It was her first night alone in the dark woods after her decision to leave her home without a
word; she wanted to get away from the life she did not want to live anymore. Darkness surrounded her; the noises of the night seemed to scream in her ears. The hoot of owls frightened her as she quickly moved through the tree line. Behind her she could here the beat of hooves chasing after her. They had picked up her trail already? She had to find somewhere to hide so she would not be caught and dragged back to the castle. Glancing around quickly and seeing that there was nowhere to hide, she resorted to the only thing she could think of -- climbing the trees. Clumsily she jumped up to grab hold of a low branch, trying to swing herself up onto it before the knights caught up to her.
In the distance she could see the faint light of torches coming closer at a quick pace, but she could not see it reflect off the shinning armor that the knights always wore. No… these were not the knights from Khiel. She stopped trying to climb the tree, her eyes staring at the mass of shadows that was coming ever so closer. Something glimmered in the light of their torches. Narrowing her eyes to focus, she spotted the tip of an arrow, pointed directly at her. Eyes widening, fear paralyzed her. The arrow was released from its bow, heading directly towards her chest.
She closed her eyes tightly, bracing herself for her inevitable death. A sharp clink was made, followed by a thud. Robin opened her eyes to see a dagger lodged into the dead bark of the tree, and the arrow laying in two pieces on the ground. Frightened blue eyes scanned the shadows. Seeing nothing, her eyes turned back to see how close the horde of men was. To her surprise, she saw the back of a tall figure standing in front of her. The figure turned, an arm reaching out and wrapping around her waist to pull her off the branch and into a close embrace. The bird's eyes traveled upward to see the solid, handsome features of the blond hair, blue eye man. A soft smile played his thin lips as he looked to her.
"Looks like I saved you yet again." Although a smirk played his lips, concern and seriousness could be seen in his eyes. "Let's go," he whispered as he took her hand and began to run through the tree line.
"Dyllis, how did you..." Robin looked inquisitively towards the man as they ran.
"Not now Rob." Before she knew what was happening, she found herself being lifted with strong arms onto a waiting horse. Dyllis climbed on behind her, took the reins and led the horse forward with a sharp kick. Robin glanced behind her, seeing the red glow of the torch beginning to catch up. The wheezing sound of arrows screamed in her
ears as the two sped along. Turning her attention to what was going on ahead of her, she could see a red glow through the trees and brush. The smell of burning wood and charred fleshed assaulted her senses. The acrid smell caused her eyes to water, and a violent shudder to run down her spine as she held on tightly to the horse. Suddenly she heard a grunt followed by a thump. Turning her head, she saw Dyllis fall to the ground.
"DYLLIS!" Robin screamed, pulling on the horse's reins to urge it to turn around.
"Leave me, sis! Get out of here while you can!" The fallen man struggled to his feet, pulling his sword from its sheath. The bird could see an arrow protruding from his left shoulder.
"I can't, you're hurt!" The horse whinnied and began to jump in fear. Robin grabbed onto its mane to prevent from falling off.
"I said GO!" His words were harsh and commanding. With tears in her eyes, she turned the horse around and galloped off towards the large red glow. Within minutes, she could see flames rising above the trees. Her breath was caught in her throat as she pulled the reigns to stop the horse. In front of her, the kingdom of Khiel burned.
Robin jumped up in her bed with tears in her eyes and a cold sweat rolling down her body. The sheets were
wet, and her nightgown stuck to every curve of her body. Panting, shallow breaths were taken as she glanced around the dark room in fear. Where was she? Was that a dream? Slowly she became aware of her surroundings and laid back in her bed. Her entire body trembled as parts of the dream replayed through her mind. "Oh please Gods, let it only be a dream and nothing more." Her voice quivered as she whispered into the night. There must be something she could do to find out, and she knew how. Quickly climbing out of her bed, she went over to her wardrobe closet, pulling several outfits and threw them on her bed. The bird quickly dressed herself in leather jerkins and a simple white tunic. Finding a bag, Robin shoved the garments into it and drew it closed. She glanced around for a brief moment. What else to bring? Money... she quickly grabbed what few coins she had off a table. Food, yes, she would stop by the kitchen before she'd leave. Going to a table, she pulled out a piece of paper, dabbed
a quill in the inkbottle and began to write.
