Chronicles of the Fourth Realm

Chapter 1

Kieri

Deep in the forest, far from any towns or settlements, a woman was running for her life, being pursued by three men. They were dressed in dark leather armor. As they sprinted under the trees, the sun would catch their steel swords every so often, causing a quick flash of light to reflect. She was quite good at navigating through the underbrush of wooded areas because she had been hunted like this since she was a child. Her sister used to jokingly say the more you are chased, the faster you learn to run.

Unfortunately, the same went for the hunters. At first glance, these men looked like any other mercenaries hired to track down a fugitive, but they were not what they seemed. Disguised as mortal men, these were demons from the Underworld. The woman, on the other hand, was dressed in her favorite color, a reddish-orange hue.

Although it didn’t make for good camouflage, she was never one to hide. Her method of escape was to run. She could stop when she was free and clear. The birds chirped as the predators chased down their prey. She was running so fast that the wind blew in her ears, sounding like the inside of a conch shell.

Thinking of the seaside, she reminisced on the part of her life she spent on the coast. The waves crashing was always soothing to her, and watching the lightning strike the ocean’s surface during a thunderstorm was always compared to an intricate dance. She often thought of things she loved in the world. It gave her a purpose to run. If she didn’t, those things would remain a distant memory, never to be repeated.

As she got lost in her thoughts, she was rudely dragged back into focus. One of the demons lifted his hand out in front of him, summoning a ball of destruction magic. He cracked a beam of power from the palm of his hand, hitting her and causing her to stumble. Failing to catch herself from falling, she landed on her knees at full speed, sliding across the canopy floor.

With her hands braced out in front of her, she felt every little stick and stone as her limbs grated across the dirt. Finally, she stopped, spit up a bit of blood from the demon’s blow, and dragged herself up, losing no speed at all. As she wiped the sleeve of her shirt across her bottom lip to catch the blood, the conch shell in her ears turned into a roaring river. She was forced to stop as the landscape plummeted into a ravine where the raging liquid lay.

Having no other choice, she slid down the embankment and jumped into the white water. When she made contact with the water, she was sucked under the rapids’ current. As she struggled to remain above the rapids, she was pushed under and out continually. Her hands and knees stung from the slide across the forest floor as she did her best to paddle her hands and feet.

After running for so long, she was already exhausted and could hardly keep herself afloat. Normally composed, she started to panic, knowing that she was unable to swim for much longer. The rapids tossed and trawled her over the pebbled riverbed. Out of sheer exhaustion, tears of desperation fell down her face and were soaked up by the icy water.

At that very moment, there happened to be a man traveling along the river. Earlier in the day, the man asked a farmer how far the nearest town was. He was instructed to follow the river until he reached a mill. The town of Cairn was up the road from there. On his way, the man noticed a bright orange mass floating beside him down the river. Upon further inspection, he realized it was a person. Just as she was about to give up struggling, the man heroically ran over and pulled her from the water. She gasped on the bank of the river while the man hovered over her, concerned. Before either of them could say a word, she collapsed and fainted into the man’s arms.

The man was dressed in black and royal blue light armor. The somber colors functioned as a cloak during the dark hours of the night, common for people in his trade. His trade consisted of whatever clients would pay for. He offered services such as wanton violence, petty thievery, kidnapping, and much, much more. His no-strings-attached policy made him a favorite of those who profited from the underbelly of society.

The only thing he wouldn’t agree to was murdering women and children. Other than that, he would slay any man or beast that needed extermination. Peering down at the woman, he grimaced at the fact that she was drenched, and now so was his pant leg. Although it was sunny outside, there was a chill in the air as the season was turning. He gingerly removed her from his lap and propped her against a large boulder. He looked around to see if there was anyone else around who could take this damsel in distress off his hands. He had an infamous reputation as well as wanted posters in all major cities. If he lingered for too long, he feared someone would recognize him.

To his dismay, there were no anxious parties searching for this woman, from what he could tell. He hesitated and then rolled his eyes. He could not just leave this woman on the side of the road beside a river. An animal could come by for a drink and find a meal.

As he evaluated the woman, he noticed a few peculiarities. Most people in the area wore clothes that were more of an earthen tone; however, this woman was dressed in ostentatious colors. He thought it was just as well, or else she would have floated by unbeknownst to him. No good deed goes unpunished, so he got up and started collecting sticks to start a fire. If he was going to save this woman, he should ensure she doesn’t freeze to death.

Chapter 2

Ye

The sun was starting to set, and it would be frigid before he knew it. He hurried to start a fire to dry the woman’s clothes and to get some color back into her cheeks. Her lips were a little blue.

Once the fire was crackling, he started to scrutinize the woman as the color returned to her cheeks. Not only were her clothes odd, but so was her appearance.

She was not exactly the ideal beauty. She looked young, but he was never good at judging a woman’s age. They had all sorts of tricks to alter their appearances. He knew all too well of the disguises of women.

Many a morning, he woke up next to a knockout that he bedded who worsened in the light of day than in the dim candlelight of a tavern corner. At those moments, his stealth came in handy to escape any further misfortunes. He tried not to get too close to the unusual woman, but her skin color was a light caramel.

