I quickly packed my blanket, stood up, grabbed his hand and made a run towards his horse.
"Hurry! We must leave quickly!"
I quickened my pace, my fingers even faster than my feet as it began to untie the knot to free the horse. After which, I gave the rein to him and pointed at the formidable animal who increasingly snorted. At the back of my mind, there was a voice that said it was clearly mocking me but I have no time to think deeply about an animal's opinion of me at a dire situation like this. "Ride! Now!"
But he remained standing in his spot, not even moving an inch.
"Why?" he asked.
"What do you mean why? Look at you already covered in blood! The man said there's a monster here. I didn't see it earlier because it was too fast but he killed that big man over there! We need to find a safe place so that I can treat your wounds immediately-"
"But this isn't my blood."
I blinked up at him. "Then... that amount of blood is...?" His whole shirt was soaked and splatters could be seen on his pants and boots, as well. Huh..? Then, could he have possibly murdered someone..? Or something..?
I gulped, gripping the stringbag in my hands a little harder. I wonder if I will be able to strangle him with this... Will I be fast enough..? Or will he be faster..?
The answer was painfully obvious. I felt cold sweat form on my back as I gulped a second time.
"I was hunting for food a while ago."
I blinked as my mouth formed an O. "I-I see... Then the monster...?"
"What monster are you talking about? I was the one who saved you from that man. Goodness..." He casually took the rope from my hands and tied it on his wrists, slightly alarming me. Isn't that... dangerous? But he had looked so confident, I couldn't say anything.
"You... did that to that man?" I secretly gave him a once over again and realized that indeed he has a much greater build than the average male. Well...
Wait- Does he?
After all, the only real reference I have of adult men's physique are my brother and the elderly doctors from my past so I can't really say for sure. However I can't deny that he has a very intimidating height...
"Ah... I just knocked him unconscious. He'll wake up in a little while..."
I directed my gaze to the limp body behind him, recalling the blood that gurgled from his mouth, but the man in front of me had suddenly shifted, moving over to tilt his head in front of my face. I lost focus and my eyes went to the dark shadows behind his hood, instead.
"Adrenaline rush is quite exhilarating, isn't it?" He said.
Oh. Adrenaline... So that's what it was. "I see..." But my doubts were yet to be extinguished. Especially with his bloodied appearance.
Extremely bloodied appearance. Does hunting really result to that much mess..?
"It's because I'd been carrying the meat on my shoulder for a while and the blood hasn't been properly drained." He explained as if he read my thoughts.
I awkwardly looked down, feeling embarrassed that my thoughts had been too obvious."I was just wondering... Sorry..."
"Don't be. It's normal to doubt strangers... I'll wash it later when we have the opportunity." He uttered flippantly as he removed a leaf stuck in my head. "Were you scared..?"
Now that he mentioned it, I suddenly felt the strength in my knees fade. I slumped to the ground, trying to calm the sudden tremors from the fright.
"What's wrong..?"
"I-I'm fine... I just need a moment." I answered pathetically. It won't be nice if he leaves me behind, realizing I'm too much of a burden. Truthfully speaking, my body's already at it's limit. Although I'm healthy but my body is not used to strenuous exercises. I've only ever been forcing my limbs to move despite the pain, but now, I don't think my legs can move with a mere few minutes rest. Also, I'm hungry...
"Are you tired?" He said as he retrieved something from the ground a few feet behind us. Later on, he came back and stood by my side as he fixed a dead deer's body on the horse's back.
"...It's nothing. I can walk in a few minutes..."
"We don't have time for that. The town's pillagers may have already started moving. It'll be dangerous if they catch up to us. And don't forget we have that man over there, as well."
He's right... I lowered my eyes and grabbed my legs. Even with the slightest movement, my muscles screamed in pain. Not to mention I have yet to recover from the scare a while ago. Although that man is now unconscious but just thinking about what he could have done to me is... I exhaled a shaky breath. Enough... Nothing happened and that's all that matters. However, what do I do now?
I gulped. "Then..." I don't have a choice...
"...I guess we'll have to part here." I added as calmly as I could. For sure he doesn't want a dead weight travelling with him, so I'd rather just utter his thoughts than grovel and be rejected later on.
"You... are really odd."
"I don't want to hear that from a stranger who doesn't show his face." I replied haughtily.
"Oh? Do you want to see my face?" He suddenly knelt down to level our gazes, making me flinch in surprise.
His tone sounded playful but I felt a sudden chill down my spine. There was a certain darkness in his voice that clung to me like glue.
"No way." I turned away from him, trying to play it cool. "Since you covered it up, it must be really unsightly. I'd much prefer to think back on this day as a memory of me traveling with a capable handsome man rather than a capable but ugly man-"
He laughed at my response, even tapping my shoulders fondly. It would have been fine but my shoulder muscles had stung so badly at the contact that I had to glare at him in disapproval.
"Enough. Just leave, already." I slapped his hand away and spun away from him. I quickly tried to forget his existence, shoving the reality in my head that I am on my own once again.
Dammit. I didn't want to cut my hair but I have no choice...
I'll have to appear as manly as can be. Being a woman is much too troublesome. I don't want a repeat of what could have happened to me a while ago.
I raised the knife as I gathered my hair to the side. Letting out a groan, I flicked my wrist to cut it but was surprised when my arms were suddenly grabbed mid-air, not allowing any movement.
"What do you think are you doing ?" A low voice called out from behind me.
I twisted my neck to look at the stranger in confusion. "You're still here?"
"Are you going to kill yourself?"
"What?" My mind reeled at his question. His overall disposition was dark and there was a hint of displeasure in the way he grabbed me. Did he think I was going to drive such a blunt weapon in my throat?
I sputtered in disbelief. "Of course not!" Who knows if I can even shove this thing deep enough to be fatal. Dear god, I don't want a slow and painful death. "I just wanted to cut my hair."
"..." He seemed to ponder on my words for a moment before sighing. "You don't have to." he said as he deftly snatched and kept my knife in his satchel.
"Hey! Give me back my weapon!"
"The little Miss won't need it anymore." He then turned around, adding, "Hop on my back."
"Eh?" By hop..? He meant..?
***
A/N: Hello! I decided to update two of my stories one after the other. I was reading My words are law and was a little disappointed with my writing there. I'll need to do some editing. Lol.
