《The Forgotten One》


 The Forgotten One Prologue

    The Forgotten One


    Our tale begins in a dark and eerie ruins from a civilization long past its prime. In the ruins under the surface of the world is filled with rooms that were once white pristine and sterile but are now dark and covered in dust of the ages. The entrance is in the side of an inconspicuous hill in the middle of a forest larger than any known to the modern society of 2021. The trees that make up the forest would put even the oldest of redwoods to shame.


    After entering the door inside the hill you¡¯d be faced with stairs that lead several stories below the earth. After reaching the bottom you would see rows upon rows of large cylindrical capsules the size of a human. These have been found time and again by many inhabitants of this world but nothing has ever been found out as to what they are or where they came from. To them they were oddities that could be potentially harmful to those how meddled with that which they didn¡¯t understand.


    And so it was left for thousands of years. Every few thousands of years they would be unearthed only to be left in fear of the unknown by those that found them. After a while many just began to tell their children and their children¡¯s children that such places were unlucky and filled with evil monstrosities that wait for those foolish enough to enter. Attempting to keep those they loved safe from the eerily quiet tomb of sorts.


    Many heeded their parents and grandparents warnings but not all. However those that went searching never found anything to change the way their societies approached such areas. And so they also abandoned these places. Never suspecting what they really were as they had never even grasped what these canisters could hold.


    But one fateful day a young girl came running into this abandoned ruin in search of shelter from those who sought to do her harm. Hoping that they would give up upon realizing where she went or even not believing that she would be dumb enough to go into the ruins to begin with.


    She ran as fast as she dared down the carved stone stairs. As she reached the bottom of the stairs she heard the shouts of those pursuing her. ¡°She¡¯s down here lads. Finally now we can get paid.¡± Said a husky voice


    ¡°Is it alright to have some fun before we hand her over Marcus?¡± said a nasally and high pitched voice.


    ¡°No Ben you can¡¯t. I¡¯m not sure why your father sent you out here with us but it¡¯s not to harm, maim, or break the very target he sent me and my boys to find. Besides she¡¯s just a kid.¡± Replies the same husky voice with disgust.


    ¡°Oh what difference does it make if I play with her now instead of after my father has played his politics with her?¡± Replied the nasally voiced man


    The girl scared out of her mind continued to run into the middle of the canisters trying to find a suitable place to hide before the men found her. She ran all the way to the back of the room. It took her the same amount of time to make it to the back of the room and hide behind a metal canister as it took for several men to reach the room from the stairs. With torches raised they fanned out and began the search which would inevitably lead to her being found.


    In despair the girl grabbed at the side of the canister in anguish and desperation and silently prayed for the gods to help her in any way they could. To somehow send a champion to rescue her from these men. She cried silently and awaited her fate.


    Unbeknownst to her and the men currently looking for her the canister she hid behind slowly began to hum with electricity as it began its start-up sequence. There were no lights as the canister barely had enough power for what it needed to do so it spent it all with awakening the inhabitant inside of it. The men had spotted her at this point and began to call for the rest as the man known as Ben began to laugh with glee.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Oh finally we found you I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have a rather boring ride back to my father little girl.¡± His face covered in a lecherous smile.


    But just before she gave herself over completely to the feeling of despair they all heard a sound that chilled their blood as none had ever recorded hearing any noise save for their own in one of these ruins. It was the sound of metal sliding over metal as the canister that the girl hid behind slowly crept open. All the men took quick steps back and drew their weapons acknowledging the danger that was spoken of these places since long before their birth. As they stepped back a form fell from the canister and landed on the floor in a heap.


    No one moved waiting to see what had happened. As minutes passed they slowly relaxed but never sheathing their weapons. Ben quickly grew irritated by the fear shown on the men¡¯s faces surrounding him. He quickly strode up and impaled the form. After nothing happened he smirked at the others. ¡°You cowards. Now hurry up and bring her I¡¯ve grown tired of gallivanting through these gods forsaken woods.¡±


    As the men moved to obey and looking away from the form they heard Ben scream in pain and fear. They all looked to him and saw he was on his ass with one hand covering the stump of his right shoulder where his right arm should have been. They couldn¡¯t understand what had happened but after a few seconds realized that he was missing his entire sword arm. They quickly fell back to him and looked to where he was starring in fear. Where the crumpled form once was stood a man that was a fully nude six foot tall and had pitch black hair with red eyes as if they were comprised solely of blood.


    In his right hand was the arm of Ben still grasping the sword that he¡¯d pierced through the black haired man¡¯s abdomen. He slowly drew the arm and with it the sword that was still very much in its grasp out and away from his body. The man and little girl watch in horror and awe as the man pulled the sword fully from his body. They then watched as the hole that went through him slowly closed as blood only leaked out until it was fully closed.


    He then looked from his body to the group of men still brandishing their swords and slowly narrowed his eyes towards them. Time seemed to halt completely as the two parties who had originally trespassed waited to see what the monster would do. After what felt like a lifetime for the girl she slowly began to have hope as she and the group of men who at this point were terrified heard something from the man.


    It wasn¡¯t in a language any of them understood but there was an inflection at the end as if he had asked the men a question. After not receiving an answer he threw the arm and sword down which scared the girl into letting out a quiet yelp. The monster turned to look at her. The eyes which had terrified the men also had the same effect on her for but a moment then they seemed to soften.


    While the monster was temporarily distracted the men decided to strike with two of them lopping off his arms and finally a third decapitated the man. Their swords completely passed through his flesh and bones albeit with much more resistance than they believed was possible. As his arms fell with the force of gravity his head had remained on top of his neck and torso. His body did fall to its knees however. This caused the men to relax and laugh at the situation. At how daunting of a foe he seemed to be but turned out to be the opposite.


    While congratulating one another and attempting to stem the flow of blood from the man named Ben. They heard and turned to see the body of the man fall next to his arms. After seeing it¡¯s wasn¡¯t another monster awakening they continued to help Ben. But then froze again as they heard that same language the monster spoke to them before.


    They turned in fear and were right to be afraid. The man¡¯s head was looking up and the child still partially hidden behind his capsule. He seemed to be speaking to her in a calming tone. Then after speaking to her he began to rise. With both arms once again resting where they should. He turned to face the men who¡¯d assaulted him. He gave them one quick look over and roared at them the way a beast of immense power would roar at those who had just annoyed it for the final time.

 The Forgotten One Chapter 1

    The Forgotten One


    After being sliced through I intentionally fall next to my arms to begin the healing process. It might not be the only way to do it but it¡¯s the fastest at the moment considering how starved I feel. I sent out a few muscle fibers to begin connecting my arms. As I¡¯m focusing on my arms I look up and see that little girl again hiding in fear from the men who¡¯d attacked me.


    When she sees me looking at her and my arms have almost finished reconnecting I begin to soothingly speak to her. ¡°It¡¯s alright sweet heart just give me a minute and I¡¯ll deal with these assholes ok? Just maybe don¡¯t watch.¡± With that I begin to pick myself up and turn to face the bastards that came at me.


    They seem to be staring at me in disbelief. Which I find hard to understand. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m their first infected is it? I stop thinking about such pointless things and then roar at them before launching myself at them throwing punches and kicks that snap, bend, and break them. They out number me five to one but with that fat sack of shit who stabbed me down for the count and with two of them distracted by keeping him from bleeding out it¡¯s not too difficult to beat these guys into a pulp. I don¡¯t go out of my way to cause pain though. The second the opportunity presents itself I¡¯d finish them of by either breaking their necks or stomping their heads into the floor.


    Ok yeah not exactly painless but it ended the beatings they were receiving. I¡¯d never had to fight anyone with swords before. The weapon was never going to be completely useless but with hard it is to conceal and the fact people could get their hands on guns kind of retired it.


    After killing three of the five that left a large muscular man and the fat one armed one. He wasn¡¯t looking to good at the moment. Pale and crying while he stared at me in fear. The large man began to talk to me but I couldn¡¯t understand word he was saying. As he was speaking to me I slowly bent down and grabbed one of his recently deceased comrades and began absorbing him.


    Of course I didn¡¯t full on devour the guy but as I held his head in my hand I sent a black tendril through my hand that drilled into his skull quietly as it assimilated his brain and sent all the information the man spent his life gathering into my mind. I quickly discarded the memories which I deemed inconsequential such as his home town, his mother¡¯s name, what his aspirations were things like that.


    All that I needed was what he was doing here in the lab and what languages he knew. After finding what I needed exactly the man in front of me no longer spoke gibberish. ¡°¡­..and for that you will pay you fiend now unhand his body or I shall personally send you to hell¡± I stood up to my full height and stared him down.


    My eyes never wavered as I stared him down. The fat one I now knew as Ben was still clutching his shoulder and crying. Marcus the large one had somehow stemmed the blood flow.


    Marcus was about to speak again when we heard a horn coming from the entrance of the lab way above us. Marcus began to pale and quickly grabbed onto Ben hauling him up and backing away from me and retreating up the stairs.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    I watched them go still not understanding what the horn signified. After I heard them shut the door and I knew the girl and I were alone I turned back toward her. She was staring up at me in awe and possible fear as she stayed crouched behind the capsule. I kneeled down and spoke to her in English.


    ¡°Hi there.¡± I gave her a small smile ¡°It¡¯s alright to come out now the bad guys are gone.¡± She stayed hidden but didn¡¯t seem to be as scared of me now. After a few minutes of her still staying behind the capsule I held out my hand to her. ¡°It¡¯s safe to come out and I promise I¡¯m not like those guys.¡±


    She ever so slowly reached out to take my hand and I gently pull her out from behind the capsule. As she stepped out she hobbled a bit and I see that she isn¡¯t putting as much weight on her right foot. ¡°Are you alright? Would you like me to carry you? I very much doubt you¡¯ll want to climb those stairs with your foot like that.¡± I motion to her leg and the mimic picking her up


    She looks down at her foot then back up to me and smiles slightly and nods. I then bend down to pick her up in a very gentle princess carry and slowly make my way towards the stairs trying not to jostle her and cause her any pain. Half way up the stairs I hear the horn again. With the vault like door to the lab almost completely shut it¡¯s hard to pinpoint but it seems like it¡¯s a lot closer than the last time I heard it. However unlike Marcus the girl didn¡¯t seem very worried about it.


