Chapter 2 WHITE WING

He reached the bank and so did she, only about a minute after. He had been right all along and the gorge had water in it. They were lucky to have been sent there that particular week, and as he squeezed his clothes dry the dawn sun came over the top of the trees and the darkness was vanquished.

'You knew there was water in it. How?' She asked and he pretended not to hear.

'We need to get you some suitable clothes, you scare me in those ones.' He told her and she laughed. He then stretched his hand towards her and she blinked in confusion.

'I've fulfilled my end of the bargain. I got you out of Carta Hill, and safely too. Now I want my money.'

'Wait you're not serious. I said I'll pay you but I didn't mean immediately. We're in a forest, where do you think I'm going to get that much money?'

'Do you, or do you not have my money?'

'I do, but you need to take me south first. I'll get you your money when we get to Redwell.'

He looked at her for a moment and turned to leave, tying the sword he had stolen from the guard around his waist.

'You can go there by yourself, I have no interest in going that far south,' he said.

'Please,' she begged. 'I won't make it a day out here,' she said.

'Of course you won't, the guards are already on our trail,' he said and pointed in the direction of Carta Hill where a thin cloud of smoke had risen off the top of the trees.

'Wait, where are you headed?' She asked and he pointed towards the south.

'Why don't you take me with you?' She suggested and he shook his head, walking away with even quicker steps than that with which he started.

'Just keep your head down, stay quiet, move quickly and you might just make it to the river,' he said and went away through the tall trees.

She stood for a moment and began walking as well, tripping on a root and falling after taking just three steps.

'I'll make it, it's going to be fine. All I've got to do is keep my head down, and move quickly. That's easy,' she encouraged herself as she stood on her feet and began walking again.

Demascas and his team of black clad knights traveled the forest at full speed. Their hounds had picked up her scent and they were sure to gain on them. They had an obligation not to allow any of the two who made it out of Carta Hill escape otherwise the reputation of that hell will be destroyed. The forest was thick but that didn't hinder their progress. The water might've carried them far south but not as far as the river, and they were sure they'd catch the fugitives by noon that day.

'Sir, it seems the hounds have picked up her scent, we need to start a pursuit,' one of Demascas' men requested and he nodded.

'Make sure she doesn't come back to Carta alive, and make sure she doesn't escape. Our profession and our lives depend on it,' Demascas said and the three hounds were released to chase after the scent they tracked, the men followed as well, their weapons ready for anything.

He reached the stream which was closer than he thought it'd be. Traveling south without a horse would prove difficult, especially when he had no food and money. He looked upstream and from the distance a small fishing boat approached. He thought he could board it to the nearest town at least and the boatman pulled down his sails when he saw him waving from the bank. These strokes of good luck were strange to him, and he thought they could possibly be because of that girl he met. Too bad for her he was going aboard to leave if it meant him exhausting her good luck to do so . He looked back to the forest and scratched his head.

She was tired already and if she was sure of herself then she had been going in circles and that was certainly possible with her poor sense of direction. When was she going to meet the river, and from there was she going to find a boat or was she going to have to keep heading south to get to the next town? All these questions only served to frustrate her as she had never gone far on her own. She could hear the dogs barking from way behind her. They were approaching fast and there was no way she'd be able to outrun them. Was she lost already? Has she lost already? When was she going to get to the river?

Where was the river?

The hounds got closer and she made a run for it, or at least she tried. She was frightened, tired, her chest was heavy and she breathed with extreme difficulty. She couldn't make it far. All her agitation, frustration and hopelessness only served to slow her down and she burnt her will excessively to keep herself moving nonetheless.

