The Key To Living

Elanna ran blindly through the forest, branches and twigs scraping the bare flesh on her arms, legs and face as she made her escape from the guards of Lord Silas.

"Witch! Traitor! Demon! Stop!"

She wished those horrid chants hurled towards her would stop, as the guards pursued her on horseback, the hooves pounding the dirt path with ease, coming closer.

The rain was pouring down in devastating sheets of icy cold, her hair sodden within minutes and her thin gown clinging to her like a second skin, leaving nothing but a chill running up and down her body. In the distance, through a gap in the trees Elanna could make out a small hut made of wood and thatch, taking a battering in the storm but sturdy and strong enough that she could hopefully hide in undetected.

The skirts of her gown had been torn long before she had started running, when the Lord and his guards had cornered her in the keep and tried to have their way with her. Vicious hands, ripping at the material of her gown to expose skin that drove the men almost insane in their attempts to take her, had left her legs bruised and sore as she had kicked and fought her way free. Her skin prickled with fear and her heart burned with rage as she remained focused on her freedom during her battle to free her body from the clutches of those monsters.

Elanna had a stroke of luck in the form of a hapless butler who had wandered into the library in the hopes of tracking down the sounds that were beginning to disturb the household. What he had seen had left him with a sword in his gut, the Lord not wishing anyone to know of his cruelty. Elanna had taken that torturous moment to wrench herself free of the grasp of the guards and ran.

As the rain battered her and the sounds of the hooves drew steadily closer, Elanna wept as she fled. Her old life was non existent. The wind picked up in a rage almost as bold as the one in her heart and the sounds of the storm grew wild as she let out a scream, her anger boiling over.

The horses could be heard panicking, their whinnies shrill and fearful, the hooves stopping their thunderous pursuit. The men tried to calm their terrified beasts, failing miserably as some were thrown from their saddles onto the soaking earth, mud rushing to wrap them in a cold and dirty embrace.

"The witch did this! We must save ourselves. She won't survive the night out here! Leave her!"

Elanna fell to her knees beside the hut, chest heaving with the effort of catching her breath as the only sound now was that of the storm, easing slowly, the rain becoming a gentle tattoo on the leaves of the great trees around her. There was a stream running beside the hut, gurgling as the waters of the rain joined it, flowing quickly. She was tired. So tired.

But she was free. The realisation sunk in when she felt more raindrops landing on her head, thick little globules that ran icy trails down her skin. Pulling herself up with the last of her strength Elanna stood and walked towards the door of the hut, a thick wooden monstrosity of sturdy build. She gave the door a gentle push and it easily swung open, creaking as it did so.

Walking in, she saw a scrubbed wooden table in the middle of the single room, laden with fruit, wine and cheeses. A small fire burned cheerily in its hearth, sending warmth washing over her the moment she stepped in. Elanna looked around fearfully, worried she was intruding, although there seemed to be only herself standing inside the hut. Glancing towards a corner of the room she spied a small straw pallet adorned with furs and what looked like a soft feather pillow. A bed?

Elanna waited for what seemed like an age but nobody entered the hut. Nobody came. Shivering, she realised she was still wearing her torn gown so stripped it off, drawing closer to the fire for its warm touch. Her hair was dripping onto the floor so she tied it up, using a small ribbon tied around her wrist to secure it.

She nearly screamed when she saw the eyes. She covered herself with her hands, trying to maintain something of her dignity. However, something inside her told her not to scream. The eyes moved from left to right and back, assessing, watching. Moving closer into the light of the fire, a barn owl shifted on the wooden beams above her head, carefully avoiding the herbs that were strung from them.

He wouldn't attack her, so entranced was he by the new presence in his home. He remained still, his head still shifting from left to right before that too stopped and he just stared as Elanna stared fearfully back. It took a few moments before she brought herself back to her senses.

"It's just an owl. He won't hurt me."

Elanna spied a brown tunic lying on the back of the chair and moved swiftly to put it on, covering her bare skin. She didn't feel comfortable remaining naked when she had eyes on her, even if it was just an owl. Sitting in the chair, she looked at the table, her mouth beginning to water. She was famished, but afraid to eat. She didn't like taking what wasn't hers. She looked down at her hands, covered with scratches and faint bruises beginning to appear. A lone tear made its way down her cheek as she fought to keep her emotions in check. Crying would do her no good. She had escaped. She had survived.

The tears kept coming as she looked at the owl. "They were going to hurt me. I don't think they were going to let me live. What else could I do but fight for my life?"

Elanna started sobbing, her heart almost tearing itself in two. In a way, she had died. She would never be able to go back, show her face. It would only be a matter of time before she was found and taken back. She hadn't realised the sounds of the storm had desisted. Everything was still as she quieted down, the only thing heard was the crackling of the fire.

Elanna looked up again and found herself face to face with a young man sitting across from her at the table, his eyes deep black pools as he assessed her.

"You needn't worry about the food. You can eat." His voice was barely a whisper, as though he was trying not to frighten her. It was melodic and somewhat soothing.

Elanna's heart thudded as she stood up quickly, the chair falling sideways in her haste to stand. "Who are you? Is this your home?"

The man gave a small smile. "I'm Thorne and yes, this is my home. But you may stay awhile. I can see you are in no position to go anywhere. It is dangerous out there anyway."

Thorne. Elanna tested the name in her mind. She blushed when he smiled again, looking down as she realised it must have been his tunic she was wearing. "I'm sorry, I believe this is yours. I didn't hear you come in."

"It matters not. You were drenched and needed something dry to wear. It will suffice, will it not?"

Elanna had a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach and looked up. Empty. The barn owl was gone. She wrapped her arms around herself, protectively.

