Eliza had been practicing her new songs for hours when they first drove underneath the trees of the Fathomless Forest. The light adopted a greener hue and dimmed significantly, until it was no longer clear whether it was sunny or overcast. Eliza had never seen such a dense canopy, especially not over a road as wide as this one. Two carriages could easily pass each other with room to spare. The brush on the edge between the road and the forest was likewise so thick with bushes, weeds and undergrowth, that a sword would probably be needed to cut her way into the forest if she needed to relieve herself. Many of the trees looked gnarled and ancient, giving the mossy road a certain enchanted fairytale atmosphere. Eliza couldn’t help but wonder about all those stories telling of mysterious fey creatures from this place. The forest had just such a feel to make it all seem true. Of course she knew that fey creatures existed, but she had never seen one, and frankly most tales about them seemed exaggerated for dramatic effect, or simply meant to scare people.

Eliza opened a window, and the air was filled by birdsong. It was the beginning of summer after all. The air smelled pleasantly of fresh leaves and pollen, and the ambience was relaxing and inspiring, so Eliza left it open as they drove. The experience was so soothing, she had entirely forgotten how dangerous this path was. Despite this, days passed uneventfully, just like this. Eliza would pass the time by playing her flute and reading the books she had brought along for the journey. She had spoken very little with her guards or the coachman, and they had treated her curtly, only speaking to her whenever something happened that required her attention. This wasn’t usual, but Eliza didn’t mind. She was in no mood to chat with her mother’s lackeys anyhow.

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On the third night, just two days and one night away from Roudmark, the country on the other side of the forest that was to become Eliza’s new home, the peace was broken. Eliza was sleeping in the coach, as she had every night, with her three escorts sleeping around a fire just off the road outside. They usually stayed up late talking and laughing. Eliza knew this because she never slept well in the coach, and kept waking due to foreign sounds or uncomfortable sleeping positions, and so she often heard them making noises at these times. The coachman also snored so loudly whenever they did sleep, she was frightened they might attract wild animals, but every night had been peaceful. Or at least they had until now.

Eliza awoke, perhaps for the second or third time that night, and everything was eerily quiet. She could tell that a fire still burned outside, as light flickered in the cracks between the shutters of the carriage. Eliza thought that maybe the coachman just didn’t snore today, but a feeling of dread had begun to set in. She quickly pulled a dress over her smock, put on a pair of flat bar shoes and went outside. There was no one there. She looked around, thinking they may have gone for a walk, but even the horses were gone. She stood there, frozen in place, not quite understanding the situation she was in. Had they just left her? What should she do? It would take her days to reach the edge of the forest on foot in any direction, and she would be alone without protection. If she was exposed before, now she might as well rob and kill herself to get it over with. If at least she had a horse there might have been a chance of her making it to the other side, but now there was to do, was to hope that someone else would pass by and help her. She had just decided that staying put and praying for help would be a better bet than walking anywhere, and was about to lock herself in the coach, when she heard faint voices and footsteps approaching. At first the feeling of hope enveloped her. It could have been her guards returning after all, but as they came closer, the voices sounded clearly foreign. Panic stricken, she looked for somewhere to hide. In the forest? No, she would leave a clear trace forcing her way through the thick brush. Should she run up the road and hope for a better hiding place? No, she would be slow and noisy. In the end she crawled under the coach, hoping whoever was talking were either peaceful or not looking for her to begin with, and would simply grab whatever was valuable and leave. If they searched for her, she would be an easy find. Quite quickly It became clear that her hope was in vain, as the voices came within a distance where she could make out the words spoken. The first voice she heard was deep, but still seemed to belong to a woman:

“...telling you that hit jobs are bad luck. Do you even know who you’re working for?”

Eliza also began to hear the rattle of metal hitting metal as they walked. They were likely wearing armour. Then she heard a raspy male voice:

“And I keep telling you that it’s fine. I was paid up front.”

