To Save a Heart

Chapter 3

I flopped down on the river bank after he left. Hopefully he would return. Of course I didn't expect him to come back for me. I was  just going to slow him down wherever he was going. The sounds of the running water met my ears and I was reminded of the water trickling nearby. I rolled until I was at its edge to dip my hair in. I scrubbed the dark soot from my locks watching it wash away in a cloud of black returning my hair to the bright blonde color. The water was refreshing and offered a much needed cleaning. I sat up to allow my hair to dry. There was a sound in the trees and I froze.

He didn't make noise when he walked. 

I scrambled on my hands and knees to curl up against the nearby log. The unfortunate color of my dress wouldn't help conceal me but the flatness of the skirt would. I squeezed as close to the log as I could sliding practically underneath it I concealed myself into the nearby bush. Loud feet crashed out of the forest and stopped at the edge of the stream. I nearly gasped at the sight of the two guards.

Parson's guards crouched down and scooped handful after handful of water up to their lips. Eventually the frequency of their scooping slowed and they sat back on their heels then flopped down onto the ground. I noticed one of my shoes in the grass and silently cursed my stupidity. Hopefully they wouldn't notice it.

"This is ridiculous." One guard chuckled. "There's no way she made it this far, she is a woman after all."

"They probably already have her back at the castle." The other guard grunted.

"What do you think Parson has in store for her?"

"I don't know it's probably something bad." The other guard replied with a laugh.

I stayed curled up against my log hopping the man I was following didn't return any time soon. He was in for a surprise if he did.

"Should we get back?" one guard asked after offering a large belch.

"I suppose." Said the other as he got to his feet and readjusted his pants.

"But we will walk slow so when we get questioned we can say that we spent all day looking for her."

"Agreed." said the other. 

I stayed in my hiding spot for long after I could hear them crashing through the trees. Then a hand grabbed my ankle. I thrashed around kicking for all I was worth until I saw him. He chuckled at my expression.

"You nearly scared me to death!" I growled accusingly. Slowly I eased out from my position against the log and proceeded to wipe the mud off of my skirt and pick the twigs out of my hair. I noticed him watching me out of the corner of his eye. He had something with him a thick looking fabric. In the other hand he held a foul smelling mixture. Even standing at least six feet from him I could smell what he had in his hand. It made me wrinkle my nose.

"Give me your foot." He commanded and I extended my leg reluctantly. He grabbed my foot and smeared the smelly goo all over it then wrapped it up in the thick fabric. Then he proceeded to do the same with the other foot wrapping it then securing it into place.

"Thank you." I said and he nodded in reply. With that he took off walking again. Not wanting to be left I scrambled to my feet to follow him. Walking was much less painful with the concoction spread all over my feet.

I didn't know where we were going or why we had to keep up an unstoppable pace to get there but it didn't matter. I wanted to get as far away from Parson and his schemes as possible. We walked for the rest of the day only slowing down once or twice to listen. I still didn't know his name or where he was from but I wasn't going to ask. Instead I stayed quiet and let my mind wander. I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn't notice that he had stopped until I nearly crashed into him. He turned to glare at me as I attempted to stay upright. He looked at me for a moment longer than necessary then sighed and pulled back the branch in front of him extending his arm so that I would go first. I walked out in front of him to discover a village.