The Blacksmith (Zen Wisteria x reader)

The Beginning |3|

The moon gleamed,an ominious crystal orb,shrouded by wisps of dark night clouds. 

The owls hooted.

 Dew clung to the long,scratchy grass,rubbing off on my calves as my boots brushed against the weeds. The grass rustled as my soles left imprints in the mushy,damp mud. I massaged my eyes with the base of my palms,and rubbed at my sore shoulders,which carried my backpack. It seemed to be getting heavier and heavier with each minute ticking past.

I had decided to go through the forest to look for Shirayuki. 

Shit move,I know.

But what's done is done,and I needed to find a place to rest. Pronto. My legs were killing me.

Maybe it was just me going crazy,but I saw a glint of light out of the corner of my eye. The sparkle of gold and red slid in between the gaps between the trees and disappearing behind the trunks. Well,crazy or not,I should go check it out.

I shuffled closer,and two men were silhouetted against the light from the fire torches they were clutching. I snorted. Well,men with barely any hair and roaming the woods at 3 a.m. holding fire torches were definitely not kind people. I whirled back,the hem of my (f/c) robes swishing against the tall grass. 

"Who goes there?" 

I froze,paralyzed on the spot. I exhaled,and turned on my heel. 

"Hey there guys! I'm just,you know,admiring the night sky!" I laughed a falsely cheerful laugh.

The two men shot me a suspiciously deadly glare. They closed in,the sound of metal clanking breaking the quiet of the woods. They had swords tucked in their belts,hanging by their sides. Guards,and probably not from Tanburun,judging by their uniform. I took some time to observe them.

"Hey,are you listening?" One of the guards snapped.

I jolted out of my thoughts,and smiled radiantly,however fake it might seem. "I'll..just be off,see you around!" I waved goodbye to them as I stepped back and ran into the night. "Or maybe not," I added under my breath.

"HEY!" One of the guards leaped after me,half of his sword resting in the scabbard while the top half glinted under the moonlight. The sword was half-drawn. He yanked me back by the shoulder,pointing the sword to my neck. 

Oh boy. Now he's done it. 

I swept my long,black cloak out of the way as I gripped the hilt of my rapier,pulling the rapier out of its scabbard. The ruby implanted in the handle winked and glimmered at me. My rapier flew upwards through the air in a swish as I parried a panicky attack from the guard.

"Under the restriction of Clar--" The guard yelled.

"A fully drawn sword,pointed at someone,means a duel. (y/n),take that in mind."

"Yes,Pa!"  My (h/l) (h/c) hair bobbed up and down as I nodded,smiling. My father gave my hair a stroke with his big,rough,and calloused hand. He downed three gulps of water in an instant and picked up his silver rapier once more. The handle held a ruby that sparkled as it caught the light. I watched his sword practice intently.

I cut him off with a swift horizontal flick,disarming him. Seeing my chance,I planted my rapier back into the scabbard,my hair tossed about as I sprinted off into the opposite direction. 

A small cottage came into view,and I screeched to a stop. "Thank..god." I panted.

I jogged over to the front door of the cottage,lightly knocking on the door. 

What am I doing?,I laughed at my actions mentally,thankful no one was there to see that,what's a house doing in the forest in the first place? No one would be home,even so.

"Shirayuki's rubbed off on me," I commented to myself. 

I slumped against the brick wall and dropped into a deep slumber.

"I'm going to find you,Shirayuki," I murmured,turning about on the hard earth.

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1 kilometre away,a female,her hair in a ponytail,sat poised on a log,talking in a low voice with a male,tall with broad shoulders,who was stoking the fire,sitting opposite of her.

 The two royal aides were silhouetted against the intense firelight of the campfire.

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