No answer. This was a disaster. She cuffed her free hand over her mouth and yelled louder, but it was no use. It was like everyone just fell off the face of the earth, leaving her helpless and alone. Kiara tried to not let her mind dwell on that thought too much for fear that she would lose what was left of her sanity.
She took another deep breath to calm herself, turned around completely and tried to push her way back towards the path, still yelling out for help and direction from the only person she knew who could help her. Inadvertently, she went in the opposite direction of the path because she had eventually stumbled upon the little creek she had passed over earlier.
Hope was kindled in her soul again. Forgetting that the cold water would seep through her boots and possibly get her sick, she bolted downstream, hopping along the stepping-stones or wading through the ankle-deep creek. All the way, she shouted out Nate’s name. Still, she got no reply. When she had finally found her old path, she stopped calling for him and began her journey back towards the camp. There was no point for his help now. She knew exactly where she was. And so did someone else.
Just as Kiara was passing by certain landmarks that she recognized, just as she was feeling peace, she heard something in the stillness of the night. Rustling. Lots of rustling came from every direction.
She stopped once again and slowly peered around into the woods that surrounded her on all sides. And gradually, she could see the glint of yellow eyes glaring at her hungrily from among the bushes. Fear throbbed in her heart as she swung her torch at the unfamiliar creatures. But, it was no use. They were closing in on her faster.
As they came within the light of her torch, she could see the silvery fur of hungry wolves moving closer with bared teeth and a snarl in their throats. She’d never seen anything more frightening in her life. Kiara swung her torch around again like a club, trying to ward off the animals. Some took offense to the bright light and intense heat of the fire, but others were braver and too hungry to let such a thing come between them and dinner.
A huge wolf that was approaching right in front of Kiara, leapt at the torch, grabbed the stick between its massive jaws and tossed it into a puddle. Darkness fell over the prey and predators.
Without a second thought, she bolted in any random direction, running for her life, with growling wolves chasing after her.
“Nate! Help me!” she yelled as the wolves snapped at her heels. Whatever strength she had left in her legs after walking in the woods for an hour was just enough to be a bit faster than the beasts. Unfortunately, she was far less graceful in this jungle terrain. Vines caught around her arms and legs, sometimes making her stumble and trip, making it more difficult to outrun the wolves.
All the while she was running, yelling and looking behind her at the pack that followed. She knew this was it. She couldn’t outrun these wolves for long and if they were hungry enough, they would chase her all night and well into the morning. All she knew was she had to find someway to beat them off or get to where they couldn’t reach her. Panting, sweating and crying, she knew it was over.
As Kiara’s energy was just running out, she came to a huge rock face that towered over her and the clearing she was standing in. At first, she thought to climb it, but there were absolutely no foot holes and hand holds to use. The nearest one was nearly five feet above her.
Looking up, she realized that the wolves had chased her all the way to the base of the Shin Mountains. She could hear the roaring Kaph River in the distance. The wolves had cornered her. She had nowhere to go, no one to help. Kiara tried not to imagine how painful this would be. She wished she could have seen her family one last time… No, she wished she could have seen Nate one last time.
It was useless to call for his help now as the wolves licked their chops and gazed ravenously up at her. They slowly crept forward, knowing she had nowhere to run. The leader of the pack - who had taken her torch earlier - stepped to the front and shifted his shoulders, ready to pounce. The wolf must have been almost as large as she was.
Kiara didn’t want to see this next part, so she squeezed her eyes shut, letting the darkness and the growls of the wolves overwhelm her senses. She hoped this wouldn’t take long as she shivered and whimpered for mercy that would never come.
When the wolf jumped through the air, jaws wide open and aimed for Kiara’s throat, she could almost feel the hot breath and slobber just inches from her skin.
But then, she heard a whimper that was not her own. No pain. Nothing. The wolf didn’t even touch her.
Her eyes popped open and immediately followed the wolf as it tumbled to the ground, an arrow pierced through its neck.
Just off to the side in the woods, Nate came running in with his knife in one hand and the bow in the other. He shouted and hollered to get the wolves’ attention. And sure enough, he got it.
