The horses were exhausted from the hard riding, but the riders urged them on. The forest stretched forever through the dark sky. The shadows extended across the ground further than the strides of the horses, giving off an eerie feel. There was a slight chill in the air that showed the faint mist of everyone's breath as the peddled faster and faster to the city, ready to embrace their women.
The forest opened up to the village finally. The light was bright enough that the riders had to shield their eyes and allow them to adjust before removing their arms. The horses began to act out and whinny as well.
"FIRE!" The blonde guy yelled.
"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!" Yelled the scout.
The tavern that they had pulled their bounty from preciously was being devoured by flames. Screaming was heard all around from around them. As the guys recollected their thoughts, they observed the scene and noticed people fighting in the streets. The clothes of the assailants shone in the firelight and the symbol on the back looked like a snake that extended out of a coiled position, almost like it was striking something. This crest was from a group of mercenaries led by Rodrick Frentrel.
"TO YOUR FAMILIES!" Shuien yelled. The men didn't hesitate and turned their horses and split in all different directions.
Shuien knew what this was about - the bounty he had collected a couple months prior. Pulling his sword from its sheath, the sound on metal against metal clashed as Shuien slammed the pommel of his sword against the back of a mans helmet as he ran by, knocking him out cold. The man he was engaged with scurried away, grabbing his child that clung to a wood post nearby as he did so.
Continuing onward, a slight wave of relief spread across his body as his house came into view. There appeared to be no fire, and a singular torch appeared to be lit.
"Surely she heard the commotion and managed to hide," he thought to himself.
As his house drew nearer, the silhouette of three horses came into view that had been tied off to a tree just outside of his house. Pulling his white gelding to a halt, he quickly hopped off and ran as fast as he could to the door.
*BAM!*
Trying to recover his footing, he recognized the elderly woman's body that laid lifeless. Dread flooded him as he made it to the door, he lowered his shoulder and slammed it into the door.
It didnt budge.
"ROSELLE!" Shuien screamed to the top of his lungs, both anguish and fury in his voice.
Lowering his shoulder one more time, he slammed it into the door once again. The door caved in the center, but only slightly.
SLAM!
"ROSELLE!"
SLAM!
SLAM! *CRUNCH*
Seeing stars in his vision, Shuien was sure his shoulder was dislocated from the impact. Ignoring the pain, he staggered forward till he saw light from a torch that lit up his living room. He was not alone as he noticed three men standing in the room. Two of them seemed to be chuckling and cheering and the third had his belt undone with his pants pulled down past hit buttocks and was on his knees. Two legs protuded from either side of his body - feminine legs. Noticing what was happening, Shuiens blood ran cold and his heart stopped in his chest.
Hearing the intrusion, the two men closest to the door turned to face Shuien, drawing their swords. The man that was on the ground looked over his shoulder and smiled.
"It appears we have company boys!" The man grunted as he went to stand himself back up. As he turned to face Shuien, he shoved his rod bad into his pants and fastened his breeches.
The closest two men were a smaller stature but seemed to have seen their share of combat. Their armor was scarred and their knuckles were calloused. The man that was further away was significantly bigger and had a scar - or burn, it was hard to distinguish, that spread from his left check to the bottom of his chin.
"Not bad Shuien.. not bad if do say so myself." The man said as he reached down and grabbed Roselle by her hair, forcing back to her knees. Her right eye was swollen and was hidden behind blood that was almost dry. Her eye was completely closed and she appeared to be sobbing, but no tears came out, as though she had been crying a while. You could almost feel the house shaking from the uncontrollable trembling of her body.
Her clothes were in tatters as well, exposing her breast out of the rips within the shirt. Amidst the flickering light, dark spots could be seen along her body as she slowly crawled the a bundle of rags in the floor. As she lifted them, the light began to flicker off them and there seemed to be blood smothered over the rags. Renewed tears began to flow from the Roselle's eyes again. Her face twisted as sorrow smeared across it as shrieks of grief began to fill the house, at this sight, Shuien knew.
"no..no..no..no...!" Shuien dropped to his knees and the dam in his chest that held his composure ruptured and tears began to stream down his face.
"My boy.. my boy.."
He eyed the bundle of rags and his wife as he tried to process what had transpired. Grief had a grip on him. Shuien's shoulders began to heave as he attempted to crawl across the floor to his wife. Rodrick motioned in Shuiens direction and a hand grabbed the back of his jacket.
"Don't you worry. The baby I put in that tasty piece you have there will be more man than that pathetic excuse you have there." The scarred man raised his sword in Roselle's direction as he said this, smiling from ear to ear.
Obviously from the way he spoke, he was their leader. This was Rodrick Fentrel. His authority over the others made that apparent. Ignoring the hand that had a grasp on the back of his coat, the grieving husband pulled himself back to his feet and staggered over to his wife. He knelt down next to her and lifted his good arm to embrace her.
*POW!*
Red and yellow flashed across Shuiens vision.
Pain across the side of his face.
Then his stomach.
His face again.
The stars in his vision made it impossible to make out what was happening in the room. Even the torch light seemed to disappear from his vision as the beating commenced.
"STOP IT!"
