A man with no name,

Lost in the forest he came.

3rd ☾

A Stranger in the Woods

When the soldiers moved several steps back, I saw two bodies stilled on the ground. We were already far from them, but I knew to whom those sleeping robes belonged to.

"Stay still, child!" The soldier tried to keep me in place, but I was gasping for freedom like the way I hungered for air. The young soldiers started dragging me like some wild animal, holding me by both arms while my body ruthlessly swept the dirt. I felt my face burning as I brushed the rough ground. Endless tears ran wild from my eyes.

When one of the soldiers was pulling back, I managed to get free from both of their grasps and I held on tightly to the nearest tree. "You monsters! You promised! You promised to never harm them! Get away from... get away from me. Take your hands off me. Stay away! Let me go, you bunch of liars!"

"Don't say we didn't try." When the soldier grasped a hold of my arm, he twisted it.

I winced in pain, screaming. "Let me go! Let me... go."

"You will face the king with a broken arm, child. You should have known better," he said to me.

"Why won't you just let me die here?" I was crying while fighting back with all the strength I had left. "You could break all my bones right now, but I wouldn't go to your king."

"Tie her up!" ordered the soldier who broke my arm. "This one knows how to create a fuss."

"Yes, sir!" The other one quickly obeyed, putting a rope around my feet and another one on my mouth. My one arm was already broken, so they let my arms free. I knew I could still do something with my right one, but my body was already giving up. There was just so much one person could do. I hated how strength always came with a limitation.

"What do you think you're doing?" I heard a man's voice from afar.

All of us stopped moving.

I looked around to see where the voice was coming from.

"Who's there?" asked the soldier.

After a moment, I heard the leaves rattle. A young man appeared from the woods. He was dressed in worn-out peasant's clothing, but his body was well-built. He looked as buff as these soldiers, contradicting the pair of clothes he wore. It appeared as if this man never knew hunger, unlike most of the peasants scattered in the borders of each town. A piece of clothing was firmly tied around his head, holding most of his dark, wavy hair in place. One thing I'd also noticed was a sheath of sword tied on his back.

I saw hope in his eyes. In my state, I was pleading for this stranger to save me. I didn't care if he was dressed like an outcast and a huge weapon hung on his back. A thief, like my mother would simply put it. He could be crook, but right then, he was my chance of deliverance in every form. Either way, it was clear that I'd be dead in the king's hands.

The soldiers stood on their grounds, both of them pulling their swords out. I realized that the ropes around my feet were still loosely tied, so I took the opportunity to free myself. The stranger seemed to notice what I was doing. He grinned, walking away from where I was and luring the two soldiers away.

'Thank you,' I repeated in my head. Despite the agonizing pain, I pulled myself up. This was my last chance. I wouldn't let it pass that easily.

"I'm afraid I can't let you take her away. You don't seem that friendly to her," the stranger told them, pulling out his long sword.

I removed my shoes, readying myself. When I was certain that the two soldiers' attention were solely on the stranger, I started taking steps back. And then, I ran towards the woods.

I had no idea what was inside the woods. My mother and Ira had taught me everything I needed to know as a daughter of a well-off family. Sewing. Cooking. Table manners. First-aid. Languages. And every knowledge that could be found in books. What they didn't teach me was how to live by my two hands—one broken arm—and feet in this unfamiliar ground. How to fight back and escape when the soldiers were chasing you. What to do when you were almost near your deathbed. How to survive when you had nothing.

I should hurry—this was all I knew. I had never been in the woods before, but I was aware that the king's guards were going to catch up with me anytime soon. I worried for the stranger who had helped me escape. But somehow, I believed that he would make it. He looked cleverer than those puppets of the king.

Catching my breath, I realized that I was lost. It seemed like I was going around in circles. Every tree looked the same. Every sound from afar ignited panic within me. I wasn't able to think clearly.

And then there were footsteps coming in my direction. Two. They were getting nearer, and I was stuck in the midst of this forest. I swore, they were only a few feet away. I was looking left and right, unable to make a decision where I should run to. My knees were badly shaking, my left arm throbbing in pain, and my throat was dried up, making it even harder to breathe.

Someone suddenly grabbed me from the side, carrying me over his shoulder. My first thought was to struggle. I wouldn't come with them, never! But when I saw the face of my abductor, I realized that he was the stranger who had saved me.

"It would be easier if you don't move much," he told me, while he looked back to the direction where the footsteps were coming from. Then he went east from it, without even making a sound, even if he was carrying me on his shoulder.

I held still, focusing on not creating any noise that would give our location away. Closing my eyes, I started to feel lightheaded with all the running and shaking. After a moment, the stranger stopped moving and he put me down on the ground. I opened my eyes and saw that we were already out of the woods. This was the first time that I had been here.

"Are you okay?" the stranger asked me.

I didn't respond.

"You are one pale human being," he added.

This time, I only nodded.

"Why are you being chased by those soldiers? You don't seem the type who will do anything bad. Not with those looks and considering your age," he continued, walking towards the river. I watched him scoop a handful of water and drank it. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. He noticed, "Thirsty?"

I nodded again, and he encouraged me to do the same. I got down on my knees and looked at the flowing water. Then I saw my reflection and realized how horrible I looked. The hair that I usually kept neat and shiny was now tangled in a mess. My face was covered with dirt and shallow cuts. My entire body got scraped badly. And there was an unfamiliar fear notable in my unsteady eyes.

Everything that had happened suddenly flashed back in my mind, like a forgotten memory caving its way in—the soldiers, the agonized look on my father's face, and the loud screech of my mother before the dead silence.

