The yells could be heard echoing through her ears like that roar of a large dragon. The hurried footfalls and clink of armor. She ran through the woodland, her breath labored with each step. The caramel curls streaming across her face as she looked, panic stricken, behind her.
"Where yah runnin' lassy!" A voice would growl.
"Don't yah wanna play?" Another would bellow.
"Leave me alone!" She would scream back. Tears coming to her eyes, she would grasp for a rather large oak. Her sweaty palms glided gently across the trunk of the tree and she would arrange herself behind its chest.
"Come out come out and play." The second voice would call again. The first man's steps stopped abruptly close to her hidden form. She closed her eyes, praying to Bema for some form of mercy. Her heart pounding she stood stalk still, waiting.
The first voice spoke again,
"Come now little lassy. We ain't gonna hurt yah. Just give us a little talk of wha' yah know and you'll go right on."
Lynxy knew that the man was lying. His tone was much to sharp and seemed amused. She looked down at herself. Nothing. She had nothing. She had forgotten the steady flow of Brigands around Bree and this was a cruel awakening. What would the Thane think of her lifeless corps upon the road. She steadied herself upon the root of the tree and prepared to begin running again until another set of steps hit her ears. A woodsman, rather tall and bulky seemed to make his way through the trees. His careful steps alerted her to his idea of what was about. He froze in the bushes a distance away and let his bright green eyes glance across her to the distance. Readying a bow he slid his arrow to perch just out of the creeping hands of the bush. She heard the arrow whistle through the air. It would follow with a gasp of agony by the second man and a bellow from the first,
"Oi! Why ye little... You'll pay fer tha' one lassy. I'll cut yer throat and hang ya-.." The man would stop abruptly with a second arrow cutting his direction. She closed her eyes and sighed as she heard a large thump and a scuffling.
The woodsman stood and took out a third arrow. Shooting it in the direction of the brigands, another thump would sound. She opened her eyes to gaze at the man that saved her. He was covered from head to foot in the wooded colors yet seemed humbled by them instead of scary.
He walked past her with a wink and began searching the two bandits. She leaned away from the tree and watched the man with much curiosity. He turned after a moment and looked back at her steadily.
"You should be moving on miss before another lot comes this way."
She looked utterly surprised by the man yet stumbled away from the tree.
"Thank yah sir." She would mumble before sprinting full speed through the trees once more, She heard the jolly chuckle of the man behind her but she didn't stop. She had to make her way home.
Her hair swept behind her with each step, her sparkling blue eye observing her surroundings. She slammed into the trunk of a tree on her blind side, stumbling backward she stopped, dazed. Falling to her knees she began to weep. She rolled herself into a ball and stayed there for a few minutes before regaining herself. Her head whipped around with force as a soothing voice reached her ears.
"I thought I told yah tah move on miss." The gentle voice came from the hunter. He had obviously followed her through the woodland after she left the scene. She lowered her hands from her position and turned her waist towards him.
"I...I... f-fell.." She stammered, raising a delicate wrist to wipe the tears away from her red eyes. He walked over with graceful footing and grabbed her arms with his massive hands. The grip was surprisingly smooth for a man of such a large size. They glided over her shoulders and legs to dust away the dirt that covered her. His thumb pausing as it took away a streak from her jaw line. She stumbled back and looked at him as he drew away quickly.
"What is a lass such as yourself doing in such a dangerous place miss?" He questioned.
"I'm a guard sir. A guard for the Thane. I had to pass through to get supplies for a house I bought recently." She looked at the ground and twisted her palms nervously with the fabric of her shirt.
"And you think that is what you should be doing?" He asked. His eyes looked sharp now and blazed with much intensity.
"I know not sir." She softly spoke.
"Observation will keep prying hands from a light spirit miss." He retorted. "Watch and do what is wise. Even if the tide turns heavy the calm will come again." He stopped speaking and turned back into the trees, disappearing into the darkness.
"By Bema..." She muttered. "What times are these?"
The mutters of strange voices filled her ears coming and going before she heard their words.
"Fairest be the rose that a man holds in his grasp, m'lady."
She woke with a start. Her hand brushed her sweaty face and she sat up abruptly. Clutching her legs, she looked out the window at the darkened night.
