'What is your name, girl?' she asked the girl as they rode on her horse.

'Inerma.'

They dashed outside the city walls, the wind blowing their hair.

'Which way?' Ines said.

'In the woods,' she pointed to her right, and Ines kicked her horse to run faster. They entered the snow-white woods, the smell of dead leaves and pine trees hitting their noses. The dense foliage kept away the rays of the setting sun, and the women had to squint in order to see ahead. The horse's legs faded as they led into the darkness of the woods, yet they had to follow it for the sake of Matthew, ignoring the perils that might have been lurking.

The women dismounted the animal and scanned their surroundings.

'Follow me,' Inerma whispered.

Ines trailed behind her, trying to mimic the elf's light footsteps. Not a sound could be heard in the silence of the forest, only their breathing. They walked as fast as they could, but the fresh snow made it harder than they had predicted. After a few minutes of jumping and swearing at the torturing cold, they finally made it to a small clearing.

The women quickly hid behind some tall bushes. Dark figures stood out in the gloomy woods. They wore black masks that covered their whole faces, so it was impossible for Ines to recognise them. Who are they?, she wondered but couldn't find an answer. Ines crept closer to have a better view and saw them examine a man who was standing still, his face blank, his body rigid. Ines' jaw fell.

'That's Matthew!' she whispered to Inemra, her voice laced with worry.

Ines knew she had to do something before it was too late. There were around 6 masked figures; she had to act smart if she wanted to have a chance in getting Matthew to safety. She didn't know how skilled fighters they were, if they were at all. At least she didn't see them holding any weapons.

She took out her sword, ready to make a surprise attack. She slowly moved forward in alert, but her foot suddenly stepped on a small branch she hadn't seen. She put her weight on it, and it made a deafening crack.

All heads whipped towards her. They had detected her.

'Get behind me!' she barked at Inerma.

They jumped out of the bushes, charging at the masked men. The figures didn't look surprised and reacted swiftly. Few of them fought against them, and others raised their hands, forming a spell. Ines dodged their magic, but it took great effort; she was being hit from all directions, while at the same time she was trying to protect Inemra from their attacks.

The elf was clearly in the process of producing a spell, probably to summon an animal. Her eyes were white, and her body was unmoving. Ines took the blows, using her shield and her sword to repel any rocks and branches that came their way. She was barely managing to remain standing and wouldn't hold out for long.

Ines was about to fight back and attempt a counterattack, but she suddenly heard a thumping sound from behind her, like a swarm of people heading towards them. She turned around in panic and saw a dozen of people coming from behind the trees. Their eyes were pale and dead inside, their skin had turned ashen. They moved slowly and drowsily. Terror overtook her face.

Right then Ines realised they could never make it out of there alive. They were too many, and she was fighting alone. Her eyes glanced around for Matthew, her heart aching when she saw him still standing there, unaware of what was going on. They had obviously hypnotised him somehow. Ines saw a masked figure approaching him, and she got a bad feeling. While standing under her shield, she watched them take Matthew's sword and lift it above his head.

At that moment Ines felt a wave of newfound energy surge through her; her eyes started glowing in the dark, a current of unprecedented power flowing in her body. She opened her mouth and screamed in rage, releasing a tremendous blast of magic. The blast her body caused hit the enemy and killed the creatures on sight.

Ines felt weak, but Matthew was her priority then. She ran towards him and knelt down next to him. 'Matthew! Are you okay? Can you hear me?' she said shaking him.

Inerma came beside her, her face having lost its colour. Matthew opened his eyes and stared at them, his expression blank. He slowly stood up and looked at Ines. She touched his arm to comfort him. 'We fought them off,' she assured him with a small smile.

Matthew moved away from her touch. 'I'm sorry, have we met before?' he asked her frowning, while gazing around him in loss.

'Matthew, that is not funny.'

Ines went to grab his hand again, but Matthew still didn't recognise her. He was looking at her like she was a stranger.

'Don't touch me!' he snarled, and drew away from her, his face contorted from rage.

Ines' heart broke into a million pieces when she heard him shout at her with such hatred. She had no idea what to do to make him come back to her, to make him see her. Her eyes welled up, but she tried to fight back the tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks. She desperately walked towards him once more.

Right then, his eyes turned completely white, and he bared his teeth at her. He pulled his sword out of its sheath and advanced towards her with a malicious smile on his lips. Ines backed away from him; she didn't want to know how far he could go.

