Miray found it odd, holding Roland’s arm as they were walking towards the forest. She stopped as they reached the edge. Roland sighed.
“What is the matter now?”
“I heard a guttural scream in there earlier…”
Rolan’s brow raised and he tilted his head. “So you had a run in with the Wendigo earlier, and are still here? You must count your lucky stars. Imagine how long I would have waited for you if you never returned. That would have been a terrible day for me.”
“For you? What about me? Are you saying it could have killed me?”
“Perhaps, but remember now, it was slain, and if you see anything else, just let me know, ok?” Roland tightened his grip.
“What’s that for?”
“To keep you from running, I don’t trust you to stay in one place…”
“Can you blame me?”
“No, but it is a precaution, I just don’t trust you,” Roland said. “But in order to meet up with the other two, we need to proceed into the forest. Do you think you can manage this precariously dangerous stretch to their campsite?”
“How do you know where it is?”
“I have a good sense of direction, they planted themselves nearby here as I headed the rest of the way to your home…”
“I see, where a piece of rock leads you to me,” Miray muttered. “Perfect.”
“Are you already starting to have doubts?”
“No,”
“I take that as a yes, right on, please don’t let me fall into any ditches or crash into any trees. People who have lead me before forget surprisingly quickly that I cannot altogether navigate a forest regardless of my magic,”
“You’re safe with me,” Miray shook her head. “I won’t let you fall or bump into anything”They took a step forward, and Roland tripped over a rock. Miray’s eyes widened and she stared in horror as he turned to face her. He had his lips pulled tautly and his brows raised.
“Well, you didn’t fall or bump, you technically tripped…”
Roland just shook his head, and Miray felt like she was being scolded by a teacher. They kept walking in the general direction that Roland described. She pulled him out of the way of trees, and soon they could easily pick up their pace in the dark forest. Miray found the trees surrounding her suffocating, with the chorus of birds, insects, and more. She did not like it at all. Her heartbeat was raised, even walking for such a short period of time. She stopped.
“What is it now?”
“Well…” Miray took a deep breath.
“You’re tired?”
“No,”
“Your breathing could wake the dead,”
“I’m not used to long hikes, ok?”
“This is going to be a little more difficult than I thought,” Roland took a deep breath. ‘We should be there soon. Take two minutes.” Roland reached out, feeling for a tree, and leaned against it. He crossed his arms, holding his staff between the crook of his elbow.
Miray swallowed hard, drawing out her water pouch, drinking some of the water. They were not even an hour into the hike.
She was already out of breath. This is going to be the most disastrous trip of the century, and it was already all her fault. She took a step forward, but jumped as some bushes rustled behind her.
Everything happened so quickly, and before Miray knew it she was up in the air, tangled in a net, high in the trees. Miray screamed, gripping on the tight rope which was now swaying and making her dizzy.
“Miray! Miray! Where are you?!”
Miray screamed again, being incredibly dizzy and ready to puke. She was trapped in the air, in a net. “Help me!”
“Where!”
“Above you!”
“I can hear that! What’s wrong?!”
“I’m stuck in a trap!” Miray felt the rope scratching her cheek and hands as she tried to shift. But the net swayed and she decided to remain frozen, so scared that she might drop.
She was very far from the ground.
“A net trap? In the air, which tree is the rope tied to?”
“No, no,no don’t burn up the ropes, I’m too far up!”
“Can you grab some branches?”
“No, no, are you crazy? I am dangling high in the air, I can’t move…”
“Please don’t tell me you are afraid of heights?
“WHO WOULDN’T BE WHEN THEY ARE DANGLING IN THE AIR!?”
Roland took a deep breath. “Calm down Miray, the more you panic, the worse this will…”
Miray and Roland both grew quiet as they heard twigs breaking.
“Roland?” a woman’s voice resounded.
“Esme?” Roland called out. “Out here!”
Miray glanced down to see two figures appear in front of Roland. Her heart sank into her shoes. Of course, of course this was how she was going to meet them. Not in any normal way. She wanted to die now of embarrassment. She closed her eyes, trying not to throw up.
“So glad to see you’re safe,” Esmeralda…or else called Esme, spoke.
“You were yelling, what’s happening?” Dante’s voice rang out. Miray wanted to cry. Her feet were up, her back was down, and she just wished she could disappear.
“Miray, she’s trapped…”
“The person who can read the language?” Esme asked.
“Yes, Miray…Miray!” Roland yelled out.
“I’m here,” Miray said in a low tone. She turned her head to look away. She could not stand the thought of looking at her pitiful state.
“Are you alright?” Esme asked.
“Yes,” Miray said. “Just peachy.”
“Hang on, we’ll get you out of there,” Dante said. “I’ll climb the tree. At my signal, Roland, use your magic to keep her in the air when I cut the ropes.”
“What then?” Esme asked.
“I’ll climb down and catch her, shouldn’t be too hard,”
“I wouldn’t count on it, I have not even spent the day with Miray, and things have become infinitely complicated,” Roland said.
