Knight's and Ladies (atepem & silence)

Donovan tried to shrug the girl off his arm, but he was starting to lose feeling in it and he couldn't get her to let go. Instead she was trying to tell him to grab his sword and then almost as quickly she was telling him to run. The knight stared at the creature for a moment and then jumped out of the swamp. He could feel the mud and slime from the water seep into his armor and soak the dressing that covered his wound. That wasn't a good thing.

Leaping out of the swamp after the girl he snatched the supplies from the ground and started further into the forest and then cut west. It would take them closer to where he wanted to be. Stopping a short while later he set the bags down and groaned. "What was that thing?" Fighting was perhaps his only good instinct and the rest of it was somewhat lacking at this point. "Tell me what kind of creatures are helpful and I'll keep an eye out for those and try to steer clear of the rest." Pulling the cape off he grimaced and began to tug at the armor straps. Eventually it came loose and he slipped out of it.

About that time he realized he left the flask of wine. Shaking his head he sighed and pulled his shirt up. "I hate to ask." Donovan peered over his shoulder. "I really do...but I need a little help here. If you don't want to be left alone in the forest it would be helpful for you to take that bandage off and clean the mud away from the wound."

When she was done he winced a little and let the shirt back down. "Now I'm ready to find out a little more about these woods and why it's so damn important to the enemy." He had caught that much, the reason hadn't been shared.
 
Cleaning the wound was a distressing task; Lillian knew he was injured but she hadn't realised the severity of the wound until she saw the grisly thing itself. She winced - it was barely scabbing over - and it probably didn't help that he'd had to put so much strain on it, lugging stuff around and then having to immediately afterwards run away from a two-headed beast. Really, he should've told her about it instead of trying to endure through it like an idiot, stupid knight.

She shook the ends of her bemired dress, hoping to dry it a little, with a huff. "Well, since you're taking all this in so easily even though you almost died, let me explain. " She squeezed water from her hair, and turned to the knight. "But this is very important so you mustn't tell anyone."

Only when the knight nodded did she deem it acceptable to start. "First of all, the creature that you'd so recklessly aggravated back there was an Amphisbaena. I'd read of them in several of my books. Their blood supposedly has incredible regenerative abilities making it so that a cut through it's body heals almost instantaneously." Come to think of it, that would've been useful for the stupid knight's bad back - assuming they'd found a way to kill it. "Also I'd read in one that a single wound inflicted by the creature can never heal, so most opponents bleed to death."

She started walking around but the water in her boots made her stop and grimace. How much further did they have to go? "Do you see now? If that's just one creature with amazing magical powers, imagine a whole forest of them. What kind of power a kingdom's army could possess and the consequential chaos that could happen."
 
She was so pompous. Donovan would have laughed except for her little fingers prying at the wound. "Ugh....I don't have anyone to tell mi lady and neither would I take great amusement in repeating anything you would have to tell me." Perhaps it was a biting remark that didn't fit his position, but he felt the need to grouch at someone. Finally he nodded to give her a greater assurance.

It seemed that there was quite a bit to the forest. Why he was told to bring her to this part he wasn't so sure. The forest was unexplored for good reason if that sort of creature frequented it. At long last she finished and he remained sitting where he was at. Somehow he was feeling like a naughty school boy with a raving teacher pacing around him. She wasn't quite that bad, but he had caught the not so subtle hints that she thought him lacking of intelligence. "That would all depend on whether the creatures were helpful to the cause or not."

Wincing he moved to lay down on his stomach for a while. "You know of any kind of hierarchy among the creatures here? They have a king or someone that would make an agreement with the forest and those outside of it?"

"Well," Lillian muttered, "There's been some speculation on a... King? Of the fairies or something similar...Wait." She said, pulling up her dirtied sack and reaching inside to take out a worn green book, the title at the front so faded that it was indecipherable. "I'm sure there's something on it here..."

"Might be good to know. I'll have to take you wherever their leader is." Pushing up on his elbows he winced a little and he could feel some blood run across his back. "Find anything yet?"

"Don't rush me," She said as she flipped through with delicate fingers. "Why do we need to meet the King? Were only passing by, aren't we?"

