Ostus has been wondering if it would be worth stealing a peek at Kiara when she let out a very startling cry of alarm.

Ostus whipped around, not giving a shit if the princess was naked or not. No one screamed like that unless they were in some kind of trouble. The red streak on her arm, so startlingly bright, first caught Ostus's eye. Blood. Then the attacker darted through the bushes right at him. He cursed under his breath as he charged, worried that he would not reach the man fast enough...

Kiara side-stepped out of the way. Good girl. Ostus had no time to congratulate her, no time to even smile; he had gained momentum and was now upon the attacker. With a sharp cry, he swung, his first attack more to pull the attacker's attention away from Kiara than anything else. It worked. To keep from getting his head lopped off, this first attacker was forced to turn on Ostus. Though the elf's sword looked heavy, Ostus moved it with efficient ease, the blade arching though the air in deadly accuracy. Focused and light on his feet, he kept pace with this assassin who seemed evenly matched. They danced and scuffled around each other, lunged and thrust, kicking up dirt and clashing swords.

The second arrow knicked Ostus's shoulder; he was lucky it did not pierce his throat or neck. He cursed under his breath, barely managing to raise his sword in time to block his current opponent's attack. "Find cover!" Ostus screamed at Kiara, wondering how he was going to deal with a fighter up close and an archer in the distance. He had to somehow get this fucktard off of him...