    Once we reached the top of the stairs I pushed the door open with one hand while still holding the girl close. The first thing that hit me was the sights and smells. We were in a large beautiful woods. Something out of a fairy-tale there were plants and flowers of many shapes and sizes. I could smell fresh air and the smell of something else I couldn¡¯t quite make out.


    The second thing that hit me was an arrow. It tore straight through my thigh and embedded itself into the forest floor after clearing out the other side. I groaned in pain but didn¡¯t drop the girl. Instead I quickly transitioned her to my back. ¡°Hold on.¡± I then began looking for whoever shot the arrow but saw nothing which was very strange for me. After a few seconds I heard the horn again only now I could see who was using it. It was a group of women riding atop several different animals. The one in the lead with the horn rode atop a large wolf.


    Two women behind her rode on a large elk and what looked like something similar to a white tailed deer but larger. In behind those two were three women dressed in chain mail and rode atop large grizzly bears. Upon seeing me they began to speed up until they were right on top of me. Then they began circling me brandishing swords, staves, bows, and a spear.


    I quickly held my hands up to show them I wasn¡¯t a threat. This seemed to do little other than have another arrow fly from the forest and tear through my other thigh. Forcing me to fall to my knees. This caused the little girl behind me to cry out in pain as she fell off of my back and land awkwardly onto her already hurt leg.


    As soon as she was free of my back the women riding the elk and deer immediately jumped off their mounts and rushed to her. The three riding the bears jumped off and began to approach me. They stayed in a circle formation as to prevent me from doing anything. I heard the two young women who were now tending to the girl speaking in another language I¡¯d never heard.


    The warriors surrounding me just waited with their weapons at the ready. As they waited I saw something in the trees. A large cat like creature began to descend from one of the large trees and a woman very similar to the others already around me riding on top of it. I was sort of scared about my predicament but I was honestly curious so I couldn¡¯t stop myself from talking. ¡°So are you Amazons then?¡±

 The Forgotten One Chapter 2

    The Forgotten One


    They all just stared at me with absolutely no motion to laugh at my joke. I just sighed and shrugged my shoulders. ¡°Do any of you speak English or was it just a bad joke?¡± Still nothing. I sigh again and just waited for someone to say something. I can still hear the ladies talking to the young girl behind me. They''re crying so I makes me just standing around with my hands up and being fully naked a lot more weird than it already was.


    ¡°Ummmmm hello?¡± I waved my hand at the young woman who was approaching on the large cat which I could tell was a panther or some kind of enlarged version of one. She gracefully slid of the cat and approached me with her bow drawn and an arrow pointed at my face.


    I started waving my hands in front of me ¡°No no no no no do not¡­¡­.¡± Half way through she fired it aiming to kill me. Now of course I¡¯d have been fine after a few minutes of regeneration but pain is still pain. I moved my head but could only move so fast. The arrow tore through my cheek ripping a chunk from it instead of just cutting through.


    I yelled more in surprise than pain and sent a hand to my cheek. Groaning ¡°What the FUCK!! Holy shit lady that was uncalled for damn.¡± What kind of arrow head was that?? She looked at me angrily for moving and causing her to miss. As she reaches into the quiver on her back I hear a high pitched voice in that musical language they¡¯d been speaking behind me.


    The little girl I¡¯d helped ran forward and spread her arms out in front of me. It seemed like she was trying to protect me from the bow wielding lady. She began shouting at the woman who¡¯d attacked me as I healed my wound. The second I did and lowered my hand she quickly drew an arrow from her quiver and drew her bow back. She than began yelling at the little girl while holding the arrow pointed at my head again.


    The little girl just yelled back at her and started backing up towards me. When she was right in front of me she turned around and mimicked the motion I¡¯d used earlier when I¡¯d asked if she wanted me to pick her up. I bent down to her and lifted her up again. I received a warm smile from her but when I looked back to the bow-woman she seemed to be seething.


    I looked back down at the girl I was carrying. ¡°You¡¯re going to get me shot you know that right?¡± She just kept on smiling and when she looked to the woman she was arguing with she stuck her tongue out at her. ¡°Yep you most definitely want to get me killed.¡±


    As I was talking to myself mostly the two women who¡¯d been treating her injured foot came up behind me and began talking to the warriors surrounding me. They all slowly lowered their weapons except for the woman with the bow she argued with the two women for a minute but finally lowered her bow as well.


    The two women then walked in front of me and bowed slightly and began speaking again. Most likely thanking me for saving her but the others don¡¯t look to happy about this. I quickly reached out and tried to stop them from bowing. The second my hand touched the older one however my vision spun as I was hit in the back of the head with something very hard and round.


    I staggered and almost dropped the girl again but kept her safe from falling. After the blow I began to raise myself but was hit in the head again and again and again. Man they hit hard. I should also remember don¡¯t touch them. I don¡¯t really remember how many times they hit me but I did black out for a bit. When I woke up I was still naked and slung across the back of a bear that was moving at a slow pace. I could still hear the rest of the small group¡¯s animals ahead of where I was.


    My hands were bound and so were my feet but there was nothing stopping me from falling off and there weren¡¯t any other animals or their riders behind me. So I went ahead and rolled off the back of the bear but kept my eyes shut and pretended to still be unconscious. The second I hit the dirt there was a shout and the sound of animals foot falls stopped.


    I heard someone approach and was about to attack when I felt a small hand touch my forehead. Ah so it¡¯s her again. Figuring it¡¯d be bad to attack the one I just saved I kept still and breathed in a slow rhythm to try and fool them. As she was touching my forehead another larger but soft and delicate hand rested itself right next to the little one¡¯s hand and I felt a strange energy enter me and felt my body slowly increase in its regenerative abilities.


    The second the larger hand left it disappeared. Do they have access to Nano technology or was that something else? After the healing had stopped I was hauled up and placed back on the bear by what I could only guess was the three warrior women. After I was secured with rope or some kind of vines they continued their slow march. Hours passed like this me just listening to my surroundings and waiting for something to happen.


    Eventually it began to grow darker and the women settled down to make camp. I was left attached to the bear while they set up tents and began cooking. After a little while I heard light steps approaching me. Then a little hand was resting on my forehead once again. I heard her sigh and say something in her language before leaving.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    She returned less than a minute later with the same one who¡¯d tried to heal me and more than likely the angry one. How could I tell? Oh it was easy I could hear her ranting as they got closer. But once the little one began talking she quickly quieted down. The two women than began unstrapping me from the bear and half carried half dragged me to a spot near a fire there they laid me on my back.


    They left me there and went back to whatever it was they were doing while the little girl stayed and kept watch over me. She¡¯d talk to me in her language and after a while she left and returned with some water and a rag. She started to wipe my brow while trying to pour water in my mouth to drink.


    In the midst of being taken care of someone dropped something on my lower body to cover me. I also heard a beast slowly making its way towards me. It walked until it was directly beside me then laid down and into me. From the feel of the fur it had to the wolf as it was very similar to dog hair and since I¡¯d only ever touched a bear just now i could tell the difference I figured it was a good guess.


    The little girl than began to talk to the beast telling it something in a stern tone. After she was done she left me and went somewhere. As I couldn¡¯t hear anyone around me save for the wolf I opened my eyes to find it staring directly at me. Not in an ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you or eat you way¡± more of a watchdog way.


    I wanted to reach out and pet it but my hands and legs were still bound. I didn¡¯t want to just rip them apart so instead I shaped my right pointer finger into a sharp black and silver claw and cut through my bonds. After I was done I tied them together in a loose way so I could escape if I needed to but they still looked bound.


    Finishing up with that I couldn¡¯t help but reach over and begin petting the wolf. It growled immediately at me and stared into my eyes but I didn¡¯t stop. After a minute of staring the wolf finally stopped and laid its head down. It might have looked angry and annoyed but I saw its tail wagging even if it was only slightly. As the day turned into night the women slowly returned with a few animals they¡¯d hunted for the night. The wolf hadn¡¯t moved once but I could tell it really wanted to go grab some food.


    I patted it a few times to get its attention and whispered to eat. ¡°Go grab some grub. I promise I won¡¯t do anything or go anywhere.¡± The wolf which I figured wouldn¡¯t even understand me whined and laid its head down again it seemed to be waiting. Maybe ten minutes after that I heard those light footsteps again. I heard her shout out and the wolf immediately sprang up and raced away.


    She sat right where the wolf had been and set somethings down beside her. I could hear something wet sloshing around so I just figured it was more water. That was until I heard her blowing on something and felt her pour some hot liquid with small chunks into my mouth. It was incredibly hot and I couldn¡¯t help myself from groaning.


    She giggled and began poking my in the cheek the bow woman had shot. After a few pokes I just gave up pretending to be asleep and looked at her. She was there smiling and holding a bowl of stew with a spoon in her other hand. I sighed and began to sit up taking the bowl and spoon from her and dipping my head in thanks.


    She smiled and patted my head before picking up her own bowl and she began eating slowly. I joined her and realized that I¡¯d been too distracted from the heat of the first bite to realize how delicious the meal was. I began eating with a voracious appetite I didn¡¯t know I¡¯d had. Within moments my bowl was empty and my stomach hungered for more.


    It quickly displayed this by gurgling loudly. I poked the young girl and pointed at the bowl when I¡¯d had her attention. She giggled at me and stood up with her bowl. She then motioned for me to follow. As I got up and the fur that had covered my lower body had fallen off into a heap. I looked down and heard another giggle from the girl.


