Untitled Princess Carolyn Project

Chapter 10

My head is throbbing and my entire body aches when I open my eyes. I groan and lift myself off the stiff bottom of the log.

"Morning!" A voice calls from outside.

I push my way out of the log. My joints and bones crack as I stretch. Jackal's already awake and has a fire going. He's got some random meat roasting over the fire. He points to two water containers by a tree and I grab the one that I took from his brother. The water is cool and relieving. I flop down next to him by the fire, taking little sips of water as I watch him cook.

"I take it you're not really a morning person?" He says cheerfully.

"I'm not much of a 'waking up in a log after almost being murdered in the woods' person." I grumble in response.

He just smiles and pokes at the fire with another stick. It crackles and red ashes rise up from the fire. I rub my eyes and wish I could go back to sleeping in the castle or even back in my old bed back home. It was falling apart and I only had one blanket that was stained and full of holes.

"Here you go princess. Fresh earit." He says after a half an hour of me glaring at the fire pit.

"Don't call me that." I grumble back.

"As you wish." He smiles and puts his hands up jokingly.

"Do you have a plan for today?"

"Yeah, I figure that since the sun came up over there," He points behind me, "We head that direction since we have to go Northeast to reach Opela."

"How long do we go that way?"

"Until we reach a town" He shrugs.

"That's your plan?"

"Do you have a better one?"

I groan. I don't have a better plan. After breakfast, Jackal puts out our fire and we head out. Our plan is to keep walking with the sun and when it gets too far West we'll set up a camp for the night.

Our walk today is uneventful. We stopped for lunch together a little later in the day, found a lake to refill our waters, made a fire to cook food, hunted a couple earits and a rabbit, and then continued walking. We set up our camp when the sun starts to go down. This time in a bush that Jackal takes the time to cut out a small shelter in.

The next two days are the same. Walk a while, eat lunch, walk some more, set up camp, repeat.

The fourth day of travelling, the 5th after the explosion, starts out the same.

We stop for lunch when the sun is a little further than straight overhead. I estimate it's about 12:30. Jackal hands me some leftovers from breakfast and my water that we refilled with boiled water. My container is plastic while his is metal. We use his for boiling the water.

When we're finished we start walking again. About ten minutes later Jackal freezes. I follow his eyes and see a burnt out fire. There's a person on the ground. Jackal takes out the knife that he keeps in his pocket and we slowly creep into the trees.

I recognize the little blonde girl lying on the ground. I rush forward immediately and grab her.

"Analia! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Jackal hisses at me from the treeline.

"Perellies! Are you okay!?" I shake her. My eyes fill with tears as I check for a pulse. She's still got one. "Jackal, please I know her. Help me wake her."

He comes out from the trees and checks her pulse.

"I'm gonna pour some water on her, okay?"

I nod and he pours the rest of his water on her. Her eyes flutter open and lazily scan our faces.