58 RUN!

[Authors note: This is the equivalent of nearly two chapters. I am writing the next one now, so will either be uploaded tonight or tomorrow night! XOXO]

**

Evanna sprinted past Axel, urging them to run. All at once, they followed her, except Ger, who looked at her questionably as they raced by. The princess stopped and ran back, pushing into his back as she yelled, "GO!"

With another nudge, he put his bow and arrow away and ran by Evanna's side.

"What happened?!" Ger shouted.

"Well, our cover's blown! Buuuuut, we have the gem!" Evanna smiled triumphantly.

The group sprinted ahead, going the way they came in, giving up on trying to be quiet, especially with Axel's shield and heavy footsteps. So far, the elves were not on their tails; luckily, Evanna took out the two nearest to them, and there didn't seem to be any others than the ones near the king's chambers. No, the prince's chamber. The white-haired elf.. Evanna shook her head; she didn't want to think about him and the probability of being royal.

Cilv led the way, and they once again found themselves in the cellar. Their legs were striding, leaping across the floor, running as fast as possible. Evanna only hoped that their fastest was quick enough. She looked behind her and momentarily felt relieved. They weren't clear yet. Evanna eyed the two horses still attached to the carriage as she ran past, but it was pointless, they would take too long to set up, and there were five of them.

They escaped to the main entrance, where the fountain sat, and the gates still stood tall. The group halted after seeing five elves, un-armoured elves; Evanna eyed them, expecting to see the elf Garrett, yet he was not there. Well, she ran out of powder, and now, it seemed that all who stood in their way was going to have a terrible night. The princess was the first to charge towards them, unsheathing her swords as she did so.

They turned to face her and the others; surprise-filled their handsome features before it slipped back behind a mask of composure. The first elf, Evanna approached, drew his sword out, and they began a skilful dance of sword fighting. Gliding, turning, attacking and defending equally; it seemed, as the princess glanced at her sides, that the others were also having trouble taking them out. Were these more elite than who they fought last time?

While Evanna and the elf she fought skillfully manoeuvred around each other, Cilv took her opponent out by playing dirty. The moment his sword clashed down atop her raised daggers, she kneed him in the ribs, jumped to the ground and swiped her legs beneath him. She rolled on top of him instantly and stabbed him in the chest with her claws. Her eyes stared back at the shocked elf, his eyes wide and brows raised in disbelief. She smirked and stood back up.

Axel and Ronan were fighting the same elf who seemed lethal, using a whip and a sword, while Ger finished off an elf by knocking him unconscious. Axel already lost one of his throwing axes by the elf's whip, making the steel of the sharp edge scrape along the immaculate stony ground. The sound caused Evanna, Cilv and the elf the princess was fighting to grimace at such a screech. 

The elf with the whip also kept most of his face covered by a scarf and a mask, his eyes a dark brown, smudged with what appeared to be black kohl, giving his already fierce look one much deadlier. He snapped his whip forward, and Axel grunted at the lash of the leather cutting his cheek. Ronan stepped forwards, raising his sword, but the crack of the whip swung around the blade, and the elf yanked his arm back, bringing the sword and Ronan forwards. He lost his balance and scraped his hands on the ground by the elf's feet.

The masked elf swung his sword down towards Ronan, but he rolled out of the way just in time for the metal to hit the floor. It was then, Ger lunged forwards with his sword. The elf turned just in time to counteract Ger's attack; what the elf didn't anticipate was an axe thrown into his back. He turned, his eyes wide at the direction it came from. The red-haired woman's arm was still raised from throwing the weapon. Another axe hit his front, this time from Axel.

One elf was left, the one Evanna was fighting against. Cilv rolled her eyes at the princess, "Here we go again. FINISH HIM OFF, RAVEN! KILL OR BE KILLED!"

Evanna clenched her teeth. She didn't want to kill anyone, and she knew that was the issue. But the elf before her looked to be just a few years older than her; all he was doing was his job. He might have a family depending on him.. A family… Just like she did. Evanna was doing this for her mother. If she didn't kill him, then her mother would die. Her eyes flashed with the certainty of claiming his life.

As she side-flipped out of his attack, an easy move she could have done five minutes prior, she swung her sword behind her, clashing against his and brought the other around to slash his back. 

"Ah!" The green-eyed, golden-haired elf yelped.

