In a Heartbeat

Matthew stood in the doorway, holding his bloodied sword in a fight preparation stance. The man from Tyronian who had captured me followed suit, bracing himself also for the battle.

“You will leave her be,” Matthew growled at the enemy as he slowly moved forwards. If you are able to pull this off, Matthew, I will no longer hate you, I promise… All I want is to see my Brian again…

“You should leave now, Prince,” the man spat, gradually moving sideways to stand in front of me more. “I will not harm you or the Princess if you drop your sword and go back inside.”

“Not going to happen,” Matthew’s voice rumbled.

“Do you not know how well-trained I am? I am from Tyronian, the superior war Kingdom! I can defeat you with one hand tied behind my back!” The enemy was right. Matthew would die if he fought him. There is no way to beat a Tyronian man singlehandedly.

“Matthew! Please! Do not do this! He is too strong!” I pleaded, throwing Matthew slightly off guard.

“Evangeline, I cannot let him take you away! I am to protect you!” he shouted back.

“Then come for me later with an army so you stand a chance! This is too risky!” I argued. I wished to live and not be a prisoner at the Tyronian Kingdom, but I did not wish for Matthew to become hurt because of me.

“I am not letting you go to that place,” Matthew said in an insisting voice. He was not going to back down.

“Do your worst,” the man from Tyronian mocked, sending Matthew lunging forwards. The man moved in a flash and Matthew’s sword stopped right in front of my chest. I gasped and my legs became weak, so I gripped onto the horse for support. A punch was thrown into the side of Matthew’s head, and he spun around to quickly meet the opponent’s sword with his own, thrashing the best he could against him. The enemy swiftly kicked Matthew’s knee and he buckled, his large figure tumbling to the ground.

“You are not supposed to kick when sword fighting!” Matthew shouted, annoyed that he had received a cheap shot.

“I do not care. I am fighting the way I have been taught, and I will win because of that,” the man stated simply as he lowered his sword to Matthew’s throat, pointing it right in the middle. “Care to continue? Or admit defeat now?”

“Never!” Matthew yelled as he whacked the enemy’s sword aside with his own. The man tried to keep Matthew down, but somehow he got back on his feet. A huge push was received by the enemy which gave the thrower some time to regain his strength. Matthew and the foreign man then began the most intense swordfight I had ever witnessed. It was very quick paced, with both of the contenders moving back and forth as they tried to gain the advantage, both equally determined to not lose. But then, the enemy started wearing Matthew out and reversing him towards the castle’s stone wall. Like I had thought, there was no way Matthew could win, even though he was putting up a decent fight. The Prince cried out as his back hit the wall, the enemy staying close as he stared him down.

“Give up?” the enemy offered and Matthew glanced over at me. I think he could see how worried and stressed I was, so he put on a brave face and stared the Tyronian man in the eye.

“No,” Matthew said sternly before swinging his leg quickly. The tip of his boot caught the man in between his legs, just below where the armour stopped. The fiend cried out in extreme pain, clutching the area where he had just been kicked with his free hand.

“You bastard!” the Tyronian man cursed, making Matthew frown even more as he approached him with great posture, his sword lowered and pointing at the man who was cowering slightly on the ground. The enemy tried to regain his momentum, hitting the Prince’s sword a few more times in a desperate attempt to recover from the low blow. But he could not do it. Matthew managed to fling the Tyronian man’s sword out of his hand and across the ground so it was too far for him to reach. He then stood above him, towering as he glared down with stern eyes. Matthew held the tip of his sword against the man’s throat, a smidgen of blood trickling from the point and down the enemy’s skin.

“You are the bastard,” Matthew growled as he dug the sword in a little bit more. The cries of pain were horrible, and I looked away, holding onto the horse for comfort. This was why I detested war so much. I hated death and suffering. It scared me so much… “Your Kingdom has made a huge mistake attacking mine, especially with the Princess here. I will defeat your King and take over your land. Your people will suffer for the grief they have caused my people here tonight. You will be glad that you are dying now and not later.” There was a horrible noise with a small sound of agony. Moments passed as I kept my eyes squinted shut as I held onto the animal. Eventually, an arm was placed around me.

“Matthew…” I whispered, feeling security wash over me with his touch. I was now safe. Matthew had rescued me…

“Everything is fine, now. No one can hurt you,” he whispered before kissing my forehead gently. I pulled away from the horse and wrapped my arms around him, holding his cold armour against my body as tight as I could without it hurting. Matthew was my protector. He defeated a soldier from Tyronian, of all places… They were so strong, trained so well… How did he do it? Matthew was talented at fighting and tall and muscular, things that Brian was not. He was just a servant, knew no fighting skills as he would not be able to afford the training and was not in our army, and was considerably smaller and weaker than Matthew. Brian would not be able to defend me, had he been in the same situation. Perhaps Matthew was a better choice? Maybe he would be a better King than Brian ever could be? Though, that would not be much of a surprise, since Matthew was born to this.

“Son! Are you alright?” a voice called and we broke our embrace, though Matthew kept a defensive and calming arm across my shoulders. I saw his father standing in the doorway, panic across his face.

“I am fine. They almost captured Evangeline, but I saved her,” he announced and his father gave a warm smile to both of us.

“That is good news. The town is working hard to put out the fires. The General is now posting defence all around the Kingdom in preparation for another attack. I need you to be there for your people, to aid them and prove you will be a good King in the near future,” he ordered and Matthew nodded.

“I will show Evangeline back to our room and ensure she is cared for before assisting our people,” Matthew replied and the King nodded with approval. We entered the castle again and he led me back to his room, allowing me to sit on the edge of the bed as soon as we arrived. Matthew crouched in front of me, our eyes level. “How do you feel?”

“A bit shaken…” I admitted with a little laugh, trying to ease my tension. As Matthew ran his hand softly down the side of my face while gazing into my eyes, there was a small knock on the door.

“Enter!” Matthew boomed and the doors opened to reveal a small man dressed in black.

“My Prince… My King sent me to you, thinking you might need me to fetch you something,” he said softly, quite a bit of fear in his voice.

“Do you need anything, Evangeline?” Matthew asked politely, turning back to me.

“Um, some water would be nice…” I answered and he nodded.

“Slave! Some water for the Princess!” he shouted and the servant hurried out. Matthew met my eyes again, his face composed and gentle once more. I kept my cool, not wanting to show my disgust for how he treated the servant. “I will leave now and help my people. I do not know when I will return, so please just sleep and I will see you in the morning.”

“Alright,” I said with a nod, Matthew leaving soon after. A few minutes later and I had had a drink, calmed down and his servant had left, clearly surprised at how kind I was to him. I undressed and changed into my sleepwear that I found in my bag in Matthew’s changing area, then climbed into bed, slightly shaking a little. Despite the commotion I could hear from the town busying themselves with work, I was able to fall asleep eventually. At some point in the early hours of the morning, I heard the doors opening again. Footsteps crept across the floor and to the dressing corner where sounds were heard for a minute. Then, the feet came to the bedside and went under the blankets with me. I was half asleep and comfortable so did not move, though I knew it was Matthew. He placed a kiss on the back of my head before moving closer against my back and putting an arm across me, holding me intimately and lovingly against his body. I felt secure again, now knowing for certain that he could easily save me from harm if the occasion arises, which it had. He was my protector…