My dearest sister,
I must return to my home. Something bad has happened and I must know what it is. I'm sorry for leaving so quickly, but I know you will understand. I'll go into more detail when I get the chance.
Love,
Robin
Folding the paper, she placed it in an envelope and addressed it to Anya. Quickly she grabbed another piece of paper and wrote quickly.
Damon,
Something unexpected has come up, so I must return home. I will be gone for a few weeks. I will try to write if I get the chance.
Love,
Robin
Gathering her items quickly, including the two letters, Robin swiftly moved out of her room into the dark corridors of the castle. As she hastily moved down the staircase, she nearly ran into a guard on his nightly runs. The man put his arms out to catch her and steady her balance.
"There now m'lady, you should slow down a bit." He spoke in a whisper, being accustomed to do so at night.
"Oh! I'm sorry." The little bird looked up at him, an idea popping into her mind. Holding out the two envelopes, she asked, "Could you please have these delivered as soon as possible?"
The guard nodded, taking the letters from her hand. "Yes m'lady."
As soon as he took the letters and agreed to do her the favor, Robin was on her way down at the same quick pace as before. Soon she found herself in the kitchen. Luckily no one was around at this time of night, so Robin helped herself by gathering a few days worth of food. All neatly packed inside another bag, her next trip was to the stables. Unknowing of where they were located, the bird pulled out a small marble from a pocket. Whispering a simple
command and placing the marble on the ground, it set off in the direction of the stables. Robin followed behind it quickly, keeping her eyes on the marble to make sure that she
didn't lose it.
Within minutes she arrived at the stables. Slipping inside, the bird immediately went over to the first stall. Robin looked the horse over, brining a hand to its nose to allow it to smell her. The horse whinnied softly, nuzzling her hand that caused a smile to form on her lips. Yes, this horse would do. Opening the stall, she led the horse out into the middle of the stable, whispering and cooing to the horse to keep it calm.
From the whinny, the stable master jerked awake and looked over in time to see the short redhead leading the horse out. Stumbling to his feet, he cleared his voice and said, "M'lady, may I help you with something?"
Robin jumped, turning swiftly to see the tall, middle-age man looking at her curiously. From her being startled, the horse let out another whinny, stomping his hooves into the ground. "Oh, I uhh..." Robin turned back to the horse, placing a hand on its neck to pet it gently to calm it down. The horse shook its head, letting out a snort as it stopped its stomping. With the horse calmed, the bird turned back to the stable master. "I need this horse."
"M'lady, surely you can wait until morning?" The stable master couldn't believe how quickly the woman was able to calm the horse. Even he had trouble maintaining such an untamed animal.
"No, I must leave now." Urgency was hinted in her soft voice. "If you will not help me, then perhaps you can tell me where you keep the saddles and reins?"
"I will help you m'lady, but I think another horse would suit you better. This one is a bit wild and..."
"This one is fine." Robin patted the horses snout gently.
With a shrug, the stable master went off to gather the appropriate supplies. A few minutes later he came back with brushes, blankets, a saddle and reigns for the horse. "It will be at least forty minutes before this horse will be ready to go. There's a chair over there that you can sit on while you wait."
Robin took a brush from the stable masters hands, returned to the horse and began to brush it down. "If I help you, it can be ready within twenty minutes."
Again the man shrugged and set to work on preparing the horse. He was curious to know why the lovely lady was so anxious to leave in the middle of the night, but then again it was not his business.
Minutes passed quickly. At last the saddle was strapped in place, and the horse was ready to go. The man turned to Robin, looking her over before asking, "Do you need help up?"
Robin placed a foot on the stirrup and swung herself up onto the horse. Looking down at the man, the bird couldn’t help but smirk. She took out a few coins and leaned down to place it into the man's hand. "Thank you."
The man nodded, walking to the front of the stable and opening the doors. "How long do you plan on having the horse?"
"Until I return." Robin gave a sharp kick to the horse's side, and the horse galloped off into the direction of the ports.