Vessels of The Goddesses

Chapter 7 - Bandits

Rosalynn's POV

We were surrounded by men wearing masks over their faces. They wielded knives that glinted under the moonlight. Pouches hung from their waist. I could hear the clinking of coins from inside.

"What do we have here?" One said with a raspy voice. "It seems there are kids that got here before us."

I ignored his comment. My eyes couldn't leave the sharp tools they were holding. I maintained a defensive stance, my feet were ready to run. My hand hovered beside Christina's, preparing for flight.

"W-What do you want?" Her voice wavered.

"What we want... Is to make money with that." The bandit said, pointing at the sphere beside us.

"Why? Is it really valuable? Do you even know what it is?" I asked questions to make my anxiety go away. If the bandits knew how frightened we were right now, they might use it to their advantage.

"We don't care. We'll find a way to get money with it."

Everyone stood still after that, none spoke a word. The whistle of the wind passed by as I already sought out a route to escape them. Although, all of a sudden...

"You can't take it." Christina's voice was low.

This made the bandit raise an eyebrow and for me to look at her incredulously. "And why not?"

"The investigators aren't finished with it yet." She explained. "If they see it's gone the next day, then they'll never find out where it came from, or how it got here."

The bandit looked at his friends. They blinked at each other before guffawing loudly. I flinched at the sound - it was very similar to a screeching vulture. I unconsciously shrunk as it pierced my ears.

"Don't you still get it, little girl?" The man wiped a tear from his eye. "We. Don't. Care. No one will stop us from selling that thing."

He raised the knife in our direction.

"Let's go, Christina." I whispered to my friend. "Maybe they'll let us live if we go without a fight."

Christina turned to face me. She had her mouth open in disbelief. "You don't mean that we'll just let them steal the sphere, right? That's wrong!"

I also didn't like the idea of stealing. However, the knives make it hard to act justly.

"What other options do we have?" I said through gritted teeth. "Look closely - they have knives! It won't end well if we provoke them."

The blonde-haired girl looked around. Then, it seemed like she spotted something. She pulled me closer and said very quietly, "I have a plan. Follow my lead."

She turned to the bandits once again. "I am very sorry, sir. W-We promise we won't tell a-anyone. Please, let us f-free."

The man was shortly stunned by Christina's plead. But once he recovered, he smiled wickedly. "Since you asked nicely... We'll let you be. Now, go away before I change my mind."

Christina lowered her head and proceeded to retreat into the woods, me not too far behind her.

I thought that she planned to leave, that was why she did that... I was wrong.

Christina abruptly pulled a branch from a tree whose edge was as sharp as a blade. I was taken aback by her strength at how easily she plucked the branch towards her. Then again, it was not that far from being a twig.

She glared at the bandits in front of her, her brown eyes shone unyieldingly. And, for a moment, I saw a hint of gold swirling in them.