Disclaimer: This short story was written for Battle Twists via Battle of Clans. Battle of Clans is a discord initiative in which several communities join in to play different games. This challenge required us to write a common trope with a plot twist. I was representing The Savant G. community. Results are yet to be announced.

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"All our prayers go to you, Sir Higg of Yarrin. You're our last hope to get the Princess back."

Those words echo in my eardrums, giving me the courage and the willpower to keep going, even during the hardest of times. The last words King Salvius said to me as I prepared my horse to go three sundowns ago. Everyone is counting on me to be their hero, to bring back Princess Alissa safe and sound. I will be bathed in old when I return, loved for eternity. Maybe they'll even write songs about me. I'll be a legend.

However, this quest is not like any other. The disappearance of young ladies from the village has been going on for months, only a few each week, and no one knows who or what is doing it. King Salvius waved the problem away, knowing perfectly well that women are the least of the kingdom's problems, but now that his daughter was also kidnapped, it'd be foolish to stand aside.

It's been forty-six sundowns since Princessa Alissa has gone missing, and several of my comrades have been sent to rescue her, but none has succeeded. They speak of a bridge where a water spirit lives and kills everyone who tries to cross the river, only to feed of their blood. But I know I'll be able to slay it. Maybe the promise of the Princess's hand in marriage wasn't enough for them, but it is to me.

Beautiful Alissa... She always teases me. Challenges my orders, flips me off and yells profanities at me to show her father how much she despises me. But I know it's all pretend, and she's dying to be rescued by me.

My horse staggers back, trying to turn around, but I stop it. Thick fog grows around us, making my horse nervous. I urge it forward, closer to the river's edge. The water is clear enough to see the rocky floor and the fish swimming around, but no sign of evil spirits. Defeating spirits was the first thing my mentor, Lord Pheles, ever taught me, so I'm sure it won't be a problem.

My eyes fall onto an old, rotting bridge in stitching the sides of the river together. I jump off the horse and tie the reins to a dead tree. I grab my sword by the hilt and grip it tight, walking towards the bridge. It is halfway through it that the fog dissipates and I can distinguish a beautiful garden on the other side. Women in white dresses scream and laugh, running around in their ridiculous games.

I'm about to run to them when I hear the sharp sound of a sword being unsheathed and I feel the bitter metal against the skin of my neck. The attacker is behind me. They must've been following me to the kidnapper's lair so they can claim the King's award for themselves.

"Who are you?" a loud female voice demands. Maybe it's the water spirit, after all.

I grab the hilt of my sword tighter and turn to face it. The spirit displayed the body of a woman, long curls peeking out of her hood and almost all of its body wrapped in long blue robes. I cannot see its face, but maybe it's for the best. Spirits deceive by showing the face of loved ones.

"I am Sir Higg of Yarrin and I am here to rescue Princess Alissa so we can be wed. I warn you, spirit, let me fulfil my destiny or prepare to be slayed!"

The spirit laughs, louder and louder. Even the women on the other side come to see what was going on. They come closer to the river, staring with their pretty eyes in amazement. Great, some witnesses of my amazingness would be even better.

"Keep laughing, spirit, as it will be the last time you do so."

It sheathes its sword somewhere between its clothes and pulls the hood back. Green eyes stare at me in amusement. It has taken Alissa's shape to spite me.

I grab my sword and point it at its heart, ready to put an end to this ridiculous charade.

"How dare you take the form of Princess Alissa? I shall make you pay for it."

It tilts her head to the side. "What are you talking about, Higg? I am Alissa, not a spirit."

It is my turn to laugh. "Do you think you can fool me that easily? Fine. Tell me something only Alissa would know."

It shrugged. "Like the fact that you sleep every night under my window sucking your thumb? Or that you've asked my father countless times to marry me? Or that Ophelia had to rescue you from a spider once?"

"Stop it!" I exclaimed. "That's enough. I believe you. Now you must come with me back to the palace."

I sheathed my sword and started walking towards her, but she stepped back.

"About that. I'm not going with you."

"There's no time for your usual games, Princess. I must rescue you from your captor and take you back to your father."

"Captor?" she repeated. "Oh, no! I left all on my own. You can go tell dad I'm not coming back."

She's gone mad, for sure. As if I'd believe a woman like her could sneak out of the heavily guarded palace and get here all by herself. And I need to take that sword away from her. I don't know what she was thinking when she got it. She could've got seriously injured.

"You've been brainwashed. It must be the fog. It made me feel dizzy at first too," I told her. "Come on. It'll all be okay once we get married."

"Actually, I'm in love with Odela."

I blinked. "What? Don't be silly. Odela is a girl."

Sick of her nonsense, I grabbed her by the arm. "That's enough. We're going back."

She shook her head. "No! I'm a Warrior now. I've pledged my servitude to my clan."

She's just talking nonsense. This fog must be poisoning. These kidnappings need to end before all women in the kingdom decide to join this cult. Women cannot fend for themselves, they would never survive.

"Princess," I started, tightening my grip on her wrist and dragging her with me. "This is enough."

She screeched, bending my arm behind my back and pulling a dagger out and putting it against my throat. I swallowed and the metal bit my skin, blood leaving the minor cut. I froze in place, seriously mad at what was going on with her.

"Princess-"

"Shut it!" she ordered. "I give the orders here. You have two options. Either you go back to the palace and say you found me dead along with the other girls, or you die here."

"Fine. Let me go."

She did, and once I was free from her blade, I attacked her. I tried to leave her unconscious so I could carry her back. Then, the sound of an arrow being shot broke us apart, and I felt the sudden pain in my belly. I clutched the wound, trying to keep it from leaking more blood.

My eyes found the archer. It was Odela. The Princess's royal maiden. Her face was the last thing I saw before falling onto the river, letting the icy embrace me.