The Quiet Child

As I set up camp for the night after collecting my payment from the village, I couldn’t help but reflect on the strange day. As I was wandering through town, I spotted a curious little girl. She was maybe 7 or 8. She was quiet and her face betrayed great sadness, but also strangely a positive and cheerful outlook on life. She never saw me, but I inquired about her with the villagers. They told me a story that was tragic, even for an orphan. When she was a toddler, her dad perished in a war. Then a few months later her mother and elder sister perished from a disease that ravaged the town. Her older brother was then killed a year later by thieves. She was then taken in by villagers who tolerated her, but only reluctantly. She was very… unique.

I gazed into the sky and saw a terrifying sight. Smoke. And it was coming from the direction of the village. I mounted my horse and galloped in that direction to see what was going on. As I approached, smells of fire and death filled my nostrils.

As I observed the destroyed village full of barbaric bandits, I couldn’t help but pity the dead. Suddenly, a deafening high-pitched scream pierced the air. I made my way towards it on foot, so as to not attract attention.

I made it to a hiding spot about 100 yards from the path behind some boulders just in time to see a small child running from hunting dogs with a small group of bandits in pursuit. As I looked closer, my eyes widened I he realized it was the sad girl. I wanted to save her, but I needed to be careful.

Just then the girl who’s name I did not know tripped and fell. I heard her scream and saw her go prone with her eyes shut as two of the dogs leapt to strike. However, I was faster. I quickly leapt to my feet, drew my bow, and with expert aim rapidly dispatched the two dogs. A third went for the girl. It too perished quickly. The girl did not yet notice that her life was being prolonged. She was still crying for her life.

The dogs were no longer an imminent threat to the girl as they turned their attention to me. As they sniffed the air for my scent and scanned the terrain with their eyes, I downed another. With that shot, the remaining three now located me and rushed for the kill. As they charged, I shot one. I went to shoot a second, but my arrow narrowly missed the rapidly approaching target and slammed into the ground directly behind the mutt. I quickly drew another arrow and this time my aim was true.

However, the delay allowed the sole surviving dog to get too close to shoot. It leapt at me, I expertly dodged and knocked the dog to the ground. Before the creature could fully recover, I had jumped on it and stabbed it in the heart with my hunting knife. The girl was still sobbing, but appeared to be calming slightly and realizing what was happening.

‘Ok,’ I thought, ‘The dogs are dead, I better get the girl out of here.’ But before I had a chance, five bandits ran down the road. I crouched behind some bushes. They spotted the girl, now fully terrified again, and appeared to smirk. But their joy quickly faded when they spotted their dead hounds. Their wicked eyes now filled with anger, they turned to the girl.

‘They really were dumb,’ I thought, ‘all these dead dogs and they blame a child instead of checking for threats.’

“Why you!” One bandit yelled as he went to kick the girl. Another yelled “Die!” as he went to strike her with a spear. The child did not scream, it appears she accepted what she assumed was her fate. But today was not her day to die. The girl let out a shocked yelp as her two would-be assailants dropped dead, arrows protruding from their necks.

The survivors, turned to see where the shots came from. They got their wish as another arrow brought their numbers to two. They charged me, only to have an arrow leave only a single bandit alive. As the criminal closed the gap, I drew my sword and skillfully blocked and deflected the inexperienced blade of the young attacker. A very, very short fight ensued. I quickly bested the brutish barbarian and his hurried and frenzied fighting style.

After finishing the job, I walked up to the child, who appeared relieved from a distance, but as I drew nearer, she covered her head and trembled from fear and uncertainty about the strange man who saved her. I knelt by her and extended a hand as she slowly lifted her head to meet my gaze. She was still scared, but also thankful and relieved to be alive, if only for now.

I, who she undoubtedly saw as a strange man who had inexplicably saved her, spoke. “Come with me, you are safe now.” The girl hesitated then wordlessly nodded and grabbed my hand. I pulled her up and she started to follow, but soon had trouble standing due to a mixture of fatigue and minor injuries from her attack and fall.

I lifted her up and carried her. We walked for about ten minutes until we reached my horse. I gently placed her on and held her in place as I climbed on behind her and held her in place between my legs. Her face betrays a mixture of fear, uncertainty, curiosity, and happiness.

I grinned ever so slightly. “It’s ok, you are safe now. By the way, my name is Sadon. I know you don’t talk much if ever, but when you are ready, please tell me yours.”

The girl teared up slightly as she frowned and nodded. I wiped her tears and quickly comforted her before saying “Hold on” and commanding the horse to move.

This story has previously appeared elsewhere, including Quora and Medium.