“I am not happy about being here, ok? The last thing I wanted was to have to be rescued before meeting my greatest heroes…” Miray said. She shook her head as she grew dizzy again. “Just leave me here to die.”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed, these traps are spread through the forest,” Esme said. “It was Roland’s choice to travel this time of day…in reality, it was his fault expecting someone like you to walk here in the dark.”
“Thanks for shifting the blame to me,” Roland said. “Much appreciated.”
“At least it is you up there and not Roland, it would have been hell getting him down,” Dante spoke. Miray could hear his grunts as he was climbing one tree. The net turned and she looked Dante in the eyes. Indeed, he did have the legendary doe-eyed look, and as he smiled she just wanted to melt.
“Hi there, Miray is it?”
“Yeah…”
“Look Miray, I have caught myself in a fair share of funny pickles…don’t worry about this one,”
“No, he hasn’t, he is only trying to make you feel better, and you should feel very embarrassed,” Roland’s voice echoed from below.
Dante shook his head. “Ignore him…”
“I will,” Miray muttered.
“Alright, Esme, can you point Roland in the right direction?”
Miray glanced down to see Esme leading Roland’s staff in the direction she was. Miray took a nervous breath and shook her head. “Wait, wait…”
“It’s ok, you’re gonna be ok,” Dante said. Miray heard Roland was chanting again, and she gave a scream as Dante cut the ropes.
But she wasn’t falling. She was indeed suspended. She could hear Dante climbing down the tree. Miray took a deep breath. She now felt like she was frozen in the air.
“Alright…” Dante said.
“No, wait, wait…wait, wait,”
“Enough waiting,” Roland said.
Miray started dropping. She closed her eyes and her mouth. She did not want to scream again. Two strong arms caught her, and she opened her eyes to see Dante now staring at her.
“See? That wasn’t too hard,” Dante smiled again. “Can you walk?” Miray nodded, and Dante leaned down so that she slid onto her feet. She took a step forward then saw Esme grip her arm.
“You sure you’re ok?”
Miray took a moment to look at her. She was insanely jealous of her blue eyes and long black hair. Esme was beautiful, and it was no secret how incredible a fighter she was. Miray nodded again and turned to look at Roland as he was patiently tapping his staff.
“You’re welcome,” Roland tilted his head and gave her a cheeky smile.
“Roland,” Dante said and shook his head. He took a step forward and touched Miray’s shoulder. “Ignore him…he doesn’t have a filter.”
“No kidding,” Miray muttered.
“Part of my charm, now are we gonna go?” Roland asked.
“Our camp is just one mile north, we had to move because of some hunting patrol,” Esme said. She still had not let go of Miray’s arm, making sure she would not faint.
“One mile?” Miray whispered.
Roland whistled. “That won’t work, our little baker is tired.”
“Baker?” Dante asked. “You bake?”
“Far better than you could ever hope to achieve,” Roland said and took a step forward.
“I can walk there, what’s one mile?” Miray said. “He’s exaggerating.”
Miray took a step forward but nearly tumbled in the dizziness, Esme pulled her back up. “Just maybe, give me a moment.”
“I can carry you,” Dante said.
“No, no, I’m good,” Miray said as she started walking again. “Let’s go shall we? Please, the sooner we go, the sooner I can return and bury my head in the sand.” Miray started to wobble again, and she cursed herself inside.
“Come on,” Dante took a few steps forward. He swept her legs and lifted her up. “Let’s get going.”
“I’m fine!”
“You look like you’re about to drop down dead any second, Miray,” Esme said.
“Well, she did see a Wendigo charging towards her, and she tried to navigate me through a forest, and she got caught in a huge trap,”
Miray just closed her eyes, her cheeks flushed red. “This is not how I imagined this day to go.”
“No, I suppose you just imagined yourself baking some goodies and getting ready for the next day’s sales…” Roland said. “Sorry to have barged in.”
“Hey, we appreciate your help, we really do,” Dante said and stared at Miray. She turned her head, still flushed. “Don’t worry. This is just till the camp. Then we can get some good rest, and our great journeys start tomorrow.”
“I can walk,” Miray spoke softly. She tried to ignore her increasing heartbeat, as Dante had already started trekking through the forest. Dante ignored her, and she looked back to see Esme now holding Roland’s arm and leading him on. She shook her head slightly. They were a good team. She could tell it within the first five minutes of meeting them. Each had their role to play, and they did it so well.
But that still didn’t make her feel better. She felt like she was a little child in the company of great warriors. Now being carried to the camp because she was physically too unfit to make it all the way herself. If she wanted to impress them, then she would have to up her game. She would have to be tougher, stronger…She would have to learn how to fight, to be a warrior.
Problem was, how? How did they become warriors? Perhaps she can follow the same path. She could ask.
“How did you learn how to fight?” Miray asked, breaking the silence.
“I was trained by my father as a young boy,” Dante said. “He taught me everything I know, and now Esmerelda and I train together, keeping me on my toes.”
Miray’s heart sunk into her shoes. Trained from childhood. Perfect.
No way was she catching up within four weeks.
Comments (0)
See all