Fate or chance? (Sheltea)

[Jessoon]

(ooc. Shelby + Tea = Sheltea?)

Rhys was not a bad man. He was a good man who ran over women with his horse.

She seemed to come out of nowhere. One moment, he was stewing in his own misery and the next, his typically mild-mannered mare was rearing, nostrils flared in panic. It took Rhys too long to notice the feminine frame curled up in the middle of the road. In a state of near-shock, he dismounted. Warily eyeing the body (was she trampled? Dead? He knew he had been daydreaming but not half so deeply as to kill someone!), Rhys tied The Lady to a nearby fence post where she pranced nervously, nostrils flared. He walked nearer to his victim cautiously; he couldn't tell if she was still breathing. "Perfect," he mumbled under his breath as he finally reached the body. "Just lovely, truly." His frustration and worry ebbed, however, when he saw the gentle swell and fall of her torso.

She didn't seem bloody, but Rhys' brow furrowed as he took in her appearance. Her clothing was… strange. He'd never seen anything quite like it. Apprehensively, he reached out and touched the girl's shoulder. Her hair covered her face, her back to him, so he couldn't tell if she would need to see a healer or clergy but he wasn't comfortable with touching her much further. Rhys bit down on his lip, chewing on it as he thought, rocking back on his heels with his arms folded over his knees. He should just go on his way but leaving her like this just wouldn't be right, even if he was starting to suspect she was some odd sort of witch. She would have to be, to just appear somewhere where there wasn't anybody before. He picked absentmindedly at his short auburn hair as he thought. "Why today, of all days?" he wondered aloud, looking to the sky as if the gods would part the clouds with a heavenly chorus to answer him.

Rhys heaved a sigh, the chains in his mail clinking lightly in the relative silence. They were far and away from any nearby towns, forest flanked one side of the dilapidated road, a massive field of wheat the other. He couldn't just leave the girl. It could be days before another rider took the path. Truly, then, would he be unworthy of the paladin's title; he didn't need the High Priest Westerfor to tell him that. The memory made him cringe mentally, distracting Rhys momentarily from his current predicament. After years spent as a ward of the church, then a scribe to the High Priest himself, and then years of laborious, grueling training under the Knight-Commander… Unworthy? Impure of heart? Rhys was disgusted. It was hogwash. He was plenty ready to accept the responsibilities that came with being a paladin; it was the only dream he'd ever had. Gray eyes once more laid upon the still girl before him, Rhys' mind was made up. Leaving her in the middle of the road, unholy witch or no, would be unchivalrous.

His will renewed, he gripped her shoulder firmly and shook it once, twice. "Wake up," he insisted, his voice insistent. "Are you harmed?" He thought he saw her stir, but was diverted from his task by the sound of hoof beats approaching, and quickly by the sound. Rhys frequented this path when traveling between Norbridge and the Holy Church of Eous, preferring its hush and solitude compared to the clamor of the Queen's road, and never once had he met another traveler. He stood, hand on the hilt of his axe, and watched the dust rising as a group—of one mounted, a few on foot, and a cart, if he could trust his eyes—came into sight. The apparent leader, a curly-haired woman on horseback, spotted him; Rhys met her gaze warily as the band slowed. They appeared to be brigands.

"'Allo, fellow," greeted the stranger, her words thick and slurred. She grinned at him, revealing a missing tooth. Rhys nodded his greeting. "Big and silent, eh? Not the friendly type?" The woman laughed before continuing. "Mind movin' your woman there out the road? If you beat her silly, well, that's no business of ours, but we sure would like to get—well, what's that now?" The rogue's eyes seemed to spark with interest as they drew down to Rhys' unconscious casualty. He followed her gaze and it was then that Rhys noticed something glittering in the girl's clutched hand.

"Nothing," he said quickly, moving to block her from the greedy stare. His protest was unconvincing at best.

The woman smirked, motioning to one of her companions who moved towards Rhys and the girl. "Seems to me you owe us for the inconvenience," she stated as she studied her nails nonchalantly. "A gift, for delaying us."

"We owe you nothing. Move along, you cads." Rhys unhooked his axe, realizing even as he did so that he was sorely outnumbered. The other scoundrels mimicked his movement and drew their nicked, dull swords and advanced. Beside him, the girl seemed to stir as one of the scoundrels tried to pry the glittering thing from her fingers.​

 

[Shelby]

((Love it!))

