Chase your dreams away
glass needles in the hay
the sun forgives the clouds
you are my holy shroud
-Muse, "Eternally Missed"

Her oath given she rose just as fluidly as she had knelt. That the two guards that had the initial jump on her moved to the side, back and away from the incoming fight did not phase her. She expected as much. Better for them to be there than it was for them to be in the way was how she felt about it. She did not know their fighting skills, or styles, or if they were simply for show. In an instance like this, it was not wise to find out. It was far easier, far better, to just rely on herself and her own skills than the unknown.

That she had stunned the Priestess had registered but she would gloat about it later. The reports said she was a Seer, but that was not the sole reason the Queen desired her presence on the Moon. Her falchion shifted from hand to hand as she slipped off her pack, setting it aside. There was no time to do anything beyond that, for the two scouts were already making their way to what would be their grave.

She caught the first as he raised the battleaxe up high to come crashing down on her with a swift kick to his stomach, following through as he bent over to gasp for air with her falchion to block the incoming swing of the second's sword. This was all a dance to her, one that she excelled in. Dancing of any sort though she did, from the waltz, to swordplay, to love making. She was of Venus, the Princess of the planet, blessed by the Goddess and the embodiment of Love and Beauty.

She would make anything look beautiful.

She made everything look beautiful.

She spun about, deflecting the swing of the axe as she nimbly moved, ducking under the swing of the sword. With one hand to her blade the other made a fist, socking the sword wielder behind the leg right to his hamstring. As he spasmed, forgetting his place while a hand went to it instantly, she was rising, the sharp edge of the falchion taking his head off at the shoulders with a swipe. The body she kept between her and the one with the axe, long enough before her booted foot rose, sending the headless corpse at his companion.

Reacting how she anticipated she lunged forward, watching with mute satisfaction as the slightly curved blade exited out of his back. Rather than bask in the moment she withdrew; they had reinforcements after all. A flick of her wrist dislodged the blood that was currently coating her blade, ignoring the looks from both Priestess and guards. She was in her zone, not her natural element but one that she learned to adopt. The wave came as she expected, losing the need for elegance for the need to kill and do so quickly.

Even with the inlet allowing only so many in at any given time, she could only handle so many at once. The two guards seemed to be done standing around and staring, joining in the carnage with her. She did not rely on them to guard her back, much less her flank, instead allowing them to deal with those that escaped the nature of her whirling falchion. Behind her, her cloak snapped and spun, never once becoming a hindrance though so many reached for it to pull her off balance.

She allowed a few as it meant she could kill someone approaching instead, the moment catching up with her though as she was overwhelmed. The two guards were as well, fighting against five between the two of them. The last of the scouting party was in the small area, she was contending with three on her own when she looked up beyond her opponents.

One was approaching the Priestess.

Igniting a fury in her, her falchion took the hand of one off cleanly, her fist cracked into another's face, her booted kick shoved one away. She had to get there, she had to protect her charge. She could already see him, an ugly brute of a man, raising a flanged mace. He wasn't out to capture her; he wanted her dead. And the Priestess was too busy standing there in perhaps shock to do anything to stop him.

She felt a bladed edge draw a red hot line against her calf, shredding the material to lay claim to skin. Gritting her teeth she killed one of the three with a messy cut, barely having a chance to recover as she struggled to buy time. Her fist slammed into another's stomach, parrying the blow of the second before running him through. With a vicious hack, she brought the curved weapon down on the last one's shoulder, cleaving through bone and muscle the tempered steel of her falchion would not be denied or stopped.

Freed she lurched forward, blade at the ready to thrust forward to the man after her Priestess when she stumbled. A glance back that she couldn't afford was taken anyway, seeing one of the dying, but not fully dead, grasp her cloak. Delaying her. No. Fuck! Her free hand grabbed the cloak edge, wrenching it free as she spun around, a step back taken she lost track momentarily of where she was at, colliding with the man… the mace…

The world went hazy in a hurry, the sound of metal connecting with her helmet, tearing through it like it was nothing, like it was simple parchment. The metal gave way, the mace's flanged edge ate into her temple, spilling blood. The helmet was useless now, its silvery surface turning a shade of red as she stumbled almost drunkenly. The man, sensing his impending victory, raised his mace again, this time to crack open her skull the rest of the way.

Only for her falchion to weakly rise, and with a duty born surge of strength, bury itself in his eye.

She stumbled.

Her blue eyes looked about with wild abandon yet not a care in the world at the same time. Woozily she swayed, her gaze taking in the Priestess who was looking at her so strangely, saying something that she couldn't hear, shouting something that was important but she couldn't make sense of.

The world went black as she collapsed.

A/N: Cliffhangers are cool. You know what is better than cliffhangers though? Reviews I think are better. Huge thanks to Thunderfall for it.