Chereads / The Devious King's Desire / Chapter 6 - Time travel?

Chapter 6 - Time travel?

Something snapped inside Eva when the man forcefully grabbed her hair, trying to drag her towards the stake at the center of the town. Reacting swiftly, she twisted his arm, causing him to release his grip.

"How dare you sneak attack me!" Eva exclaimed before she raised her leg and kicked him hard in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground with a resounding thud. The man let out an agonizing scream as he fell, coughing uncontrollably and struggling for breath.

When another man lunged forward to seize her again, she kneed him in the groin. The impact caused him to crumple to the ground, clutching his man bits and wailing like a pig.

Another scrawny man came charging at her, and she responded with a powerful punch to his nose, resulting in profuse bleeding.

Eva's face held a fierce expression as her unwavering purple eyes locked onto the people before her. It was as if she were ready to unleash her wrath upon anyone who dared to approach and lay a hand on her. She was usually not the person who would lose her temper so easily. But these people went overboard and she couldn't just stand there silently while letting them do whatever they intended to do to her.

Everyone at the scene was stunned by her fierce appearance before they gathered around her again. A young man in his twenties even raised a bow in her direction, attaching an arrow and pulling the drawstring back, ready to strike her.

Eva's heart leaped out of her chest when she saw the man release the arrow. She swiftly moved aside, trying to dodge it, but the arrow grazed the upper arm of her left hand, resulting in a gash. Her face contorted in pain as a few drops of blood trickled down the wound, prompting her to apply pressure with her right hand to stem the bleeding.

"Are you people crazy? Do you even understand what you are doing? You should stop this madness right now." Eva clenched her teeth, her eyes burning with fury.

Just as the people were about to attack her again, a loud voice resonated in the air, "What is happening here?"

Eva's gaze fell upon a man standing at a distance, accompanied by two tall and muscular men positioned behind him. He appeared slightly shorter with a portly belly, and his hair was neatly combed back. In contrast to the other people in the town, he wore finer clothing, leading her to deduce that he was the employer or boss of this crazy mob.

But, what truly caught her attention were the three men's uncommon dull-red eyes, causing her to wonder if they were wearing coloured contact lenses. Moreover, she couldn't help but sense something peculiar as their eyes briefly fixated on her wound.

"This evil witch tried to bewitch and lure our men with her. We have to burn this vile creature at the stake," a woman yelled pointing her finger at Eva and everyone else nodded to her words.

"I. AM. NOT. A. WITCH." Eva spoke through her gritted teeth.

"Are you not supposed to check her before deciding to burn her alive?" the man questioned them, narrowing his eyes.

Seeing that they remained silent, he sighed before taking out a small glass vial from his pocket. Then he made his way to Eva who looked at him warily.

"My guards informed me that you inquired about wanting to speak with the authorized person of the town. My name is Bryan Adams and I am the magistrate of this town", the man looked at her from top to bottom before he continued, "Even though your clothes look strange, you seem like a lady who belongs to the higher society. I believe that you might have lost your way. However, the people in our town suspect that you may be a witch, and they will not allow you to leave until you have been proven innocent. To dispel their doubts, I suggest you take a sip of this liquid".

Eva's eyes widened in disbelief at the man's words. A magistrate? And these were the actual villagers? She felt a sinking feeling in her heart as a memory rushed back to her. She recalled a conversation with Emily, where her friend shared a story about a girl who accidentally dies and finds herself inhabiting the body of a young woman in a different time period.

'Could the same thing be happening to me? Did I truly die and awaken in a different era?' her heart dropped to her stomach, and panic gripped her. She lowered her head and glanced at her hands and body, questioning herself, 'But it's still my own body. So what does all of this mean?'

Eva was shaken to the core as she considered the possibility of travelling back in time physically. But how was it even possible? Was this some kind of a cruel joke or a prank being played on her? Her head throbbed so intensely, she raised her hand to rub her temples.

She had no idea what year it was or how to find her way back to the future. Asking these people for help was out of the question since nobody would believe her and there was a high chance they would either brand her as a witch or dismiss her as a crazy woman. Right now, the only thing she could think of was to return to the place in the forest, where she had woken up earlier, and find some answers about how she got there in the first place.

"Miss, are you paying attention?" the magistrate's voice snapped her from her thoughts, startling her. Quickly gathering herself, she nodded her head.

Though she was reluctant to drink the unknown liquid, she also didn't want to prolong the issue with these ignorant people and end up at the stake. Despite her capability to defeat more than ten people on her own without breaking a sweat, she found herself surrounded by a town teeming with hundreds of people armed with arrows, bows, and various weapons, resembling a crazy mob of witch-hunters. And escaping would be challenging, because of her dress and heels.

Eva closed her eyes for a moment before opening them. She accepted the vial from the magistrate's hand and examined it closely. It appeared to be filled with a clear liquid, resembling water, but with a subtle tinge of a light greenish hue. Taking a deep breath, she took a sip of the liquid and gave the vial back to the man.

The crowd watched her closely, frowning their eyebrows as they scrutinized her from top to bottom, looking for any changes or differences in her appearance. But even after a few minutes had passed, they did not find anything strange.

The magistrate declared loudly, "This young lady here is not a witch. Don't you think you owe her an apology for attacking her earlier?"

"But what about the people she harmed earlier? Look at how she had made them bleed. We should punish her for injuring our men. She is a dangerous and wild woman who should be locked up in the dungeon", a woman shouted, pointing at the men who were beaten to a pulp by Eva.

"They were the ones who tried to attack me first. Had I not tried to defend myself, I would have become a charred corpse by now," Eva glowered at them.

"What the lady said was true. You should not have tried to attack her without confirming whether she was a witch or not," the magistrate added, "As for those men, I will send a local physician to treat their wounds."

The people murmured and whispered to each other before giving a slight bow to apologize to Eva. However, their faces showed no sign of guilt or remorse for accusing and attacking an innocent woman. After apologizing, they dispersed from the place one after another, leaving only the magistrate and the town guards with her.

"Thank you for helping me, Mr. Adams," Eva turned and expressed her gratitude to the magistrate. Despite sensing something strange about the three men, Eva maintained her politeness towards them.

"It is my duty as a magistrate to carefully look into the matters pertaining to justice. As an apology for the trouble caused by the people of our town, allow me to arrange a carriage for you to reach your town. But first, we must attend to your wound," he offered before his eyes raked over her body discreetly, "You might want to consider changing your clothes since the weather is chilly tonight. I'll arrange for someone to prepare warm clothing for you. Please follow me this way."

Eva contemplated the man's words. If she were to return to the forest now, she would undoubtedly freeze to death in her current dress. So, it would be a better idea to obtain some warm clothes from the magistrate before escaping from this place.

"Thank you," she responded and began walking alongside him towards the direction of the magistrate's place.

As soon as they reached the magistrate's place, the man turned to his guards and asked them to bring a cup of calming tea for Eva.

When the guards saw the look in the magistrate's eyes, they understood what the man meant and their lips pulled into a creepy smile. They gave a quick nod before leaving the place.