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Exile; a short story by me

The branches whip across my face, my dress tearing as it catches. I run through the thick wood, trees towering above me in a sinister way. I begin to slow down as the forest seems to thin. I’m getting close to being out of here. 

Snap. 

I whip around, only to find a wide-eyed child holding a much too-large sword behind me. 

“Rowan! Mira!! I found someone!” they yell, looking up at me curiously. The child looks to be around 12 years-old and small. 

“Who are you?” They ask, “My name is Finley.”

“Hi, um… My name is-”

I’m unable to finish my sentence before something hits my head from behind. I slump to the ground, passed out. 

***

“-if she would just wake up, already…” someone grumbles. 

My eyes slowly open. Standing in front of me is an enchanting, young woman with shoulder-length auburn hair. She looks down at me with a puzzled yet intense facial expression, and, of course, she’s pointing a sword at me.

We seem to be in a small room with wooden floors and walls. That's when I realize the room was moving. We’re on a ship, and based on the people in the room with me, it's a pirate ship at that. I’m also tied up. Just my luck. 

Near the door is another, more annoyed-looking, young woman, this one has long braided brown hair and is slightly taller than the other one. She too has a sword, only hers is sheathed. 

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” The first one asks. 

“Why do you need to know?” I respond as she narrows her eyes at me. 

“Answer the question. Now.”

“Fine… My name is Blythe. I’m on the run, tryna get to the next kingdom over.”

The two women exchange looks with one another. “What are you thinking, Captain?” The second woman asks. Captain? She’s in charge? The first only turns away to face me once more. 

“I’m Rowan. This is my crewmate, Mira, she's the one who knocked you out. The child you met earlier was Finley.” 

“Nice to know… but why are you telling me all this?”

“We require… some assistance,” she says, putting her sword away. “You see, we aren't permitted to enter the town we’re coming up on and we’re running low on supplies. If you go into town with one of us and help to gather supplies, we will take you to your destination.”

I pause. Should I trust them? If I say no they’ll probably kill me. Might as well get something out of this. 

“Ok… but I’ll need a list… and money”

She grins at me and signals for the other woman, Mira, to untie me. 

Standing now, I look at Rowan, she motions for me to follow her out of the room onto the ship's deck. 

Suddenly I become self-conscious about my torn dress, and how my face is likely covered in dirt. She leads me across the deck to another room, this one is slightly larger with a bed and a desk. On the bed lies a new-looking pale green dress and black cloak. 

“I noticed your dress was torn…” Rowan says, looking at me over her shoulder and gesturing to the clothes on the bed, her expression unreadable. 

“Thank you…” I respond as she leaves the room so I can get dressed. 

After she leaves I feel as if I can breath for the first time in weeks. I need a break. 

2 WEEKS LATER:

As I walk in, she looks up from her work, and I hear her breath catch. Which, of course, makes my heart beat a million times faster. She walks around the table and up to me. 

“You look… good,” she says, clearing her throat. I attempt, and fail, at suppressing the smile growing on my face. She smiles back at me, and grabs my hand, walking out the door. 

“We’re here.” She pulls me to look over in the direction of a large island, smiling back at me, as my heart rate increases once more, but this time for multiple reasons. 

***

“Well, that was exhausting,” we just walked through the whole market and were only able to obtain a bag of apples and a few curious looks. Despite that, Rowan smiles at me, amused, but her smile soon fades as she looks over my shoulder at something. I turn, curious, only to find a royal guard asking questions of a woman at one of the market stands.

Oh no. 

Before I can think I grab Rowan’s hand and our supplies and make my way back towards the boat. 

“What's wrong?” she asks. 

“I have to get out of here,” I say, looking at her urgently. 

She nods as she leads me toward the woods. 

“We can hide here for a bit, Mira and the others took the boat to a cave after we left, so we wouldn’t get found and they won’t be back for another hour.”

“Ok.” 

And that's when a hand clamps down on my shoulder. My eyes widen at the same time as Rowan’s as she looks over my shoulder at the royal guard who is smiling sinisterly above me. 

***

“Rowan!!” I gasp, sitting up, suddenly awake. I look around me to find I’m back in the dungeon. 

“How long have I been here?”

The guard posted outside my door looks at me and sighs. No answer. 

Bang.

What was that… I make eye contact with the guard as she runs off. 

Before I know what's happening Rowan’s standing in front of me, pulling me out of my cell. I'm so disoriented she has to practically carry me. 

“Wait… what's going on?” I ask, forcing her to stop. 

“We’re getting you out of here,” she replies, winking at me. 

I can’t take it anymore and I pull her face into my hands and kiss her, tears running down my face. I know it's already too late. When I pull away, she sees the sword stabbed through my back, and the last thing I see is her beautiful face, wide-eyed and crying.

word count: 1018