Chapter 6
The Evernean Forest
Cai
She froze, her back towards me, and I sensed she was deciding what to do next.
“I don’t believe that is any of your business.”
Her reply surprised me and so did the tone of her voice. The woman standing in front of me, dressed only in a night shift, with my knife in her hand, was truly very young.
She spun around, her eyes blazing fiercely despite the darkness of the night. Dark hair woven into a messy braid rested on her shoulder, and as I was still taking in the rest of her features, she swung the dagger at my face. But having been trained the way I was since childhood, I had no problem grabbing her arm and holding it in the air.
“Well, it’s my dagger you are trying to steal there, so I do believe that it is, in fact, my business.”
It had been my turn to keep watch for the night and I had grown tired of sitting on the ground. Deciding to stretch my limbs, I had taken a short walk. I hadn’t been far from the camp when I heard her through the bushes. At first, I’d thought her to be something more dangerous, like a wild animal. But upon spotting her figure in a nightdress, I couldn’t help but watch intrigued as she approached my guards. What on earth was a woman in her night shift doing here? I thought she might have been in trouble and was going to ask for help, but instead, she stepped closer and took the dagger the old woman had given me out of the satchel Jack was sleeping on.
I expected him to wake, being a light sleeper. But instead, I stared in shock as she took the dagger without having awoken a small sleeping army. It was too suspicious. So when she turned to leave, I had no choice but to question the thief.
And now, she stared up at me with those fire-blazing eyes and I wondered if there could be any sort of innocence under all that wild. She kicked me in the shin, hard enough to hurt, before turning to run. So I grabbed her from behind, pulling the dagger out of her grasp. She struggled against me as I took her back to the firelight.
“Look what we have here, gentlemen,” I said, loud enough to wake everybody.
In a moment their eyes were open, hands already reaching for weapons, except for Conner, that is. His hair stood in all directions as he sat up.
“Is that a lady in her shift?” he asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
The girl crossed her arms as the lot of them took in her torn hems and dirt-covered feet. She had clearly been running through the woods. The question was... why?
“She stole this, Jack.” I tossed the dagger on the ground before him, partly annoyed that my best man had failed his job so easily. Jack looked half concerned and half impressed at the same time. But I knew the whole lot of us were thinking the exact same thing... who on earth was she?
I let go of her arm, pulled out another knife and held it up. “Who exactly are you?” She backed away slowly towards the fire and there was no doubt that genuine concern was written on her face. She hadn’t planned on getting caught. That was certain. She appeared to be thinking things over. Perhaps deciding whether or not to tell the truth. “A thief?” I continued. “Thieves don’t run about the woods in their nightclothes. So what, then?”
After a moment she squared her shoulders and replied. “My name is Lara. And who might you be?”
“Alcott,” I lied, every inch of instinct telling me not to trust her. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Lara.” My tone was almost mocking. “Sit.” I gestured towards one of the logs around the fire, but she crossed her arms, staring straight at me. “Sit,” I said more sternly and finally she obeyed, plopping down like a child having a tantrum.
“Now, would you care to enlighten us as to why you were running about the woods in the middle of the night, in nothing but your shift, stealing daggers from strangers?”
She tilted her head to the side for a moment before saying, “Not particularly, no.” A few chuckles left my men and I scowled, making them hush.
“Would you care to enlighten me on what exactly you are doing in the woods?”
Heads turned in my direction.
“I’m afraid that’s private business.”
“Well then, I gather we’re done here.” She stood up, ready to make her escape, but she backed into Jack.
“What makes you think you’re going anywhere?” Though she didn’t appear entirely at ease, she hadn’t asked for our help, so I wasn’t completely convinced that she was in trouble. In fact, something about her face told me she was the trouble herself. “You’re going to stay right here with us until you prove that you are innocent. Is that clear?”
She started shaking her head furiously. “No, it is not clear. I didn’t do anything wrong. I was robbed. The dagger was just for self-defence.”
I approached her before grabbing her wrist with one hand and wrapping my fingers around her neck with the other. “You’re lying,” I said almost in a whisper. “I was trained to get information from soldiers, and if you were telling the truth, your palms wouldn’t be sweating and your heart wouldn’t have been beating so fast.”
“Careful,” Jack said. “She may be an assassin sent to kill you.”
I let her go.
“Assassins don’t wear shifts,” Alastor argued.
“I’m not an assassin!” She threw her arms up in the air dramatically.
“That’s exactly what an assassin would say,” Conner said.
“This is ridiculous. Why on earth would I want to kill you? I will not allow you to kidnap me simply because you’re paranoid,” she protested. “You can’t take me hostage.” Her voice was cracking, an indication of her panic.
She tried to fight off Jack as he was attempting to tie her hands behind her back. Her moves were precise, as if she knew exactly where to strike, but Jack’s strength eventually overpowered her own.
“I think we just did,” I replied.
