What Ifs and Whatnots

Girls are trouble.

Everyone knows that, it is bad luck to have a woman aboard a ship, you never see any male virgin sacrifices and even then some dolt of a man comes along and rescues your sacrifice, dooming your village to untold hell from so-and-so demon/Demi-God/sadistic sorcerer/war lord who was just particularly needy etc. So I was annoyed, but not shocked when people started to stare and the town officials were suddenly blocking my path. I spoke softly, keeping my voice innocent with all the polite words I knew. I knew I looked harmless; it was kind of the point when walking through towns in the middle of the day. If I’d been in the clothes that I wear between towns I probably would have been locked up just in case I started to burn down houses or something. Yes I wore two outfits to travel; you had to in these sceptical times. In town I was Arianna Dalhart, an orphan who was trying to make her way in the world by selling handmade trinkets, on the road I was Riann. My true name I did not remember.

When the town officials didn’t take my story, which wasn’t a complete lie I did sell handmade trinkets to get money, Riann was furious and ready to knock them all unconscious to get away. Arianna simply stood there and absorbed their disdainful words and rough hands as they dragged her through the streets. She flew spectacularly through the air after a boot in the small of her back and landed in a satisfactory heap a few metres away from the gates. This was why I was Arianna when I was around civilisation. She was a lot nicer; she behaved how a girl should behave.

Waiting a few moments to gather my thoughts together I slowly sat up and picked up the small trinket boxes that had fallen out of my pack and replaced them, tying it up tightly in a knot that only Riann could undo. I gingerly stood up; feeling the impact the ground had had in contact with my thin body. I would have liked to have more meat on me but travelling was a hard life for anyone and meals weren’t always a daily occurrence. After checking for bone damage I thanked the heavens that there was none I could find and with one look over my shoulder at the town officials that were still watching me (along with half of the town no doubt) I sighed and continued walking.

A few minutes later I was in thick forest, wild and untamed, Riann’s preferred terrain. I slipped behind some bushes and quickly changed outfits, off went the old, plain over dress and dirty petticoat, off came the frumpy shoes. Riann smiled as she pulled on the thin soled sandals that were wrapped up to the knee, the thick, light leather ensemble that gave her plenty of movement and plenty of coverage. Although it didn’t really leave much to the imagination as it was like a second skin, moulding to all the contours of my body with ease, the layered leather had saved my life countless times and soon I would be calling upon it once again.

Riann continued to walk in the woods. The pack didn’t swing from side to side as it did with Arianna, and I was scanning the bushes and trees around me looking for something to eat. Hunger was gnawing at my stomach and I didn’t want to reach into my pack for the little amount of dried fruit and meat strips that I’d managed to buy in the previous village. It was as I spotted some rather large berries high above me and had just finished picking as much as I could carry in the small pouches I kept separate for food that I actually noticed how little light there was under the canopy of the trees. The fact warned me that I needed to find a decent place for shelter that night, I didn’t want to be walking around these woods at night however much Riann was capable of defeating an opponent night time was far too risky. However it was apparently not to be.

The light faded rapidly and I had still not found a place to rest for the night. I was eating some of the berries I had picked earlier which kept the gnawing hunger at bay but didn’t completely sate it. My eyes continually moved around the dense foliage, checking for signs of other travellers both honest and dishonest. I heard a twig snap and I span, crouching low and pulling out an arrow from my quiver and moving the bow into my hands. It felt right as I held the arrow loose on the string, in place ready to pull taut and fire at anyone. The natural sounds of the woods were my only answer as I scanned the path and trees for any sign of life. Turning back I kept my weapon ready, choosing my path carefully, my light leather boots making hardly any noise against the dry ground.

I walked on, trying in vain to hear and see everything around me in the growing darkness. I turned again and walked backwards, a foolhardy habit that sent me plummeting down a hard, steep cliff. My bow and arrow were ruined as my body fell limp and lifeless, hitting every protruding tree that was too weak to take my weight, every tiny outcrop of rocks that rattled my bones and made black spots dance around my head. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, refusing to allow the natural instinct of curling into a ball take over. That would only break more bones than it was worth. I forced the decision into my mind, just to make sure that I wouldn’t forget and suddenly tense. I suddenly slammed into some rocks that nearly took the breath out of me but it was a fairly flat surface and ended my heavy tumbling. Though not for very long, there was an ominous crack and I opened my eyes just in time to see the rock below me sliding away from the cliff, crumbling and falling, taking me along with it into the dark depths below.

Brought to an abrupt stop the first thing I was aware of was a battering to my ear drums. The unearthly cries of masculine pain were right below me. Inwardly I growled and screamed at the man for silence. The my eyes opened and I saw the fire flickering heartily just a few metres away, the folds of material slowly falling flat and the angry faces of three men who glared at me as they advanced, two wielding glinting swords, the blades obviously deathly sharp. I sprang to my feet, earning a louder cry of pain from the man beneath me and jumped to one side falling suddenly as pain shot through my legs. I pushed myself up, ignoring the pain and glaring at the men who leered at me. They weren’t dressed as travellers and all had ugly scars protruding from their skin, tanned dark from the sun. Oh dear, bandits.

