— The sounds of multiple footsteps scampering towards the same destination could be heard echoing throughout the atmosphere, only ever defeated by the sound of the dancing grasses and the blowing of mid-morning winds.
"Huff..Ha..! Phew..! Hap! Tush!"
— The black haired youth, with amber-coloured irises had a face swimming with sweat as he breathed raspily while sprinting, an unconscious female elder cradled on top of his back.
"A One! A Two! A Three! leftrightleftrightleftrightleftrightleftrightleftrightleftrightleftrightleft!"
—Behind him was a young lass, possibly no older than the age of thirteen running with a determined expression on her face despite the hint of droplets sitting on her eyelids. The other was a large brown bear with two glowing, amber-coloured irises carrying two brown horses atop its shoulders and an unconscious middle-aged man atop its head beside a big, pink flower.
The footsteps of the youth was quick and precise, the girl was sloppy but determined, as opposed to the large bear which was nothing but loud thumps accompanied by small earthquakes.
"..?" — The youth squinted towards the distance before a large smile formed upon his lips. "I can see it..!"
A blurry apparition of a walled settlement was present in the horizon at the feet of a large mountain range and beside the cover of a relatively big forest.
"I can see the gates..! only a little bit more to go!"
— With newfound vigour, the youth raced through the grassy patches while the lass struggled to keep up beside the large bear.
...
Meanwhile, near the brown gates and the decaying stone-brick walls was an array of tents with varying sizes ranging from huge to miniscule. Numerous individuals enrobed in militia uniforms, that is grayish breastplates, morion headgears, silvery greaves with straps and armed with a long staff crafted with spearhead at the top, though some had bucklers at their backs and aging shortswords, others whom are more lightly armoured had wooden bows or crossbows.
The atmosphere is quite stiff, with some consuming pieces of bread that is gray, almost ash-like in texture. As they did so, none of them had smiles, either were staring at the distance, guarding the flanks or were reporting in regards to occupational matters, not a single one conversed in a casual manner.
One in particular, remained atop a watchtower that provided an eagle's eye surveillance at a 360° point of view, he sat on a small crusty chair beside a pair of binoculars and a white horn. An expression consisting of furrowed eyebrows and displeasure was present as he tapped away mindlessly on the aging walls of the watchtower.
He kept tapping away, gazing at his fingers until—
"..?"
A small, bunch of blurry apparitions entered his line of sight. Puzzled, he squinted for a few good moments before reaching for the pair of binoculars strapped beside him.
"..."
With an expression more solemn than before, he heaved a sigh before placing the binoculars down and reaching for the white horn that was resting atop the wall.
He then hovered it over his lips before he closed his eyes and inhaled as deep as he could.
*VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
Upon hearing the horn, every single one of them scampered before lining themselves up in a series of formations that together shielded the gates from whatever was out there.
The ones that were mindlessly eating the gray-coloured bread looked up, then proceeded to throw it away and reach for their weapons that was either resting beside or behind their backs.
"Formations."
—After a while of endless exercise, the group finally came in a close enough distance to be seen by the guards, as they approached however, the gazes of the militias landed on the large bear that charged straight at them—"what is that..!?"—they stiffened and gripped their weapons tighter, some gulped while others showered in sweat.
"Hm..?"
—The black haired youth squinted towards the arrangement of militias covering the gates and the now visible, multi-coloured tents behind them.
"Wait.."
The youth whispered, his quick footsteps slowly degrading into a walk and eventually..
"..Huh?"
—A standstill.
Spears were pointed as the holders maintained an expression of utter annoyance, anger and.. cautiousness? The archers at the back had already armed their bows with precise arrows and are ready to allow all hell to break loose in a drop of a hat. "What's... going on?"
"Hup..Haah..!" — The lass emerged from behind the youth, finally catching up to him before she slouched and placed both hands atop her knees, breathing raggedly as she swiped off a droplet of sweat dripping from her chin.
*Thump!* *Thump!* *Thump!*
"..." — The youth, with an eyebrow raised lifted one arm to his side, causing the approaching teddy bear to slowly halt its steps into an eventual standstill beside the black-haired youth.
"They.."
— The youth whispered.