Jack insisted we tie her against the tree trunk, but I assumed this was only because it was his turn to keep watch for the night and he didn’t feel like running after her if she tried to escape. I lay next to the fire and closed my eyes, but sleep would hardly come.
“Who do you think she is?” Jack asked me the next morning as we saddled up. Conner had just woken her and was carefully untying her, but she looked too tired to run anywhere.
“I don’t know.” I admitted. “The fact that I can’t put my finger on it really bothers me. Part of me thinks she looks way too innocent and fragile to be able to cause any real harm.”
“And the other part?” He fastened the girth around his horse, securing his saddle.
“The other part of me thinks she looks like she’ll cut your throat while you’re sleeping and enjoy watching you bleed to death.”
“Those are two very contradictory opinions,” Jack replied.
“Why do you think I’m bothered?” I retorted.
He turned his gaze towards her and we watched as she rubbed her wrists. She tossed away the blanket we’d given her for the night and slowly got up while Conner held her arm.
“How far will we take her?” Alastor’s voice came from behind us and Jack looked back to me for an answer.
“As far as we have to, until we are certain she isn’t a threat.”
“Do you think she’s alone?” Alastor asked.
“I don’t know. But if she is alone and if she isn’t dangerous, then perhaps she needs our help. She’s clearly hiding something. We’ll take her to the next village and see what happens from there.”
They packed up the last few things around the campfire. Conner brought Lara to me and handed her over. She offered no struggle and goosebumps formed on the skin of her upper arms.
“You’re cold,” I said and she shook her head, avoiding my eyes. Her expression indicated that it wasn’t out of fear, but pure fiery anger at me for what I’d done.
“Here.” I took off my jacket and threw it over her shoulders before leading her to my horse. “You’ll have to ride with me.”
“Ride where?” she questioned, but I offered no reply. That was when she pulled away, trying to rip her arm from my grasp. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
I held on to her wrist. “Then tell me who you are and what you want and I’ll let you go.”
It was a dare, though I knew she’d probably stay quiet or lie again.
“I already told you who I am.”
I pulled Lara to the horse. “If you needed help, then why didn’t you just ask? I don’t believe you’re the one who needs protection. Even if you look like a damsel in that nightdress.”
She didn’t respond and I proceeded to lift her by the hips, placing her in the seat of the saddle. I watched in confusion as she threw her right leg over to the other side of the horse and sat astride. All right then.
I got onto the horse myself and sat in front of her in the saddle before nudging the stallion forwards into a walk. We weren’t in any rush to reach Woodsbrook Manor where my unknown future awaited me. We rode slowly and stopped often to let the horses rest and drink. Lara didn’t say anything, but we all kept a close eye on her.
We made lunch over a fire next to a small stream and left her sitting on the grass by herself. It was a trust that perhaps she hadn’t earned yet, but Brutus started unpacking our food and I half grinned as she sat and watched him, not appearing to be making plans to go anywhere. She was hungry, too. Even if she did run now, civilisation was still fairly far off and she would be lucky to make it out of the woods alive without proper food or clothing. I assumed she knew this just as well.
She rested against one of the trees and opened her eyes in surprise when I handed her a plate with some bread and cheese. She offered no thanks, however. And I held back a sigh. All things considered, I didn’t see much of a reason for her to complain. She was the one who stole from us in the first place. We weren’t planning on keeping her for ever and she was certainly getting much better treatment than any other thief would. Especially if they stole from a prince. Lara did appear to be enjoying the food, though. While she ate, she watched each of us carefully. I pretended not to notice her intense staring and observation. There was no way to know what exactly she was thinking, what conclusions she was coming to.
We didn’t rest for long. As soon as she’d finished her last bite, I ordered us back on the horses.
The sun baked my skin and a trickle of sweat rolled down my temple. The forest floor crunched beneath the horses’ hooves and I maintained all my focus on keeping my attention away from the female body seated behind me.
“So, Conner.”
The blond boy turned his head towards me.
“Yes, Your... yes, Alcott.” He quickly corrected himself.
“Jack tells me you’re advancing in your training. He says you’re particularly excellent with the bow and arrow.”
Conner’s eyes lit up at my words, though he tried to hide his satisfaction.
“Don’t flatter him too much,” Jack called out from where he was riding at the back. “Or it will all go to his head and then what will I do with him?”
“You would know better than I,” I replied. “You let everything go to your head, after all.”
Jack laughed and my eyes landed on Conner again, who was still trying to hide a smile.
“Where are we?” the female voice piped up behind me.
“Should be somewhere close to the centre of the forest,” Jack said.
I immediately felt her tense up behind me. “You need to get out of here.”
“What?” I asked in confusion.
“We cannot be in the centre of the forest. You need to get as far away from here as possible.”
I met a concerned gaze from Alastor. “Why?”
