Chapter Four: Run

"Shit..." I whispered, not wanting to move. If I moved, he could attack me. Maybe he didn't know I could see him. I gently pulled my bow next to me in case I needed it. But I was on a rock over water. I couldn't escape easily.

Unless...

My muscles froze on me before I winced and suddenly jerked my body, shoving myself off the rock and dove into the water. The water was freezing. My skin contracted underneath its grip. I felt a hand plunge after me, grabbing onto the arrow holder on my back. I jerked, wriggling out of it as I saw it get yanked out of the water. I heard a loud shout in anger before the figure walked away.

I held my breath, the pond not too deep but deep enough I had to go down to go up.

My foot touched the bottom as I shoved off, shooting up towards the surface. My eyes opened as I gasped for air, getting over to the edge of the water. I struggled getting out of the pond, trying to kick myself out of the sand.

"crap...crap crap crap CRAP!" I muttered panicked, kicking into the sand to move forward.

I heard feet shuffling before I heard a shout and a sword unsheath.

"Hey!" I screamed, trying to get Laurance's attention, if he was even around.

My bow was stuck to my feet as I struggled to get my sword out of the sheath.

"Alaina!" Laurance's voice rang out into the clearing before his and the man's swords collided.

"Laurance!" I shouted. My heart pounded so hard my vision began to blur.

The man and Laurance started to shove at each other, both struggling for an upper hand. Laurance glared at the man, the man's hood and mask covering his features.

I pulled my hood off, trying to get the water's drip out of my face. I coughed, trying to get to my feet and help. I cried out, unable to move. It felt as if I was paralyzed.

The man suddenly punched Laurance in his diaphragm. Laurance crumpled to the ground at the hit, losing his breath for a second. The man looked at me before he started to walk over.

"Alaina! RUN!" Laurance coughed, wheezing as he couldn't do anything but watch.

"Get back! No!" I shouted, able to get on my back and pull my sheath out. My hand gripped it steadily, pointing my sword directly at the man's face.

The man stopped; his sword held at his waist height pointed at my chin. I looked at him, my breathing stitched together with my nerves, unable to react better.

He pulled his hood off, his hair and eyes suddenly showing out from the dark blue cloth.

I glared to him, holding my sword outward, not backing down.

He watched me move away, almost letting me get to my feet. "Leave us alone!" I shouted.

He glanced at Laurance before back at me, him flicking his sword against mine.

"I said leave us alone!" I said again, pushing back at his sword.

He looked at me, not moving from his stance. Instead, he stepped closer, making me walk backwards.

"Alaina, move sideways, damn it!" Laurance choked out, him starting to get on his feet.

I didn't know what he meant until my back pressed against one of the trees. I gulped, looking at the man in front of me.

He pushed his sword against mine, the sharp side of his against the flat side of mine.

I looked at him, mustering out the only thing I could.

"I will not yield! Not to you!" I shouted, putting my hand on the flat side of my blade to support it against his.

At the word 'yield' he stepped back, pulling his sword with him. He held it to his side, him slightly turned away. He instantly looked down at my body before his brows furrowed at a glint.

He muttered some words I couldn't understand, his sword coming up again, the tip touching the middle of my collarbone.

My eyes glanced down, trying to see what he was pointing to.

The necklace.

I looked back up at him before I pushed his sword away, "None of your business, you bastard..." I growled back. He moved his sword towards me again and I deflected it, pushing it away from me.

"That isn't yours." His words were hard to comprehend, him glaring at me, "Give it."

"It isn't YOURS and I sure as hell am NOT giving it to some man in the woods." I spat, deflecting another swing.

Laurance came up behind the man, grabbing his neck and holding him in a vertical head lock, a small knife tucked into his other hand. He glared at the man as he growled into his ear, "Who are you." Laurance hissed, "And why do you need her necklace."

The man looked at Laurance, the two struggling for a moment before Laurance knocked him to the ground, his head falling into a spot of light that came through the trees. His shaggy, dirty blonde hair shifted with his head falling back. His eyes looked ice blue, staring back at Laurance.

The man muttered at him, intently staring up at Laurance above him.

I froze, looking at him. My eyes didn't leave his face as Laurance repeated his statement.

"Who are you." He said, pinning the man to the ground. "And why do you need her necklace."

The man stopped moving, hearing him clearly that time. He looked at me, his eyes seeming to move over my face.

"Terhe's-erhe's no wyh yiuoir-" His voice was muffled by the cloth and his thick voice as if he hadn't spoken for a long time.

Laurance glared at him, "Take off the mask. You aren't clear." He said, keeping his sword pointed at the man.

"kaoy!" he shouted, yanking the mask down. The rest of his features hit me like a train. He looked at Laurance, the two of them starting to argue for no reason, him saying to get the sword away and Laurance refusing to do so.

I looked at Laurance before I grabbed the pendant. I looked back at the man.

"Why do you want this..." I asked, looking at him.

The two stopped for a moment before the man looked at me.

"I gave that to my best friend four years ago. Before she moved away. And now your thieving face has it on you." He said, anger starting to hit his features.

"It's a necklace, dumb-dumb-"

It was his voice...

"It's...you." I said, pulling my dagger out.