“The client skimping on us is the least of my worries, and you know it! I’m just saying that killing nobility might get us mixed up in something we really don’t want to be part of.”

They were in front of the coach now. Eliza could see their shoes as they walked into her vision. One was wearing worn and muddy leather boots, and the other had scratched up greaves on their shins. Eliza held her breath.

“Then why are you here? I could handle this on my own.”

“Right. Sure you could. You would definitely fuck something up, and ensure that the entire family was dragged down with you on top of it. You don’t exactly have the best history with solo jobs. Remember the break-in just last week?”

“That was different!” The man protested. “I didn’t know they had a dog… Whatever, don’t look at me like that… let’s just get this over with.” Eliza heard the coach door open.

“Oh great!” the man exclaimed. “You must have woken her with your constant nagging! Now you have to go find her!”

“Me?!” the woman objected. “I’m not the one raising my voice, and besides, this is your job. You go find her. I’ll wait here.”

The man grumbled something about it being too dark for him to see, but Eliza saw the leather boots leave down the road, so she assumed they were his.

“You know your hair is sticking out from under the coach, right?” The woman suddenly said. Eliza’s stomach dropped, and her throat tied itself into a tight knot. She froze in place, not knowing how to react, or what to do. Maybe she could roll out the side and run?

“I would prefer it if you came out from under there on your own,” the woman said in a lowered voice. “If I drag you out by force and you make a fuss, Keron might hear.”

Eliza was confused, but maybe this woman wasn’t out to kill her after all? Eliza would have to take that chance. She slowly pushed herself out from under the coach, stood up and saw the owner of the deep voice and greaved legs. She was a tall and bulky woman with smooth dark skin, steel gray eyes, and long ashen hair that was pulled back by a braided leather strap. She had two large scars running across the left side of her face, and the mark of union on her forehead, displaying her status as a married woman. Other than the greaves she was wearing a worn looking breastplate of simple design, a gray shirt and brown hoses. She also had an old looking arming sword sheathed at her right hip. It was a most unusual appearance, one that nearly made Eliza lose the breath she had just regained.

“Light, girl…” the woman cursed. “You’re just a child. How old are you?”

Eliza snapped out of her staring. The woman seemed to show guilt. Eliza could use that, if she could just manage to make the woman feel worse about killing her. Now was the time to play the helpless child.

“... Fifteen…” Eliza lied, while staring meekly at her hands. Really she had celebrated her sixteenth nameday a little over three months ago, but in her experience people couldn’t tell singular years apart. The woman nodded.

“And what’s your name?”

Eliza saw no reason to lie.

“Elisabetta.” she answered, then looked up at the woman while clutching her dress. “Please do not kill me… I don’t want to die… Please…”

“Well Elisabetta, I’m not interested in killing you, it’s too much trouble, so you should run before my partner returns. I will ensure he searches where you are not.”

Eliza looked down the dark road. They had traveled for nearly three days on horseback to get here. She would never survive the trip back on her own.

“Please, my merciful lady,” she pleaded. “I will die this very night to robbers, wolves or the like if you make me run. Can you not convince your companion instead, or maybe send him away while I hide and then escort me yourself? You seem strong and capable enough for the task. I have gold hidden away, I can pay you.”

The woman shook her head.

“I don’t want my family involved with nobles. It’s nothing but danger for us, and I…”

At that moment a short man with greasy blonde hair and familiar worn leather boots came crashing through the brushes.

“You found her!” he shouted. “Why aren’t you grabbing her?” He rushed at Eliza, who tried to flee as soon as she saw him, but only got a few feet before being grabbed by the wrist. The man twisted her arm, forcing her to kneel in front of him. He was short, but strong, and he kicked her to the ground. She cried and shouted for help, whilst trying to crawl away, but the man stomped down hard on her ankle, making her howl in pain. Something glinted in the corner of her eye, and she whipped around on the ground to see that the man now held a long dagger in his right hand.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Lie still now, you’ll only make it more painful for yourself.” the man stated coldly, as he knelt down over her, pushing her to the ground with his free hand and raising the blade in his other. He was so close she could see the veins in his eyes and feel his foul breath on her face. He tensed, the blade glinted in the firelight and flashed towards her, but then, a loud “THUMP!” was heard, and the man slumped down on top of her; unmoving. The woman stood above them, holding a large branch in her left hand.

