Bobbin
I awake to a rustling. Then the feeling of hands in my pockets.
I startle upright and stare right into the eyes of a person. The scream I let out frightens the birds in the trees and frantic flapping fills the air.
The young boy's eyes widen and he stumbles back from me, landing butt-first on the ground.
"You're alive Miss?"
"W-what? Of course, I'm alive!" I stutter back.
He studies me dubiously, "You don't look it."
I try not to take offense. I know I look rough after my day and then night.
I haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday morning and I haven't showered or brushed my hair since then either.
Still, I didn't really need it pointed out.
I propel myself upright, careful of my knee which is inflamed and sore after the day of neglect.
The boy standing before me couldn't be older than 9 and is covered head to toe in dirt and leaves. His hair looks like it should be blond but is instead a dusty brown mop of curls on his head. He gives me a sheepish smile revealing two missing front teeth.
"What's your name, sweetheart? Where are your parents?"
If he needs help he can come with me to the next town.
I might be on the run but I'm not leaving a young boy to fend for himself in the forest.
His sheepish grin turns sad and he gives me a shrug, "Me parents died when I was a kid.
Don't got no family left. My name's Bobbin.
Well, Robert, but the others say that's a noble name and not suited to a man of the forest." His chest puffs up as he tries not to blush.
A man of the forest indeed.
"What others? Do you live close to here?"
If he lived close then maybe a town wasn't as far away as I thought.
He gives me a suspicious look, "Nik says we shouldn't bring strangers back home," then he brightens, "But I like you so I don't think you count."
"Come on." He ushers me forward to the horse, frowning at my limp. I'll need to find myself a cane soon. The cold air of the forest last night means that even my cream won't be enough.
I hobble over to Pollyanna where Bobbin is waiting for me.
"Nik will like you. I just know it." He nods at me in satisfaction and smiles widely. Something about him makes me want to pick him up and hug him.
Bobbin holds Pollyanna still for me and then tugs on the lead to move us deeper into the trees. He looks smaller than before from up here. I can only hope he knows where he's going.
"How old are you, Bobbin?" My voice fills the silence and echoes slightly around the trees.
"Turning 9 next month." His chest puffs up again and I can't help but smile in amusement.
"Wow! You'll be such a grown-up young man."
He blushes at my words and nods, "That's what Leo tells me. He's 13 so he knows what he's talking about."
We cross over a little stream and I notice an X carved into a tree.
"W-What's your name, Miss?"
I smile at him kindly, "Please call me Juliette."
I know I should be keeping my name a secret in case word gets back to King Richard but Murdoch is a small enough Kingdom that the chance of someone recognising me on sight is low. Especially considering the sight right now is quite bedraggled.
"Ju-liii-ette." He rolls my name around and then grins at me. "You got a noble name. No worries, the others will fix that for you in no time. You'll get the name of a man of the forest too."
His eyes widen, "I mean a woman of the forest! My bad, Miss. We don't get too many women in here."
We walk for a little over 20 minutes. I keep an eye on Bobbin but he doesn't seem to show any signs of getting tired, bopping along to some silent music only he can hear.
I'm about to say something when a loud yell sounds from the trees.
Someone yells back and the hum of chatter fills the otherwise quiet forest.
Bobbin looks up at me and grins, "They're a bit loud when you first meet 'em but they grow on you like fungus."
Suddenly nerves grip my stomach like an iron fist. We aren't anywhere near a town and there's only one group of people I know who live in Sholle Forest.
The sight once we enter the clearing is nothing short of incredible.
Wooden shelters sit everywhere - some small ones in tree branches, others firmly on the ground.
There's a fire in the center surrounded by wooden benches and metal cooking pots.
Chickens cluck and scratch in a haphazard chook yard made of sticks and weapons of all kinds lean on a wooden rack.
Then there are the people. At least 30 men and boys stride around, some in varying stages of undress, carrying logs and armfuls of things. Some of them are fighting each other in a cleared section - the men with swords and the boys with sticks. It's chaos.
At first, no one notices us, too invested in what they're doing to spot Bobbin leading a large grey mare with a girl on it into their home, but soon a couple of men look up. Their expressions vary from shocked, to leery to angry. The angriest being one man in the middle of sparring.
He stops fighting, studying me and then Bobbin, before walking over to us with long strides. By now the whole camp is mostly silent and watching us. Worry twists my gut even more.
"What the hell is going on here?" His voice is deep and familiar. He watches Bobbin whose face goes sheepish.
"U-um I found a girl, Nik. She looked, um, dead when I found her, so I was going through her pockets like you taught us. And then she woke up and, um, wasn't dead any longer." Bobbin looks at me and grimaces. "Sorry for trying to take your stuff, Miss. I really did think you'd moved on."
That kid really knew how to hit where it hurts.
Finally, Nik faces me and his recognition lights his eyes. "Well. Hello, Princess."
Red Mask.
"Good morning. Nik is it? Lovely to see you again.
Although I'm not sure the circumstances are really that less trying.
" I try to infuse confidence into my voice but I know it doesn't work.
How could it? I was alone in the forest surrounded by 30 men and boys.
Most of which had robbed me within the last 24 hours.
Two men walk up to join him and it takes me a second to realise who they are without the masks on. Blond Curls has a pretty face with a speckling of light brown freckles across his nose and blue eyes that pierce your soul. His pouty lips look weirdly kissable.
The giant on the other side of him has tan skin and his hair is pulled back in a loose bun.
His wide shoulders look like they could pick me up while I'm still on the horse.
Nik turns to Blond Curls and the man whispers something to him.
His voice is deep and gentle and sends a shiver right down my spine. Yum.
Nik turns back to me his mouth set in a hard line, "Come with me.
We can talk somewhere private." He nods his head towards a large wooden shelter near the center of the camp.
I bob my head and move to get off the horse.
The moment my knee hits the ground an agonising pain rips through my body and I can't help the whimper that escapes me.
I topple helplessly forward and brace myself for a humiliating fall.
Instead, I find myself in the arms of the giant. His body is warm and I can feel the hard planes of his body through his shirt as his arms wrap iron bands around me.
"Watch yourself." He speaks roughly as though he doesn't speak often.
"Sorry for landing on your lap! I'm a bit stiff from riding all last night." I can feel the blood rising to my cheeks and I quickly pull myself out of his arms before he can notice. He nods gruffly before turning back to Nik and Blond Curls.
Bobbin comes to stand next to my bad side and allows me to subtly lean my weight onto him to walk. He obviously noticed my limp before and my lie to the Giant. Have I mentioned that I love this kid?
Together we slowly walk towards the wooden shelter, the eyes of the entire camp upon me.