The guard’s helm fell from his head and then she recognized his face. His name was Alan, and while he was an unassuming and quiet man, he was frequently selected to guard the door of the Illeniel family suite. He was no one of importance, but Penny knew the man would have died before allowing an enemy to hurt them… in fact he might just have done so. Enraged, she leapt forward, her sword eager to repay the intruder for his rude treatment of one of her people. “Keep the children back,” she shouted, hoping her companions would understand. And cover their eyes, she thought belatedly. She knew that what was about to happen wouldn’t be something she would want her children to see.
Racing toward her opponent, she was surprised at the speed with which he reacted. The massive iron mace he was wielding came up far more quickly than should have been possible, even for a man of his size. She was forced to dodge to the side to avoid it, but even so, she wasn’t worried. No matter how strong her enemy was, her sword would be far faster than such an unwieldy weapon. Twisting her torso as she dodged, she brought her sword neatly around to sweep above the head of his weapon, as she launched herself upward.
Or rather, as she attempted to launch herself upward… the formal dress that she had worn for the celebration, caught upon something at the last moment, tangling her legs and sending her unceremoniously to the ground at her enemy’s feet. Unable to check her fall quickly enough, her head struck the stone floor hard enough to make her see stars, while her sword went skittering away from her hand.
“Looks like your dress got caught on something, bitch,” said the man, with a ghastly smile on his face.
Dazed, Penny struggled to roll away, but her body was still sluggish from the shock of the blow to her head. Looking down, she discovered the reason she had fallen, the man was standing on the hem of her dress. It was an effective tactic, and one she had used many times herself, one she probably wouldn’t have time to recover from.
Before she could move any further, she was struck in the belly by a heavy boot, driving the wind from her lungs. Leaning over her, the grinning bastard laughed, as he began ripping the skirts from her dress. “Let me help you Countess,” he said while she lay on the floor, choking and gasping for air. The strength in his hands was incredible, and he shredded the fabric simply by pulling, as though her dress was made of tissue rather than sturdy linen. “Your husband should have taught you better. If you’re going to fight, you shouldn’t be wearing a dress.”
Her eyes locked on his as she realized that the stranger knew exactly who she was. She struggled to get enough air into her lungs, if for nothing better than to curse him, when a glimpse past the man’s legs showed her Lady Rose running frantically toward them.
Rose had her dress pulled up to keep her legs free, and she ran on bare feet, to keep from alerting the man looming over Penny. Unfortunately, her hands were also empty of anything resembling a weapon.
“After you’re dead I’ll make sure that what’s left of your mangled corpse, will send a proper message to your dying husband,” said the man, as he finished ripping away the last of her skirts. His eyes followed hers and looking over his shoulder, he spotted Rose. “Guess I’ll have to kill this one first,” he said with a shrug, lifting his mace easily with one hand.
Penny had finally gotten a half breath of air,and her hand caught the man’s where it gripped the handle of his mace. “No,” she wheezed. You’re not killing my friend.
The stranger ignored her, though she had his hand locked in an iron grip around the weapon. Instead he stood and dragged her upright along with the mace. His strength was such, that it seemed as if he might happily attempt to swing her along with the heavy iron club.
Having used his help to stand, Penny threw a poorly aimed jab at the warrior with her free hand. Predictably, given the lack of force, he caught her fist in his own. Once both their arms were locked together however, she pulled backward using all the strength she could summon and simultaneously drove her knee into the man’s sternum.
She felt a crack as her knee connected, and she knew that whatever had broken, her opponent would be helpless and unable to breath. Depending on how badly she had hurt him, he might even die.
It appeared that someone had failed to explain that to the stranger though, for he still held her in an iron grip. Instead of collapsing, as any normal man would have, he straightened and pushed forward, driving her smaller mass against the stone wall. “It will take more than that to stop the will of Doron, bitch!”
Penny lost her focus as she hit the hard stone. This time at least, she managed to keep from striking her head, but now he had his hands around her neck. She struggled with him, trying to pull his hands away from her throat, but despite her own strength she was unable to do more than achieve a stalemate… one that she was slowly losing.
A spasm went through the man, and his arms went limp. Pushing his heavy form back Penny saw Rose standing behind him, and as he slowly collapsed, she glimpsed the hilt of a long dagger protruding from his neck. She had driven the blade into his spine. “He wasn’t easy to kill,” commented Rose. That was when Penny noticed the second wound. Apparently Rose had put the blade through his kidney once before switching targets. “He didn’t even flinch at the first wound,” Rose added.
“Where are the children?” asked Penny, as she sought to steady herself. Neither they, nor Elaine, were anywhere to be seen.
“Right here,” answered Elaine, becoming visible not twenty feet away. Lilly stood beside her, holding onto Irene, while the rest of the children gripped Elaine’s dress.
Relief shot through Penny once she was sure that everyone was alright, but Matthew immediately began peppering her with questions. “What happened to you, Momma? We couldn’t see! Did you kill that man?” Although he seemed calm, Penny could feel the undercurrent of fear in his voice.
“Momma, you’re naked,” added Moira, observing that the bottom half of Penny’s dress had been ripped free, exposing her long legs.
Penny sighed, “It’s just my legs, dear-heart. I’ll explain later. We don’t have time to talk now.” She started to ask why they had been unable to see when she realized that Elaine had kept them invisible the entire time. Mort had explained previously that, when invisible, the person hidden could no longer see, because the light was being diverted around their body. That was a blessing in disguise, she thought to herself. After a second she began chuckling at the inherent pun in her thought. Mort must be rubbing off on me… wait till I tell him. That thought triggered a whole host of unwelcome emotions, so she quickly shuttered them away. There will be time for that later.
Before they could move Elaine interrupted them, “There are more coming!” Throwing her hands up, the younger woman spoke an unintelligible word and gestured toward the open doorway. The guardsmen on the other side were all dead now, and four of the strange warriors were heading towards them, with deadly intent on their faces. The first of them ran head first into the invisible barrier that the young wizardess had erected to block the shattered door, bouncing back as though he had struck stone.
“Lilly! Rose! Take the children up the stairs! Don’t wait!” ordered Penny, as she recovered her sword.