A Twist of Tales (On Hold)

9. James

JAMES

I watched as the guards, one by one, fell to the ground unconscious. I was amazed at how easy he made it look , as if my men weren't well trained guards. As I watched the whole scenario hidden in the undergrowth, I slowly started to realize why no one was able to catch this man.

Every move, every single shot seemed to be planned, even that howl wasn't a coincidence.

All five guards were now lying on the ground; I looked around for the Hooded Archer. A movement on the other side of the road caught my attention. A tall figure appeared, his face covered by a hood.

I watched as he slowly walked over to the men. But to my surprise, he didn't hurt them, instead he tied them to their horses before turning around and rushing back into the undergrowth.

He didn't even take a look inside the carriage as if he knew that it was empty. But how could he have possibly known that?

I waited for a moment and was about to come out of my hiding when I spotted a wolf crossing the path and rushing off into the direction the man had disappeared. So the howl really wasn't a coincidence, I thought to myself.

I looked around to see if there were more surprises, but couldn't find anything that looked suspicious. I stood up and crossed the road, following the man's trace.

The sound of running water reached my ears before my eyes spotted the large lake. I stopped in my tracks and hid behind a tree all while searching for the man. Finally, I spotted him kneeling down at the lake.

He seemed to be talking to the wolf, but I was too far away to hear what he said. The man stood up and looked around, the hood still covering his face. After what seemed like an eternity, I thought for sure that he had seen me, but to my surprise, he turned around and started to walk away, heading deeper into the forest.

I followed him at a safe distance, careful not to make any noises. At a clearing he and the wolf parted ways. I waited for him to disappear behind the trees before crossing the clearing and taking up the chase.

Not paying much attention to my surroundings because I was too focused on not losing his track, I fastened my pace. First mistake.

Looking around, searching for any sign of him, I stepped on a branch, breaking it into half. Second mistake.

I halted in my steps, startled by the sound and looked around. The Hooded Archer must have heard it for sure. If I hadn't lost him before I sure had now.

Unsure of what to do next I started to run into the direction I assumed he had gone, not wanting to give up yet. I thought for sure that I would find him, when all of a sudden I felt a power rushing through my body.

It was a strange feeling like I had just crossed an invisible barrier. I looked over my shoulder to see if there was anything that pointed to something, like a wall, maybe. But all I could see were trees and more trees.

I shook off the strange feeling and fastened my pace.

Finally, I spotted a glimpse of a figure rushing through the undergrowth. He seemed to know that I had followed him as he was now running. Fortunately for me, his foot got caught somewhere which led to him falling to the ground.

This was my chance.

The man tried to stand up, but failed. I took out my bow and aimed an arrow at the man before moving closer. He finally managed to stand up and that's when I decided to stop him.

"Move and I shoot."

The man stopped in his tracks, unsure what to do, his hands moving to his pocket.