Swords & Dragons

Nikolai’s P.O.V.

The trip to Neros, the capital of Iriee, was supposed to take a total of five days. By nightfall we were supposed to hit the outskirts of Delnar, cross into the foreboding territory known only as the “Dead Space” for two days before a gripphon ride at the outer town of Yu-nes would take us to the capital.

I think the fact we would only stay in our homeland for a day was what gripped Ellie the most. True to her teaching and true to her nature, she never let anyone outside know her fear and her concerns. She kept her head high – and while she didn’t wave or act overly enthused to the people around her, neither did she ignore them. She would smile reassuring at the children that would run with the horses, their hands tangling in her palomino’s mane and chatter to the men and women who stood at a distance as they rode. They had their concerns, and it was like they could sense hers. I couldn’t lie – no one was happy about the exchange. Many wished that the Prince would come to Delnar.

“It would be safer!” they claimed. “A girl is not trained to defend herself if she is attacked like a boy! What if their King has his son trained to be a killer?” And they complained and they raged and they were petrified for their sweet princess; their innocent princess. They knew she would do right by them, but they feared that Iriee would not. A marriage like this could yield her prisoner through an unwavering piece of paper; so many of those damn things – paper that people took as law and truth. I loathed it.

It was when we were out of the city that my princess’ resolve began to crack. Slowly her head would bow lower and lower until I could not see her face, and I could not tell if the shaking was simply her horse as it stepped or her grief. None of the other knights knew how to comfort her, so they simply would fill the air with their own chatter to kill the time.

“Lord Marcus, they say that Neros is also known as The City of Blood. You’ve been there once before, have you not? What was it like?” one of the knights, Landon, asked. He was my superior by a year – and the boy that I resented for a good portion of my life. His father was another victim of The Great War, and resolved to become a knight to keep up his family name and bring back the money that was lost after his father’s death. I hated him purely because he was everything I thought I could never achieve. He was strong and smart – and it was he who became a knight before me and filled the last spot in the Princess’ royal guard. It was only through her negotiation that I was allowed after him and a special word put in by her father.

“Aye, Broxxan and I assaulted the gates back in the war,” Lord Marcus responded, a small smile appearing on his wrinkled face as he tapped his horse lightly with his whip. He was the captain of Ellie’s guard, and was one of the few men still enrolled in the military from the war. These days he served more of a navigator’s roll then military personnel, but he was skilled all the same. “As you’d expect, it’s not painted in blood as many would have you believe, but everything’s red. The streets, the buildings… even the people seem to wear red. It is a blood red, as well. It was… well… terrifying when you’re trying to infiltrate it.”

“Awful, too, if yeh wearing anythin’ else, lad,” Broxxan replied. He was the oddball of a party – a Stoneskin Dwarf from the Terrac peaks almost a week’s ride north of Delnar. Up there the chill was enough to kill a man, though the rumor was they kept themselves warm from a healthy appetite for their bitter ale. When the Great War was at its peak, they would arm themselves with slingshots filled with rock and call up magic from their earth gods to sunder their enemies. These days Broxxan was envoy for the King and an adviser to Ellie. Most of what she knew about Dwarves she had gotten from him.

“The women there are told to be quite beautiful. Is that true?” Landon kept at his questioning. I pressed my lips shut to listen, but I couldn’t stop my eyes trailing to my golden haired princess. In my eyes, there was no greater beauty.

“Bah! Purest if yeh were askin’ me. Pretty lil’ maidens who lace their dresses too tight so they’re ti-“ Broxxan caught himself before he could betray his crude mouth to Ellie and would cough to correct himself. Not that what he was saying was not crude in itself, but almost everyone had come to expect Broxxan’s foul mouth and violent temper. It was the way of his people; he simply corrected himself for respect to his allies. “Breasts fall ou’. Trust me, lad, yeh’d be doin’ better with one o’ yeh own kind. They only look ou’ for their own interests, bugger anyone o’ ‘ad a different view or somethin’.”

“So only humans live in the city?” Landon would interject.

“Those who are not live in the slums, prisons or exile,” Lord Marcus explained, pointedly ignoring Broxxan as he spat loudly on the road at his words. “They used other species during the war, but most of it was slave labor. It’s things like these that our Princess Eliezra will have to combat when her future husband comes to the throne.”

