More Story Time

I stood between Ellie and the bandits. Her small fingers clung to the back of my shirt. From behind my back, she peaked out at the group of men ready to kill us.

"What are you going to do?" she asked in a quiet tone.

"Yes, Evergard," the leader chimed in. "What will you do? Would you really expose her to such bloodshed? Make her endure the sight of your cold corpse?"

Ellie dug her fingers further in.

My heart was pounding. I was certain I could exterminate these men with little difficulty, but I had to protect Ellie.

"I won't fight you all," I said at last. They all grinned in delight.

"That makes this easier," said the one who had twisted Ellie's arm. He began reaching for his weapon.

"I haven't finished... I only wish to fight the best among you."

They exchanged glances. Then the leader asked, "And what makes you think we care about your wishes?"

I smirked. "Simple: You gain the honor of saying you bested Quinn Evergard, nephew of the emperor, legendary swordsman. Just ask your man there."

The leader looked towards the frightful one. He nodded. The leader began to stroke his chin. "Is that all then? A story--that is the grand prize? I--,"

"You get me. If I lose, I'll be your slave."

Ellie squealed. "Brother, no!"

They all laughed. "Take it, boss!"

When they were finished laughing, the leader spoke again. "High stakes, Evergard. And if you win?"

"I'll spare all your lives. All I ask is that you leave these lands. If I catch you stealing from the good people of my uncle's empire again, I shall have you imprisoned and sentenced to the full extent of the law."

The fearful one's eyes widened. He knew the punishment for thievery.

"Do we have an agreement, gentlemen?"

They thought it over for a moment. One of his men was too afraid to face me. "I am not fit to cross blades with him," he said. He laid his weapons down in the dirt as a sign of peace. I noticed he had a sword strapped at his side but he produced a dagger from within his boot. Disappointed at his lack of courage, the leader thrust the reigns of his horse towards him. He gladly took them and led the animal away.

"Guess I'll be fighting you, then. However, I have a condition of my own."

I gave him a curious look. The audacity! "Oh?"

"The girl. She stays with him," he pointed to his rougher inferior. "I want to be sure there will be no tricks from you. A fair fight: She won't be harmed as long as you don't try anything."

I could feel Ellie trembling behind me. "Please..."

"Do I have your word on that?"

"On my honor."

"Deal." I turned towards Ellie to see tears running down her cheeks. Her eyes pleaded with mine. She shook her head slowly, her fingers holding tightly to my forearms. I walked her over to where the other man was standing very slowly.

He took her somewhat roughly.

The blood ran hotly through my veins. "If you harm one hair on her head, so help me..."

He grinned. "Then I suggest you be on your best behavior."

I drew my weapon, "Ellie, shut your eyes."

.:~o*'Kaylyn'*o~:.

Story Time!

Haven't had a story in a while... Let's fix that:
______

It was my favorite time of day: The quiet time when all is still as the sun breathes her last sigh before yielding to the twilight hour. I lay with my back cushioned by the soft blades of grass, staring up at the sky.

“Where do you think we go when we die?”

It wasn’t the question so much as the interrupting voice which startled me. I turned over on my side and looked at Elsa. She was on her back as well, with her fingers laced behind her head. Her eyes were closed. She looked peaceful; like a fallen angel.

“I haven’t given it much thought,” I responded. In truth, I had thought about death many times but I didn’t want to frighten her. She was only a child; sure pure, so innocent. She probably had a naïve little fantasy about death. I imagine she thought people went quietly, painlessly as if they fell asleep one night and never woke again.

I knew better.

Still, I entertained her thought. “I don’t know, Ellie, where do you think we go when we die?” Her lips twitched as if she would say something, then she paused. She opened her eyes and stared up at the sky.

“I want to go some place nice. Like… there.” She pointed upwards.

“That would be a nice place to go.”

“Yes, and I would watch over all the people I loved and protect them. I would lie on a cloud all day and just watch the people down below. And if they were in trouble, I would send a strong wind to warn them.”

I thought about her idea for a moment. It sounded nice. Much better than the alternative. “Would you protect me?”

She looked at me without turning over. “You don’t need me to protect you. You’re my big brother. You don’t need protection.”

“I would if something ever happened to you. I would if you went to live there,” I motioned towards the sky. “Ellie, if you left me…” I couldn’t finish my statement. Equal amounts of fear, anger, and despair began to stir in my heart. I wasn’t quite sure what the next words out of my mouth would have been.

