by Gina Manis
“Just stop, Arrow,” I beg him, throwing the rest of the cooked snake down. “I can’t do it!”
“You can. You just don’t want to try,” he says, and he makes me so angry.
“How dare you!” I stand up. “You don’t know me.”
“I know that you need to be able to protect yourself, and you’re too stubborn even to try,” he says from where he sits. “I don’t know why Thomas never taught you since you seem fine to touch him.”
“Somehow, you make that sound dirty and wrong,” I say, hating him more for it. “Thomas is like a brother or father. You are no one to me. A stranger who has insinuated yourself into my life and who is telling me what I should do.”
“Someone needs to,” he shouts at me as he stands up. I step back, but he is still too close to me. “You’re reckless to do this alone. You want your freedom, but are you willing to pay that price again?”
I slap him across the face and gasp that I did. I hit him! I can’t believe I just did that. My hand stings and I look at it, still feeling the scrape of his facial hair along my palm before looking up at him again.
He looks at me, angry, and says, “I guess that is a start.”
“How dare you?” I step back from him. I touched him on my own accord, even if it was to cause pain. I can already feel myself starting to shake from the brief contact.
“Jenna. You’re always going to be a victim if you don’t learn to change,” he says softly. “Please… let me help you.”
“Help me?” I cry, unable to fight the tears anymore. I don’t know what to feel as my emotions are all over the place from touching him. Fear that he might try to touch me now, or anger that I touched him. What bothers me the most is seeing that look of pity once more in his eyes. “You can’t help me. You can’t take away the pain or the nightmares I have every night. No one can! I have dealt with it for cycles on my own. Do you think I haven’t heard those words before? No one has ever been able to help me.”
“Let me try,” he asks, but I am already backing away.
“Just stay away from me,” I tell him, stumbling over a rock but staying on my feet, and turning away, “Just stay away.”
I hear Arrow groan loudly and it frazzles the last of my nerves, reminding me of Jared and the others. I can’t deal with him any longer. Can’t he see this isn’t helping me? I start to run even though I can’t breathe, needing to find some distance from him.
I slump by the river once I am well away, needing the air to feel my lungs. I need to calm down as my fear wraps around me tightly. Arrow is bringing them all to the surface and I hate him for it. I lay back on the soft sand by the water and stare up at the stars as I try to get my breathing under control.
I know deep down what he says is right. If I am going to live alone, most likely, men will come upon me one day, try to take advantage of my isolation. I do need to learn how to protect myself, but I can’t do as he asks. The idea of him touching me is too much.
Arrow has been around me for cycles now, and though I trust him, I trust him to keep his distance. He has never pushed me like he is now. Why did Thomas ask him to come with me? A conversation we had comes to mind.
“You should try to talk with Arrow now and then,” Thomas says one night as we sit on the porch after dinner. Arrow has just left us. “He is a good man and you can trust him, Jenna.”
“He is a man,” I tell him, still working on my drawing of a wind symbol I saw at the castle today.
“Arrow is kind, Jenna. He wants to get to know you.”
“I don’t want to know him,” I say, looking up at Thomas. I am not sure why he is bringing this up. “He is… so bulky.”
“Bulky?” he says, smiling at me.
“He is so large and strong. His strength scares me.” I try to explain.
“He can’t help the way he is built, Jenna. That doesn’t make him a bad person.” His smile fades away into concern. “Will you not try to talk to him, at least? I think if you got to know him, you would like him.”
“Fine, I will try,” I finally agree, so he will leave me alone.
After that, I did try saying a few things to him, but I still kept myself at a distance. Arrow never pushed for more than I was willing to give. So why does it feel like he is pushing me so much now? Is it because I am alone with him?
I sigh as I sit up and look out at the water. Deep down, I know Thomas would do nothing to put me in danger. He trusts Arrow to see me safely to Mountainside, and I need to believe in my brother more. I need to give Arrow more of a chance to at least become my friend. The idea doesn’t appeal to me, but we have a long way to go still and I can’t keep him away as I have in the past. I need to try, at least, to get along with him.
It is late when I return to camp, and Arrow is lying on his pallet. He doesn’t look at me as I roll out mine and lie down. We both just lie, silent, for a while.
“I’m sorry I slapped you,” I finally say, wanting to make an effort with him. “I know what you say is true, but I can’t do it Arrow. The thought alone makes me feel frantic, and I can’t breathe.”
“Let me try to teach you my bow,” he says. “If you can shoot, no one has to get close to you.”
I like the sound of that. A bow can also be used to kill any game I might need. Still, I am concerned about how close he will have to get to me, just to show me. “Will you promise to keep a distance between us?”
“I will,” he says softly. “But, you must listen to my instructions and adjust easily.”
“I think I can try that, at least,” I say, hoping that I can learn. The bow does sound like a good weapon for me to learn.
“We will start in the morning then,” he says, and we are quiet for a while.
“Arrow?”
“Yes?”
“Why did you follow me?” I ask him again. “I know it isn’t just because Thomas asked you.”
“Mountainside is my home.” He sighs as he rolls over to face me. “I have family there, and I’m going home.”
“You could have left before now.”
