Everything became a blur. Metal clashed against metal. Blood dried on Princess Estina’s face and made her skin feel tight. Her body ached, but everything in her being was focused on the fight. The fight for survival and the fight to tell Prince Yernal this was real. Today was the day there were taking a stand. This was the fight that he would remember for the rest of his life. This was the fight where the kingdom, her part of the kingdom, was fighting back.

She fought with Lord Clep’s soldiers and the mountain men by her side. They dodged and sidestepped the everyday folk who were still on the bridge and caught in the middle. In contrast, Prince Yernal’s men slaughtered anyone who was in their way. Princess Estina saw many others jump off the side of the bridge in a vain hope to save themselves. She could only hope the water was deep enough to buffer their fall.

The sheer number of Prince Yernal’s soldiers forced them backward on the bridge. They were not going to let her up anytime soon. They were pushed back against the last barricade, Lord Clep’s barricade. Eemulan, the mountain man, shoved her side ways towards the gap that would allow her to leave the bridge altogether. His familiar face was welcoming.

“Go on!” he yelled. “Get out of here and get through to the other side.”

Instead, she lunged forward and pushed her sword into the soldier’s stomach that had snuck up behind him.

“Never!” she screamed back.

A sword bounced off another soldier and struck her in her left arm, leaving a gaping welt. She cried out as the pain shot through her. The wound quickly filled with blood. Warm and sticky, it started to pour down her arm. Eemulan picked her up and held her under his arm. She screamed against his hold, even though she knew he was doing it to try to keep her safe. He reached the opening and shoved her through. She landed hard, but kept the momentum and rolled past the last barricade.

Now, she was on the last third of the bridge, Lord Clep’s side of the bridge. Eemulan stayed by her side. He moved to stand in front. Princess Estina peered over his shoulder. He was trying to keep the surge of Prince Yernal’s men at bay. But it was too late. The fighting spilled through both sides of the last barricade. Glancing up, she spied Ladet still on the barricade’s side, his strong legs straddling the logs. He continued to fire arrows when he found someone in need.

A rough hand grabbed her on the back of her shirt. She spun, screaming, her sword ready to strike only to come face to face with Menelt.

She let out a desperate relieved laugh. It was surprising the surge of emotions that flooded through her at the sight of him. It had only been roughly two weeks, but it had felt like a lifetime.

“How do you fare?” he bellowed over the screams of war. His eyes flickered over her face and down to her arm.

“It looks worse than it is,” she yelled back. “It’s just my nose.”

Before she could say more, one of Prince Yernal’s soldiers came at them from the left. She turned to defend and struck first. The soldier blocked her easily. She feigned to spin, but quickly backtracked and took him off guard. Her sword ran straight into his armpit and out through the side of his neck. The man screamed and he fell to the ground.

She turned again, but Menelt was gone. Somewhere in the middle of the bedlam, he continued to fight. A sharp stab of pain ran through Princess Estina’s thigh. She cried out and looked down. The man she had just stuck her sword through, had stabbed her in the thigh with his knife. His final act before his death. Screaming, Princess Estina stomped down on his face and pulled the knife free from her thigh. More blood started to ooze from her body.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to regain focus. She had already racked up a number of wounds. Now was not the time to be reckless. She needed to be careful if she was going to survive. Princess Estina turned and looked over her shoulder one last time at the barricade, but Ladet was also gone.

She closed her eyes and steadied her breath. Shouts and screams continued to fill her ears, followed with metal clashing and grunts of exertion. The smell of sweat and blood hit her as she focused on her senses. When she opened her eyes, she was focused, calm and ready to fight once more. The surge of soldiers continued and Lord Clep’s men were pushed back completely off the bridge and onto the cobbled street that ran along the river.

There were no signs of civilians here now. They had all fled. The night markets along the river had been long abandoned. Buildings had been closed up quickly. Their windows covered with their wooden boards and their door shut tight.

Time distorted. It was immeasurable. Seconds felt like hours and then hours felt like minutes. At times, her body raged with exhaustion arguing for her to stop and rest, and then at other times, newfound energy pulsated through her core, giving her strength she never knew she possessed. The complete darkness of night swept over the land. Whether it was fortunate or not, the already lit lanterns along the river guided their fighting.

All of a sudden, Princess Estina’s peripheral vision jolted her into the present. She glanced around her body and swore. Somehow, along the way, she had been pushed down along the riverbank and was now being forced onto the third bridge. The last thing she needed was to end up back on Prince Yernal’s river. It gave her more strength and an additional sense of determination.

