The Forbidden Lands (Wattys 2015 Winner)

Chapter Twenty--Bandits

Chapter Twenty
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When I awoke, I could hear men talking and smell the aroma of meat roasting. I opened one eye into a slit. It was a camp. The darkness of evening was lit by a fire, where a chicken was cooking on a spit. Men sat around it, conversing and drinking. From where I could see, they all looked rugged and rough. One had a scar by his left eye. Another was so muscular that his shirt was strained against his back and could not be buttoned completely.

I looked at the tent and withheld a gasp. On it was the symbol of the bandits: a sword intwined with a crown and a scale. These men were bandits.

A man with curly hair and beard glanced my way. "Eh, guys!" he said, "she's awake!"

Five or six bandits stood up and surrounded around me. I shut my eye all the way.

"She's still sleepin', Sam," said one.

"No, she's not," said the curly one, Sam, I presumed. "Her breathing is different. She's awake. I've been keeping an eye on her. Been awake for a minute or so." I noticed Sam spoke more intelligently than the rest.

"Ye can open yer eyes, missy," a man said. "We know yer awake."

"We ain't gonna hurt ye."

I opened my eyes and rolled them dramatically. Maybe if I entertained them, they'd keep me alive. "I seriously doubt that." I tried to stand up, but a piercing shot of pain went through my leg, and I stumbled back down, propped up by my elbows.

They laughed, from my words or my pain, I didn't know.

"Yer not going to be walking on that leg for at least a day, missy."

"I noticed," I said dryly. They laughed again.

"Our leader spotted you and made us drag you out of the river. He recognized you. How you survived that fall, though, I don't know." Their leader knew me? How? I'd never had a run-in with bandits afore.

"I have wings," I said sardonically, making the bandits laugh again.

I heard a voice coming from the brown, rectangular tent. "Get away from her. Go make yourselves useful. Sam, bring her in here." I supposed it was the leader of the bandits. The infamous Bandit Lord, as he was known.

Sam picked me up and set me inside the tent. The Bandit Lord had back turned, concealing his identity from me. But he definitely looked familiar.

"So, Girec's sister, yes?" he said, making me jerk back in realization. "The lost one."

It was Liam! He turned to face me, confirming my suspicion.

"Yes," he said to the look on my face, "I am the Bandit Lord."

I was speechless for a minute. Liam was the Bandit Lord? The man who had stolen and rampaged the nobility of Krialle. The man who had robbed my own father? "You tricked Girec," I finally said. "Have you ever truly been his friend?"

"I rescued your life," Liam said. "I'll ask the questions. Where have you been for this past month?"

"Why should I tell you?" I asked boldly, looking him in the eye.

"Because I won't return your things to you until you do."

I gritted my teeth. "Fine. But you won't believe me anyway. I've been in the Forbidden Lands."

He cocked an eyebrow, but nothing more. "How did you survive?"

"Give me my stuff, and I'll show you."

He through my stuff at me, and held up a torn red cloak. "This washed up an hour after you did. Is it yours?"

"Yes." He tossed it to me. I opened my satchel, which was all wet. I pulled out my book, hoping the leather had somewhat protected the pages. But the water color had smeared and the charcoal had rubbed off. I flipped through it, looking for at least one preserved page. "Here," I said, displaying the page depicting Urora. One could see the picture and half the words, since it was in the middle of the book. "This is a picture of a stiria, who lives in the north of the Forbidden Lands. I researched the creatures there. This book was full of them, but the river ruined most of it."