Where... Was she? Where had she gone, why did things not seem the same, why did things sound so differently now, so quiet in her ears. Why was there a pounding sensation going on in her head, as if she had knocked it against something, and pretty hard at that. But... She hadn't remembered falling, she hadn't remembering hitting against anything. Actually, the last thing she had remember was walking over to one of the little make shift 'booths' that were stationed around the wide open spaces of the Medieval faire, people walking around, talking among themselves, having a joyous time. Men showing off their make shift chain and 'steel' armor, women showing off the dresses that had been made for them, them knowing good and well that women did not have the some of the material they used back then as they did now. Nevertheless, she had to admit that a few of the dresses she had seen were quite beautiful, patterns woven into the silk and other material as if they were fit for a princess, maybe queen at best.

Music had played within her ears, a stark contrast to what she, Lee, was hearing now, or what she thought she was hearing. Perhaps it was just her imagination taking a hold of her mind once again, throwing her into the depths of her own mind as she nearly ignored everything around her.

The place had been crowded with people and animals, horses stomping around here and there, their smell all but sinking into everyone's clothing. She didn't become upset about it though; no, on the contrary, Lee loved it! To feel as if she was back in that time, somewhat, to see so many new things... That was why she had come to the faire, to see how other people depicted the era of that time, to see what everyone thought. To be honest, she hadn't expected this many people to come, but surprises were some of the best things in life, no? Sometimes anyway.

But! Back to what she last remembered. A women, an old woman rather, pulling her finger back, drawing in the woman as she began to speak, showing Lee all the 'treasures' she held, saying that these items were actually from back in the day, that they were old and unique. Of course she hadn't believed the old lady, but nevertheless she had gone along with it. But when the elder pulled out a necklace, the gold shimmering under the sunlight... Lee's eyes had widened at the sight. The craft that had been dealt with the necklace, the red ruby that sat in the middle of the pendent. It was beautiful, amazing! She had to have it.

And so she bought it, not for a hefty price in the least bit either. The elder saying that, just for her, she would lower the price, saying that she could see the wonder filled within her eyes, something different... Lee hadn't protested against it, and she even wanted to put the necklace around her neck, to show off a bit, to show the beauty that she now had. However, she soon felt weak, weaker than she had ever felt in her life. What was happening? And then, everything went black, and now she found herself in the position that she was in now.

Dull noises were now beginning to resound in her head, words being spouted from the mouth's of others, but they didn't sound right. Their language, it sounded much different, their accents to different. She felt shakes to her previously, as if someone had been trying to wake her up, small groans of protest escaping her lips as she tried to open her eyes. She couldn't. But then something became more persistent, more determined, and when she felt something tugging at her hand, her eyes slowly opened. "Hmm..." Groggily her eyes continued to open, only for her vision to come face with a man trying to snatch the necklace from her hands. She still hadn't been all there yet, but when a slight pain started to sting from her fingers, the chain rubbing against the fingers of her skin harshly as the man tugged, she frowned. "H-hey!"

Though she still felt weak, she tugged back on the necklace but that only seemed to spur the scoundrel on. "K-Knock it off!" She picked herself up before slightly turning her body and kicking her leg out, her leg coming into contact with the man's lower leg, causing him to grunt before dropping his hold of the necklace. "Get your own," she said, pulling the necklace to her chest. It was only then that she took sight of the rest of the situation; a man with an ax standing much too close to her, as well as a band of other people surrounding them, looking angry, though more so at her, or rather the necklace, than anything. What was going on?

 

[Jessoon]

Time seemed to slow to a halt as Rhys watched the tiny girl come to and attack the man trying to take her belongings. Paying no mind to the men that were mere feet from him, Rhys and the entire ensemble looked to the girl and the brigand she kicked. Despite the chaos, Rhys couldn't help but notice how foreign the girl's words sounded. Clutching his leg, the man's mouth was nonetheless agape, eyes affixed to the jewelry she clutched to herself. He looked to the woman, surveying the scene without bothering to hide her amusement, and said, "Marilyn, I-I think it's the one with the bounty; looks just like it." Marilyn, her face taking on a sudden rapt eagerness, dismounted from her horse, pulling a dagger from the sash at her hip.

