The Wild Hunt (Part One)

Broken Doll

"You can stay here if you want or you can follow me out of this forest until we come across a village."

He held out at his hand to me and I wondered if he knew there was blood on it.

"T-thank you," I said, taking it and letting him pull me to my feet.

I smoothed down my crumpled tunic. A wave of emotion went through me and I began to cry. I was this close. This close to being raped and it scared me how defenseless I was. As soon as I felt his fingers go against me down there I wished I had never left the palace. I wished it had been General Yakmen who touched me. Id rather have endured his touch then at the hands of a savage who regarded me as a prize of some sort. At least General Yakmen had the decency to be gentle with me.

I closed my eyes and saw his dead body on the floor of my bedroom. I killed him. Some small part of me knew he wouldn't have forced himself on me and yet I killed him. I cried harder, drenching my face in wet, hot tears.

"C-come on now. Sae. Please... don't cry. It's alright. It's over."

I had my face buried in my hands when I felt his hands on my shoulders. His long fingers began to massage the tense flesh their and a whimper escaped my lips. My breath caught and I blushed.

He let his hands drop and I looked up at him, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry." We both said at the same time.

There was a moment of silence before he started grinning. I felt the weight in my chest lift some and found myself smiling back. Hmm.

"Neo and Ryko are no good. Animals is what they are. They hunt, rape or kill whatever comes their way. It's just the way the Tewase live."

He looked down at them and I saw the tremble that went through him.

"How did you know them?"

He grimaced and spat on the ground. "I was a slave to the Tewase."

I looked down. I suppose he was no different from me. It was just that easy enough to kill the ones who made you bow to them.

"Yapo. Is that a nickname?"

He bent down and untied the sheath at the man's waist before fastening it around his own and re-sheathing the knife. "It's more of an insult."

I watched him turn over the other man and remove the sheathed knife from his waist.

"What does it mean?"

He brought the knife over to me and began tying it around my waist. His fingers were gentle and he worked fast securing it. "Doesn't matter. You'll need this."

I looked down at the leather belt and sheathed knife. It was heavy against my hip. "I've never used a knife before." Unless you'd count a shard of porcelain. I grimaced at the intrusive memory.

He smiled halfheartedly. "Just stab. As long as you hit something it'll buy you enough time to run."

I nodded, sheepishly. "What's your name?"

He looked down at me with those golden orbs. They really were yellow, with a dark orangey-brown ring. Cat eyes.

"We'll it's not Yapo, I can tell you that. In fact, never call me that. My name is Konayago Wapoto. You can just call me Kona. Formalities are lost in the woods. Plus, it's a complicated name."

Kona. I liked the sound of it. "Alright, Kona?"

He frowned. "Now are you gonna tell me your real name or the fact that you really aren't a palace servant."

I felt my face flush. Was is that obvious?

"My- my name is Sae. Your right though... I'm not a servant." I would give only half the truth. He may have saved my life, but he knew about the Tewase and killed instinctively. I couldn't trust him fully just yet. Plus, I'm sure word has already gotten out that Princess Serri was missing. Giving him my real name wasn't smart. I had to continue under an alias.

He smirked. "I thought as much. Your skin is too clean. Servants get abused. There would marks on your body."

I looked down at my hands and legs. My skin was impeccably smooth, clean. I couldn't remember ever getting hurt as a child or being hit. I was always guarded, manicured, treated like an expensive, porcelain doll.

I unsheathed the knife at my hip and pulled up my tunic. A Princess never played too hard. Never ran too fast. A Princess never got dirty.

"W-what are you..."

I ran the tapered end of the knife across my thigh and bit my lip against the slight pain. A thin, red, line of blood bubbled to the surface.

"Better?" I asked, wiping the knife on my sleeve, before sheathing it again.

Kona stared at me for a second longer before smiling again. He has a nice smile.

"Let's get moving."