Search Menu

Anything for a Kiss

Breaking the Chains

Under the Dark Sun

Popular Now
Sebastián Iturralde
March 2, 2022
4 minute read
Dark Light
The story of another day in the life of a heroine who continues trying to be part of a world that doesn’t understand her.

Naly left her house early morning. She enjoyed watching the sunrise and being prepared for any mishap. As she used to, she watched the dawn shine with all its splendor before setting off in search of an adventure.

Since graduating from the knight academy, with a decoration that few could achieve, her life has revolved around heroism. Her basic needs were too simple for her—defending the innocent, on the other hand, was what Sir Naly came into the world to do.

Her silver armor had to be specially modified to fit her body type. Despite her prestige, it was difficult for Naly to be a woman in a world of men. The locksmith was opposed to making the modifications, but she always found a way to make things work her way.

Today was just another day. The meadows were empty and the people were safe in their homes. Naly rode her trusty steed into the rising sun. She cautiously patrolled the trails until she reached the darkness of the forest.

Multiple reports of bandits in the area caught her attention. All the townspeople spoke of them hiding in shadows of the forest. Naly decided to stay hidden in the woods until she found them.

A little before reaching the main road, she tied her horse under the shade of a tree. The white stallion wasted no time and began eating the wet grass. Naly decided to join him, taking out some dehydrated food from her bag.

Shortly after entering the forest, Naly heard voices in the distance. Wasting no time, she found a path that leads directly to it.

As soon as she arrived…

“Good morning,” Naly said after she was close enough to four men around a maiden. Another man was behind the carriage, facing an old man. “Nice morning, right?”

Trarko, one of the men surrounding the maiden, addressed Naly. “That’s up to you, beautiful!”

Naly felt offended by the remark. “I am one of the King’s knights,” she said.

“That armor says otherwise,” Trarko said, laughing.

The other men present also began to laugh. “Your curves are more pronounced than this maiden’s,” Pelhe said.

“I beg you,” Naly said, “don’t you dare insult a knight’s honor.”

“What are you going to do, beautiful?” Trarko asked, approaching Naly.

The movement was almost imperceptible. Naly drew her sword. When she stopped, she had her arm straight out in front of her.

They fell silent, waiting. Anxious to know what had happened, Trarko’s arm fell to the ground.

The riotous screams of the wounded man made Naly step back. She held her sword in an attack stance. “Anyone else has a smart remark about my honor,” she said, pushing Trarko away from her path with her foot.

“Are you mad!” Pelhe said and drew his sword. The rest of the men also prepared to fight. “You have no idea what we’re going to do with you.”

Naly couldn’t wait to start the battle so she ran towards them. While the armed men waited for her. She stopped and deflected one of their attacks with her sword, then stepped back to defend against another attacker.

“I see you are eager for some fun,” Pelhe said, surrounding her with his companions.

“You have one chance to give up,” Naly said, taking a step back to avoid being surrounded.

“Must you be kidding?” Adrame said with a smile. “You’ll feel better when we’re done with you.”

“You’ve been warned…” Naly said, before attacking.

Adrame fended off the first attack, then felt Naly’s shoulder slammed into his chest. Pelhe received an elbow to the head, followed by a slice of the cold metal of her sword on his torso.

Naly managed to deflect Milko’s attack with her sword. Pelhe sneaked a swing of his sword against Naly’s back armor, causing her to push Milko and impaled him with the sword.

Pelhe looked at Adrame standing next to him.

Naly pretended to attack again but backed off as the two men got closer to her. “Are you sure you want to continue this?” she asked

Adrame charged forward, raising his sword, letting the movement of his arm lead the motion. It was obvious to him that the armored woman would not be able to defend against two simultaneous attacks. Pelhe also attacked when he saw his partner.

Naly spun on her right foot to fend off Adrame’s attack and place him between her and Pelhe. She immediately used her sword again to cut the skin from Adrame’s back as Pelhe watched perplexed.

“You are the only one left, boy,” said Naly. “I will allow you to defend my honor.”

“I’m sorry, King’s knight,” Pelhe said, kneeling.

Naly accepted the show of respect. “Drop your sword and get up. You have a new chance to live, take it.”

Pelhe dropped his sword and ran, while Naly sheathed her own.

Naly approached the old man and the maiden, both of them looked surprised. “I’m sorry I had to behave in this manner with your friends,” she said, once she stopped near them.

“They were bandits,” said the maiden, Celestine. “You have saved us.”

Naly felt Celestine’s thin arms around her neck.

“I’m willing to do anything,” said Celestine, “but I demand that you be my escort.”

“I’m flattered,” Naly said, as Celestine continued to hang around her neck, “but my service is for the king.”

Celestine planted her toes on the ground and moved back to look at Naly’s blue eyes. She then kissed the knight’s lips.

Naly was surprised to feel the maiden’s lips against her own.