'I think we got her!' Someone bawled from behind her and the tiny flicker of hope she had left was extinguished in an instant. They had gained up in such a short time, obviously they must've been traveling through the night in search of her. She had to hide, that was the first thought she had and as she ran, exhausted, she knew nowhere in the forest was safe enough to save her. The barks and growls were louder now, as though the hounds were right behind her, she stopped, panting and looked to her left where a huge tree stump stood in a gully. She hid herself in it and tried desperately to silence her breaths until she was quiet, so much that she could hear her own heart thumping in her chest. She wouldn't go back to Carta Hill, they were likely going to execute her the moment they caught her. The hounds stopped barking and began to growl louder. They had arrived, and she prayed they'd not find her where she hid. She had never prayed that much her entire life. The feline noises got closer, and she could tell they were all around her.

She felt something, it crawled slowly all the way up her hand, her back and around her neck. It slithered and hissed into her ear. That tree stump was no safe place, it was a snake nest. She had no time to think. She only flailed to get it off and jumped out of the stump just as the snake sprung at her face. She fell out and crawled away from the stump and into the reach of a big fat hound with thick black fur and scary dark red eyes. A knight came there instantly and first decapitated the snake with his sword. She was done for, she tried to run again but the hound grabbed her clothes and pulled her back. They had been ordered to kill her on sight so the knight before her pulled out his sword and attacked, brandishing it with such force he could cut her in half, but she fell backwards, saved as the sword clashed with another.

She opened her eyes, not knowing when she closed them, and there he was, the man who had left her before.

He stood gallantly before her, wielding his sword with perfect form. He valiantly fought the knight and in no time overpowered and slayed him. The hound sprang at him and he cut the animal in the face. The others were coming and quickly he fished a dagger from the dead knight and gave it to her.

'You can't keep your head down, you can't move quickly, but I sure hope you can stab a man,' he said and raised her off the ground. Noticing immediately that the hound had bitten her in the leg.

'Go that way,' he said, pointing in one direction. 'The river is not far. There's a boat waiting for you there, hurry, I'll catch up with you.'

She began to limp away, as fast as she could without looking back. He was right, it wasn't far. As she went she could hear the water and all she could think about was getting there in time.

When Demascas reached the spot, four out of his six men were dead already and so were all the hounds. Hound hunters were among the most well trained knights and no mere citizen could fall more than one of them at a spot, but this stranger was no mere citizen. The two that remained of the six attacked at once, and from a safe distance Demascas looked on, observing each one of the man's moves. He fought like a wild beast with a sword, tackling attacks from two fronts like it was nothing. He slid through them and cut one knight in the throat. The other struck with perfect timing but it was no use. He had already anticipated that attack so he swung first and severed his enemy's arm. Before he could finish the man off however, Demascas stepped in and demanded he let the underling go.

'You're strong for a commoner, where are you from?' Demascas asked him, observing his clothes over and over again. The fugitive smirked, then he looked down at his blood stained sword and back at Demascas who approached his subordinate and helped him tie up his severed arm and stop the bleeding.

Demascas pulled out his own sword, getting ready for a fight with the enemy. He pointed his sword at the fugitive who did the same, but held his sword in such a strange manner. This action alone was enough to kickstart the knight's memory. He had been observing the man for some time, and his style of fighting and stance was very familiar.

'I asked you where you were from?' Demascas said again and the man smirked again, an action that infuriated the hound hunter.

'It doesn't matter does it?' The strange man started to answer at last, 'the black bearskin, the hounds..., you must be Demascas the hound hunter, what are you doing working at Carta?'

'You won't tell me where you're from? Typical of you white wings,' Demascas said and as he did the man looked surprised for a bit.

'How observant of you, your infamy isn't for nothing it seems,' he said.

'Your stance, it's exactly like his. I could never forget the man who wounded me and cost me my reputation as a senior knight in the capital. You're him aren't you? The Dragon Of Yol!' Demascas said, and when he did, his companion began to shiver and crawl away from the place.

'I assume that's why you were able to defeat my men so easily. I have an idea what is going to happen here and if I gamble right I might just win,' Demascas said and grabbed his sword even tighter.

