Junii and the Dark Warrior- Short Story

Junii scrambled backwards, stopping only when her back hit a tree, and watched her mysterious savior at work. Two of the rogues were already down, and the dark haired fighter was drawing his sword take on the leader. Horrified at the battle, Junii was yet unable to look away. Each time the blade of the rogue leader swung at the dark haired fighter, Junii's heart skipped. Should he fail in this battle, she knew her own life would be forfeit as well. She would not even be granted death, as the fighter would, but would endure a lifetime of servitude to the corrupt lord the rogues served.

Metal sounded on metal, and the dark haired fighter advanced on the rogue leader, Junii silently urging him on. She gasped as she was suddenly grabbed from behind by one of the rogues. The fighter's head turned at the sound, and the rogue leader, seeing his quarry distracted, swung down with a horrible smile.

The fight seemed to freeze for an awful moment. The leader dropped his sword. The mysterious fighter had slipped under the rogue's guard, and slipped a dagger between his ribs. Their leader dead, the rest of the rogues scattered.

The mysterious fighter watched them leave, then turned to Junii. He made it three steps toward her, and fell.

***

"You're the Dark Warrior, aren't you?"

The stranger had just opened his eyes, a deep blue that seem to pierce Junii's soul. "Why do you say that?"

"I found this on you when I treated your wound." Junii held up a medallion depicting two snakes twined around a willow tree. "Everyone knows this is the Dark Warrior's symbol."

The stranger sat up, testing the binding on his wound. It hurt, but was bound well and would heal.

"But everyone thinks the Dark Warrior is just a legend," Junii said. "A lone man fighting the ills of the world single-handedly. Everyone knows of him, but no one has seen him."

"I am he," he said, strapping on his sword.

"And now the world will have someone who has actually seen you at work, who can confirm the hopes that everyone has placed in you."

"You can never speak of this."

"But people should know."

"People can't know, if I am to be effective. If I were thought to be real, villains and tyrants would fear me. As a legend, they dismiss me, and I'm able to get closer to them."

The Dark Warrior placed a hand on Junii's forehead and started chanting. The look on her face was not the confusion or anger he encountered with most people he cast the spell on, but rather one of sadness. "You must be so lonely," she whispered.

"Forget," he said, and gently lay her down as the spell erased her memory of him. When Junii awoke she was alone, her cheek damp from tears that mixed with her own, and unable to explain why she was crying.