Ileus: The Dark Prince

Olivia woke up with a start. She found that Kaizan was galloping his horse backwards and there were battle cries on either side of the dirt road. When they reached the carriage, Kaizan picked her up from the saddle and set her to the ground. The carriage man was standing with the door open. Kaizan shoved her inside the carriage and said, "Don't come out of here until I come to open it, okay?" 

Shaken as to what was happening and who could attack them so suddenly, Olivia asked, "Wh—what is happening?" 

Her wide eyes, red with sleep and her skin warm and glowing, she looked like a cute little puppy who was lost. Her body was trembling. Kaizan stared at her as irritation spiked when he heard the swords clanging in the air. "Whatever happens, stay inside the carriage. Don't come out. If you come out, I will not be able to fight properly." Saying that he nodded to the coachman who closed the door and then galloped to the side where his men were fighting against the rogue werewolves. Rogues were a constant problem and they were like pests who never seemed to fade. He wanted Olivia to stay inside because he wanted to be free and fight against the rogues. 

In the darkness of the night, Kaizan merged with the group. Chorus of metal clanging against metal broke from the dark silhouettes of the trees. Spears and arrows arced in the sky, glinting with fire at the tips before falling on each side. Metal twangs were heard as arrows fell on the armors or the shields. Suddenly more horse hooves could be heard from the front and they merged with the battle cries and blood-curdling screams. 

Kaizan ordered his men, "To the left!" There were some men hiding behind the tall grass and huge boulders. They bolted towards the men of the Silver Vales pack. The dirt road had become a chaos. Swords stabbing the flesh, heads rolling down the ground, horses neighing with shock and metal clanging—it was an ambush. Kaizan was sure that these men were waiting for them to arrive because the way they fought, it looked like they were well prepared. 

He had chopped the heads and limbs of rogues without a second thought one after the other. And as he did, he raced towards the carriage to see if Olivia was okay or not. When he found that the carriage door was still closed, he rushed his horse to the other side. 

Olivia was contemplating what was happening on the outside. She sat hunched in the carriage, scared as hell. She wasn't prepared for this attack. Who could have attacked them in the middle of the night? And the way they attacked, it was as if they knew that the wedding party was going to cross this path. 

Suddenly with a huge force, the carriage shook. Olivia was thrust to the other side of the wall and she fell down with a loud thud. She groaned with pain as the back of her head smashed with an iron rod. She brushed her fingers behind only to find blood trickling from there. 

She heard the restless clops of hooves of the horse of the carriage which started shaking. The horse reared and the carriage jostled. The coachman jumped down with his sword and the sound of swords sliding inside the bodies made her flinch. Screams and yells of pain sounded around her. All at once the door of the carriage opened and a huge man loomed at the doorway. He grinned at her and said, "I have my orders to kill you and the man you are with!" he said and then pulled Olivia out of the carriage. She screamed. Her hand went to her dagger on the thigh. She unsheathed it immediately even as her head was aching severely. When they were out in the open, Olivia could see the tangled mess of his hair. He was stinking. She swung her dagger. "Who sent you?" she hissed and tried to get away. 

"That is none of your concern!" he said. "All you should know is that you got a huge prize on your head!" He grabbed her hair from the back and pulled her away from the carriage. 

Olivia screamed in pain. She spun on her heels and with force stabbed the man in the torso. The man stilled for a moment and then hissed. "You bitch!" Blood oozed down from his stomach. Angered, he raised his sword and brought it down on her neck, but before the sword could touch her neck, the man's head rolled off his torso and fell on the ground with a thud. His limp body swayed in the air and joined the head on the ground. Stunned into silence, Olivia looked behind the man and saw Kaizan standing with his sword raised in his hand, fangs bared. He was there, tall and as dark as the night that creeped in the forest, his hair ruffled and windblown, his cloak fluttering at his ankles. He looked… terrifyingly beautiful.

The two stared into each other's eyes. All of a sudden, he gripped her arm and snagged her behind him. When he turned, he caught the arm of another rogue. A rumble vibrated his chest as he plunged his sword in him and then tossed his body to the ground. He pulled her back to the carriage and said, "Stay inside and close the door." He helped her get inside again very carefully. Then he walked to the man who had pulled her out, pulled the dagger out of his stomach and wiped it with his cloak. He gave the dagger back to her with knitted brows. Once she took it, he closed the door of the carriage and then she heard his footfalls disappearing. Olivia scrambled to the corner of the carriage thinking as to what just happened. Her neck was warm with something and when she touched it, she realized it was her blood.. Emotionally and physically exhausted, she passed out.