Evanna kept her grimace down and her emotions in check; her eyes were deadly, gone was the innocence that typically reflected back. Her face was as cold and impassive as Cilv's. Evanna continued spinning on the spot, using the force behind her to swing her other sword. The final blow. His body was wide open. 

CLANG!

Her eyes widened in shock. Ger's sword blocked her own.

**

On the balcony, overlooking the gates and fountain, the elven prince stopped and stared at what he saw before him. Some of his best warriors lying on the ground, except for one.

"-FINISH HIM OFF, RAVEN! KILL OR BE KILLED!"

Interesting.

He tilted his head to the side, his face impassive as he watched Evanna transform even more so to a deadly killer. One that struck each hit with 100% effort behind her. The white-haired elf thought she was skilful before, he assumed she put 100% behind herself in the previous fights he had seen, but he was wrong.

It was then, he realised who she was fighting, and for once, his near non-existent heart, he forgot he had clenched. It was Cedric. The prince imagined the life of his wife and unborn child continuing in pain without a husband, without a father. But just as he thought Cedric's life was imperilled, the crossing of blades caught his attention. Evanna and the brown-haired man crossed swords and stood there staring at each other.

Until Evanna stepped back, her head hung while the man knocked Cedric in the back of the head. It was then, the group left immediately, their steps quick. The prince was not scared at the possibility of them escaping; his men were lying in wait within the trees. He was only watching from the balcony, waiting on Garrett.

Without turning his head around, he said, "* You took your time. *"

"* You called for me a minute ago.. *"

"* One minute is too long. Come, I want to watch the show, maybe even join in. *"

"* It is not a play, your highness. They could have been here to assassinate you or the king. *" Garrett shook his head at his friend; he took things far too lightly sometimes.

"* I am very well aware of that. It doesn't mean I cannot have a little bit of fun though.. *" The prince's eyes glinted mischievously before he leaned on the balcony and hopped over, landing elegantly on the ground below, near the fountain. He walked forwards casually, his hands in his pockets, as though he was going for a pleasant evening stroll.

**

The group approached the trees at a wicked pace; relief coursed through their chests as they approached the white tower from earlier, where they left their bags. Cilv was ahead, already digging them out from behind the trees, and waited for the others to arrive, she kept scanning the trees for any elves, but so far, she had seen none.

Axel and Ronan were the next to arrive, which surprised Cilv because Evanna was just as quick as her. But when she looked back at the path, she could see Ger by her side, radiating with anger. Is that the only emotion he can express? Cilv smirked.

Ger ran by Evanna's side; his teeth were clenched together, his jaw ticking even while keeping up his pace with hers. He didn't recognise his sweet friend a moment ago and was shocked that the princess even listened to Cilv's advice. It was as though her eyes had masked over, losing sight of her morals as she let the darkness seep in and make them go blank.

"Say what you need to say, Ger. We need to keep moving without any issues in the group," Evanna said calmly, her face vacant of any emotion. This angered him even more, and he grabbed her by the arm and spun her around.

"STOP listening to Cilv," His eyes burned with so much anger, Evanna believed he would set alight, along with her. 

Sighing, she replied, "Okay."

"Okay?" Ger narrowed his eyes at her, the disbelief written on his face.

"Yes. I understand. But Ger, there will be a time where I will have to-"

"And that day is NOT today," He squeezed her arms to the point that she knew a bruise would form.

Evanna grimaced, "Okay, okay. Let's go, Ger. The others are waiting and-"

The sound of a horn went off in the distance and echoed from ahead of them. It was coming from the forest. Evanna cursed aloud, another thing Ger did not expect to hear from her, considering she was a princess, but then, she had spent some time on the road with them. He followed Evanna to their spot with the bags without thinking more about it. They were more alert with the sound of the horn and picked their bags up quickly, throwing them on their backs.

The group continued from there, running up the minor, ongoing slope towards the rest of Direwood. Their plan now was to run a certain point, and then the group would split and meet again near the waterfall.

As they ran, Evanna's brows creased together, slowing ever so slightly. A shiver rippled through her; this time, Ger actually saw her move her shoulders suddenly.

"Did you just shiver?" Ger was also frowning now.

"Yep. My sense.. Guys, someone or something is close. Be prepared!" She raised her voice over the sound of their pounding boots. Just as she finished her sentence, the whizzing sound of an arrow through the air landed in a tree just in front of Cilv. The woman hissed and fled up the tree, using her claws. 