"Probably a fake," she muttered, though her intensity seemed to belie her words. "Hand it over, little one." Marilyn stood just a breath away from Rhys. When he realized, he went to raise his axe, only to feel the tip of a sword pressed against his throat. The other men had approached him as he watched the scene. Disgruntled, he threw his axe to the ground. Being bettered by the likes of them stung his pride in a bad way; it was his own fault, really. Inattentiveness had cost him a match or two against his fellow recruits at the Church. He should have learned his lesson then.

Turning his head slightly from his attacker, Rhys spoke to the girl. "Best hand it over. Outnumbered." She looked so bewildered. Between her clothes and her accent, Rhys thought perhaps she was a foreigner. Perhaps from across the sea? Bad luck, to have such a welcoming committee. As Marilyn bent down and held out her free hand, wiggling her fingers for the trinket, her lackeys tied Rhys' arms up behind his back. One of the men took his axe and spit on it, wiping it clean with his sleeve. Rhys fumed. "Bloody Mother of Eous, good for nothing rapscallions," he mumbled darkly under his breath. ​

 

[Shelby]

Who were these people and why were they so fixated on the necklace? Sure, it was beautiful, that had been the whole reason as to why she had gotten it, but to threaten and attack her, as if she was nothing but a mere peasant that could be pushed around and forced to do anything they asked... What was their problem? She looked all of the people up and down, taking in their appearance as well as their clothes, a sense of wonderment filling within her body as she took a look. They all looked so genuine, as if they had actually just come back from the medieval era, as if they had really been from that time. But that couldn't be right; she was at the faire! But, now that she looked around, stealing herself a glance at the landscape, everything looked different. Wheat on one side, trees on the other, this wasn't the wide opened space she had been at previously. But how...?

Gasping as the dagger was pulled from the woman's hip, Lee scooted back a little, only to be stopped by another one of the men in the band of people, her back bumping into his legs. She tilted her head to look up, noting that he didn't seem to happy, or rather he seemed too happy. That menacing look crossing her features, that look full of greed, and all pointed at the necklace. "But-" She clutched the piece of jewelry tighter against her chest, her head turning to look at the man who had his hands tied behind his back, his ax on the ground away from him. She should probably listen to him; there was no way she could fight against these people, not by herself, not being this outnumbered.

Stretching her hand out, she dangled the little chain over the woman's waiting hand before dropping it, watching as it fell. "I don't understand why you need it so much," she spoke, a bit of a quiver in her voice. "It didn't even cost that much; I'm sure that old woman has more of them, or better things for you to have." But who was she to argue? Maybe that was the last of it's kind, perhaps this woman just really wanted it.

 

[Jessoon]

Brushing off the girl with a thoughtful "mhm," Marilyn righted herself and held the ruby necklace up to better inspect it. "Looks real," she said to no one in particular, "could be real." She grinned down at Lee. "You might've just made me rich, little one." She pocketed the shining amulet and turned back to her horse, waving a hand in the air as she ordered, "Bring the foreigner and the man along; might be worth a ransom. Let's head home, boys. Oh." She paused for a second, lost in thought. "Gus, you head on to Norbridge, see if you can't get ahold of that Alec or Erin or whatever. The queen's steward. Take the knight's horse."

One of the men approached The Lady, who nickered nervously. Rhys couldn't help himself, anger bubbled hotly in his gut. "You can't take my horse, you soulless heathen!"

Marilyn only laughed at him. "He took your axe, your hands are bound, you're outnumbered... So, what makes you think I can't take your horse?" And so Rhys watched as some scoundrel named Gus rode his Lady off into the distance.

As the remaining two men ushered Rhys and the strange girl into the cart and secured them therein, he looked down at her sadly. "She took my horse."​

 

[Shelby]

"Rich?" There was no way she could get rich off of that necklace, or, if the woman did, Lee really had gotten a deal from that old lady. But if that was the case, why had there been such a steal on the item, and why had she been the one to get it? Is that why she had kept the necklace hidden, only showing it to her after showing off the rest of her treasures, because there really was something about that? No way, that couldn't be.

But pushing that thought aside, figuring that with the necklace gone she could just leave this area and head back home, or at least head back to the fairgrounds and get back to civilization and back to the faire. She needed to get out of here, before she ended up dead over something else that she had, but at the mention of taking herself and the man for ransom, she tried to protest. Quickly Lee stood from the ground, her head dizzying in that same instance, causing her to rest her hand against her forehead, a little groan coming from her again. Bad idea; she shouldn't have done that. If anything, that seemed to make the men's job easier, the ones who were still left, as the pushed her over, rather harshly, towards the little cart that the other prisoner, the man who had the ax before, was sitting in. Ransom? Why would they take her in for that, who did that now a days anyway?

