A Twist of Tales (On Hold)

5. Rowan

ROWAN

I never, not in a million years, should have done it in the first place. As soon as my eyes landed on them, I could feel it. I could feel that my next actions would change my life forever. I could feel that things would never be the same again. I could feel an inner voice telling me to halt. Telling me to turn around and let them pass.

The more I stared at them the louder the voice inside of me grew. But it wasn't the only one. There was another voice inside of me, screaming at me to not to back off now. Somewhere between their shouts my hands started to work on their own. I was unaware of my right hand reaching out to put an arrow on the string. I didn't remember drawing the bow, nor did I remember letting go of the arrow between my fingers.

"What was that?" shouted one of the men.

"What are you talking about?" another one asked.

"I could have sworn that I saw something fly across the air."

"That was probalby just a bird," another guard shouted followed by a wave of laughter.

I didn't remember if it were the shouts from the men or the sudden gust of wind that brought me back to reality. Whatever it was, I was now able to focus on my target in front of me. I quickly pulled out another arrow and shot it through the air.

"There it was again!" the man shouted.

"I saw it to! It looked like an arrow."

The men grew quiet as the one who looked like their leader motioned for three guards to find out was going on while another guard walked to the carriage and talked to the person insead, probably telling them what was going on.

As the three guards descended from their horses and slowly walked into my direction, I quickly climbed furhter down. From the position I was in now I could have easily jumped to the ground but that wasn't my plan. Instead I waited for them to come nearer while keeping an eye on the other guards who were still by the carriage. Five knights were standing in front of its entrance, protecting whatever was inside of it. It was eight against one, well, two actually.

I glanced down to the ground where a rope was attached to a tree. I pulled out an arrow and quickly attached the other end of the rope to it. Then I waited for the guards to come nearer. When they were only a few away from, I threw a branch to the ground.

The men halted and looked around. One of them pointed in the dircetion the sound had come from, while the other two nodded with their heads. And now the real action began. A small smile flashed across my face as I let out a sharp whistle. The knights looked at my directions ready to fight whatever hid in the trees. Suddenly, a deep howl shattered through the air, making them jump up fearfully.

"What was that?" I could hear one of them ask.

"Do you think it is a werewolf?"

Disdainfully I let out a snort. Werewolf didn't live in these parts of the woods. It was far too close to the kingdoms. They usually stayed close to the villages in the south. Clearly, they weren't the smartest knights, it could have only been a werewolf if it was a full moon, but it wasn't.

Brushing away the distracting thoughts I focused on the men, the arrow in my hand aching to be released. Suddenly a loud growl pierced through the air as Leila appeared through the undergrowth, baring her teeth at the guards as she slowly walked closer. If I didn't know her, even I would have run away by now.

I focused on the guards again, who slowly backed away as Leila walked closer to them with no intention of stoping. Taking a deep breath I waited for the right moment before letting go of the arrow. With the speed not even an eagle could match it sliced through the air and hit the tree right where I wanted it to. The men, not realizing that there was a trap behind them, fell backwards to the ground. They tried to stand up but they were too slow.