Antihero

5: Stranger

Y/N trudged through the forest. While she kicked a stone around as she walked, her brain was a whirlwind of thoughts. 

Where was she going? Should she have followed Peter? What would happen if she were to be attacked? Was Peter going to be ok? 

She cast the last one from her brain. Y/N tried not to think about the boy, but for some reason when she saw him in her thoughts, her chest would feel heavier and she had to focus on her breathing. 

"This is a problem," She muttered, what was this feeling? Surely she didn't care for the king, just a day ago he was trying to arrest her. Suddenly, the memory of Peter trapping Y/N rushed into her brain. His hands pining hers, his blue eyes staring at hers. 

Y/N stopped in her tracks. She felt her face go hot. In a flash she ran behind a tree, suddenly paranoid someone would see her in this state. 

"Snap out of it," she spat, rubbing her hands on her face, furiously trying to wipe the red from her cheeks. 

"Excuse me Miss," a voice said.

Y/N jumped, she leaped back onto the path readied her hands in front of herself, her ears twitching, trying to pinpoint where the voice had come from. Then, stepping out from behind a tree, came a boy. He looked around the same age as Y/N (like around 16-17), but was tall and lean.  He wore a maroon button up shirt tucked into a belt and black, dirty pants. His hair was black and wavy, resting by his ears. 

"Who are you," Y/N said, still poised to defend herself. 

"Sorry, allow me to introduce myself," the man said with a slight spanish accent catching his english words. 

"I am Tarkan, oh, well, Tarkan the First," he corrected, standing tall and plastering a proud look on his face. 

"The first?"

"Well, I have a lot of dreams," Tarkan smiled. Y/N relaxed slightly, seeing that the boy didn't seem threatening. His smile reassured her that he might just be lost. 

"You don't seem like the type of person to live in the forest. Are you lost?" She questioned Tarkan. 

"Surprisingly, I actually am. I usually know how to get around these woods," Tarkan replied, looking around at the thick trees and green, mossy undergrowth. 

"Well, I've got nowhere to be, where are you heading," Y/N said. For some reason, she had decided to trust the boy, besides, even after all the adventure she'd had, it was never enough. 

"The castle, Cair Paravel," answered the boy, "I am looking for some family there at a village close by."

Y/N took a moment to think. Cair Paravel probably wasn't the best place for her to be, considering she had just tried to steal an incredibly valuable item from the palace and there would be thousands of guards searching for her. Then again, Y/N had nowhere to go. The guards would have surely forgot about her by the time the pair would reach the castle.

"Hm, ok then, I'll help you get there," Y/N said, "I'm Y/N by the way." She said, reaching out her hand. Tarkan looked at her hand, a confused look on his face. 

"Oh never mind," Y/N retracted her hand, the redness again filling her checks.

The pair turned around and continued walking back down the path, chatting while they walk. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Peter!?"

Y/N ran towards the tree in front of her. Many strong branches stretched from the thick trunk, a blanket of green leaves resting on them. From one branch, a huge rope net hung. Inside the net was an embarrassed looking, blonde king. 

"Hey..." Peter muttered

"What the hell," Y/N whispered

Y/N looked around, trying to find a way to reach Peter to get him out. Grumbling, she made the decision to climb the tree.

"Do you have a knife?" Y/N asked Tarkan. 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pocket knife, fitted with a patterned handle with his name carved into it. 

Y/N put the handle into her mouth and then walked towards the tree. She reached up to grab a tree branch and shoved her foot into a dent in the trunk. Peter looked down at her. 

Y/N scaled the tree until she reached the branch from which the net hung.

"Hey," Peter said again. Y/N glared at him, then her eyes softened as she saw his remorseful eyes. She found a place on the branch to sit and grabbed the knife from her mouth. She started cutting through the rope holding the net. 

"This is gonna hurt," Y/N said.

As the realisation hit Peter, he started to panic.

"Wait! Isn't there any other wayy?" He asked, putting on a small, 'convincing' smile.

"Aww, sorry Pete" Y/N teased before she cut the last thread and the net went crashing to the ground. 

Y/N climbed back down the tree. Peter lay on the ground, groaning.

"You good?" Y/N asked

"Been better," Peter replied, slowly getting up and wiping the dirt from his body. 

Y/N looked around. She was standing in a small clearing of trees. The only sounds around were the whispers of trees and wind. Why had there been a trap right out in the open, surely that wasn't normal. Especially because it had been so big is caught a human. Her thoughts came to a stop as Y/N noticed the Tarkan was no longer standing in the clearing. 

Tarkan stepped out from behind a tree. Y/N looked at him at the same time as Peter did. Peter took a step towards Y/N and reached his arm out in front of her, protecting her with his body. 

"Who are you," He said. 

"Calm down Peter," Y/N rolled her eyes, "He's with me."

Peter looked at Y/N, his eyes trying to catch hers as Y/N purposely avoided his gaze. For some reason, she couldn't look at him without getting that feeling in her chest. Peter gave up trying to catch her eye and turned back to the boy. He had a bad feeling about him, it was gnawing at his stomach. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i gave up on the playlist setting thing no one reads this anyways