To Serve the Crown

Rosellina took a deep breath through the black cloth mask she wore to steady her nerves, willing her body into utter stillness. It was midday in Elwynn Forest but the sunlight only managed to slant through a few gaps in the leafy canopy above, the beams creating weird shadows along the leaf and loam covered forest floor. With her back against a large tree Rosellina squatted, her dueling swords crossed on the ground before her and her hands firmly grasping them where she sat.

Around her she could hear the faint sounds of armor clinking, and catch a glimpse of sunlight reflecting off of armor. The sounds and light would give them away if the Stormwind Guards were not careful, but there was no help for it now; she'd had scant time to requisition the elite guardsmen and no time at all to brief them on the value or skills of stealth in the forest.

Not an hour before Rosellina had returned to her apartment to find a man there. He'd said nothing to her, merely nodding to her and moving one hand in a complex gesture that signaled he was an SI:7 agent making contact. He'd slipped her a note and then left without ever uttering a sound. The note had been simple, and the words were still burned into Rosellina's mind.

Package to be delivered to Defias via wagon in Elwynn. Westpath Lane. Intercept package and return to Stormwind. Priority High. Maximum force authorized.

That was all it had said, and all it needed to say. Rosellina had immediately left to requisition some soldiers and set out, and now she was only moments away from a potentially life or death fight. She could be dead in mere minutes at the age of twenty. Try as she might, driving the thought from her mind and the bowel chilling fear it brought with it was no easy task. Her duty, no her nation and her King needed her, and she was just going to have to suck it up.

"I can do this. I've been trained," she murmured to herself in an almost silent whisper. The words did nothing to quell the fear, and she gripped her blades hard, her knuckles white. The swirling doubt and pumping adrenaline made her shaky, but all of these thoughts were driven from her mind by the sound of wagon wheels making their way down the path. The 'package' was about to arrive, and the time for thought and doubt before battle were behind her now.

She hesitated just a moment, letting the sound of the wagon's wheels grow louder until they were almost next to her hiding spot in the forest. Her brown eyes made contact with the sergeant in charge of the Stormwind guards, and she nodded once, rising up from her place of concealment, her swords coming into an attack posture.

"Charge! In the name of the King!" Rosellina shouted, the guards rising up around her and yelling their own warcries. The sound of heavily armored bodies crashing through the forest echoed loudly, washing over the startled targets suddenly.

As Rosellina whirled and ran around the tree she'd been using as cover her keen sight quickly assessed the situation. Not twenty feet from her on the path there was a covered carriage, not a wagon. Around it were five or six men, all armed and armored with a mix of studded leather and chainmail armor; likely mercenaries by the look of them. In front of the carriage and leading the procession on horseback was a man in leather armor, his face concealed by a telling red mask typical of the Defias.

Rosellina wasted no time, dashing ahead of the guards she'd brought, her lightly armored form allowing her to outpace them quickly. The first of the mercenaries met her with an ax, and she easily parried the blow and then dodge out of the way as he tried to hit her with a backswing. She whirled past the man, slashing his leg with the razor sharp edge of her dueling sword, the poison coating the weapon causing the wound to bleed profusely. She continued on, letting the guards behind her slam into the wounded soldier and hearing the sounds of them meeting others in battle, the clash of metal on metal echoing loudly through the forest.

Ahead of her was the carriage, and Rosellina knew she had to secure the package within it as quickly as possible lest something happen to whatever it was. As she ran she sheathed one sword, reaching to her belt and whipping out a throwing knife. She hurled the weapon, the blade flipping end over end before embedding itself in the neck of the carriage driver. The man tumbled from his seat, releasing the reins and causing the horses to shuffle nervously. Without a driver to encourage them, the wagon came to a halt as the horses slowed, and Rosellina jumped up onto the carriage's step, parrying a blow from a second mercenary with her other sword.

Without turning to survey the battle, she lashed out with her foot, her height on the carriage's step allowing her to kick her assailant in the face. The man tumbled away from her, his nose broken and his weapon tumbling from his hands. She gave him no more thought, her hand yanking the carriage door open and her body quickly slipping inside.

Within the carriage it was dark, the sounds of combat muffled by the lushly appointed interior. Rosellina found herself face to face with what appeared to be a nobleman who was trussed up like a pig set for a barbeque. Seeing no immediate threat inside, she set her sword point down and leaned it against one of the seats, sliding in to sit next to the man.

"Sir, I'm here to free you," she said, reassuring the man who had immediately begun to struggle against his bonds and was mewling something through the gag that covered his mouth. "Hold still just a moment and we'll get you free."

She reached to her belt and drew another knife, expertly parting the cloth gag from the man's mouth and then pushing him over so she could work on the ropes that tied his ankles to his wrists. He gasped as he was finally able to draw in a full breath, his voice shakey.

"P-please! You have to get me out of here! I'm Lord Zackery Falconoak. Y-you have to keep t-those ruffians away from my person!" he said, his tone whiny.

