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“Has anyone heard from the captain?”

“No, not yet. He’s probably still out there, trying to find those bandits.”

The rest of Captain Arbor’s men, those who didn’t have to stay behind with the ship, milled around the edge of town, where the buildings gave way to the forest beyond. They had been ordered to keep watch along the edge of town in case any of the bandits they were looking for tried to slip past. What they didn’t expect to see, however, was their captain’s battered body falling from the trunk of a nearby tree. They hurried over and gathered around their beaten leader, shocked to see him hurt worse than they had ever seen.

“Captain, what happened?!” one of them asked as he and another each took an arm over their shoulders and helped the man to his feet.

Arbor groaned and opened the one eye that wasn’t swollen shut. He gritted what teeth he had left and muttered, “Take me to the ship…Need to make…a report…The rest of you, there’s a woman…in the woods…”

His face ached as it scrunched up in fury. “Don’t…let her leave alive…”
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“Ain’t…dead, yet…” Marcus rasped, his voice weak as he rolled over onto his back, a monumental task given his current state. He placed his hand on the wound on his chest and felt his blood still leaking, albeit at a slower pace as a result of his weakening heartbeat.

Luna couldn’t help but let out a relieved sigh. [color=lightblue][i]Of course this bear wouldn’t die so easily,[/i][/color] she thought as she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes before placing her hands over his, doing her best to apply pressure to the bleeding wound. [color=lightblue]”Thank Lunara, I thought I lost you,”[/color] she said. [color=lightblue]”I-I’ll figure something out, just don’t move too much. I’ll get you back to the others, so save your–”[/color]

“Princess,” Marcus wheezed. He looked up at her, just barely able to see her silver eyes with his failing vision. “You…need to get out of here…That captain…his men are bound to show up soon…Y-you can’t afford to worry…about a wounded soldier…”

[color=lightblue]”Shut up!”[/color] Luna suddenly snapped as her eyes scanned the clearing for anything she could use to bind his wounds. [color=lightblue]”I’m not losing anyone else! Not when I can actually do something, now!”[/color]

A glimpse of white among the shadows suddenly caught her eye. Captain Arbor’s coat! It must have fallen off of him while he was trying to fend Luna off. [color=lightblue]”You’re not gonna die. If you’re still gonna call me your princess, then you have to follow that order,”[/color] she said as she jumped to her feet and retrieved the coat. She helped Marcus sit up and quickly wrapped the coat around his chest as tightly as she could. She knew it wouldn’t help any internal bleeding, but she hoped it was enough to keep him alive until they got to the ship.

She draped one of Marcus’ arms over her shoulders and stood, gritting her teeth as the cut in her side suddenly reminded her that it was there. She could feel warmth spread across her side as her wound reopened. “Luna…Don’t let yourself die because of me…” Marcus weakly growled.

She pushed the pain out of her mind and began to walk through the forest, dragging the larger man’s feet as she forced a grin on her face. [color=lightblue]”Thought I told you to shut up,”[/color] she said. [color=lightblue]”Neither of us are dying here, not if I can help it! Now, where are we going?”[/color]

Marcus was quiet for a moment, too long for Luna’s liking, before he finally managed to say, “North…west. There’s a cove…we have a ship moored there…”

[color=lightblue]”Alright, big guy, stay awake. We’ll cut right through the trees and be there before you know it!”[/color]
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It took way too long for Luna’s liking to get through the forest. While the cover of the trees helped hide her and Marcus, the Marines were never too far away, occasionally coming across a drop of blood or a trampled piece of underbrush. If it weren’t for Luna’s New Moon technique minimizing their presence, she and Marcus would have been found before they got more than a hundred feet from the battle site.

As they moved through the woods, Luna had to pat Marcus’ cheek or nudge him more than once to wake him up. She could tell he was fading fast and all that kept him from losing consciousness permanently was the order she gave him. [color=lightblue][i]Guy’s definitely loyal. The Legion was lucky to have him,[/i][/color] she thought as they slipped behind a tree to avoid a patrol jogging past.

By the time the cove came into view, the sun had started to rise. The sky was a dull gray and the early hour bathed everything in a watery light. Mist had started to rise around them, something Luna was thankful for, as it further hid her and Marcus from their pursuers. [color=lightblue]”Marcus, look, there’s the ship!”[/color] she said as they left the treeline. He was quiet.

The ship, moored on a small makeshift pier, was a sloop, a single-masted ship with a headsail in front of and a mainsail aft of the mast. All in all, it was a simple ship, seemingly one ‘borrowed’ from some poor merchant sometime in the past. Luna carried Marcus across the sandy beach, doing her best to keep her footing despite the pain in her side and her friend’s limp body weighing her down. She heard a shout from the ship and watched as people began to run down the gangplank toward her and Marcus. [color=lightblue]”Hurry, get a doctor!”[/color] she shouted. [color=lightblue]”Marcus is hurt!”[/color] To her wounded friend, she added, [color=lightblue]”Don’t worry, you’ll be fixed up and on your feet in no–”[/color]

She lost her footing and fell to the ground with a grunt as one of the crew, a middle-aged man in Legionnaire armor, broke away from the group and sprinted over. He and Luna rolled Marcus onto his back and Luna found herself surprised she hadn’t heard so much as a grunt from the older man when they fell. The Legionnaire, the doctor of the crew, crouched down and placed his fingers to the side of the prefect’s neck to check his pulse. He was quiet for several long moments and looked back toward the forest as the sounds of shouting started to grow louder. “Get them on board,” the doctor quietly told a couple of the gathered crewmates as he rose to his feet.

Luna stood and winced as pain flared in her side. [color=lightblue]”You can help him, right? He’ll be okay?”[/color]

Later, when she thought back, she wouldn't be able to tell if it was the news, the sleepless night, dehydration, hunger, blood loss, or some combination that made her pass out. All she could remember was the look on the doctor's face as he looked at her, that expression that made her blood run cold, that made her heart drop to her stomach, before her world turned black and a single thought ran through her mind.

Marcus was gone.

[center][h2][b]END OF PROLOGUE[/b][/h2][/center]