He says nothing for a minute before he rolls over away from me now. “It is late, Jenna. You should try to get some rest.”
He still hasn’t explained why he is with me. My mind keeps circling back to why, and I am curious why he doesn’t just tell me. Arrow is still a mystery to me, but I need to at least try with him.
Chapter Five
Arrow
“Chin up. Sight your target in line with the tip of the arrow,” I tell Jenna as I stand back at a distance. I can’t see if she is lined up correctly, but at least she is trying to follow my directions. “Breathe in and release when you are ready.”
She releases the arrow from my bow and misses her target by a foot, at least. She sighs and drops her shoulders, “This is so much harder than it looks.”
“You will get it,” I encourage her. “The bow will be a splendid weapon for you. You can also hunt with it, which is something else you need to learn.”
“I’m not all that partial to meat.”
“Winter in the mountains will require a good meat source. You better find a liking for it.” I hand her another arrow for her to try again. “Okay, line it up again, and don’t forget to breathe this time.”
“I did,” she tells me as she places her arrow.
“No, you didn’t.”
She looks at me, rolling her eyes, “Do you have to always argue with me?”
“Only when you’re wrong. Now, focus.”
In the last three days, we have been getting along okay. Each morning we have been practicing with my bow, and she is not good at it at all. She needs a good weapon, and since she is so small, the bow is light, and she can learn to kill an enemy at a distance. It is also a skill she can use on the mountain for food.
I would like to be training her in hand to hand, but starting with the bow is best. She pulls back and aims. I step closer behind her but not enough
to alarm her. Her sight is off, and it is frustrating not to get close enough to see why.
“Don’t tilt your head so. Keep it straight and in line with your shoulders.” She corrects her form. “Breathe in… and out to release.”
She lets go, and this time she hits the tree, but not my mark. “I hit it!”
“You missed.”
“I hit the tree, Arrow! That has to count for something. We have been doing this for hours.”
“Not even an hour.”
“Okay, you’re getting on my nerves with all this no and not, and don’t,” she complains. “Can’t you say something with a yes, or that’s it, good job?”
“Yes, I can.” I smile at her and add, “When you hit the target.”
“I am done with you,” she says, shoving the bow back at me. She walks over to our bags, picking hers up, “Are you ready to go? We are burning daylight.”
“You’re practicing more tonight,” I say, and I walk to her and pick up my own bag. “With the knife-throwing at least.”
“At least I’m good with that one,” she says, more partial to knife throwing.
“You have an eye for it,” I agree. We continue our journey as the day progresses, but as the sun sets, I stop and smell the air. There is a scent of men in the air mixed in with nature. It isn’t close, but I can tell there is more than one.
“What is it?” Jenna stops beside me and asks.
“It is nothing,” I tell her, not wanting to cause alarm. As long as they stay at a distance, I don’t want to frighten her. I see enough of that at night when she whimpers as she sleeps, tossing and turning. I have called out to her to wake her, but she never does. Touching her is out of the question, so I leave her alone to suffer through them. It isn’t easy, and often I will get up and move into the woods until she quiets.
We continue for a few more miles, and I know we are heading directly toward the scent. I have us stop early tonight.
I get to work on cleaning some squirrels I have killed along the way, and Jenna gathers up some wood for a fire. I tell her to make only a small one tonight, and she looks at me with questions in her eyes but does as I ask. The scent isn't growing any stronger, and I relax as we eat.
I set up a few targets I made with some burlap and sit a distance away from her, next to an old fallen log. I give her five small throwing knives I purchased before leaving Star Kingdom. They were a gift from me to Jenna so that I could teach her some skills.
We take turns going and gathering them after she throws them. She is a hit and miss right now, nailing half the targets and missing the others. Better than I expected after just three days, though.
Conversation flows more freely between us now. She tells me of her plans once she finds herself a place in the mountains. She asks me about Mountainside, and I tell her about the small village and the people who live there. It is in many ways so different from Star Kingdom, and I think she likes that.
Star Kingdom is always crowded, and I don’t know how she lived there, being in such close proximity to so many men. It couldn’t have been easy. She was always so quiet there, but I am seeing a different side to her now. I take it as a good sign that I am not something for her to fear, but that I can be a friend. That is all I want right now, to make her comfortable with me.
The scent is getting stronger again, and I pick up on at least four, maybe five men, and they are coming this way. I pull my hunting knife out of its holster and hand it to Jenna.
“Take this and the throwing knives and go into the woods and hide,” I tell her, and she looks concerned. “I will find you, but don’t come back here.”
“Arrow, what is it?”
“Men are coming this way.” I can’t lie to her now. “I don’t know if they are friendly or not. Go now. They will be here soon.”
She gets up and looks at me. “Be careful.”
For the first time, I get a sense that she does care for me a little and my heart swells with the possibilities. We have been talking more but she doesn’t share anything personal with me. We keep it casual but hearing those words from her makes me want to tell her how I really feel. I know I can’t do that now, though, and shake it off, saying, “Take your bags, just in case you need to stay the night.”
She picks them up, throwing them over her shoulder and heading into the woods. At least the woods are thicker here and will be able to conceal her.
