ℂhapter 3 - A dangerous reunion

Chapter 3 - A dangerous reunion

It had been 3 years, and I hadn’t seen Rafiela since that day. Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. As I replayed my memories of her in my mind, I couldn’t shake the feeling these events were connected somehow.

 

“So… I have come to this place again. The forest where I met her.”

The last time I was here, I was just an orphan with nothing, no family, no money… But now, I had become one of the richest trader in the area. I pushed the memories away and started walking. I had to deliver my trading goods to Zeltica again. I hadn’t been there since the fire that destroyed most of the town, but I had heard the town was mostly rebuild.

 

After several hours of traveling, I stopped in the cool shadow beneath a big tree. I sat down with my back against the trunk and ate my lunch, after which I decided to take a nap.

 

A little while later I was woken up by the sound of shouting voices. They seemed to be near, and I moved towards them to have a look. The shouting grew louder as I came closer, and soon I was able to make out the words. “Kill, kill, kill, kill…”

 

What? A group of bandits? I knew the wise thing to do would be to gather my belongings and get out of here as quickly as possible, but my curiosity kept me moving forward. After a while I approached a clearing, and from behind a bush I had a clear view of what was going on.

 

In the center of the clearing stood a big, golden cage. There seemed to be something inside of it, but I couldn’t quite make out what it was from where I was standing. The cage was surrounded by several shouting men who were waving their weapons in the air, chanting their desire to kill. On top of the cage stood another man, who seemed to be their leader. “Knock knock...” the man said mockingly while banging on the cage with the flat side of his sword.

 

“I know you’re inside this girl’s body. You better come out now, you nasty spirit! Don’t make me cut the girl open and force you out!” He paused for a moment and licked his lips. ”Well, actually I wouldn’t mind doing that...” the man said with a demonic smile on his face. “But why don’t you spare me the trouble and come out on your own?”

 

Some of the other men shifted their positions and I finally had an unobstructed view of the cage. There was a girl in a white dress in the cage, and she looked stunningly familiar. Rafiela! I started moving from bush to bush, trying to get closer without being seen.

 

“Hey, you heard me or not?” The man stabbed his sword at Rafiela, but stopped his attack right before it made contact. Thorns shot out of Rafiela’s body to block the attack, but another man set them on fire with his torch. Judging by the piles of ashes and burnt twigs surrounding the cage, they had been doing this for a while now.

 

I couldn’t just let them do this to her! I drew my sword and jumped out from behind my bush into the center of the clearing. “Let her go!” I demanded.

 

The men seemed to be taken aback for a moment, but then came to their senses and closed in on me, their weapons raised. “Stop!” The man on top of the cage ordered while raising his hand. The men immediately obeyed and stepped back, although they were still eying me suspiciously. The the leader clambered down from the cage and addressed me.

“Let her go? Haha… Are you serious?! This monster killed the King! Well, not the girl, but the spirit inside of her body. That spirit is controlling the thorns that grow out of her. After many years of searching I finally have the chance to take revenge, and I won’t be stopped by some peasant.”

 

I had the urge to shout that I was not a mere peasant, but a wealthy merchant. I stopped myself just in time. That might not be the best thing to stay to a group of bandits… It would be better if they thought I was poor. Instead, I said, “Who are you to avenge the king by killing a helpless girl?” The man grinned before answering my question. “It seems like I forgot to introduce myself. I’m only living son of the dead king, the rightful heir to the throne. So you better keep in mind you are dealing with royalty here, peasant.” His men mumbled in agreement.

 

“Yeah, he’s right! Kill the girl and this peasant!” on of the men shouted. Soon the other started their chanting again. “Kill, kill, kill...”

 

I realize there was no way I would make this out alive. But I was not going down without a fight! I lunged forward while stabbing my sword at the leader’s face. He saw it coming and simply stepped aside. The handguard of his sword connected with my cheek and made me lose my balance. I stumbled backwards as the impact spun my sword out of my hand. I tripped over the roots of a tree and fell on my back. The bandit leader jumped on top of me, raising his sword to deliver the killing blow.

 

“No!” Rafiela screamed as hundreds of thorny branches shot out of her body. They grabbed the bars of the cage and blasted the door open. As she stepped out of the cage several of the bandits ran towards her, but at her gesture the branches slammed into the men and send them flying. Then she extended her other hand and a thorny branch grabbed the sword hovering in front of my face, pulled it from the bandit leader’s grip and throwing it far away. Then he was picked up by several other branches and thrown against a tree. I quickly got to my feet and ran towards Rafiela. She smiled at me, but then suddenly looked afraid. I turned around just in time to see the bandit leader release a burning arrow, which hit the tree next to me. The flames quickly devoured the tree and spread much faster than I would ever have thought possible. Within seconds the entire clearing had transformed into a roaring sea of fire. I heard some of the bandits scream in panic as they were suddenly surrounded by the raging fire.

 

Rafiela seemed to be the only one who was still thinking straight. She grabbed my hand and pulled me with her towards the river behind us. Without thinking we jumped in, letting the fast current carry us away from the clearing. Suddenly Rafiela lost consciousness and was pushed under by the current, but I managed to grab her and keep her head above the water, while simultaneously trying not to drown myself. I managed to keep both of us alive, and when the river made a turn it pushed us towards the bank. I swam with all the strength I had left, and soon after we were both lying on the sand while the sun was slowly drying our clothes.

 

After a while Rafiela shot up and looked around with a confused expression. Then she stared at the black smoke in the distance. “What happened?” she asked. “I only remember being in a cage and seeing that man raise his sword to kill you...” I told her what had happened. The more I told her the bigger her eyes became. “I did that?” I just nodded, unable to believe what had happened myself. Then she turned to look at the castle on the hill in the distance. “That’s where the royal family lives, right?” she asked, her voice cold and emotionless. I nodded again “Yeah, it is.” I saw the hatred burn in her eyes as she looked at the palace. Somehow I knew that one day she would find a way into the castle and get revenge on the man that had nearly robbed us of our lives. I was sure she was innocent of the King’s death, but by attacking an innocent girl, his heir had sealed his fate.

 

Looking at this girl, the very image of innocence, who at the same time possessed such a terrifying power, the words of my parents played through my head again:

“Every rose has its thorns, every light its dark shadow…” I smiled as I finally understood their meaning.

【End�'

Author's Note

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Reviews

[Kreative Kana]

"It has been 3 years, and I hadn’t seen Rafiela since that day." I noticed you wrote 'has been' and then change to pas-tense. It also changes a while later. I'm so curious a to what will happen! Keep at it!

[𝐋.𝐂.]

This is probably the ending for this story...
But Lavorther and I are planning to write a prequel~