Artemis and I sprinted through the forest, bows in hand, in hot pursuit of a freshly injured doe. "I can't believe I missed!" I exclaimed, angered at myself.
"It's not your fault, your chlamys got caught," Artemis tried her best to comfort me, "Happens to the best of us."
"Yeah but I've never seen you get your chlamys caught in a tree branch and miss a perfectly good shot, I should have never missed."
"Hey they didn't name me after the goddess of the hunt for nothing" Artemis teased.
"Ha ha." As we chased after what was supposed to be our dinner, my feet deceived me and I fell face first into the mossy ground dropping my bow in the process. Artemis slowed and turned back around to check on me. "Go!" I yelled,"We can't lose her!" She nodded, quickly turned back around and ran after the deer, soon out of sight.
I got up, brushed myself off, and sat down on a nearby stump. "Stupid feet," I muttered to myself as I brought my foot up to adjust my buskin, making sure it was tight. Once I was done, I put my foot down on the squishy forest floor and stared up at the clear blue sky peaking through the green canopy of leaves. I let out a soft sigh.
"You still daydreaming about that boy?"
I took my eyes off of the sky and saw Artemis walking back, bow now slung across her back. "Heh… yeah."
She shook her head, "You and your fantasies. That was ten years ago, Daphne, he's not just going to magically appear and become your prince in shining armor, this is real life, not some made-up story."
"Maybe so, but it's good to have hope," I replied softly
"This isn't hope, its foolishness."
Getting annoyed, I decided to change the subject. "So what happened to the doe?"
"I lost her but found her trail, she'll be easy to track, then we can head back to the orphanage, have a good dinner and laugh about how you missed."
I stuck my tongue out at her, a silly gesture but a necessary one. Being 18, I could leave the orphanage whenever I wanted but with limited staff, I felt like they could use the extra help. My mother died when I was just a baby and my father died at war some years ago. The sweet ladies who took care of us are the only family I've ever really known, I would feel bad if I left in a time of need. The ladies don't know how to hunt, Artemis, who is also one of the many children whose parents were taken by the war, and I are the only ones able to supply food to the little ones other than the town market but the orphanage is running low on funds s0 hunting is our best option.
"Well we should get going," I said, "we can't lose her, we need the meat." I walked over and grabbed my bow off the ground where I fell then followed Artemis as she led me through the woods to the deers trail. Knowing how to track is an important part of hunting, these animals are smarter than you would think. You need a keen eye to see the tiniest disturbances whether it's an overturned rock or brush that has been slightly moved. I was easily able to find the trail Artimis was talking about, there were at least three sets of fresh tracks pressed into the soft dirt making a clear path.
Artemis unslung her bow and walked behind me as I quietly followed the path the doe had taken. We continued following the muddy trail for about three stadion till Artimis stopped me.
"Daphne, we need to head back, we shouldn't keep going this way."
"We're so close though, I can feel it."
She grabbed my arm, "No, come on."
I angrily ripped my arm out of her grip, "What's wrong with you? You know we need this food."
"Daph, please…" I whipped around, her face filled with worry and her eyes pleading with me, "We're in Persian land."
"That's what you're so worried about?!" I yelled, "We came this far, we need the food, I'm not turning around no matter where we are." As soon as those words escaped my mouth, a dagger, about 5 inches long, whizzed passed our ears. Artemis yelped, grabbed my arm and dragged us both to the ground, I fell with a thud. I was the first to my senses, I jumped up, grabbed the dagger out of the tree and spun around to see who had attempted to attack us. With Artemis still curled up on the ground, I had to protect her, so I stood overtop of her, guarding her small body from the enemy.
He was so quiet I didnt even notice him come out of his hiding place behind a big pine tree. "Your friend is right, you need to leave."
"I'm sorry," I said, "We can't." The man pulled out three more daggers. He was about thirty years old and built, there was no way I would be able to beat him in a head to head fight so my best bet was to plead and hope he has a heart. "See we live in an orphanage and we have about a dozen little mouths to feed and we really need the food."
He didn't have a heart, "You can find food elsewhere."
I was too occupied with the man that I didn't see Artemis get up. "Daphne, let's go," she grabbed my arm and went to turn around when the mystery man stopped us.
