Silverton's Journey

Chapter 3

"Why?" the girl moaned.

The two of them were running through the fiery red woods. Fallen leaves crunched under their feet and the prickly wind made Olivia shiver. Without looking at her, Leon uttered, "I have no idea. Probably because I helped the crown prince escape from the kingdom- when his father died- six years ago?"

Olivia stared at him with widened eyes. She was afraid of Leon, but curious as well.

"Why did you do that?" the girl uttered in a disappointed voice.

"I had no choice." Leon's reply felt somewhat cold and void to her. "And instead of him, his brother became the king. I don't know what King Evan wants with me!"

Olivia panted, "He wants your head, of course!"

Leon snapped, "Shut up!"

The two of them were far away from the house. They were still in the woods. Olivia stopped, panting in exhaustion. "Hey, Sir, I'm hungry."

She sat down, at last, not wanting to go any further. Leon sighed and said, "Wait here, then. I'll find something for you to eat."

A pair of ink-black wings stretched out behind him. Olivia stared at him in awe as he swiftly flew up and out of her sight.

The girl waited, humming to kill her boredom. She kept thinking about his wings; they looked so magnificent. Even the black colour of his wings was radiant, making him look angelic. Time passed slowly and Olivia was hungrier than before.

The faint sound of feet crunching leaves broke her attention from humming. Olivia looked up, hoping to see Leon with breakfast in his hands. Instead of him, there was a group of uniformed men. They seemed to be soldiers; they came to her and stopped.

One of the soldiers came forward and asked her, "Miss, what are you doing here? Are you lost?"

Olivia flinched back being afraid of them. Keeping Leon's warning in mind, she refused to answer.

The same soldier asked her a different question this time. "Have you seen a tall man in black somewhere around?"

Hearing his voice, Olivia began to panic. Before he could ask again, someone came from behind and raised a sword at them.

Seeing the flash of light on the sword, Olivia instantly closed her eyes tight. Swords clashed, slashed, and stabbed, leaving a spatter of liquid on her face. The girl opened her eyes to see some of the soldiers dead on the ground, while others kept fighting with him. Leon was there.

Turning back to her, Leon yelled, "Get somewhere safe!"

Olivia crawled behind the tree she was resting against. Unable to control her rapid heartbeat, she began to gasp. She pressed her ears with her palms, being afraid of the sounds. What is happening? I cannot believe this, she thought, feeling miserable.

Heavy objects dropped, crushing the leaves underneath. The atmosphere became tranquil again. Quiet enough for Olivia to hear her own heartbeat.

Leon walked to her with the bloodstained sword in his hand. Olivia looked up at him, noticing the spatter of blood on his face. She rubbed her face and realized; it was the same for her. Turning around, she discovered all the soldiers lying in a pool of blood.

"You said you were hungry," the man said, looking at her with a grim face.

Olivia nodded her head as she began to shiver.

"Get up, now. We need to hide somewhere. More soldiers might come any time," he said with caution.

The girl stood up as he said, but she did not look him in the eyes. Her body shivered as her mind recalled Leon's cruelty to the soldiers. Leon had killed every one of them.