The screams of his wife seemed so far away and the same colors flashed across his vision over and over. After a few seconds, his vision returned to black and the same flickering torchlight within the room. Sitting himself up, he looked around. His wife wasn't next to him anymore. Looking up further, Roselle had a knife in here hand and was standing in between her husband and the perpetrators.
"Leave him the fuck alone!"
Laughing, Rodrick said, "HOLY SHIT! I love this one. I may take her for myself." He made a thrusting motion in her direction as he began to walk towards them.
"Answer me this Shuien. What would you do to the person who killed what you loved most?" Rodrick took another step towards Roselle as he said this, keeping his eyes locked on Shuien. "You didn't think you could kill my son and everything seem fair, did you? Bounty? No bounty? I don't give a shit. He was meant to take my place when I decided to hang up the sword, which was going to be very soon might I add, but you had to go and fix that, didn't you? So lets see how you appreciate the gesture."
As soon as he finished his sentence, he motioned his men towards Roselle. She screamed and Shuien went to stand up with his wife, however; as he went to draw his sword, a sharp pain jolted through his arm and he lost the grip he had. Roselle managed to dodge one of the guys who went to grab for her and make contact with her knife in the stomach of one of the grunts.
"That bitch!" He yelled, unfortunately the wound didn't seem very deep.
"Get out of the way." Fentrel said stoickly as he stepped forward and grabbed Roselle.
Shuien, finally managing to climb to his feet, was punched across his face again and slammed back down. Looking up, Shuien saw the glint of the blade placed to her throat as it slid across her neck, from ear to ear. Her body began to shake as the blade ran across and blood coated the dagger. Once the knife cleared her throat, Rodrick her drop to the floor. All you could hear in the room was gurgling as she was choking. She wasn't dead immediately, as Rodick meant for her to suffer.
"FUCK YOU!" Shuien yelled. Ignoring any pain he felt prior, he grabbed the nearby torch, he bolted up and slammed the flame into the face of the closest man, causing him to scream as the flame seared his face. The smell of cooked flesh began to fill the cabin.
"AGGGGGHHHHH!"
Plowing his injured shoulder into the screaming guy and snatching the sword from his hand before he fell. He spun to the next smaller man and shoved the point of the sword straight through the eye hole of his helmet, hard enough for the sword the protrude from the back of his helmet. The impact from the first lackey had popped his shoulder back into place and as tears still coated his cheeks, he turned to face Rodrick. Shuien now only had his fists against Rodrick who already had his sword drawn. Shuien rushed at Rodrick, fury enveloping every fiber of his being at the moment. Rodrick lunged at him, but Shuien grabbed the blade with his bare hands, splattering blood across the floor. As Rodrick tried to pry the blade free from Shuien's grasp, it didn't budge.
Shuien stepped forward and removed one of his hands, connecting his hardened fist to the nose of the leader, smashing it flat against his face.
*CRUNCH*
The leader yelled and grabbed his face, releasing his sword in the process. Shuien cast the sword aside and stepped towards Rodrick yet again, kicking him to the ground hard enough that there was the audible sound of ribs breaking. He climbed on top of him and began swinging.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Again.
Again.
The master continued to bloody his knuckles against Rodricks face, screaming the whole while.
"ROSELLE!"
"BASTARD!"
The anguish in his voice was enough to rattle and chill the bones of even the darkest souls. His anger led his fists as he continued. After leaving his face unrecognizable, Shuien grabbed the dagger that was used on his wife. He lifted the blade to Rodricks neck and very slowly slid it through the flesh yelling the whole time "BASTARD!" and then leaving it embedded into his throat. He gained no satisfaction as he watched the man gargle on his own blood, for he had already lost what was most precious to him.
Crawling off of his opponent, he quickly made his way across the floor to his wife. Slowly lifting her, he cradled her to his chest like a baby. Through shaking lips, he smiled softly at her as he looked into her barely coherent eyes. Blood began to coat his jacket as he held her.
"I'm here.. I'm here.." he whispered as he folding the hair that was in her face behind her ear.
He could feel the life leaving her as the gasping for breath began to grow fainter and fainter. The warmth of her body was leaving as her complexion began to turn ghostly in the torchlight. He reached over and grabbed the bloody rags that was their son and placed the him on his beloved's breast, he folded her arms around the baby, and he further folding his arm around them, rocking them back in forth as he did his best to keep his composure in her eyes.
"I love you." He said over and over again, brushing her face with his free arm and staring into her eyes deeply, not being able to stop the tears that started flow down his cheeks. He leaned down and kissed her forehead occasionally, and other times he shuddered as another wave of tears ripped at his heart, however; he never let her go and never stopped talking to her. He tried to recount a couple of heartwarming tales with her to ease her passing. Then he moved on to the birth of their child as he leaned in to kiss the bundle of bloody rags, still sobbing.
She knew she was loved. As Roselle accepted what was happening, she reached up and placed her fingers on Shuiens cheek, just very slightly. He gazed back into her eyes and she gazed back into his. Her blue eyes seemed to have a brief moment of happiness he gazed into her oceans. Although no sound came out, Shuien was able to read her lips as she spoke..
"Ich liebe dich..." as the life left her body finally, leaving what was once a loving husband and now a hollow shell behind.
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