(
@Lion ENJOY MY WORD VOMIT <3 ) Now M rated! For nekkid Shoulders.
It was on one of the more far away cities, but still, it warranted an investigation from the church. Sunniva was not pleased to have been chosen, in fact it had always felt a bit like a subtle insult, being the one who was sent to healers. Miracle healers who made their abilities public. It was always either mages or a con. This particular person was claiming to heal lost limbs and so she had been volunteered with a small group to go to this particular town and... Shut it down. As per usual when it came to suspected mages or con artists.
There was little room for miracles and if she herself didn't experience them almost daily she would have lost her faith long ago.
The second day of travel always had her irritated and tired. The guides - hand picked guards from the church - were quiet and every time she tried to strike up conversation she was rudely ignored. Of course they were still there, she could hear them breathing. The sound of a river was off in the distance and she turned her head to listen to it, something to break up the monotonous noise of horse hooves against dirt and cheap road. A loud forlorn sigh from Sunniva and she itched at her neck.
Orders were to change into commoners clothing and continue on, it wouldn't do well to alarm the people that she - A knight of the white lily - was on her way to investigate this mysterious healer. So, she was dressed in plain clothing, breeches, a loose white shirt and an awful wooly too-big cloak that she was sure she looked just hideous in. Something this itchy couldn't possibly look
nice. Finally, instead of the hood she had a soft cloth tied around her head to cover her eyes, her fiery red hair loose and flowing down her back in thick waves.
Sunniva hated it. She wanted her hood back. She wanted her hair out of the way.
It wasn't until too late she realize there was a cross bow bolt lodged into the metal chest piece she'd snuck on under her shirt. Slowly her hands - gloved by some not so awful fabric - went to it and she gasped, her head turning up reflexively though she saw nothing. No one. The sound of a cross bow and another bolt. The horse she was on gave a shrill cry and the sounds of a fight breaking out and before she knew it she was falling.
So was the horse.
Had they been so close to the ledge? The bolt snapped off, leaving the metal tip in her armor and before she realized what was
really going on there was a terrible weight on her legs and the sound of someone making their way down. Sunniva took a breath and calmed herself, and then she
saw. Trees, a steep hill, a river. There was no her though, not yet, that meant he couldn't see her.
He was going to kill her.
Panic set in and she reached towards the horse which was
far too light and pat at it until she found a few bolts. Many bolts. One lodged into the saddle dangerously close to where her leg had been. There was no time though and in a moment of desperation she stabbed herself in the neck with it, enough to bleed at least when she pulled it away - it would hurt for a while but she wasn't going to die from it.
There she was. Laying on the ground, pinned under the dead horse, holding a bolt at her neck. Looking deathly pale with that bright red hair fanned out around her head like a crown of sunbeams. Now was the time. Yanking the bolt away she tossed it aside and held at her neck, letting the blood seep between her fingers while she panted and reached forward towards the sound of foot steps.
"
Help me," she cried weakly, giving a quiet pant, a soft sob, playing down just how
well she was doing.
Hesitation in the foot steps, a shuffle of dead leaves, the snap of a twig and she felt a hand on her face, tearing at the blindfold before her head landed hard against the ground. Her hand was violently ripped away from her neck and the cloth was smeared with the blood, Sunniva made a point of not resisting.
Then he left. The footsteps retreated. A cry of victory from above and all she was left with was the sound of the river and the warm blood of a dead horse slowly going down the hill and up her back. Just the sounds of the river. With more strength than she thought she'd ever possess she slipped from under the horse, taking a moment to calm herself before she slowly rose, taking note of any aches and pains.
The worst was self inflicted and still dripping down her neck.
Right now she needed to live. So, she began to walk slowly back towards the way she'd come, staying as close to the river as she could with the blood stained clothes sticking to her skin and the metal chest piece. It wasn't until she saw the trees that she stumbled, landing hard on her hands and knees at being so disorientated.
It was a sign.
Sunniva heard noises. Enough for one person. Maybe two.
"Wait!"
Standing up quickly, weary, she didn't know how long she'd been walking, but part of her was frantic. "Wait, please, wait!" Her hands in front of herself to help her find her way back to the cheap road and there she stood, a bloodied mess, sweaty, dirty. Arms out to stop the person. Persons? "I am a Knight of the White Lily and there was an attempt on my life, I demand you take me to the nearest...
Where ever immediately."
It was a miracle she was even alive. Sunniva was truly blessed by God.
She had also been blessed with stupid weak willed assassins that wanted nature to do their dirty work.