Donovan sighed. "Well not if you want to keep the castle." He was finding himself a bit amazed at her lack of political prowess despite his earlier thoughts. "You'll need someone with incentive to keep you in power and if they happen to be as powerful as you say..." Leaving it there he figured she would get the picture. "And that was what your father instructed me to do. You're supposed to hide in the forest so I'm making the most out of it for you."

She stopped at a yellowed page, placing the book's ribbon in the middle of the page more as a reflex, before she looked up at the knight. "No, I considered that." She hissed at the overbearing knight, "It's just that you'd have to be a complete madman to try and make contact!" Lillian returned the sigh, "If you'd actually tried to read something, you'd know what I was talking about." With that, she shoved the book at the knight, open on a page labelled in delicate cursive 'Erlking'. "This King has many pages about them, and not many describe them as too friendly. This specific one details them to have a taste for children."

Squinting at the page he growled. "It might be helpful if I knew how to read." Grumbling he turned his head away from the book. "Now you may complete your very great analysis of me and assume that I'm ignorant as well."

Lillian opened her mouth, but couldn't find any words. She couldn't imagine a world where she couldn't lose herself in the library, it was ridiculous. "You can't read?" She just repeated in disbelief. "How... How do you know where you're going? Or even write letters? Or read maps?"

Donovan grunted and sat up slightly disgusted. "I can read maps just fine and I've never had need to write a letter." There wasn't anyone to write letters to. "Believe it or not a man can be perfectly fine without reading. You learn to listen and watch for other things."

She shook her head, appalled at the entire concept, and retrieved the book from the ground, settling herself on her already ruined dress and laying it daintily on her lap. "Well, I guess I shall have to read the important parts to you." She surmised with pursed lips, "But just this once, and you will learn how to read so this doesn't repeat, understood?"

"Hah!" Donovan tried to shift and winced again. "Ugh..." Closing his eyes he decided to agree since it was easier right now.

"Good. Now stop moving around so I can focus." Skimming through several pages, she murmured to herself and folded the corners of some select ones. Then after a while, she flicked back. "Like all mythology, the descriptions aren't sure fact so citations are definitely needed." Stopping on a page with a detailed ink picture of a decorated figure with wings, she began explaining. "Here." she pointed, "The author describes the King of the faeries as a type of God. 'Oberon' they call them and they've been included in many texts." She hummed, "Their personality differs in each one however." She turns flicks through some more until she landed on another folded corner. "This one describes them to be a Lion, however." And she pointed to another picture.

"Oh." Donovan closed his eyes. The sun was starting to show through the trees and it soothed his aching back. Some of the blood began to dry and he mumbled a little. "Just as long as you know what you're looking at. I'll do my job and you do yours."

Lillian put the book away after straightening the earmarked pages, dissatisfied with his lack of interest. "Of course." She remarked watching the knight, and then looked down. Doing her job, huh? "But... You realise, nothing much is known about the magical realm. It's still a huge mystery and everything is all down to speculations..." She hoped he understood what he was trying to say - she didn't want to have to spell it out.

The much needed sleep had started to take over. "Mmmhmmm." Nodding his head in a lethargic manner his eyes remained closed and then the book gave a loud thwap as it closed. Jolting awake he gazed at her and then at the book and his eyes narrowed. "I was listening."

"I did not say you weren't." She stated, ire growing. Typical of him to fall asleep as she was trying to explain something. "In any case, you can't seriously think about sleeping here? We risk another dangerous encounter." The forest was getting louder, as if to support her point. Sounds of cracking and movement and twittering building up.

Donovan sat up. "I've had maybe 2 hours of rest since that injury. I'm tired, injured, and probably not far off from sick. If you would like me to keep protecting you from..." Waving his hand toward the book he continued, "Those...Then you'll need to let me rest." Almost as if she had to be proven right the forest began to come alive with sounds everywhere. Grabbing his still damp shirt from the ground he pulled it on and winced as he slipped the armor into place. "And it appears there will be no rest for a while longer."