I clear out any tracks she has made around our camp and after that is done, I sit back and wait. About half an hour later, I hear the first sound of the men tracking through the woods in the opposite direction.
“Hello, over there,” a deep voice calls out to me.
“Hello,” I call back, as is custom. I stand, bow in hand, my other knife strap at my hip, and hope I will not have to use them.
Four men appear in front of me, and I see they are travelers. People who journey from one realm to another, trading goods of all kinds. Each of the men pulls a sled with them full of their traveling markets.
“Hope you don’t mind us imposing on you.” One of them steps forward and holds out his hand. “I am Alec.”
“Arrow,” I say, shaking his hand. “I don’t mind at all; I could use some company.”
“That’s good,” Alec says. “This is Seth, Bran, and Scar. We have goods if you need anything.”
“I might take a look.” I try to seem interested. “I am traveling home after a long time away. You have anything as a gift for a woman?”
“Bran here has some delicate bracelets,” Alec says, motioning to the youngest of the men. “Would you mind sharing your fire for a while?”
“Not at all,” I tell them, “Please have a seat.”
They do, and Bran pulls out a bundle of bracelets and jewelry for me to see. Talk among us is peaceful as it is around mountain folk, but travelers are not always as innocent as they appear. I hope Jenna stays away as I told her to. She might have to bed down out there alone tonight, but it is better than being here, I am sure.
“Are you heading to Mountainside?” Seth asks after a while.
“I’ve been in the Star Kingdom for a few cycles,” I tell them. “Tried to make a go of it in the mines. Nothing panned out. So I am heading home.”
“We are heading to the Star Kingdom,” Alec says. “There is always a good market there for us. We can get double for our goods.”
“Yes, it is costly there,” I agree.
“Last time we were there, we heard of the new laws the king had enacted on the women,” Alec says, and I figure he must be their leader. “Because of the sickness they had some cycles ago. How has it fared since?”
“The kingdom lost a good amount of children, but mostly girls and women,” I tell them. “All women of a certain age taking two husbands didn’t seem too bad for the ones not married already. That didn’t stand too well for the women who already had husbands and were ordered to take another. Fights broke out in the beginning, but things have settled since then.”
“Damn. The Fire king sure is one hard bastard,” Alec says, looking sadly at Scar, who sits up. “It couldn’t have been easy for all the men to agree to share their wives.”
“I bet that has taken a toll on the women as well.” Scar says.
Alec and this group seem to be good people, but Bran still has said nothing. He keeps looking out into the woods, and I get the feeling he is scenting the air. If he is a Wind element, he could sniff out Jenna.
“Bran, you have said nothing,” I call him out, getting his attention. “You look like you are not long out of school. How did you get mixed up with these fellows?”
“That’s my baby brother. He doesn’t talk,” Alec says, looking at Bran and smiles big back at me. “But don’t think that hurts him with the ladies.”
I give a friendly smile back, but I want to keep Bran’s attention. “So, you are a ladies' man, Bran?”
“He can whisper some skirts off,” Alec talks for him. “H
onestly, I don’t know how he does it. He is there one minute, and before I know it, gone, and so is the lady.”
Shit! He is a Wind element, and most likely, he charms them. The power of seduction with breath in the ear or the vibrations of your voice. I used it myself when I was younger. I haven’t in cycles, but that is only because I met Jenna.
Bran has to know she is there. It is why he keeps looking out past the firelight.
“Can’t wait to get me some,” Scar says then. “Mountainside doesn’t have nearly enough harlots.”
“You mean none to your taste,” Seth says to him and looks to me, “Scar has a thing for hot little fire elements. Hard to find outside of Star Kingdom. He hasn’t been with a woman since our last visit. Or it could be that little she-cat you met back in Earth realm.”
“If you say her name, Seth, I swear to the Gods I will let into you this time.” Scar threatens him. I’m not sure what they are talking about, but I can tell Scar is the group's muscle. Maybe he is a Fire element since he seems to have the temper.
I look to Bran, sitting back with a smile on his face. Was it from the two men or because of Jenna?
“I keep telling him the kitty marked his ass, but he’s not listening.” Seth goes on to say, and Scar goes for him, punching at Seth’s face. Seth is ready for him, and they get in a scuffle. Alec pulls at Scar, and Bran stands back, paying them no mind. He is looking out in the direction Jenna went.
What is he thinking? I barely even think it before Bran looks at me and smiles before disappearing.
Shit! He knows she is there and is going for her. He shifts with his power; I take off running into the woods. I have to find her and leave the other three men behind, calling out to me. Because even though I am a Wind element too, shifting is the one gift I don’t have.
Chapter Six
Bran
My brother is right. I see myself in many women’s beds. My powers are a gift but are also a curse, and it is because I am a rare breed. Fire and Wind work well together but are never as one.
I have no voice, but after my change, I discovered I had one in the whisper of wind. It appeals to women and men alike. Men rarely suffer as women do, but I have no problem giving them what comfort I can. The voice I have I let only those I help hear. I have found its seductive draw affects all, even the ones who do not hurt. It is my choice who I let enter my world of peace and become one with their dreams.