"Whoa, are you okay?" the stranger asked, kneeling by my side.

I didn't respond. Instead, I continued crying and trembling in fear. The uncontrollable emotions took over me, and I couldn't fully comprehend the reason for it all. It didn't make sense.

The stranger sat beside. He gently patted my back. "It's okay. It's going to be okay."

"My parents... they killed them." I lost all my will to fight back the devastating feeling that sunk in my head. They were dead. My parents were dead, and I couldn't save them.

"The king's guards?"

"Those horrible monsters. They said they wouldn't harm them. But they didn't keep their word. I saw it... right in front of my eyes, my parents. I couldn't do anything," I confided to him. Something in this stranger's eyes compelled me to talk. To say things when I was taught to be guarded all my life. Maybe it was the sympathy and understanding I heard in his voice. Or perhaps, it was my own longing for a fellow soul to tell me what was going on.

"Do you mind if I ask you why the king's soldiers are after you?" the stranger said after a while.

I hesitated.

But as I studied his face, there was a feeling that told me I could trust my secret with this man. He saved me when he had the opportunity to kill me right then. So I'd decided to trust him, grateful for keeping me alive. And this burden, it was getting heavier for me to bear alone.

Slowly, I extended my right arm. The stranger was confused at first. Then as I opened the right hand that I'd been clenching all this while, the confusion on his face was replaced with astonishment. As if to make it even more bizarre, the fine trace of lines on my palm flickered lightly.

"Where did you get that?" was his first question to me, looking at the seal carefully.

"It just appeared on my hand," I replied.

"Do you know what it is? From the appearance, it seems like a magic seal. You must be someone special. Not just anyone gets a seal like that all of a sudden. Are you sure you don't know why the guards are after you?" the stranger pressed on.

I didn't answer right away. Instead, I asked, "Why?"

With indecision, he asked, "How about your parents? They didn't tell you?"

I looked down. "I never had the chance to ask. It appeared at midnight."

"Right. Things do happen like that. This life could get insane by the minute," he said, gathering himself up. "So any plans now?"

I looked up at him, unsure what to answer.

"Like, what would you do with your life now? After what happened and with that weird seal on your hand?" The stranger adjusted the sword on his back.

"I don't know," I honestly replied.

He let out a sigh. "I attract danger in a blink of an eye. You know the last person I'd saved? He robbed me of whatever he could get in my belongings. Not that they were plenty. How about that, huh? Another thief robbing a thief?"

"You're really a thief?"

"I won't tell you who my usual clients are, but you can hold back your judgments."

"I don't have any."

He threw me a disapproving look. "What? A girl dressed nicely like you?"

"My dress is torn," I pointed out. "I look hideous."

"True," the stranger agreed. "But I could tell where one's from by her clothes."

"Not where they're going," I said back.

"Clever. You're a clever child. How old are you again?" he asked.

I had that flash of warning in my head again. But I still said, "Twelve."

"I hadn't seen anyone as clever as me when I was twelve," the stranger said, full of praises for himself.

"Aren't you too proud?"

"I had my fair share of shame, so I knew when to be proud." He cocked an eyebrow.

"I won't steal anything from you," I tried to offer. There wasn't that many places I could go to. In fact, there was none. If the king's soldiers had traced me here, they'd know by now where we'd used to live. I couldn't go to my aunt. I would endanger anyone near me if I hadn't yet.

"You could, little one. My life, that's what you can take," he said in a solemn voice.

It was true.

"So I'll just take my leave..." The stranger abruptly turned around.

"Yes, leave me here alone. It's fine. Make sure you visit my grave when you get back in this forest again," I kept on saying.

"You are making me feel guilty," he said, observing.

I kept my face straight. "My mother told me to be wise."

"And canny."

With a sigh, I stood up as well. "Well, she didn't exactly say that I should do something like this. I just figured out that since you were the last person on earth who would help me, I might as well try out my luck. It's either you or I'll let those soldiers find me and kill me. Or I'll let the king himself do whatever he wanted with my life, seeing how he badly needed to see me."

The stranger gave it a thought. Then flinging his hands in the air, he surrendered, "Fine. Go and see if you'd like living with someone like me. But I can't promise you cozy beds or fine clothes or whatever you girls like to have. And remember that I'd only take you in for a while. Don't expect me to linger around protecting you all the time. I never liked the king, but I'd rather not be dead in his hands."

"Thank you," I quickly replied, before he'd say anything else. It bothered me that he said he got more acquaintances, but I hardly had any other choices left.

"You're not exactly welcome." Defeated, yes, but at least there was a smile on his lips. "You got any name?"

"Cassandra," I told him. "Montforth."

"Ahh... a last name. How fortunate. Well, Cassandra, I'm Bryce. But don't casually give my name to anyone. I'm quite famous. We'll both be beheaded if you'd do so."

"See? I'm not the only one who's dangerous," I said.

He knocked me on the head. "At least I don't have king's royal soldiers in pursuit of me."

"Ouch," I muttered.

"You got a broken arm and you're in pain because of that?"

"Don't knock me on the head whenever you want," I said to him, soothing my head with my able hand.

"I have more obedient apprentices than you. If you want to go with me, don't think that I'm going to treat you like some fragile thing who just lost her family. I'm sorry about it, but it happens, child. A lot of us had also lost ours as well. You learn and adjust to a life without them," he preached.

I nodded without complaint.

The stranger extended a hand to me. "I'm Bryce, the leader of the greatest group of bandits."