Grabbing the bags of belongings he hefted them over one shoulder and let his armor hang sloppily on his back. At least it didn't press or rub the injury. "We're traveling straight ahead till we reach cottage. There's supposed to be one in here somewhere. That's what your father said anyway."
 
A cottage in the middle of a forest crawling with beasts. The thought did little to reassure her as she stood, but then she felt the half-dried swamp sludge in her boots and clothes (courtesy of the sun) and she reconsidered because this was, by far, the most uncomfortable feeling she'd ever felt.

She walked quicker to stand in front of the knight who hadn't even bothered to wait for her, cringing with every demanding her leather bag back with an outstretched hand. "I can't trust you to handle my belongings - you'd probably ruin them all before we even got to the cottage what with you jumping around in swamps." Not to mention that shoulder of his was never going to heal with all that abuse he was putting it through... Masochist.

"Well?" She placed her other hand on her hip when he didn't comply immediately, "Come, you're wasting time."
 
Donovan halted when the girl stood in front of him. He half expected that she was going to stand there and demand that they turn back or some other sort of ridiculous notion. One that no matter how hard she pushed he was not going to give in. "What is it?" Before he could make some sort of sarcastic comment she was demanding her bag. Staring at her dumbly for a moment he blinked a few times. "I should have seen that one coming, but I didn't." Speaking almost to himself he slowly lowered her bag and the supplies to the ground. It obviously wasn't fast enough for her liking either and he frowned at her. "You've got a serious issue."

The man used his good arm to shove her bag toward her. "I could maybe say that I've met some ungrateful folk, you're the worst of them. You never thought of the fact that I carried that confounded thing all around and here you are worried about me ruining it. I charge into that damn swamp cause I heard someone approaching and you sit back and scold me instead of thinking that it could have been a soldier here to kidnap or kill you. Then you felt it your duty to peer down that long turned up nose of yours to tell me I was going to have to learn to read so you wouldn't have to read to me. If that wasn't enough you criticize me taking a few seconds longer than a sprite to hand the bag over. Usually I'm not one to complain, but the shoulder hurts and my back hurts so it might take just a little longer than you wish." Grunting he grabbed the other bag with his good arm and slung it over his back again. "Since we have a long ways to go I suggest that you try to think a little about your safety and let me do my job in peace. When this is all over you can have me whipped or beat for insubordination or even beheaded provided you catch me before I go back to the wars." A smirk came to his face and he met her gaze.
 
Lillian was speechless for the second time that day. But this time it wasn't from shock or disbelief but instead an unwanted feeling accompanying it and she could feel her chest constricting painfully hard and a miserable feeling spreading like an intense inferno in her gut. She knitted her brows and grit her teeth, letting out a sharp exhale, almost like a scoff, and readying to say something back: an insult, a scolding or something because how dare he?

She'd heard the servants of the castle talk before. About her and her flaws and her arrogance, her big head - she wasn't stupid. But she'd brush it away like pests because she never cared for their peasant opinions and their loud, mocking, unrefined imitations of her. She was done with all of that. Her father told her wise words once, when she'd been even more naive and had let them get to her, that 'The only one who can hurt you is you' and she'd taken it to heart.

But somehow she'd let it happen again. And with the worst of them.

Hoping that the hurt didn't show - they loved it when it did - she pivoted on her heel and, bag as heavy as her heart on her shoulder and chin still lifted with faux pride, started walking. She ignored the pain and the guilt, the severe knowledge that several of his words rang true buried deep in her mind, and mouthed her father's words only to herself.
 
Times like these made him so mad and he couldn't do anything about it. She was a noble and he was just a knight. Those biting remarks would likely be the kind that he would regret. However, there were times a man had to say what a man had to say. In the meantime he was safe from her flapping tongue because he was the only source of protection she had.

She was absolutely hopeless. Grinning with barred teeth he couldn't help himself. Donovan knew that it didn't go over so well and he was ok with that. Eventually they would come to an understanding or she would learn that some things didn't change. He had his pace and way of doing things. It kept him alive and the people he was set in charge of. That was why she was alive. Her father had hired him to make sure the girl was safe and he knew why now. Nobody else would have put up with her and he likely wouldn't have taken the job if he knew what she was like. That little stuck up facade ran way deeper than appearance.