“Shit…” she cursed. Then she bent down, and lifted the unconscious away from Eliza. In complete shock, Eliza could feel herself shaking uncontrollably, wet tears streaming down her face. The woman groaned, then grabbed Eliza by the collar and dragged her to the fire. Shen threw on a few logs, and went to look at the man she had knocked out. Eliza sat up slowly, hugging herself tightly to try and regain some level of composure, but it took what felt like hours before the shaking stopped. Meanwhile it looked like the woman was treating the wound on the man’s head, which left Eliza confused and scared that he might wake. Clearly he was still alive.

When she was finished, the woman went to the coach, and rummaged through it to find a blanket. She threw it at Eliza. Then she took the cauldron that had been left in the grass and filled it with water from the water barrel in the coach, after which she placed it over the fire. Eliza just watched her move about while wrapping herself in the blanket, and slowly she calmed all the way down.

“What are you doing?” she asked in a voice hoarse from screaming.

“I’m making tea so I can think.” the woman answered, as she took out two cups and sprinkled in some dried leaves from her own pack. When the water boiled, she poured some in each cup, and handed one of them to Eliza.

“How’s the foot?” the woman asked. Eliza was surprised by the question at first, but then she looked at her ankle. It was clearly swollen, but Eliza couldn’t feel any pain, or even any throbbing.

“I think it might be sprained.” Eliza answered blankly. She didn’t really feel like any of this had happened to her somehow.

“Might be?” the woman said in a disbelieving tone. “You’d be lucky to walk five feet on that thing, and the swelling has only just started.” The woman then looked at her with a serious expression.

“Now what am I supposed to do with you?” the woman sighed, took a sip of her tea, then mumbled mostly to herself:

“I should’ve just stayed home… This was never my business…”.

Eliza also took a sip. The tea was bitter, not sweet like Eliza was used to, but right now all that mattered was that it was warm. The fire and hot tea made Eliza feel calmer, and combined with her feeling of disassociation, it made her bold enough to ask questions.

“You were hired to kill me, right?”

The woman looked surprised, but answered:

“Yeah. Well technically only he was hired. I just tagged along.”

Eliza nodded, feeling as calm as ever, then drank some more tea.

“Who are you even? Bandits? Mercenaries?” she wondered.

The woman cocked her head slightly.

“That’s a pretty complicated question, actually. For now, let’s just say we’re both. What about you? If I’m to help you I would like to know what I’m getting into.”

Eliza chuckled a little.

“That’s also a pretty complicated question, but to cover the most important parts, I’m the daughter of a baron in Tyrwald, and I’m being sent to the Monastery of the Sun in Roudmark to live out my days as a nun.”

The woman raised an eyebrow.

“You a bastard or something?”

Eliza smiled.

“No, though it might have been better for everyone if I were. You probably wouldn’t have been sent to kill me then” Eliza sighed, then decided to be frank. “Look, we both know I’ll die if you leave me, and you already knocked out your companion over there. I can guarantee that I’ll speak nothing of you and your friend to anyone, should you help me, and on top of that I can pay you. If you kill me, even if my father cares little for me, his pride will force him to act on his own child being killed.” The last part was a lie. Her father had abandoned his pride long ago. He would likely never lift a hand to take revenge on her behalf “So what will it be?” Eliza asked. “Will you kill me, or save me?”

The woman just sat there studying Eliza’s face for a long while, then emptied her tea and got up.

“Wait here.” she ordered, and then walked off into the forest.