With facial features mainly obscured by the fabrics of clothing in between their heads and helmets, the youth can make up a series of wide-eyes consisting of minimized irises staring at them, unblinking.
"..Don't..look that friendly."
The black-haired youth paused, sweat sliding down his cheek as he examined the formation. Apart from the polished spearheads capable of piercing even the most hardened flesh there were bows with retracted strings, ready to rain down utter hell if they make just a single wrong move.
"Ugh..ack.." — "..!"
The once unconscious older lady cradled atop the youth's back began to slightly shift in position in a shaky manner, causing him to look back and lay his gaze on her.
"...!"
The youth noticed as she had began to form prevalent dark circles around her eyes, while just underneath her lips became coarse, colourless and dried, her face had also became a breeding ground of sweat as her pores started to profusely excrete so much liquids.
The youth paused, the scene in front of him triggering a long-gone memory to resurface. Depicting two silhouettes in a dark room, only illuminated by a candlestick hanged atop a nail, the larger shadow was seen soaking a piece of fabric inside of a wooden pail filled with water, while the smaller one remained nursed on a mattress beneath a blanket.
"...This.."
The youth thought to himself.
"Mana..Deprivation..!"
Upon the realization, the youth looked towards the formation and began to take a step forward—
"DON'T MOVE! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"
—The young man, surprised by the sudden piercing yell emanating from the array of individuals halted on his tracks before he could take another.
"..tch.." The youth clicked his tongue. "Someone's dying here..!! She needs medical assistance!" — Before he retaliated in a similarly-loud yell.
The youth then glanced at the large bear with a cautious expression, before he gestured by spinning his wrist once and then pointing at the panting lass. The bear, nodded as if it understood. Afterwards he then attempted to gradually close the distance between him and the formation—
"TAKE ANOTHER STEP AND WE'LL SHOOT!"
—But once again, was halted by the sudden forceful declaration from the militias.
"..I won't!" — The youth yelled back. "...Send somebody over here to check! My..friend is dying here..!!"
*Fwoosh..*
"..?"
*THUNK!*
A shadow of a stick then soared through the air and landed a few inches away from the youth's position revealing a spear, thrown by the militia that has been screaming at him for a while now.
"I WON'T MISS A SECOND TIME!"
"DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER!"
"..what the hell..!? is up with these people..!"
The lass, at the back finally recovering her breaths glanced upwards to inspect the exchange of loud voices from the youth and the certain militia, her eyes slowly widening as she saw the small, bronze insignia branded on the left side of their breastplates.
"Young.." -
"..Baggy eyes.." -
" ..coarse lips.."
"..visibly skinny despite the layers of fabric and armour.."
"..hollowed cheeks.."
— The youth enumerated all of the features his eyes were able to make out as he squinted, despite the varying characteristics, he mentioned the most common trend they all shared.
"..something.."
"SURRENDER NOW!! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!!"
"..Is terribly wrong here..I need to find that out.."
The youth paused, thoughts becoming even louder than the militia yelling 'bloody danger' Fueled by the urge surging inside of his heart and the absence of his brain, he took a step forward.
As he stepped, the entire formation stiffened.
"..! That's it.."
— As the militia that exchanged disputes with the youth saw him continuing his advance, he gritted his teeth and raised his hand, causing the archers behind the arrangement to furrow their brows and aim their bows upwards.
"..wait!"
—until, a gloved hand from the depths of the formation emerged and tugged the sleeve of his raised hand.
"..why..do we need to fire..?"
—a small voice then emanated from the obscurity of the formation, causing the militia to lean forward and inspect the source of the inquisition. "..they will be killed..!" — "..?" - it was a young boy, shorter than all of the militias that were lined up in the formation.
Despite the young age, he was cloaked with armour. Instead of holding sticks and stones roleplaying with his friends facing dangers from dawn ti'll dusk, He was holding a stick taller than himself and his friends weren't into the roleplay, for the dangers that they are facing wasn't from playtime, but wartime.
The boy took a step forward, nudging all the militias in the way and emerging from their obscurity before he tugged the clothes of the militia and glanced up to him, eyes watery.
"I beg you..Sir..Hamilvan..!"
