In the distance, another vehicle was trudging through the sands. This one was more elegant than the scavenger's makeshift sled. It was longer too and cubic in shape. Its outer sides had dream-like colours with pink and aqua curtains.
"Damn dogs," Baldervich cursed.
"Will we get to slice them to ribbons?" Bones licked his blade.
Baldervich barked at the rider. "Turn us around."
"A-around?"
"At this rate, we'll be leading them straight to the hideout," Baldervich mumbled, biting his nail.
"Baldervich?" Bones interjected.
"What?!" Baldervich turned to face him.
"Whatever could have compelled you to say that out loud?"
Both turned to Hoku, who was awkwardly trying to cut out the chain holding him.
"Tch, you leave me no choice". Baldervich said, picking up his hammer from the floor.
Hoku removed Dustblade from the root of the chain and readied it for battle.
"You got lucky before; that trick won't work a second time."
"You scared?"
Baldervich snickered, "You're funny, kid. But that's about all you're good for."
Hoku looked over to the side at his approaching backup.
"Desert knights are complete pushovers. If they're your last hope, you should give up while you're ahead!" Baldervich charged in.
Hoku threw Dustblade, but the large scavenger swung his hammer, knocking the dagger out of the air.
"Syste-"
Baldervich was already over the block. There was no time. Hoku picked up one of the wooden crates and threw it at Baldervich, trying to by more time. Hoku resummoned Dustblade just as the scavenger punched through the crate, reducing it to rubble, splinters carving the air.
Baldervich raised his Hammer high and unleashed it downward. Shifting away at the last second, Hoku was mere centimetres from having his arm turned to paste.
Baldervich removed his hammer from the ground. The spot that Hoku moved from was the now dented chunk of metal that held the chain to the floor.
"Heh, smart too, I'll give you that. But!" Baldervich outstretched his hand and grabbed Hoku's neck, making him drop Dustblade. 'This is as far as you get!"
Hoku clawed at Baldervich's chunky hand. But the grip didn't let up. He felt his body losing strength. As his vision was starting to blur, Hoku saw, in the distance, his only hope as the approaching carriage flashed with a bright light that resembled a star.
Further into the sand, a shining light was growing. One so brilliant that those on board struggled to look in its direction. A star at the front of the carriage and at its centre, there was a girl.
She held the light like an object; it stretched, forming a golden staff in one hand. She plucked at the length of the light, pulling thin threads from the source. Within the other hand, the shape of a shining arrow formed, letting out sparks of energy as it was pulled back against the collection of shining thin threads.
She had long white hair that flowed in the desert wind. There were loose, flowing bands of fabric around her waist that followed the motion of her hair against the wind caused by golden energy. Her yellow pupils were split in two, creating a pattern that resembled the moon. Her sombre eyes vacant of all but the task before her.
Beside her, a soldier in a light blue uniform sat. He watched her. Admiring the girl's intense focus and maybe a little something more as he blushed. Another man beside him nudged him into reality. They sat beside a whole line of uniformed men sitting beside them. The first man perked up.
The man in uniform stopped looking at the white-haired girl and pulled his binoculars over his eyes, looking to the sled. "It's not looking good! The signal is in danger!"
At the front side of the carriage, there was a throne decorated with bundles of exotic flowers and blue cacti. Servants waited. People with round flower hats that obscured their faces and clothing made of vines.
Atop the throne sat the most decorated of all: a fierce-eyed woman with extravagant ornaments and patterned red make-up around her eyes. "I demand silence!" She shouted, waving the fan in her hand.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the observing soldier yelped.
The white-haired girl maintained focus as the bright light within her hand spiralled. The arrow was growing brighter and brighter. She muttered numbers and words at incomprehensible speed as she adjusted her aim.
"Do it", the soldier next to her whispered as he held his breath. The woman on her throne commanded a servant to hold up a pair of binoculars for her.
In an instant, everything froze. The girl released the arrow, and a fierce gust of wind took the carriage. A brilliant ray shot through the sky. It was fast, like light itself. Its afterimage burned remnants into the red sky.
The soldier's sight was disrupted by the wind. He readjusted his binoculars to the sled. "Direct hit!" He announced as the other soldiers cheered.
The girl broke out of her focused trance. And then her eyes drifted towards the floor.
"I missed."
"Like hell you did!" The soldier exclaimed. "I don't understand, Lady Sephora," the man said.
"My aim was off by 0.0073 oximeros, perhaps if I had the foresight to adjust my angle to the left by at least 0.0063 oximeros I could've hit the target. This failure is disastrous. I should just kill my self." The softness of her voice was contrasted by the words that accompanied it.
"Please don't say that, Miss Sephora" He moved to console her.
"Utter nonsense", the woman on the throne scoffed "My peers did warn me that you were eccentric-"
"No, you fool!" The Sephora shouted. She had moved to the princess and was gripping the garments at her neck. "At the speed we're moving at, even an infinitesimal figure can be the difference between life and death!" she cried.
The princess reacted to her words, then her eyebrows furrowed "What did you call me?"
The soldiers tried to pull the petite girl off the princess, but she didn't budge as though her body was made of steel. Sephera continued with a softer tone, "This distance will dull the arrow, reducing its effectiveness..."
Though perturbed, the princess ordered her servants to return the binoculars to her eyes.
Moments prior, Baldervich held Hoku up in one hand, ready to finish him off, when a blinding flash painted the sky. "Huh?" Baldervich blinked. Suddenly, the sled lurched. Baldervich was launched sideways; he crashed into the wall, and Hoku dropped back from the scavenger's hand into the crates. The scavengers all flew about the sled with the sudden flash. Despite the chaos on board, the sled eventually managed to stabilise itself as it shakily continued hissing through the sand.
At the front, the rider was trying to stop himself from falling out of his seat. He was blinded by the light in front of him and overtaken by the sudden force. He held on, and once he opened his eyes, he was greeted with the sight of blue spray of liquid as the lizard that was driving the sled forward had been directly hit by the arrow. The rider tried to calm the beast despite the blood spurting from its mouth.
"Persistent animal," the princess scorned, waving away the binoculars.
Sephora let go of the princess' collar and backed away. "I failed to ensure fatality despite moving at such slow speeds. I'm terribly sorry I've failed you, Your Majesty," she said, bowing her head.
"What's done is done. I'll just have to send the riders to neutralise them."
Sephera looked up in surprise. Her naive expression slowly faded as she grew weak. "Hey!" The uniformed men rushed to her aid despite trying to pull her away a moment ago, but they were too slow to catch her as she fell.
Before she could hit the ground, an armoured hand reached out from the shadows. The girl's light, flowing hair fell through the gaps of silver fingers.
The princess on the throne motioned to one of the idle soldiers. "Take the girl to rest. Ensure you treat her with the utmost care."
"Yes, ma'am," they said, taking her. "One more thing," the princess said, "tell the riders to come to me with haste." The soldiers saluted and carried Sephora away.
Once they left, the woman on the throne put up her fan and exhaled. "I must admit your pupil does have potential, though she could certainly work on her confidence."
"Manners too," she said under her breath.
The armoured man in the shadows turned his head to the sand.
After some time, A group of men in white drapes strolled into the room. They kneeled. "We live to serve you, princess."
The princess intensely flicked her fan towards the group. "Consider this an opportunity to prove your worth to me. Listen closely. At last, we have tracked down these criminals who have ravaged this land for far too long."
The princess closed her fan.
"You're to intercept them and kill them all."