In an uninteresting forest full of uninteresting trees and uninteresting creatures a wholly out of place interesting man was chopping wood. James, never Jimmy, was a tall if a bit lanky man with a short, well maintained, crop of greying brunette hair matching his expertly cut beard. He wore simple cloth trousers and an old tunic across his chest that doubled as a sweat rag most days. He busied his days tending to his simple homestead and ensuring her and his niece were well taken care of. It was late into the year and the cold season was due to blanket his home any day now, thus he was out chopping wood to keep his fair abode warm. It was a modest wooden cabin made from timber he himself had cut down in that very same forest including one abnormally large tree. There was a river of clean fresh water running alongside the cabin and enough clear open space to allow for quite the soiree or barbecue. Shamefully, no such party had ever occurred as the secluded cabin was intended to be his safe house, an escape from any unwanted attention or a retreat for important individuals. It was never meant to be a permanent accommodation, yet it had been for over for far too long.
James dropped his axe cleanly splitting a log in two, the cleanly cut pieces added to a rapidly expanding pile. The simple task allowed his mind to wander and reflect on his life, a pastime he found himself doing more often as of late. It was a peaceful life he shared with his niece Valerie, a safe life, which was all he truly cared about. Some days he wished he could stay here chopping wood and play the quiet woodsman act forever, a serene and uneventful existence. Unfortunately, fate and the divine did not give people like him or his niece uneventful existences. That’s why he trained her, taught her all the martial lessons he could and tried to instil a fair sense of right and wrong. He hoped it would be enough, every day she grew older, stronger, more infuriating and more desperate to leave. Once he caught her staring into the horizon, no destination or goal in sight, she simply wanted to leave, to escape their monotonous life and find her own path. It absolutely terrified him. Raising and dropping his axe, he failed to cut a misshapen log, his harried thoughts sapping at his concentration.
Resting his tool against his shoulder, James stared towards the setting sun as it disappeared below the tree line and pondered a truth he battled with daily, one he failed to find any alternatives for. Whatever path his niece took she was bound to face people and events he could never prepare her for. Like any parent, direct or not, he believed, or rather he knew she was meant for something bigger than all of this, it was obvious the morning she was born and every day since. The thought crushed a little more of his soul each time it crept into his mind, what he wouldn’t give to see his last remaining family kept safe from the horrors and expectations of the world. Shoving his worries to the back of his mind with a shake of his head, James hefted his axe once again set to split another log.
A tumult from behind halted the man mid chop. Every muscle in his body tensed on instinct and he prepared to hurl his axe at the would-be attacker. Years of conditioning and honing his skills were almost put on full display for the first time in years until he heard shouts from his niece. Letting out a deep breath that did little to quell his nerves, he set his axe down and turned to greet Valerie.
“What’s the ruckus? Run… out of… knives?”
James was momentarily dumb struck upon seeing Valerie mid sprint hefting a large sack on her shoulder. It looked like a sack atleast, the blood dripping from one end was mildly concerning however. At his request, Valerie left at the crack of dawn to hunt rabbits or some other game for their supper, ofcourse he fully expected her to forgo the request and focus on her marksmanship. She found whatever avenue she could to defy his requests, no matter how petty it became. It was alright, James thought, after he finished chopping wood, he planned on surprising her training with another reaction test then they would both go hunting after she inevitably failed the test. Seeing her return of her own volition with a sack of something was surprising, maybe she was beginning to see her uncle’s lectures were worth listening to and would follow his requests again? Such delusions would go unfulfilled with Valerie’s hurried words as she ran past her kin.
“Emergency! We got to go!”
James watched his niece race into the cabin, nearly breaking the door off its hinges in the process. Like a deer in headlights, he stood gobsmacked as his mind went into overdrive imagining all the world-shattering scenarios that could get his niece riled up. Dropping the axe, he chased after Valerie entering their home in time to watch everything on their dining table be tossed to the floor. She set down the sack revealing it was some old, tattered cloak with a bloodied unconscious girl inside. James’s confusion grew as he scanned his niece’s catch of the day. The girl was gaunt, shockingly pale, had dried blood flaking off her face, an open wound on her hand, shoulder and nose as well as a large bruise forming on her cheek. Leaning over James rested his hand against the girl feeling for warmth and faintly made out the sound of her ragged breathing. Despite their guests terrible condition, James could only concern himself with the fact someone other than himself and his niece walked these woods. He patrolled the forest more than anyone and knew there were no other homes or settlements nearby. The closest town would take two days of uninterrupted hiking to reach across uneven terrain, which is exactly why James built his cabin here. Questions he wouldn’t like the answer to race through his mind until his niece’s worried voice brought him back to reality.
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“JAMES PLEASE!”