Kiara felt she would faint as the wolves leapt at Nate, one at a time, seeking for revenge for their fallen leader and for a meal. But, Nate wouldn’t allow them that privilege. Wolf after wolf, Nate skillfully slashed through their flesh, tossing them around the clearing like he was an animal himself. He had cast down the bow and quiver of arrows to help him maneuver, dodging some wolves while hacking through another.
Nate slipped around agilely through teeth and fur like it was a game. But one wolf got the better of him and snuck up from behind to dig its fangs into Nate’s shoulder. He cried out in pain, but he didn’t slow down.
He grabbed the wolf by the scruff of its neck and hoisted it over his shoulder to slam into another wolf that was attacking him. The animals whined and scurried to their feet just as they witnessed Nate piercing the skull of one of their companions.
Scared and intimidated, the rest of the pack ran away with their tails between their legs. They left behind several of their dead members, including the leader. Kiara was trembling, her legs knocking together and mind completely blank. Once again, if it hadn’t been for Nate, she would have come to a nasty death.
She looked over to her hero, who was panting as well, chest heaving for air. He took out a rag, cleaned his blade and returned it to its holster before looking up to Kiara. He looked angry, tired, frustrated, but also very thankful that she wasn’t hurt. They stared at each other for a long moment before his eyes closed and he fell to his knees in the pool of wolf blood, holding his shoulder.
Without thinking, Kiara rushed to his side. His shoulder was bleeding profusely, dripping down his chest and arm.
“I’m fine, I’m fine. Just give me a minute to rest,” he replied, pushing against her arm to make her take a few steps back.
“No, you’re not fine. You’re bleeding all over the place. Where are the bandages?” she asked, looking around for the pack that he must have had.
“We don’t have anymore. I’m fine. What is your problem, anyway? Where were you?” Nate looked up to her with bloodshot, dreary eyes.
“Where was I? Where were you? You had been gone from the camp for four hours. I went to look for you! Where were you?” Kiara pulled him up to his feet by his uninjured arm and tried to pull him towards the river so they could at least clean his wound up.
“It’s none of your stinkin’ business where I was. You never leave the camp, do you hear me?” Nate pointed a harsh finger at Kiara, but she paid no mind to it until he grunted in pain from the effort it took to move his arm.
“Oh, hush! Come here, we need to get that cleaned up.”
“I’m fine… But, just in case, we need to get across the river,” Nate said, looking to the other side to the trees.
“Why?” Kiara asked, picking up the sack that was on the ground and the bow he had dropped.
“Because I said so. Stop asking me questions.”
Those were the last words Kiara heard him say for the longest time. She gathered their belongings, wrapped her blanket around Nate and helped him cross through a shallow section of the river that engulfed their legs up to their knees.
Nate grew weaker and weaker with
every step they took, stumbling over rocks and roots as Kiara had before. She never understood why he was so drained after a fight. It might have just been the excruciating pain he experienced, the loss of blood or the sheer fatigue of fighting.
She had no idea where they were going. She was just happy to see him and be with him again. If it weren’t for the fact that he was injured with both a new wound and recovering gash in his side, she would have hugged him tight.
After some time, they came to a valley. The moon had finally crested itself over the sky and was making its descent back towards the horizon, but it shed some light upon the valley, revealing a quaint little farmhouse with a real barn and stables for cows and horses.
Kiara and Nate stopped on the hill that towered over the darkened valley and looked down at the homestead. Kiara was ecstatic. She could see a small sliver of smoke rising from the chimney of the house. Smoke meant there was a fire, a fire meant food and warmth. And what’s more, it meant there were people in that house. She welcomed the chance to interact with others.
But, her joy soon faded as Nate went slack next to her, almost dragging her down to the ground with him. Kiara whimpered and grunted, lifting the two of them back up. Nate’s eyes were closed, but he still seemed conscious. He was breathing, that’s all that mattered, but she didn’t know for how much longer.
