A streak of sunshine had broken through the thick branches of her hiding place, urging her to wake. Slowly she began to sit up and rub the sore spots on her side where small twigs and pebbles had dug into her skin through the night. The fire was smoking somewhat but had no flame and did not look as if it could be resurrected into the warming blaze it had been last night. With a bit of a stretch and a rather loud growl from her stomach she set off to find some berries to nibble on. Hopefully soon she'd find a town to stay in. After finding some berries and a small stream to wash up in she made her way out of the copse. Finding the mountain that she was using as a landmark to keep her headed in one direction she began to walk again. After a few hours walking she sat to rest and find more food. As she was gathering some berries an odd sound came to fall upon her ears. It wasn't a normal sound you'd hear in a forest, it was a steady sound, an unbreaking thud against the ground. Slowly and cautiously she made her way to an area that was fairly dense with undergrowth and she watched and listened. Listening more intently she came to the conclusion that the steady thud she heard was that of a horse trotting along a path. Fear suddenly came over her and she drew her cloak about her as close as she could and hid herself in the undergrowth, finding a break in the leaves where she could peer out and see from all directions without being seen. Did they send someone from the village to find her? To drag her back home and punish her for leaving? Maybe this was some other traveler who just happened to be coming across her path. She hoped against hope that it was just another traveler. There was no way she would be dragged back to her village, not after coming this far.
A cloaked figure was on the back of the horse. Age and gender were impossible to tell. Scarcely breathing, Keely drew back further into the bushes, crouching in as best she could, wishing she could be invisible. The figure trotted past her, stopped, and turned. She wondered if in fact the figure could hear the wild beating of her heart.
"Show yourself" came the command. So it was a man under the cloak.
Slowly, Keely came out from behind the tree. The man sized her up. She almost seemed to be a dryad. Her movements had been fluid and almost graceful. The girl had hair the color of mahagony and her eyes were like newly budded leaves. There seemed to be an air of enchantment about this creature. If there was one thing this man had learned, never take a chance if magic appeared to be involved. Quick as lightening the man pulled out a sword, the tip at her throat.
"Hiding to enchant a defenseless old man?"
Something clicked and Keely began to breathe again. The hand holding the sword was aged, but steady. She figured it would be best to be on her gaurd. Who knew what this man was capable of. "You are hardly defenseless."
The man lowered his weapon. "Well, at least you seem to be real." he muttered to himself "Why were you hiding, Girl? Are you a bandit?"
"No."
"Then why were you hiding?"
"You frightened me."
The man looked into the oh-so-green eyes of the girl, no . . . woman standing in front of him. She was not lying. But there was something that made him feel she not only didn't trust him, there was much more to her story than she let on.
Avarswiel Community Member 
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