“There’s a legend about what lurks in the centre of the forest. During the day there’s a mist so dense that if you are caught in it, you will be wandering around, lost, until you die.” The more she spoke, the higher her voice got, and I realised she was truly afraid.
“And we’re supposed to believe this, based on what?” I asked in disbelief.
Perhaps this was the explanation to it all, her lies, the fact that she was wandering the forest in her shift in the middle of the night and now raved about magical mist that will kill you... she was insane.
“Umm, guys...” Conner was staring behind us, eyes as big and wide as saucers. “I don’t think the lady’s lying.”
I looked back, following his gaze, and there it was, faint and close to the ground, but unquestionably mist, during the middle of the day.
“And you’re positive this mist can kill you?” I asked.
“Well, no one ever survived to deny it!” She squirmed behind me.
“Perhaps we should make haste,” Jack suggested.
I looked behind us again, and this time the mist was closer and slightly thicker than before.
“Well, I’m not risking my life while the lot of you decide what you want to do.” She hit my horse’s behind with her flat palm, hard enough to cause him to rear slightly. “Go, go!”
We started into a gallop and the faster we tried to outrun the mist, the closer it started creeping up on us from all sides.
“Do you people live under a rock? Everyone in Everness knows to stay away from the centre of the forest!” she yelled.
I watched the mist reach only a few feet away from us. “How do we escape it?”
“You can’t escape it, you fool. Only those with royal blood can find their way through the mist.”
I dug my heels into my horse’s ribs and it huffed, pushing its legs to go faster.
“We’re not going to make it.”
I could see it in the distance, a broad clearing, and safety. “We’re going to make it.”
“No, we’re not.” She was clinging on to me so tightly, I was sure there would be bruises on my body the following day.
“Yes, we are!”
And then it was there, crawling up my steed’s flanks and covering the ground in front of us. It continued advancing, until I couldn’t see the field in the distance anymore, until I couldn’t see in front of me.
But no sooner did it close in than we broke through it and into the safety of the clearing. The horses heaved and we all looked at each other in pure shock at what had just happened.
“Are you people insane?” Lara jumped off the horse and toppled over into the long grass. “That could have killed us.”
“I told you we were going to make it.”
“Yes, thank goodness for your arrogance, or how else would we have survived? It almost caught us.”
“But it didn’t.” Jack smiled.
“Whatever.” She stood up, still in her shift and my jacket, and dusted off her hands. “I’m not going anywhere with you any longer.”
“Then where exactly are you going?” I asked and she proceeded to look left and right before realising that she had no idea where she was.
“You can’t walk from here and you know it.” I held out my hand towards her. “Just get on and we can take you to the nearest town.”
She hesitated, but knew without a doubt that I was right. As she accepted my hand, she made sure we all knew that she was very unhappy about it, then settled into a sullen silence behind me.
She held her tongue until we set up camp for the evening and Jack and Brutus lit a fire.
“You’d better put it out before you go to sleep,” she said, her eyes dead serious.
“And why would that be?” Jack asked, twirling the dagger she had tried to steal between his fingers, clearly taunting her.
“Because we’re back in bandit territory and they wouldn’t think twice about killing you,” she responded without hesitation.
“We know there are bandits.” I placed my satchel under my head as a makeshift pillow.
“But clearly you don’t know how dangerous they are.”
“And you do?” Jack asked her, eyebrows raised.
“Yes,” she said. “They’re the reason I stumbled upon the lot of you.”
“You were attacked by bandits?” I asked, and she nodded.
“And instead of asking for help, you decided to steal a weapon?”
“You’re all fools if you don’t listen to me,” she warned.
“We’ll be fine,” Jack reassured her, taking a bowl of food from Brutus.
“Suit yourself.” She lay down next to the fire. “But if they come and murder all of us, you’re going to wish you had given me that dagger to protect you.” With that, she earned herself a scowl from Jack and chuckles from the rest of us.
I awoke a few hours later at the sound of soft murmuring close to me. I sat up and my eyes landed on Conner, who was fast asleep even though it was his turn to keep watch. Lara’s eyes were closed, and she was twisting in her sleep. She let out painful moans, and realising she was having a nightmare, I placed my hand on her shoulder.
Immediately she sat up, gasping for breath.
“You were dreaming,” I said, sitting back and folding my hands over my crossed legs. Her hands shook but I didn’t mention it. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked around at the lot of us, seeing I was the only one awake.
“What did you dream about?” I don’t know why I asked her. The words went flying out of my mouth before I could properly comprehend them.
“It doesn’t really matter,” she replied, lying back down and closing her eyes, though I knew she wouldn’t sleep now. Because I knew what she was going through, knew what it felt like to be scared of closing your eyes at night.
“I dream too,” I said softly, trying not to wake the others. She opened her eyes. “All of us—” I gestured with my head towards my men — “have memories that haunt us.” She nodded slowly, her mind clearly somewhere else. “You should get some rest,” I said, and she nodded again before closing her eyes once more.