    Ughhh. If I ever learn their language I¡¯ll never live this down. But it¡¯s too late for that now I¡¯m way too hungry to care about being indecent. I quickly followed her away from the small fire at the edge of the camp to a large bonfire that was towards the middle. Why they¡¯d left me and her off to the side where no one was watching I doubt I¡¯d know. As we walked through the few tents towards the fire I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little anxious going back towards the people who¡¯d kicked my ass without so much as a moment¡¯s notice.


    Once we¡¯d cleared the tent line I could see that the seven women were all sitting on the ground in a circle chatting and laughing with one another. Their mounts directly beside or behind their corresponding rider. Except for the wolf who sped towards me and the girl the second it saw us. I was about to jump out of its way when I ground to a halt and nuzzled into the girl and after receiving a few pets and scratches moved towards me and bumped it¡¯s head into my torso.


    I was frozen at this point because the women who¡¯d been talkative and expressive suddenly turned cold when they¡¯d seen me. The little girl of course just kept walking until she was directly next to the two women who¡¯d come to help her after she¡¯d fallen and the angry bow woman. Not know what to do I just waved my left hand as I¡¯d been carrying the bowl and spoon in my right.


    Their eyes just drilled into me. I was about to say something when the big wolf whined while staring right at me. It then bumped its head into my chest again. Sighing to myself I slowly put the bowl and spoon down and began scratching and petting the wolf all over its large body. It only took a few before it fell over onto its side and began panting. I couldn¡¯t help but laugh as it reminded me too much of the dogs I¡¯d owned before I was put in cryo.


    After giving her a good belly rub I looked back to the women and saw that three of the eight were now smiling at me. The first was of course the little girl. The second was the oldest woman there and if my memory serves she is the rider of the wolf. The third and final one the younger woman who¡¯d helped the little girl up.

 The Forgotten One Chapter 3

    The Forgotten One


    Finishing the petting I picked up my bowl and spoon and walked towards where the little girl was walking. She neared the large fire and began ladling the stew waiting for me to get closer so she could put some in my bowl. I approached her but was very wary. Of course that angry woman was staring at me but I figured she¡¯d do as much.


    After she¡¯d filled my bowl to its brim she walked off and sat next to the two women that had helped her. She looked at me when she sat down and patted the ground next to her and gave me an expecting look. Yeah no way the second I sit down someone¡¯s going to knock me out again. I¡¯ll pass. I slowly shake my head towards her.


    She frowned from my actions which only angered the very people I was trying to keep calm. The oldest of them got up and approached me with her hands held up in a defenseless manner. When she reached me she put both hands on my shoulders and steered me towards the little girl. With my bowl so full I had to use both hands to stabilize it. She sat me down and patted me on the head like I was some kind of animal. Then went right back to her spot around the fire smiling to herself.


    Just great ok ok calm down and don¡¯t move just eat but do it slowly. Very very slowly and keeping my eyes on all of them as best I could I ate the stew. It was as delicious as my first bowl but I didn¡¯t even notice as I was too preoccupied with my surroundings. After finishing my second bowl I set it down and looked either at the ground or off into the forest but made sure I didn¡¯t look at any of the women.


    I was going to keep it up as long as I could but after only a few moments my stomach decided it wasn¡¯t done and growled loud enough to be heard over the crackling of the fire. I couldn¡¯t stop myself from slapping my own forehead in disbelief. How can I still be hungry? I heard a light laugh from the girl beside me but I couldn¡¯t look at her.


    She got up and took the bowl from me went right back to the stew and filled it up again. She brought it back and offered it to me. I embarrassingly took it from her and bowed my head in thanks. I finished off five more bowls and only stopped because the stew had finally run out. The little girl was absolutely delighted to go back and refill my bowl and the two other women who¡¯d smiled at me previously seemed to be enjoying her antics and the rest weren¡¯t as amused with her catering to me.


    She then tried to talk to me for the remainder of the night with a few of the other women trying to see if I truly understand or not. I only understood a small percent of what she was trying to ask me. Mostly because of the motions she was making but the premise of it was. ¡°Are you okay? Can you understand me?¡± I figured that one was pretty self-evident so I didn¡¯t respond to it. ¡°Are you still hungry? Do you like the wolf?¡±


    Basic childish things like that. But I¡¯d responded to most of the questions and after she was finished talking with me she yawned. It was actually kind of cute and endearing to see. I must have smiled without realizing because she pouted at me for making fun of her being tired.


    As she started to doze off over the next hour or so from what little light remained it was difficult to tell the exact time. The slightly older woman who¡¯d rode the elk picked her up and was about to take her to a tent when she started to struggle and speak to her. When she was put down she walked back to where I was and whistled.


    As soon as she did I heard large paws hitting the dirt and guessed I was about to be face to face with the wolf again. My guess was right on the money as the wolf trotted over and nuzzled the girl again. Maybe it¡¯s a nightly ritual for these two? I wasn¡¯t about to ask since I¡¯d get no answer.


    After a quick one sided conversation the wolf almost seemed to nod at her and she smiled. She walked back to the older woman who¡¯d carried her. They traveled back towards the largest tent. She turned back and waved at me as if saying goodnight so I returned the gesture.


    The second she was out of sight though the atmosphere changed. All the women present save for the wolf rider and the deer rider openly glared at me. This is going to be a bad night I can just feel it now. The wolf slowly walked over to me and laid down behind me with its side facing my back. I slowly leaned into her and reached out with my right hand to pet her head.


    It was quiet clear that this annoyed more than a few as some of the women the bow wielder included tried to call her away from being used as a backrest. She seemed to be completely oblivious however as she just stayed there and received a nice and gentle petting. Not much happened after that. Several of the women left to their respective tents but two stayed up and watch over the surroundings of the camp and of course to keep an eye in me.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I had absolutely no reason to try and do anything at the moment. I had no real knowledge of the surrounding area nor what language was mostly spoken by the people of this region. I curled up next to the wolf and tried to sleep as best I could but that proved to be quite difficult considering the chill that crept into the woods as night fell and my body still being completely uncovered.


    Try as I might sleep eluded me that night. It wasn¡¯t going to be that big of a deal however. I¡¯d down a few tests previously before my forced cryo sleep to see how my new body fared with things that would normally stop a normal human from working at optimal levels.


    I¡¯d gone a full week with no sleep and without eating or drinking. It wasn¡¯t fun but it wasn¡¯t detrimental to my health in any way I could see. I was mostly bored and needed to find things to do with the lack of sleep taking over my nights. As for the food and water test I¡¯d found the biggest drawback was I¡¯d missed the taste of such things. Whether it be a home cooked meal made by my mother or a nice cold soda of some kind. Point being while it wasn¡¯t exactly ¡°easy¡± to go without food or drink I could do it.


    The reason I was hungry during dinner had more to do with the amount of mass I was sure I¡¯d lost while in a deep sleep without the ability to restock myself. Most if not all of my abilities came from the amount of mass I could hide within myself. Which I could then shape and or unleash to give myself an overwhelming advantage in any fights I was involved in.


    A few of my other abilities were just from changes at the genetic level the virus had done to me. Two of them enabled me to see in two different aspects compared to normal people. I could see anyone else who¡¯d been infected with the virus almost like they glowed compared to others. The final thing besides all my senses being enhanced was that I could see the heat that peoples bodies and other things gave off. The fact I could use both through walls with that one was a life saver in more than a few occasions.


    So I spent most of the night absentmindedly petting the large wolf and actively switching between my two different enhanced visions. After a while of laying and monitoring the surroundings I saw a large heat signature moving towards the camp very slowly. Upon closer inspection it wasn¡¯t one large entity it was a cluster of several people. They were roughly three hundred yards away but were unmistakably making a straight line towards the camp.


    I quietly got up from where I¡¯d been laying and woke the wolf who¡¯d dosed of a while ago to the endless strokes on her head. She seemed groggy and tired but I shook her head a few times to wake her. I raised my finger to my lips when she was focused on me and shushed her before she could growl or whine at me. I moved towards where one of the sentries had been before I¡¯d seen the group.


    They had changed a few times now as the sun was ever so slowly breaching the horizon. Just my luck however it was the bow wielding woman who I¡¯d gone towards. I didn¡¯t change my direction and quietly snuck towards her. She seemed to be occupied as she didn¡¯t hear me walk up to her. When I reached out and tapped her on the shoulder she quickly spun to face my with an arrow nocked and pulled as far back as she could.


    Luckily she didn¡¯t try to kill me this time. But that didn¡¯t stop her from trying to yell at me. Before she could get a word off though I¡¯d covered her mouth with my right hand and signalled with my left she needed to stay quiet. She wasn¡¯t too happy but complied with my demand. I released my right hand and pointed off to where I¡¯d seen the people approaching. They¡¯d only managed to get fifty yards closer.


    I tried to motion to where they were hiding and then back to her and the camp in an attempt to show her they were about to be attacked. However she didn¡¯t understand anything that I was doing. I sighed and quickly ran back towards the tents and slowly roused the women who were still sleeping. I almost got a black eye or two for my efforts but I¡¯d successfully woke them all with the help of the wolf rider.


    When they were all awake the little girl included I looked back to the group. They were one hundred yards away and beginning to pick up speed. I quickly pointed in their direction and then motioned as if I was going to attack someone. The women were very unappreciative of what it looked like I was implying but the little girl said something in her half asleep state that seemed to put the others in high alert.


    They quickly looked back to where I had pointed and finally seen what I¡¯d been trying to point out to them. At the same time the bow woman came running from her post shouting something that got all the warriors into ready stances. As the last of the women pulled out their weapons the group that had been making its way toward us began shouting as they ran into the camp with swords drawn.


    There were twelve of them with a slight variance in weapons. Five had swords of varying lengths and designs. Two had spears one was a short four foot spear and the other was a long seven foot spear. Three of them had bows and hung further behind the main group rushing into the melee.


    And then there were two in the very back behind the archers. On wielded a staff that was very similar in design to the woman who rode the white-tailed deer. The other was fully covered in a robe from head to toe and had no visible weapons on them.