They bound her wrist together behind her back, tieing her to the cart, more than likely to make sure that she didn't escape. Nevertheless, she tried to struggle against her bindings, only giving up when she heard the man beside her speak. Turning to look at him, she couldn't help but catch onto that sorrow filled look, a sense of guilt beginning to come to her. "I'm sorry. But... Maybe you'll get her back?" She shrugged, trying to sound a little hopeful, but she doubted if it made the situation any better. The cart was jolted to a start as it started moving, causing her to rock forward. "Where are they taking us? Do you know?"

 

[Jessoon]

Rhys sat sullenly. He wasn't a stranger to bad luck, but today was kicking him while he was down. He looked around as the band of brigands continued forth, not half surprised to see various crates of (likely stolen) goods, bottles of what appeared to be wine (some of which rolled around piteously empty), and a loose gold coin or two. It was possible these particular heathens were part of the thieves' guild. Just the thought filled him with worry; once entangled in their affairs, it was hard to get free. The cart had a loose wheel, and it made every bump and rock seem a mountain; it shook him to and fro. He tried his best to keep himself from bumping into the girl, but as he was rather large and his hands bound, he didn't have much control over the situation.

They were still a fair distance from the nearest town. Going alone on The Lady, the trip only took Rhys a couple hours but belabored by the rickety cart in which they rode, he surmised it could take the group a while longer than that. He sighed, resigned to his fate. Though he wondered if the High Priest would pay ransom to get Rhys out of this mess. He was, after all, "still unworthy."

Rhys studied his unwilling companion, taking in her features. She seemed... different than the people he knew, somehow. Perhaps it was the cut of her hair, or the strange clothes, or even his opinion being swayed by the way she spoke, but Rhys knew, at the very least, that she wasn't from Nethervale. Her attempts to cheer him were appreciated, but he didn't hold much hope for The Lady's return. "She's a fine horse," he said wistfully by way of reply.

"Where are they taking us? Do you know?" she asked him. Rhys nodded, maneuvering his shoulders to try to relieve the tension in them from having his hands bound. He was struck again by the exoticism of her speech.

"Likely to Norbridge." He didn't bother to hush his voice as he added, "Likely to pawn off their stolen goods and meet up with others of their kind to partake in... in... debauchery and sin." His brow furrowed, lips pressed tightly together. Recalling the event that had led to his imprisonment and horselessness, he was taken by a tangent. "Say, are you a mage?"​

 

[Shelby]

The rigidity cart did nothing to make her comfortable in the least bit, and her bindings only made the situation worse on her. Lee still tried to free her hands, to see if she could free herself and escape, maybe try to help the man who had also been caught up in the affair, but if it was her that was just able to get away she would be happy. Definitely feel guilty about leaving the man later on, but she needed answers, and she needed the now. Where was she, who were these people, and why did they speak the way they do? Why had that necklace been important? But her wrist were beginning to sting, Lee being more than positive that they were red by now, so she stopped. There was no way she was going to be able to free herself.

As a particular bump passed under them, her body shook and bumped into the man besides her, her arms hitting against the chain mail that adorned his body. It clinked together, the noise ringing in her ears softly, but quickly she sat herself up, muttering a small apology of "sorry" to the man. "They could at least be a little more careful with this..." She turned her head to the side, sighing. How had she gotten herself into this situation? Sure, it definitely brought on a level of excitement to her, to think that she was being taken somewhere that she had no knowledge of, but it was also scary. This all couldn't he an act; them being threatened, them being shoved onto this cart while they traveled to some place to be used for ransom... Maybe these were all just really good actors?

"Norbridge?" She turned her attention back to the man, her head tilted as she furrowed her brows, confused. She had never heard of that place before, ever, nor even heard of anything like it. But she continued to listen to the rest of what he was saying, something about sin and debauchery which frightened her a bit. This could not be real... "Oh, come on! That can't be true; there is no 'Norbridge' anyway," she spoke, nearly blowing all of this off as if it was nothing. She scoffed a bit, but nevertheless grew a little smile on her face. "This is all just an act right? They're just doing this to scare us..."

His last statement threw her through a loop. A mage? "No," she spoke shaking her head. "Mages don't exist, or at least they don't now if they ever have, which I have my doubts about. But some people believe that."

