The Huntress

Chapter 10

When I wake up, it takes me a moment to realize where I am. It seems as though I must have made some kind of cot to sleep on last night - after we'd finally stopped to rest. We're almost three day's ride from the village and surrounded by forest.

I don't know exactly where we are. I know we headed South for a while and then East. We only stopped once I forced my horse to...she wanted to keep going, telling me how it will protect me if she kept going. I threatened to jump off her if she refused again. She immediately halted and I had to grip her neck tightly to keep myself upright. She apologized and, after what felt like an eternity, I convinces her we both need to rest so we don't hurt ourselves.

A sound makes my ear twitch. I look to my left and see a few animals watching silently from beside a large bush. I smile and beckon them closer.

"Come on." I say.

"B-but...I'm scared." a young fawn says.

I smile and sit cross-legged with my hands in my lap, "There's no need to fear me. I won't hurt you - I'd never do something like that....especially after what I've just gone through."

"Why do you look so funny!" a little rabbit asks me.

I hear a laugh behind me and realize Beauty - my horse - is now awake.

"Let's just say I trusted the wrong people." I say sadly.

"I'm sorry...my name's Thumper!" the little rabbit says. "What's your name?"

"I'm Skylar." I say and look over at the fawn.

"Hello Skylar, I'm Bambi...and this shy little guy here is Flower." the fawn says, looking down at his feet.

I notice a small skunk hiding behind his leg and reach out, taking the small animal into my hands. At first, the poor creature tries to hide itself from me by hiding his face into his chest. I stroke its back as it slowly become more and more at ease. I smile as he looks into my eyes, an easy grin forming on his face.

"Hello," he says with a little giggle.

I smile wider and pet his soft head. "Hello."

"Where are you going?" Bambi asks me and I look over me shoulder at Beauty, she shrugs...which seems kinda strange to me, but I don't question it.

"We don't know." I say with all honesty.

"I know a place!" Flower says, jumping up and down in my hand.

We all look at him as he starts talking about a place not too far away from where we are right now. Apparently, there is a man who leads around a group of refugees as they try to help out anyone they can. "The man's name is Robin Hood...he's very nice and they rarely eat meat - it's usually just wild boar and pheasants. He's pretty nice!"

I smile at his comment and look over at Beauty. "Sounds fine to me."

I nod in agreement with her and look at the animals around us expectantly. "So...how do we find these merry men?" I ask with a smirk.

We reach the edge of the forest and stop.

"We have to go now." Thumper says and I nod.

I crouch down next to them and give each of them a hug - well, as much of a hug as I can with a rabbit, skunk, and baby deer I can get. I watch as they slowly make their way back into the foliage and disappear. I sigh and turn to Beauty.

"Guess it's now or never." I say and wait for her response.

When I hear nothing I look into her eyes in shock. She shakes her head and it takes me a few moments to understand. I can't communicate with her this close to other humans. I guess...it's a small price to pay to keep us safe. She starts nudging me forward with her nose. I push against her as I laugh and enter a small clearing.

When I turn around, I find a sword pointed right at my face. I freeze and hold my breath as I look up into the eyes of a young man - probably around twenty-four. He's only five years older than me...

"What're you doing in these parts, little missy?" another man, who's quite large - not only round-large, but tall-large as well - demands from behind the man.

"I-I..." I stutter and Beauty nudges my back.

I grab her reigns and take a deep breath. The man with the sword slowly lowers his blade and gasps. His weapon fall to the ground and he wraps me up in a bone-crushing hug.

"I can't believe it!" he says, pulling back to look me in the eye.

"What?" I ask in a soft voice.

"Robin? What're you doing to that poor lass?" the large man asks with a deep - almost Irish-American - accent as he steps forward.

"Do not fret, Little John! For I know this woman." .Robin says as I look at him in shock.

One reason is because he says he knows me - which I don't know how. I've never seen this man before. Another reason being that I can see no reason why someone would call the man behind him 'little.' The guy's huge.

"And, pray tell me...how do you know her?" Little John asks.

"She's my sister." I his simple reply.

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Yes! Another cliffhanger...sorry Mr. Mumbles, but this just felt like the place to stop this chapter, but don't worry - the next chapter will explain a lot about how Robin and Skylar are related...so this one was well thought-out. Plus, these endings in chapters help captivate readers to continue.

Still, sorry to do this to you again...and this might be the last chapter for a few days. I have a lot of other work to do (Something outside wattpad? what is this?!) I know, but I'm in college and have to keep my grades up.

However, I hope everyone who reads this enjoys the chapter and continues to read. Ps, FEEDBACK is all our friend.

Always yours,

Kera