Rosellina cut through the bonds tying the man's limbs together, working on freeing his hands entirely as she replied, "I will do my best to protect you sir. You have my word. I'm going to free your bonds and after the circulation has returned we're going to exit the carriage. There are Defias in the woods and they are expecting to have you delivered in their hands. We'll get you to safety."

"Y-yes yes! Hurry please! T-they're going to ransom me! Me of all people if you can believe it!" He said, almost in a panic.

Rosellina didn't reply, her knife quickly cutting the rest of the bonds and freeing the man. He rubbed at his wrists and ankles, his foppish attire somewhat worse for wear after his kidnapping. Once he looked ready, Rosellina picked up her sword and nodded at him. The sight of the weapon made him pale a little and he swallowed hard.

"Get ready Lord Falconoak. I'm going to open the door on the count of three and then we're going to depart. We're heading straight into the forest without fail," Rosellina said in a steady tone. The fear of the man beside her made her feel the need to reassure him with a nod and a smile. The gesture elicited only a nervous nod but there was little else she could do.She began to count down, her voice steady and her eyes never leaving his. When she got to zero she moved, her boot kicking open the door and her sword leading the way as she plunged back into the fray.

The path outside was a swirling melee, the armored Stormwind guards fighting fiercely with the kidnappers. As Rosellina landed on the soft soil of the path, the Defias agent on horseback rounded the carriage, sword leveled not at her, but at the noble dandy that had just begun to daintily climb down the carriage steps behind her. With a shout she jumped back, drawing her second blade and crossing them, catching the mounted assailant's weapon in the 'X' of her own swords.

"Go Lord Falconoak! Go NOW!" she shouted, her eyes never leaving her opponent. The Defias agent slashed at her again, spurring his horse and attempting to trample her. Rosellina knew she had little chance against a mounted opponent and she quickly devised a desperate strategy. As the horse lurched towards her, she dropped one of her swords, moving swiftly and dextrously and jumping towards the mounted man, her remaining blade leading.

The move caused the man to reel back in his saddle to avoid being impaled. Rosellina used that moment to grasp his saddle spur with her free hand, her legs propelling her up as she climbed his leg. He slashed at her but she nimbly avoided the blow, clambering up the side of his body and using her free hand to grasp at his clothing. He slashed again, and she parried at an awkward angle, the blow making her drop her second sword.

In desperation she lunged at him with both hands, using her grip on his shirt to complete the climb and wrapping her legs around his waist. This close in, he was unable to bring his sword to bear, and for a brief moment black masked SI:7 agent and red masked Defias agent glared at each other from their almost intimate embrace. Knowing that he would quickly overpower her, Rosellina recalled her training and quickly and viciously head-butted his nose with her forehead. She could feel his bones breaking and the warmth of his blood on her face as he reeled backwards, and she reached to her belt, pulled one of her knives and rammed it in under his ribcage.

His breath rattled out and she leaned back, releasing the grip on his waist with her thighs and bringing her legs up. She planted both feet on his chest and pushed, kicking him backwards and off the back of the horse, a dagger still sticking from his chest and his sword tumbling into the dirt.

In a rush Rosellina turned the right way in the saddle, grabbing the reins and looking around. All around her the combat was fast and fierce, and in the distance she could see more riders approaching up the path; likely Defias coming to investigate the sound. She was running out of time.

"Sergeant! We have to get the package to safety!" She shouted. The man looked at her, nodding to her only once as he parried a blow from one of the mercenaries. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew how dire the situation was.

"Go Ma'am! Take him and go! For King and Country!" he shouted.

He was telling her to leave them. She could hear it in his tone, see it in his eyes. But there was no choice. The package had to be secured. She had to do her duty, even though every fiber of her being screamed at her to stay and fight with the brave men that would have to sacrifice themselves for their nation. She nodded once, her voice solemn as she replied, "For King and Country. Light bless you all, Light save the King!"

She lashed out with the reins, turning the horse and spurring it into a full gallop. Ahead of her on the path Lord Zackery Falconoak was milling about on the trail, eyes wide and face deathly white. There was no time to inform him of her plans as she galloped towards him, and she could hear him shrieking as the horse plunged to within mere inches of him.

It was over a second later. She yanked him from his feet, pulling him halfway into the saddle as the horse continued on. He flailed about, but instantly grabbed onto the saddle spur as he felt himself being dragged, scrambling up and laying over the front of the saddle like a sack of grain.

Rosellina kicked the horse hard, spurring it into a full gallop, leaving the combat far behind in an instant, the sound of it trailing back to them and only drown out by the muffled complaints of the manhandled Lord laying across her lap.

Rosellina heard none of it though, her tear-filled eyes focused on the trail ahead as good men died behind her to allow her to complete her mission. In the end it was not the combat, not the gut wrenching terror of nearly dying or even the exultation of completing her mission that had left her feeling torn inside, but the meaning of the sacrifice of a few brave men who were willing to give up everything for their King.

It was a lesson she would keep in her heart for all of her years.