He must have been drifting in and out of consciousness the entire time she struggled with him down the hill, but they eventually made it to the front yard of the homestead.
Before Kiara had a chance to cry out for assistance, a man in plain peasant clothes emerged from the door with a lantern and sword in hand.
“Hey, you! Get out of here!” he shouted, waving his sword at Kiara threateningly. She stopped and crumbled under Nate’s weight as he went limp again, falling onto her knees in submission.
“No, please, sir! My friend is badly hurt. Do you have any bandages we could use? We won’t stay long. We just need some way to patch up his wounds,” Kiara hollered back, unable to see the man clearly in the dark. She brought Nate to his feet again and thankfully, he lifted up his head to the farmer.
The farmer dropped his sword and ran towards them with the lantern. As he drew closer, she could see the thick beard that shaded much of the man’s lower face and deep brown eyes. He wasn’t as muscularly built as Nate due to his old age, but he was lean and strong.
“Nathan? Is that you? Boy, what have you gotten yourself into now?”
Did this farmer know Nate? He called him by his full name as the bandit did. Kiara looked in surprise as the farmer took her place under Nate’s arm and escorted him inside the home.
“Ma! Owen! Get out here!” the farmer shouted. Kiara timidly followed behind them up to the front door as an older woman and a young boy appeared on the porch.
“My word, is that’s little Nathan? For heaven sakes Pa bring him in here! I’ll get the fire kindled up again. Owen, go wake Leanne and tell her to get my emergency kit,” the woman said, pushing the boy inside with her and disappearing into the living room, where she began lighting lanterns on the tables and kindling the fire to life.
The farmer, Nate and Kiara all entered into a cozy living room that housed a few little tables, a sofa and two comfortable-looking armchairs. The farmer settled Nate down into an armchair covered in red material.
Nate’s eyes were barely open and he looked as if he was sweating profusely. Kiara shyly stood by the open door, hugging herself as she watched them prepare Nate for bandages. They threw her blanket off to the side and ripped open Nate’s shirt at the shoulder that was bleeding after taking his vest off.
Kiara almost gagged at the amount of flesh and blood that was revealed. Kiara thought Nate had just been suffering from a few deep puncture wounds. It looked like half of the skin on his shoulder was torn off. She reasoned the wolf’s teeth must have pulled and shredded through Nate’s flesh when he threw the wolf over his shoulder. The farmer made a sign of disgust and urged them to hurry up with the bandages. Soon, a young lady about Kiara’s age returned with a wooden box and the boy trailing behind her.
“Come here, Leanne. You remember Nathan from when you were a kid?” the farmer asked the lady.
“Yes… Oh my word! Nathan, you’re a mess! What trouble have you gotten yourself into now?!” she exclaimed, placing the box down on a nearby table for the farmer. Kiara suddenly felt extremely jealous. She knew him when they were kids?
“That’s exactly my thought. You got that fire going Ma?” he asked, turning around to his wife crouched by the fire place.
“Yes, it’s starting to catch.”
“We may need some of your sewing needles and threads for stitches. Nathan’s got him one heck of a flesh wound here,” the farmer remarked. “Owen, go get a wash cloth and soak it in the basin and bring it to me.”
Immediately, the boy ran out of the living room and to the kitchen across from the fireplace. Kiara felt like a wall flower, just dumbly standing there, staring at the activity around her. “Is he going to be ok?” she piped in with worry laced in her voice, setting down the pack, bow and quiver she had been carrying by the front door.
Everyone’s attention turned to her like she had just arrived on the scene.
“Oh, you poor thing! You look as pale as a ghost. Come here by the fire, dear,” the older woman said, motioning for her to come closer. Kiara did so, but kept her eyes fixed on Nate’s limp, half conscious body.
“I’m Mrs. Forger. This is my husband, and my eldest daughter, Leanne. Owen is my eldest son. I have four more children, but they’re all fast asleep,” Mrs. Forger said, pointing to each corresponding person she had introduced. Mrs. Forger certainly looked like the motherly type. She had long silvery hair wrapped up into a bun behind her head, with warm blue eyes and fair skin. She had a little weight on her, but she looked just as strong as her husband. Owen still had his boyish qualities, but was slowly maturing into manhood, his eyes changing from baby blue to a deep green and brown hair to match his father’s. Leanne was a beauty. She had dark brown eyes - almost black when looking from a distance - and long blonde hair that flowed down to her waist. Everyone was in their night clothes.
