Collaboration Post part two
As he scanned for the two missing women a thought had hit him and he slowly looked towards the direction the bandits had fled to.
"No, no they didn't," he mumbled and began to march towards the woods. The sergeant spotted him.
"Boy, where are ya going!?" he shouted. Jason looked over to the sergeant with fear and pointed his sword in the direction the bandits had fled to.
"The Queen and Brienna! They fled into the woods and now the bastards are after them!" he shouted back before sprinting off to find the two women. The sergeants eyes widened with shock before he pointed his spear to five guards.
"You lot, follow me!" he ordered and began to tail Jason with gritted teeth.
"It always has to be the young ones that charge in alone," he mumbled with annoyance.
Brienna heard the men getting closer and she shoved the queen into the side of a rotten tree that was extraordinarily mossy and provided the kind of protection that she needed. As soon as she was covered she got away from there and used herself as a diversion to protect Elizabeth. She knew she would stay there until Samuel or one of the others came for her. She slid the crown into place atop her own head and prayed that Jason was still alive.
Brienna could hear them getting closer to her and they were taunting her. When a large beefy arm lifted her off of the ground she screamed and kicked him in the knee. When he set her down while swearing she gave him a very angry but superior look of arrogance. She crossed her arms and stomped like a pissed off queen.
The men looked at her as a few more of them approached. The one she kicked reached for her arm and she smacked his hand away from her.
"Don't you touch me again! I am your queen and as such I'll not be manhandled like a common prostitute!" A couple of the men chuckled at her command.
The man that was obviously the leader was watching the young woman. Brienna played the queen perfectly and with the natural red in her hair that became more obvious in the sunlight she would fit Elizabeth's description easily.
"We insist that you will reinstate Mary Stuart as the real queen of England." Brienna's eyes became menacing and she denied him an answer for a moment. With her eyes piercing and her voice commanding loudly she exclaimed,
"I, Elizabeth Tudor am the rightful heir and I'll not be denied my birthright by you nor anyone!" Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of movement. Unsure who it was she kept her cool and said,
"My lady ran off ahead of me when I turned my ankle. Can you run ahead and see if she is alright? Do not hurt her please. Brienna has been my personal maid for a long time."She watched as a few of the men went deeper into the woods to look for her maid. She figured if the movement were her own people then they would know she was pretending to be the queen and not call her out as her own self. She leaned against the nearest tree and bent down to rub at her ankle to further her ruse. Her theatrics were truly believable and tears that threatened to fall she wiped away quickly. The leader believed it was her ankle causing the tears. He came over and bent over and lifted her up into his arms. Brienna immediately started to hit him and fight. There was too many of them around her to pull out one of her knives.
"Put me down! Take your hands off of me right now!" Jason gritted his teeth with rage as the bandit lifted Brienna up from the ground. He tightened his grip on his sword and readied himself to charge in, but he froze as a low chuckle came from behind him. He spun around with his sword raised, but was met with only the edge of a round sheild. He stumbled from his hiding spot and entered the open while falling onto his back with a heavy thud. He tried to pick himself up, but other near by bandits quickly restrained him and threw his sword and sheild to the side. They kicked and battered him all the while cackling in joy at their helpless victim. After what felt like hours of constant blows the bandits ceased their attack and dragged him up to his knees. Jason's head hung low before a bandit grabbed him by the hair and yanked him up to make sure he could make eye contact with the bandits leader. He glared at the leader with rage, but quickly cast a glance towards Brienna to make sure she was alright. Though, he should have been more worried about himself as bandit leader gave a cocky smirk.
It took all of the self control that Brienna possessed not to start screaming at them for beating on Jason. She stopped fighting the leader and went limp in his arms so she would cause him more issues.
"Put me down!" She cast a look at Jason and let her gaze drop to the ground. If they figured out that she had feelings for him they would slit his throat. When she was unceremoniously dumped onto the ground she moved one of her knives to her wrist inside her sleeve before getting up. She got to her knees and heard the teasing from the lower ranked bandits. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Samuel in one of the bushes. Rising from her knees she dusted herself off.
"You are nothing but cowards and scoundrels!"She raised her arm and pointed it right at the leader and she slid the knife out and stabbed him in the shoulder that she had seen him holding his sword. She hoped it would lessen his ability to fight. He screamed and hit her across the face and she fell in a heap on the ground near Jason.
A snarl escaped Jason as Brienna landed next to him and he attempted to lung at the leader, but the bandits holding him where to much for him.
"Bastard!" he shouted with utter rage.
"Your dead! Ya hear me, dead!" he roared. The leader glared at the Queen and looked to one of his men while running his thumb across his throat. The bandit smiled and pulled out a dagger as he marched towards Jason. His eyes widened with realization and began to struggle even more. Was he really going to die here? Was he really going to leave Brienna alone with these murderers? No, he had to protect her. He had to be with her! The bandit now stood over him and placed his dagger against Jason's throat.
