Heart Over Sword
Chapter 175: Present

Chapter 175: Present

{ Present }

Evanna marched through the camp, calling to Sir Baldwin without stopping to see him follow. She wanted to run. The panic and rapid beating of her heart made her muscles tense, and her eyes darted to her surroundings for an escape. But she did not act on her impulse, no matter how much she wanted to put distance between her and the Demon Prince of Hatherland.

Evanna chewed the inside of her cheek as the tents blurred by her peripheral vision and began morphing into the colours of brown and green hues of the trees. She was getting further away from the camp; the path she took was thick with trees, the space between them narrow and would be troublesome for a larger man to get through. The Princess heard Sir Baldwin struggling to follow with his silver armour clinking causing her to suppress a smile.

After a while, the trees began to spread out into a small clearing. Evanna was pleasantly surprised to see the grass giving way to a rocky ground that led to a deep drop. Sir Baldwin rushed to stop her from walking further, but she silently held her hand up while peering over the edge of the cliffside. The fall was indeed deadly, but the view was still breathtaking, overlooking the vast area of Direwood forest and in the far distance was the river. It made her contemplate her location in the woods to the Flori palace, the cave and where she would be if she looked on Axel’s map.

The Princess inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, enjoying the breeze from the cliff’s height and trying to clear her mind from the letter she received from her father. Escape was not even a question; she had no intention of marrying Conrad. Until she heard from Killian and her mother, she would have to head further east to Lyvaria and hatch up a plan along the way. It was all a bit of a mess, and now it would only be her and Ronan unless they found Ger and Axel in Kuramji. But the chances of seeing them again on a whim were low.

Now, she just needed to work out how to escape from Conrad.

"Your highness.." Sir Baldwin called to her warily. Her eyes slid back to his worried features; he was looking between her and the cliff.

Evanna waved him off. "This is nothing. But so your hair does not turn grey early.." She stepped away from the cliffside and wandered to the right side of the cliff towards the trees. She feigned interest in the bark though her thoughts were still piecing together a plan for her and Ronan’s escape.

"Your highness-"

"Evanna.." She scolded him lightly. It was a regular scolding now and one she hoped he would grow tired of.

He sighed and started walking towards her, his armour clinking as he did so. "I must warn you, I am under King Osian’s orders to stop you from escaping our soldiers."

Evanna’s hand slid down from the bark, enjoying the warm feeling of the life force flowing through her from the tree. She turned back and looked at him with glittering emerald eyes. "If I were trying to escape, I would not call for you, Sir Baldwin." She did not comment further as to why they were away from the camp, but it was probably more apparent than she would care to reveal to the soldiers. Conrad’s appearance and this situation unnerved her. For if anyone could put a stop to her plans, it was him.

"Even so. I would try and stop you without any orders. But.. if I were to help you escape the Demon Prince.."

Evanna shook her head, causing her knight to pause. He may fight more savagely than others, but Sir Baldwin was still a knight with honour; he worked hard to get where he was, and she did not want to be the cause of his fall or demise. Evanna looked at her old companion, holding his gaze silently before looking away. "I wish for you and the soldiers to return to Dunhurst. I fear a storm is on the horizon, and all men will be needed to protect the citizens from.. bloodshed."

"Your highness?" Sir Baldwin prompted her to continue, but she did not explain further.

"But I suppose my orders do not outweigh those of the Kings," Evanna returned with a small smile as she started to saunter back towards the cliff, her body tensing slightly as her gaze flicked to the left side where they stood, towards the darkening trees.

Sir Baldwin followed behind her and released his breath. "Evanna.. Please tell me how I can help you. I am your knight-"

"You cannot help," She interrupted and looked to the sky that was easy to see from where they stood now. "When the time comes, do not waste your time chasing me past Direwood."

"Evanna.. This is already dangerous. Warrior or not, you are still the Princess of Dunhurst and have already trespassed into the Flori’s kingdom. Where else are you to go? How far will you take this? Please, I implore you-"

Evanna held her hand up, and he hushed instantly. She lowered her gaze back to him and shook her head. "You will understand when I return to the palace."

"When you return!? And when will that be? What are your plans? When will you leave here?" Sir Baldwin took another step toward her.

"Now, where is the fun in that?" Evanna jested. "I do wish to get away, you know." Her eyes were glinting with mischief, and she looked back to the view, folding her hands behind her back and feeling the points of her sheathed swords.

"And what of Prince Conrad?"

"What of him?" Evanna asked nonchalantly though her attention was piqued with what the commander would say.

"From what I know of the Prince. He would not help without naming a price. Are you to be wed to him again?" He asked, making the Princess’ loose grip on her swords tighten.

"We are to be engaged if he returns me to father, yes.." Evanna replied while her gaze followed the silhouettes of the trees, her mind returning to escape plans. Maybe she needed another’s perspective; Ronan was somewhere in the camp.

Sir Baldwin chuckled but did not comment any further.

"Baldwin, please bring Ronan to me. I wish to speak with him."

A long silence followed her command, and she finally turned to look at her knight, raising her perfectly shaped brow. He was watching her nervously.

"Um.. I cannot leave you here..." He stumbled on the words and looked guilty and nervous as he spoke them.

Evanna released a small giggle and gestured to the cliffside. "Where would I go? Only death would greet me. I may be reckless, but even I have my limits."

Sir Baldwin glanced at the cliff where she stood so casually with the wind blowing in her face and unwrapping some strands of her hair from the plait; she kept it in. His eyes moved to their surroundings, and his features and body relaxed, deeming it acceptable to leave her. He bowed his head, hand placed against his chest and turned away in the direction they came. The forest surrounding them was thick like the path they took away from the camp, and so even if Evanna did try to escape, she would not get very far.

The Princess placed her hands behind her back once more, gripping onto her swords as her eyes started to wander to the left side of the woods nearby. The whole of her left side had been increasingly getting colder, with only a flourish of goosebumps on her left arm. Something was nearby, either watching or stalking them; whatever it was, it could undoubtedly harm her.

Otherwise, her sixth sense would not have made her increasingly alert. She was glad to have sent Baldwin away because if it was a faceless monster, its goal would be to take over Baldwin before her. Though she was not sure, the creatures were aware that their powers did not work on her.

No, only Scarecrow was fully aware that she could not be controlled.

The slight rustling of leaves on that side pulled her attention away from the faceless creatures and back to the present. Evanna spun slowly to the left, her hands sliding up the length of her swords until the hilts. Then a raven with golden eyes hopped out of the nearby bushes making the Princess sigh in relief. But then her brows drew together, and she huffed in understanding of who the bird belonged to.

"Do you really need to spy on me? I told you I would not leave.." Evanna trailed off as her eyes drew upwards to a shadow behind the bird in a shape of a human. Her sixth sense was still warning her of trouble, and she knew it definitely was not from the bird but this shadowed figure.

Was it Scarecrow?

The raven tilted its head to the side as Evanna slowly started to withdraw her swords. She noted its eyes morphing back into its usual black pupils and flew away. She did not watch it, her eyes were still fixed on this new threat, but then the chilling feeling rippled up her spine, causing her breath to stop short. She pointed a blade in both directions though she felt more alert by increasing iciness at her back and the speed it was forming.

Would they attack her together?