“I’ll do anything,” Celestine said, stepping back.

Author

Sebastián Iturralde

Writer of enigmatic tales, weaving captivating narratives that provoke thought and stir the imagination. Unveiling the depths of human experience through words.
93 comments

  4. I really enjoyed that… I also like how in this fantasy land, the locksmith is the blacksmith: it gives the story an unusual edge. Keep it up! 👌🏼

  10. Hi, I love how you write and how you express, I send it to you an email, I hope you can see it, have a great night.

  11. WELL DONE FOR GIVINGUS BACK THE DAYS OF THE KNIGHTS AND FOR MAKING IT AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PROFESSION. I THINK THE UKRAINE COULD USE SOME. WHAT A SURPRISE ENDING FOR US THOUGH MORE SO FOR NALY.

  12. It’s very interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I really missed reading your blogs. Glad to see you in action. Probably I might have missed out on the notifications of your new stories.

  14. Thank YOU for sharing into the world your creativity and the hope-filled power of imagination! These the kind of ripples of goodness that make the best waves!

  22. Sexism was rampant back then, I imagine. The lessons still remain the same today, though: Let’s not treat women like second-class citizens, while expecting them to be quiet, nice and pretty all the time, lest we suffer the consequences of these arrogant men. Cheers, Sebastian!

  28. I Liked it very much Sebastian, I’m a huge fan of medieval times and you rocked it with this story. Keep it up !!

  31. I don’t know, Sebastian. Very well written!! “..my service is for..” Art, notwithstanding the fact when you reach my age (75), whether it be male, female, whatever, sex has zero relevance.

  33. Great to have you back Sebastián! I liked the idea of the gender switch too. Saludos, Jaime
    (karhunluola significa “gruta del oso” en Finlandés)

  35. “The other men present also began to laugh. “Your curves are more pronounced than this maiden’s,” Pelhe said.”

    This post is awesome.
    I Love it!

  37. I liked Naly’s character.
    A courageous knight who loves the early morning sunrise and wants to stand up for others.
    An escapism story of bravery as inspiration in these current times. Thankyou!

  38. Your short story is energetic, terrific, and fantastic & you charters were well developed & Naly saved the lives of the good by taking the lives of the evil except Pelhe giving him asecond chance to do right and respect women!

  40. I love a bit of swashbuckling. This was superb. It transported me away to a land of chivalry and honour where good conquers evil. We need a few Nalys in the real world.

  44. Terrific writing Sebastian! I so enjoyed your story. Love the website too. Best wishes.

  45. Sebastian, this story brought to mind the courageous and patriotic civilians, both men and women, who are fighting to defend Ukraine. As in your story, may justice and courage win in the end! <3

  47. Well done, Sebastian. You have a knack for creating believable characters, dynamic action and a vivid sense of place. I really enjoyed this one. 🙂

  48. Really good story! This is one of my favorites of yours. I really enjoyed how the hero was a female and I found the fact that she beat a group of men hilarious.

  52. As a friend, I would write, if I were to write,
    “Avoid being one who will write anything
    for a fading kiss from this lost world.”
    Still, the skill with the pen is good.
    “My service is for the ” … King.

  56. Wonderful narrative, Beautifully penned. Loved it , The discription of the fight is so detailed, one can infact visualise it happening .

  57. Wonderful narrative, Beautifully penned. Loved it , The discription of the fight is so detailed, one can infact visualise it happening .

  59. Welcome back great read. It’s an amazing story that seems to give me answers I think, it just resonates. Her loyalty and devotion to the king (his loyalty and devotion to the love he has) The maidens attempt to woo him from that dedication (my futile attempts to express my feelings) And end result is people come into your life for a reason and a purpose., and we have to respect and embrace their destiny

  61. A female knight. You don’t see that often.

    But I’m glad that story didn’t develop any further. I’m not interested in reading romance of any kind, whether it be male / female, male / male, or female / female.

  68. Nice, some weird wording in the first paragraph, then the flow gets better. Only question I have is why she made her armer show off boobs, that stuff makes swinging a sword near impossible. Some people have done youtube videos on it.

  69. This is a nice short story packed with action and makes the reader vividly create the action in their mind. Definitely the best in the creative category of the Oscars.

  74. Well written, and loved the equality of the knight’s. Ending caught me off guard, though not as much as Naly.

  79. Thank you for sharing your creativity and joyous gift of writing. Keep on keeping on being awesome. 😎

  85. More like superwoman, actually! The knights at the round table would need a sword as trusty as king arthur’s
    for this one.

  87. Wonderfully written, enjoyed the story and well developed characters!
    Great job Sebastian!

    Look forward to reading more from you.

  91. I liked this! Very good story, and I loved the scenery of the photo atop the post. It helped to stimulate my imagination as I began to read into the story and interestingly envision the fantasy.

    I pictured it as if I was actually watching it. I enjoyed this.

Comments are closed.

Related Posts