**************************************************************

That night Donovan broke a few dry branches. Dead branches were typically the best that he could find. Otherwise there was a little peat moss that was dried. Stuffing it into his side pouch he figured that they could save it to burn later if they needed a long lasting fire. In a house that would be nice. The aroma from burning peat moss wasn't as satisfying as wood, still it was efficient.

Stacking the wood for the fire he slowly worked at lighting it. A little flame sparked and danced on top of the wood. Donovan leaned over the fire and held a hand out to protect it from the breeze. Gently blowing on the fire he watched it grow till it was a healthy enough size for him to remove his hand and let the wind help feed it. Sitting back he leaned against the fallen log behind himself just long enough to remember that his back was injured. Yelping he sat up again with a frown and put a few more pieces of wood on the fire. At least the land here was dry.

Donovan dug into the bag of supplies and tore a loaf in half for himself and the girl. Travelling all day had left him hungry and he had yet to eat anything though he had noticed that she was more keen on satisfying her stomach. Again, it was not terribly surprising. Many of the nobles were not familiar with the sensation of hunger. They thought they were when the first pangs hit, and yet they never allowed it to go much further. Reaching further into the bag he grinned. Cheese...A favorite. Donovan pulled his knife from its scabbard on his side and he sliced a large chunk off for the girl and offered it to her and then sliced off a chunk for himself. "You lay close to the fire tonight. You'll need the warmth and creatures are less likely to approach you. I'll sleep further out so I can listen."
 
She nods and does so but doesn't say anything beyond that, instead reaching into her sack again to pull out a different book - blue, this time, and her family crest drawn neatly in the front - a quill and some ink. She balanced the book on her lap with one hand keeping the pages apart while the other wrote clean lines.

Only a few minutes into it, where a few leaves rustled and some eery noises were made in their surrounding darkness, did Lillian stop and put the things away. Then, she removed her braid, combing through her hair, and then started to reposition herself awkwardly so that her dirty, irreparable clothes wouldn't get in her way too much. She used her sack as a makeshift pillow, before slowly and gradually letting herself lie down on the grass with a wrinkled nose but no other sound of discontent.
 
The crackling around them seemed to be the usual sounds of a forest or wooded area at night. Eventually he would have to sleep. He couldn't stay up all night and all day for days on end when he was injured like this. Donovan moved over next to Lillian and laid down. It wasn't really a matter of decency it was instead a matter of protection. He could hear anything that was nearby and he didn't want anyone sneaking close to her.

Sometime in the night he felt a little hand flop over and hit him in head. Grumbling a little he reached up and tossed her hand back at her. Bleary eyed and slightly disgruntled feeling he shifted to lay on his side with his back to her. Donovan pulled the cape on his armor a little tighter around himself and went back to sleep. By morning the girl had sprawled out again and he found her hand on his shoulder this time. Carefully he started to peel her finger off and then she woke up. Letting out a long breath he just stared at the ceiling of trees above them. Anytime now....he could just hear her in his mind accusing him of god knows what.
 
Her night was unsettling. Sleep came to her easily enough, with all the day's and yesterday's events taking its toll, and she felt the spread of emotions follow her insistently even in her dreams. A terrifying darkness all around her, haunting visions of her mother, then her father and even the knight perishing in some sort of abhorrent way. Which left her isolated and alone, with that creeping, unnerving feeling of being watched and stalked by some mysterious thing. She badly wanted to just make it go away.
She also yearned for them to return to her.

And then she was pushed out of her dream.
With her eyelids still closed, she could hear the noises of gentle birds and leaves and a simple warmth under her palm. She felt a something rough touch the ends of her fingertips, the soft touch a welcome contrast, and her tired eyes adjusted to the bright light with a few blinks.

And then her sleepy gaze landed on her hand and trailed the shoulder her hand was placed on to the face of the man whose shoulder her hand was placed on, pointedly not looking at her. She yelped.
Hopping back onto her feet and taking several steps back - her eyes carefully trained on the knight - she stumbled over the darkened wood and ash leftover from the night's fire. A foot back attempted to catch herself but the stiff mix of mud, water and fabric got in the way and she fell over.

