𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒 ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳ 𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐰𝐧

⇛ 𝐂𝐇. 𝟑

kaho continued walking, not knowing how long for. probably hours, several hours, walking in one direction only, straight forward.

exhausted, she stopped to hide behind a tree when hearing the sound of a horse strutting in her direction. the sound stopped, as she peered over to see what was happening. it was just a man with a horse that was pulling along a large cart with a blanket covering stuff underneath it.

the man tied the horses reigns to a tree and left to collect water from the nearby lake so kaho took it as her cue to make her way over. knowing she wouldn't be able to ride a horse in her state, she dug through the bag on the horses saddle. there was a map in there with the directions towards somewhere near awa outlined.

quickly, kaho moved the blanket on the cart slightly, seeing that there was only a few boxes and stacks of hay underneath. with much difficulty she climbed onto the cart and hid underneath the blanket, making sure to cover herself properly.

a small yawn escaped her mouth and before she knew it she was dozing away, brushing off the fact that she was in a extremely dangerous situation.

when her eyes next opened, they were still moving but she wasn't sure where they were. carefully, she peeked under the blanket and saw they were high up but it wasn't awa. she fell asleep again not long after.

"wake up." a voice said, the words travelling into kaho's ears, jolting her awake. wide-eyed, she turned towards the old man who's cart she was hiding in.

"i'm so sorry! please don't kill me!" she begged. although she had her katana with her, she knew that with the arrow still lodged into her arm, she wouldn't be able to defend herself properly.

"child, it's ok. you are injured. let me help you." he offered, bandages in his hand. shocked by his kindness, kaho nodded and sat up so that he could examine her arm.

"i'm really sorry." she said.

"it's okay, honestly. if you wanted a lift somewhere you could've asked me." he told her, his hands on the arrow. "i'm going to have to pull the arrow out."

"alright—" she cut herself off with a scream as he pulled it out. bloody pooled from her arm and the man quickly put pressure around it by tying a cloth and then bandaged it.

✧

after helping her, the old man allowed kaho to join him on his journey. he fed her, gave her water and let her sleep in the cart with blankets and pillows. it had been around two days and they had arrived in awa.

"thank you so much for everything you've done. if there's anything i could do to repay you please tell me." kaho bowed to the man, grateful for his help.

"i want nothing in return. just stay safe. we must part now, but i hope we can meet again one day." the old man patted her head, gently. "goodbye, kid."

"bye, mister!" she called after him as he left with his horse and cart.

a sigh left her lips as she looked around the area she was in. she had never been to awa and knew nothing about it so it was worrying and confusing not knowing where to go. she hadn't yet planned anything either. she had escaped from the palace and treated her wounds but now what? live in awa? a place she's unfamiliar with...