    The two that received most of my attention were the two in the back. If I was right the one who¡¯d tried to heal me was similar to the staff wielder in their group. The other however gave of a terrible feeling of death and destruction. When I switched to my thermal vision I found out why. They seemed to be radiating heat like a blazing fire in the shape of a person.


    I quickly marked my targets as the three bow users as we only had the one angry but talented as far as I knew archer. I quickly rushed up past our warriors just before the others clashed with them. As I sprang forward I startled a few of both sides¡¯ melee combatants and tore a small hole through the groups as I ran at the three archers roaring.

 The Forgotten One Chapter 4

    The Forgotten One


    The archers were surprised and quickly tried to shoot me. Two missed completely as I closed in and one barely managed to graze my right thigh. When I reached their clustered group I began my ruthless assault on them. My main objective was to give ¡°my¡± group the advantage on ranged fighters.


    My fist crashed into the archer¡¯s face who¡¯d managed to hit me. I felt his skull crack under the weight of my blow and he went flying ten feet back sliding against the ground. I quickly struck out with my right leg to hit the next archer who¡¯d just began to move away and redraw their bow.


    I caught this one in the right arm and heard an audible crack from their arm and ribs. She screamed out in pain and fell to her knees. With her out of the picture I chased after the last one who¡¯d started backpedaling rapidly to get some distance between us. As I was about to chase him down too I felt a sharp pain in the back of my right knee.


    I looked down and saw a spear sticking straight through. My blood and some bone fragments littered the forest floor just below my knee. I heard the little girl shout something and jumped to the left rolling on the ground. I felt something wiz through the air right where my head had been and rolled awkwardly trying to get back on my feet but with the spear still lodged into my knee it made any type of movement insanely painful and almost impossible but I¡¯d managed it.


    I turned away from the archer who was twenty feet away and knocking an arrow on his bow to look at the battle behind me. The spear man with the short spear and a sword woman had come to attack me after I¡¯d initially passed them. The spear man was drawing a dagger out of its sheath having just lost his main weapon of choice. The sword woman quickly followed after me slashing at my chest and neck.


    With my movement impaired I couldn¡¯t dodge out of the way and took the full brunt of her attacks. After five or six deep cuts into my chest she grew over confident and charged in to thrust her blade through my throat. I put my left hand up to directly intercept her stab and lashed out with a powerful right hook hitting her square in the jaw and knocking her senseless.


    With her down and the spear man advancing towards me cautiously I quickly tore the spear and sword out of my body. I put the sword in my right hand and threw it at the man closing in on me trying to buy some time for my wounds to heal. He tried to dodge out of the way but wasn¡¯t expecting me to throw it as hard as I had. The pommel of the sword struck him in the forehead.


    Surprising me as I figured it¡¯d miss without a doubt. He fell like a sack of rocks and laid still. Ok so two bows, one sword, and one spear bastard down. Eight more left. While I was distracted by the melee fighters the archer managed to get a shot off and it pierced my back but only went about six or seven inches in. I quickly spun around to face him and transferred the spear from my left hand to my right hand.


    I took aim and prepared to throw it for all I was worth as the archer had moved over sixty feet away. Just as I let the four foot spear fly I heard a woman speaking in the sing song language that the other women had spoken in. I turned back to the fight and saw that the staff wielder that was behind the archers was glowing green. I didn¡¯t see if the spear hit but I heard the man scream and hoped it was either fatal or debilitating.


    As she dropped her staff the sword woman and spear man began to rise from the dirt and looked for me. They both started to yell at me in the language I¡¯d learned. ¡°You mother fucker I¡¯m going to kill you. Jack get this shit head.¡± Screamed the woman as she grabbed the sword from beside the man named Jack. I smiled and brought both fists up and went right back towards them ready to bust some heads.


    She swung with more caution than before but with my leg healed I could easily step out of the way. The spear man ran at me from the side and swung with reckless abandon but losing the reach advantage he¡¯d had with the spear I returned every attack attempt with a successful blow to his body or head. I didn¡¯t use as much strength as my initial charge but didn¡¯t take it easy on him or the sword woman.


    Our little fight was at a stale mate as far as they knew with them not being able to land a hit on me and me only getting a few hits in on them but without a weapon. I decided it was time to end both of them. When Jack went in to stab me with the dagger I let him drive it deep into my chest and grabbed his throat in a vice like grip. The woman thinking that Jack had delivered a fatal blow quickly closed the distance between us and stabbed me all the way through with her sword.


    I spat up blood and coughed but grabbed her in my other hand. With both their necks in my hands I started to squeeze and lift them into the air. They choked and sputtered and tried to stab me again and again but it was useless. I kept squeezing until I felt their necks break under the pressure I¡¯d been exerting. They may have died before then but I had to be sure with the staff woman who¡¯d picked them back up.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I dropped their corpses and drew their weapons from my body once again to survey the battlefield. Each woman was in a fight when it had started but they quickly mopped them up. Without the threat of arrows or being out numbered completely they had easily dealt with all but one of the melee combatants. It was the long spear wielder.


    He kept them at bay with his tremendous reach. Even with a few arrows being shot his way he either avoided them altogether or knocked them out of the air with the shaft of the spear. I then looked over to the two who¡¯d been in the very back. The staff wielder was crying and trying to do more things that caused her to glow but the fully covered one was now pulsating red in my regular field of view.


    He pushed his hand out to me and a river of fire flew from his hand and engulfed me sticking to my body. It burned more than anything I¡¯d ever experienced. I flailed and tried to put myself out but no matter what I did it continued to burn. Through the flames I could see that the spear user was slowly retreating towards his final companions. I started to run towards him and as he turned my way to attack I launched myself at him.


    He managed to impale me on the spear but I pushed myself farther onto it and grabbed him into a hug that would put an anaconda to shame. As I continued to burn he screamed at the top of his lungs for the fully covered one ¡°Stop it! Stop the magic!¡± But he didn¡¯t. I could feel my flesh burn from my bones and I could see it was doing it much fast to this man.


    As he stopped screaming and I was nothing left but bone I fell over on top of him and the fire sputtered out. I feel the women move past my now charred bones. When they¡¯d all past me I slowly began to consume the man I grew some tendrils from my bones and sent them to consume the man I¡¯d killed and fallen on. It took only a few minutes but after fully consuming him I could heal much faster.


    My muscle and skin grew back along with the rest of my body and with it I could finally hear what they were talking about. The man was shouting at the group of women about ruining his master¡¯s plan and how they¡¯d all be punished accordingly even if he died. The women were stoic and silent until the noticed the woman who had healed their fighters and then they grew angry.


    She had some kind of collar on her neck that gave off a slight red glow. After yelling at the man he just started to laugh. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Never seen a bitch put in her place before? Ahahahaha. Under my master¡¯s rule you¡¯d all be treated exactly as you deserved. Nothing more than the animals to be owned, sold, and used as such.¡±


    I turned my head to get a better look at them and saw that the woman who¡¯d rode the elk was crying and trying to speak to the woman. When it became apparent she couldn¡¯t speak back she looked at the man with a hatred so strong I could feel it from where I was laying. ¡°You will release my sister now human or else I will unleash a torment so unimaginable the fiends who torment those in the pits of hell will come to me seeking tutelage.¡±


    I was shocked by the fact she spoke in the human¡¯s language and missed the next few things she said. I started listening again and heard the man laughing. ¡°Oh so this bitch is your sister then huh. Good good this way you can watch her wither away to nothingness for after my death she cannot be freed from her collar. Only I know the words to unbind her. And slave should I die here you are forbidden from moving from that spot.¡±


    The woman who¡¯d spoken to him quickly struck him over and over again while crying. She was stopped by the wolf rider who caught her fist. I rose from where I lay and saw that the man¡¯s face was now deformed with teeth littering the floor. He was laughing however and kept saying that he¡¯d won.


    I strode up to them and everyone did a double take when they saw me even the woman in the collar and the man whose eyes were almost swollen shut. He sputtered and pointed at me and asked in a slurred voice. ¡°Dats nos ossibe yu ded nos ossibe¡± I smiled at him and moved through the group of women now staring at me in disbelief.


    ¡°Yeah I¡¯ve got to say that fire was fucking hot. But what was that about you only knowing the words for the collar?¡± He was still shocked but started laughing again. ¡°Das rght das rght an I won leh her go.¡± He kept on cackling and I just nodded. ¡°So that means it up there somewhere right?¡± I poked his forehead which made him grimace in pain. ¡°Then I guess I¡¯ll just take it then.


    I slammed my hand into his forehead and sent a tendril to his brain and began taking everything he had stored away. This man unlike the last two the second being the spear man. Actually had a vast amount of knowledge locked away. He knew things from the conversions of the human¡¯s currencies to the application of magic.


    He also had the language that the women spoke as well as many objectives, plans, and identities of many people behind this attack and the one on the little girl. I sucked it all up greedily and after what seemed like hours sorting through the information he had with it only being a second or two in real time I finally let his body go limp.


    The woman who¡¯d beaten him started screaming at me. ¡°YOU WORTHLESS HUMAN. NOW HOW WILL I SAVE HER?¡± the last part of her sentence was emphasized by the tears streaming down her face. She and the others moved to attack me until I grabbed the neck of the collared woman. I held her up and in front of me.


    The bow wielding woman scoffed at me. ¡°Now you resort to using a human shield you disgust me.¡± She had an arrow knocked and aimed at me. I tried as best I could to ignore them and grabbed the woman¡¯s collar moving it around until the clasp was on the back of her neck and in front of my face. I said a few words that made no sense to myself but then the collar sprang open and landed at her feet.


    The others once again looked completely dumbfounded. The woman in front of me cried and spun around to hug me. ¡°Thank you thank you thank you so muuuuuch.¡± She was still crying but I gave her a soft hug back and then pried her off of my neck and gave her a soft push towards the other women. She ran at her sister and began hugging her with all the strength she could muster.

