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The goblins sounded their horns and the battle began. The princess climbed the spiral staircase to the tower. Taking aim, she held her breath.
The enemies rushed forward in a huge crowd, their chaotic shouts and cries rising to the heavens. From time to time, lightning struck, deafening everyone around.
The princess fired three arrows at a time, accurately targeting the enemies' heads. The field quickly turned into a bloody mess of purple elixir.
One last push and the enemy tower would fall.
“Skeletons, to battle!” commanded the king. Her father's voice rang out confidently and clearly, and without hesitation, he raised his hand to the sky, gesturing to the skeletons to send the goblin army to their aid.
The princess yawned and leaned her hands on the stone, her weapon lying aside. When you win so often, the joy of victory fades. But it seemed that this did not apply to her father.
The princess looked up at the sky, mentally counting the seconds until the tower collapsed. Suddenly, her father shouted.
“Sara, shoot!” he repeated, his eyebrows furrowed in a wide frown.
The girl leaned forward lazily, surveying her target. The last enemy. She could hit him in the face with her eyes closed.
Sara pulled the bowstring, taking aim.
The girl with fiery hair looked ahead, swaying her hips from side to side. She held the metal axe as if it were a toy.
The pack of skeletons, reinforced by archers, rushed forward. The princess bit her lip, waiting for her opponent's reaction.
The girl brushed her hair away from her face and rushed straight into the crowd.
A moment away from the skeleton's blade, she held the axe in front of her and spun around, moving on. Her coordination was impressive, and her laughter amid the splashes of elixir sent shivers down the spine.
From the frightened whispers of the goblins, the princess realized that this was a Valkyrie.
“Sara, shoot!” her father said, and the tower beneath her feet shook.
The Valkyrie was here.
She looked the princess in the eye as if death were a game.
It was foolish, but Sara's hands trembled.
When she took aim, she realized for the first time in her life that she would not hit her target. Not because she was unskilled, but because she couldn't kill.
The goblins sounded their horns.
Victory. Time was up.
The Valkyrie dropped her axe on the floor, shrugged her shoulders, and left. At that moment, Sarah felt nothing but devastation.
“Why do you need this axe?” asked the knight, climbing the stairs.
“It's… for research,” replied the princess, opening the door to the room.
“But it's an enemy axe.”
Sarah looked the knight up and down.
“That's exactly why I need it,” Sarah replied, snatching the axe from his hands.
“Thank you for your help.”
The knight bowed and left. Slender, he seemed attractive to the girls.
But Sara was interested in little else but shooting.
And now, looking at the axe with the gilded inscription “Freya,” she realized more than ever that her skill was in jeopardy.
She sat day and night, recreating Freya's movements in her mind. The axe fell to the floor several times as the princess tried to get into the role of her opponent.
Her heart was pounding, and sweat was pouring from her forehead.
It was all in vain.
The holidays were approaching, and the king was forced to reduce the number of military campaigns. This pleased and disappointed Sarah at the same time. She wanted and didn't want to see the Valkyrie.
It was embarrassing, but she still couldn't get her out of her head.
On the kingdom's birthday, Sarah drank raspberry punch and wished she were dead. Completely exhausted, she wandered into the barracks and collapsed into bed. In a darkened corner, someone was kissing and awkwardly stifling moans. Damn archers.
It was distracting and exciting.
Sarah awkwardly rubbed her hips against the blanket. She thought about Freya.
Freya was popular among women. As she flexed her muscles, she imagined their breathless and excited faces beneath her body. It would be foolish to ignore how much power her thighs alone held.
But after losing her axe, her mood changed dramatically.
Her attention was focused on one thing as never before. Why didn't the princess shoot her?
How many battles and fleeting pleasures had the Valkyrie gone through to deserve death? And suddenly she receives mercy?
No, it's just ridiculous. She was lucky, nothing more.
Preparing for battle, she sharpened her blade. In her memory, she saw brown eyes, a confident smile, and unmatched precision. This princess had to shoot her.
She was the only one the Valkyrie would allow to do so.
Freya rushed toward the tower, dodging arrows. The enemy king shouted something, and the princess narrowed her eyes, raising her bow. The two of them were alone in the world.
Sarah and Freya.
Freya tilted her head to one side, studying the princess with her gaze. They had a few seconds left before the battle ended.
Sarah's lips twitched into a barely noticeable smile. Before the arrow pierced the Valkyrie's shoulder, she would read “sorry” on her opponent's lips.
Freya came to in the barracks, surrounded by archers. The girls asked how she was feeling, but the Valkyrie was indifferent to everyone.
An arrow lay on the windowsill.
Freya asked them to leave her alone, and the archers left the room.
Touching the arrow, Freya smiled, stroking the bloodied tip, and then broke the arrow over her knee.
A paper tube fell to the floor:
“Freya, I want to talk. Meet me at the fountain when the sun goes down.
Sincerely yours, Sara.”
“I thought you weren't coming,” said Sarah, staring at the ground.
“I've never been shot at to ask me out on a date before,” Freya laughed, “I couldn't say no.”
“It's not...”
Sarah stopped, meeting Freya's gaze.
“Don't you want it to be?”
For a moment, they walked together in silence, holding hands. Only the crickets played their music to the moon.
“I have to kill you,” the princess said suddenly. A lump formed in her throat.
“I don't mind,” the Valkyrie replied. She sounded sincere.
“What?”
“What?”
Their hands, still intertwined, held tighter.
As they walked on, the silence between them grew heavier. A view of the abyss opened up before them, separated from them by a rotten partition.
“I want to kiss you,” Sarah said softly, watching the clouds darken the sky. Her heart was pounding in her chest.
“Then?” Freya leaned forward slightly, searching for her eyes.
“It's wrong,” Sarah turned away.
“What we're talking about is already considered wrong.”
Sarah was silent.
“What do you think... if we were in the same deck...”
Sarah clutched the railing with all her might.
Valkyrie moved closer. The world around her melted away in the fog or tears.
She gently ran her hand over Sarah's chin, and Sarah swallowed and took a deep breath.
Freya kissed her tenderly and skillfully. As if for the first time, as if it were the only kiss in her life that mattered to her.
“Promise me you'll shoot me,” she said, pulling away.
"Promise me you'll stop my father."
"Without you, he's nothing."
"Without you, I feel the same way."