"Wh- you!" She sputtered, a furious red dying itself onto her whole face out of embarrassment and just the utter indecency of it all. She tried to talk again but suddenly an intrusive thought came and clung to her. Of course, after his unpleasant remarks just yesterday, of course, he'd pull such a trick. With him looking so casual and nonchalant while she made a completely pathetic dunce of herself - he hadn't any respect for her. Probably more like a court jester in her eyes; one to laugh at and ridicule. He planned this.

This time she knew she couldn't hide it, so she quickly stood and turned and took a few breaths. It's not like it hadn't happened before. Just deal with it, Lillian. The only one that can hurt you is you.

When she was decidedly calmer, she dusted herself off and took her sack, pointedly avoiding even looking at the knight. When she spoke, she remembered to keep her words clear and to use them sparingly. "Let's go."
 
Donovan hadn't expected the girl to wake so soon and neither had he liked the idea of her hand on his shoulder. The girl stumbled away and her face had momentarily shown the shock that she had. Did she think that he did this to her? She had moved far to quickly for him. With his first decent night of sleep his back had stiffened up significantly and laying on it had made things perhaps a little worse. At first he attempted to get himself up and he couldn't bend his back at all. With a groan he turned to his side and used his arms to help push himself up.

While he was still struggling to get up the girl was wanting to get moving. "Ugh...Settle down for just a moment. I need to eat if you want to move anywhere at a good pace." Instead of bending over he got to one knee to dig into the supplies. A small biscuit would be enough to start the day and then he would have to stop at some point to kill or trap some sort of animal to eat.

Looking at the girl he noticed her turning her face away. She was intentionally ignoring him now and it might have been nice, but it made his work a little harder in some ways. "Lillian I know you're upset about your parents. It's only natural. I also understand knights returning from the wars abroad aren't trusted. You can believe me when I say that I had nothing to do with the embarrassing circumstances this morning. I know my place mi lady. You may make any demand of my skill and sword and I would not presume to think myself equal to yourself in any situation." As hard as he tried to be gracious the knight was finding it doubtful and he didn't dare say that she was the one who put her hand on him. To make such a statement would be unacceptable. So he would have to leave the interpretation to her.
 
Lillian wrapped her arms around herself with a heavy sigh.
She had to remember that this was only the second day after everything happened. The unburdened, comfortable life in the castle seemed so long ago and so many things had happened since that she'd lost her reserves and let her emotions drag her through the mud (straight into it) and bring back hints of unwanted memories. As overwhelming and new everything was, she had to reign all the feelings in and not let herself get sucked back into her own head. She had to be rational.

Hearing the knight try a so obviously half-hearted truce and including her parents in his horrid attempt to sympathise flared some new-found anger in her and she was glad that she'd resolved to keep everything under control because she was sure she'd say something to further worsen the situation. Instead, she focused on the claim that it was a mere misunderstanding and, despite being almost certain that he had no respect for her - the sarcastic milady's was evidence enough in itself - she endeavoured to believe him.

"Of course." She said shortly, placing her sack back down and taking some food for herself. She'd forgotten about breakfast - breakfast was good, however stale. "How long 'til this cottage you speak of? Some shelter would do both of us some good."
 
Surprisingly she took it well. From Donovan's perspective things were turning out just fine. He'd done his best to be sincere and honest with her. Same courtesy that he offered anyone else. Reaching into the bag again he pulled out another biscuit for her and walked over with the 2 so that she might choose the one most acceptable to her. Even though he was not a knight he was the one of lower status and it would be expected that if only the two of them were here that he would do the more lowly work.

Things were getting even better. Lillian asked a logical question without any particular tone that indicated her uppity attitude. "I think we could be there tomorrow by nightfall if all goes well." Breaking a small part of his biscuit he shoved the bite into his mouth and chewed it slowly. All the while he tried to move a little and see if he could loosen his back up. "After we eat the path will take us deeper into the forest. Let me go first because you'll likely want me to make the path a little easier to walk and if there should be anything like a serpent...I'll take care of it." He half hoped that they ran into a snake. They could make a decent meal especially if you were hungry and it wasn't going to be long before he felt that way.