'Dragon of Yol, leader of the white wing, the most heinous and villainous group of criminals. Today, for the first time since your name reached the ears of every man, woman and child, you have shown your face, an identity that was lost long ago. I could imagine you deliberately entered Carta to save the Armenian princess who was born with the mark of destiny. Now to keep your identity hidden you plan to kill us all, those of us who have seen your face unmasked; that is why you asked the princess to go ahead isn't it? I won't allow that to happen,' Demascas put forward his observation, and his opponent, the Dragon of Yol laughed as though he expected no less.

'I must say I am impressed, Demascas, you have really grown since the time we fought. True I came here to save the girl, but she cannot know that yet, it is bad for business. Now do you remember what happened the last time we met?' He asked Demascas who nodded angrily and with his free arm, he pulled and removed part of his bearskin clothes. There was a long outstanding scar on his chest which he touched slowly and emotionally.

'You almost killed me, and even though the wound is completely healed, my spirit is still broken and so are some organs. I cannot fight for long anymore and I will lose if I engage you now, that is why I talked about a gamble...' he turned to face his underling who was still panic stricken after seeing the Dragon of Yol face to face for the first time.

'Get up Mervin, run to Carta now and relay everything to Commander Jaime!' Demascas said and immediately, his rookie jumped to his feet and began to run back towards Carta Hill. The Dragon of Yol tried to go after him but Demascas stopped him and stayed in between, giving the young man a chance to escape through the woods.

'You cannot stop me Demascas, I will kill you, and I will catch up with him and end him too.'

'Don't think it's going to be that easy, you need to catch me first,' Demascas said and hurled his sword at his opponent who after dodging it gracefully discovered it was a farce and the man had made a run towards the river. He was left to make a choice; to go after Demascas and save the princess, or go after the wounded knight and save his identity. He now understood Demascas' gamble and he dashed after him with no time to waste. He had to catch Demascas before the hound hunter made it to the river. The princess was waiting with the boatman over there and if she died he would've failed his whole mission. He'd not only lose the money, but he'd fail his word to the queen.

He ran as fast as he could, hoping to catch the man in time and Demascas, ashamed of himself for running from a fight as a previous knight of the priestess, felt this was all he could do. Running away was always an option against the Dragon of Yol, but this was his best chance of claiming a win; assassinating the princess. For that man... the dragon of Yol, was no ordinary man. He was the man who defeated a horde of sixty high knights single handedly, a member of the almost dissolved White Wing group, and a royal who was said to once have walked through fire and walked out without a scratch; where he got the name dragon of Yol. He was the leader of the White Wing. A group of survivors from the Carliff whose main aim was to seek justice through their own means. He was also the man suspected for the death of the previous king of Eradia.

Demascas had himself fought the dragon of Yol when the king of Eradia and his most trusted person; the priestess of Eradia, were attacked in the capital. He was one of the royal knights who protected the priestess, and the last remaining knight from that group. He had lost their battle after just two moves from the dragon of Yol. That and that alone was the time he faced a man and felt true fear. He knew then that the only way to win against him was to do what he did now; run!

He reached the stream and immediately located the boat which was floating not far from the bank. He rushed into the water and reached the boat before the fisherman could get his oars and he grabbed the princess by the neck. He pulled her off the boat and pushed her into the water but he got there, and stepped into the water as well. She flailed again (she seemed to be quite good at that) and managed to push him away and into the arms of his pursuer; the dragon of Yol, who grabbed him by the neck and pushed him into the water, keeping him submerged in it and attempting to drown him. Demascas raised his head above the surface as he struggled, took a very deep breath and laughed. Even if he died here he knew he had won, the dragon's face would be known throughout Westexa and he wouldn't be able to lay low any longer. He was pushed under again and this time no matter how hard he struggled he couldn't free himself. Soon he moved no longer and his body floated lifeless to the top of the water.

'We need to go now,' he said and climbed into the boat with the princess. They rowed out and headed towards the nearest town. The city of Dableen on the outskirts of Eradia. A commercial city which was perfect for them to stack up, get some horses and head south. They wouldn't stay long, if at all. They couldn't as he knew something bad was on the way.