“Get up!” yelled another. “Fight!”
The dazed Torrin soldiers closed in around the carriage. The soldiers were better equipped than their assailants, but what the enemy lacked in weaponry (many rushed from the forest armed with wooden clubs and dressed in cloth), they made up for in numbers—numbers, numbers, numbers—man after man after man swarmed forward to besiege the better armed escort.
As the two groups clashed together, Okori rushed between the carriage’s windows. She needed an escape route. The carriage’s rear was still free of obstruction, and one of her soldiers’ horses could easily carry her and the Princess back to the castle. But the enemy soldiers soon sealed off this potential escape route. In response, the Torrin soldiers encircled …show more content…
She had to act or risk being trapped. The forest on the Princess’s side of the carriage remained unoccupied, so she stood up, kicked the carriage door open and jumped out onto the road below.
“Princess...” She slammed the carriage door shut. “Stay here and stay down!”
Five marauders, having battered their way through the crumbling defensive line, stopped and stared at her standing in front of the carriage, ready to defend it.
The men eyed her, smiling. Okori glared back at them, though the men held their ground. Why wouldn’t they? They were five strong with a small army behind them. She existed to deter lone wolves; the Princess’s guards were supposed to handle anything larger, and the men’s companions were currently dealing with them.
Finally, the biggest man in the group pointed at her swords. “No need for that, love. We wouldn’t want you cutting yourself.”
The others laughed.
Okori glanced down at her swords. “They were your grandmother’s, then your mother’s,” her father had said when he presented them to her. “Now, they’re yours.” She reached down and slowly wrapped her hands around the sword’s handles, yet her stomach still swirled inside her. Could she, kill …show more content…
“Rule three, only cry to lower their guard, then take advantage of it.” The club slugged her again. “You don’t need tears. You’re not helpless. You’re not weak. You’re a girl, yes, that’s the only difference. You’re strong. Capable. Let no one convince you otherwise. Remember, you’re a Fjorn warrior, born for this. And once you turn eighteen, you’ll live as an assassin or a guardian. And you’ll be the best Fjorn who ever lived. And you will live, because I won’t lose the last member of my family, so I won’t be easy on you, because your enemy won’t be. Now, get up, woman, and save
The dazed Torrin soldiers closed in around the carriage. The soldiers were better equipped than their assailants, but what the enemy lacked in weaponry (many rushed from the forest armed with wooden clubs and dressed in cloth), they made up for in numbers—numbers, numbers, numbers—man after man after man swarmed forward to besiege the better armed escort.
As the two groups clashed together, Okori rushed between the carriage’s windows. She needed an escape route. The carriage’s rear was still free of obstruction, and one of her soldiers’ horses could easily carry her and the Princess back to the castle. But the enemy soldiers soon sealed off this potential escape route. In response, the Torrin soldiers encircled …show more content…
She had to act or risk being trapped. The forest on the Princess’s side of the carriage remained unoccupied, so she stood up, kicked the carriage door open and jumped out onto the road below.
“Princess...” She slammed the carriage door shut. “Stay here and stay down!”
Five marauders, having battered their way through the crumbling defensive line, stopped and stared at her standing in front of the carriage, ready to defend it.
The men eyed her, smiling. Okori glared back at them, though the men held their ground. Why wouldn’t they? They were five strong with a small army behind them. She existed to deter lone wolves; the Princess’s guards were supposed to handle anything larger, and the men’s companions were currently dealing with them.
Finally, the biggest man in the group pointed at her swords. “No need for that, love. We wouldn’t want you cutting yourself.”
The others laughed.
Okori glanced down at her swords. “They were your grandmother’s, then your mother’s,” her father had said when he presented them to her. “Now, they’re yours.” She reached down and slowly wrapped her hands around the sword’s handles, yet her stomach still swirled inside her. Could she, kill …show more content…
“Rule three, only cry to lower their guard, then take advantage of it.” The club slugged her again. “You don’t need tears. You’re not helpless. You’re not weak. You’re a girl, yes, that’s the only difference. You’re strong. Capable. Let no one convince you otherwise. Remember, you’re a Fjorn warrior, born for this. And once you turn eighteen, you’ll live as an assassin or a guardian. And you’ll be the best Fjorn who ever lived. And you will live, because I won’t lose the last member of my family, so I won’t be easy on you, because your enemy won’t be. Now, get up, woman, and save