Everyone fell silent then, their eyes training to Ellie as she seemed lost in her own little world. When she noticed they were all staring at her she seemed to snap back to reality. She’d straighten up, roll her shoulders and adjust her grip on the reigns, smiling as confidently as she could manage.

“I am sure my future husband will be most kind to my requests. For the peace of our kingdoms, he will have to take some of our customs into consideration.”

I bit back my retort – my obvious plea for her to reconsider her choices. For what if the Prince was not kind? What if he was as much of a Tyrant as what led to the war in the first place?

Silent, but not defeated, I carried on.



I managed to catch a word to Ellie late that afternoon. I knew she was making an effort to avoid me for fear of what I would say, but I had to know that she was certain of the choices she was about to undertake. We had only just begun, and a foolish part of me envisioned a scenario where she would refuse the duty she had to undertake. I thought, just perhaps, I could take her for my own and she would be happy. I didn’t have much, but what could stop me from sweeping her off my feet with what I had? My knighthood had given me enough money to secure a small farm, and I felt like a sick, love struck page as I thought of her tending to animals and learning how to cook in a small cottage by the mountainside. I thought of her as she would develop freckles from the sun and her hair would shine in it, and how she would run to me each afternoon when I got home from selling the fruit of our labors.

“You can’t run from me forever you know,” I whispered once I got close to her. Ellie would jump once again, as if she had hoped being oblivious to my presence would allow her some peace. It didn’t – and she’d gulp loudly and slowly turn her head to face me. We kept our voices down for the most part; my fear being that my familiarity to her would lead us to be separated.

“I wasn’t avoiding you…” she began, tossing her head so that her wave of blonde hair would tumble around her face to hide herself from me. “I’ve been thinking. I want a clear mind for what’s about to come and I don’t want influence.”

“And you think I would influence you?” I asked, trying to hide the offence in my voice. Ellie paused in what she was about to say, allowing me to continue. “Ellie, I have your best interests at heart. I want nothing more than for you to be happy –“

“I am happy.” She snapped, her sudden hostility surprising me. I backed up, notably enough for her to sigh. She’d grab at her hair, threading her fingers through the strands irritably. “I’m as happy as I can be. I’m going to a grand kingdom to marry a handsome prince and we’ll have lots of babies and the kingdom will be secure. What princess… what woman would want any more than that?”

“The duty will kill you. If not the physical strain, the mental will do you in. You will be a husk of what you were. I didn’t think you’d want that at all,” I argued. Ellie would sigh again, looking away from me and out to the road. It didn’t deter me. “Imagine what else you could have! Remember when we were kids, huh? We’d talk about living in the hills and milking cows and feeding chickens. You could have something like that if you tried. Heck…” I trailed off, a joking tone coming to my voice. I didn’t want to sound desperate, and yet I was. I was scared stupid for her. “I could steal you tonight. Claim that bandits got us both and just run away. We could live somewhere where we’d know nothing of politics or duty. It would just be us.”

“If only life was that simple, Nikolai.” My princess would turn to me, and while her mint green eyes showed her hurt, she’d smile all the same. “But I am a princess. I simply cannot run from duty. What would my parents say - my people? There is a time when one must put aside their happiness for the good of others. You are lucky. When this is all done, you’ll be able to find a nice wife and settle. You will have all the blessings of the court. I guarantee it. I couldn’t be a farm hand’s wife. I can’t raise cattle, I can’t care for sheep. You remember – one almost trod on me when we were ten.”

The word “Princess” was really the biggest pang of them all. It was with bitter disappointment she denied my offer to her. I knew it all along, but I was stupid enough to try and believe. She was a princess and I was the pauper. Never to be, never to have even existed to the point we were at all.

“At least consider it,” I mumbled, tugging gently on the reigns to move my steed back into place behind her. She shook her head and leaned over to pet her horse, as if trying to seek comfort from him.

“I have. Trust me.”



