Noble Songbird

Chapter 5

Chapter 5
Katherine

"You've got a friend in me." -Disney's Toy Story

We trudged through the forest at an agonizingly slow pace. My legs began to tire but the anticipation of capturing the prince was motivating my legs to keep moving. The smell of pine filled my nostrils with its fresh scent, inviting me to run away from the stenchy men and stay there forever. The chirping of birds and the crunch of our feet the were the only sounds to be heard, until: hoofbeats. My father stopped in his tracks, hearing the hoofbeats as well, he lifted his right fist and all of the men stopped walking as well, their ears straining to hear the hoofbeats. My father opened his hand and spread his thick, gloved fingers.

That's our cue.

Father dropped his hand and we all scattered into the undergrowth on either side of the road, hiding in every imaginable place. I grabbed the lowest branch and began to climb a tree that grew closest to the cobblestone road, giving me the perfect vantage point. As I continued to ascend the densely branched tree, my hands began to sting from the scratches and glue-like sap deposited onto my hands. Carefully, I maneuvered through the branches, ducking and dodging to avoid getting my bow and quiver stuck in its long fingers. I stopped my ascent and crouched on a thick branch. With everyone in hiding we waited in anticipation for the carriage and the guards emerge from around the bend.

Two chocolate brown horses pulled an elaborately decorated carriage with at least two dozen guards surrounding it and I slowly shrugged my bow off of my shoulder and grabbed an arrow from my quiver. Placing the arrow onto the string, I waited for the carriage to roll closer. I silently drew my bow and aimed for the carriage driver's heart. I exhaled, relaxing my tense arms, then released the arrow. It streaked through the surrounding branches and buried itself deep into the man's chest, killing him before he could even scream. His lifeless body slumped over and rolled off of its seat and fell to the ground with a thud. All of the guards whipped their heads to see what caused the sudden disturbance.

Realizing what had just happened a muscular guard, probably the capitan, unsheathed his sword and yelled,"It's an ambush!"

A moment later a guttural cry rang out from the brush and up in the trees. With swords drawn, the bandits rushed toward the carriage. The guards quickly unsheathed their swords, some of them falling dead before they could even react. The ones able to draw their swords were trying to defend themselves and the prince with their lives, but they were outnumbered and began to fall quickly.

I dropped to the ground with a loud grunt, the shock of the landing shot up my spine. Ignoring the pain, I drew back another arrow and aimed it at an opening in a palace guard's helmet, too busy fighting off two bandits to notice me. I released the arrow and it hit its target sending a spray of dark red blood over his attackers. His body stopped moving and dropped with a loud clatter to the cobblestone. The attackers looked in my direction and sneered with their blood splattered faces.

With the noise of the battle still at large I turned my attention away from the jealous attackers and spotted the next closest guard. I raised my loaded bow, pointing the arrow at his neck when I saw a flash of blue and silver in my peripheral. On instinct, I lowered my bow and ducked so quickly that I got light headed from the sudden movement, and turned my attention to the guard that was slashing violently, barely missing me every time.

Adrenaline was pumping forcefully through my veins at the realization of just how close I was to losing my life. I kept jumping back at the guard's powerful swings, his rage growing after every evasion, his strikes became faster and less predictable. His blade began to get uncomfortably close to my skin. I stepped back from another swing to my abdomen, but this time my calf was met with a hard rock sending me toppling backwards my bow flying out of my hands as I attempted to catch my fall. The pine needles covering the ground pierced my hands as my hip painfully connected with the uneven ground.