To Love, Once Again

The moon shines down onto the darkened city, empty streets with the occasional carriage going by under the light of the tall street lights, lit by the lamp lighters with their long sticks with fire flickering on one end.

After a short meal with Cyd, Grandma Rosie, and Grandpa Robin, Lucien and Sera had left the orphanage. It had taken some time because the womenfolk had hugged and talked, talked and hugged, saying their goodbyes. In contrast, it had taken only a few seconds for Lucien and Grandpa Robin to give each other a firm handshake and grunt goodbye. So the men watched the women, waiting in silence for them to finish their goodbyes.

The two walk side by side down the street lined with shuttered storefronts, closed for the night, Lucien's arm around Sera's waist "for protection, since it was getting dark" he'd said, as he'd drawn her close to him when they first left the gates of the orphanage.

"Where would you like me to take you?"

Walking back towards the forest where Aslan would be waiting, Lucien asks in a low voice, keeping Sera close to his side. After spending time with Sera in the orphanage, Lucien had been battling with himself on what to do.

Concerning their living arrangements.

It was a great internal battle. On one hand, he wanted Sera to continue in her role staying by his side. There was no greater feeling than waking up in the mornings to see her curled up next to him, exuding soft warmth. Too many cold mornings, grasping at the bedsheets, looking for someone that wasn't there would do that to you. In his dreams, they'd lain together, sated and sleepy. Reality would harshly hit him after awakening, seeing her gone.

Except on the other hand, he knew that she wanted to be with their son, too. The love she had for their son was so new to him. The fact that Sera had even pushed through thorny rosebushes to protect their child completely blew his mind. Loving her meant that he wanted to respect her wishes, more than his own desire.

But he would miss her so much when she was gone...

Lucien didn't know how he would spend the nights with her gone....Probably his eyes would be opened wide in bed, thinking about her, what she would be doing..

Sera hesitates with her answer, knowing it was something Lucien wouldn't like.

"Can I stay with our son?" She adds on,

"I''ll come help you work like before during the day, but I want to spend more time with Leo too.." There was still so much she wanted to learn about that little boy, Sera smiled at the thought of him and his chubby cheeks. His likes and dislikes, what kind of games he liked to play..

Lucien quickly dampens the jealousy that rises up against his own son. He wished he was at the forefront of Sera's mind like that young child was.

Seeing Lucien deep in thought, Sera adds: "You know, talking to Bea, I caught myself thinking of using my body to get what I wanted from you..."

Their footsteps that echo out over the cobblestone street stop when Lucien stops walking, making Sera's steps halt as well.

Taking a deep breath, she continues. "But that would make me a whore, your whore."

If Lucien could go back in time and punch himself in the face, he would. What a fool he'd been, trying to get to Sera's heart through her body.

"Beautiful Sera, how could you ever think you were a whore?"

Lucien kneels on the paved cobblestone of the street, uncaring of whether the wet mud stains his trousers as he looks up at Sera with a sincere expression on his face.

"You are my Queen. There's so much more to you than your body. I-"

Cocking his head, a grim expression and a cold glint appears in his eyes. Something was wrong.

"Get down!" Lucien quickly grabs Sera by the shoulder and spins her to the side, covering her with his back.

Not a moment too soon.

Schiiiick!

An arrow cuts the air next to her ear and hits the cobblestone ground with a clanging sound, right in the location where they had been standing.

Sera had no time to be surprised. They were under attack!!

Lucien pushes Sera behind him, facing towards the location from where the arrow had come. In that same fluid motion, he flips one of his daggers out of his belt, and throws it into the darkness where the light of the street lamps couldn't reach.

Urk!

The wet sound of steel entering flesh, a gasping noise and a dark figure falls out of the shadows of the rooftops, like the darkness was shedding part of its skin. More shadows appear around them, headed towards them at a speed faster than any normal human.

There was no time.

