The Archer (A Tale Of Heroes & Demons Book 1)

Chapter 15

An Unwelcome Surprise

"Sitting on the hot seat of change requires much courage, patience, and persistence."

- David W. Earle

He looked at her, confused. Why would I let someone go if they were following us? Still, he released the struggling form, who collapsed to the ground at his feet. Now that he was looking at the person in the light, he could see it was a girl, and she appeared to be quite young.

Her hands were placed on the ground before her and her face was turned down. She was breathing heavily, her entire body heaving with the effort. Katherine made a movement to help her stand up, but the girl waved her off. Slowly she struggled to her feet and turned to face Declan, whose heart plummeted.

"Rosie?"

"Yes, big brother?"

Anger contorted his face when he realized who she was. He had left in the village nearly a week ago for her safety. He had written a note, telling her why he left her, and yet here she was, standing before him.

He didn't think before he began to speak. "What the hell are you doing here?"

She crossed her arms, staring at him indignantly. "I followed you. You left me alone and I got scared."

"Scared?" He laughed. Maybe he was just tired, but that statement seemed funny to him. "You were safer with the people in the village! Do you know what I'm doing?"

She shrugged. Her stubborn face had fallen, and now she looked sad and almost...Scared? Declan shook his head. She couldn't be scared, not of him.

"Of course I do." She nodded. "You're going to stop the bad lady, the one that kept me in those caves for so long."

"And that is why you would have been safer in the village." He didn't know what he was going to do. He couldn't just leave her in the middle of the forest to fend for herself, and he couldn't leave her with strangers again because that plan had clearly backfired on him.

"Declan?" Katherine had now stepped forward. She placed a comforting hand on Rosie's shoulder. "We can't just leave her here. We need to take her with us."

He growled. He turned around and walked a few paces. He brought his hands up and ran them through his hair, scratching his scalp. Again, Katherine was right, as much as he hated to admit it. She was really starting to grate on his nerves.

Spinning around, he looked at the two people in front of him. "Fine. Rosie, you can come with us, but you must do exactly as I say. And if I'm not around, then you must listen to Katherine."

Rosie nodded excitedly, her short hair bouncing on her shoulders. "I promise I will." The look of fear left her now as she ran forward and hugged Declan tightly. "Thank-you, Declan."

He looked down at her. It had been a long time since anyone had hugged him before, years in fact. Declan let his hand come down and pat Rosie's head awkwardly. He pushed her away after a few moments, even taking a step back for good measure. Now Rosie turned and hugged Katherine, who returned the gesture just as warmly.

Clearing his throat, Declan started back towards the tree. "Now, it's late and we're heading off bright and early in the morning. Best to getting to sleep now. That means both of you too. I can't have tired companions when I'm traveling."

Laying down on the ground again, he pulled his quiver over and used it as a make-shift pillow. He closed his eyes as the other two took up similar positions beside him. Now, instead of Katherine and Declan laying side by side, Rosie rested between them, safe from the outside world by her two protectors.