A roar came from the other side of the river, Prince Yernal’s side, and Princess Estina spun to see the cause. She let out a joyous cry. From the colours she saw, several hundred of Earl Jenric’s men must have been lying in hiding in another part of the city. They were now coming to attack Prince Yernal soldiers from the rear. They were no longer outnumbered.

Turning back to the fight, she paused. Fear coiled in her stomach. She had allowed herself to lose focus at the distraction. Before her, stood six of Prince Yernal’s men in a wide arch. She stared at each one in turn.

“Nowhere to go now, Princess,” one jeered.

Chuckles filled the air.

Princess Estina backed up two steps and the hard railing of the stone bridge jutted into her back. There was nowhere to go.

She looked to her right. One of the flames that lighted the bridge billowed above her. Looking over her shoulder, the darkness of the river lurked below. She could barely make out the water for the bridge was so high and the darkness so thick.

The men edged closer.

“Come on,” another said. “You’re a great warrior, aren’t you? Why don’t you fight?”

She wasn’t stupid. There was no way she was going to let them goad her into fighting. They didn’t know her at all. She knew her limits. Six to one was not good odds. Facing six grown men at the same time would be stupid even when she was in peak form. She had numerous injuries now and she was exhausted, so exhausted. Her arm and leg ached. She was aware of a cut on her face too now below her left eye.

Princess Estina looked over her shoulder. She had seen plenty of other people jump off the bridge. There was no doubt in her mind that she could do the same. There was a fear though. Would Lord Clep’s men think she was a coward, abandoning them in the middle of the fight. She quickly brushed that thought aside. In no time, she would be out of the river and joining the fight once again.

Princess Estina turned back to the men.

“If I don’t make the jump, I’ll spend eternity haunting your ancestors!”

Without another glance, Princess Estina leapt up on to the wide stone railing. The men’s faces filled with surprise. It was her turn to laugh. She grabbed the billowing torch and flung it in their direction. The soldiers scattered backwards.

With one last wave, Princess Estina turned and jumped.

>>

The cold water shocked the air out of her lungs. Her body sank deeply. Thank goodness she wasn’t wearing the armour Menelt had given her. With how tired she was, she doubted that she would have been able to push herself back up to the surface. Her feet touched rocks at the bottom as the momentum of her jump plunged her body down. She pushed off of them with all her strength, using them to propel herself back up. Her lungs screamed and darkness enveloped.

Her head broke up out of the water, and she gasped in air. There was no time to recover. The current was strong. The muscles in her body ached from the cold that was wrapped around her body and her teeth rattled in her head. She had to keep moving. No matter what. If she stopped to rest for just one moment, it would all be over. The coldness would take her and she would drown.

With her body aching, she started to swim as best she could with her current injuries. The current was already taking her under the bridge and past its stone pillars. There were one or two people clinging to them, but she didn’t stop. She was about to come out the other side of the bridge. Not wanting to risk it, she turned on her back to keep an eye for anyone else who might jump off the bridge. It would mean death if someone landed on her.

A sharp thud of pain jolted through her chest as she hit a submerged rock. Her fingers scrambled over its surface, trying to gain purchase. She needed to gain her bearings. Above, the lighted bridge towered. She gazed towards the embankment. Jumping off the last bridge had not been the best idea for now the river surged away into darkness. The rest of the city was closed and dark amongst the fighting. Only faint torches lined the embankment.

Past the bridge, she kept swimming and turned her body to head towards the embankment. It was still steep stone and an immediate fear started to fill her. How far would she have to swim before she would be able to climb out.

Fatigue was setting in, the cold water making her limbs numb. If she could just close her eyes for five minutes to get some extra strength, she would be able to keep going.

She followed the dim lights that lined the riverbank. A gap in the stone caught her eye. It was a loading area. Relief flooded through her veins. With all her last strength she kicked and moved her arms through the water towards it. Her arms felt like she had tied lumps of rock to them to weigh them down. Pain jolted through her chest each and every time she gasped for air. She wanted to get rid of her boots, they were an extra weight, but she didn’t even know if she had the strength to do that.

The docking area slowly came closer. She could just make out the shapes of people on the wooden dock who she believed were helping those who had jumped to get out of the river. The current was strong and her muscles were weak.

Her legs hit stone steps. Unable to climb to her feet, she pushed herself up the stone steps on her hands and knees. Clumsily she staggered and slipped. Collapsing, the cold water nearly took her away again. The shock of the icy temperature on her face, jolted her awake, and she grasped onto the wooden dock. She couldn’t move though. All her energy was being spent on not getting swept away.

Strong hands clasped under her shoulders and heaved her up. She hoped they were a friend and not a foe because there was nothing she could do.

Closing her eyes, she let the darkness succumb her.