There wasn't much meat in the bag that they had and he wanted to save that for nourishment in the afternoon. Having at least some cooperation from the girl had made things so much easier and he could actually tell her what he planned when she wasn't so upset with him. Donovan finished the last of his food and got to his feet. Swinging the pack over his shoulder he nodded to her. "Whenever you're ready, mi lady."
 
His more cordial behaviour was a sudden surprise, after all his grumbling and attitude, she wasn't sure he was capable of it. But it was welcome after all the ill will.
She returned the nod and they set off.

*

After a tiring while of walking - she'd had to discretely slow down because of her aching shins - a putrid stench started.

Hazel eyes briefly glanced at the knight to check if he could smell it too before they shot to the ground when she felt something pull sharply at the edge of her dress. She lost her balance briefly and this time she was able to catch herself.
Searching the clusters of trees and the path to find the source of the invisible tugs, something yanked hard and painfully at the ends of her hair. Her hands reflexively flew up to tug it back from whatever it was and to relieve her aching scalp as she made a sound bordering between pain and surprise.

She caught glances of the knight also having trouble and being harassed before urging things tugged repetitively at her sleeves and tried pushing her backwards to the path where they'd just come from. All the while, the disgusting smell was getting closer and closer.
 
At first the knight didn't notice that his charge was becoming significantly slower. She didn't seem to want to be moving all that fast and he slowed some. There was a pungent smell that was nearly overwhelming. "Ugh...Must be a nasty bog somewhere." A sudden bump along his back and the knight grumbled a little and then heard the lady give her cry of surprise.

Donovan pulled his sword and he felt a rough jerk on one of his legs. It was trying to set him off balance. Fighting against the invisible source he growled and slashed his sword a few times. There wasn't much difference to him if it was invisible or not. He wanted to be free of the nasty thing. "Mi lady!' Twisting at the waist he tried to fight the pulling, but it only became stronger. Slashing with his sword he heard a scream though there was no one there. "What is this?" She had to know. It was in her little book and he wanted to know what it was now that he had to deal with it. Momentarily after the scream he was freed and he grabbed hold of her hand just as another sharp jab hit him in the side. "Ugh....C'mon we need to keep moving." Whatever it was would only get stronger if they didn't get out of here quickly and until he knew how to fight it he was going to get her ahead of himself and they would run.
 
As the knight pulled her away and along the path, the distressing tugging died down, and when the repugnant smell seemed at its worst and Lillian could feel her eyes watering at the intensity, they completely ceased.

She hesitated to speak, lest the horrid air enter her mouth and she tried to block it off with her free hand. "I- I know of some that are invisible, but none so aggressive." He kept dragging her forward despite the unsettling feeling tingling in every nerve of her body. She slowed, "Are you sure this is the right way?"

As they had kept going, the scenery changed drastically. The forest and grass had noticeably darkened - an ill shade of purple and greenish brown - and the canopy of leaves grew denser until the light could barely penetrate through. She could hear faint whispers of things here and there but any and all noises of the forest that signified life was completely absent. The stink was absolutely unbearable here; if Lillian were more well-versed in the smell of burning and rotting flesh, she'd describe it as such.

"I think it best we don't stay here long." Her murmur between her fingers seemed so much louder here and she caught glimpses of glowing lights appearing between withered trunks, like she'd just awoken a frightening something. "Our presence may be disturbing some."
 
(Sorry for the delay. I have been extraordinarily busy. Writing papers till they come out my ears and I've got enough assigned reading to drive a professor batty.)

Donovan pulled on the girl and bulled ahead. He could barely get himself through the fog that seemed to encompass them. It was almost as if the smell got worse and he started to feel a chocking sensation the further he went. Finally pausing he heard the girl ask him if it was the right direction and he nodded his head. "Yeah." Putting a gloved hand over his mouth he took a few deep breaths and stared at the path ahead of them. "Ok lets go." Coughing to get some of the gasses out of his lungs he leaned forward and breathed in deeply only to start coughing again.

