Phoenix Fire

1 - Hale Steals A Horse

KAENA

Breathless and sweaty, I turned to face the man behind me. My lungs ached. He raised an eyebrow, his axe in both hands, ready to swing.

"Alright there princess?" He chuckled, his mouth turning up at the corners into a horrible smile.

"I just killed three of your friends, I don't think right now is the time to antagonise me." I spat, adjusting my grip on my sword. 

"Anger doesn't suit pretty girls." He smiled, then swung. I rolled out of the way just in time and brought my sword up to meet the blade of his axe as he swung again. I was down on one knee, both hands gripping my sword in front of my face, holding the axe at bay. Not for long. He was stronger than me and I could feel myself being overpowered. My blade was getting closer and closer to my own throat. 

"But fear is quite a good look on you." I didn't need to look up to know he was smiling that awful smile. I was too busy concentrating on not dying. Quickly I swung my upright leg against his ankles, dropped my sword, and rolled again, just in time. His axe landed in the dirt where my face had just been as the man stumbled sideways at the force of my kick. 

I got up this time, anxious to not be on the floor again, and stumbled against a tree. I looked up just in time to see him, right in front of me, his axe above his head. No time to move. No time to think. This was it. My face was going to be cleaved in half. Shit. 

Before I had time to even open my mouth to scream he fell forward, hitting the floor by my feet with a thud. An arrow was sticking out of the back of his head. 

"Need a hand?" A familiar voice called, smugness written all over it.

"I was doing just fine on my own thanks." Although we both knew that was a lie. Hale stepped out of the trees.

"What would you do without me?" He grinned, slinging his bow onto his back and stooping down to inspect the bodies scattered on the forest floor.

"Probably get some peace and quiet." I muttered as I brushed my hair out of my face. Hale pulled a money pouch from the pocket of one of the men I'd killed. 

"Yeah also become good buddies with the Grim Reaper." He chuckled and pocketed some throwing knives he'd swiped from another dead man on the ground. I brushed the dirt off myself and walked towards the horses.

"If you hadn't tried to steal their horse, I wouldn't have had to fight them!" I cried, slapping him across the back of the head as I passed him. 

"Oi!" He shouted and grabbed me by the waist, his head in the crook of my neck, "Reckless I may be, but you know you love it," He whispered into my ear, sending a shiver through me. Hale spun me around to face him. Up close like this, his face always took my breath away. His freckles, his permanently grinning mouth, his brown curly hair which fell to his eyebrows. Those grey eyes. He wiped a speck of blood from my cheek with his thumb. 

"Life would certainly be boring without you," I mumbled in defeat. He leant down, pulling my face to his, and kissed me gently.

I pulled away. "What have I said about kissing with dead bodies around Hale, it's disrespectful."

"They were disrespectfully trying to kill you." He chuckled and let me go.

"Right and why were they trying to kill me?" I reminded him, walking to the horses.

"Okay, maybe I was a little stupid, but who could blame me, you needed a horse! I mean, they definitely don't need them anymore." He replied, following me and strapping his newly acquired goods to his horse. 

I sighed. I had to agree with him. We did need a second horse. One between us was no good for long distances or speed; I just wished it hadn't come with a fight. 

Hale walked round to my new horse, "My lady," He said, giving me a mischievous grin, and holding his hands together for me to step into. I put my foot on them and grabbed my saddle as I hoisted myself up. She was a bigger mare than I'd ridden before, but I could manage. Getting onto her might be an issue. I wasn't tiny, but I certainly wasn't tall.

"You know," Hale puffed as he settled into his own saddle, "we could settle down, you and I. Buy a little cottage somewhere. Outskirts of Camelot maybe?" 

"I doubt you'd want that for a future."

He looked me in the eye, serious now, "As long as you're in it, I'd want any future." 

"Besides," I cleared my throat, "until my father is dead we can't settle down anywhere, especially not Camelot. He has strong allies there. Anyway I quite like this life of ours, we're doing quite well for ourselves." I pretended his comment hadn't affected me. But it had. He'd had his future planned out, then everything went wrong, and I'd destroyed it. Now we lived a life on the road. When we had first met I'd barely been able to pick up a sword. Now I could kill with a flick of my wrist. I guess it had been a fair exchange. I'd taken his home from him, and he'd taken my innocence. But we were together, and through all the difficulties we'd faced, that was all that mattered.

"But we do business with Uther, how is living there any different?" Hale replied as we trotted through the trees. 

"I don't want to live my whole life under a false name Hale. We've been careful to make sure he doesn't know who I am, and it's worked so far, but years? Could we do it, non-stop, for years?" 

"You really think the old cow is going to be alive for that long?" Hale grinned and I couldn't help but smile a little myself.

"Well his son certainly isn't ready for the throne. Talk is, Uther's ward is more mature than his son. Whoever prepares Arthur to be a King has their work cut out for them, I don't envy them one bit." We were out of the forest now and in a meadow. There was a town not far from here, I could see in the distance lights. We'd visited it before and it wasn't a bad place to stay. 

Hale sighed, "Well I won't lie to you. I don't think I could settle down just yet. Domestication just isn't for me." 

"I'll have to train you," I giggled. "Where should we head to now?" I asked, feeling a yawn coming on. It would be dark soon.

"I was thinking a tavern." Hale flashed me a competitive smile; he had a habit of doing that. A real competitive streak in that boy. He kicked his horse into a gallop. 

"Alright then girl," I whispered, "lets see how fast you can go." And with that I sped off after him, the wind whipping my hair around my face. This, I thought, this is freedom.