200: The trials of unprotected Healers (part 2)

The trials of unprotected Healers (part 2)

At first, her mind struggled to comprehend the urgent orders that echoed from behind. However, as she witnessed the gate's doors swinging open, everything fell into place. If the knights failed to open the gate, the carriage would crash with her trapped inside.2

"I will get you out of here, saintess! I will take you to safety where no one can harm you!" the coachman shouted.

"Stop this carriage at once!" she cried out desperately.

"Don't worry, saintess! Do not fear! I will transport you back to heaven, where you rightfully belong!" 

Hearing those final words as she passed the furious knights by the gate, she realized that the man never intended to request the opening of the gates. His original plan was to forcefully drive the carriage through them.

A primal type of fear engulfed Adela, echoing the forest incident, as she grasped the direct threat to her life in that moment.

"Raise the alarm for the Archduke!"

"Sound the war trumpets!"

"Clear the roads of civilians!"

Orders bombarded her ears from all directions while she clung to the seat for dear life. Tears streamed down her face as she realized that there was only one person she longed to see before departing from this world. 

Egon.

Had he heard her final thoughts, he would have fixed her with his hawk-like eyes and perhaps blamed her for the immense pride that prevented her from calling for help.

"Help!" she shouted with all the intensity of her heart. "Somebody, please! Help me!"

"No!" came the objection from the deranged mercenary, who relentlessly struck the horses, urging them to move faster.

"Stop hitting them so hard!" she exclaimed. "Help! Somebody, please…"

Her voice drowned beneath the blaring sound of war trumpets. It dawned on her then that calling for help was not the course of action she needed at that moment. Help was already all around her, but their hands were tied, unable to inflict damage on the man driving the carriage without risking Adela's life.

She had to take matters into her own hands. She needed to separate herself from the carriage somehow. And there was only one way she could conceive of doing so.

Jump.

Peering through the half-opened window, she strained to make sense of the surrounding scenery. It was no easy task in the darkness and the breakneck speed at which they raced. Yet, this was her homeland, Lanark, the place she knew like the back of her hand. She just had to identify the precise location to jump out of the wagon. Although she would likely suffer multiple fractures, it represented her best chance at survival.

Her heart sank when she realized that the route chosen passed directly through the town square. Given the crowds present on this particular day, the potential casualties would be devastating.

She had to act fast.

With a frantic urgency surging through her veins, Adela prepared herself for the audacious leap. She caught sight of the approaching intersection just before the final road leading to the town square. As the carriage hurtled towards the designated spot for her escape, Adela summoned every ounce of courage within her.

It's now or never!

Without a moment's hesitation, she released her grip on the seat and opened the window, fully intent on throwing herself out. However, the coachman seemed to have deduced her plan.

Everything happened in a blur.

The deranged man forcefully yanked the reins, bringing the horses to an abrupt halt. In the ensuing chaos, the horses stumbled and collided, severing the connection between them and the carriage, which toppled over with Adela still inside.

She cried out as she stumbled backward. Her head collided forcefully with the door which now lay on the ground instead of the wheel. A deafening ringing resounded in her head, accompanied by a sharp pain in her forehead. Wincing, she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, feeling the damp stickiness of blood.

"I-Is it over?" she whimpered, her body trembling. But her attention was abruptly drawn to the door above her as it swung open, and she instinctively retreated into the corner, aghast at the sight of the bloodied face of the mercenary. 

"Saintess, thank God," he breathed out.

"Stay away from me!"

Her fear escalated again at the thought of him entering where she was now. However, he seemed unable to do so as his shoulder was visibly dislocated and his arm bulging unnaturally.

"I was so afraid that I wouldn't be able to repay your kindness," 

Her stomach heaved painfully realizing that the only escape route was through the door which now served as the carriage's ceiling where he loomed above her, she understood that surviving this ordeal would require a fierce struggle.

Did she have the necessary power in her?

"Shh, don't be afraid!" he urged, placing a finger to his lips. "I will make it quick!"

In the next instant, she witnessed his face briefly contorting with effort, followed by a sinister grin as his uninjured arm moved, revealing a gun now aimed directly at her.

Before she could fully comprehend the fear tightening her chest, a piercing whistle shattered the air, drowning out the feeble neighs of the horses outside and the approaching sound of hooves. An arrow found its mark in her assailant's skull, mere moments before he could pull the trigger.

His eyes rolled back, and he fell motionless.

"Egon!" she choked out as she recognized the fully black arrow that had taken the life of her feathered companion before. "Hah!" she gasped, her breath catching when the lifeless body appeared to move. But then she realized that he was being dragged away.

The next face that emerged from the opening above her belonged to her crazed-looking beast.

"E-Egon," she whispered, her entire body trembling. In an instant, he was inside the carriage beside her, his hands gently grasping the sides of her head, tilting it.

"You're injured!" he whispered, his voice filled with torment.

She was on the verge of denying her own pain, wanting to assure him that everything would be alright as long as he stayed beside her. The words lingered on the tip of her tongue, ready to convey her understanding of why he had distanced himself and her readiness to forgive him, for the thought of living without him had become utterly unbearable. However, their fleeting moment was mercilessly interrupted by the foreboding crackling sounds that permeated the space around them.

"It's that warlock casting a spell," he gritted out through clenched teeth.

"Don't abandon me!" she pleaded feeling as if she would crumble and fall if he did that.

He tensed, pulling away from her and looking down with wounded eyes as the metal slowly peeled away from them.

"Wasn't it you who let go of me first?" he murmured, casting a glance at Aldric's bracelet that now shone over Adela's wrist instead of his own.

She attempted to articulate her objection, but her voice failed her as she stood defenseless and exposed with no trace of metal to shield her.

The formidable knights from both orders, their commanders, and the horrified Archduke locked stern gazes upon her. As her eyes turned upward to follow the direction of Egon's piercing ruby eyes, she caught a glimpse of a young king, his face etched with anxiety, suspended mid-air and watching her.

After that, utter disorder unfolded.

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