"What?" Laurance looked at me.

"What?" The man looked at him and then me.

He got up to his feet, looking at me as I walked towards him.

"It's you." I softly said, "The jerk who did this to me..." I growled.

His face instantly went agitated again, "Listen, PUNK-"

I instantly slammed the handle of my dagger into the side of his temple, his eyes rolling back and his body falling to the ground, out.

Laurance paused. He looked at me before at the man. "That works too I guess," He said.

My fingers slid the dagger back into its sheath and back into my pocket.

I snapped out of it for a moment, my body shivering again, "I'm really cold..." I said softly.

He gently nodded, walking over to pick the man up and put him over his shoulder. "Let's get you back and changed. It'll be getting dark very soon..." He said, moving next to me. He held onto the bow as well, not wanting to make me carry it back.

We walked out, away from the pond. All I could hear was the sound of water in my ears, the sound of their swords unsheathing... it was scary in its own, yet familiar, way...

Laurance looked at me, gently pulling his cape off and flinging it over my shoulders.

"It'll keep the wind from hitting you at least... not as cold as you would be." He said quietly.

I nodded, us walking the rest of the way to Meteli's perimeters.

A few hours passed. Laurance had put the man in a small jail cell on the floor level of the guard station. I sat at a table across the room. The rest of the men were either in bed or on patrol for the night shift.

"Do you want to try this? It'll help you warm up a little." He said, standing in the kitchenette area.

"What is it?" I asked, my fingers gently tracing the empty glass I had with me, "Is it tea again?"

"Not really... a little stronger than the tea." He chuckled, pulling two small glasses down and grabbing a bottle from on top of the refrigeration unit.

"Then what is it?" I asked again with a laugh, "If I didn't guess right just tell me."

"It's a mix I learned from one of the other outlying villages. Hot Toddy." He smiled as he spoke, him taking a couple minutes to mix.

I looked at him curiously, "What's in it?"

He smiled before walking over, setting one of the glasses in front of me. "If I told you, it wouldn't still be my secret now, would it?" He asked.

My hands slowly grabbed the glass as a laugh tickled at my throat. The glass was warm, the smell of lemon and tea dominating against the extra ingredients.

I took a sip, almost spitting it out in surprise, "What IS that!?" I asked, looking at him.

He chuckled, leaning back in his seat. "Whiskey." He grinned, "Really good whiskey in retrospect."

"It tastes like a tree." I said, "I don't know if that's a good or bad thing but it tastes like a tree." I took another sip, keeping in mind what was in it.

It wasn't as shocking the second time when I knew what it was. It was honestly sweet, slightly tart from the lemon juice he had put in but it was warm. I smiled as the taste started growing on me as we sat there, talking and drinking what he had mixed up.

"What happened back there anyway? He's the one?" Laurance asked, taking another sip.

I glanced over at the man sleeping. He was sprawled on the bed, his sword and other weapons sitting across the room on the other side of the bars.

"It's his voice. He's the voice that I hear at night when I'm waking up." I said quietly. I looked back at Laurance, "But... he doesn't recognize me. So, he can't be the same person. And I don't recognize him other than his eyes."

Laurance quietly listened before he swallowed a comment, him clearing his throat as he leaned forward in his chair.

"Alaina..." he started, leaning his elbows on the table and his fingers interlinked with one another as he looked at me, his eyes making sure I was giving him the attention he needed. He breathed out, "Men are... weird. We don't communicate the same way you may," He paused and looked over at the cellmate, "You look very different than you did when you started recovering a month ago. And we don't know how much time has passed since you and your necklace giver have seen each other. It-"

He continued, but I started to doze away from the conversation. He was right. I couldn't remember how old I was, where I'm from... I barely remembered my name when we started to talk and get me back on my feet. What if it's been years since we've seen each other and the memories I have are just a voice put to the looks of a random stranger I've seen in passing.

"-it'll work out, Alaina. When he wakes up, we can talk to him. But that'll have to wait until tomorrow morning." Laurance said.

His chair scraped against the ground, the clatter of his glass hitting his chain wristlet made me look over at him. He softly smiled at me before taking the empty glass from before.

I looked at the toddy cup, realizing there was a little left. I finished it off, looking back at Laurance as I walked over to him.

"Is it safe leaving him alone down here?" I asked, setting the cup in the water basin.

He smiled softly, "Yes, it is. And I'll be staying up for a little longer to make sure the little group I sent out a little bit ago returns."

"Can you-"

"Yes. I'll let you know if anything happens. Promise." He gently nudged my arm, his pointer and thumb rubbing the outside joint of my elbow.

"Alright... g-good night, Laurance," I softly said, my arms crossing as I held onto the cape from before.

He gestured a bow like movement, "Good night, Miss Alaina." As he walked to the base of the stairs, him looking away as someone walked through the front door.

I quietly went up to my quarter, shutting the door behind me and setting the cape on the small stool. I changed back into my previous clothes, setting the slightly damp ones flat on the table to dry overnight. My arms crossed as I crawled slowly into bed, propping myself up on the windowsill, this time with my pillow under my head.

The pendant around my neck made a quiet clink noise against the sill, resting as my body slumped. My eyes closed, the moonlight shining in above me. Tomorrow.