“We saw you coming from up on the hill,” she continued, “but we didn’t know it was Nate. My husband wouldn’t have frightened you with that dreadful sword if we knew.”
“Hey, even if it was Nate, I would have had the sword in my hand!” Mr. Forger retorted as Owen came back into the room with a white porcelain water basin and rag for his father. Kiara sat down on the hearth and looked between all five of them in the room, still a little dazed.
“Oh, quit scaring the girl. You know you love Nate like a son. We’re old family friends… Oh, look at me. I’m being so rude. What’s your name, dear?” Mrs. Forger seemed so nice and friendly, but she wasn’t sure if she should trust any of these strangers. After all, they were close to Deceiver’s territory and he was out looking for her. Even if they were friends of Nate, she couldn’t take any chances.
“Uh… My name’s Kyra. Me and Nate were trying to find Mem’s Pass and…”
“Mem’s Pass? Boy, you sure got stupid over the years,” Mr. Forger interrupted as he wiped away the blood from Nate’s shoulder to further define the wound’s edges, “Mem’s Pass has been closed off for almost a whole decade. An avalanche closed it up. The only pass near here is Resh, but that’s a good distance east into Deceiver’s territory.”
Kiara was dismayed. So, all that work for almost nothing? They could have retraced the bandits’ steps and gotten into her father’s land much faster than this. Now, they had no choice but to go marching right through danger. Kiara sighed and looked to the wooden floor, disgruntled and a little angry with Nate for taking her all this way when it could have been avoided.
“You were still saying something?” Leanne asked, coming to sit with her and Mrs. Forger by the hearth of the fire - which was now blazing behind them.
“Oh, yeah. Well, I woke up at cam
p and Nate was missing, so I went out to find him. But, instead, some wolves found me and cornered me at this huge wall of rocks. Nate came and saved me just in time, but a wolf bit into his shoulder. We waded across the river to get here, but Nate was passing out on me most of the way. He told me to take him here. I can see why now.”
“Oh yes, we’re old friends of his father. I’m surprised he remembered we were here. We haven’t seen him in years,” Mrs. Forger said rather cheerfully.
“Ma, can you go get those needles and threads so we can sew this boy back together?” Mr. Forger requested as he rinsed off the bloody rag. Mrs. Forger nodded and walked down a dark hallway that led deeper into the house, probably towards some bedrooms or storerooms. “You girls may want to go up to bed. We have one guest room, Miss Kyra. I suggest you take it.”
“But, wouldn’t Nate need it more?” Kiara questioned, her eyes turned back to her poor guide.
“No, he needs to stay sitting up. Besides, the guest room is upstairs and I doubt he would be able to get half way up without falling down.”
Kiara nodded and watched as Nate’s head turned a bit towards her, his eyes slowly opening up. Such an act made Kiara want to soar through the roof. She smiled brightly and watched him eagerly to see if he would say anything. Of course, he didn’t.
Nate gave her a weak smirk, then tried to sit up a bit, finding some strength to move.
“Ah, ah! No! You stay down. We’re going to have to stitch this sucker up before you get to moving,” Mr. Forger ordered, putting his hand on Nate’s good shoulder and forcing him to sit back. Nate didn’t protest.
“But, is he going to be ok?” Kiara asked, genuinely concerned for Nate’s well being. She didn’t want to lose him again.
“Oh, yeah. He’ll be fine. We just need to close the wound, bandage it up and let him sleep for a while. If I know Nate as well as I do, he’ll be right as rain by the morning. Owen, you better get your sleep, too. You’ve got chores in a few hours. Go on!” Mr. Forger shooed away his son, who was indignant to the idea of missing the action.
The Princess and Her Rogue Page 18
