Tracking William

Day 3

      It had been a day of travelling and sleeping in the forest for Adalina. She was following the information that the barmaid gave her about where to find William, travelling off road and making sure that her horse ;Phillip; was well rested and healthy. She came across a big sunny clearing in the forest that had a couple of big rocks and an apple tree across from the rocks, a gravel path separating the two rocks and the tree. Suddenly she heard another person walking on the gravel path that she assumed led to a town. She signaled Phillip to run off but not too far, as she climbed up in the apple tree. She saw a guy with dark brown hair, brown boots, a white shirt with a vest, and black pants. Instantly she knew that it was William based upon the description the King gave her. Slowly without making a sound she pulled out her bow and arrows to take a shot. She took a deep breath and shot the arrow, but missed by an inch. He quickly ran behind one of the rocks so that she couldn't see him. Adalina made her way down the tree and walked toward him, reloading her bow just in case he tried to fight back. He looked around the rock and saw her, she shot the arrow but it missed, hitting the tree behind him. He quickly ran up to her with a dagger that he pulled out of his boot. She swiftly dodged his attack and countered it with a punch to the stomach, as he stumbled back. Still with the dagger in his hand he charged at her, she grabbed his arm wrenching it out of the way before shoving him off to the side. Before he fell she grabbed the dagger out of his hand. He fell to the ground but almost as he did he got up again. She flipped the dagger in her hand, catching it right before he charged at her. As he reached her, she tried to stab him but he dodged it before the blade hit him. He grabbed her forearm as she tried to hit him, so she tossed the blade into her free hand. He grabbed her other arm before she could stab him, thinking quickly she tilted the blade in her hand so that it cut into his wrist. He inhaled sharply then kneed her in the stomach, and kicked her left leg making her fall to the ground. He then kicked her in the ribs as he let go of her arms. Slowly she regained her breath as he ran away. Quickly she grabbed the dagger which was only a few inches away from her, and threw it at his calf making him fall to the ground in pain right before he rounded the corner. She got up and ran towards him as he tried to get the dagger out of his leg. Adalina reached him as he flipped over facing her. As he got the dagger out of his calf he thrusted it at her, she dodged it and kicked him in the head knocking him out. His body went limp and he dropped the dagger. After William was unconscious, Adalina sighed and winced at the pain in her ribs. Putting the blade in her boot, she leant down and grabbed William by the ankles. She started dragging him towards the clearing by the apple tree, flicking her dark hair out of her face. Once she reached the clearing she dropped his legs, leaving him unconscious on the grass. "Phillip," she yelled, looking for her horse. Out of the trees the brown horse came. "There you are." She said as the horse came up to her, and she sat down on a nearby log. She pulled the dagger out of her boot to examine it. It was a small silver blade, its hilt black with a silver ring around it. She studied the dagger for a while until she decided that William was going to wake up pretty soon, so she grabbed some rope from Phillip's satchel and tied him up to the apple tree. While tying him up she noticed something shining in his pocket. Curious, she carefully plucked the thing from his pocket. It was a compass that was starting to lose its shine. She flipped it over and saw that something was inscribed on it. "May you find your family among thieves -Aleric." She looked down at William and questioned who Aleric was. Soon she became distracted by her hunger, so she picked an apple from the apple tree, and sat back down on the log.

Eventually William woke up, with a grunt. He noticed that he was tied up, and tried to wiggle out of the ropes.

 "That won't work, you know." She said taking another bite out of the apple. He looked at her and sighed annoyed. 

"What do you want?" he said, stopping to try to escape. 

"I don't want anything, but King Gregory wants you to pay your due." She said, as she tossed the apple to the ground behind her for Phillip to eat.

He leaned his head against the tree as he sighed then chuckled. "You don't understand, I did nothing that would need me to go see him. Nor him hire somebody to capture and bring me to him." 

 She fiddled with the compass as she walked towards the tree to get another apple. "Well sure seems like you did because he wouldn't have hired me to find you if you didn't do anything." As she twisted the compass in her hands he noticed it. 

"W-hey what are you doing with that!?" He yelled, trying to get out of his bindings. 

"I'm telling you, you can't get out of those." She said, picking another apple from the tree. "Anyways, who's Aleric?" She asked, examining the apple before deciding to bite it. 

"Why would I tell you that?" He asked, still trying to get out of the ropes. 

"Because there's nothing else to talk about, and we are going to have to travel back in the morning, so we have time to spare." She stated, as she walked back to the log and sat. 

"Yeah well I'd rather sit in silence then tell you my life story." He said, glaring at her before focusing on the ground around him. The both of them sat there for a while, until it started to get darker. 

"I'm going to get some wood, I'll be right back, and if you try to escape Phillip can, and will stop you." She said, standing up. She left to go get some wood, and returned soon after leaving. William was still in the same place he was when she left, along with Phillip. "What, too scared of my horse to try to escape?" She asked, mocking him. He only replied with a sarcastic laugh. Once the fire was started she realized that he hadn't had anything to eat. William tried to get closer to the fire, but failed. It wasn't cold out but the fire was comforting, since it was dark out. She walked over to William, reached up and grabbed an apple. 

"Here." She said and handed him the apple. "Since you probably haven't had anything to eat in hours." 

He caught the apple in his hands but didn't eat it. Instead he dropped it on the ground. Without looking at her he said "Thanks but I'm not hungry. 

Adalina sighed and went to sit back down. "Fine, but don't complain when you're starving tomorrow morning." His only response was a scoff. 

She went to sit back down when she heard him ask "So how did you end up being the King's tracker?" 

She looked at him and responded with, "I'm surprised that you think that I'll tell you about my past when you haven't told me anything about yourself."

 He chuckled a bit. "Good point." There was a moment of silence until William spoke. "What is your name? I think it's only fair that I know your name since you know mine." 

She stretched out her arms and said "Adalina." 

William's eyes widened in surprise. "Pretty name, don't think it suits you though." 

She crossed her arms "Oh? And why is that."

He smirked and said "Well, you are more rough and tough, while Adalina is a more...feminine name." 

She scoffed and turned her attention towards the fire. The both of them sat in silence for a bit until Adalina started to get tired. She got up and grabbed a blanket from Phillip's satchel and laid it on the ground. She went back to the satchel and pulled out another blanket and held it under her arm. "I'm going to go to sleep, so just letting you know if you do try to escape Phillip will kill you." 

William rested his head on the tree and said "Trust me I wouldn't dare try to out run that horse. Especially since I have a gash in my leg that would inhibit me from walking, let alone running." She chuckled to herself before lying down and covering herself with the blanket. Five minutes later she heard the sound of someone biting into an apple. She knew William had picked up the apple, and pretended to be asleep to see what would happen. After a couple more bites and she heard him drop the apple to the ground. He sighed and looked at her back.

William's POV

I knew I wasn't gonna get out of this rope so I didn't even try. Luckily she cared enough to give me an apple. Probably only because she needs me alive for the King. I have to admire her fighting skills though. She gave me a nasty headache, and a cut on my leg that'll probably give me grief whenever I try to walk. Every time I try to look at the cut on my leg the grass pokes into it. I figure there's no point in trying to look at it if there's nothing I can do anyways. I wonder how the next few days will go. I know that I'll probably be executed, but the only thing I can do now is take every day as it comes. Staring at the fire I felt myself drifting off until...