CHAPTER ONE
The woods were dark as a raven’s hide and the only light was from the full moon. I didn’t pause to admire its beauty, I ran. I ran like my life depended on it because yeah, it kinda did. I could hear the sound of feet pounding the forest floor, matching my own in this frenzied chase. What it was, I didn’t know. I only knew the why. I had to strain my eyes to avoid running into trees because I couldn’t afford to give It any chance of catching up to me.
My chest hurt, my breaths coming in short bursts. I could feel my heart working overtime to keep up with the strain I was exerting on it. Air, I need more air. I felt lightheaded, my vision disoriented, slowly failing me in my hour of need. And still, It chased me, not affected in the slightest. Just a little bit more, I thought. The Cottage was just a little ahead. It was my sanctuary.
Once inside, I’d be safe from the creature of the night that hunted me. For it was the Hunter and I, It’s prey. Even with these thoughts, I could feel myself slowing down, my body unable to handle the lack of air, my limbs ready to fall off.
I have to stop, my body screamed at me. But I knew to do that would mean certain death. I fell face forward towards the ground, the earth rising to meet me. My body had betrayed me.
And then I saw It. It was like nothing I’d ever seen. Large, black, and grotesque. So hairy I couldn’t tell how many limbs it had, where one ended and the other began. It leaped right above me on all limbs. I looked into Its eyes and felt the world stop. It was like the world had come to a stand-still to mark this incredible moment. The moment I died. Because that was what I felt when I stared into Its eyes. I saw my death. Those bottomless globes of despair, terror, and a promise of great suffering, for I knew I was done for. There was no escape. All those years of training, eluding danger, living a careful life. All of it pointless, just to die in the beast’s lair. The irony did not elude me.
I closed my eyes, welcoming the slash of Its claw, the death blow that would leave me bleeding out into the earth for a long time in agony before my heart gave out from the lack of blood or shock.
The sound of steel clashing against bone made me lookup. It let out a blood-curdling scream that split the night air into two. I’m almost certain the whole county heard it. It reared off of me and turned to face the assailant. I was too weak and in too much shock to rise and get a look at my savior. Friend or foe, I didn’t care at this point. They were after the beast. That was all that mattered.
No. I used the last of my strength to push myself up. It was too much. I felt my head fall back to the ground with a muffled bang. I passed out.
The next thing I know, I’m waking up to the smell of infused herbs and freshly baked bread. Mmmm, I thought. I tried prying my eyes open, but they wouldn't budge. Afraid I’d lost my sight, I panicked and sat up so fast, my head spun.
“You should lie back down, you’re still unwell. Don’t worry about your eyes, I put soothing balm on them. You banged your head pretty bad, which caused some blood to flow into your eyes. It’ll clear up.” I heard a man’s voice say.
That made me relax a little, and I laid back down against the soft cotton pillows of what must be the bed I was lying on. The next second though, I was shooting up again. Last night came back to me and with it the stranger that saved me from the beast. I remembered my last thought, friend or foe, and discovered now that the threat of the beast was gone, I did care. I didn’t want to be at the mercy of an enemy.
“Who are you?” I asked sharply. I could feel the harshness of my voice and was glad for it. I may be weakened but I was not afraid.
“Here,” he said, rubbing a cool towel over my eyes, first one then the other, “you can open them now.”
I slowly pried them open and immediately shut them closed in the sudden bright light. That hurt. Let’s do this slowly then. I opened them bit by bit to get them accustomed to the brightness. After a few more tries, it didn’t hurt as much.
He was standing over me, a little distance away but still close enough for me to make out his features. Dark hair that fell over his face, brown careful eyes that watched me warily. His nose was straight as a pin. Oval-shaped face and full lips. He was obviously handsome but that wasn’t my concern at the moment. I took the rest of him in as I slowly moved to the other side of the bed, away from him and creating enough room to act swiftly in case of a sudden attack. He was about 6’1, strongly built, and had a bearing that screamed years of disciplined training. Probably military. Left-handed, from his sword belt. Strong, very strong. Good. If we were allies, that’d come in handy. If we were enemies, then that would be trouble.
“Where are we? And who are you?”, I asked.
“We are in the sanctuary. The Cottage, if you will.”
I noticed he avoided my more important question. I let it go for the moment, if he could enter the sanctuary then he was no dark entity. That didn’t make us allies yet though.
He saw my inquiring look and humored me with an answer,
“The beast is weakened for now. It’ll stay away until it’s nursed Its wound. We’ll have to move as soon as you’re well enough to walk. We’re safe here for now, but soon It’ll find a way to breach this place. Its protection has weakened over the years.”
“Good. We’ll talk about how you know about this place later. Right now, I need to regain my strength. And...I’m starving.”
“Here, I made breakfast. Eat. We have a lot to do before dark,” he said, handing a plate of the bread I’d smelt earlier and a mug of grounded herb infusion.
I eyed the food warily. He raised an eyebrow, bit off a piece of the bread, and took a sip of the tea. Not poisoned then, I suppose. Unless he’d taken an antidote. But I wasn’t lying when I said I was starving, so without further hesitation, I dived in. He was a good cook, I’d hand him that.
He took a seat across from me and watched me eat with no expression on his face. When I was done, he cleared his throat, leaned forward then fixed me with a stern glare.
“Who are you?”
“What?”
“I know your name. I don’t know why the Elders would send me to protect you. You don’t seem that important, after last night.” He said that without sounding condescending.
I chuckled inside. Boy, he had no idea.
This is going to be so much fun.
Comments
Post a Comment