From Dusk Till Dawn

Chapter Five (The Gray Knight)

    I carried my shield close, the sounds of the forest echoing all around, I kept hearing a strange booming sound. It echoed and send a chill running through my body. It was an unearthly stepping from a creature of massive proportions. 

   I heard yelling and the sound of lightning, ice, and flames from behind some bushes, I saw flashes of light and the sound of metal against metal. I perked up and ran towards it, carefully treading through the bushes, I came out on the other side and saw The Four fighting off The Thieves of the forest, they had claimed it as their own and robbed any passerby's. I stepped out of the bush and felt my arms get grabbed and I was dragged back, someone pinning me down to the ground. My sword and shield clattered to the ground as the figure smacked me in the head with something hard, obviously realizing I was wearing a helmet and proceeded to try to wrestle it off of me. I tried to fight them off but my arms were restrained by a second person, my helm was removed and I was knocked out.

   I woke up, chains around my wrists, keeping them suspended above my head, I glanced around, dizzy. It was a tent of some kind, it had bags upon bags of random stuff, I presumed were all stolen. I noticed someone standing in the shadows of the small tent room.

"H-hello?" I asked softly, trying not to sound scared.

".......you're not supposed to enter the forest without passage through." a female's voice responded.

"I-I was ordered by The King to find and assist The Four!" I explained with irritation.

"You? Help? A simple Gray Knight like yourself, huh?" she responded smugly.

"Y-yes!" I growled.

The figure stepped from the shadows, a thief, twirling a dagger in her hand as she walked up to me. I could feel her looking me up and down, judging me.

"Well you're bold, I'll give you that, coming here without any other gray knights as back-up" She snorted.

"They're..all dead. I'm the last one." I growled, frustrated at this stranger.

She watched me, I couldn't see her face but I knew her eyes were looking at me. 

"All dead?..." She asked, almost sounding concerned.

"Yes....all" I grumbled softly.

"So you must be pretty important, huh?" she asked, not sounding sarcastic.

I felt myself turn a bit red.

"e-eh...uh...I-I guess?" I immediately felt embarrassed that she had said one simple thing and it almost flustered me. 

I heard her giggle a bit. 

"You gray knights are such dorks!" She laughed, but sounding...playful.

I tilted my head, confused.

"What?" I asked, feeling dumb again.

She shifted and stepped closer, I froze. She reached up and barely touched my cheek, I flinched a little, thinking she might slap me or something but she rested her hand against my face. She stared at me and I felt myself blush more.

"Wh-what?" I asked again, trying not to hide from embarrassment.

"I'm....just looking at you..." She mumbled softly.

"..ok this is getting weird" I thought to myself.

Her gloved hand held my face as her leather covered thumb gently rubbed against my cheek. I shifted, trying to pull away. She saw my shift and quietly let her hand drop to her side.

".....are you mad?" She asked, sounding almost sad.

"M-mad?" I was clueless on what she was talking about.

"Mad about...me and my friend...kidnapping you?" She asked for some odd reason.

"Well.....I guess..not? You haven't...really hurt me except for knocking me out...and I'd rather not be locked up like this but I'm...not..ma- why do you even ask??? why would you be worried about me being mad? You're a thief who can basically do whatever she wants to me and get away with it!" I replied, feeling like she was acting a bit dumb from that question.

"I-I just...nevermind just...go to sleep or whatever..." She mumbled, crossing her arms and kind of..hugging herself, seeming almost embarrassed about something.

"You..can't just make me sleep, that's not how this works????" I said bluntly, still very confused. 

She turned and left the tent, letting the flap fall completely closed so I couldn't see outside at all.

"What the heck is going on????" I whispered softly.