She closed her eyes once again. I wasn’t sure if she had heard me. We remained in silence for a moment. Then she said, “We should head home. They’ll be lighting the torches soon.”

“Aye,” I nodded. I stood and offered my hand to her. She took it and dusted her skirts once she was standing. I picked the stray pieces of grass from her hair and shoulders. Her face twisted into a frown. She hated when I played with her hair.

She looked up at me with a familiar twinkle in her eye. “Ready?”

“You first.”

She giggled and ran off towards the path home. I watched as she made her way to the edge of the forest. I remained in my place, giving her a bit of a head start as always. Eight… Nine… I began running after her.

The forest was quiet now. I could hear her little feet as they trampled over the leaves dusting the forest floor. She tried to be clever this time, weaving around trees and darting in different directions. I kept running after her in good fun but I never took my eyes off her.

Then I heard something which chilled me: Horses.

“Ellie! Ellie!” I called after her. “Slow down. Ellie, come to me.”

But it was too late. Ellie’s footsteps had stopped. I heard the men’s voices on the air. They were laughing. I knew she had been caught.

There were 3 men, each dressed in black. Bandits. Two of the men held Ellie by her arms while the third man remained on his horse watching. She was fighting to be let go, but they held her tight.

“You’re a pretty little thing,” said the man on the horse. “What are you doing here alone?”

I stepped forward. “She’s not alone. Let her go. Now.”

One of the men holding Ellie smirked. There was a familiar hunger in his eyes as he looked at me. The other one looked as though he had seen a ghost. Both remained in their positions waiting for orders from their leader.

“Why would I do a thing like that? She’s such a charming young girl… How much do you think she’d fetch at the slave auction? I know some men who would pay handsomely for a girl her age.” He began laughing as did his men. I wanted to slit their throats.

Ellie began kicking and thrashing about. “No! No! I’ll never be a slave. Do you know who I am? I--,”

“Hush, child.” The man with the hungry look said. He twisted her arm behind her back and I saw Ellie wince.

The man on the horse raised his hand, “Enough.”

“So it is true… You’re him.” The other man holding Ellie said with a fearful waver in his voice.

The man on the horse looked from him to me. “Who is he?”

“That’s Quinn Evergard, the nephew of the Emperor. I’ve seen him on the battlefield. He’s the best sword in the land.”

I felt my anger rising. For years, I had protected Ellie from my deeds. She knew that I fought in the Emperor’s army, that I protected our family’s lands, but I had spared her the details.

“Is that so?” The man on the horse began stroking his chin. “Well, well, royal blood... Looks like we have struck gold here, men.

Ellie broke free and ran towards me. “Stand behind me.”

The bandit leader dismounted. He drew his weapon. “What’s it going to be, Evergard? There are three of us and only one of you.”

“One is plenty.”

“Ha! Well then, let the games begin!”

.:~o*'Kaylyn'*o~:.

Mr. Right

My sister asked me what my "perfect" man would be like. I laughed and told her, well first, I'd have to believe in perfect. But after I thought about it, I liked the idea. So I guess my ideal man would probably be something like this:

Eyes. He'd have to have gorgeous eyes. I'm an eye girl. Light brown, green, hazel, etc. Something that pops.

Smart. I'd like him smart. Not annoyingly so, just enough to where I can carry on a conversation with him without getting annoyed or angry. But I'd have to be able to follow the conversation as well.

Passionate. Whether that's about painting or writing or saving orphans, he'd have to be passionate and dedicated.

That being said, committed. I'd hope he'd be committed to me, but my ideal man would not be wishy washy or flaky. He'd say he's going to do something and then do it. I love that in a person, especially a man. Conviction.

Kind. I don't want a hardened man. He'd have to be friendly, gentle, generally pleasant to be around.

Curious. I don't like people who feel like there's nothing left to learn about in the world. He'd have to be interested in travel or books. Learning.

Romantic. Oh yes, he would most definitely have to be romantic. Flowers just because. Dancing in the living room to a commercial. Surprise dinners. The whole nine.

Other than that, physical stuff isn't too important to me. I guess I'd want him at least as tall as me if not taller. But not freakishly so. A great head of hair would be nice. I do love running my hand through lush hair.

So, yeah, my ideal man. There ya go.

.:~o*'Kaylyn'*o~:.

P.S. - That being said, let me clarify that I love my boyfriend very much. And I am very happy with him. This is just what I'd like if I could craft my ideal man.