Keeping Him Loved

Chapter 1

        The rain mercilessly poured down on her as she dashed across the forest terrain. Despite it being mid-day, the stormy clouds kept much of the sun's light from penetrating the forest canopy. However, the weather was not a problem. (Y/n) felt at home within the grasps of nature no matter what it threw at her. It was in her blood, an attribute about herself that she could never ignore.

        An arrow wisked by her head and left behind a tear in the fabric of her hood. The cloak was already torn from previous encounters with arrows. She wasn't able to dodge them entirely since the sound of the rain hindered her hearing ability. Even with her superhuman hearing, all thanks to her elf ears, she couldn't make out the sound of the arrows whistling by until they got uncomfortably close.

        Finally, she broke through the foliage and onto the main path. The dirt road would probably lead her to the city. She assumed it would be much easier to hide in a city. (Y/n) took a brief moment to catch her breath before continuing on, but the break was just a second too long. She cried out as an arrow embedded itself deep into her upper arm. Despite the pain, (y/n) jerked her head aside to avoid another attack.

        Bounty hunters. There were three of them left. One with a crossbow, and two with swords. (Y/n) was losing energy, and knew that she wouldn't make it to the nearest city with them on her trail, especially out in the open on a road where other dangers were likely lurking. There was no money to gain from capturing her for crimes. She had done nothing wrong. Instead, they wanted what she had with her and perhaps even her skills too. There was even the possibility that they were chasing after her to keep as a rare prize. She was only half elf afterall with her ears being a dead give away to her elven lineage.

        "Finally decided to stop running eh?" The man carrying the crossbow stepped out of the woods with his partners following. The two other men circled around to surround (y/n). She wasn't afraid of them, but she did fear that they were underestimating her. "Sure did put up quite a fight, but it looks like you've come to your senses. If you come quietly, we'll treat you to a meal and buy you some new clothes. We'll take real good care of you, promise." He flashed her a smirk which she returned with a glare. She hated the way they stared at her. It made her skin crawl with disgust. "Well? What's it going to be?"

        "Forget about it," she hissed. The three men laughed at her.

        "You were right. She really is defiant. Picked a good one this time," the hunter at her left spoke to their leader.

        "Don't rough her up too much. She's worth a lot," he told his men. They gave him brisk nods of understanding and began inching closer to her. (Y/n) pulled the arrow from her arm and waited for her chance.

        They lunged towards her at the same time. (Y/n) dodged them and stabbed the thigh of the hunter that had approached her from the right. Before they could react, she reached into the pouch strapped to her lower back and pulled free two of the many illuminated stones hidden within it. The tiny pebble sized stones held powers gifted by the nature goddesses. (Y/n) smiled at her luck seeing that both of them were blue, engraved with a single white glowing zigzagged line. She flicked one at each hunter. Both the rocks activated upon contact with the men. Lightning struck them faster than anyone could blink.

        "You little-!" The leader of the group snarled. She could not fight him by herself and win. He was the main one that she was running from afterall. He raised his crossbow to shoot at her leading (y/n) to panic. She barely dodged the close ranged shot, seeing it wisk past her and into the forest behind her. That was when they both heard someone hidden in the trees yelp. Both (y/n) and the hunter flinched at the sound. A white haired boy stumbled out into the clearing with an arrow lodged into his shoulder. Despite an eyepatch and part of his hair covering one eye, his visible eye showed enough aggravation for the both of them.