They took her. Girl’s room lay in disarray and her dresses were scattered about but her scrolls were gone. All of my information had disappeared.
Now, what would I do?
I glanced out of the window. A lone flicker of light shone down the path a few ways.
Perfect. The men were wise in the fact that they didn’t take her far without first making sure they had everything, but foolish that they hadn’t yet left. They didn’t know about me.
And I wanted those scrolls back.
I crept along the perimeter of the inn and towards the men’s quiet voices. The fools had no idea what they looked for and argued over Girl’s scrolls. A covered coach with candlelight within stood ahead on the road.
There’s Girl. Good. I had more details for her to interpret and did not need her in the hands of my enemy. Her guard seemed more interested in her than his duty and gently stoked her cheek.
Him first.
She cried out when he pinned her arms, which turned into terrified screams when my arrow sailed through his heart. The perfect distraction. They men turned to see what she screamed about, and I slipped behind them. The first three I handled silently with my knife, the next four with arrows.
Girl leapt from the coach, running down the path. She wasn’t pursued: her other captors finally saw me. I disposed of them with their own swords.
One more. The watchman up ahead mirrored my attacks. I enjoyed the challenge, but Girl still ran blindly into the woods. We didn’t need any more attention. No one was supposed to know that I existed.
I finished the watchman and sprinted ahead, trying to cut her off. Girl wasn’t looking ahead and ran right into me. Her fear blinded her; even though I called her name, she swung wildly at me. I blocked her blows with my arm, though I didn’t grab her hands.
“Girl, stop!” She finally paused to look at me. “It’s me!”
“Lan,” she looked relieved, and still so terrified. I leaned back, but far too late. She collapsed against me, quickly grabbing the sides of my shirt and sobbing into my chest.
I groaned loudly. She knew I didn’t want to be touched, the menace! I myself only touched an enemy I was to kill. I told her this already; did she want me to end her life as well? I stepped back, but her grip was relentless.
“Let go, Girl!”
I reached to push her arms from around me but paused.
It wasn’t bad. It felt…nice. I supposed. Her face against my now-damp shirt, the softness of her arms, the feeling of her hands on the sides of my chest. So, this was an embrace. Not at all how I imagined it.
I wrapped one arm slowly and deliberately around her back, clutching her shoulder. She fit perfectly. My other arm, I wrapped around her waist. It fit perfectly in my hand.
She clutched me tighter when she felt my arms around her and sobbed louder. I didn’t know why she was so upset; she was safe and this embrace wasn’t so awful.
So, I rest my cheek on her hair and let her cry.
