The shot of hope

2

Roselyn

Hearing the soft patting of rain making me blink the sleep from my eyes as I looked around the tent noticing that Jess was still asleep, carefully standing before pulling my thick white robe over my shoulders and pulling the hood of it up as the fabric had fur edges and a button that clipped at the collar to kept it around me. Walking out as the sun casted a soft glow while it rose, it must had been raining as the ground was thick with it, quickly looking in a different direction as I spotted Kim as she used a tool to sharpen her sword.

"Morning" I smiled but she stayed silent, I wasn't sure if it was the fact that she was nearly three heads taller than me due to her being a avian or her overall aura that scared me more.

"Why you so fucking cheerful, you were kidnapped yesterday" she glared while Standing up and I watched her wide eyed, "who says we're not kidnapping you right now? Who says that we won't slit your throat while you sleep?"

"Kingsley" Jake suddenly spoke up as he stood at his tents entrance and Kim backed off before walking away back to her stallion which she began to saddle it back up. ""I'm sorry about her...

"It's alright... why is she so.."

"Defensive? She's a assassin and has a bad past but barely anyone knows of that... only Few people even know what she actually looks like" he sighed.

"Is that just like a assassin thing?" I questioned.

"Sometimes but not to her extreme... she has burned all the photos of herself that I know of, not a single person could tell you what she looks like other than Jess, myself and the other team and our captain...." He explained to me, he left after and they all started packing up as I went over to my own horse and surprisingly the women had saddled her up for me.

"Thanks" I smiled and she glanced at me before pulling herself onto her own horse that basically towered over mine.

"I didn't trust you'd know how to do it" she spoke as I pulled myself up.

what breed is your horse? It's like huge" I asked trying to make conversation

"It's a shire" she muttered.

"So where we going next?" I asked as the other guys got onto there horses.

"A waterfall since we're low on water and we could get some fish there too" Sam explained as he went up the front of the group as I sat at the back with Kim.

Looking around at the scenery of the forest before my eyes returned to the women, "are they heavy? Your wings?"

"No... like arms but sensitive enough to know when rains about to fall" she hummed and I nodded with a smile.

"I always wanted to see what it would feel like to fly... is it scary?"

"Not anymore... we learn how to fly a few months before we can even walk and we don't have the part in our brain that fears flight once we turn 5 years old" she explained to me and I could tell she wasn't exactly enjoying the conversation, "why you asking me this shit anyway? You need to know how to steal our children too?"

"Of course not! I would never do that!" I exclaimed.

"Really? Because I know for a fact that you're royal family is the reason why I can't even show my face" she scoffed before she turned her horse and over took Sam to be in front of everyone instead and I sighed while fidgeting with my hands. It was longer than expected for us to get to the waterfall and my eyes lit up at the sight of the grand sight as the water was crystal clear and had lush greens and smooth rocks around it, dismounting before approaching the water as I looked down into it in amazement.

"It's crystal clear!"I spoke up in shock and Jake laughed softly while walking over and Kim looked around before stretching out her wings and they were a lot bigger than I had expected as they were double her arm length, she flew up onto the side of the waterfalls rocks and sat down on a small tree that had managed to grow out before she tipped back and I though she was gonna fall until her tail wrapped around the branch leaving her hanging as she wrapped her wings around herself like a bat would.

"I have no idea how she can do that" Jake hummed while putting his weapon belt on a rock with his boots and shirt before he dived into the water with Sam doing the same thing, taking my shoes off before sitting on the edge of the water and resting my feet in it and I couldn't stop the giggle that bubbled up as a koi fish swam around my ankles.

"Wait I thought you were literally never allowed of the castle, than how come you were out?" Jess spoke co fused.

"I'm not allowed into towns or villages to like visit... closes thing I get to that is if we have to go through one during a trip... this is the first time I've been here or seen a waterfall..." I explained.

"Seriously?! I would have tried to run away!" Jake exclaimed.

"You don't think I did? Eventually I just stop trying, excepted my faint" I shrugged.

"Oh grow up" Kim spoke up as she had opened her wings, "it must be so hard to be royalty", she pulled herself up from onto the branch before she flew off out of sight.

"She'll return...." Sam sighed, "she always does..."

"It's not your fault Roselyn, she's just been through more than someone should in a lifetime"

Pulling my boots on before standing, "I'm just gonna go for a walk... I'll be back" I announced after clear my voice as I rushed away.

After a good distance I slowed down to a normal walk as I looked around at the patterned light beams that created through the leaf and branch breaks though seeing as I wasn't watching where I was going I proceeded to fall over a trees root that had grown out a bit and stumble in a shallow creek. Wincing as I sat on the edge and looked at my cut palms due to the rocks though my knees weren't damaged much due to my dress which was now soaks at the edges and the front. Quickly looking up when I heard the rustling of a branch to find Kim looking down at me clearly having been watching me for a while and I didn't know if that should scare me or the fact that I didn't even know even when I was looking up.

"You should watch were your going... what if you had hurt yourself worse" she scolded as she slid down the side of the tree before walking over before grabbing my wrist and yanking me up and due to the algae I immediately fell again though I fell against her as the hold she had on my wrist meant it was difficult for me to hurt myself again.

"Sorry..." I muttered as I stepped back though she stayed silent while taking a bandage out as she moved closer again as she took my hand and even with her height and the ease that she would have when using force against me she was somehow gentle.

"It's fine... I don't need Jake yelling at me for not helping you incompetent thing" she replied, "if this is your first time in a forest why the hell would you try and come out here? You could have been hurt worse, there are bears and wolfs out here for Christ sakes"

"I was just looking for you... felt bad for seeming spoilt" I shrugged as I stared at my feet as she wrapped my other hand.

"Well don't do stuff like that... I don't need Royal blood on my hand when I'll get killed for having blood in the first place"