Duty-Bound: Chapter 1

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She eyed her surroundings without moving from her fighting stance. Someone had been following her for the past few hours. She brought her hand up and pulled her sword out from behind her back. The silence of the forest was so deafening that it freaked her out. The hidden person following her was waiting for a chance to take her down. For what purpose, she wouldn't know until she meets the mysterious person. She swallowed the lump in her throat silently and gripped her sword tightly as she just realized that there was more than one opponent. When she turned around, her sword met her opponent's with a loud clang. Her eyes widened when she finally realized her opponent was actually a ninja from the royal clan. The crescent moon on her opponent's sword confirmed it.

"What do you want from me?" she hissed through her gritted teeth.

She received no answer.

She swung her sword as hard as she could when the crimson-eyed ninja pulled his sword away from hers. He swiftly jumped a few feet away from her. His stance was strong as he held his sword to the side. She tightened her hold on her sword when she saw the ninja move his left hand and remove the cloth that was hiding his face. Her eyes widened when she saw his face, and being too shocked had allowed a few other ninjas to corner her. She was panicking, and before she knew it, three ninjas were holding her down. When the crimson-eyed ninja approached her, she glared at him angrily. She gasped when she felt the needle in her shoulder. Her vision blurred within seconds.

"Why you…" she muttered as her body slowly lost strength.

"My deepest apologies." That was all she heard before everything went black.