Thankfully the fog or whatever it had been did release them after a while and Donovan's coughing seemed to recede. Trees were gnarled and moss grew on the South side of the tree instead of the North. There is something very strange about this. Stopping by one of the trees he reached out to touch the moss. So strange that it was on the sunny side. Then as they moved further in it became darker and the moss was far more aggressive in it's production.

A strange smell started to rise and it was perhaps more pungent than the last round. Stiffening he glanced around himself. There was something out there and he didn't want to fight another invisible enemy. Suddenly the girl's voice sounded and it was much louder than he anticipated. Swinging around he saw the lights and his eyes widened. "Get down." It was always his first instinct to get the one he was protecting on the ground if they were trapped. Looking around himself he noticed that they were in a prime area to be picked off. All around them were thick trees, and hills rising up. They were in a horseshoe shaped gulley. If they could get to the hill they might make it, providing there wasn't anything on the hill. Crouching in place he quickly scanned the area. Backing out wasn't an option. It was narrow and they would get bottle necked far too easily.

Setting a hand on the girl's shoulder he whispered in her ear. "Mi lady can you see that rock up there?" Waiting for her to nod he then nodded in return. "Good, then I want you to run for it soon as these things get here. "I'll block them and you run. When you get to the rock be sure to watch. If it appears there is a clear path to run then go as fast as you can. If I can I will follow after you."
 
(It's perfectly fine, I know how busy being a full-time student can be. Take as much time as you need and good luck on the papers.)

Despite the trees clearing slightly in the open space, things didn't get any brighter. Like even the sun felt the rising fear coiling itself in her insides and had wisely chosen to retreat to safer grounds behind the amassing clouds. The sky that was left above them was a neutral canvas of grey.

As Lillian stayed crouched, breathing quicker and more shallow, the knight's quiet query filtered through to her and she nodded quickly, eyes catching on the large boulder at the end of the raised slope of the hill. The climb up was covered in patches of rock overgrown with wild blankets of moss and others with loose or wet dirt that didn't appear to have good grip - it wouldn't be easy.
Around her, beyond the chalking lifeless trees and in the vast silence, she began hearing it. Like an alarm, hurrying them, a foreboding sound. It was an aberrant mix of loud, flaky crinkling and more subtle sounds of something dragging itself painfully through the dirt, muffled groans and all. And there were multiple. The trees, however empty of their leaves, still seemed intent on hiding the creatures away and Lillian indecisively removed her bag to take something from it. It didn't make sense, not from what she'd read, but she couldn't risk it.

She turned to the knight. He was closer than she'd expected and she had to place a hand on the damp, leafy ground to keep herself steady on the balls of her feet. But ultimately, she leaned closer upon hearing his next words and she forced her eyes to meet his in a serious gaze. "You will follow after me, that is not debatable." A crumb of anxiety and worry cracked in her otherwise clear whisper. She ignored this and offered him the handle of a simple hand-held mirror and glimpsed back at the approaching glow of eyes in the vast forest. "You might need this... And you might not want to look directly into their eyes."

She began climbing the hill as the creatures emerged out of the tree line, grotesque figures incomparable to the drawings in her leather-bound books, the resemblances were few and far.
Yes, they had the long serpent tail, the mangled faces with fangs and the nest of snakes as their hair. But their expressions weren't of a burning rage or anger that promised a cold eternity as stone as described, they were simply a solemn emptiness like death. And the snakes on their heads neither hissed nor moved, but hung as limp and as lifeless as their host. And finally, they were covered in long transparent layers of dead skin, flaking as they dragged on but never coming off. A thing trapped in it's own moulted skin.
 
Donovan took the mirror from the girl with a confused expression. "Wha..." It was already too late and she was running away. Tightening his grip on his sword he braced himself for whatever would come out of the woods. He thought he had been prepared and instead he dropped the mirror and he gripped his sword with both hands. This wasn't like anything that he had ever fought and the knight was never so frightened in his life as he was now. It was a devilry of sorts and he couldn't begin to imagine how he would fare against such a creature.

