Evelyn

  ***

  Being carried under someone’s arm is an odd but not uncomfortable sensation. Having what fun I could I let my arms swing in the wind. I would kick my legs and pretend that I was swimming in the air, but I have a feeling that this man would get mad. They already gave me food and kindly brought my spear with us, so they can’t be too bad. With a piece of bread in my mouth, I listened to their quiet whispers. I’m sure that they’re talking about me and how bad my style is. I don’t know about them, but I’m really liking this whole rugged woodsmen getup I got.

  Man, it’s been a long time since I had bread. I wonder if they have soup? I don’t have anything I could use as a bowl, so I never made any. Maybe I could have used the deer skull to make some?

  Thinking these thoughts, I noticed a change in the sounds of the forest. The animals were quiet and instead there was the sound of people. Looking around, I couldn’t see anyone. They can’t be hiding can they? No if they were they would be a lot quieter. Man, people are loud. Am I that loud? Soon I smelled smoke and something cooking. Once again, my stomach growled. If I get there with bread in my mouth, I probably won’t get any food, so let’s hurry up and finish it.

  Moments ter we entered a clearing with many others wearing simir uniforms to these three men. There must have been at least a hundred of them. What are all these people doing out here in the forest? Maybe some noble is out here for a hunt? Wait no, these guys called themselves mercenaries. No noble would surround themselves with so many people who aren’t loyal to them. Brushing crumbs off my face I look for anyone who looked like a chief. I didn’t see any immediately but I did notice that we gathered lots of attention. People actually stopped their conversations to look at us. It reminds me of the first time out as a magical girl. Ah, nope. Not now. I can’t start crying about the past right now.

  Looking at the people who were setting up tents, I was carried towards the center of the camp with a not so small number of people following us. Looks like I’m some sort of spectacle. It’s like they’ve never seen a child before.

  We came to a rge tent with two armed guards outside of it. As I should have expected, their spears are a lot better than mine. I gnce at mine, which is still being held out of my reach. Inside the tent, a man stood with a woman by his side, both wearing uniforms different from everyone else. Hearing us approach, the two turned and looked at us. Rather, they looked at me. Everyone stood around wordlessly, looking at me. Moments passed and I decided that I needed to be the one to break the ice.

  “Hi.” I waved to the two in the tent.

  The woman in the tent narrowed her eyes and looked at the three men who brought me here.

  “Expin.” She commanded.

  “We found her in the forest.” Said the man who was carrying me. “As far as we can tell she was by herself.”

  “You expect me to believe that a child was out here by herself?” She asked. “In the demon infested Dark Woods?”

  Dark Woods? What a basic name. Wait, is it called? As far as I can remember, Dad just called it the forest. Well, I suppose a name is better than none. I wonder what their names are? Wait, did I even tell them my name? I don’t think I did. Oops. I’ll need to do that. Ah, they’re looking at me. Wait, what’s going on?

  “Well?” The woman asked.

  “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” I apologize.

  “Okay, let me ask this again.” She said, looking at me sternly. “Who are you and why are you out here by yourself?”

  “Um… Aren't you supposed to introduce yourself first?” I asked.

  “So you didn’t hear that either.” She sighed. “I am Aura, captain of the mercenary group Acadia.”

  “Hi Aura.” I waved again. “What are you doing out here?”

  “I introduced myself, so now it’s your turn.” She said.

  “Oh, um. I’m Evelyn,” I said. “Cra, and also Melody. You can call me whichever one you want.”

  “Which one of those is your name?” She asked.

  “Yep!” I smiled, but like a closed smile. My teeth are probably really dirty, so let’s not show them off.

  “Okay…” She sighed. “You three put her down. I want to have a word with… her.”

  “Roger.” The man carrying me said.

  He put me down gently on my feet and took a step back. It must have been a lot of work to carry me here, so I reached into my belt pouch and pulled out an arrowhead that I kept. It was probably the most valuable thing that I had aside from my knife.

  “Thanks for the ride.” I handed him the arrow head.