 The Forgotten One Chapter 5

    The Forgotten One


    So yeah here I am just standing here as the two women have a full on break down. The deer riding woman with the staff, the bow woman, and the little girl all joined in on the hugs all crying. Once again I felt sooooooo fucking awkward while they did this. Still naked yup that¡¯s still a thing. I can actually hear them now so it makes me feel kind of scummy listening in on their little reunion.


    ¡°Oh Sylmae we have missed you so much. Ever since you disappeared five years ago we¡¯ve had scouts looking for you constantly. We never lost hope but we came close after losing you¡¯re trail in to the human¡¯s lands.¡± Her sister said to the previously collared woman.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright Alenia I¡¯m just so glad that I¡¯m finally free. I makes it so much sweeter to already be with my family after the horrid things that¡¯s happened.¡± They all cried in a group with the three younger ones saying either mom or aunty. As they held one another and the warriors looked on in a mix of happiness and sadness for all the lost time that Sylmae was missing I tried to turn around and quietly walk away while they were distracted.


    I got maybe one hundred feet away before I heard the wolf rider shout ¡°Hey young one where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± She¡¯d said it in their language. I turned around and saw them all staring at me Alenia said something to them quietly and the warriors started to come after me with their bears in tow.


    ¡°Oh fuck me!¡± I yelled in human and started to run into the forest. I yelled back at them as they mounted their bears to chase me down. ¡°This is the thanks I get? You people need to learn something about gratitude.¡± I shouted while speeding into the woods. I had absolutely no idea where I was going but at the moment anything was better than the crazy women who¡¯d probably beat me for helping them.


    As I ran I could hear the bears tearing through the forest trying to follow me and catch me. Now bears are actually fast creatures and can move for a pretty good amount of time so most people couldn¡¯t out run a bear in terms of speed or stamina but I¡¯m not most people. I was like a rocket jumping over logs and across streams during my mad dash away from them.


    After about ten minutes of running I looked back to see no one following me. I kept up the pace just in case and began looking for another creek or river. I eventually found one that barely went up to my ankles and jumped into the middle of it. After quickly washing myself in the cold creek I jumped straight up and out of the creek. Clearing more than thirty feet in one jump.


    I grabbed onto an overhanging tree and slowly made my way back the way I¡¯d come originally. Being in the trees helped me to keep an eye and ear out for any of the riders looking for me. The quick bath was to try and wash some of my scent off for the wolf. As I went the bear riders passed underneath me several times in a vain attempt to find me.


    I kept moving in the direction that I knew their camp was. I figured the best place to hide from them would be under their nose or in this case above their heads. It took me roughly an hour to quietly get back to where¡¯d I¡¯d left them. There they had a fire going and were talking to the woman who¡¯d be stolen from them. She answered their questions about what had happened and where she was taken.


    They tried to find out who had done it but she wasn¡¯t sure. The only one who knew was the man I¡¯d killed and I now had those memories. As the day turned to night the bear riders and wolf rider came back empty handed. This seemed to sadden Sylmae as she was only able to thank her savoir once. As well as the little girl as she had been agitated the whole day I¡¯d spent above them. She really threw a tantrum when no one was able to find me.


    ¡°Look at what you did. All he did was help me and Auntie Sylmae. And what did you do for him? NOTHING. YOU RAN HIM OFF WITH YOUR BEATINGS AND THREATS.¡± She went on and on until she finally fell asleep mid rant collapsing into her aunt exhausted. Her aunt held her close and rubbed her head as she slept in her arms.


    After listening on them for a while I started to piece some things together with the help of that fire man¡¯s memories. The Little girl that they¡¯d wanted to kidnap was called Shalendra. Her mother was the queen of the elves. How she found herself being chased by humans was beyond me as you figure she¡¯d be incredibly guarded.


    Her elder sister was Yunaelsca she was the one who¡¯d had the ability to heal and rode the deer. Her eldest sister was the angry bow woman whose name was Teharissa. Their mother was Alenia the one who¡¯d been shouting at me for ruining her chance to save her sister. I¡¯d still yet to hear any of the warriors¡¯ names or the wolf rider. They all just called her elder.


    Yuna seemed to be quiet sad about how I was treated and even Teharissa had begrudgingly agreed after all I¡¯d done to help them. Alenia was quiet for the most part just lost in thought while Sylmae held her sweet adorable niece in her arms and she too fell asleep next to the fire.


    As the night wore on and the warriors and princesses switched to keep a steady watch in case of another attack I kept watch from high above them. Nothing happened on the ground that night but the same couldn¡¯t be said for the trees. The large panther that carried Teharissa somehow found me in the trees. Instead of attack however it stalked over to me and began purring in a deep baritone kind of way but purring all the same.


    I was always liked by animals before but this was kind of stupid there¡¯s no fucking way a four hundred pound animal with razor claws and teeth like these should like me. Their even well trained from what I¡¯d seen. Of course I didn¡¯t want to piss the beast off my ignoring it so I pet it carefully for a while until it too fell asleep.


    In the morning they all began to pack up the camp. Shalendra was still incredibly pouty and clung to her aunt or sister Yuna. Talking about me every once in a while trying to tell them how I¡¯d saved her even though the only one who didn¡¯t know was her aunt. This got some smiles from them but it seemed to sadden Alenia and her eldest daughter Teharissa for the way I was treated. They never did hear about how Shalendra had escaped those who¡¯d hounded her.


    As they were about to leave Teharissa began looking around the camp and at the trees slightly worried. Most likely looking for her murder/purr machine still leaning against me in the tree dozing off. She called a few times which seemed to wake the cat but it wasn¡¯t until she grew somewhat frantic in calling that the animal moved from its spot next to me and jump from branch to branch until sliding down the trunk of the tree to land on the forest floor.


    It mewled a few times and looked up at where I was currently hiding. You dumb cat go shoo don¡¯t give away my spot you idiot. But it wouldn¡¯t stop meowling up at me. Teharissa quickly ran over to check on her beast and after making sure she wasn¡¯t injured finally looked up directly at me through a breach in the leaves.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    She froze and so did I. She quickly start shouting and pointing in my direction. Shit. God damn cat man. The cat in question keep staring up at me pitifully. Before I could make a quick getaway however the tree I was sitting on moved. Its branches twisted and grabbed onto me. As soon as it had a grip it started to lower me to the group of women surrounding the tree. I tried to break free but it wasn¡¯t budging.


    About fifty feet off the ground and I began to put all my strength into breaking free. As I heard the bark begin to break the tree opened up and dropped me feet first and I fell and landed with a sickening crunch resonating from my legs. I yelled out in pain. ¡°SON OF A BITCH AHHHHHHH!!¡± I was grabbed by the warriors and held down which made the pain from my legs hammer in my brain. They quickly tied me up like they¡¯d done the last time.


    I was definitely going to fight my way out this time though as soon as my legs healed these ladies were fucked. The warriors stood watch over me as Teharissa quickly came back with her family and the elder in tow. ¡°Wow Yuna great job catching him with the tree.¡± Said Teharissa


    ¡°Oh dear but he¡¯s hurt I dropped him from to high up. I could feel he was hurting the tree trying to break free so I had too.¡± Said Yuna in an apologetic voice. ¡°If he¡¯s hurt I won¡¯t for give you big sis¡± said little Shalendra as she glared at her older sisters.


    ¡°Oh please he came back from being just bones a few broken bones won¡¯t be much¡± Teharissa retorted. To which I yelled back at them in their language. ¡°JUST BECAUSE I HEAL DOSEN¡¯T MEAN I DON¡¯T FEEL PAIN DAMN IT!¡± This froze the ladies as I hadn¡¯t spoken to them in their native tongue yet.


    I could feel and hear as my bones snapped back into place causing me to let out a groan of relief. As the women quickly neared I began to fight against the vines that were restricting me. As they snapped away the warriors drew their weapons and faced me. Their queen hurriedly walked over to us. ¡°Please young man calm yourself we mean you no harm.¡± She said. Unfortunately I couldn¡¯t stop myself from laughing which made the warriors frown and how I addressed their ruler.


    ¡°Yeah I¡¯m sure you just want to make sure that the fall didn¡¯t shatter my FUCKING LEGS. And of course you just wanted to thank me for all I¡¯ve done for you before what? Slitting my throat huh?¡± I was not in a very calm mood now. She was slightly taken aback by my aggressiveness.   ¡°Please can we not talk to one another young man? Can we just start with your name? Please.¡± She all but whispered the last word.


    ¡°Yeah no you can go fuck yourselves if you think I¡¯m goi¡­¡­..¡± I didn¡¯t get to finish as the warriors started to kick my prone body. They kept at it until Alenia had to tell them to stop and even then she had to say it multiple times. I coughed and spat up blood. Shalendra ran to me and called for Yuna.


    Yuna reluctantly came forward but was unsure what her sister wanted. ¡°You need to fix him Yuna. He¡¯s bleeding and in pain.¡± Shalendra looked worried. Yuna didn¡¯t step forward however she just looked at her mother. ¡°Listen here boy the only reason I didn¡¯t let them kill you is because of what you¡¯ve done for us. Now tell me your name or else.¡± Alenia said with so much false bravado I could taste it.


    I laughed and continued to cough up blood. ¡°No I¡¯ve got a better idea.¡± She seemed slightly annoyed I refused her but was interested in what I had to say. ¡°Go ahead speak before I change my mind.¡± I laughed again as the blood cleared and I flexed my muscles ready to burst from my restraints. ¡°How about I beat the shit out of you all?¡± I jumped up and broke free of the vines.


    Shalendra jumped back but instead of being scared of me she looked angry. But she was facing her mother and not me. I ducked and dodged as the warriors quickly closed in and began to attack me. Their bears didn¡¯t sit idle as they attack either. They ran in and roared at me as I dodged their riders. The first one hit me and sent me sprawling to the side. I managed to get back on my feet before a second one came at me from the side bull rushing me.


