Leona stared down the slavers. Her harpies hovered behind her. Behind the slavers was assembled a militia of angry villagers. Faced with the prospect of death in front of them and death behind them, the slavers were uncertain of what to do.
"What do we do?" One of the slavers asked.
"GET HER!" The leader repeated his order. This time eight slavers charged at Leona. She was ready for the attack and had just the perfect counter.
"Don't just stand there! Drive them back!" A familiar male voice ordered the village militia. It was Joshua. He was holding a bloody sword in the sky and rallying the villagers to drive out the invaders.
"Get them!" Leona ordered her harpies.
"Let's do this!" Sylvia said.
"OK!" Daphne chimed in.
"We've got this!" Sandy said. The trio flew high into the air as Leona used a Wind Blast to knock down four of the men. The rest got through and engaged the blonde in a heated sword battle. Leona stabbed one with the ram dao and kicked him away before blocking a sword swing with her left Argent Glove. A second slaver kicked her ram dao away, so she drew her machete and stabbed him in the chest. Her original attacker stepped back as two men charged her.
Leona swung her machete horizontally and cut both of them across the chest, forcing them back for a moment while she dealt with the first by casting a Smashing Crescent to knock him off balance. Her harpies descended on the men in front of her and harassed them with their talons. They ran away while trying desperately to fend off the airborne threat, leaving Leona to defeat a slaver who made a lunging stab by stepping aside and ramming her machete through the back of his chest. She spun and used the man as a shield to defend against two more stabs aimed at her.
While the men tried to free their weapons Leona stabbed one in the chest and knocked down the other with a Mach Straight to the face. The survivors crawled away to their leader, who angrily killed them.
"SHE'S JUST ONE PERSON! WHY CAN'T YOU KILL HER?!" He raged at his men. Suddenly the sound of hooves filled the air. A rain of arrows began showering the slavers, bringing down seven of them and wounding that many. Leona turned to face the source of the arrows. It was the Regudo tribesmen!
"AGGGH! DAMN! DAMN IT! SALIM TOLD ME THAT THERE WOULDN'T BE MUCH RESISTANCE!" The leader ranted. He looked around for a way out and cursed when the Nebdoui militia started to press against him and his six-dozen strong group. Another volley of arrows rained down and ten more slavers fell to the sand. The leader looked desperate.
"You've won today, but we'll meet again! That I assure you!" The fuming leader bellowed before starting to glow gold. Once his incantation was complete, he yelled and slammed his hands palms-down onto the sand. A blinding golden dome of light was emitted, blinding everyone who was looking in their direction. Moments later the slavers were gone. Leona was not happy about that.
"Damn." Leona muttered. Most The hated slavers had gotten away. There was nothing that could be done about it now. The Regudo tribesmen rode up to her with a group of twenty captives in tow.
"Hello Leona. We meet again." Prince Hakeem greeted her. Behind him were three dozen horsemen and on the backs of their horses were captives from the village. Among them were Whitney and Erica. Those two just could not seem to stay out of trouble. They were not the only familiar faces in the group.
There was a blonde-haired woman with blue eyes sitting on the back of Prince Hakeem's horse. It took a moment for Leona to recognize who she was. Her left eye was blackened and her bottom lip was bloody, presumably from being struck by a slaver.
"Leona? Is that you?" The woman asked her.
"It's me." Leona answered. The woman leaped off of the horse and fell onto the sand, then got up and ran over to Leona. It was her. It was her mother Sophia Jarnefeldt!
"Leona! You're back!" Sophia said while embracing her daughter. Whitney and Erica too dismounted and kept a respectful distance while mother and daughter embraced. Prince Hakeem smiled.
- Sophia Jarnefeldt:
[Word Count: 734]
[Total Word Count: 1,776/2,000]