  “!?” Seeing this, he froze with his eyes glued on it.

  Leaving him to his own devices, I went to get my spear. I took it from the other man’s hand as his eyes too were glued on the arrowhead. With that done, I looked at Aura. Oddly enough her eyes too were fixed on the arrowhead. Is it like really valuable? Should I have not done that?

  “H-hey kid…” Aura said. “Where did you get that?”

  “I found it.” I said. I’m not going to tell them that I ripped it from the back of a body floating down the river.

  “Where?” She asked with a stern voice.

  Oh, so it seems like they really want more of them. Maybe I can get something out of this.

  “I don’t know, my memory ain't so great.” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

  “What do you want?” She rolled her eyes.

  “Who says I want anything?” I asked, stomach growling.

  “Give her my stew.” She ordered someone who looked to be a stable hand.

  That boy who looked to be thirteen handed me a bowl and spoon. I am so good at this!

  “Remember now?” Aura asked.

  “I don’t know, my memory is still kind of hazy.” I said taking a quick spoon full of soup. Wow. This is really good.

  “Will this help?” She sighed, pcing a buttered biscuit in my bowl.

  I am so smart, it scares me! Let’s give her a bit of info to keep her interested.

  “Yeah I remember. I found it when I was looking for food.” I said. “Why do you ask?”

  “This is very important to us.” She said. “Can you lead us to that pce?”

  “Yeah, it’s right by my house.” I said. “But I was supposed to hunt today and I don’t want to come back empty handed.”

  “Y-you live out here?” She asked, eyes opening wide.

  “No, I’m out here for the nice weather.” I rolled my eyes. “What do you think?”

  “Okay, where are your parents?” She asked, clearly annoyed.

  Oh, I might have made her mad. Let’s just tell her the truth. But first another spoonful.

  “They’re dead.” I told her.

  Man, this soup is really good. I wonder if I can get some spices from them. Maybe I can trade another arrow head? Ah, I don’t bring the others with me. They’re still at home.

  “Oh, I’m sorry…” She looked apologetic.

  “It’s not like you killed them.” I said.

  Wow, this biscuit is the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten! I couldn’t help but gobble it all up. Hearing no one talk around me, I couldn’t help but be curious and look up from my meal. Huh? Why are they looking at me with those sad eyes? Oh, the dead parents thing. Yeah. Now that I think about it, it is pretty sad.

  Ah, I made things awkward. Maybe I should go. I would really like more food, but let’s not be greedy. I’m keeping the bowl though. It’s a big upgrade from eating off of leaves.

  “I think I’m going to head home…” I said, sliding my now empty bowl and spoon under my arm. If I hurry I can make it back before nightfall.

  “No, you’re staying here.” Aura said.

  “What do you mean I’m staying here?” I asked, offended. She is wasting my time.

  “It’s too te and too dangerous.” She said.

  “No it’s not.” I countered. “I have a spear.”

  “Look at you! You’re skin and bones!” She pointed out.

  Okay, so I may have lost some weight out here but I wasn’t that bad.

  “Hey, you ain’t no miss.universe yourself.” I replied.

  Though I say that, she is far from ugly. Though she isn’t on mom’s level, not by far, but she’s still fairly attractive.

  “What are you saying?” She asked. “Just stay here for the night. I’ll walk you home in the morning.”

  How cruel! She’s going to make me sleep out under the stars instead of the safety of my home! That’s it! No more nice girl! I’m leaving!

  “Try and stop me!” With those words, I turned and walked in the direction of home.

  At least I would have liked to. The moment I turned around, she picked me up from under my arms, giving me no chance to escape.

  “Put me down!” I compined. “This is harassment!”

  “If you stay the night, I’ll give you more food.” She said.

  “Ah!” My eyes looked hungrily at her.

  Wait no! I’ve heard of this before!

  “It’s a trap!” I waved my arms and kicked my legs. “You’re going to fatten me up and eat me!”

  “It’ll take far too long to fatten you up.” She said.

  “So you are going to eat me! Release me witch!” Saying that I kicked her stomach.

