Jackson moved through the crowds, between booths, walking slowly and with a swagger as he so often tended to do, hand resting on the hilt of one of his swords as his eyes glanced this way and that. Several days had passed since the starting of the festivities, but the villagers were still as energetic and excited as if it were the first day. Jackson had come alone today, as the other residents of the castle had voted to stay home and rest.

 

“Come one! Come all! Come those who be strong and those who be quick of foot! For this is your chance to earn a prize fit for a man!” a man cried, from where he stood on a barrel, motioning for crowds to gather around a makeshift fighting ring. Jackson, seeing that the crowds were already pressing and he’d have difficulty in making his way through to see the fight, decided he would continue onwards.

 

“She has no family, she has no friends, she has no dowry, she has no sight, but her face and body are worth a man’s fortune! Come now! If you can defeat the seven warriors of the noble Lord Helson’s force, then she be yours to do with as you wish!” the man continued, and Jackson froze dead in his tracks, a look of fury sweeping across his features as he wheeled about, kicked the barrel with all his strength and brought the announcer tumbling to the ground.

 

“Last I heard slavery was forbidden in this kingdom.” he hissed, digging the heel of his boot into the man’s hand for a moment before releasing him.

 

“She is an orphan, indebted to my lord.” the man said defiantly, rubbing his hand from where it had been crushed. “Her blindness prevents her from going out into the world on her own, and my master tires of her. There is no law against a man winning the right to take a woman of consenting age into his household.”

 

Jackson seethed, his hands clasping both of his swords as he now forcibly pushed his way through the crowd and jumped into the ring, unsheathing his weapons as he landed. Before him stood seven demon warriors, all welding various weaponry, eyes flashing yellow as they grinned contemptuously at the man before them. Jackson noticed that their weapons were covered in blood, as was the ground, but none of them seemed hurt.

 

“Ah! My dear young fellow, you wish to challenge my guards for the right to take my lovely Sapphire home?” a cheerful voice hailed him from the small makeshift stands, wherein sat the lord and his entourage. Behind him stood the most beautiful girl Jackson had ever laid eyes on, lithe and girlish, and to his view certainly not old enough to be of a consenting age. Her eyes were doelike, large, grey, and staring ahead, unseeing, and once more a fury exploded inside of him at the thought that such a man as this noble would dare to trade off any girl as if she were a slave.

 

“I do.” Jackson replied, his voice strong and hard.

 

“Ah yes of course, but you should know that the last five men who have attempted to best my guards were carted off in fairly wounded states. Unlikely they will die but most certainly they will be on bedrest for some time to come.” the lord replied cheerfully. “Well and you have your own swords too, that is handy certainly, but if you wish there are weapons to the side that you may choose from to fight with as well.”

 

“I am satisfied with what I have my lord.” Jackson replied.

 

“Very well then, let the games commence.” Replied the lord, waving a hand lazily at his minions in a signal for them to fall on their prey.

 

The fight was anything but fair, however the crowds seemed to think it good entertainment and roared with encouragement both for and against Jackson as the seven minions fell on him from all sides all at once. Realizing that his best hope at beating them would be to severely injure them in the arm or leg, Jackson fell to cutting and slashing, gritting his teeth as blows he could not defend against cut up his back, his arms, and several times managing to cut superficial wounds into his torso. There was blood everywhere, but unlike the fights before the blood now also spurted out from the demon opponents, who had begun to cry in alarm to each other as they realized this man was no common fighter. 

 

With a steady stream of quick blows Jackson one by one disarmed and maimed each fighter to the point of them being unable to fight, until he was down to the last two, who seemed to be the elite of the seven. They circled him, so that one was always attacking from the front, the other from the back, forcing Jackson to constantly be fighting and defending in two directions. Hoping to end this losing battle, Jackson rushed the minion in front of him, parrying the other’s weapon with one sword and running through the demon’s arm with the other. At the moment he defeated the demon before him he felt a deep searing pain as a sword sliced across his back, causing him to fall forward to his knees for a brief moment as his body recovered from the shock, but as the whistling sound of the opponent's sword cut through the air Jackson twisted around, catching the descending weapon and parrying it to the side with his sword as he leaps back up to his feet and the minion through the shoulder, disabling him from further battle.

 

A great cheer erupted from the crowd as Jackson now stood alone in the ring, the minions having slunk off quickly one after the other to be tended to, his hands gripping his swords as blood ran down his fingers to the hilt to the steel blade and then to the ground. The noble stood and clapped heartily with the crowd.

 

“Well done young man! You are very well trained indeed, I would like to invite you to be the captain of my force if you would be so inclined.”

 

“I am already in the service of another.” Jackson replied curtly. “Give me the promised reward and I shall be on my way.”

 

“Certainly, certainly!” beamed the noble. “Though should you reconsider the offer I would be very anxious to have you in my household, very anxious indeed! Come back here to my tenting, retrieve the girl’s belongings and be on your way. In truth I did not think a man would be found worthy of Sapphire, but lucky is she indeed to become the concubine of such a warrior! She will please you greatly I am sure.”

