Mira and the Dark Knight

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The blood dripped down her blade as she pulled it from the body and Mira cursed, attempting to fade back into the background. The forest was all around them, the immense, cursed trees looming over them. Mira sought safety in their shadows, taking advantage of the fear they incited in the other combatants. Resettling her grip on the hilt of her sword, she pressed her back against the smooth bark, one of the stark reminders that this forest was cursed. The bark fell from it on a regular basis, leaving it smooth and rough bark piled at its roots almost up to her ankles.

The shadows were thick around her, coloring the blood on her clothes black. Glancing around, she saw the rest of the battle swarming before her while she managed to get a breath. A high-pitched scream grabbed her attention and she saw a wyvern careening to the ground, one of its wings torn and mangled by another wyvern.

A shining sword rose and fell, catching the moonlight as it plunged into the fallen wyvern's chest. Mira found herself staring at the dark knight who wielded it, his armor dark as the shadows around her, with only a small smattering of silver on one pauldron. The knight glanced around, the helm hiding his face, before suddenly he looked her way.

She shrank from his gaze as he suddenly turned and began cleaving his way towards her. Curse the gods, she thought. She'd hoped to avoid his notice completely. Unable to shrink any further into the darkness, she found herself pressed to the trees as he came to a stop before her.

His attention may have been focused on her, but she could tell he was still listening and watching around them. His sheer height and build deterred a lot of the smarter warriors from attacking him, but there were still some blood-crazed enough to try. When he'd finally cleared enough people from around him, he took another step forward.

"Mira," he said, his voice cold and rough.

"Garcel," she choked out, bringing her blade up. If she could see his face, she knew he would have been amused.

"This is not your field of expertise."

"No shit," she spat. "I'm not here voluntarily, trust me."

The knight suddenly swung behind him, his sword slicing through the knees of the man who was attempting to come up from behind. The fighter fell with a cry, his mace falling beside him. Garcel turned back to Mira and stepped closer into the shadows. Mira fought to hold her ground, unwilling to step further back.

"Our business isn't finished," he rumbled, taking one more step until he was barely a foot away from her. Mira bared her teeth in an imitation of a smile.

"That's what you think. This battle may end everything." She could hear the smile in his voice.

"Ah, Mira." He leaned forward and somehow, even in the midst of a bloody war, only she heard his words. "Even if the world burns, I'll find you." He straightened and turned on his heel, the silver spatter on one shoulder glinting in the moonlight. Mira shook her head in disbelief, then slunk out of the shadows to rejoin the battle.