    As it ran into me I dug my feet down and met its charge with a tackle of my own. It pushed me back only a few feet before all its momentum was gone. And as it stood up to swing at me I heel kicked it straight in the stomach sending it tumbling back in to two of the warriors. The princesses and queen stood still in shock as I battled three bears and warriors.


    The fight looked like it would easily go to the six attackers but it quickly changed as hit after hit I quickly put them all down. I didn¡¯t kill them but they weren¡¯t getting back up any time soon. ¡°Now that those fucks are out of the way.¡± I said while cracking my neck and knuckles ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡± As I ran forward causing them to flinch out of fear the wolf came speeding out of nowhere and tackled me to the ground.


    As soon as we stopped moving I went to strike it but it got off of me immediately and began whining at me and laid down in front of me. The large cat soon followed and came and tried to stop me as well. The second I raised a fist the cat would sheepishly meow gently raise a paw and try to put my hands down. The wolf sat up and whined in front of me as well.


    I sighed losing a lot of fight I had. I mean the women beat me and didn¡¯t treat me very well but the animals didn¡¯t deserve this at all. Honestly neither did Shalendra, Sylmae, or the animals. I stopped trying to fight and gently pet the cat and wolf. Then began to move to the pile of bodies where I¡¯d thrown the bears and their riders. The riders were still unconscious but the bears were just coming to.


    When they saw me approach they shuffled backwards and released a few quiet groans with fear in their eyes. I shuffled forward reaching out to the closest bear. When my fingers brushed up against it the bear whimpered and flinched backwards expecting me to hit it again.


    When I didn¡¯t it stopped and looked back at me. I just began petting its head while whispering in English ¡°I¡¯m sorry big guy you didn¡¯t deserve that.¡± It looked at me with its big eyes and stuck its head into my chest the same way the wolf had when I first met it. The other bears slowly came over and I apologized to them as well. I was displacing my anger for their riders onto them and that wasn¡¯t right.


    While I was busy trying to make amends with animals I felt something latch onto my leg and when I looked down it was Shalendra crying and hugging me. I reached down and rubbed her head and heard her mumbling something. When I bent down to hear better I saw she was crying and just kept saying the same thing over and over. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m so sorry mister.¡± AHHHHH kids and animals my weak spots fuck. I pulled her away from my leg which saddened her even more until I brought her in for a real hug.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok sweet heart it¡¯s not your fault. And I¡¯m sorry you had to see me angry and that I threatened you family. That¡¯s a mean thing to do and I shouldn¡¯t have.¡± She slowly nodded into my head accepting my terrible apology. I heard someone coming closer and when I looked up it was Sylmae and Alenia slowly approaching. Alenia looked at me and her daughter in fear. She stopped a good ten feet away but Sylmae came right up to me.


    She shuffled her feet and looked at me with a small amount of fear in her eyes but also sadness. ¡°I¡¯m sorry young man about everything. You¡¯ve saved me from a terrible fate and I couldn¡¯t even muster a few words in your defense please forgive me.¡± She bowed to me and I sighed again.


    Quietly I responded in a calm and soothing voice. ¡°Please don¡¯t bow. I¡¯m glad I could help you and your family. But they aren¡¯t the best at expressing gratitude are they? When I saved this little one from some other group of people they bowed to me as well. But when I went to stop them those assholes there.¡± I jerked a thumb at the warriors still laying in a pile. ¡°Attacked me the second I touched them. So good things aside I¡¯m not happy about the treatment you¡¯ve given me.¡± My last words meant and said while staring directly at Alenia.


    She squirmed under my gaze and couldn¡¯t meet my eyes. Still rubbing Shalendra¡¯s head I slowly lifted her up and gave her to Sylmae. ¡°Maybe it would be better if we could all just sit and talk. What do you say?¡± Sylmae nodded to me and Alenia did as well. I followed Sylmae towards the large tent the royals used as a home for the past few nights.

 The Forgotten One Chapter 6

    The Forgotten One


    I followed Sylmae into the tent and took a seat across the tent from her. The interior was surprisingly sparse for royalty. The only thing in the tent was a large animal skin, a large white wolfs pelt, which was placed on the floor of the tent. As well as several small mats that were used as seats.


    Sylmae sat and drew Shalendra into her lap and comforted her. As we waited the rest of the royal family entered and also took seats around the two. As far away from me as humanly possible.


    I waited for them to begin speaking since I was the one who¡¯d been wronged. Now I may not have handled it great but that doesn¡¯t make it any less true. I mean technically self defense but still I may have gone too far and felt like an ass afterwards.


    It took them well over five minutes of not so silent whispering before they started to address me. Alenia the queen went first but what she said wasn¡¯t what I was expecting in the least. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the way been treated human.¡± She didn¡¯t have the holier than thou disposition I was expecting.


    She even bowed her head and recalling the memories of the deceased wizard was apparently a sign of apology in elven cultures. The lower a bow the more sincere the apology.


    For royalty to even dip their head was phenomenal. I¡¯m not exactly one for praise, ego stroking, or bowing when apologizing. As long as it felt sincere then I was fine with just the words. As such I put a stop to it the second she began.


    ¡°Listen. You don¡¯t need to bow or anything. I¡¯m still angry at the way I was treated after helping you. Twice even.¡± She cringed as my tone grew lower near the end. I sigh and shake my head. ¡°Alright how about we just but that behind us for the time being. I wasn¡¯t exactly cordial with how I threw you guards around or their bears.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just try and talk things through if there are any other misunderstandings between us. I might now be of equal social standing but considering my help you think we could try it?¡±


    The queen nods her head quickly with a slight hint of fear most likely remembering my slight rampage. Her sister on the other hand was smiling down at her niece. She whispered something in her ear and she slowly woke up but stayed in her aunt¡¯s warm embrace.


    After that everything was quiet again. Every one of them besides Sylmae was looking everywhere but at me. Minutes passed and I grew uncomfortable with this awkward silence I decided to break it. ¡°Ahem. I was wondering however¡±.


    They all focused on me wondering what it was I could possibly ask them. Would I want a monetary reward for my actions or would I ask for one of the princesses as compensation? And if I did could they stop me if they wanted too? Many thoughts flashed through their minds as the readied for my question.


    ¡°Where am I exactly?¡± They all let out a sigh of relief the queen seemed to let lose some of the tension in her body as well as she spoke. ¡°You are in the Mammoth Forest that covers the western region of this continent. It is home to many but is ruled by my clan.¡±


    ¡°We are the Sylvyre clan. I am the current queen of this kingdom and these are my daughters.¡± She pointed and introduced each princess. Teharissa the oldest glared at me and said nothing. Yunalesca the middle sister dipped her head in greeting and mumbled a hello. Shalendra turned around to face me with tears still on her face and smiled at me.


    ¡°The women you saved is my sister in law by marriage but a true sister in bond.¡± She then introduced Sylmae who at this point was my second favorite of the Elves. Shalendra being number one. ¡°I thank you for saving her.¡± I nod to her ¡°You¡¯re welcome¡±.


    ¡°Well now that I know a little bit more I still find myself uncertain as to what to do. Now that I¡¯m not longer being attacked or hunted.¡± The queen and her eldest daughter had the sense to look ashamed. Not one to lose such an opportunity Sylmae spoke. ¡°If that¡¯s the case why not travel with us?¡±


    That got quite a few reactions from the rest of them. Shalendra sat up and spun around to face me with a large beaming smile on her face. Yuna was once again mumbling something incoherent. Teharissa had a look of worry and fear on her face.


    The queen on the other hand didn¡¯t say anything immediately or show any emotion. She sat still cupping her chin in her hand and had a cold calculating look on her face. She thought for a few moments before she nodded. ¡°Yes, that could be an excellent idea. With someone like you around no one will get anywhere near my baby or take her away again.¡±


    I slant my eye brow at her and say. ¡°I appreciate the offer but what exactly can I expect from where we are going and the people that live there? You all included of course.¡± The queen answered me without hesitation.


    ¡°To be honest there hasn¡¯t been a human in Mytfelond for centuries. They all prefer to stick to their cities and towns out in the grasslands to the east of here. Because of this you will end up being a target of many things. The first being attacks.¡± She grimaced when she said that and recalled how we¡¯d first interacted.


    She looked to gauge my reaction to which I shrugged and motioned for her to continue. ¡°That being because we aren¡¯t on the best of terms with them at the moment. There are constantly skirmishes at the border. The second would be questions.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be attacked directly per say but there would be a few groups who¡¯d love to find out what kind of information you have on human troop movements and other tactical things like that.¡±


    She checks me again to see if this would anger me. ¡°Even if people had the ability to pry all the thoughts from my head I doubt they¡¯d find anything particularly useful in terms of combat or espionage.¡± They all give me strange looks as Sylmae speaks up.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case how did you know how to remove the collar that bound me?¡± Ah shit that¡¯s right that¡¯s not normal unless I knew it ahead of time right. Mhmmm what should I tell them¡­¡­¡­.. ah I got it. ¡°I have a skill of sorts that allows me to extend the life of someone on the verge of death.¡±


    ¡°Not in a visible way but to the person it is used on a second will seem like an eternity. While it is in effect they feel pain from their death in an increased volume and it only grows as the time seems to pass. I tell their minds I only need one thing and I¡¯ll let them pass on and end the pain. No matter who it¡¯s used against they always break as pain for all eternity is unbearable. So I asked how to remove the collar and he told me.¡±


    They all look appalled by my answer. Damn it that may have been a bit too dark and twisted. Too late now though. Sylmae blanches ¡°Are there any side effects of such an evil skill?¡± I quickly thing of a lie that may help me even out their uneasiness towards me.