'Matthew! Stop this madness!' she pleaded, but he didn't listen to anything she was saying.

Matthew started on attacking her with all his strength, his every strike a painful hit inside her. The sound of their swords clashing was enough to break her heart as she tried to defend herself; she couldn't get herself to wage an offense.

Matthew noticed she was holding back and fought her even harder. He marched forward, waving his sword with extreme speed. Ines barely avoided his blade. Eventually her luck ran out, and Matthew managed to slash her thigh.

Ines winced, her face twisting in pain. There must have been a way to knock some sense out of him. Her thoughts were interrupted, when three elves appeared in the clearing. She turned to Inemra, her eyes throwing daggers at her. She had surely summoned them.

'Inerma! What have you done?'

'You needed help,' she said, her gaze fixed on the ground.

The elves immediately rushed to them and forcefully grabbed Matthew to immobilise him, two holding his arms behind his back, and another holding him by the neck. He resisted their hold as much as he could, but they were strong. Landos pulled out a small blue vial and brought it to Matthew's face.

'No! Get away from him!' Ines screamed.

Ines ignored her wounded leg and bolted towards them. However, someone seized her armour plate, and she was thrust back with force.

'It is a sleeping potion!' she heard Inemra scold her. 'It won't harm him.'

Landos made him drink the liquid in the vial, mouthing the words of a spell. Matthew's eyes began drooping, and after a few seconds he entered a sleeping state. The elves gently laid him on the ground and checked his vitals. Inemra released Ines, signaling for her to go.

'What happened to him? He couldn't recognise me,' Ines asked once she had neared them.

'He is spellbound,' the old elf said.

Rakron extracted the sword from Matthew's grip and gave the weapon to the old elf. The latter inspected closely the blade before speaking again. 'I should have known.'

'What?' Ines urged him to go on.

'This weapon is put on a spell. And a very powerful one. I have not seen this kind of magic before.'

'Meaning what?'

'We have to take him to our realm.'

Ines turned to him in shock, worry clouding her features. 'That is out of the question!' she said sternly, standing over Matthew in protectiveness.

The old man shook his head in impatience. 'No one will be able to help him. At least with us he stands a chance!'

'No.'

'You'd rather let him become a zombie like those earlier?' Inemra added.

Ines sighed and squatted next to him. His face was calm, like he had simply fallen asleep. His skin was a bit pale with deep lines of fatigue on his forehead. Ines touched his cheek. It was ice cold. As she gazed at him, she weighed her options. She had to admit the medics at the city probably wouldn't be able to heal him; they hadn't been trained to break spells. She knew, though, that entering the elf kingdom would be extremely dangerous, it would cause new complications she wasn't prepared to face.

The truth was, she would do anything in her power in order for him to have a chance for survival. She might not have been aware of that yet, but for her that was no choice; that was falling in love. Ines closed her eyes and took a deep breath. If saving him meant going to their realm, she would take the chance.

'Fine,' she said, standing up.

The elves nodded and gathered their things. Rakron bended Matthew's shield into a small makeshift stretcher. They tied a cloth on it on both sides and waited for something Ines wasn't sure of. When she heard neighs and galloping hooves, she glanced at Inemra whose eyes were already white, her expression focused.

Four wild horses appeared between the trees and stood tall in front of them. Landos tied the stretcher on one horse and carefully placed Matthew on it. His legs were sticking out, but at least his upper body was safe for the journey. Ines brought her horse to the clearing. They mounted their horses and began their journey to the elf realm.

'You did well back there,' Ines said to Inerma who was riding next to her.

'Thanks,' she beamed at her. 'I've still got much to learn.'

'Without me you would have been screaming in fear,' Landos huffed from behind.

'I will be screaming in anger if you don't shut up now.'

This is going to be a long night, Ines thought.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N:  Phew...now that was quite a big chapter. It is the last one of part two, "the hanged man". Who do you think was the hanged man exactly? Share your answer in the comments. Also, I'm doing a foundraiser for votes. Care to contribute?  ♡ ᵀʰᵃⁿᵏ ʸᵒᵘ ˢᵒ ᵐᵘᶜʰ ᶠᵒʳ ʳᵉᵃᵈⁱⁿᵍ ♡

Phrase of chapter:  στάσις πάντων πολέμων χαλεπώτατος / uprising is the most difficult of all wars  - Plato