 

Hiding his seething rage, Jackson followed the noble to his large tent where the girl had been led to during the fighting, and as they entered the girl stood from her seat, an alert expression on her unseeing face.

 

“Disrobe, let the warrior see with his own eyes the reward he has won.” the noble said cheerfully, looking at Jackson with twinkling eyes. The girl moved to obey, her hands undoing the fastening of her wrap dress, but Jackson was faster in putting his hand over hers and stopping her, his voice low and angry as he said, “No you shall not.”

 

“Ahh of course of course, the jealous type.” chuckled the noble. “I didnt think to ask, not that I havent seen her many time before now.”

 

Jackson’s grip on her tightened as he attempted to hold in his rage at the unashamed ersion of the noble, his hands moving hers aside to refasten her dress tightly.

 

“Here are her things, she doesnt have much. Enjoy your prize! You are a worthy warrior, worthy warrior indeed.” the man said, as Jackson took the bag and put it on his shoulder. Taking the girl’s hand, he placed it on his bicep, and escorted her quickly from the tent, off the grounds, and down to the road towards home. 

 

They walked in silence for a long while, Jackson’s adrenaline pushing him forward despite the pain he was experiencing from his wounds, and a deep bitter anger over the treatment of the girl that made him wish to seek revenge as soon as he had found her a safe haven. They came to the fork in the road which led towards the Breathnach manor, and there he came to a stop and turned towards her.

 

“You have been horribly mistreated young maiden, and if you so wish I shall return and run the lord straight through between the legs, so he be too much ashamed to ever show his face in public again. From you I want nothing, I have won the right for you to be free of the devil’s clutches, and you are now your own woman. Tell me where you wish to go, and I shall you there at once.”

 

There was a long pause, then her voice, soft and soothing, answered, “I have nowhere else to go. Please, will you take me with you. I am a good cook and seamstress, and tending herbal gardens or to any ailments and illnesses you may suffer.”

 

A wave of dizziness suddenly came over him, and Jackson realized that the adrenaline was fading away, and with it, his strength. Recognizing that he needed to get her and himself to safety at once before he became a liability, he immediately used his powers to transport them to the manor, before losing consciousness and falling deep into darkness. 

 

Sapphire felt the sudden rush and jolt of the teleportation, but having no sight or frame of reference for what had taken place was at a loss to understand what had happened. What she did understand was the moment Jackson fainted and fell to the floor, and that immediately took priority in her mind over explaining the strange jolt she had experienced. She knelt down, her hands felt a thick sticky substance covering him, instantly deducing that he was bleeding. Her hands scoured his body, finding multiple wounds and cuts, the worst being a deep gash to his back. Quickly she tore away his tattered shirt, folding it up to lay it lengthways over his wound, where she pressed it in to quell the bleeding. 

 

She heard the sounds of footsteps running up stairs and down a hall, realizing in surprise that she was kneeling down on carpet just as the sound of a door handle turning and persons bursting into the room she was apparently in came to her ears. She could hear breathing from multiple males but they seemed frozen in place, too astonished by her presence to make any immediate moves once they had barged in. Then a commanding voice said, “Yugeom, call JB. Bam, go get my emergency kit, Jinyoung, help me with him.”

 

And the next instant she felt two pairs of hands working next to hers, and deciding her services were no longer required, stood and backed away carefully, hands feeling around herself to make sure she did not bump up against anything. She stood and waited quietly, ears on the alert and listening to every sound as she heard footsteps running first away from and then returning towards the room.

 

“What happened.” JB asked, giving a cursory glance of surprise to the girl who stood quietly off to the side before focusing his attention on the unconscious blooded heap on the floor that Jinyoung and Mark were attempting to treat. Bambam ran in with the emergency kit and Mark immediately began the process of caring for the wounds.

 

“Not sure, we heard the sound of something falling in here, we ran in and found her trying to stop the bleeding.” Jinyoung replied, assisting Mark with his care. “He’ll be ok, dont worry.”

 

JB nodded and stood, walking over to the girl who turned her eyes towards him with an alert expression on her face. “My lady, I am Jaebum, the lead guard of the Breathnach Manor. Would you be so kind as to inform me of the situation. Why is Jackson wounded, and why are you with him? Did something go amiss at the fair grounds today?”

 

“My lord, I was an orphaned servant in the house of Lord Helzon, but I was given as a prize to your warrior who won the tournament against Helzon’s warriors today. I beg your forgiveness my lord, I was not aware of his wounds until he had fainted.” Sapphire replied. JB furrowed his brows. With the amount of blood Jackson was covered in a person would have to be blind not to notice, he thought to himself, and then as if struck by a thunderbolt he suddenly realized that this was exactly the case. Her eyes were looking at him alertly, but she was using her hearing rather than vision, following the sound of his voice and sound of movement to track where he stood.

 

“I understand.” JB replied. “Come with me, I shall introduce you to the lady of the manor.”