The people in that region of the world had dark hair and pale skin. This woman was darker and had exceptionally light brown hair with hints of gold throughout. At least, that was what it struck as being in the firelight. It was getting dusky, so he reached over to touch the sleeve of her shirt to see if her clothing was starting to dry.

As soon as he started to rub the material between his thumb and forefinger, the woman’s eyes shot open, and she let out a scream. Frantically, she scooched backward across the ground. She backed against a tree, her gaze fixed on him, her body tense as if she were expecting him to attack at any moment. He raised his brows and his hands in the air as if to surrender. Her brow furrowed, and she commanded him to justify why he was touching her while she was unconscious. He was touching her per se, but he was just seeing how dry her clothes were so she wouldn’t get pneumonia and die.

He explained that if he wanted to take advantage of her, she would not have any clothes on at all. Her mouth fell agape, horrified at the thought of him undressing her unconscious body. He tittered to himself and sat back down at the fire, poking it with a stick. She just stood there glaring at him. She thought that if she stayed still, he would forget she was there, and she could escape.

Alas, the fire was warm, and her stomach grumbled. She noticed potatoes roasting on the rocks surrounding the fire. He saw her eyeing the food and asked her if she would like a potato. He went on to say she must be famished after all of the swimming she had done earlier. It dawned on her that she had no idea where she was or where her pursuers were.

She could still hear them calling to her, saying she was wasting her energy trying to run, that no matter where she ran to, they would find her. She looked down at the ground in a moment of despair. The man told her she didn’t need to feel so sad.

It’s only a potato, he said as he juggled one hot potato between his two hands, shaking them alternately to cool off one hand as the other burned. Annoyed at her reaction to his attempt to lighten the mood, she just looked at him like a puppy that had just been kicked. As she pushed herself off of the tree, she reached out her hand to take the piping hot potato.

Although it was burning, it was warming her hands. She squatted down and held the potato in both hands, enjoying the heat. He took note of her hugging the potato and smirked. He then proceeded to tell her how lucky she was that someone as heroic, big, strong, and handsome as he happened to be walking by as she nearly met her doom. She studied him to gauge how handsome he really was.

Surprisingly, he wasn’t bad. He had black hair tied back in a ponytail with an ornate tether. His eyebrows were slanted and thick, giving him a mischievous countenance. His eyes were a deep brown, and his skin was white. He acted youthful, but his eyes were weathered. She thought he mustn’t go outside much because he looked as if he lived in a cave with no sunlight. He saw her eyeing him, and he moved his thick eyebrows up and down before giving her a quick wink. She crumpled her brows again and gave her attention back to the potato in her hands. She started to nibble on one end of the potato, and its fluffy white center was cooked to perfection.

Unknowingly, she gave out a little moan of satisfaction. Thankfully, she wasn’t too loud so as to not make her companion notice. She continued to eat the food happily, and she felt its warmth work its way down her throat into her empty stomach.

Already, she started to feel better with some food in her belly. The fire was mesmerizing as it crackled and danced in front of them. It occurred to her that they had been silent for a long time, and she started to feel uncomfortable. She cleared her throat to catch his attention and to make some sort of noise between them. He caught sight of her with his dark eyes.

The intensity of his stare took her by surprise, so she quickly brought her attention back down to the remains of her potato. She said that she had never thanked him for saving her. She continued to say that she felt rude for not having done so sooner and also thanked him for the food. She introduced herself as Kierianna, Kieri for short. She reddened a little at the last part, feeling flushed about being so casual with him, but he was her savior and clearly meant her no harm. What harm could it do to be cordial with him regarding her name?

His eyes twinkled at her, causing her own eyes to dart away timidly. He looked down and smiled, introducing himself as Yeuniao, or Ye for short. Her posture started to relax, and she planted her bottom on the ground, crossing her legs and facing the fire. Her potato was gone, and she wasn’t sure what to do with her hands.

Nervously, she started patting around at her clothes, rooting around for something. She was relieved when she felt what she was foraging for. It was a small coin purse. She told him she needed to repay his kindness. She rummaged around in the purse, pinching at the coins within. He stopped her by saying, Do not exert yourself, Miss. You cannot afford me, anyway, unless you are paying with something other than gold. His tone was suggestive, which made her cheeks flush.

Once she composed herself, an idea occurred to her. Immediately, she asked him excitedly what his profession was. He arrogantly disclosed that he was a sword for hire. She asked if he would be willing to help her once he was finished with his job. Indifferent to her question, he clarified that even if she could afford him, he was already on a mission. He inadvertently replied, Maybe.

Victoriously, she proclaimed it was settled. She would accompany him to his next job, and then he could work for her. He said there was no way she was following him. She had caused him enough of a delay, and he was in no mood to be babysitting a silly woman all the way to his next mark.

Plus, she would be a witness to his crime. He was not up for having any witnesses or accomplices. She insisted that she had no idea where she was, she was feeling ill, and that she could