    ¡°Yes as it happens there is. I wasn¡¯t going to tell you but since you¡¯ve asked. I go through the same pain as the one I use the skill on. So if I truly want information then I have to pay for it.¡± Sylmae goes even whiter and whispers ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry you had to go through something like that for me young man. Thank you so much for your sacrifice.¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    I smile at her and nod which seems to settle her back down. ¡°It¡¯s not something I enjoy doing but I¡¯m glad it helped you get back to those who love you.¡± I focus back on the queen who seemed to enter back into her cold and calculating mode. ¡°I won¡¯t be using it to help you interrogate people unless absolutely necessary.¡±


    She looks at me and shakes her head. ¡°Of course I wouldn¡¯t thing of asking you to do that.¡± I quickly sigh and hold up a hand to stop her from continuing. ¡°Alright here¡¯s my first rule if I¡¯m going to work for you. You will NOT lie to me. Ever. If I find out that you have we can pretty much consider this done and I¡¯ll be on my way now.¡±


    Shalendra quickly starts pulling on her mother¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Mom please I want big brother to stay with me.¡± She hits her with big puppy dog eyes and a sad frown. I watch as she is melted by her daughter. ¡°Ahh fine.¡± She raises her right hand and I feel magic flow through her the way it flowed through the wizard. ¡°I Alenia swear upon the sun the wind and the roots that I will never lie to you.¡±


    I watch in slight awe as a blade of wind hits us both and a drop of blood falls onto the ground where a root sprouts and when the blood lands on it a small flower blooms. She plucks hers and motions for me to do the same. ¡°This is an oath flower. If either party breaks an oath after using this method the one who was wronged will have the flower wilt showing them the breaking of the bond.¡±


    ¡°Since I¡¯m the one who made the oath both will wilt.¡± I stare at the small blood red rose and place it behind my ear. ¡°Very well if that¡¯s the case then I feel much better about accepting this job.¡± I say. ¡°Now back to the conversation before. What kind of people can I expect ahead of us? More elves such as your selves or are there more things I¡¯m unaware of?¡±


    Yuna finally overcomes her mumbling and joins in. ¡°There are of course other elves.¡± I raise my eyebrows and quickly go through more of the wizards memories. Oh well damn they really are elves. I never really realized. I mean sure they fit the whole vibe of elves especially with that oath thing but their ears are mostly covered by their hair so it was hard to tell.


    They also all have the elven beauty thing going for them as well even that older woman with the wolf was beautiful. I shake my head and focus back on Yuna. ¡°¡­.. And of course other than the other clans there are also the Beastkin. We mostly have two of the three types. There are the Catkin and the Bearkin.¡±


    ¡°Catkin are more known for their speed and flexibility. Making them some of the best hunters around. Then the Bearkin are their opposite. They are large and burly known best for their great strength and stamina.¡±


    ¡°They all have varying degrees of animalistic traits. Ranging from just having either ears, nose, or the tail of their beast ancestor. To having all three and being covered in fur. Other than those they closely resemble humans.¡± I nod and absorb the information. ¡°Thank you very much Yuna it was a great explanation.¡± She lets out a squeak and mumbles a you¡¯re welcome as her face turns a slight shade of red.


    The queen takes back the conversation. ¡°As for us we would like to offer you the job of royal body guard.¡± I nod thoughtfully ¡°And what exactly does a royal bodyguard do?¡± the queen sighs and mutters something about making the oath to early.


    ¡°Well you would protect the royal family.¡± I sighed at this. She wasn¡¯t giving me anything other than the absolute bare minimum of information now that she couldn¡¯t lie. ¡°Ok since you can¡¯t lie to me how about not giving me the half assed version of things as well. It¡¯s going to get pretty annoying if every time we talk you won¡¯t tell me anything because you are afraid to lie to me and make me leave.¡±


    She frowns at me and looks perplexed. ¡°I am not very good at this¡± She motions towards herself and then me. ¡°I only tell those I truly trust what is on my mind not a stranger.¡± I nod and pull the rose out from behind my ear. ¡°If that¡¯s the case then let¡¯s get rid of this and we start at the beginning stage of trust. This way I may be able to become someone you can fully trust. This is will just be a reminder of how careful you have to be around me. But.¡±


    I hold up one finger ¡°I will absolutely not allow you to move me like a pawn on a chessboard. If there is something you want me to do then ask me don¡¯t send me off to do something but when I arrive it¡¯s something else entirely.¡±


    She nods and picks her flower back up. ¡°Very well human I can accept that.¡± The rose stay perfectly normal and I nod towards her. ¡°I am ungrateful for all that you¡¯ve done for my daughter and sister.¡± The rose wilts instantly and I place it on the ground.


    ¡°Very well then as for your position as a royal guard. I would like for you to personally look after Shalendra. And her older sisters should the need arise.¡±


    Teharissa isn¡¯t happy about it, Yuna is blushing again, and Shalendra is beaming again. Humph I get to annoy the oldest, tease Yuna, and keep the sweetheart Shalendra safe. I can live with that. ¡°I happily accept.¡± Alenia smiles and is about to say something when Teharissa blurts out. ¡°Mother I have no need for such a¡­a¡­¡±


    She seemed at a loss as to what to call me so I gave her a hand. ¡°A monster?¡± I had a smile on my face as I said it still watching her outburst. ¡°That¡¯s right I have no need for a monster to watch over me nor do I want it close to me!¡± After her small rant she realizes she insulted me and looks quickly towards me.


    Still smirking she begins to apologize but I just laugh and wave my hands. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it considering the stuff I¡¯ve been through and what you¡¯ve seen of me I¡¯m sure there are worse things to be called. Although it is a little juvenile don¡¯t you think Princess?¡±


    She goes from apologetic back to seething in an instant and I can¡¯t help but chuckle. Her mother who completely ignored her was still looking at me for a final affirmation to me accepting the job. ¡°Well what do you think?¡± I look back to her and ask. ¡°Will I be watching them every second of everyday? Will it just be me or will I be rotating with others?¡±


    ¡°Well for now it will just be you alone. I¡¯ll have to have a through screening process to determine who I can trust with the position considering how close to my girls they will be. As for watching them every second of every day if you are capable then I ask that you please do so. Until I have others protecting them. And I will be using you as a figure head of the guards. Their jobs will be to stay hidden unless needed. You will be the one to be seen accompanying them out in the open.¡±


    Confused by what she just said I ask. ¡°Wait what do you mean by trust? How in the world can you give me this job but then make sure that any others are truly trust worthy?¡± She frowns at me and lowers her head. ¡°While I am a good judge of character as most monarchs need to be we also have spells that allow us to determine if someone is lying or not.


    I frowned ¡°Hmmm is that so. And what exactly di the spell tell you and when did you decide to use such a convenient thing?¡± She looked ashamed again but still answered. ¡°One of the spells allows us to go through the targets memories and we can pick and choose certain times to help find the memories we want.¡±


    ¡°That is what we would use normally but Shalendra begged us not to do something so intrusive to her savior. So instead we tried to find out exactly what type of morality you had. You battle to help us save my sister was more than enough for you to be deemed adequate as a human.¡±


    ¡°That as well as Shalendra¡¯s retelling of the events of her daring escape from the humans and the one who saved her.¡± We continued to discuss my position and what it would entail. As the discussion was coming to a close Shalendra got up from her aunt and moved over to me and sat down in my lap.


    She rested her back against my chest and looked up at me with the same puppy dog eyes she hit her mother with. ¡°So would you truly like the position?¡± I look away from the youngest princess in my lap and look at her mother. ¡°You know it¡¯s not exactly fair under all this pressure. I will accept.¡±


    She smiled and began to stand ¡°Now then I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve had more than enough excitement for one day. How about we break camp and head for Mytfelond?¡± I nod to her ¡°I think that¡¯s sounds like a good idea. Also if it¡¯s not too much to ask do you think I could get some clothes or something?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not exactly used to being naked.¡± The queen and the rest of her family quickly blushed and Shalendra shoots up from my lap and dives for her aunt¡¯s lap hiding her blushing face. I scratched the back of my head and laugh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I thought it might be something considered normal around here since no one said anything.¡±


    Shalendra still had her head buried in her aunt¡¯s lap. Yuna was covering her eyes with her hands but was peeking from in between her fingers. Teharissa was trying to look stoic but couldn¡¯t help blushing and looking away. The queen was suddenly very interested in Shalendra¡¯s hair. And Sylmae was blushing openly and staring at the ceiling.

 The Forgotten One Chapter 7

    The Forgotten One


    I was told to wait in the tent as the royal family left and had one of the other elves find me something to cover up with. The older elf who rode the wolf came in a little while later with the pelt of an animal. It was fawn colored like a white tailed deer it was decent sized but all I could do with the pelt itself was wrap it around my waist and use the limbs as a makeshift belt.


    It took me far longer than the elf lady wanted apparently because half way through me trying to figure out exactly how to cover both my front and my back then tie it off she approached me and started shoving me and tying it herself. I felt like I was five and my mother was dressing me which made me unsure of how I should feel about that.


    I looked like a primitive caveman when she finished. I was also expecting to feel rough hide since this was the first time I¡¯d worn anything freshly skinned but it was like silk to the touch. I thanked her which got me a small smile as she gestured towards the tent opening.


    Upon exiting the tent I saw that the warriors were breaking camp. Wrapping up bedrolls and tents and then strapping them onto their bears. I¡¯m sure that they can carry quiet the amount which is another reason to have such a creature to ride but how much do they eat would determine exactly how efficient they are.


    As soon as the warriors saw me they stopped doing whatever they were in the middle of and walk over to me. They started bowing and spewing apologies at me. I quickly stopped them and gave them a pained smile. ¡°I¡¯m also sorry. Since we we¡¯re both in the wrong could we just leave things be and start over?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not the best with first impressions but I¡¯m quite good at seconds. Since I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard from her highness we will sort of be working together. It¡¯s nice to officially meet you.¡± I stuck out my hand and they looked at me strange and then would look down at my hand. A moment or two passes and I realize they have no idea what I¡¯m doing.