The man looked the creature over and he tried not to look at its eyes and yet he was drawn to the face. Instinctively he wanted to know the look in his enemy's eyes as it may prove to be a sign of some sort of fear or rage. He was so distracted with trying not to gaze at the face of the creature that he almost missed how smooth and fluid the creature's movements were. A soft scraping sounding as the thing moved closer to him. Slowly the the tail began to coil and push the thing forward. Donovan backed up and felt his heel against an edge of something. It was hard to tell if he was on a ledge and he dare not back up any further till he knew his footing. Despite the fact that before this he knew he was in a valley he had an unbearable surge of fear run through his mind and he envisioned himself on the ledge of a cliff. Glancing behind himself briefly to ensure that he was still in the valley was his first mistake.

Almost instantly he felt the tail of this serpent woman coil around his leg and begin to squeeze and pull him closer. With a scream he hacked at the tail and her talons came toward his face and shoulders. Donovan battled his fear and this creature as he tried to back away. It futile as the creature still held on with it's weakening tail and continued to grasp for him.

Pulling away he fell to the side and instantly he began to crawl away from this thing. Whatever it was he would have gladly fought 20 men above this thing. Grabbing desperately for anything in the dirt he came across the mirror and he grabbed hold of it just as the creature had begun to drag him nearer. How he was supposed to fight it without looking it in the eye had proven to be difficult and it made the creature's moves harder to predict. Often a man would give his intentions away with his glances. As a last effort Donovan held the mirror over his face just as he saw her talons reach for him. Her sharp nails had begun to scrape against the shoulder guards on his armor and he felt her fingers digging under the edge when a screech sounded and it all stopped.

Donovan pulled the mirror away from his face and he began to try and scramble away. Stone fingers broke off underneath the shoulder guards and he felt them slip under the arm guard. On either side of his head were the heads of snakes and some with their mouths open. She had been ready to strike. His leg was still firmly in the grasp of her now stone tail and he wriggled against it till it began to crack along the weak points that he had slashed. Now that he was free Donovan crawled away from the stone figure and he snatched his sword and mirror from the ground. Racing to the hill he found the girl behind the stone. Giving her the mirror he almost shuddered. "What was that? I never want to fight another one again."
 
Lillian took the mirror with a shaky exhale. She'd watched the knight drop it on her trek up, and things didn't seem to be going well for a while that she'd debated picking the smart option and to flee like he'd instructed. Of course, she couldn't, and instead watched the battle safely behind cover with mixed emotions, finding unknowingly tensed muscles soothe only when he was out of grasp and on his way up. He looked rougher than he already did.
Putting the mirror away, a brief glimpse of her reflection, almost unrecognisable and covered in dirt, caught her eye and she decided that so did she. Another exhale, and the mirror was buried deep into her sack.

"A gorgon - countenances so inhumane and disfigured that any creature that dares to look upon them turns to solid stone." Lillian rubbed her cheek consciously and looked over at the crumbling statue down below, already breaking down into smaller piles of dust. It hadn't looked so fragile back when the knight was struggling to get himself free. "There were originally three of them, but one was said to have been slain many decades ago which left the two immortal sisters, Stheno and Euryale..." Lillian stopped talking.
As she thought about it, the more confusing it became. They shouldn't have just stumbled on and, somehow killed one of the three Gorgon Sisters in the middle of the forest - it was just too easy, too much of a coincidence, there were too many things that didn't piece together. And Lillian was absolutely convinced that she'd heard more things on their way, more crinkling and dragging and moaning coming from the hidden depths beyond the trees, not just the one. It wasn't that she wasn't thankful for it - the knight already had problems getting rid of one, let alone a whole group - but it was suspicious. Everything about this whole part of the forest was suspicious.

"The point is, we shouldn't be encountering anymore." Lillian said with a shake of her head and picked up her sack. She was much too fatigued to be thinking rationally, she concluded."Congratulations, knight. You can now boast that you've vanquished an immortal being; though I'm not quite sure how many will believe you."

"Not like you can take it's head as evidence." She commented, observing the wind sweep up all evidence that the creature ever existed.
 
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