CHAPTER 2- THE ARCHER

"Sigh! Did I overdo it?" Jacob said to himself as the wind from the last attack blew away the tent. Revealing the pure destruction outside to the princess and her guardian. Then his black bow reverted to its original state as the pendant glimmered.

"You....Who are you?" The princess became curious.

"You already know who I am."

"You damn archer, you- you are talking to the princess- ugh!!." Akane became agitated even though she was still heavily injured.

"Stop it Akane. This man saved us."

"We should go back to the Kingdom." Akane grunted while attempting to stand.

"We can't." Alcia hesitated.

"Why?"

"It was my brother....he was the one that planned this. If I go back after this, who knows what would happen."

"No, she's right, we have to go back to the Kingdom. If the Prince actually wanted to kill you and take the throne for himself, that means that the King is also in danger." Jacob presented his concern.

"My father? But, Altia is 5 Days away, we would never get there in time to stop him from forcefully succeeding the throne." 

"No, that depends. There are 3 possible scenarios to take place after, if this attack on you happened to be successful.

One, after he had killed you, the fake Arcane knight alone would have to go back to the Kingdom to confirm your death, then the Prince would dispose of the King and take the throne permanently, giving us time we need to make our return.

The second possibility is that after you left the kingdom the prince would immediately dispose of the king, awaiting the fake Arcane Knights with news of your death to swiftly claim the throne, this way no one would question his succession.

Thirdly, even if you were to somehow win against the fake Arcane Knight and return home with your guardian and the king is already dead, how would you explain the death of 50,000 men, including an Arcane knight. No matter what, he has a high chance of winning but, there is one thing he didn't count on...." Jacob broke down the situation in detail.

"And what's that?" Akane asked.

"We need to get back quickly." 

"Why is that?" The princess asked.

"Because beside you two, the King is the only other person who knows who I am."

"Even if those scenarios are possible, it wouldn't matter if we arrive 5 or 7 days after. The earlier we are, the better our chances in this situation." Akane shared, struggling to maintain her blood loss.

"That's correct, in 2/3 of these scenarios, the time we arrive does not matter. As such it would be best if we leave now."

"Ugh!?" Akane clenched her teeth as she tried to move her body, but the wound was too deep.

"Can you walk?" Alcia asked.

"Yeah." forcing her body upright, she took up her sword and sheathed it.

"Alright." Jacob said.

"But how do we get off of this pillar?" Alcia asked.

"How else, we jump." he replied.

"Eh?" The two girls exclaimed.

Later that night

Jacob, Alicia and Akane are walking through a forest, dragging the Divine sword on the ground as her arms were beginning to tire.

"I can't go on." Akane pleaded after falling from Alicia's support. "You have to go on without me."

"Don't be ridiculous. I would never leave you behind." Alcia said, struggling to hold onto Akane.

"Her wound isn't getting enough time to heal properly, we'll make camp here, I should be able to find some sort of animal around here." He stopped and rested the Divine sword against a tree.

"Ugh!!!" Akane cried out after Alcia placed her against a tree.

"Rest here."

"Let me see." Jacob walked over to the injured Akane.

"Huh? Wha- What are you doing!? Don't pull on my shirt like that." She cried as he tried to look at the wound properly, she fought him with her dwindling strength.

"Oye, stop making this weird." He uttered before her shirt tore, Jacob stopped and his eyes and expression became dim as the princesses eyes opened wide.

"Akane....Why didn't you say it was that bad?" Alcia cried as they saw a massive gash on Akane's body.

"I didn't want you to worry about me your highness. Besides, I am but a Guardian, I could be replaced after I die."

"Don't say that. You're my bestfriend." Alcia said as tears fall from her eyes.

"Princess." Akane murmured.

"...."

"Are you two done? The wound isn't that bad, I can heal you." Jacob interjected before drawing his knife and cutting his arm.

"What do you mean?"

"If you ingest my blood your body would heal." Jacob explained as he placed his bleeding arm by her mouth.

"What the fu-, I'm not going to drink your blood!!!" Akane refused strongly.

"Do you want to die?"

"No, but....isn't there another way!?"

"No. Now here. Drink." he forced his arm against her mouth, but she would not drink.

"No, I can't do it." She pulled away.

"Tch! So stubborn." he exclaimed, grabbing her wrists, putting his mouth to his wound and then smacking lips with Akane, feeding her his blood from his mouth as Alcia watched on, blushing trying to hide her face but looking through her fingers as she swallowed Jacobs blood through the kiss. Then he pulled away slowly, leaving Akane in a very provocative position with her shirt torn, tongue out of her mouth and her face a red color.

"I haven't, kissed anyone before. That was, my first time. Now I'll never be able to get married." She teared up.

"Really, aren't people like you supposed to already be arranged for a marriage." he said, unfazed by his actions.

"No. Akane always turned down her suiters because-."

"If I don't, that means my service to the Kingdom, to the Princess would no longer be a priority."

"I see."

"So you have to take responsibility!" Akane shouted.

"...Responsibility!? For what!? I just saved your life." Jacob became confused and defensive.

