Maneater

Not A Witcher

Snow crunches under my feet as I walk through the woods. Normally, I'd ride my horse, but I left him at the stables. A scream echoes, I tighten my grip around my sword and run in the direction of the screams. I hadn't planned on doing anything tonight, but when I saw those men drag the girl into the woods, I couldn't leave her on her own.

I stumble into a small clearing, there are three guys surrounding a girl. She looked to be no older than twenty-three, close to my age. I unsheath my sword and stalk towards them. One of the men is on top of the girl, ripping her shirt off.

"Let her go," my voice is low, but loud enough for them to hear.

The man pushes the woman's arms down and stares at me, "Looks like we got a second one to play with, boys."

The two men come at me, neither of them bearing weapons. How disappointing, I was hoping for a challenge. It only takes me a few seconds to take them down, both of them lay on the ground, groaning in pain. I look up to the last man, a grin on my face. "I don't play nice."

He stands up, holding a small dagger. My grin grows as I watch him take a fighting stance. He looks so sure of himself, it'll be fun taking him down.

"If you leave now, I might let you live."

He shakes his head, "I'll kill you, bitch."

I charge for him, he steps out of the way, but I use my momentum to spin around, my sword spinning with me. The blade slices through his stomach with a sickening squelch. His eyes meet mine as he slowly sinks to his knees. I pull my sword out of him, and he finally falls to his face.

"What a bore," I mumble, wiping the blood off my blade.

I slide my sword back into its place, across my back, and turn to the girl and hold my hand out, she backs away from me in fear. I shake my head lightly, "I only kill when necessary, and only if they are men."

She nods, like she's convincing herself that it's okay. Her hand grabs mine, and I pull her to her feet. Her body shakes and I frown. "We should get you somewhere warm."

I shrug my cloak off and wrap it around her, trying to cover her exposed chest. She follows me back to the village, not saying a word. When the village's lanterns come into sight, she finally speaks, "Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me."

She looks down at me. She was rather tall for a woman, although it could just be that I am shorter than most. Her blue eyes meet mine again, "How can I repay you?"

"I don't need anything in return."

"You saved my dignity and my life, but you want nothing in return?"

"I'm not a Witcher, I kill monsters for free."

We stop at a house, and a young girl runs out to embrace the woman next to me. The woman watches me curiously, "What is your name?"

I tilt my head, nobody's cared enough to ask of my name. "(Y/n)."

She shrugs the cloak off and hands it to me, "I can not thank you enough, (Y/n)."

I slide my cloak back on, pulling the hood up to hide my face. "As I've said before, there is no need to thank me."

I give them one last nod before walking further into the village. It's late now, and I am in desperate need of some ale. I just hope the pub is empty. The last thing I need is a man to bother me.