Beware The Girls You Meet In The Forest (On Hold + Editing)

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

He stops once the sky has been draped with darkness for a long time. He settles himself down at the base of a large tree and builds himself a fire.

I climb into a tree that is maybe fifty feet away from him, and swing from branch to branch until I reach a tree that is directly in front of him. I peer down at him, wedging myself above him between two branches. It takes a lot of my energy, but I bear through it.

He sits there for a long time, eating strips of dried meat he keeps in his bag and staring into the fire. After maybe two hours, he kicks dirt over the flames and climbs into the large tree he had been sitting in front of.

He moves quickly, climbing like a squirrel. He climbs much faster than me. I move farther up into my tree, keeping a close eye on him and trying to stay hidden. I move when he moves in order to cover up any noises I could possibly make. I never make noises, though.

I try to keep up with him, my feet in pain from the roughness of the bark, but finally the man stops once he reaches the highest he can go.

He settles against the trunk of the tree, and I curl around my trunk to watch him. He looks up through the branches at the moon, which is shining down onto him and making his eyes shine like hundreds of stars are inside of them.

I turn away, breaking my gaze. What in the hell am I thinking!? I need to focus on my mission: Finding out what this guy is doing, killing some princes, and then killing some oh-so-macho king. Not ogling over some stranger.

I look back at him and see that his eyes are shut. I should probably try to sleep, too.

I position myself against the trunk and close my eyes, entering the darkness of sleep.

My eyes shoot open at the sound of dragging. It is early morning, the sun just about to come up over the horizon. I look around me, and remember I have to go unnoticed.

I look down and see the man dragging a large canvas sack. Where he got the sack, I have no idea. I squint down to try and get a better look, but I can still barely see.

I decide to try and manuever my way down the tree while staying hidden. I move slowly, one foot at a time and staying behind the trunk so he cannot see me if he decides to look up.

Every now and then, I will peer around to see what he is doing. He is searching through the sack, trying to find something.

I continue easing my way down, and after a long and painful few minutes, I reach the lowest branch. I look down at him.

He has just pulled out a pair of mens clothes, and he strips down. I turn away, not wanting to look at his naked form. I can hear the whistling and thud as he tosses his knife into the ground.

After what I feel like is enough time, I turn back and see him putting his shirt on. I catch sight of an intricate tattoo running from shoulder to shoulder on his upper back, creating black swirls like the ones on my arm.

He shoves his cloak into a backpack he also seemed to have pulled out of the sack. He also shoves his smaller bag that held the dry meat into the backpack.

I examine his clothing. He is wearing a dark blue button-down shirt that brightens his eyes with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow. He also has on a light blue pair of jeans and brown hiking boots. He looks like any other traveler.

Without his cloak on, I can see his body somewhat better. His arms hide his true strength, I'm sure. They have small muscles, not bulging like a village guard but larger than most other men. I guarantee he has much strength, though. Perhaps more than any village guard.

His black hair looks soft and touchable, but I restrain myself. Stop. Stay focused.

He digs into the sack again and pulls out an ankle holster. He straps it around his ankle underneath his pants and slides the tip into his boot to conceal it. He then pulls his knife out of the ground and puts it into the holster.

He takes the sack and ties it closed at the opening. He climbs up into the tree he slept in the night before and places it in a large hollow hole in the tree. He swings back down quickly and drops to the ground. He stands and starts walking.

I wait until I can't see him through the trees anymore until I climb down and follow him. He walks with less grace than he usually has, which is confusing, but after several minutes of walking, we reach a dirt road and I understand why. He is going to rob someone.

He walks down the dirt road, and I stay in the trees next to the road. After a few more minutes of walking, a horse pulling a carriage appears. He changes his walking style, as if he is exhausted and had been walking for days.

He walks into the center on the road and waves his arms weakly, signaling the carriage to stop. The carriage stops in front of him, and the driver hops off. The driver rushes towards him, looking panicked.

He leans forward and clutches his stomach, acting like he is in intense pain. When the driver places his hand on his back to help steady him, he reaches down and pulls his knife from the holster at his ankle. He jerks upwards and slashes the knife across the driver's throat before thrusting the knife into his heart.

The driver sinks down to his knees, staring up at him as his life leaves him. He just stares back at the driver with a stern look, and yanks his knife out of him.

It all occurs within a matter of seconds, and whoever was riding in the carriage finally realizes the carriage had stopped. The door swings open, and his eyes dart to the door. He runs quickly to the door, and a man steps out.

The man looks at him confusingly and sees the knife in his hand. Then he looks and sees the driver lying on the ground. Before the man could go into shock, the assassin thrusts his knife into the man's eye. The man lets out a blood-curdling scream and falls to the ground on his knees.

The assassin slides the knife out of the man's eye and slices at his neck, cutting deeply from vein to vein. Instantly, a red line of blood drips down the man's neck, and the man falls forward as his death is finalized.

The assassin smirks and kicks the body out of the way of the carriage. He walks over to the driver and digs in his pockets. He pulls out a golden coin, and slides it into his pocket. The coin allows for carriages to enter villages.

He walks back over to the carriage, closes the door, and hops onto the drivers seat. He grabs the horses reins and whips it. The horses begin pulling the carriage forward slowly.

Shit! I'm gonna lose him! I look around quickly, trying to find a solution to be able to keep up with him. I can't run because I'll lose all of my energy and I don't see anyone else coming down the road.

I glance back at the carriage and grin as an idea pops into my head. I sprint out into the road, staying hidden behind the carriage. I run as fast as I can up to the back of it, and grab hold of the ladder attached. I stand on the bottom rung and grip the poles tightly. Hopefully, we will get to Ferlankan much faster this way, and I won't be discovered.