"But you didn't have to kiss me!"

"Tch! Whatever, I'm going to get some rest while I can." he turned away, sitting against a tree, facing the two girls.

"Hey Jacob, I mean, Sir Jacob." The princess called.

"Jacob is fine, besides, I serve the king, so you don't have to be so formal." 

"I just wanted to say thank you and I'm sorry for the way I treated you back then."

"It's no big deal." 

"Can I ask you a question?" She asked.

"Sure." He obliged.

"Before, you said that an Arcane Knight can be recognized by a symbol. What does that mean?" 

"Hmmm? It's horrible that you have so little information. There are 6 Kingdoms around this world, in a fair society, each one would have 1 or 2 Arcane Knights but some have more, while some don't have any at all, these Arcane Knights have their own unique symbols that enable you to recognize them." He explained.

"I see. So how does one become an Arcane Knight?" Akane joined the conversation.

"You can't." He replied instantly as he looked up to the night sky.

"I mean, I know that I might not be strong enough but how can someone become an Arcane Knight." Akane rephrased the question.

"You can't. Arcane Knights aren't just ordinary warriors who the kingdoms deem so. They are born as Arcane knights." He answered again.

"What do you mean?" The princess asked.

"I don't know why but there are only 12 Arcane Knights in existence, these beings were born as such and have unimaginable power. Some can control water, some the wind, others fire and earth. For some reason, each one of these persons has some form of connection with the elements. It is said that when Arcane Knights are born, the Gods give then ornaments, with a symbol. That is where their names derive."

"So which Arcane Knight are you?" The princess asked.

"I am The Archer." he replied as his right eye started to glow through his hanging hair and the symbol of the archer was nearly visible to the girls.

"I didn't even know Altia had an Arcane Knight of its own."

"Being kept a secret means no other Kingdoms wouldn't know about me and start a war with Altia. We may be Arcane Knights, but not all of us are relative in strength." 

"How old are you?" The princess asked.

"21." 

"No way, you're one year older than me and the same age as Akane."

"I see, do you know the other Arcane knights?" Akane asked.

"No, but I have heard rumors of a few of them, An Arcane Knight with Golden armor that rules the kingdom of Solaris. Another who was said to be the greatest weapons specialist of his time and the 3rd, said to be the strongest of all, a giant amongst men. As it stands, those 3 are the only ones I'm aware of. Anyway, you girls should get some sleep, I'll keep watch."

"Okay."

"And be careful, there are-" he tried to warn the girls "they're already asleep?" He looked down at the girls. "Sigh, what did I get myself into?"

A few moments later, Alcia and Akane are sleeping against a tree with Alcia's head on Akane's shoulder as Jacob sat on the ground by a tree facing the girls with his eyes closed. Nearby he heard bushes shaking in the distance, his eyes then opened as he got up and walked over to the girls before he stood in front of them, protecting them as he looked around.

'Enemies? 4 hostiles, all carrying weapons.'

He thought to himself as he held onto his two knives resting at his side. He deduced the number of hostiles with his senses of sight, smell and hearing.

'Do I wake them up? Using my ability would cause us ,more harm than good. I didn't think they would send others. Is it for confirmation?'

"Tch! Akane, Alcia, wake up."

"Hmm? What is it?" Akane woke up and saw him standing in front of them.

"We have incoming."

"What?" The princess sprung upwards.

"Alcia, protect Akane, her wound hasn't fully healed yet, any wild movement could send her into shock." 

"Okay." She answered as Jacob slowly drew his two knives.

"Stay behind me."

"No problem."

"They're coming." He said as he saw the shadows coming closer. Alcia sweating from the anticipation.

"Aaughh! Dad how much longer!?" A pubescent voice shouted.

"I don't know Azee." A mans voice replied.

"I knew we should've taken the cart and the horses." A young female spoke, then they came out into the open, a family of four, looking for a place to rest.

"Huh?" A woman wondered as she saw Jacob standing in front of the princess and the princess in front of a wounded Akane.

"The Princess...and, her Guardian but who is this person?" The man wondered.

"Huh? What's going on, the princess's guardian is bleeding, don't tell me." The boy wondered as he looked towards Jacob.

"What are you doing with the Princess!?" the 4 individuals shouted as they drew their weapons but Jacob did not respond, maintaining his serious expression.

"Release the princess at once you savage!" 

"Princess it's alright, you can come with us now." The woman spoke as they came closer.

"Sigh." Jacob expressed his annoyance before putting back his knives and walking away.

"Huh? He went to sit down?" The man said.

"I'm going to sleep."

"There seems to be a misunderstanding, we're not being held captive, he is The Ar-" Alcia tried to calm everyone down but Jacob Interrupted her.

"My name is Jacob, I'm just trying to help the princess and her guardian get home." He spoke with his eyes closed.

"I see. That's wonderful, we're actually headed to the Kingdom of Altia as well." The man became happy as they all put back their weapons.

"Well you're walking in the opposite direction, Altia is that way." Jacob pointed to the north.

"Man I'm tired. We should stay here for the night. If you don't mind of course, princess." The man proposed.

