Forest of Fireflies

Chapter 78

(Daniella's POV)

Mother pushed me onto the ground and I collided into a tree root. I'm sure I earned a small bruise from that collision, but the real worry was the screeching and whoosh of air that made my heart skip a beat. We looked up as the creature cried out in a shrill tone whilst dodging to one side. Then, it flapped its large wings, sending a gust of strong wind towards us. I squinted at the sun to watch it turn away and flee. Of course, we were still quite shaken and alarmed when a deep male voice spoke from behind us. "Milady?"

The voice belonged to a strong tall figure who held a bow and arrow. He was leading a small group of other men dressed in a similar way. With a concerned expression, he held out his hand towards mother who said simply, "I'm fine," as she stood up. Then, she helped me up. The man retracted his hand and quipped, "A simple 'thank you' would suffice." When he had noticed my bloody arm however, he remarked, "You're injured."

"There is no need to narrate the obvious," mother replied as she took my arm. Despite my best efforts to ignore the pain, I whimpered as she inspected it. Then, she hovered her spare hand over it, willing magic into the wound. After the fog of purple smoke had disappeared, the stinging in my hand diminished to a soft sore feeling. Mother's magic got rid of most of the blood and pain but there was still a faint scar from where the claw made its deepest indentation. After inspecting my arm by prodding it gently and checking for my reaction, she waved her hand again and my sleeve repaired itself.

Upon seeing this, the man commented, "I was going to suggest a healer we have at camp, but it seems like it has been taken care of."

Mother raised her eyebrow, "You doubted me? Anyway, what the hell was that thing?"

The man replied, "I have no idea. We've never encountered the likes of it before." Right after his reply, my heart jumped with paranoia as another shriek rung through the forest from a distance. That naturally prompted someone standing behind the man to suggest, "Hey Robin, we should warn the travellers-"

"Travellers? You've been spying on us...thief?" Mother exclaimed indignantly. Upon hearing her words, I connected the clues together. I knew the man was oddly familiar! He was Robin Hood; the criminal wanted by pretty much every noble or royal in the kingdom. His reputation proceeds him as he was renowned for stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Robin wittily replied, "Just some payback, for the black knights you sent after us."

Mother scoffed, "Well, I'm sure you deserved it. But as you mentioned, I must leave to warn the others."

As she turned around and started walking away, dragging me alone with her, she noticed that they were following us. I could sense that her patience was running thin. I suppose it wasn't a great thing to admit that we had been saved by a couple of thieves. She whipped her head around and growled, "What's the meaning of this?"

"Should the beast come back for an attack, we might be able to help. Besides, we know this area better than anyone amongst the travellers, we-"

"Yes alright fine. Stop talking and follow us. I'll take you to Snow White so that she can deal with you."

I briefly glanced at the group to observe their reactions. Whilst Robin's 'merry men' were regarding us with disdainful expressions, their leader seemed to be more or less amused. 

Mother's softened voice distracted me from the group of men. "Daniella, is your arm ok?" I turned to her and nodded, "Yeah, it's not hurting. Just a bit numb, that's all."

With a growl, mother said softly, "I hope nothing else happens to that arm. Once we're back in the palace, I'm going to find a way to destroy that infernal beast, whatever it may be. It clearly hasn't seen the full might of the Evil Queen."