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The Necklace: Chapter 1 |
| Written by Lucy | |
| Tuesday, 15 January 2008 | |
Tristan crouched lower into the shadows of the bushes. His violet eyes twinkled in the moonlight as two men circled a large oak tree. He saw the smaller one's footing begin to slip as he tripped over a rock. He pitched into the bush. Tristan quickly slit his throat. Warm blood dripped from his eye. It took all his self control not to mutilate him like he had been taught. He turned his attention to the other one. "Jack?" he called, realizing his comrade had gone missing. "Jack!" "Jack is dead," he hissed, his voice reverberating off of the hundred year old trees. They were massive things, thick and strong. He looked around wildly for Tristan. He leapt out of the way as a dagger came flying at him. Tristan crept into a low hanging branch just above him. The man circled slowly, pulling his bow from around his quiver. Tristan hung upside down and snatched his knives when he wasn't facing him. "Come out, heathen so I can kill you. It is an even fight now," he said. He laughed. He watched him in the dark. His eyes darted from the sharp arrow he held in his bow to the beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "Even? I think not. I am not afraid like you are. No, I will not come out. I suggest you take your bow and your knives-" At this, his hand flew to his belt where his knives were. Fear spread across the man's face. Tristan hurled them at the ground at his feet. They each landed squarely in the earth. "And return to wherever it is you came from. And never enter my forest again," he said. He pulled each of his knives from the ground and threw his bow over his back. He ran, screaming from the woods. Tristan scurried up into a tree and watched him go. Silence settled down onto the forest. He stared up into the night sky, counting the stars. He had gotten rid of another human. Man was a stupid creature, depending only on weapons to defend it. Man could learn something from skohls. Intelligence. He laughed softly to himself. A roaring noise pricked his ears. It was off in the distance. He glided from tree branch to tree branch until he was in the canopy. Torches hurt his eyes as they glimmered in the dark like beacons. He could hear shouts of all creatures. Then the roaring became distinct. It was footsteps. An army of beasts coming this way. He turned his head and sniffed the air. No one was on the other side of the forest. Who were they after? A traitor? A hidden enemy even he could not see? He looked again to the advancing fleet. He studied each one of their faces, looking for a breach in their courage. He found it when his eyes fell upon the man he had just scared. The beads of sweat were no longer on his forehead but dripping down towards his neckline. They were after him. This was a setup. Jack and the sweaty man were both pawns used to lure her from the woods. He was almost sure of it. But what were they after him for? He had done nothing to harm the king of men or other beasts. He was a simple skohl, living in peace. "Skohl! You are a wanted man! Come out and surrender and there will be no struggle!" someone called. It was a surly man at the back of the ranks. He was short in stature but he could see the muscles rippling in his arms. His jaw was set and his hair was pulled tightly back in a ponytail. He was a superior. "I am wanted by no man. Why else would you have come but to exterminate me?" he asked. He remained hidden in the canopy. The men in the front were looking around for him as the other man had. The generals and commanders rolled their eyes as their horses stomped uneasily on their feet. This is what he thrived on. Fear of those he was afraid of. "Yes, you are wanted by the king himself for crimes against the crown. What have you to say for yourself?" the man asked. "Nothing, because there is nothing to say. I have committed no treachery and therefore will not be treated as if I had. Let us all go and return to our beds as I know that is where most of us wish to be," he called. The men relaxed a little. But the animals remained unsteady. Smart creatures, he thought. "Skohls do not sleep. And neither do I as long as you are free. My archers are ready. I will give you one more chance to give up now and be taken to the king without harm." "Are you a skohl sire?" he asked. The man was a little taken aback. "No I am not," he answered slowly. "Then how would you know if we sleep?" He thought a moment. "And your archers are not ready. That is another thing you do not know about skohls. They can see always. And I see that your archers quake in their boots at the sound of my voice. As it should be," he said. "I will not be taken to the king." The officer glared at his archers. They quickly readied their arrows and lit the tips on fire. Each one pointed theirs in a different direction and pulled the string on their bow taunt. He whistled loudly, causing the archers to lose their focus. They all fired. A few branches caught fire and crackled as they fell to the ground. The men were in frenzy. The horses let out whinnies and nays and began to gallop in circles, losing their riders. The officer sat patiently on his animal, waiting for his men to calm down. Tristan snickered at the chaos he had caused. Finally, the horses were reined in and the men were calm again. He snickered again. For an entire army, they were pretty pathetic. A squirrel leapt from branch to branch a few yards away. He whistled again. "There in the tree!" someone shouted. They fired their flame tipped arrows once again, this time at the squirrel. He used this time to escape. He ran in the other direction, scurrying over the treetops. He threw himself into the trunk of a tree and skidded down. Being careful and quiet, he sank into the shadows of the forest. He peered out from behind a large tree. The men were still shooting their arrows at the squirrel. He scanned the crowd to find the captain on his horse. He couldn't find him. He became rigid with fear. Had what he was doing been a masquerade? He pricked his ears for him but heard nothing. Suddenly someone gasped. He whirled around to see the captain standing before him. He held a whistle to his lips and blew hard. His hands flew to his ears. He had heard of such things from the other skohls. Whistles that could deafen and lights that could blind. He only hoped that he didn't have the same fate. He dropped to his knees as the captain continued to blow the whistle. He threw himself against the tree. Finally, he felt it safe to let go of his ears. He leaped onto him, knocking the whistle from his mouth. He fought against the stumpy man but to no avail. His ears were ringing. His mouth was moving in words but he couldn't hear him. He continued to fight him when suddenly, he lost all feeling. Her world went white for a few seconds before coming sharply into focus. "I thought skohls saw everything," the captain said. He felt his side. A dagger was protruding from his ribcage. He pulled hard but it was stuck. He winced as he pulled again. It dislodged, spilling new blood. He heard more beasts coming towards him. He slumped onto the ground, a puddle of blood seeping into his clothes and hair. The world grew dark. Copyright 2008 Lucy |
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