Run, Run, Run, As Fast As You Can

Wake

The smell of soil and grass filled my lungs; there might have been just a hint of wild flowers too but it was much more faint. It was more like a memory of flowers in the air. This might have been a field of flowers a couple months ago, but now they were starting to die. 

A slight breeze was playing in the trees and its soft music was floating down to where I was laying. The slight rustling was comforting. I knew that in a minute, my back would feel like it was on fire again, and it made me feel better to know that the trees would be the ones to see me like that. The wind would sing her lullaby and the trees would shield me from unwanted gazes. 

I started to wiggle my fingers a little bit. Long strands of grass slid across my skin and I knew that I was on one of the softest natural beds there was. The grass would cushion my body and do its best not to aggravate the slashes going down my back. It was a gentle caretaker.  

Either it wasn't safe for me to be in the house, or whoever saved me knew that I would prefer the natural sounds of the forest to the cold appearance of an infirmary.  

When I opened my eyes I took in a glorious, clear blue sky. 

"Oh good," said an older looking lady who was leaning over me, "You are alive."

"Yep," I said wincing as I started to sit up, "Hard to kill this one."

"Careful deary. You gave us a scare there. How do your, um.. cuts feel?"

"Come on, say it plainly. How do my battle wounds feel."

"How do your... battle wounds... feel?"

"They burn like hell, no thanks to your king," I said examining bandages that ran down my leg, "Where is he anyway?"

"He's locked in your old cell actually. It's the safest place to put a werewolf who needs to cool down," said a voice from the other side of the clearing. 

"You have a twin," I said looking at who I thought was Armaros, "Are you Armaros or his brother and how do I tell you two apart?"

"No, thank you kind sir for helping me survive the big bad wolf? No, I'm forever in your debt because of what you've done for me? No, what can I ever do to repay you for saving me? What is this? I thought that being a hero had perks."

"That's how you tell the difference," said the older lady, "Armaros would have answered your question. Arsen over there will never give you a straight answer."

"Thank you...."

"Liebe."

"Thank you Liebe."

"Hey! What about me?"

"And thank you, you annoying jackass. I really appreciate the fact that you pulled me out of the way while your brother risked his life. And now the question I've been dreading the most... How bad was it?"

Liebe made a face, "You lost a lot of blood deary. You will definitely scar, and it will take months for it to actually heal..."

"If you have something else to say, say it."

"Nope, I don't have anything else to say. Except, just... Don't make him mad okay? You won't survive another attack like that deary. You were lucky to survive this time. I don't know what you did to get that kind of reaction out of him, it's quite concerning actually." 

"You haven't read my files, have you? No, don't answer that. I already know that you haven't read my files, because if you had you would know that I would rather die with my freedom than live as a slave. He is trying to enslave me. He puts a pretty label on it, calls it a job and says that the guards are for my protection, not to stop me from ever leaving, but in the end it is just a pretty package. Jambres wants to enslave me."