Fight for My Freedom

Melyah rode at a brisk pace through the woods for she truely enjoyed her daily rides. The rich smell of trees and soil, the warm sun on her back, it all pleased and calmed her. It was vastly different from the tight, stuffy halls of the Palace, wherein she always felt cold and imprisoned. Melyah sighed and looked around. The forest was truelly beautiful in the spring, fresh ferns and flowers, new little birds to come and sing. She did feel however, that her group of guards dampend the serenity of the forest.
          I dont understand why my father is SO insistant that i have at least eight gaurds at 'all times' Melyah thought to herself, and though she didn't know it yet, she was about to wish she had fifty.

          Allow me to explain a little, Melyah is the princess of Equwidore, one of the seven countries in the land of Agoth. In Equwidore, magic is reserved for royalty and those of a high military rank such as a general or comander. Although Melyah thinks magic is pointless, she is unusually gifted at it, yet she is unaware of this because she refuses to practice it. Also, as if she didn't already have enough reasons to be a target, Equwidore is the weathiest contry in Agoth. as you can see, Melyah is in a great situation. But now, back to the story.

         "Charles," Melyah said politly "I think that i shall continue on my own." she then waited for the response she assumed was a no. However to her surprise, there was no response. "Charles? did you hear me?" Melyah looked back over her shoulder to see that the guard in the back of the line, Charles, was not on his mount. Confused, Melyah stopped for a moment, then she felt her stomach drop as she saw Charles. He was laying in the river, face-down with a knife in his back. Melyah was about to speak when three guards from her left side jurked forward, then fell to the ground off their horses. There was the sound of scraping metals as the four remaing guards pulled their swords from their sheaths, but it was pointless. A brillant blue flash surrounded the four guards, then they were dead as well. Melyah screamed, and tried to dismount, but her foot was caught. She turned to see a man with glowing blue eyes walking towards her.
          "Hello your majesty," the man said in an icy voice that made Melyah's skin crawl, "it pleases me to finally meet you." then he rushed towards Melyah. However, he spooked the horse and it took off with Melyah's foot still stuck in the saddle. The horse ran past a tree but Melyah was slammed into it, wrentching her foot from the saddle and leaving her breathless. Melyah calapsed to the ground, fighting to breath. She then remebered the man and tried to stand but found the mans hand at her throat, further dispruting her breathing. The glowing blue eyes of the man taunted her with their wicked looks and as Melyah began to panic, she felt something stir inside her. There was the sound of rushing wind as the man was suddenly thrown backwards into the brush. Melyah felt air refill her lungs and doubled over taking in huge gulps of the wonderful forest air. The man got to his feet and smiled at Melyah. "Well well my dear girl, it seems that you are indeed strong." as he finished his sentance he let out a crazed laugh and fire began to spark at his finger tips. The fire turned into a roaring flame and Melyah had only just enough time to dive into the river before the flame engulfed her. She could see the fire burning above the surface, its beautiful and deadly appearance taunting her eyes. Even underwater, Melyah could feel the heat of the flame. Melyah suddenly realized she yet again, couldn't breath. she needed air. Melyah felt something spark and ignite inside of her, and she had no fear of the man, nor his magic. She lifted the water with her as she came out of the river, the water stayed in front of the fire like a shield as she caught her breath. The fire stopped, and Melyah let down her sheild of water, but felt that she could still control it. The man let out another laugh that suggested his insanity. Melyah remeber her dagger and saw it a few yards away from her, she reached for it with her mind, and watched it rise from the ground. She sent it soaring straight at the man's heart. In a single movement to fast to be seen, the man caught the dagger seconds before it entered his flesh. It was in that moment Melyah realized he wasn't human. Suddenly something struck Melyah and she looked up to see that the man had hit her. He held Melyah's dagger above her.
         "Now see here," the man scolded "i dont mean to kill ya deary, so long as you are good and come willingly." Melyah yanked her legs over to trip the man but he simply stumled. A stumble was a Melyah needed. She was on her feet with a tree branch in her hand and swinging it at the man before he realized her intent. It hit him across the face and sent him to the ground. Melyah turned and ran as fast as she could, dropping the branch as she went. She made it to the medow before she felt a vine wrapped around her feet. She was yanked to the ground and the vine began to wrap her entire body in a leathal grip. Melyah stuggled to get free but found it impossible. She looked up to see the man, half his face was swollen from the branch and he had a cut bleeding down into his eye. His voice was sinister as he spoke and it stabbed feaer into Melyah's heart. "There is no hope fore your victory my dear. You should not have harmed me in the way you did, you will regret it." The man the reached down and touched Melyah's ankle. Instantly Melyah felt a pain like she never had before, it burned through her body searing everything as it went. It seemed to break all of her bones, tare away every inch of skin, yank her organs about inside her body, crack her head and leave her skull pounding her heart beat. Everything inside of her burned. The man removed his fingure from Melyah's skin and the pain began to ebb away, though it left Melyah shivering and sweating. Melyah had not realized she had been screaming until now that she felt her hoarse throat. With what little energy she could muster, Melyah struggled against the vines that encased her body. She wanted to talk, to demand the man leave her alone, to plead with him, to convince him, anything. Instead the man spoke, "now, will you come with me?" he reached a hand out toward Melyah, but in a last attempt at fighting back, she spit on his hand. The man sighed, then began to reach towards Melyah's ankle again. Panic and fear of the pain sturged through Melyah's veins, and with it a small amount of energy. Sparks flew from Melyahs hand and she managed to burn through the vines. Shaking, panting, Melyah got to her feet.
         "Do not touch me again!" Melyah screached, her lack of energy poorly hidden in her hoarse voice. Clearly, running would not work against this man, though she feared she no longer had the energy to fight him. None the less, Melyah prepared herself for the battle she expected to lose.

Word Count 1290