"Lu-"

Before Sera can call Lucien's name, Lucien has her thrown over his shoulder and starts running. He was not going to let Sera get hurt, not on his watch. These assassins were good. His senses that had been honed through years of training had been barely able to pick up their approach. It was only the faint sound of iron shivering, from where a naked dagger was drawn from its sheath had alerted him. Whoever hired them must have paid a huge sum money for their services.

Clang! Clang! Thunk!

Arrows fly past them as Lucien keeps running, his long legs working to keep the distance between them and their pursuers.

One shadow drops down, right in front of them. Before they can even attack, Lucien sends a roundhouse kick in the attacker's face, sending them flying out of the way.

That one had been a weakling. A ploy to stall for time.

The smaller detail of female bodyguards he'd assigned to Sera weren't showing up, even after that first arrow. Which meant they'd been taken care of. He grits his teeth. He'd underestimated his opponent. No one should have known about their impromptu visit to the orphanage.

Angry at himself, Lucien swears under his breath. He'd gotten too lax in his wariness. They'd been quiet for so long. It was like the enemies around him wanted to forget about the trouble at home, only focus on the enemies approaching over the border.

Heavy footsteps pound against the ground as Lucien keeps running, taking even breaths. This much of an attack, he could take. He was used to it.

But Sera was not. She wouldn't know how to protect herself from an assassination attempt like this.

They were close to the edge of the town. A few more blocks, and they would be out in the forest where the warhorse, Aslan, awaited them.

Sera watches in horror over Lucien's shoulder as the attackers come after them. It wasn't just the cloaked figures that were attacking them. The people on the street were too! A man dressed as a leather worker, a lamplighter, even a woman who she'd thought was hiding behind a window in terror, were shooting arrows and throwing knives their way, as Lucien jumped and dodged, darting this way and that.

It was hard to run forward while dodging the volley of weapons being thrown their way.

Shing!

An arrow cuts through the flesh on his side. Bearing with the pain, Lucien runs even faster, cradling Sera's body close to him. He could take a flesh wound like this, but Sera was fragile. He couldn't let her get hurt.

Lucien quickly takes stock of the available weapons he had. Only 5 more daggers left, plus the longer one in his boot. He had to make each one count. The long dagger would have to be saved in the event of a confrontation.

Another sword comes flashing out from an alley as they pass. Lucien bends low and slides forward, kicking out the attackers legs as he passes. It was unbelievable how well Lucien could move with Sera over his shoulder, with such fluid motion and grace.

"Urgh!" A shriek of pain, and the sword clatters to the ground. Lucien picks up the sword as he passes, attaching it to his belt, just in case.

Her braid somehow coming undone from its binding, Sera pushes the hair out of her face, watching for the light that glinted off the arrowheads as it sped towards them. Nervous, but not panicking. She trusted Lucien. It would be better if she stayed calm for them both.

"Do you need me to run?" She asked Lucien, unsure whether she was weighing him down.

"No, you're fine." He winks at her, patting her on the rump as he keeps running.

Running wasn't hard. It wasn't like the battlefield where he wore a heavy suit of armor. There, the armor made it harder to move, with the press of men fighting around him.

Though Sera's heart felt like it would beat right out of her chest, the adrenaline gave her the push she needed to stay focused on what she could do to help Lucien.

"On your left!" She called out, and Lucien quickly responds, leaping to the side as he trusts her vision. It was a good call. Any closer, and the dagger would have landed on Lucien's neck.

As it was, it cut off the tail end of the long braid Lucien had his hair in, red strands of hair falling to the ground.

"Your hair!" Sera cries out.

"Damn it!" Lucien curses, wishing he had his sword. The sword he'd just picked up was too flimsy. From the short moment he'd felt it in his hand, he knew it was trash. It was too poorly made, the balance off and the iron brittle.

The assassins attacking them now seemed to be a mix of the highly trained and throwaways.

If it were pure hand to hand combat, he could have taken them, but with Sera at his side and the arrows whizzing towards them, his hands were essentially tied.

Boots pound out a staccato rhythm as he keeps going.

All he could do was run. Before their attackers caught up to them.

Before they were completely surrounded.