Over the wide, flat horizon, four figures could be seen stirring up dust that was born away on the cool spring breeze.
Two of the speeding dots were clothed in meager fabric and had only tough leather shoes to absorb the constant pounding of their feet against hard packed dust and stone. The remaining two were clothed in fine leather armor and boots. Metal plate gleamed on their chests and shining helmets adorned their heads. Spears were clutched tightly in their fists.
If the first pair had any advantage, it was that their poor clothing was lighter than the heavy armor of the guards of Enoth. But that was where their advantages ended.
Serinde was running for her life.
She had killed an elf, a high-ranking officer of the empire. If she were caught now she'd be dragged back to Azol and made an example of. They'd hang her from the highest tower as a warning to those who might defy their masters.
The scene played out so well in her head because she had seen it happen before.
And her sister, Erilas, who ran beside her would be hung as well for being associated with a criminal. The Enoth guards were known for their overreaching ideas of justice.
The two guards who gave her and her sister chase were still close enough to throw their merciless spears. All it would take was a glancing blow to either of them and they would be caught. Neither would leave without the other.
Serinde would rather die than leave her sister to the guards. But, at the current rate, they may simply both find their fates at the end of a long rope. Her sides were stitching up and her legs burned with fire. Their meager lunch was long ago spent on their escape from Azol.
Ahead of them, Serinde saw their one chance.
"Try to hide in those ruins!" She managed to say to her sister, though her lungs ached with every word.
Up ahead of them, just visible in a cloud of dust a breeze was stirring up, was what looked to be the remnants of a settlement. Some long forgotten elven village.
It was going to be the only chance at surviving this that they had. Erilas nodded in reply.
In that short moment of looking at her sister, Serinde knew that they would both soon have spent all their energy running. Even now she felt like she was running on adrenaline alone.
She flew past the first dilapidated stone structures, hearing the shouts of the two guards behind her. They were better fed and better trained for chases such as this. If the sisters were to survive, they would need to outsmart them.
"Eri!" Serinde said as she slowed to a jog.
Half walls and what looked like great stone monuments rose up all around them. "Climb! Get high up!"
They were following an ancient road down the middle of the village or square or whatever it may have been once. The street was long overgrown and cracked with the movement of the earth.
Serinde put her hand onto several stones stacked into a column and heaved herself up with great effort.
Erilas was not so quick or skilled at climbing.
Before she could find a purchase on the wall she had planned to scale, one of the Enoth guards grabbed her ankle and began to tug her back down, spear ready to strike. Erilas was holding onto a stone for the sake of her life. Serinde was flying through the air at her sister's attacker before any thought of her own danger crossed her mind. She collided with the guard and they fell backward, into a heap.
Erilas' stone that she was climbing shook loose and began to topple.
The guard had just grabbed onto Serinde's throat when Erilas tackled her hard, pushing her out of harm's way as the stone came tumbling down.
A sickening metallic crunch and a pained groan were all that remained of the first guard. Serinde was on her feet in a breath, knowing the second guard would be on them in moments. The fallen spear of the first was in her hands without her even remembering picking it up.
She didn't immediately see him and it made the hairs on her neck stand on end in anticipation. Where had he gone? He was right on the heels of his partner.
Unless.
Serinde spun and saw it too late. Helmeted and silent, the guard was standing just above Erilas, who had struggled to her knees. The silver knife gleamed brilliantly against the dirty throat of her sister's neck. Heavy breathing told her that the guard was winded, but the tone in his voice let her know he thought he had won.
"Pretty things, you two," he snarled.
Serinde was glad the helmet obscured his face. She wouldn't have liked the look he was giving them, she could tell.
"Too bad they'll hang you both before the suns are up tomorrow."
Erilas wasn't struggling at all. She had used every ounce of her energy to run and now her eyes pleaded with Serinde. It was hard to see her like this.
"Drop the spear, pretty," the guard ordered with a tone of voice that turned Serinde's stomach. "Maybe we can work out a way for you to not get hung."
She had a feeling she knew what he was talking about.
The twin elves were pretty. Their father had said he'd seen more eyes turn to follow his girls than any other he'd known on Azol. It was all from their mother. She had been beautiful and the envy of their neighbors.
Now their beauty was not doing them any favors.
"I said drop the spear," the guarded repeated, his voice betraying his impatience. With one hand he grasped Erilas' hair, with his other he held his knife tightly against Erilas' throat, jostling her a bit as he ordered Serinde.
Her sister had silent tears rolling down her cheeks. Serinde tried to imagine the horrible things this guard would request. And knew that he'd end up killing them when he was finished anyways. Guards of Enoth weren't known for their honesty.
"I think the three of us can come to an agreement you'll really like," Serinde said, as sweetly as she could possibly muster.
The guard relaxed his hold on Erilas. A twisted smile shown through his helmet as the Suns began to sink into the horizon.
It was death now or later.
With all the force she could find within herself, she lunged at the guard, her spear aimed the guard's throat. Having his guard down for that one moment was her only hope. His grip on Erilas loosened and she scrambled free. She heard the distinct clatter of metal on stone.
He had dropped his knife.
The guard was flailing, trying to punch his attacker. He swung his fists around wildly, swiping air. Serinde became aware of a sharp pain in her side, but she knew to succumb to pain would mean her death.
His metal armor was cold against her body and his strong arms threatened her with every swing. Serinde was clawing at the only bit of skin she could see on the guard: his throat.
With an angry shout, he tossed Serinde off of him and against a stonewall. She grunted in pain as she heard a distinct crack. Her arms reached out to push herself up from the ground when she felt something metallic: the knife. Boots were running towards her and she knew a swift kick would be the end of her.
She grabbed the knife and leapt upward, hoping to make contact with any part of her assailant.
By fate or by luck, she did.
Standing up and shaking violently, Serinde could feel the knife connect with the throat of the guard. He gurgled painfully in a shout, and then fell to his knees. The knife he had held so tightly against Erilas' throat was now lodged firmly into his own. He began to convulse as a dark red covered the ground around him.
Not wanting to leave things to chance, Serinde pounced on him. She took the knife from his throat and drove it into his helmet. All the fear and anger and frustration and loss she had felt that day fueled her rage as she plunged the knife again and again into the guard who threatened to kill her sister.
Her father was gone.
Her home was gone.
Her way of life was gone.
And it was all the empire's fault.
She hated them.
She hated anything that had anything to do with the empire.
Screams of rage left her mouth as she forgot who she was, where she was, and what she had done.
Breathing heavily and realizing that she was sobbing angry tears, a gentle voice called to her.
Erilas.
"Seri. Help," were the words that finally brought her back to her surroundings.
She lay a few steps away. Her hand was clutching her throat.
Both were covered in red.
"Eri!" Serinde shouted.
She scrambled to her sister, who looked up painfully into her eyes.
"How bad?" she asked, not wanting to know, only wanting to make the flow of red stop and for her sister to be whole. She wanted to hear her laugh. To see her smile. She wanted more than life to know that her twin would survive.
As the suns began to sink past the horizon, however, a small flicker in her sister's eyes made her unsure if she would be responsible for another death before the day's end.