  “Quit struggling! You’re embarrassing yourself!” She said.

  “You sound winded to me!” I said, trying to wack her with the blunt end of my spear.

  “You brat!” She pulled me in close so my kicks were no use, and held me up to her goons like some sort of school yard bully. “Someone grab this stick!”

  “My spear!” I cried out, having my spear taken from me. “How dare you! I made that!”

  “It looks like it’ll break with a single swing. Can you even use that?” Aura asked.

  “Yeah I got many mr.rabbits with that!” I defended my craftsmanship.

  “Mr.Rabbits?” She asked. “Look kid. Just stay here for the night. I’ll give you back your spear, we’ll give you food, and you can show us where you found the arrowhead. We’ll make it worth your while.”

  “…” I took a moment to think about it.

  I may be held against my will, but overall things are looking good. If staying out here means that I can get some food and maybe some seasonings, it would be worth it.

  “Promise?” I asked.

  “Yes, I promise.” She said.

  “That didn’t sound sincere.” I said.

  Aura sighed and put me down. Turning around I looked her in her eyes. She got on one knee and returned my gaze.

  “I promise that I’ll let you go home tomorrow.” She said.

  “Swallow a thousand needles if you lie?” I asked.

  “What kind of-” She shook her head. “Yes, I’ll do that if I lie.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.” I warned her.

  Ah! That look in her face is saying, “What is with this kid?”

  Aura

  ***

  Back when me and my husband created our own mercenary company, there were a lot of things we weren’t prepared for. Be it paperwork, or logistics months in advance, the people who got drunk and got into fights, the people who got drunk and ended up as a parent. Even worse when the one who got pregnant still wanted to fight on the front lines. How do you do that? Also why would you want to do that? Compints about the soldiers aside, this particur problem that arrived just before nightfall was an odd one indeed.

  A group of scouts discovered a small child by herself in the middle of the dark woods. The pce that has the rgest concentration of demons outside whatever dark hell the demon king crawls out of. Looking at her, anyone could tell that she was half starved and was wearing clothes which could barely be referred to as better than rags. She’s dirty, with bags under her eyes. It looks like she hasn’t slept in days. Just where did this kid come from? And why does she have three first names?

  Not only that, but when I was talking to her, she pauses and stares at me bnkly for almost a minute at a time, and then continues like nothing happened. Something is very wrong with this kid. Given the fact that she has no parents, that means that she must have been living here by herself for some time. Speaking of her parents, what the hell is wrong with them!? Who decided that the dark forest is a good pce to raise a kid!? Thinking about all of the criminals that are sent in here from the surrounding nations, I suppose that tells me all I need to know.

  I sighed and looked at the kid. She was curled up on a cot like some sort of small animal, but she wasn’t sleeping. Her eyes were open and she was looking at the door. Every so often they would begin to close as if she was falling asleep, but then they would shoot open. Was she trying to stay awake? I already asked her, and she said that she was going to sleep, but it certainly didn’t look like it. Aside from her spear and knife she had all of her belongings on her, so could she be trying to escape? I don’t think so. After all, she made me do that weird and kind of dark promise earlier. I don’t think she would break it. Still, I kept watch on her from my own cot. Normally I would share a bed with my husband, but that might make her uncomfortable, so he suggested to sleep elsewhere. I was looking forward to that. After three weeks of marching, we finally set up camp.

  I’m not sure what the kingdom is pnning, but it’s likely that they want to set up something out here. Why else would they hire us to clear out the demons in this area? Though now that I think about it, it could be something reted to that arrow head the kid brought out. Elves… I thought that they died out hundreds of years ago, but that arrow head was new. And it was made of a metal that no human has ever been able to replicate. Seeing the patterns in the steel, I couldn’t help but be amazed. And this kid had it… She obviously has no clue what it means. Pawned it off for being carried like baggage…

  Tired out, not only from the march but also from her, I could feel my eyelids starting to close. No, I can’t fall asleep before the kid… I need to make sure… make sure she doesn’t… Doesn't run…

  Grayburne