In a Heartbeat

My head spun to the right, spotting quickly the scruffy man who had crept up on us. He wore torn peasant clothes and had a sword in his hand. Back behind the tree-line were four other men sitting on horses, lazily waiting. Bandits. They were almost unheard of in the Cardolian Kingdom, but that did not mean they did not exist. How could I have been so careless and endangered Evangeline?

“Now, I’m real sorry, but we’re gonna have ta take all ya belongings,” the man slurred sarcastically, his voice thick with the lazily shortenings of the language.

“You are not taking anything from us,” I replied forcefully before Evangeline could give in. I knew she would. She would do anything to get them to leave us alone, but that was not how this could happen. I had to show her I was a man who could protect her, that I was worthy of her. After Matthew had rescued her, he had moved ahead of me in yet another area, and I was still inexperienced. I had to excel. I had to beat or equal him at something!

“Maybe I could have a bit a fun with this lovely young lass instead…” the fiend suggested and I grimaced. The thought of her with the Prince was a bad enough image, but with a dirty man like him… That was unbearable. I refused to let her be harmed.

“That is also not an option,” I said as I stood up slowly. Eva grabbed my arm and tugged, trying to get me back down.

“Brian! What are you doing? Let them take what they want so they leave us alone!” she hissed. I shook my head and her hand dropped back to her side. Quickly crouching, I met her eyes. Evangeline was worried, but that only confirmed that I had to do the right thing and guard her. If she was not prepared to leave this place, I had to be brave enough to stay.

“I have this under control. Do not fret,” I said gently before standing completely and facing the bandit. “I suppose this issue will not leave without a fight, will it?” The man shook his head.

“There are a lotta good supplies. I ain’t letting you leave here with them,” he sneered and I nodded. Great… My stomach was filling with nerves, but I did my best to not show it. I had to be strong.

“Give me a sword and I will fight you fairly. Defeat me and I will willingly hand you the supplies,” I told him. He raised his eyebrows, clearly thinking I would not be any sort of a challenge. I was not that muscular at all and he could probably tell by my dyed hair that I was a low class man. He took me as an easy defeat. No wonder they had decided to prey on us.

“Alrigh’…” the man agreed before turning his back and heading towards his fellow robbers. I relaxed a little, only to tense a moment later as Evangeline touched my leg.

“Brian! What on earth do you think you are doing?” she questioned furiously. It hurt to see her so scared, but I knew I had no other choice.

“I am protecting you,” I reassured her as calmly as I could manage.

“But- You have no training! You cannot possible use a sword and beat him!”

“Please, Eva, do not worry,” I repeated before walking away from her. I met the bandit halfway and he handed me one of his friends’ swords. Once it was in my hands I tested its weight and got it comfortable in my right hand. I was so anxious, but I had faith in myself.

“Let’s see what you’re capable of,” the man said as he poised himself, showing he was prepared to fight me. I took in a deep breath.

“When you are ready,” I told him. He nodded, then lunged forwards. I quickly moved my sword to block his simple attack. It was easier than I had expected. The man drew back and sent his blade in my direction once more, but again I blocked him. He was too bulky to be sufficiently fast, so he was easy to prevent an attack from. My hopes went up. Maybe I could really defeat him!

“Try and hit me!” he shouted angrily once he had clearly become fed up with me just blocking his attacks. I ignored his request and watched as his frustration made his assaults less efficient. Soon, his attempts to strike me were completely predictable, and I was able to send my sword out in a simple jabbing attack. The blade sliced right through his abdomen. I pulled back, a bit stunned that I had just harmed a stranger like that. But had I not caused him pain, he would have done a lot worse to me and Evangeline. I had done the right thing. After I had taken a few steps back, the man collapsed and a fellow bandit joined his side.

“You will pay for that!” he yelled at me, pulling out his own sword and charging me. I used the same straightforward technique, and the new man soon became tired and careless with his striking. Once again, I took advantage of that and hit him in the same spot. He fell to the ground too. I breathed in deeply, trying to rid myself of the disbelief that I was fighting and winning.

“That is enough. We will leave,” another bandit announced. I nodded, respecting their decision. The remaining men carefully hoisted their partners onto the horses and then left hurriedly. I approached a shocked Evangeline and chucked the bloodied sword into the lake as far as I could throw it.

“Br- Brian…” she stuttered from her spot on the blanket. “How… How… How did you…” Eva trailed off, not bothering to attempt to speak anymore. I smiled shyly and dropped next to her.

“Are you alright, my Princess?” I asked. Her wide eyes filled with a little bit of happiness, knowing I was playing around by not calling her by her name.

“How…?”

“You want to know my secret?” I said softly and she nodded.

“Yes, please.”

“Once we declared war against the Tyronian Kingdom, most of the male villagers got some sort of training in case they were needed for fighting against the warriors. I watched some sessions, and even joined in at the back of a class one day. I… I had a feeling I would need the skill one day, and I was correct,” I admitted, so glad that I had listened to my instinct and learned some basic technique.

“I cannot believe that happened… I thought you were absolutely insane when you challenged him… I thought you were going to be injured, or worse, but you… you defeated him…”

“I want to be able to protect you, Eva. I hope I showed you I am able to do so, and that I am worthy of being your partner,” I said.

“Brian, you have always been worthy in my eyes,” she replied sweetly before leaning forwards and kissing me. “I love you, too…” A grin spread across my lips, and it was so big I almost could not kiss her again. But I did and it was absolutely wonderful. I felt like I was floating on clouds. Every single inch of me felt purely happy. Afterwards, we decided it would be best to leave before we came across any further trouble. We packed up the gear and mounted the horse, then cantered back towards the town. Evangeline stopped at the same spot that she had picked me up earlier and we said our goodbyes for the time being. I went straight to see James again.

“James!” I called out once I spotted him putting horse manure beneath a plant. “We are not running away together.”

“That is a shame,” he said in a clearly disappointed tone. But that could not ruin the joy I still felt.

“She loves me,” I told him. He paused and looked up from his work.

“No…” James muttered with disbelief. I bit my lip and nodded slightly. “I am very pleased for you. I will be hoping every day that this sticky situation somehow works out for you two.”

“Me too…” I whispered, the happiness leaving me because of his remark.