They chuckled hoarsely, maliciously and I saw their intent. Arianna shied away as Riann readied herself for an attack. My fingers found the two short blades that rested on my hips. My knives were my favourite weapons by far. They had cost a lot, custom made for an attack such as this one. I smiled at the memory of winning them in a bet, one corner of my mouth curving up in a twisted way as I pulled them from their sheaths and beckoned the men forward with a challenge in my eyes. The two rushed me while the third stood back and watched he was obviously the leader and the one I needed to be most wary of. I danced out of the others reach cursing the pain that coursed through my body with every fluid movement. I wouldn’t allow my fight to be impaired by injuries, I couldn’t allow it. If I did then I would be killed and I rather liked being alive. Stupidly I did not notice how they worked together, keeping my attention on them as they drove me towards the third man. They herded me towards him scoring only small cuts that dribbled blood down my skin as I danced back and out of their reach, suddenly hitting against their leader.

His arms wrapped round me, his large hands enveloping my own, squeezing them tight so the hilts of my knives were uncomfortably pressed into the soft flesh. His body nudged me forward as his hands pulled my arms back harshly. I refused to release my knives even as a pain ripped through my left shoulder. My head hung forward as I gritted my teeth against the pain that renewed itself with a fiery passion as the brutish man tugged and twisted my arms gently; inflicting the most pain with the least amount of effort. My breathing was coming out in ragged gasps and I whipped my head up, the long braid hitting one of the other men who had ventured close. My right wrist twisted beneath the leader’s own fist and I flicked my knife to connect with his flesh, going to surprise more than pain. I felt his grip loosen slightly and I twisted my right hand free, spinning to slash my knife down his arm holding mine. He flung me away with such a force that I crashed ungainly into the ground, landing on my left shoulder and having to swallow the new pain that now throbbed through my shoulder. Kicking up some dust into my assailant’s face I scrambled up, pulling my left knife free from my hand and replacing it in its sheath. My left arm was useless and I would have to hope for a quick getaway. One against three was disadvantage enough without an arm that couldn’t move and a leg that could barely have any weight put upon it.

I ran to the fire, kicking at one of the burning logs to spill out of the stone ring that the bandits had made to contain it. The flames licked at my legs but the leather held most of the heat at bay as I threw a pinch of dark grey powder into the heart of the fire. It roared with new life and I flung myself back to save myself from the sudden burst of heat. I landed awkwardly again, jarring my weakened shoulder almost too late to stop the attack from above that almost shattered my arm from the weight of the blow. It was the leader again; I saw that one of the men I’d been fighting earlier was rolling around on the floor trying to put out some flames that had ignited his clothes as the other rushed forward to help his boss. I rolled away from them, using the momentum to stand and renew the grip on my knife. After a few clashes with both men I managed to drive them back through dodging their attacks and scoring a few scrapes while returning the favour. With blades locked high in the air I used my injured leg to kick hard at the man’s pride. His eyes glazed with pain and anger as he let out a low guttural cry. I knew that look meant instant death and threw off his sword before spinning on my heel and running.

I clamped my left arm to my side refusing to acknowledge the pain as I heard two shapes crashing through the woods after me. I’d run into the trees instead of onto the path to try and lose them, however it wasn’t working which was very annoying. I tripped over something and fell down another cliff, this time landing with half of my face submerged in thick mud. I heard something moving just ahead of me, a low growl that reverberated through my head and set my teeth on edge but I couldn’t pull my hand out of the mud to push myself up. I came to the conclusion that I was going to die due to suffocation in some grotty bog and inwardly wept at the idea. I heard screams of pain and fear. There were the sounds of panic, I could feel feet thundering over the earth around me and something long hit my back, it was still warm and one end was wet. I almost dreaded to think what it was; soon I would no longer have to wonder. A hand grabbed me by the back of my neck, five sharp points digging into my skin and yanking me up, out of the mud. I finally opened my eyes and saw a leg falling away from me, tanned and crisscrossed with faint white lines. I tried to turn and face my captor who was holding me high in the air but his grip on my neck stopped me so I settled for trying to kick him.

“Be still.” The voice came from above, a voice that sounded as if it was being dragged over course gravel, more of a low, warning growl than any voice I had ever heard. I obeyed because I had to, in my head I refused flat out but my body went still and my head pounded if I even though about moving. I knew what this was and I knew that it was against all moral codes even with those that were immoral although their views were slightly skewed to fit their immoral standards.

“If you think to kill me then go ahead and try.” I gasped, trying to make my voice as fierce as I could. My answer was the nails digging deeper into my neck and a fetid breath was at my throat. The rolling of my stomach told me I’d been pulled higher into the air.

“What kind of being would kill such a pathetic victim?” His voice raised the hairs on the back of my neck and shattered my resolve to show him just how wrong he was. The claws released me and I fell onto hard stone, I hadn’t even known that there was stone around here. A small cry of pain escaped before I could censor it and there was a satisfactory grunt before a soft whoosh of air above me and suddenly the world was silent.

I do not know how long I lay there all I know is that when I woke up my shoulder throbbed like hell and thick, heavy manacles were around my wrists and ankles.