick to believe him…)

(I guess we're more easily swayed than we'd like to think…)

"He has taken to dogging my steps wherever I go."

"No matter where I travel, it seems he has already been or is soon to arrive."

"…And it usually goes as well as it did back there?"

"Usually, I am alone."

(Ouch. Poor guy.)

"Why you? What's he got against you specifically?"

Saerys huffs, frustrated.

"If only I knew that."

"Now he moves to implicate Lord Reiner, tarnish his standing with the people through me."

"I cannot stay here."

"I think you should ask the other about this. It sounds like a pretty big deal."

"…You may be right. Their counsel would be welcome.

"I get the feeling whatever this is doing, it involves all of you. Call it a hunch."

He clenches a hand into a fist for just a moment.

"That is…not unlikely. Even so, I cannot stand to burden them."

(He's gonna wear a track in the dirt, pacing like that.)

(The worst part of this whole mess is how easily it would have been to avoid.)

(He could just leave town or lie low for a while… If I hadn't made him stay.)

A gulf opens up in the quiet between us, stretching wide and tremendously uncomfortable.

With everything laid out like this, it's clear that there's no easy answer.

"…So , uh. What do we do now?"

"After nightfall we will return to the castle."

With that, he falls silent.

The wait is long, but in the end it's… oddly peaceful.

I watch the clouds roll by and change color, bright copper to pale peach-skin.

"…That is dark enough. If we keep clear of the city, we should be safe walking back."

"Yeah I definitely think that's long enough."

"I didn't bring a sleeping bag or anything, y'know?"

He gives me a curious look, his eyes clearly visible in the half-light.

"I would not have-!"

He freezes suddenly, his glare fixed on me.

(….No, not on me. He's looking past me, at something right…over…my…)

"Aah!"

I whirl around and leap back, peering into the darkness.

"Why. Hello again."

"You."

Lennox strides out of the gloom, hands folded before him and grinning in a way that the low light turns eerie.

"Yes, I."

"My lady, I must apologize, quite sincerely, for the…uncouth nature of our last meeting."

"Uncouth?! You started a riot!"

Saerys grips my shoulder with a hand, guiding me back behind him.

"Ah, naught but a grievous misunderstanding."

"And yes, I confess, and error in my judgment!"

"Alas, alas, for my diversion failed."

"You see, my lady, I sought to draw the demon away from you, and in so doing to free you from his cruel grasp."

"Excuse you? I asked him to guard me!"

"Yes, I imagine you did. I imagine you thought yourself well in control, yes, yes."

"Okay, no. You're just trying to make me doubt what I know!"

"Too late, I was, too late! Even now, the demon clings to his prey!"

"Now I must-"

"That is enough."

A sudden rush nearly knocks me off balance, and in the space of a heartbeat Saerys is across the clearing.

(So fast!)

"Hgk-!"

The first blow lands square on Lennox's forearm, the force driving him back a pace.

"So—ah—quick to show your true colors, demon."

He flicks his forearms out, slender blades flashing in each hand.

"Then allow me to lay them bare."

This time they meet in the middle, steel gleaming as Saerys dances in and around, blows pouring against Lennox's guard.

(…Near his guard, actually.)

(Somehow, Lennox is always half a step ahead, and Saerys can't land a clean hit.)

A few times, the daggers force Saerys to duck or weave, but the onslaught keeps Lennox defensive, and he's being driven back.

"Grr-!"

With a low growl, Saerys shifts his stance suddenly, dropping his weight low and torquing his frame to pour all he's got into a single blow.

At that, real panic flashes across his foe's face for the first time.

Lennox takes a flailing leap away just as the fist snaps forward, blasting a deep gouge in a tree with a sound like a gunshot.

(Sweet fuck! If that had connected…!)

The same thoughts seem to be running through Lennox's mind, as he dashes back to the trees.

"I must retreat for now, my lady, and fight another day. But make no mistake, no."

"I will be back for you."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Authors Note:
I plan to try and add a chapter once a week but I hold no promises.
I also plan to do all the routes for Love & Legends as well as the other stories that were on the app.
If you would like to watch the scenes that this story is typed from simply search the story name in YouTube and you are sure to find it.
If anybody has any questions please do not be afraid to ask.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the story as much as I did!
Again I DO NOT OWN THIS STORY!