The militia, whom was named Hamilvan, faltered in his gaze that was once filled to the brim with anger. He glanced towards the ground, unable to maintain eye contact with the child below him before he clicked his tongue and looked back at the youth with a deeply troubled expression, he glanced at the boy once more before lowering his head and closing his eyes, heaving a deep sigh.
"..I'm.. sorry, Young Jon."
"..No..!!"
— The militia raised his hand while the boy lost the tug on his sleeve.
"CHARGE..!!!"
With the sudden chop-like motion made by his hand, a few of the militias from the formation emerged as they sprinted through the yellowish clearing, weapons either raised up in the air or pointed towards the frozen youth.
The Bear, a few meters away began to crouch as its amber-coloured eyes started to glow brighter, same with the similarly-coloured center of the large flower on its head.
The small wind-up toy in the youth's pockets began to glow, gradually increasing its luminosity for everytime the charging militias got closer and closer.
In his pouch, an even brighter illumination was seen, as if there were multiple light sources inside of the brown piece of fabric, amidst the chaos, a low, mechanical voice pierced the air.
"Legion. Moving i—"
*LEAP*
"..!!"
Then, a sudden act that left the entire charging regiment to halt in their tracks with widened expressions. The young man, whom was staring absentmindedly at the bunch; blinked before he was brought out of his zone.
"..!" — The Little girl, the young lass that was cowering behind him earlier, jumped out of his cover and extended both of her arms out, forming a cross-like shape.
"..!! That's..!!" — One militia blurted out, causing the entire regiment to shakily glance at one another, and eventually towards Hamilvan himself.
"..Wh..Why..are you.." — With sweat now proliferating on his face, the Hamilvan that previously disputed with the young man found himself trembling upon the sight of the small lass that was extending her arms to her sides with an expression filled to the brim with determination.
"..!" — With a slight gulp, the lass slowly raised her foot up before taking a step forward. Her walk slow but deliberate, towards the frozen regiment of guards.
"..Si-..Sir..Hamilvan.."
— One archer, with a troubled expression lowered his bow down before turning his head towards Hamilvan.
"..thi-..this..is unpre..cedented..sir."
— One footsoldier beside Hamilvan, lowered his gaze alongside his spear.
"..Sir..Hamilvan..what do we do..?"
— The young child that pleaded with the Sir from earlier tugged his sleeve once more.
"..Jon."
— Hamilvan glanced down at the young kid named; Jon. Before he gulped down a drop of saliva and diverted his gaze towards the advancing lass.
*Clunk*
Hamilvan, then took a step forward. His metallic greaves hitting the ground like a softly smashing hammer. He straightened his posture before he sheathed his silvery shortsword beside his waist, his steps growing more refined and firm.
-
"Sir Hamilvan..! wait..!"
— One soldier, a bit more armoured than the others extended out his hand to reach for the advancing Hamilvan.
*Fwip*
But was abruptly stopped by the slight raising of his hand as he marched onwards, resolute however slow.
Meanwhile, as the lass gradually closed in on the standing militias and footsoldiers, her steps determined and deliberate, when she arrived at a dangerously near distance, the youth;
"..Hey..! Wait..!!"
— But was quickly shut down by the lass'es gesture.
— The lass mutely glanced back at him, with a soft, comforting smile present on her lips. Before she diverted her focus again towards the man, whom was a few feet taller and more imposing than her.
"..."
...
...
...
When both was finally just a few feet away, the Lass glanced up to meet the eyes of Hamilvan, whom stared down at her in utter solemnity with a little bit of annoyance on the side.
"..."
— Both parties paused and stared each other down, creating an atmosphere of suffocating weight that the soldiers felt the urge to draw their swords, but is overwhelmed by the terror of the consequences that shall follow afterwards.
"..."
After a few more seconds of suffocating silence, the glow in the bear's eyes and its large flower never dissipated, its gaze focused on Hamilvan as he stared down the lass. The illumination inside of the youth's pouch also showed no signs of dimming, same with the little, wind-up toy resembling that of a bear that was attached to his belt.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
*THUNK!*
Hamilvan suddenly fell down to his knees.
"First Division Captain..Hamilvan!"
— By doing so, more and more soldiers followed suit and threw away their spears, others sheated their swords before quickly kneeling in the direction of the young lass.
A short, collective inhale was heard from the soldiers before they all yelled in unison;
"We respectfully greet her highness!"