 

[Jessoon]

The field of wheat gave way to a trees that grew ever thicker; the path would wind through the forest for a ways, and eventually the rustic path would lead to a hill at the cusp of which they would be able to see the massive bridge that allowed passage across the Stonefair Lake and the expanse of the castle town Norbridge. Their trip wasn't taking nearly as long as Rhys had imagined it would; Marilyn didn't seem to care that she was pushing her horse and cart a little harder than need be. He looked towards her, starting slightly. She wasn't even awake. One of her men led her horse while she slept, chin tucked into her cowl. The other man was nowhere to be seen. Sent out to scout ahead, maybe? Rhys couldn't be sure.

"Norbridge?" Rhys again turned to the girl before him. She went on about there being no such place as a Norbridge, and something about an act. Rhys was befuddled, unsure of how to respond to her statements. He could understand if she was from somewhere other than Nethervale, but to have never even heard of the nation's capital? Unlikely, especially considering the fuss the Queen was making lately. But he supposed he was possible that she was uneducated or from some small backwoods town that stayed out of political affairs. Or maybe a farm girl? His eyes dropped once more to look over her attire. Well, maybe not a farm girl.

"It's definitely not 'an act.' Oh, of course they're trying to scare us," Rhys conceded, "but don't worry. I doubt they'll kill us as long as they think they could make a coin or two off us. Hostages aren't worth much dead."

"Norbridge is the capital of Nethervale," he continued on to explain patiently after a moment or two, realizing he'd never addressed her dismissal of his home. "The castle town, named for the bridge that connects this forest," he jerked his head back to indicate the trees around them, "to the rest of the nation. It's massive, really. A work of art built years ago before the Queen started her war against the Others. It's likely mages and elves were responsible for the majority of the labor, though that's just theory. The scribes and historians all claim that the citizens of Norbridge built the entire thing, but I think it's unlikely." Rhys paused to allow everything he said to sink in. Then quickly added, by way of explanation, "Most of the magical lines in Norbridge died out years ago and, " he chuckled, "no one will tell me that bridge was built without magic."

Rhys raised a brow. "I've met one or two; taken them to the Holy Church for the High Priest to cure. Most of them are in hiding or living in Stonefair Coast, but they exist as surely as you and me." He shrugged. "It was just odd, is all. You, in the middle of the road all a sudden." A thought popped into his head. "I won't take you in if you are a mage," he said hurriedly. "Not quite in any position to do so."​

 

[Shelby]

As they started to get closer to what what Lee thought, or considered, civilization, she couldn't help but let her eyes widen with a sense of excitement as she took a look at the bridge that was beginning to come into view. She blinked, almost believing that if she closed her eyes for a second this would all be gone, the landscape that she was seeing, the beginning of a what she thought was a town just beyond the bridge, before the mountains that stood in the distance. She definitely wasn't in the fairgrounds any longer, that much even Lee could admit to herself, but how could she have gotten here? To this place that seemed so fake, yet it was so real. It didn't seem right, none of this did.

But as the man started speaking she became nearly transfixed by his words, to confused by what he was saying, yet transfixed all at the same time. The hooves of the horses changed paced, the sounds much different then they sounded when they clattered among the dirt and grass; now on the cobblestone of the bridge, their hooves being more prominent. She leaned over, wondering if this bridge really had been built by magic, wondering if he was telling the truth about any of this. If he was... It was kind of cool.

She leaned herself back into the cart again, catching the glint of the man who controlled the horses, and with not wanting to anger them any longer she stayed put. "It's just... Weird to think that something could be built from magic, even if it was a little, though that still is highly unbelievable to me." She just couldn't completely get a grasp on what he said, wanting to continue to go with what she believed in, that magic wasn't real. That it was just a figment of people's imagination. "I've never heard of that before; it can't be a real thing." She shook her head, a small smile gracing her lips as the man went back to the topic of the mage.

Holy Church? High priest? Why did he speak in such terms. "I can assure you that I am no mage, so no worries there. I just... Really don't know how I got here, why I ended up there." She frowned at the thought, turning to look away.

 

[Jessoon]

Rhys cocked his head to the side, bemused. "You don't know how you got here?" he asked, his voice jarring as the cart shook once more. "Did you lose your memory?" He was prying, he knew, but his curiosity had been piqued by this strange girl with her strange voice. "Maybe you came from across the sea?" All the while he was talking, with every bump having loosed his somewhat poorly tied restraints, Rhys was maneuvering his hands against the ropes. They were close to being slack enough for him to pull his hands free. His gray eyes darted nervously towards his captors, but the rogues ahead paid them no mind, seeming to soundly ignore their chatter. Rhys couldn't suppress a small scoff as he turned back in his seat; though it worked in his favor, he couldn't help but judge the lushes.

