prologue... to something eventually

They had to run without a lantern. The darkness was their only protection, and so she stumbled and slipped often over her dress and the slick mud. He had taken hold of her hand long before; his eyes had adapted to the night and he was able to find the way.

The air was still humid and damp from the recent rain; the smell of the earth was as thick as the mud of the forest floor. If it had still been raining, their noisy escape might have been masked. But the sounds of pursuit were approaching from every direction: angry and almost panicked shouts, the clash of metal armor, and the galloping of at least a dozen horses through the foliage. He had instantly regretted not stealing a horse. But there was no time for such plans. He had what seemed like a minute’s warning before they were upon the household, slaughtering every living soul that they encountered. He seized her hand and did the first thing that came into his mind: he ran.

“How much farther?” she panted. Her stride was getting slower and her footsteps heavier. He pulled on her arm and said, “We’re nearly there. Don’t stop yet.”
She didn’t know how he could navigate through the obscurity, but she trusted his eyes, and willed her legs to carry her faster.

Branches tore at their skin as they dove through the trees and into a small clearing. A sliver of moonlight, no longer veiled by the trees, now illuminated a shallow rivulet trickling downhill, peaceful but very aware of the sudden human presences. He hesitated for only a moment; he could hear them closing in. Their shouts were maybe one hundred feet away.

“Go!” He yelled, and shoved her toward the water. He was heading back towards their pursuers, thinking that he could buy her some time. He had told her what to do, before.  If they come for us, you must go without me, and wait for me there.
She grabbed the folds of her dress and jumped.