The Last Dragon And Guardian

The Duchess was just making a turn when she met her husband.

"This way." The Duke says picking up his daughter in his arms, he grabs his wife by the wrist and begins to run with them.

"Who is it, Simon?" The Duchess asked as they ran.

"The faceless men." The Duke told her as they ran.

A tear escapes her eyes. "So it is him, then?"

The Duke nods.

They ran silently until they got to a cave which led them outside the castle, into the forest. Lots of their soldiers followed them with drawn swords. Kidaya clings to her father's neck to avoid falling. She was now fully awake due to all the running. Looking behind them, she noticed that they were being accompanied by almost all their armed soldiers. Beside one of the men, she saw Ralph, and somehow that made her smile. Knowing she wasn't the only young one here, made her smile.

One of their Soldiers rode forward with a horse. "They are behind us." He told the Duke jumping down from the horse.

The Duke quickly climbs on top the horse with Kidaya, then helps his wife up behind him. "How close?" He asked his right hand man.

"With the speed of light."

"Is the boat ready?" The Duke asks.

"Yes. The other one is on standby."

Nodding. "Then I just need to get to the boat." The Duke says. He was about to ride away when he heard his daughter mutter something. "What did you say?"

She pointed behind them at the boy. "Ralph."

Both her parents turn around to see the boy running beside his father.

"Let's take the boy, Simon." The Duchess pleaded.

Nodding, the Duke nodded at Ralph's father who ran forward quicker with his son. They helped the boy up the horse between the Duke and Duchess.

"Thank you, Your Grace." His father says with a bow. He was Commander-in-chief of the Eagle army.

"Move your Grace, move!" His right hand man screams just as the faceless men come in sight. "Protect His Grace!" He screamed to the rest of the soldiers who formed a wall with their bodies.

Eyes still on his son who was still looking at him too even as the horse rode away. "Protect Miss Kidaya." He said to his son just as two of the flying arrows hit him and he coughs out blood.

The boy screamed when he saw this, but the Duchess held onto him as her husband sped away.

"Kill everyone of them." The man behind the Black mask says to the person on his left. Turning to his right. "Release the hounds."

Bowing, the masked man on the right jumps down from his horse and walks backward to where they had caged hounds. He takes a piece of clothe from the one that had given him the orders and keeps the cloth in front of each of the hounds nose long enough for them to sniff and master the scent from the fabric. Once he was done, he nods to another who releases the hounds and they begin to sniff the air and run in the direction the Duke's horse had gone.

"After them." The man in the black mask says to the rest of his men. Beside him, also riding on a horse, was a little boy who also wore a mask without a face.

The Duke raised through the woods more faster when he heard the hounds screams behind him. He was close. All he needed to do was get his family to the boat and they they will be safe. The scream of the hounds got louder indicating that they were getting closer to him, and their owners won't be far behind them. The Duke was about to make a turn when arrows flew his way from different directions. Looking up, they were surrounded.

"Simon." The Duchess whispers, her right hand tightening around his waist.

He turns to look at his wife with a smile. "You know what to do, Vlaya." The Duke says to her.

"Simon, please."

Shaking his head. "You know there's no other way. The faceless men will not leave us with a face today. I will come for you and our daughter Vlaya. The girl must live. Is that understood?"

Tears roll down her eyes as she nods. The faceless men were already drawing closer.

"Hold onto the horse, Kidaya." The Duke says to his daughter who does as told and the Duke jumps off his horse. The Duchess immediately turns the little boy over to her back, thus sitting in between the two kids with their hands wrapped around her. She takes the reins of the horse in her hand and drives ahead after one final look at her husband. She waits until she gets closer to the men ahead of her before she snaps the bow and arrow tied to the side of the horse and strings them, firing three bows at a time which caught three of the men ahead of her. That gave her an open space to drive away from the circle. She turns around to look at her husband who was already fighting with the faceless men with his sword and killing any of them that tries to follow her.

He turns to look at her. "Go Vlaya!" He commanded. "Go!" He screamed just as the head of the faceless men shot an arrow through his side. Turning the horse around, she drove away.

"Go after them, get me the head of the little girl." The head of the faceless men says to the little one beside him who nods and rides away on his horse followed by some faceless men on foot.

 She was still driving deeper through the woods when two arrows was fired at the horse which fell to the ground with them. Not wasting any time, she stands to her feet and grabs both kids on each hand as she begins to run on foot with them. The river wasn't so far away, Commander Ben will be waiting with the boat. All he had to do was get the kids to the boat and get Ben to leave with them while she goes back for her husband. Nodding, that is what exactly she would do. But the faceless men surrounded her and the kids. Not more than twenty of them, plus the little one who also wore a faceless mask. Their leader wasn't with this fifteen, he must still be the rest of his army, trying to kill her husband.

Duchess Vlaya hid the kids behind her back, and pulls out a sword from around her waist. Kidaya stared in surprise. How was it possible for a sword to be wrapped around a person's waist? And how long has her mother had that sword there? Does she even know how to use it? Kidaya pondered. Duchess Vlaya kills the first man that makes a step towards her and the kids.

The little one sat on his horse and watched as the Lady fought with the soldiers that had followed him in his chase. He couldn't believe his eyes. First she had shocked him by being able to ride a horse astride, and now, she surprised him more by being able to wield a sword efficiently and being able to kill others with it. Ladies weren't permitted to wield swords, especially ones as beautiful and elegant and rich as her. With every twirl she made, the lady glowed especially with her rich blonde hair now cascading down her back. The Lady was everything beyond beautiful, she was divine. Which made him wonder what exactly was her and her husband's offense towards his father to have him hunt them down himself and want all of them dead. It had to be something very treasonous, but he dared not ask. This was his one chance to prove to his father that he was his blood, this was his one chance to help his mother get a better life and get accepted back by his father, and he will not fail. Not even because this Lady infront of him was more beautiful than a goddess. The little girl behind the Lady peeked at him from behind the boy's back. Eyes like the forest stared up at him just before the boy quickly uses his body to hide the little girl from his view. She was beautiful, just like her mother, even her eyes had called out to him to save them. He was still trying to have another view of the little girl when he heard the Lady scream in pain. One of the faceless men had cut her.