The Knight of the Road

I

The forest was dense but Bess knew it well, and could ride through it with her eyes closed. In fact, her eyes were shut now, as she felt the rush as the wind wiped around her and blew her brown hair all over the place in a tangled mess. A small smile graced her lips as she breathed in the smell of crisp damp leaves and felt the chill of the air reach her lungs. Out of nowhere, her horse swerved. Bess's eyes snapped open in alarm ready to grab her horses mane to try and prevent her from falling off but alas, it was too late. The ground rushed up to meet her, leaving her no time to prepare herself for the impact. The breath rushed out of her lungs leaving her breathless and gasping for air. She heard the thud of hoof beats and looked up quickly to see her horse galloping off in to the forest. "No, Monty, come back!" Bess cried after her horse in exasperation. She was miles away from home and would take half a day to return home on foot. Suddenly, the forest that was so beautiful just a few minutes ago, now, did not look so inviting, the trees loomed ominously above her and a light fog curled around the roots making the trees appear as if they were floating. Bess spun around looking for anything that could have spooked her horse. Finding nothing, Bess turned back the way she came and started to reluctantly walk the long way home, relieved that she had decided to wear her old, worn and most importantly comfortable riding boots. The sound of leaves rustling caused Bess to whip her head around where she saw the silhouette of a horse. "Monty, good boy, you didn't run off." Bess cooed thinking her horse had returned. As the horse drew nearer Bess recognised that it was not her horse but a jet-black horse, magnificently held with a black-cloaked rider sitting just as arrogantly astride his horse. Her eyes widened as the horse and rider glided closer, their dark attire made them blend into the fog as if rising from it. A dark, deep chuckle rose from the rider as they came closer to Bess until they were so close to her she could smell the sweat of the horse. "I have been called a lot of names, but 'Monty' is not one of them" the voice chuckled. His voice, Bess noticed, was deliciously smooth and held a hidden huskiness to it that sent shivers down her back. Bess narrowed her eyes, her guard up. The dark rider jumped from his horse, the movement causing his hood to fall revealing a startling pair of green eyes boring into her from behind a black mask. As he approached her, his boots rattled as his spurs brushed together and his cloak flowed behind himself revealing two guns held in identical holsters on his thighs and a single deadly looking rapier. His dark hooded green eyes held no humour despite his laugh as they boor into her own grey ones. Bess sucked in a breath as she took him in, the realisation finally dawning on her. "The highwayman." She breathed. He started to chuckle again "Now that I have been called many times before," he smirked "but not by someone as beautiful as you." Bess stood gaping at him, unable to move until he was a foot from her, she managed to snap out of it. "Get away from me."

"From what you just called me you must know that is not going to happen." Bess visibly recoiled as he said this and felt her heart leap out of her chest before returning to it's race pace speed. "Leave me alone." She looked him straight in the eye as she tried to appear fearless but knew she wasn't fooling anyone. Slowly, he raised his hand and gently grasped her chin in his gloved hand "I wonder what to do with you." At this Bess's eyes grew to saucers and could see the amusement in his as if he was enjoying this, watching her squirm in discomfort. Bess's eyes darted between his, analysing him, trying to gauge a reaction out of him. Bess's hand suddenly shot out reaching for one the guns on his thigh. Just as soon as she moved the highwayman grabbed her wrist tightly using her momentum he swung her around so that her back collided with his chest and the cool metal of the gun was pressed against her head. "Bad move sweetheart." He sneered. Bess struggled to wriggle out of his hold but it was too tight and she knew one wrong move and she would be shot. She could feel beads of sweat form on the edge of her brow and felt her erratic heartbeat so strong, she was sure the highwayman could hear it. The highwayman lowered his head so that it was level with his ear, his breath fanning across the side of her face. He patronisingly whispered to her to stop fighting, to calm down, which in any other situation may have calmed her, now only aided in her panic. With a quick chuckle and twist he roughly shoved her away from him causing her to fall the ground in a heap. She quickly tried to sit up to see the gun pointed at her with the highwayman leering over her. "You know how it goes, empty your pockets" It seemed the highwayman had grown tired of his game. Bess gritted her teeth, looking up at the highwayman from where she laid sprawled on the floor, "I don't have anything on me." The highwayman took his time dragging his eyes along the figure of her body – accessing her. "Give me your necklace" he ordered.

"No, this is of no value, you will get nothing for this" Bess tried to persuade.

"If it is of no value, you won't mind taking it off."

"It is of no value to you," Bess corrected herself, still not backing down.

The highwayman released the safety latch of the gun upon hearing her answer, fixing her with a menacing glare. With great reluctance she struggled with the clasp of the necklace when he barked "Give it to me!"

"It's stuck." Bess snapped back, fright making her anger flare. The highwayman took a step forward and Bess was sure she was going to die so she squeezed her eyes shut prepared to hear the sound of the shot gun. Instead, she felt a sharp tug as the necklace was yanked from her neck breaking effectively breaking the clasp. Bess gasped and placed her hand over her chest where the necklace once rested. Without a word, the highwayman turned and mounted his horse in one fluid movement, who had been waiting patently during the encounter. He fixed once last lingering look at Bess still sitting helplessly on the ground before he spun his horse around and galloped away. Soon, he was swallowed by the mist and the sound of hoof beats faded, leaving Bess on the ground, in the dirt, still with no horse and a long walk ahead of her.

As Bess walked along the small path she had come, she kicked a rogue stone in anger. Stupid, stupid, stupid, she reprimanded herself. She was still not even halfway home and dusk had already, fallen making the sky bleed a gentle red and orange. She thought home then, she wondered if her father would notice she hadn't been home all day, if the maids had, and when she realised they probably hadn't she couldn't help feel a little sorry for herself. 'What's worse' she thought, 'I lost my mothers necklace.' Bess sighed in defeat knowing there was no getting her necklace back.