Eliza felt confused, but did as she was told. It wasn’t like her ankle allowed her to flee anyhow. As she waited for the woman to return, she slowly sipped her tea, whilst shooting nervous glances at the unconscious man lying just beside the coach. The feeling of disassociation gradually lifted as she sat there alone, and more fear crept in. What if the woman had left her? What if she wanted her to starve to death? Eliza had been driving herself towards panic for about twenty minutes when the woman came crashing back through the brush, holding several branches in her arms. Eliza was so startled, she let out a small squeal in fright.

“Did you think I was a bear? Or perhaps a scary monster?” the woman jested with a cocky smirk, as she threw the branches on the ground beside Eliza, then knelt down and removed her shoe to study the swollen ankle. Eliza winced in pain at the touch.

“That needs to be treated before we go anywhere.” the woman commented, then went to the coach and grabbed another blanket, as well as the dagger the man had attempted to kill Eliza with. She cut the blanket into long strips, after which she whittled a splint out of one of the branches.

“This is going to hurt a little.” the woman said, before placing the splint on Eliza’s ankle, and wrapping the strips tightly around it. That did indeed hurt, and Eliza bit down hard to endure the pain without making a sound.

“Pack a small bag with your most essential items, and put on some clean clothes. It will be awhile before you can change into anything new.” the woman instructed, while helping Eliza up. Every step was painful, but Eliza knew they couldn’t stay. She decided to pack her things in the satchel that could rest on her shoulder, and quickly threw in what she deemed strictly necessary. An extra set of undergarments, a few pieces of her most expensive jewelry, a brush, the money she had hidden under the seat, the blanket she had been wrapped in, a small ornate knife, some food, the coachman’s spare waterskin, and of course her flute. The bag ended up being pretty full, mainly due to the flute case, but she would never dream of leaving that behind. When she came back out, the woman gently helped her down from the coach, and handed her a staff wrapped in cloth.

“That should help you support yourself, and make the trip less painful.”

Eliza felt touched despite the situation.

“Thank you. And thank you… You know, for saving me.” Eliza said quietly.

“Don’t thank me yet, we still need to get out of here, and we’ll have to travel by road. I really would rather trek through the forest, safer that way, but you would never make it on that foot. Well, we’d better hope I know the people we’ll run into.”

“Are you sure we’re going to run into any?” Eliza asked. “We saw no one on the way here.”

“You saw no one on the way here because Keron asked those we knew to let you pass. He had been instructed to kill you as deep into the forest as possible, and had even been given bribe money by his employer to ensure that you were. Normally such a small party would at least be relieved of their valuables.” the woman answered in a curt manner.

“I shall have to rely on your expertise then.” Eliza said, managing to put on one of her polite smiles. The woman shot her a look, then asked her to wait for a bit. She grabbed the unconscious man, and carried him into the coach, placing him gently on one of the seats. She checked his health, then left some food and water with him and shut the door.

“I can't have the moron die on me.” she mumbled. “Oh, right!” she exclaimed. “You still owe me some money.” The woman smiled wickedly at Eliza. “I always take my payment in advance, especially when my customer has no choice in the situation”.

“Of course you do, how could I forget.” Eliza rummaged through her satchel, found the money, and threw the entire pouch to the woman. She would have no need of money at the monastery anyway. “You’re going to have to pay for me at inns however, once we get out of here.”

The woman opened the pouch and whistled.

“That’s quite the sum. Are you sure your family doesn’t care for you?”

Eliza snorted.

“I’ve saved up that money for years. I suppose buying my own life with it is the best possible use for it.”

“I see.” the woman hummed as she fastened the pouch to her belt, and slung her pack over the shoulder. “Let's be on our way.”

“Yes of course.” As Eliza began the laborious and excruciating process of walking, she decided to distract herself with some smalltalk and asked: “Since we’ll be traveling together for a while, could you tell me your name? Or at least a name to call you by?”

Moonlight broke through a rare gap in the dense leaves above, illuminating the woman’s silver hair as she replied:

“You can call me Luna.”