Matahari Child

1

Weaving in and out of the trees, hurdling over the roots and bushes, sliding through veils of holly and ivy, I charged through the forest that is my home. I ventured too close to the citadel, and had been spotted.

I didn't expect hunters out this late in the day, and my unique long, straight, auburn hair; as well as me being a 13-year-old girl; attracted their unwanted attention.

I had a black vest top on, knee length khakis and a -with lack of better words to describe it- khaki green jacket. My outfit was completed with a French plait and brown leather knee boots. Despite my bright hair that seemed to always catch the sun like a flash of fire, my relatively camouflage outfit hid me, as well as my skinny but muscular figure helped me move with grace and ease. Even if my height, if it was only about average, made me rather clunky.

I pushed on, the menacing sound of hooves fading behind me. I continued anyway, making my body run as fast as it could without making too much noise. This was quite fast - it could rival an champion, maybe. One could dream.

Still going full pelt, I threw myself up to the first branch of my tree with a graceful swing. The tree was about 20 feet tall, and only had one path through it that led to the top, where you could stand on top of its branches.

To get to my humble abode, you had to deliberately fall down so that you ended up in the middle of the tree, surrounded by a wall of thick branches and leaves. It also allowed you to see anyone climbing up without them seeing you, and after a few touches, was just wide enough for me to lay down fully on the 'floor', which was actually the main trunk. The tree was very wide, almost as wide as it was tall.

Dusk was falling hastily, and exhaustion set in quick as the adrenaline wore off. Thick black clouds rolled into my vision as I snuggled under the worn blanket- one of my few possessions. It actually held my possessions, which consisted of a dagger, bow and 4 arrows, my clothes, my leather hunting gloves, a long rope, and an invaluable filter water bottle (that allowed me to drink practically any water, whilst it filtered out the stuff that could make me seriously ill). And my blanket of course.

I couldn't hear nor smell any creatures nearby, and decided to let my guard down. I was always alert, even when asleep; I was more resting.

By the position of the moon, I judged it was around 5AM when a twig snapped near me. I was immediately up with my dagger. I couldn't take any chances with the sort of animals around here, but when I saw what had made the noise I could barely conceal a gasp. A shadow of a man appeared directly above me, hiding me from the full moon's bright touch. My hold on the dagger wavered slightly, but I managed to keep it and heaved it up with a shaking hand. It wavered, but I tried to threaten the man if it looked down. But he didn't look, he didn't jump, he fell through. Jumping back, I witnessed his fall in slow motion, ending with an undignified thump on his back.

Immediately, my dagger was at his throat, willing him to be quiet. Once he had recovered his thoughts, his eyes widened in recognition; mine following. It was a boy that was once my neighbour, my best friend actually. He was 14, a year older than me but we didn't recognise the difference; it wasn't much.

That didn't make me trust him any more though. It had been many a year since I had seen him, and I kept the knife at his throat, willing him to be silent with a dominant glare. I was naturally dominant, and could project an aura that made others cower. Sadly, those who knew me long enough were immune to my commands- but not my glares.

And so I fixed him in place, whilst using my free hand to pull out the rope. Keeping silent, he continued to struggle under my death glare. He ended up averting his cobalt eyes in defeat. His short brown locks were slumped against the floor, and I slowly pushed him up into a seated position, tying him to a trunk around the chest, finishing with using the rest of the rope to tie his hands. I then shuffled backwards to the other side of the 'room'. It was midsummer, and Lady Dawn decided to grace us with her presence rather early.