Ger rushed ahead, removing his bow and an arrow from behind his back, aiming in all directions as he ran; Axel held his throwing axes, though he didn't want to use them just yet, while Ronan scouted the trees to Axel's left. More arrows zipped into the ground, just behind Evanna; she tsked and ran quicker, passing the two men and glanced up in search of Cilv.

The shapeshifter was probably taking them out. As that thought popped into Evanna's head, two elves fell simultaneously from opposite trees with knives in their backs. Evanna raced forwards and collected the daggers for her and caught sight of her for a moment, and threw them into the tree just behind Cilv's passing body. The shapeshifter stopped for a moment and retrieved them before continuing on her killing spree.

Evanna returned from the shrubbery, only to turn in shock as Axel grunted and yelped, stopping for a moment before continuing. Ronan, by now, was ahead with Ger. Evanna sprinted to Axel's side.

"GO!" He growled at her, waving his throwing axe.

Evanna made it to his side and glanced down at his leg; the gentle giant was limping. She saw the blood before the two arrows sticking out of his legs—one in his right calf and another in the back of his thigh on the opposite leg. Three more arrows were in the back of the shield that protected his back. At least that made her feel better. But as quickly as the relief came, it went.

Evanna's sense suddenly whipped through her like a shard of ice stabbing her in the side of her ribs. Without thinking twice, she leapt forwards and spread her arms wide, her chest open for the taking.

Thud, thud, thud!

Like a punch in the chest three times, Evanna's breath caught, and she nearly choked on the air she was breathing. Arrows stuck out from her chest.

"Raven!" Axel was about to cover her, but she was too quick and jumped sideways, still acting as a human shield to him. Evanna removed one of her swords swiftly, just in time to swipe it in the air, blocking another arrow. Axel watched the arrow bounce off to the side and land behind them.

"Keep moving," Evanna said, her voice low but high enough so Axel could hear. He wanted to stay with her, but he could see the determination in her face as she removed the arrows, her eyes set on an elf high up in the tree.

"Ger!" She shouted while Axel sprinted ahead. Ger whipped his head around after shooting two more elves out of the trees. He saw Evanna at the other end of the group, running last. He frowned when she pointed to the trees opposite her. Bodies still fell from the trees where Cilv was taking elves out.

"Make me fly!" The princess shouted. 

No, no.. she didn't mean.. we were kids! Oh, shit!

Evanna had already started sprinting towards a tree and pushed off one, leaping ahead of her, her leg outstretched, waiting. Ger grabbed multiple arrows, and one by one, the pair synced up a sequence they had only done a few times as kids. Each step she took, he shot an arrow for her to land on, leading up a stair of arrows.

Axel and Ronan stopped and stared, their mouths wide open at what they were watching.

"She's nuts!" Ronan exclaimed with a cheeky grin on his face, "I love it!"

Axel gulped and turned back around, slapping Ronan once on the shoulder to do the same. They needed to get out of there. Axel was unaware of how many of the Flori there were, but he was injured, and they barely scratched the surface of the forest. 

Evanna made it to the top of the tree; she used a branch and swung around, kicking the she-elf in the face. Before the woman fell from the tree, she grabbed her bow and quiver before kicking her down. She would survive the fall; it was fine. Evanna looked through the trees and started unloading her arrows at the multiple elves she saw. Although she guessed there would be more, she reminded herself of how dead the woods were earlier. These must have been the only guards they could find who wasn't drunk.

After shooting more than nine elves out of the trees, Evanna dropped down to the ground, landing gracefully. She was so focused on the elves in the trees, her attention was not on her men on the earth. They were again fighting a group of six elves. They needed to keep moving, so she grabbed three arrows and shot them simultaneously, and they dispersed in the exact locations she hoped for. Three elves fell to the ground, clutching their chests. Evanna did not kill them; she merely injured them, not aiming for the heart.

Ronan, Axel and Ger stared back at her. Ger smirked, "I did say you were a pretty good shot.."

Evanna laughed, reaching for another arrow and coming up short. She threw the bow and arrow to the side, not needing it anymore. Three elves remained between them and their escape. She unsheathed her swords, about to join Ger and help him until her back shivered violently.

Evanna's brow creased before she turned and raised her swords, deflecting a pair of blades that crashed down on her. Her eyes widened when she saw the icy gaze of the white-haired elf attached to the swords lowering towards her face.