Chapter 28 - Spooked

Evanna groaned after feeling her hair being tugged at. Opening her eyes, she looked to the side to see Nesrin holding a lock of her hair in her hands. Blinking, her mind caught up with her as her sleep-filled daze slowly disintegrated. Nesrin beamed at her while she sat up. The sun was yet to rise, but the early mornings were starting to become more manageable. At least she did not try to stab anyone within a meter of her when she woke up.

The small chirping sounds of birds in nearby trees were the only signs of other life nearby. Evanna looked to her side to see that Cilv was not in the tent; she often wondered what her sleeping hours were but quickly brushed the thought aside. Leaving her tent, she found Axel curled up against the fallen tree, hugging a huge axe, the wooden part the size of his torso. Evanna sighed, shaking her head before stepping forwards and tapping him on the shoulder. She jumped back immediately after he clenched his axe tightly, and his eyes looked at her bewildered, she watched as the sleep left his eyes and he relaxed his body.

"Look alive, Axel!" Evanna could not help but laugh at his grunt as a response; Nesrin soon followed with a giggle. He rubbed at his eyes before standing tall, causing Evanna to tilt her head back to see his face.

"You'll be the death of me, girl" Evanna smiled cheekily back at him as Nesrin continued to giggle.

Axel began grabbing some bread out of his bag and dangled it in front of Evanna; she shook her head, not quite feeling hungry yet. It was far too early to eat.

"This will be the only chance you get until past noon.." Axel said while shaking the bread lightly in his hand, waiting for her to accept it. She grabbed it, breaking it in half before returning the remaining bread she knew she could not eat. 

"Don't mind him, Raven. He eats like a horse."

Evanna looked up after hearing Ronan's voice. He sauntered his way over and took a seat next to her, smiling. Axel grunted as he continued to eat as she heard a horse neigh from behind them. She chuckled quietly to herself without needing to turn around. She knew it was Midknight protesting at the comment Ronan made.   

Not long after, all of the group were gathered around the extinguished fire, eating the bread. Cilv kept her distance from the men and sat quietly next to Evanna.

Suddenly a shiver erupted through Evanna's body. She stood abruptly, scanning the area around her. Cilv was also on high alert; she kept herself in a crouched position, tilting her head from side to side. The guys looked at them, puzzled. 

Ger walked to Evanna's side, "What is it?"

"I am not sure. I just had a strange feeling. Like we are being watched," Evanna explained before she turned her head to look at Cilv, whose eyes were calculating. 

"I thought I heard something," She said, her eyes not leaving an area across from them. Yet she relaxed slightly, "It was probably a fowl or a pheasant." 

The group became tense after watching both women assessing their surroundings. Whether it was a false alarm or not, they did not want to risk running into any trouble, so they packed up camp as quickly as possible. 

The group of companions were on the road again ten minutes later. Everybody was on high alert. Even Nesrin kept herself quiet as she sat close to Evanna's neck. Ger and Axel were both at the front again, followed by Ronan and Evanna with Cilv at the back. They galloped for the next hour before slowing back down again. If there were anybody near them, they were long gone, back at the campsite. Nobody would follow them for an hour, and at the rate they were going. 

The company soon found themselves going at a leisurely pace again. The sun slowly rose, bringing golden hues across the land; simultaneously, each person seemed to sigh as their body relaxed further while they sat comfortably on their horses. Nesrin stood up; now that they were going at a slower pace, she could balance more steadily.

~ Keep facing forwards, I will do your hair ~

Evanna looked back down at the fairy in surprise. She was too small to do her hair? Yet she looked forwards anyway, trying not to underestimate her. They left so quickly that she left her hair down in a tumble of mess, but she did not complain; she preferred safety over her hair being in place. Glancing down, she soon saw strands of her hair being pulled back away from her abdomen, she was about to move her head again to see what Nesrin was doing, but her voice scolded her in her head.

Ronan looked to his side to see Nesrin moving her small delicate hands up and down in a slow motion. Sparks of gold were flying out of her hands. When he looked up to the princess, he saw her hair slowly being pulled away and into her regular plait behind her head. Just as he thought the fairy was finished, he then saw multiple flowers growing and popping out from between the plaited hair. His eyebrows raised as he watched the flowers bloom from their closed buds.

"Amazing", He breathed.

Nesrin giggled in delight before perching herself back down on Evanna's shoulder.

"Fancy doing mine next?" Cilv spoke from behind them. Nesrin turned around and stuck her tongue out at her before returning to face the front.

"Rude", She muttered.

Evanna internally rolled her eyes at Cilv; it was only last night that she became threatening towards the fairy. Although she stuck up for Cilv, she was still on edge around the woman. Nesrin was right to say that she could not tell if she was good or bad. She, herself, could not tell. 

Her scars on her back showed the cruelness of the world she was brought up in, and she often showed how much she lacked in human decency. Yet, there were moments, now and in the past, where she displayed a caring nature towards her. Like how an older sister would be. She shook her head quickly; she did not want to interpret small gestures to something such as sisterhood! 

Cilv sat comfortably on her horse; she kept her eyes trained on Evanna's now beautifully made hair. Being at the back had its advantages of assessing the rest of the group, but she grew tired of watching them after the first day of travelling together. She was rather happy at the back, furthest from Ger and his annoying gaze.

Just then, she heard a slight rustling sound; she did not think much of it. The road they were on had a few trees and bushes flanking its sides, and she would hear small sounds almost all the time, indicating the animals that lived nearby. Looking ahead, she saw Evanna tense up and look to her right. Cilv mirrored the princess, but she saw nothing. 

A whoosh sound came from the left side of the group, and the noise of footsteps on leaves crunched at a tree nearby, along with more rustling noises on the right side of them.

"We are not alone!" Evanna shouted to the group.

WHOOSH!

Cilv leaned back quickly for an arrow to whizz by her and landing in the tree opposite her. She skilfully jumped out of the stirrups from the horse's saddle, landing on her tiptoes on its backside, before jumping down to the right on the ground, daggers out, ready for the attackers. She preferred her hands, but she chose to stick to her blades for now.

"Hmmm...Who wants to play" She licked her lips seductively before rolling back and out of the way of a sword that slashed down on the spot she was just in.

At the front of the group, Ger already shot a few arrows into the trees where two men were hiding. Their own arrows stuck in the ground behind Ger. He double-checked they did not hit Evanna before he let out an onslaught of arrows in their direction. 

A man came running towards them, his sword raised in his hand as he charged towards Axel's horse in the hope of spooking it. He stopped abruptly and sunk to his knees, with a small axe lodged into his chest. The shock on his face led to one of pain as he crumbled down to the ground. 

A man stood off in the distance, slightly hidden in the shade of a tree, while he watched the ambush take place on the company of five. They followed them from the morning and observed how they protected the dark-haired beauty in the middle of the group. This spiked his interest immediately as there was word of a missing princess from the Kingdom of Dunhurst. The news was spreading like wildfire. 

He had not seen such a face before in the forty years he lived on the forsaken lands. He knew just by looking at her that she was the one they were looking for. He planned to get rid of her protectors and kidnap her, putting her up for ransom. The crown would pay a hefty price for her return.