Glancing up, James only now realised how distraught his niece was, she never used his name unless it was truly serious. Yet another petulant show of defiance which he tolerated not letting her see how hurt it truly made him feel. The guilt ridden look on her own face however deeply troubled the man as he pieced together the clues. Clearly whatever happened to their guest was his niece’s doing but what part she played he would need to learn later, and he would get the whole truth out of her no matter what. Leaving the table, James fished out a roll of clean cloth from a cabinet and tossed the bundle to his niece. She just barely caught the bandages, her thoughts scattered as her eyes darted between the girl, her uncle and her own shaky hands.
“Remove any clothes covering her wounds and apply pressure where you can. I’m going to grab water to clean the cuts.”
James rapidly announced, his tone briefly braking his niece out of whatever panic she suffered from. He grabbed a bucket from the cabinet and rushed back out of the house towards the river. After the filling the pail, James sped back into the cabin, without spilling a drop, to find his niece struggling with covering the girl’s wounds. Mentally adding a refresher on first aid training to her daily chores, James took over caring for their patient. After several trips to the river and changing more than a few deep red bandages, the pair finally staunched the bleeding. James carefully carried the wounded girl into his room and set her on top of his bed, there was no point dirtying his nieces sheets for the time being. Not like it mattered as they were doubtless to be getting any sleep with today’s events. After ensuring their guest was comfortable, James walked back into their kitchen/ dining room, finding Valerie still at the disgraced table twiddling with one of her throwing knives. He hadn’t voiced his thoughts at the time but finding one of the blades embedded in the girl’s thigh was the last thing he expected nor wanted to see. Sitting across from his niece, he snatched the blade from her hand and rested his arms on the table. Breathing deep he spoke like a general addressing his men.
“Answers. I want them now and without missing a single detail.”
His niece tried to put on a confident face and speak of the afternoon’s events objectively, but it was a poor the façade. Despite all her bluster, Valerie was still a child and hadn’t developed the emotional walls she needed in that moment. The afternoons events were relayed to the best of Valerie’s recollection. She described how she had gone against her uncle’s instructions to train her knife throwing skills again. The injured girl, Samantha, had shown up already in a terrible state, made her announcement and then rushed forward with her dark tendrils following closely behind their master. Due to their distance, Valerie was able to assess the situation and reacted swiftly, tossing her hand full of knives at the oncoming rush. She intended to cripple the speed of her assailant however, the black whips surged ahead of Samantha knocking away most of the blade’s. Two did pass through the frenzy, one lodging into her leg and another bouncing off her cloak covered shoulder. James gave his niece a hard disapproving look after hearing the faint pride in her voice at landing two hits on a moving target. When Samantha was less than five meters away, Valerie too leaned into a sprint meeting the charge head on. She expected to fend off the protective tendrils but, when the two were a foot apart the black whips stopped dead unable to continue. Valerie recalled the whips extended from their origin in the tree line some distance, but there must have been a limit that her assailant was unaware of. Free of her protection, Samantha was caught unawares as Valerie’s full force fist collided with the girl’s face. With that single hit the fight was over, Samantha tumbled backwards falling helplessly on the ground completely knocked out. Valerie tried to argue that she didn’t even hit her that hard which James was hearing none of, he knew his niece had a problem holding back. As the minutes dragged on and her opponent remained unmoving, she began to worry she accidentally killed someone which was when Valerie picked up the unconscious girl and raced home.
James listened to the whole speech never interrupting, barring the occasional stern glare when his niece either purposely or unintentionally downplayed her actions. When the tale concluded, all James could do was slump in his chair and rub his forehead trying to shrink the oncoming migraine. It did not work. The chances anyone would stumble upon their home were slim but somehow Samantha had done it even avoiding all of James early warning traps no less. What rotten luck, James sighed internally. Maybe this was all a bad dream, and he was about to fall out of bed to find his home safe, secure and un-intruded upon. Unfortunately, there was no way he would be that fortuitous, it was like fate had walked up to their door and slapped James in the face. Rising from his seat, he spoke with in a tired voice.
“I am going to get us some dinner, as you were told to do. You are not to leave this house. Am. I. Clear?”
Valerie did not protest, simply nodding her head, the shock of that afternoon still played havoc on her. A part of James wanted to comfort her, but he wasn’t exactly sure how he could with his own thoughts and emotions out of order. Turning to walk out the door, James flexed his hands and realised he was still clutching onto the knife that had been stuck in Samantha earlier, the blade speckled with her blood. Exiting out of the house, he tossed the knife aside and glared up to the heavens above. He wanted to scream, to rage and shout out his frustrations. Why now? Why her? Why at all? Letting out a long breath, he did not utter a peep and forced his anger down. Rage would do little for him right now, what he needed to clear his head was some nice simple hunting, that always helped focus his thoughts. Returning to his axe, he snatched it off the ground and stalked off into the forest where some beasts were sure to meet a bitter end.
They weren’t alone however, as the man’s simple life with his niece had come to an abrupt end all thanks to one little girl.