The night was wet and raining. The further we got to the edge of the country the more barren it became. The damage from the war was still evident – gaping holes in the ground from canons and magical fire, trees white as a ghost from exposure to damage and bones shooting from the earth like knives. No farms existed out here, no taverns. This was the ground the war edged too and it had yet to heal. The rain only made it worse with its mud that made the horses slip and cover everyone in dirt. The knights, Ellie and I found a small outcrop of rock surrounded by trees to make camp, and arrangements for Ellie’s tent were made as soon as we all landed safely on our feet. She retired early for the night, and when all attempts to make a fire were extinguished, the knights all dragged out wet, tired and dirty bodies to bed.

All but me. For the longest time I sat on the rock in the rain, my eyes both training for danger and lost in a place far from here. I didn’t mind the water – it was washing the stain of the day from my skin and helped soothe my fears. I knew I wouldn’t sleep. Not with Ellie in the state she was…

In the distance, I could hear a muffled noise from my princess’ tent. I narrowed my eyes and got to my feet, silently making my way over to it. My fingers would fumble on the latch to open the tent, and when I finally worked it to zip open the fabric, I would slowly peek my head in to check on her.

“Hey, Ellie, is everything okay -?”

My words caught in my throat. Ellie had completely broken down. Her hair was a tangled mess around her body, her frame shaking like a leaf in the breeze. She clung to one of her pillows for support, tears streaking down her face and her face puffy and red from the effort of sobbing. I stood there stunned – no ideas how to comfort her or even say anything. She saw me quickly enough. She looked up at me from her grief, and those green eyes would widen. She threw the pillow away from herself and buried her head in her lap.

“Don’t look at me! Don’t!” She shrieked. I edged closer to her, crouching down at the edge of the tent so I didn’t wet her bedding. My silver hair stuck to my neck – sticky and damp. I paid it no mind.

“E-Ellie…” I began, reaching for her arm. My hand would loop over it, and while the girl would flinch, she didn’t rip herself away from me. She’d jump, stare at it, and then she’d slowly look at me and sniff.

“Nik… Oh, Nik. I’m sorry; I’m so sorry…” Then she’d start to cry again. I didn’t know what else to do. I reached out, my wet arms wrapping around her; and I held her.

I wasn’t sure how long we sat like that. Ellie didn’t seem to care that I was wet. She crumbled in my embrace, grabbing the thin linen of my shirt and burying her head into my chest. I rocked her like a mother would, whispering as many soothing things as I could into her ear and smoothing her hair with my hand. She tried to speak, but every time found that she didn’t have the voice to manage. To be honest, I didn’t mind. I had my princess in my arms; my young love that I could never attain. This moment could be the last I was this close to her… I relished it.

“I-I know I can’t be with you all the time once you are married,” I mumbled, gently pressing my lips to her soft hair. “But I’ll only be a letter away. You call and I’ll answer. I’ll be there in a blink of an eye by your side like I always am. This is not the end, okay? You are the strongest woman I know and I know you’ll manage.”

Ellie didn’t say anything, but I knew she heard and understood. She slowly raised her head, and while she was in the lowest moment of her life, I couldn’t help but admire how beautiful she was, even in weakness. I’d smile to reassure her, gently tapping her on the nose. She laughed and try to bat my hand away.

“There we go, sweetheart. Smile.” I reassured her. There was another silence between us, a long period of time where we just seemed to stare into each other’s face. It wasn’t so much romantic as a silent conversation, and I took in every feature of her. However, I’d move closer to her and she didn’t resist. I caught the slight whisper of my name from her, but it wasn’t said in warning. We were so close too! My lips were inches from hers, and I could smell the scent of roses and dirt from our trip and I could feel her body arch to meet mine.

Then it came.

A sudden gurgling shout came from the tents of the guards, and there was a crash that sounded too much like steel on steel. I heard Marcus’ voice over the rain, a frantic bellow to his knights. “MEN! TO ARMS!”

Ellie would throw her head away from me, her eyes wide as she tried to stare outside. I turned my head and detached myself gingerly from her to get to my feet.

“Stay here,” I commanded her. I reached for my sword lying inches from the tent flap, balancing it in my right hand should I need to use it. I moved to release myself from Ellie’s confines, but not before taking one last look at her. She was terrified.

“If anything happens, stay down and out of sight. You hear me?” She nodded, and I returned it. With that our parting gesture, I’d rush out into the night.

I barely made it outside. I took one last look at a world filled with fire and blood, and everything went black.