    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to grasp my hand and shake it as a sign of ummmm well many things I guess. Comradery, meeting, greeting, parting, offering congratulations, expressing gratitude, or completing an agreement.¡± They slowly nod in understanding and shake my hand while expressing their thanks for my understanding.


    I nod in response and ask them how I can make myself useful. They were quick in putting me to work packing things up. Ten minutes later we were ready to depart but before we did the Queen noticed something. We were a mount short and since most of the ladies didn¡¯t want to share a ride with me.


    Since the queen had to keep up a certain appearance with the warriors around and I wasn¡¯t too sure about the wolf riding elf I couldn¡¯t ride with her either. She also had her sister in law Sylmae with her. The wolf rider said her wolf was already carrying the most it could without sacrificing speed.


    Teharissa was vehemently against me riding with her. Yuna blushed when she thought about and tried to talk to her mother about it but she stumbled over her own words. She also already had Shalendra riding with her. Alenia was just about to order either her oldest daughter or one of the bear riding warriors to make room when I approached them.


    ¡°Are we ready to go? We¡¯ve spent a little bit of time just talking. I¡¯d like to see this city of yours as soon as possible.¡± She looked down a little ashamed at such a pointless problem and she explained.  To which I told her it was fine. I was just going to run with the group in the first place. Not for the first time and certainly it wouldn¡¯t be the last they were all surprised.


    ¡°Maybe he just doesn¡¯t understand how far and fast we will be traveling.¡± Is what they all thought but I just asked Yuna and Sylmae which direction the city was in. Sylmae was still just about as lost a previously. While Yuna turned red and muttered a bit before just pointing towards the northeast according to the sun. After she pointed I began walking in its general direction.


    The queen tried to call me back but gave up and they all began to ride slowly at first. When they reached me they slowly sped up and I matched their pace without missing a beat. As they moved faster so did I. They we¡¯re bewildered by me. It got to the point where the only way they¡¯d out run me was if they pushed their animals to the point of exhaustion. And I would pass them as they would need to let their mounts rest.


    As we ran I felt nothing but hunger. No soreness or tiredness from running but the longer and faster that I ran the hungrier I became. After four hours of fast paced running I saw that the trees had started to grow much closer together and that they¡¯d grow in clusters as if they enveloped each other leaving more room between trees that weren¡¯t attached to each other.


    An hour after we stopped at the base of a massive tree. Everyone seemed tired from the Hard travel to get home as quick as possible. I was mostly unfazed by it all except for the severe pain in my stomach telling me I should really really eat soon. Suddenly after hours in a quiet forest there were quick bird chirps.


    As soon as the chirps sounded the wolf rider answered with some of her own and Alenia quickly whispered to Sylmae and Yuna. They did something with their staves and I felt a change in the air around me and only me. Following this elves walked out of the woods around us with their bows drawn and pointed to where I was standing.


    Upon seeing Alenia and her family bows were quickly put away and the elves bowed all except for one that is. ¡°What is this thing you¡¯re highness?¡± A tall blonde haired and fair faced male elf asked while still pointing his bow at me. Sylmae sighed quietly while Alenia answered him. ¡°This is the man who saved my daughter Filverel.¡±


    He looked somewhat shocked but keep his bow steady and kept his bead on me. ¡°And what is a human so covered in filth doing in our lands? Should I dispose of him quickly for the debt we owe him your highness?¡± He drew his bow back further as he spoke. ¡°Filverel that will not be necessary put your weapon down.¡± She spoke with ice in her tone.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    He held his bow for a moment before slowly releasing the pressure. ¡°Of course your highness.¡± He bowed and put his weapon away. ¡°I see you haven¡¯t changed much in the time I have been gone Filverel.¡± He and the rest of the elves not among the mounted group gasped when Sylmae spoke. Smiles broke out on many of their faces while others were whispering to one another.


    ¡°My lady Sylmae it is so good to have you back with us again. I pray that nothing to deplorable happened while in the company of such a barbaric race.¡± Filverel said with disdain as he looked at me. She laughed at his remark ¡°Oh no no the ones I was with were quiet deplorable as you say but this young man is the reason I¡¯m here now.¡± More shock and some elves seemed outraged that I had actually done anything that would help someone so dear to them.


    I must have had another angle and must be a spy. In all honesty I was getting pretty fucking annoyed and it must have shown. ¡°Is there something wrong Human?¡± and there¡¯s the asshole. ¡°Are we angering you human hmm why don¡¯t you thank her highness for allowing you to live and leave now or I will remove you myself. Oh wait who I am kidding a dirty human scum like you most likely can¡¯t even understand what we are saying.¡±


    Alenia and the others around me stiffen and look over at me and I can see sweat beading at the top of the three warriors and Alenia¡¯s foreheads. I hold back a smirk and slowly look over to the queen and say in the most broken Elvish I can manage since I¡¯m now fully fluent I say. ¡°I¡­¡­¡­Break¡­¡­¡­Him?¡± with an inflection on the end so they know I¡¯m asking for permission.


    Alenia quickly yelled out for someone to stop and as I looked back at Filverel I felt the burning pain of three something¡¯s pierce my chest. I look down and see three arrows less than an inch apart from each other stick out of my chest. OK ok how do I play this rip them out and act like a monster or make it seem like he just attacked someone who helped the queen  recover two of her family members. Hah easy choice with this many witnesses.


    If we were alone however I think I¡¯d make him my evening meal. Only a few seconds have passed as I decided and I slowly fall backward and close my eyes. I stop the blood from clotting and repairing my body so the wound seems as deadly as it would be for a normal person. I hear a few startled cries and feel the small hands of Shalendra covering my chest as someone rudely yanks the arrows from my chest.


    I can hear Alenia shouting at Filverel but not much in terms of having him apprehended. Hmm he may be someone important. Hard to tell how old these people are except for that wolf rider. I¡¯m picked up and laid across something large and furry. The fur isn¡¯t short like a bear¡¯s and I can feel the tail wagging against the inside of my legs.


    So I¡¯m on the back of the wolf huh. Well this is certainly better than running. We move only a few feet before I hear Alenia say we are leaving and her and Filverel will definitely talk about this later. Wondering how we will be moving I crack open one eye and find a sad looking Shalendra staring at my face. The moment I open my eye she grasps my hand and calls her mother.


    When Alenia comes over I feel us slowly begin to rise. I look around quickly and see we are on an elevator of sorts. I see no pulleys or anything that should be used to lift it so they must be using some sort of magic. Alenia flicks my forehead as I look around. ¡°Was that really necessary? We all know that something like that wouldn¡¯t have done anything to you.¡±


    I shot her a smile and close my eye again. ¡°You all know that but they don¡¯t. Besides that guy seems like a dick.¡± Sylmae the wolf rider and the three warriors chuckle a little. Sylmae come closer and says. ¡°We are quiet glad you didn¡¯t take anything further even though we most certainly know you are more than capable of doing so. Also that wouldn¡¯t be the best way for you to show up in our society by killing the son of one of the most important and long lived noble houses aside from us.¡±


    I smirk at that. ¡°Ah that explains why I didn¡¯t like him. Self-entitled brat who thinks the world should bow before him and that his station and house give him an excuse to step on those he deems beneath him.¡± I hear someone quickly moving towards me and wolfy. ¡°What would you know about him you coward! You hide behind mother and expect her to protect you from him!¡±


    Wow Teharissa is talking to me. Well yelling. ¡°Aw did I insult someone you care about princess? Would you rather I ripped him apart as easily as he would have killed me had I not been who I am? And after word what would have happened? His family would come after me or your mother for bringing me here.¡±


    And on the off chance he survived truly angering me then he would hide like a coward behind his house until I ripped it and him down from the clouds he believes he lives in. I¡¯m not a coward but neither am I an idiot.¡± She huffs and grabs me by my shoulders and shakes me. ¡°Oh really so you¡¯re a genius then? Then oh great sage of wisdom why did you attack us?¡±


    I sigh ¡°Really why would I attack someone who has already shown they will attack and kill me on site instead of try to reason with them? You sound like an imbecile. What would you have done had you saved a human child and the ones going to rescue said child attack you believing you to be the kidnapper? You would do what you needed to survive.¡±


    ¡°You and your cat didn¡¯t give me the safest of feelings as I hid and your guards were more than just intimidating. But if they are the standard strength around here then at least I can rest easy knowing I can hold my own.¡± She was clearly about to keep shouting at me but her mother stopped her.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry there won¡¯t be much I can do to Filverel considering his position please understand.¡± ¡°I understand just fine. And you don¡¯t need to do anything except one thing. Tell him and any others like him that if they do shit like that again then no one will stop them from reaping what they have sown.¡± I open my eyes and look at her. She has a grim expression on her face and nods in understanding.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad. Especially if you were serious about my job here. The last thing you want is to have a guard who feels less than appreciated by those they work either with or around. And since you¡¯re all royalty and he¡¯s in some major noble house then I¡¯ll be seeing more of him. As long as he knows to behave then there won¡¯t be any problems.¡±


    ¡°And if someone doesn¡¯t behave as you like?¡± Man Teharissa is like a snake with these venomous remarks. ¡°If that¡¯s the case then they are putting one of you three in danger and need to be shown the error of their ways or made to stop. Permanently.¡± She scoffs ¡°You would dare use myself or my sisters as an excuse to harm those you don¡¯t like?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. I said what I meant and meant what I said. If I think dick head down there is a bad influence on you or is in some way making you feel unsafe or uncomfortable I¡¯d be more than happy to help my three charges.¡± All our arguments are stopped when the lift finally stops. Unfortunately I won¡¯t be seeing what their city looks like today as a blanket is throw over my body as we exit the lift.


    ¡°Our reception was just a taste of what you can expect from most of the residents here. We will leave you covered for now until we reach the palace this way there won¡¯t be any more ¡°do-gooders¡± hoping to help us rid the woods of a human. Now please do your best impression of a dead or dying person. It¡¯s been a long few days I¡¯d much rather get back to my husband and put all of this behind us.¡±