"That is quite alright."

"Sigh. Finally, I'm so tired." The man rests down their bags and they all huddled up.

"Princess. We noticed that you don't have any food. You are welcomed to have some of ours? We have quite a lot." The woman asked the princess as they all were about to eat.

"Can we?"

"Of course!" The man replied with joy.

"Thank you." 

"My name is Kartel and this is my son Azee...."the man introduced himself and his son.

"Pleased to meet you." The boy greeted her.

"This is my daughter Ihoko..." he introduced his daughter.

"Princess." She greeted her. 

"And this is my lovely wife Cruela." He introduced his wife.

"It's an honor, your Grace." She greeted the princess.

"It is nice to meet you all." 

"Likewise." They all smiled.

"Would you like something to drink?" Ihoko asked after Akane and the princess started to eat.

"Yes please." 

"How about you mister, Do you want anything to drink?" Kartel asked Jacob.

"I'm fine thanks." Jacob refused.

"Tch!" Kartel exclaimed.

"Hey, don't be rude." Alcia responded, holding a drumstick toward Jacob said.

"Fine." Jacob finally gave in and took a drink as everyone else enjoyed themselves with food and entertainment.

'I really hate liars.'

Some Time Later

Jacob snored as the princess and her guardian slept quietly but the passing family were still awake.

"Finally, the drugs worked." Azee whispered.

"Now we don't have to use force." Ihoko whispered.

"Dad, this guy has a lot of weapons. What do you think he is?" Azee asked as he searched Jacob and found his arrows, two knives along with 5 darts.

"Judging by the arrows he must be an Archer, but he doesn't seem to be a very good one since he doesn't even have a bow. Just take their weapons and put them by that tree over there." His father answered before giving an order.

"Look at this, I bet this could sell for quite a large number of coins." Ihoko said as she saw the Divine sword, resting against a tree. "Ugh!? It's heavy. Fucking sword!"

"Honey, calm yourself, all we need to do now is kill the princess." Cruela tried to calm her daughter.

"Tch! Cut the bullshit, we aren't a fucking family." She exclaimed.

"Mmmm. It would have been better if she were awake, I love it when they scream." Azee grinned as he looked down at the princess as she slept.

"Save it for our normal prey. This one is a special case. The prince will be so happy with us." His father said.

"I see, so you are just a bunch of assassins." A voice spoke from behind.

"Huh? How did he!?" Kartel turned and saw Jacob, standing on top of a tree branch, looking down at them.

"Father!" Azee shouted.

"I wonder how much the prince put on the Princess's head. Must be quite a large amount huh?" His eyes lowered.

"Tch! You bastard, who are you!?"

"Me, I'm just a normal guy, helping the princess get back home." Jacob said as the wind around them started to pick up and his hair levitated, revealing his glowing right eye and the symbol inside of it.

"Ugh!? No way." Kartel exclaimed after realizing who he was and started to panic.

"That voice in your head saying you can get away, it's lying." 

The next morning, Akane and Alcia are waking up from their drug induced sleep.

"Huh?" Akane wondered.

"Eh?" Alcia exclaimed.

"Ohh. You're awake, that drug must've been strong." Jacob turned to the girls and said as they saw the family tied up against a tree.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Akane shouted as she stood up.

"Jacob, let these good people go!" Alcia ordered.

"Look." Jacob tore off a strip of plastic from Kartel's forehead.

"It can't be." 

"Even these people." Akane whispered.

"Hey at least you're all healed up." Jacob smiled.

"You're right. I feel great." Akane looked at her body and waved her hand around.

"Looks like my blood worked." Jacob smirked.

"Don't you ever bring that up again!" 

"Whatever. Now since you're all energized, time to use that energy." He changed the topic.

"For what?" The princess asked.

"We're going to run." 

"Run? With all this weight?" Akane asked.

"Don't worry, I'll carry everything, you two just have to keep up." 

"You've got to be kidding." Akane responded.

"If we run for a whole day we'll make it to Altia is a Day, Day and a half max." 

"I can't believe this." Azee whispered as they all pretended to be knocked out.

"Huh? Are they crazy, they're going to run all the way there." Cruela whispered as she saw Jacob loading himself up with all the weapons and grabbed a big bag as Akane and Alcia removed their armor to lighten the load.

"Pfft, if they collapse along the way we might still have a chance." Ihoko whispered.

"Now, get ready. Make sure to keep up." Jacob told the girl as they stretched.

"Don't underestimate us." The princess smiled.

"Ready....Go!" Jacob mumbled before the three of them blasted off, completely destroying the ground beneath them as a massive shock wave blew down the trees behind them, including the one the family is tied to.

"Aahhh! What the hell!" Azee screamed.

"This is insane!" Kartel shouted as they were blown away.

"Wait, they took our food didn't they!" Cruela noticed.

"Those fucking bastards!" Ihoko shouted.

'Wow, they're really going. Well, time to speed things up a bit.'

Jacob thought as he smiled and watched the girls running ahead of him.

"What the-!?" The two girls exclaimed as they saw Jacob run past them with ease.

END OF CHAPTER