War Zone

Hello World

The decision was also partly because the man didn't do anything suspicious. Yet. Then again, if he wanted to do something to me, why wait for such a long time, right?

"Are you scared?" His tone seemed mocking, I felt a bit annoyed but I just pursed my lips and bit back my words.

"Do you think this butter knife is enough to kill me?"

What? I snapped my neck to him and saw my flimsy weapon in his hands.

"Give it back!" He let me snatch it from him. How did he get it without me noticing? I tied the sheath around my calf, hidden from plain sight with the help of the trousers I'd gotten from the farmer, did I not? Did it fall?

He chuckled. "Feisty, aren't you?"

I glared into the darkness behind that hood. Aside from the unusually large hood, he had half of his face covered in black cloth, so I still haven't seen his face until now. Could it be...? He's hiding it because he's a fugitive? My eyes narrowed even more, and my grip tightened around the hilt of the knife.

"Are you going to kill me?"

I didn't answer him.

"If you kill me, you won't be able to get out of this forest alive. There are a lot of robbers here, so the possibility of you meeting one or two groups is high. If that happens, what would you do?"

I felt unnerved by his words. It felt as if he was toying with me.

"Why would I answer a dead man?" I replied back, trying to sound confident but my voice lacked conviction.

He was silent for a moment before he laughed. "You're an interesting fellow."

Is that a good thing or a bad thing..?

"Fine. I promise to guard you well until we reach north."

My lips formed into a thin line of displeasure. He really was just toying with me... He knew exactly what I was thinking yet he acted as if he didn't.

"Don't be mad, I did promise to guard you well now didn't I?"

"And why would you do that?" He was beginning to get suspicious.

He tilted his head at me and didn't answer for a while. "I like pretty things."

I was taken aback by his words and as much as I didn't want myself to be affected, I was. Utterly and foolishly. My family often told me I was pretty but I don't really know if they were just being my family or if they were being truthful. The only time I ever saw my reflection properly since I came here was the day I woke up and found myself still the same but in a different environment. It was shocking. I thought I went crazy at first but I realized soon enough that I still have a sound mind. Fortunately.

"If you think you're able to distract me with that, then you're wrong." I muttered as I took the blanket from the small string bag I had made the first night I came here, and pulled it over myself.

I was thankful to the dark for hiding my embarrassment but it would be different if it were daytime. I wish he'll refrain from uttering such things in the future.

"What's that strong smell?" He suddenly asked.

"Citronella. I rubbed it on my blanket to ward off mosquitoes." I explained briefly as I pulled the fluffy hood I had sewed on the blanket over my head.

"You seem awfully prepared."

"..." Wasn't he supposed to be a man of few words? Why does he suddenly want to engage in a conversation with me? "I am..." I answered, suddenly recalling my brother in my past life. My mom would give me fiction novels and he'd been the one to choose all these weird books. Botany, survival guides, sewing instructionals... I wonder if he'd been given foresight by whoever had put me here. It had actually been a great help, given the fact that I didn't have much experience of going out into the open when I was alive back then. All this time, I've only been relying on my knowledge gained from those books. If it weren't for my brother then I...

"Why are you going to the north?" He spoke yet again.

"To take refuge." I answered without delay.

"Refuge..?" He seemed amused. "The only place you'll ever find in the north is the Kingdom of Ma-i." He added later on as if I didn't know that already.

"...It's the only place I can run to now that I'm here." A sigh escaped my lips as I grabbed my knees and hugged myself. I am thankful that I have a healthy body now but I still feel lonely. Being alone is so lonely... I miss mom. I miss my brother... I miss everyone.

I didn't know when or how but I soon fell asleep. The exhaustion of the journey had beaten my body to the point that I lost consciousness without realizing it myself.

So imagine my surprise when I woke up to find a strange man trying to carry me. I was about to scream but he immediately covered my mouth, rendering me speechless.

This isn't the person I was with! Where is he!? My eyes darted everywhere but only trees greeted my sight. I thought he said he'd protect me? I tried my best to thrash around as much as I can but the burly man's physique over powered me. My knife! I screwed my eyes shut, mentally berating myself for believing someone would actually guard me. This world is different from the world I came from. People aren't as kind..!

"Ssshhh! Don't make a sound! The monster is in the forest!"

I opened my eyes to look at the man's panicked face. What monster?

"I'll remove my hands but promise me not to scream or it'll find us both and kill us."

I slowly nodded. Whether he's telling the truth or not, I don't believe he has good intentions when he tried to kidnap me. The moment he lets me go, I'm going to quickly get my knife and stab him... I played the scenario in my head over and over again, trying to get the courage to do it despite my trembling frame. We were both staring at each other, each gauging the truth in our words when he froze. His eyes lost focus and he groaned, later on coughing.

"Fuck..." he whispered as blood gurgled from his mouth. I flinched, feeling faint as I tried to look at anywhere but the blood that began to ooze down. Before the crimson liquid could fall on me, however, the limp body was thrown aside like a rag doll. The sheer strength of doing that to a big man frightened me. I opened my mouth to scream but found that my vocal chords couldn't produce any sound, at the moment.

Is it the monster...?

"Good morning." It was a familiar voice. I looked up and realized it was the stranger I had traveled with yesterday, covered with grime and blood.

***

A/N: I leave you guys to decide. ⌒°(❛ᴗ❛)°⌒ Let's choose by the number of votes on each chapter. Deadline will be on Sunday when I update 'I am a love interest in a harem novel'. Thank you!

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Please ignore grammar errors. lol. I'll edit them later.