"You're not going anywhere, you step on our land, you stay on our land." I once again shielded Artemis. I held up the dagger I had pulled out of the tree and gripped my bow, ready to defend my friend. He must have seen this as a sign of aggression because he leaped forward, ready to attack. I pushed Artemis away from me into the woods. "Run!" I yelled, "Get back to the orphanage now!" I turned around just as he reached us. I didn't know a lot about fighting, I only remember a little bit my father taught me before he died, so obviously, it was not a fair fight. The man was able to get the jump on me and sliced open my right arm which held my bow. I jabbed at him with the dagger but he easily blocked and being stronger than I am, he knocked the blade straight out of my hand. Not knowing what to do, I took an arrow out of my quiver and stabbed him in the shoulder. The pain wasn't enough to make him back off but it was enough for him to grit his teeth. While his guard was down for a moment, I took the bottom of my bow and slammed it into his gut. This gave me enough time to turn around and see if Artemis had listened to my directions, thankfully she did for she was nowhere in sight. I turned back just in time to see the mystery man take a limb of a tree and hit me over the head, knocking me unconscious.
"Stand up," a gruff voice demanded. I couldn't yet see anything but I felt people tugging on my arms, forcing me to stand. I slowly opened my eyes but it still took a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the dimly lit room. There were about a dozen men standing around me, all with their faces covered in dark cloth. The one who had previously spoken I'm guessing was the big silhouette sitting in what seemed like a throne at the far end of the room, I couldn't quite make out what this man looked like for the room was too dark. "Why were you trespassing, girl?" the deep voice boomed.
My throat was dry and my head throbbed but I knew if I didn't say anything, I would be killed. "I-I didn't know I was on Persian land," I managed.
"Lies," the man who caught me in the woods came forward from the shadowy wall, "There was another girl with her who warned her of where she was but she refused to turn back."
"Is this true?" the man on the throne asked me.
"Yes, but I needed-" I was cut off.
"So you did lie," the leader said.
"Yes, but-"
"Lying about a crime is worse than committing one, I will hear no more. Men, throw her in the cellar." the leader ordered.
"Wait! No!" I screamed as they dragged me behind them by my arms, the cut I forgot was on my arm opened again and warm blood started to run down my bicep, "I need to get back to the orphanage!" dragging me could not have been fun with how much I fought but the men kept going till I was thrown to the cold ground and heavy iron bars were placed in the doorway I had been thrown into. I screamed and screamed until my voice went so hoarse only a whisper came out, but still, no one came.
Three or so days must have passed, I was stripped of everything but a tunic and a shalvar which was two sizes too big. I had torn a piece out of the tunic to wrap up my arm which had been cut, only a little bit of blood had soaked through and my head still throbbed from being hit. The cellar I was put in was dark and only had a few cracks in the walls that were letting light through. The only torches were out in the hall where the guards usually stood. I was only given a single meal in a day, my stomach hurt from the hunger and I could no longer speak for my throat was so sore. The only person I saw was the main guard who stood by my prison and brought me food. It wasn't till my third day being locked up that things changed.
"Wake up," the guard demanded. I had learned my first day being held captive that this man's name was Javid. He seemed quieter and less experienced than most of the other men but still far too experienced for me to be able to take him in a one on one fight.
I opened my eyes to see that Javid had brought me my single meal for the day which included a single cup of water, a piece of moldy flatbread, and some kind of undercooked meat. It was at least better than nothing. Javid opened the iron bar door and left the plate and cup on the floor about a foot away from the entrance, then quickly shut the door with a loud slam which made me flinch. I crawled up to the food sitting on the ground and sat with my legs criss-crossed in front of the plate. I drank my water first, it was enough to take the stinging sensation in my throat dissipate but wasn't enough to quench my thirst. The mystery meat was a little chewy but not that bad, the flatbread though? I was barely able to get it down without what I had just eaten coming back up.
Javid stood at his normal post, standing just to the left of the front barred wall. I slid my plate and cup back under the bars to the other side and Javid watched as they skidded across the stone floor. I went to crawl back to the corner of the cellar but before I could, I heard yelling coming from down the hall. I edged my way to the bars and peered through, I couldn't see what all the commotion was, for the room that held the cellars and hall were separated by a solid door. The yelling ceased and Javid became very alert. He gripped his long javelin, getting ready for a fight, before too long the big solid door swung open to reveal a boy, dressed in all black and a mask covering his face, his eyes though, had a familiar glow to them. I watched as he twirled three knives in his hand. In one swift motion he threw the knives and I closed my eyes and backed into the corner of the cellar, knowing this was the end for Javid. It was one thing seeing a deer being killed for food, but watching a human die was something completely different.
The room fell completely silent and I decided to at last open my eyes. The boy was now standing directly in front of my cellar, startling me. He pulled his mask down and gave me a gentle smile as if to tell me he was a friend, and with one swift swing of one of his knives, he cut the lock on the door. He swung the door open, walked in, stood in front of me and held out his hand. "It's okay now," he softly spoke, "You're safe now."
I found my hand in his and he lifted me to my feet. Once standing all I could do was stare in his eyes and that's when it hit me, those amazing knife skills? I've seen them before. It's him, the one who saved me in the woods all those years ago.