The Wild Hunt (Part One)

Chance

I awoke to Sae snuggled up beside me. Her hair covered her face, which was pressed against the side of my chest. At some point I moved my arm beneath her head and it was cradle in the crook of my elbow. Her face was warm against me and I tried not to gawk at her leg she had thrown over my lap. Fuck. She clung to me like she was climbing a tree.

Her tunic rode up her thigh, revealing its smooth, ivory skin and I clenched my hands at my side. I wanted to touch it, but I knew I shouldn't. That same desire from last night when she fell on top of me poured through me and I fisted my hand at my side. No. Go away.

"Mmm," she moaned, shifting against me. Her thigh rose further up and I bit my lip as the evidence of my arousal bulged beneath her knee. I took a deep breath and exhaled out. Calm down. Go away. Go back to sleep.

I awoke again, feeling slightly groggy this time. A mild headache blossomed behind my eyes and I pinched my nose, messaging the ache. Sae was turned over onto her side. I wasn't sure how much longer I had slept since waking up, but the blueish- grey light that flooded in at the bottom of the curtain door, indicated it was time to get up.

I sat up and reached for my vest laying on the floor and slid into it, securing the wooden button at the front. I was glad to have washed myself off yesterday. I still had blood crusted all over me and with the fishing, I smelled like death and sea water. It wasn't pleasant. Thankfully Sae was asleep so I gingerly cleaned- or atleast rinsed off my whole body. At one point I thought I heard her move and nearly jumped out of my skin. I hurriedly rinsed the lower half of me off quickly before slapping my pants back on.

"Sae." I nudged my knee against her back. She groaned, rolling over to glare at me through sleep crusted eyes.

"Good morning, Princess."

Her eyes jolted open and she looked frantically around her.

"S-Sae, are you okay?"

She looked scared there for a moment, but calmed down and took a shaky breath. Hmm, what was that all about?

"We need to get going." I stopped my ascent and knelt back down beside her. "That is... if you want to keep going." I gulped. "With me."

She looked at me and I saw the assessment in her eyes. I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted her to come with me either. It would be a dangerous road ahead. I may be free but I wasn't yet free of my past. Not until it hunted me down and staked my head on a spike. Better yet, if Chief Na-Wakee somehow died and Yetae took his place. Yetae. Shoot. I didn't even think about him. He was technically my overseer. Damn. I knew his father probably whipped his hide pink. But that thought alone had me thinking. What if Yetae became head chief of Tewase? Surely, he'd grant me my full freedom? Hmm...

"Yes."

I blinked out of my stupor. Sae had spoken. "W-what did you say?"

She bit her lip. "Yes. I want to go with you."

I blinked again. She was willing to be on the run? To risk her neck being involved with me? Was she crazy or stupid? Or was she running from something herself.

"Who are you?" I asked.

She swallowed hard. Those grey eyes misted over for a few seconds before she answered.

"I was a servant to the king, but I was done serving. I didn't want to do his bidding any longer, so I ran. I... I killed his general and ran."

His servant? I studied her. I knew she had said that she was lying about being a servant of the palace, but... her wording was different this time. She had served the king. Perhaps, she served him in a different way. I grimaced. Had she been his concubine? Ugh. We're all men in power pigs? I felt sorry for her. I felt even guiltier thinking about Neo and what he had almost accomplished. Then there were her dreams and the way she had screamed when she awoke. It was a terrifying sound. She was truly scared. I couldn't imagine what kind of things that bastard of a king had her do for him. And then she killed his general? That, I was impressed by but also sadden. How many other men had taken her to bed? It would explain why she flinched every time I touched her.

"Do you think the king would come after you for killing his general?"

Sae sullenly nodded. Whew. Alright then. We've got two ruthless rulers hunting us both down. We were gonna need all the luck we could get if we wanted to escape their grasp. What we needed to do was get out of Miran and quickly.

"You have absolutely nowhere else to go? No family? Or friends? Didn't you say you had a friend. Where is he?"

Sae shook her head and a tear slid down her cheek. Dammit. It pulled at something deep inside of me every time she cried.

"He.... He's at the palace. I.... I left him there, but he's safe. I have no one else. I'm all alone." Her last words were a hoarse whisper as she hugged herself tightly.

I'm all alone too. "It's okay. I just want to make sure you know what your getting yourself into. I.... I don't mind you coming along with me. I suppose.... I don't want to be alone either. We could keep eachother company and plus, heh.... you owe me for saving your butt three times now."

Sae smiled and it warmed my heart. "Besides, I don't think you'll last very long on your own out here. Let me teach you how to survive, how to hunt, make a fire. How to.... fight. I.... I was acquainted with the son of the Tewase head chief and he taught me how to fight. I can show you the ways of the Tewase. That way when it comes to it, you'll be able to defend yourself."

Sae's whole demeanor changed and she took my hand and we both stood up. There was a light in her eyes I had never seen before. She stood a little taller. The bruises on her face were dark blue but the swelling had gone down. Even though she looked like she gotten the beating of her lifetime she was still beautiful. Her face was soft and round. Her eyes were big and doll like. She had sweeping, black eyelashes and a small, full mouth. I found myself string at it sometimes. Even now.

She wasn't that girl I found huddle behind that boulder. Something in her changed. It started when she took that knife and marked herself with it. There was a confidence that blossomed in that moment. I admired her for wanting to change. Wanting to become stronger. To shed that old, weak version of herself. Maybe we weren't so different after all.

She looked at me and I felt like she was looking into my soul. We were still holding hands and it seemed like neither of us wanted to let go just yet. Her hand felt so small in mine.

"Kona."

My heart skipped a beat as she stepped closer.

"Yes."

I took a step closer and the space between us became non-existent. I suddenly wanted to kiss her, but i didn't want to ruin what we had just started.

"Thank you." She stood on her toes and planted a soft kiss on my cheek.

I blushed slightly, looking away. "Your welcome." I mumbled. She set my heart racing doing things like that.

"I may have lost a friend, but now.... Now I don't feel so alone anymore. I know I'm not strong, or fast, or knowledgeable in the ways of living off the land, but I want to be. I trust you."

Trust. She trusted me? We could be friends. We could endure the hardships of this savage world, together. We could find our freedom together.

"Then let's go. Freedom is escaping us and we need to grab ahold if it's wings before it takes off."