Dawn- An age of Darkness

She hadn't slept in two days. The rations were finished and though help was supposed to arrive yesterday- there still weren't any signs.

Maybe she shouldn't have run away in the first place.

The soldiers were getting killed one by one and her death was also nearing. 

'Why did it come to this?'

She didn't know. 

As she stared at the dirty cloths of the tent and her own expensive but also dirty clothes, she understood, perhaps life wasn't as simple as she thought.

All her life, she was a sheltered child, a rather ambitious one at that. To her, the world was a peaceful land and everything existed only for her sake. Perhaps because of her father, she never realized that all of this was just a farce, perhaps she herself was aware that the world couldn't have been so easy, and yet, she chose to believe this was how things were. After all, that was much easier. 

So, when she and her father had a bit of a fight- or rather just a bit of quarrel, she ran away from home. Her father had anticipated this so he'd sent a small army, her personal maid, and rations. 

Neither had assumed how things would turn out. 

And yet, the girl still didn't know just how stupid all this was and just how naïve she was. 

But after spending a day in the wild she more or less understood this world wasn't as peaceful as she thought it was. 

By that one day, she and the army had drifted rather far into the wilderness and though at first, the forest welcomed them in, leaving was another matter. 

That's where the problem started. The problem being, they were lost. The soldiers who'd accompanied her were elites, so it shouldn't have been possible, and yet, somehow they couldn't find their way. And monsters just kept on attacking them. The pixies and the dark elves just avoided them and in the end, they were stuck. 

No matter where they went, no matter what path they took- they were always running around in circles and they always ended up in this place. 

It wasn't just odd, it was almost an impossible coincidence. 

Was someone really trying to kill her, but who'd do such a thing? After all, she was the princess of this country. Surely everyone respected her and only lived for her sake? So, who'd do such a thing?

Screech!

There was a loud roar and it snapped her awake. It'd been two full days since she had her sleep and just when her eyes were about to close- they snapped awake again. 'Now what?' Her heart raced fast but her eyes also leaked a little. 'Father.'

But it was too late to regret. Maybe her father really didn't want her anymore and that's why he hadn't sent any reinforcements? She was always selfish and she even treated her father- the king of the country with no respect. She wouldn't have been surprised if her father really did abandon her. 

"Your majesty-" A maid came inside, face as pale as a sheet. "Run."

She was the only maid who comforted the princess till now and yet, this was the first time, she told her to run.

Just what was going on outside?

She had to see for herself. 

She had to make sure.

She had to know.

The princess blitzed past the maid with shaky legs and came outside. But she saw something. And her legs finally gave up, so did her bladder. 

Two massive eyes stared against hers as the corpses of her bodyguards littered across the small space. 

The few that were still moving and attacking the thing, were being squashed. 

It was over. 

As the stench of ammonia and blood mixed, her teeth rattled and her mind froze. 'I'm going to- die?'

Her pupils shook, her whole body shook and she screamed. "Save me. Father! Mother! Save me! Edward! Someone!" She was freaking out. 

The maid behind her came forward and stood between her and the dragon. "Run. Only you can save yoursel-!" But before the maid could finish- she flew to a nearby tree and splashed blood everywhere. 

The dragon had merely flicked her. 

The princess's legs didn't move. The land beneath her was cold with her own piss. And the stench drove her mad. "No- NO! Someone-" She started to sob, and wiggle. But her body didn't move from that spot. 

The dragon grinned and all its pointy teeth shined as it opened its mouth. Fire was coming and the girl knew it. 

But her legs didn't move. Her body had already given up. 

"NO." She grabbed her head and closed her eyes. 

"You should never look away on a battlefield."

But that's when she heard a voice. She opened her eyes and saw a man standing in front of her. But what difference would it make? Wouldn't the dragon also kill him like the rest?

The man- the one-armed man smiled and looked back. "Don't worry, I've got this." He pulled out a shining sword seemingly out of nowhere and sliced the dragon hard.

His fiery armor shined brilliantly and the man looked more handsome than anything she ever saw in her life. Humans were inferior to her and she knew that- and yet, perhaps this human was different. 

The scales of a dragon were said to be the toughest things on the planet. And every living thing knew that. Hence, the proverb, 'Poke a dragon, be erased.'

But this man, just with one slice, cracked three of the dragon's scales. He was strong. 

She was right, this human really was different and maybe he could save her too!

"Who are you?" The princess became strangely calm after seeing the man. Her heart was still racing but her voice was calm. 

"Just an adventurer. Here!" He threw three bottles of potions at the girl. "Give them to the injured. I feel like they aren't dead yet. 

She fumbled but caught all three. She stared at the man fighting the dragon and her heart raced even faster. Her teeth still rattled, her legs still shook but now she had a purpose. And she had hope. She stood up- 'I won't die.'

***

Why the hell did I think this was a good idea? Wait, I never thought this was a good idea to begin with!

Plus it reeked. Rotten corpse smell was one thing but this bloody smell mixed with ammonia wasn't that great either. 

I so, so wanted to sigh but had to put up a front. Moreover, wasn't Gorgon a much better candidate than me? He looked better and he even could act better. So why the hell did he have to decline!

I really wanted to sigh.

Anyway, I sliced Ve and she was basically just taking hits at this point, without fighting back much. She occasionally swung her claws and maybe even tried to fire her breath. 

The princess girl was running around behind me, feeding potions to the injured. I sure hoped we didn't accidentally kill anyone. 

Everything was just a farce anyway. 

Oh well, I focused on my sword- the mystic blade and swung hard, this time, wounding Ve in the process. 'Just ran away already.'

I might or might not have swung a bit too hard and cut deep into her skin. 'My bad.'

Ve screeched rather loud and fired a beam of white fire at me. Almost like that attack Xerphas used to nearly kill me. Yeah, she was pissed. 

And the frigging girl was behind me. No wonder it smelled. I couldn't even dodge. 

Finally, I sighed and used the pendant, putting up a barrier of water. Obviously, that wasn't enough and I got second-degree burns here and there. 

Ve screeched again and flew off, leaving a trail of blood. Yeah, she really was injured a bit too deep. 

The girl was already done administrating potions to almost everyone and was basically just waiting for me to kill the dragon I guess. How very hopeful. 

I used the sword as footing and breathed hard. I at least needed a day and a high potion to recover from the number of wounds, Ve just gave me. 

I wounded her too, so I guess this made us even. 

I still think she went a bit overboard though. 

"Yeah, fine. Are you, miss?"

Obviously, I knew she was a princess but I had to play dumb.

Everyone in this camp was a demi-human and this girl was no exception. She had fox ears and a tail. Most of the guards were raccoon demi-humans while the squashed maid was a rat one. 

"I'm so glad." She came close and hugged me. I wished she hadn't, because boy, she reeked. And now I had to take a shower and wash my armor, perfect. "Thank you." She buried her face in my chest. 

I was a little lost. Yeah, I just saved her, but- wasn't this a bit too much of a reaction?

All her soldiers were getting up one by one and they were kind of confused by the situation too. 

"You might want to let go of me now." Because, yeah.

"Ri-right!" she moved back three steps. "Who are you, o'kind sir?"

Formality? 

"I'm an adventurer. I hail by the name Daarc.." I tried to sound a bit formal too, it sure wasn't working though.