Sin: Path of Poison

Chapter 3 Part 2

"Do you know where you are?" He asked, suspicious with good reason. Kneeling down this way probably made it hard to figure out who exactly he was dealing with. My hair was disheveled, covered in leaves and dirt and my robes were obviously of lower quality, belonging to a man. While my pants didn't match at all and were of high quality belonging to a woman.

"I'm sorry if I've trespassed." I said in a quiet submissive tone.

"A girl? Look at me." I raised my head, letting my eyes meet his. Despite some dirt on my face and my overall appearance, it should still be obvious I'd clean up nicely.

He took a moment to clear his throat. The other man on horseback dismounted, coming down to walk with the man in green. They stopped short, only two meters away. Ignorant or overly confident I mentally notated to myself. Even in this state I could easily kill them all. I didn't move, still looking up at the head guard. The last guard approached slowly, staying further back. It was the young man I spoke with moments before.

"Why are you here?" Asked the man in blue robes.

"I was fleeing from an arranged marriage, I didn't come here on purpose. I just needed to get away from them." I nodded towards the dead men. "Sorry to have brought this trouble to you. I saw a ladder against the wall and climbed it out of desperation." The two patrolmen on the wall last night were a part of this group. They killed the real guards and allowed this group to get inside. It wouldn't be far-fetched to claim there was a ladder in place.

"The five men in brown robes were after you?" The man in green asked.

"Mm." I mumbled in agreement.

"Stand up." The head guard commanded as he dismounted from his horse.

I stood up slowly, the oversized outer robe I was wearing opened slightly exposing the fact I wasn't wearing a tunic or under robe. The smallest glimpse of my bare stomach and the chest wrap, no more than a baby finger wide, was enough to make every man in front of me turn around. I rolled my eyes while their backs were turned. These types of men were the easiest to kill, luckily for them I was mostly certain I was here to protect one of them. More specifically the one with the golden hair clasp and pin resembling an eagle.

"We'll let you fix yourself, hurry." The eagle man explained. I tightened the robes conservatively, all the way up to my neck, and retied the sash to hold everything together.

"I'm done." I announced. They all took a closer look at me, obviously trying to figure out just how one got to this state of being. Little did they know just how bad off I really was. Hiding any traces of pain, they were completely unaware of the injuries I suffered and the glass snakes still feeding in my body.

"I don't trust her." Announced the head guard. "We should tie her to a tree and send some people to take her back for questioning." My eyes widened in feigned fear.

"I've already been through so much, if you can just take me to the capitol.." I let my voice trail off as I pouted slightly. The winds changed, sending my scent towards the group of men. The scent provided a momentary sense of bliss as they inhaled deeply.

"We'll bring her with us for further questioning." The man in blue instructed. The others all agreed with his decision, nodding. The head guard suggested we all ride together back to the camp, but there were not enough horses remaining for me to ride alone. I looked at the ground innocently as they tried to figure out who I should ride with.

"I still don't trust her, it's not wise to let her be close to either of you. She'll ride with him, in case I need to protect you." The head guard suggested, pointing to the lone remaining guard as my chaperone. He had volunteered to help me earlier, this was the best choice.

Flustered by the results, he walked a horse closer to me, unsure what to do next. I looked downwards blankly. He knelt on the ground, producing one leg for me to use as a stepping block onto the horse. I gently stepped on his leg and mounted the horse, leaving my legs to one side like a noble lady wearing formal gowns. I frowned down at the small traces of dirt I left on him, but he didn't seem to care.

Hesitantly he mounted behind me on the horse, everyone watched as he stiffly tried to position himself without touching me. As the horse moved forward I looked up at him, a familiarity of sorts washed over me, I closed my eyes tightly and relaxed my body. Resting my head on his chest, he became more rigid than before as his heartbeat quickened.

"Forgive me this once, I'm not feeling well from running all night." I said quietly, just loud enough for him to hear. It wasn't too far from the truth. The jostling motion of the horse caused a lot of pain, but I was able to relax. I needed to find a hot bath to get the glass snakes out. It'd already been two nights and three days, several hours longer than I'd ever had to endure before.

"Have.. have we met before?" He asked quietly after a long period of silence.

I looked up at his face, noticing a subtle blush rising. His face and scent did seem vaguely familiar. I was sure I met him in the past, but not sure where. Surely he was someone I met in passing, but not someone I was suspicious of.

His eyes were dark, but shone bright in the rising sun, there was a softness to them as he glanced down at me. He was pleasing to look at, I resisted pulling his hair pin out and loosening his hair. Still, even with all his hair pulled tightly up, I smiled. Everything about his appearance screamed upright and proper, yet I felt a hint of defiance. His robes were tailored for travel and fighting. Practical but made of high quality fabric, he wasn't an average soldier.

"I can't remember..." I trailed quietly. Perhaps he had previous experience discovering women in men's outer robes with their hair covered in dirt?