A wheel caught on a something in the road. When Marilyn's lead tried to force it free, the cart tipped, spilling its contents all over as it swayed and shuddered from side to side. It was the last tug Rhys needed to squirm his hands free. A sharp bark of laughter escaped him and moving as quickly as he could, he grabbed one of the empty wine bottles and smashed it, pleased with the result of a sharp utensil once more in his grasp and less pleased at the freshly gained attention of an awakened Marilyn and her friend. Scrambling, Rhys cut the girl's hands free as well, and urged her, "Go, the forest, run!" He jumped out of the cart, face-to-face with Marilyn and her dagger. She lunged at him, but her aim was off and her weapon couldn't find purchase against his chain mail. Brandishing his jagged bottle, forcing Marilyn to give him space, he turned to run.

It was then he heard a metal twang and felt a sharp pain in his side. Rhys looked down, shock registering on his face as he took in the half arrow protruding from his side, perfectly planted in the gaps of his mail. Blood was beginning to seep from the wound. He glared at the bowman, but the man reached from another arrow and Rhys ran as fast and hard as he could for the cover of woods, hoping his companion had made it through. Even when his side was burning hot agony and branches whipped his face raw, Rhys kept running. It was a few moments before he felt safe to slow to a stop. He looked around him, but didn't see or hear any indication of the rogues. Opening his mouth to call out for the girl, he realized he had never asked her name. Trying to call out (against his better judgment, but he felt some sort of responsible for the foreigner's well-being), "Girl! Hello? Where are you?", it wasn't long before Rhys was out of breath and gasping. His side was still bleeding; he slumped to the ground, back to a tree.​

 

[Shelby]

"I don't... Think so," Lee spoke, hesitantly as she furrowed her brows, pondering on the thought of whether or not she actually had lost her memory in the past events. No, she doubted it that happened, how could it have? If anything, if she had lost her memory, that still didn't answer the question of how she came to this place, unless someone really had just dropped her off and left her. But why would someone do that? It wouldn't make any sense for someone to do that, in her mind anyway, so she doubted that would happen. She just... Passed out, or so she thought, and woke up here, not at the fairgrounds. "I didn't come from overseas either; I've never even been on a boat in my life. Besides, I'm pretty sure I'd remember that anyway."

Being jostled around a bit by the uneven terrain, Lee's frown continued to deepen as she became more uncomfortable with the situation. This wasn't good, she was finally beginning to realize, and if what the man said was true, if these bandits were going to hold them for ransom, then she figured that they were in a lot more trouble then she had originally thought. This wasn't an act... Gasping, her body was pushed into the side of the cart as it tipped over, her shoulder jabbing into the ground, the feeling making her wince. That hurt a little... The smashing of glass rang in her ears, causing her to lean up and look but before she could get a good look at the scene the man had already cut the bindings from her wrist and was ushering her to leave.

She thought about staying, wondering if he needed help, if she could do anything, but after seeing the weapons drawn she decided that it would be best to listen to him. He seemed to know what to do, didn't seem to need her help. Besides, she would probably cause more trouble than anything, so with that thought in mind she quickly stood and took off as fast as her legs would carry her.

Her breath came out in heavy pants as she made her way into the forest, one of her hands holding onto the bottom of her dress so that she wouldn't trip over it, the other waving about her face to knock away stray branches (though most were above her head). When she finally stopped she turned to look around, completely lost, and a little scared. Trees were the only things she could see, the sounds of the forest the only things she could hear... That was until she heard a shout, something about a girl and where was she. Was that him, the man from the cart? Quickly she ran again to find the voice, navigating her way towards where she thought the voice was coming from. And she had been right, but the sight of the man sitting under a tree made her stop.

She could see the arrow sticking from his side, the little pool of blood seeping from him; this wasn't good, he didn't look good. "Oh God!" She bent down next to him, her knees on the ground as she looked from his side to his face, a sense of worry coming over her. "You're hurt, bad. You need help." But what could be done, what could she do? She didn't really know. "Uh... I think we might need to get you somewhere. Like a doctor, or a hospital."