The Dark World

Chapter 4: Ally or foe

Third person pov

Ezekiel was barely back on his feet when Cairn pushed him to the floor landing beside him as a sharp throwing blade whipped past them by mere centimeters embedding itself in the trees behind them.

Ezekiel looked out at the bushes and saw a shadow flit between them. He got up and chased whoever it was as they ran.

“Wait for me, you f.uck!” Cairn yelled and followed. Neither of them knew who had tried to kill them for the figure ahead was hidden in a hooded cloak. Luckily, Ezekiel was a fast runner and eventually caught up enough to tackle the person to the ground.

They crashed to the floor hard with Ezekiel landing on top of the person and without hesitation he pulled the hood down to reveal it was a lady.

She was more than just a lady, she kicked him off her and rolled away from him, Cairn rushed her, but she dodged out of his reach and punched him in his side, when Ezekiel tried to help, she kicked him in the face, knocking him back and splitting his lip.

She was strong and a good fighter, and for reasons Ezekiel would never understand, he noticed Cairn smirking like he was enjoying the whole thing.

It took a while, and a beating from her, but in the end they managed to get her pinned to the floor. “Why did you try to kill me!” Ezekiel growled, losing patience.

“You’re in my territory, you don’t belong here!” She snapped.

“You live here?” Cairn snorted, Ezekiel glared at him.

“We can’t all have fancy castles and nice trinkets like you prince Cairn!” She spat.

“How the f.uck do you know who I am?”

“I know only what I need to know.”

“What the f.uck does that mean, lady!”

Ezekiel shoved Cairn, “talk to her with a little more respect, and if you take in the clothes she is wearing, I assume it is because she is a Druid.”

Ezekiel letting go of her meant she was able to push Cairn off and stand up. “Why are you here?” She asked.

“We are passing through to reach the dark lord’s lair,” Ezekiel answered.

He expected her to laugh, to look at them like they were madmen, but she didn’t, she retrieved her throwing blade and said, “I shall join you.” She didn’t ask, she simply invited herself.

Both Ezekiel and Cairn looked her over. She was five, ten in height, lean and slender, yet she still had curves in all the right places. She had big b.reasts like mystic Zerena, but this lady was black, a midnight ebony skin tone light with a sheen of sweat that made it look dewy.

Her hair ran down to her waist, curly and wild, gold rings running through her jet black hair here and there, flowers too Cairn noticed.

Cairn wasn’t sure why he noticed all the little details of her face, like her dark brown doe eyes, when she was mad, they changed to a dark green, he noticed she had full lips, a perfect Cupid bow shape, he even noticed she had long eyelashes, her eyes were pretty.

Ezekiel took in what she wore, gold bands around her upper arms, two each side, one clasped around her left wrist. She wore light armor of her own on her chest, but wore black leather trousers, black laced up boots and a dark green hooded cloak. He noticed the bow and arrows on her back, an archer.

Feeling her discomfort from their staring Ezekiel cleared his throat and said, “so you will stop trying to kill us now?”

“The enemy of my enemy is a friend, come, I have food.”

They followed her as she led them further into the woods, Cairn didn’t trust her, but then again, he trusted no one these days. He would let Ezekiel take the first bite of the food, if he didn’t drop down dead from poison then Cairn would eat.

Pfft, hey, he said he’d help kill the dark lord not become best friends with his arch enemy, besides, Ezekiel would come back anyway. One of them needed to be the bait and Ezekiel was the most naively trusting, so Cairn would let him take the first bite, the last thing they needed was to wake up and find out they’d been robbed during their short death.

Mystic Zerena came running up behind them and panted, “Thank you for the invite and not just leaving me back there.”

Cairn smirked, “I know you are more than capable of looking after yourself.”

Ezekiel was the one who apologised. “My apologies, I got caught up in the drama that ensued.” He took her hand and softly kissed the back of it, making Cairn sneer at him, Ezekiel had always been a romantic and a gentleman, Cairn had always thought that a weak trait in Ezekiel.

Cairn f.ucked, he didn’t court ladies, and he didn’t understand why Ezekiel bothered, especially with mystic Zerena, it wasn’t like they had ever bedded one another. Cairn respected mystic Zerena and he always greeted her as such, but hand kissing was a little too far for him.

Mystic Zerena blushed and smiled when Ezekiel kissed her hand and Cairn wondered if that was why he made the effort to kiss it, because when she blushed Cairn couldn’t deny she looked incredibly beautiful and flushed in the face like a lady in the throes of passion.

Ok, Cairn shook himself out of that thinking, it had been a long time since he had spent the night with a lady, and it was making his mind wonder to places it shouldn’t.

He wasn’t quite the prince this Druid thought he was either, yes he had grown up with a king and queen for parents, had riches and never wanted for anything, but he was always a wild child, getting up to mischief, fighting with the older boys and using his title to get away with being a little s.hit.

He would give anything to have them all back now, they were long dead, killed by the darkness and its monsters. He could have protected them if he had been there, but his father thought he needed to learn a lesson and had kicked him out, banned him from returning home. Cairn had learnt a lesson alright, he just wished the price hadn’t been so steep.

He and Ezekiel sat either side mystic Zerena and watched the Druid cut up a deer and start cooking it, long were the days of feasts laid out on a table in the castle, the sounds of laughter floating in the air and glasses clinking.

They all took the meat she offered gratefully, but Cairn still waited a few minutes after Ezekiel had taken the first bite, when mystic Zerena took a bite too, Cairn knew it was safe to eat, if anyone would sense any foul play it would be her.

“What is your name?” Mystic Zerena asked the Druid.

“Marisoll.”

Cairn looked at Marisoll curiously, she looked strong and fearsome for a lady, yet her features were soft and feminine, even her voice was soft and gentle, you would never have guessed just how strong and great a fighter she was, but he knew, she’d given him and Ezekiel a damn good beating, almost had them, a female warrior as strong and good fighting as they were, she’d be a great ally in the battle against the dark lord.

Ezekiel enjoyed the cooked food, it was great, and it was nice to have his stomach not growling angrily for once. He wasn’t stupid, he knew Cairn waited until he took the first bite, of the two of them, Cairn was the most distrusting, not that Ezekiel was as naive as he knew Cairn thought he was, but he was good at reading people, and he knew they could trust Marisoll, he had seen the fire in her eyes when they had mentioned going to defeat the dark lord, she wanted it so badly he could almost taste her desperation. That, he trusted.