"Say good night lad," he chuckled, but before he could end Jasons life an arrow found its way into his eye socket. He fell to the ground and several war cries filled the air.
"To the Queen!" Jasons fellow guards charged from the brushes and clashed with the remaining bandit party. Jason was able to escape his captors and looked to Brienna as she pushed herself up from the ground, but Jason quickly caught a glimpse of a knife strapped to her thigh. He gritted his teeth and shot towards her while grabbing the blade from her thigh.
"Gotta borrow this, thanks!" he shouted and shot towards the bandit leader with his knife at the ready. He gave a cry of anger as he plunged the knife into his gut and snarled as he twisted the knife. The leader howled in pain and fell to his knees. Jason glared down into the bandits eyes and gripped the knife that was still buried in his shoulder. He ripped it from his shoulder and with a swift motion plunged the knife into his throat. The bandits eyes widened with shock as blood trickled from his mouth. Jason just stared at him with an emotionless look and pushed him to the side as he continued to choke on his own blood. He looked around him to see the guards finishing off the remaining bandits and let a heavy sigh escape him. It was over, but a scar was deep within his mind as a blank look remained on his face. Only one thing mattered. His angel was safe.
Elizabeth had emerged from her hiding spot and stayed in the bushes where Samuel put her and she smiled when she saw Brienna stand and walk over to Jason and put her arms around his waist and her head on his chest.
"Let's get everyone back to the carriages and get to the house. I'll send people back to collect those that did not survive."Brienna looked up to see her majesty and she smiled. Looking up at Jason she walked with him back up the hill through the woods to the carriages. The other guards glanced at each other knowingly, smiling at the couple. When they got back up there Elizabeth was put into the carriage with Brienna and Jason and Samuel were both on either side of the carriage and once the road was unblocked the horses were jolted into a flatout run to the house.
Elizabeth looked at her friend with pride and awe.
"You are truly amazing. You know you could have been killed in my stead. Weren't you scared?"Brienna smiled only a little. She was too tired to do more.
"All I could think was to keep you safe and hope that Jason and Samuel found us before they killed me. I can't think of myself in those situations. I'm too busy playing a part and trying to keep them looking at me so the guards can surprise them." Brienna slid the crown back to the queen.
The ride towards their destination was silent one for Jason. He was happy Brienna and the Queen survived, but he glanced down to see the blood still covering his body and felt a sickness wash over him. He kept himself composed, but inside he want to vomit. Such death, and brutality that was recieved on both sides hit Jason like a train and he was having a hard time trying to piece together his hazy memory of the battle. With a trembling hand he gripped the hilt of his sword and scanned their surroundings with paranoia. He would continue this until they had finally reached their destination. Jason hopped off the carriage, but stumbled from his shaking knees. He shook his head and looked towards Brienna and Elizabeth. He smiled towards Brienna, but sadness and exhaustion was clear on his bloodied face.
Brienna felt the carriage shift slightly when Jason hopped to the ground. Elizabeth saw the worry in her eyes and put her hand on her friend's.
"Go take care of him. Lillian will tend to me the rest of the evening and tomorrow. I'm just going to rest and let Samuel handle all of this. Go." Brienna nodded and her smile was enough for the queen.
Brienna jumped down from the carriage and walked to where Jason was sitting in the road. She knelt down and hugged him tightly. She knew he must be dealing with having killed for the first time. She remembered her first time and how wrecked she had been.
"Jason. come with me. Let's get you cleaned up." She urged him to his feet and pulled him to the lake behind the house. Once she got him there she started pulling off his armor and she pulled him into the cool water of the lake.
As she washed the blood off of him she kept murmuring to him.
"You had no choice, it was them or us. It had to be done. Please don't let it tear you up. If you let it, it will destroy you. This is a brutal place to be. Maybe I should have gotten you a job on a farm. That would certainly have been safer." Her nerves finally got the better of her and she began to cry. The stress of the day finally was just too much. She leaned against his chest and wrapped her arms around his body.
"Please don't hate me for putting you on the guard."Jason listened to every word Brienna spoke and felt tears threaten the corners of his eyes. He clenched his fist as she began to cry and hold him close. He gave a sad, but thankful smile as he gently pushed her back before clearing her cheeks of her tears with his thumbs. His own tears began to escape him as he shook his head.
"I could never and will never hate you. No matter what you do I will always be on your side. I'm yours," he said and rested his forehead onto hers.
"My guardian angel," he choked out.
Brienna listened to him and her heart began to flip when he said he was never going to hate her. When he declared himself hers she raised her arms around his neck and after his last words she tilted her chin up and kissed him deeply.
@joker892