"Your owl. He is gone."

Thorne grinned. "Yes. But why don't you sit, eat something? You must be hungry."

"Are you sure? If this is your food, I wouldn't want to take it."

Thorne stood up and Elanna realised just how tall he was. She barely reached his shoulder as he walked over and directed her back to her fallen chair, picking it up before pushing her gently towards it. "Eat. I'm inviting you, therefore you cannot feel as though you are merely taking it. I'm offering it to you."

As he stood beside her she inhaled his scent. It was musky and heavy, reminding her of the forest but also comforting her. But she still felt scared. Her shoulders hunched and she seemed to shrink within herself, her tear-stained cheeks becoming wet once more as fresh tears burst forth.

"You have been hurt. I can see that. You have lost much. I can feel it. I know that anything I may say might not be of much help, but I can offer you safety and shelter until you feel ready to take the next step."

Looking at Thorne through lowered lashes, she spoke. "The next step?"

"My dear lady, you cannot hope to find the Key to life by sitting crying forever. A deep rage will build. An unfulfilled hate. This cannot be. No. You will eat. And sleep. And recover so that your body and mind are sound again and filled with hope anew."

Elanna hadn't realised she had been reaching for the food, only discovering so when had the taste of grapes and cheese in her mouth. She wiped her tears away, nodding. In silence she ate, with Thorne standing over her, a comforting wall of strength as she filled her belly with the food in front of her. Taking a small sip of wine from a cup, she paused to look up at Thorne.

"Thank you."

Thorne leaned close to her, picking up a small grape and popping it into his mouth before standing tall once more. "You can sleep on that bed over there once you've finished eating. I'll be outside, keeping watch. Sweet dreams, Elanna."

He was outside before Elanna understood that she hadn't told him her name, hadn't even mentioned it. Standing up she ran to the door to ask him how he knew but when opening it found him nowhere in sight, the small clearing devoid of life. Perplexed, she stepped back into the warmth of the hut and decided it was time to sleep. She would think about her next move in the morning. Looking back up at the beams, Elanna noticed the barn owl was back, its deep black eyes staring at her.

Funny, she hadn't noticed it coming in. Her eyes grew heavy and tired as a yawn escaped her. She looked down at her left leg, throbbing with pain as a horrific bruise had appeared on her thigh, from where she had been pinned down by one of the guards. Luckily, she had escaped before they could do anything further to her. A small whimper of fear escaped her as she recalled their hands, ripping at her gown and trying to hold her down, as she was momentarily lost in the feeling that she was about to lose everything.

"I'm safe." She whispered to herself. Crawling between the furs on the pallet, she felt herself drifting off as soon as her head touched the pillow. Her last thought was of Thorne and if he would be coming back.

The next morning dawned with the sounds of birdsong and the stream outside, flowing steadily. Elanna's eyes slowly opened and she began stirring, only sitting up quickly when she recalled the events of the night before. Looking down at herself, she saw the brown tunic. Not a dream, she thought.

She almost felt afraid to look around. But there was nothing, save the dying embers of the fire in the hearth and plenty of fresh fruit and water once again on the table.

Getting off the bed, Elanna walked to the door of the hut and walked outside, the air fresh and the smell of the damp earth rich and pleasant. She looked to the stream and strolled closer, her knees bending to scoop up some of the water, splashing it onto her face and waking herself up properly. Looking around, she saw no sign of Thorne. Maybe she had dreamed him.

Taking out the ribbon that had her hair bound, it still felt damp and slightly sticky. Her hand came away from her head and she saw a little dried blood. She must have hit her head when she was pushed to the ground by the guards last night. Making a quick decision, Elanna stripped off the tunic and walked into the stream, gasping as the coldness of the water stung her skin. It became pleasantly cool after a moment of bobbing in the water and she ducked her head underwater, her hands running through her hair to clean it. Needing to take a breath, she rose up out of the water and shook some out of her face, her hands immediately clapping over her naked body to cover herself as she noticed Thorne sitting calmly on the bank, looking into the distance.

"You needn't worry yourself, fair lady. You are safe with me. I promise I won't look."

Heat rose in her cheeks as she sunk lower into the water, keeping her hands over her body. Won't look! What if he had watched her strip off?

"I did not see anything, Elanna. You have my word."

"How do you know my name? I didn't give it last night."

"I know many things, namely that right now you are getting cold and need to come out of the water. You cannot stay in there the whole day."

Thorne grinned as he turned his back towards the stream, sitting with his legs crossed leaning on his arms that were spread behind him. She was funny, this human.

Elanna blushed as she realised the tunic was directly behind him. "You cannot look! I mean it!"

Creeping forward slowly out of the water, she tiptoed silently towards the tunic, hoping he wouldn't turn around. He remained in the same position, facing away from her, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the feel of the cool breeze on his face.

"Did you sleep well, lady?"

Elanna snatched up the tunic and put it on over her head, panicking when she couldn't get an arm through. After wrestling it on and smoothing it down, she replied. "I did, thank you. Although you don't seem to have slept inside at all."

"I did say I would keep an eye out last night. I meant it." He stood and turned to face her, looking at the water trickling from her hair onto the grass below her feet. He moved forward slowly, as though afraid of scaring her and lifted her hair out of the tunic and out of the way of the material, placing it so it was hanging over one shoulder. "Better? At least you'll dry off easier."

Elanna gulped at his closeness and took a step towards the hut, moving faster when she saw him following silently behind. She noticed the fire was once again burning brightly and she gratefully moved closer, her hands reaching out to capture the heat.

"So who are you Thorne? Really?"

"I'm going to be your guide."

"Guide for what?"

"The key to living, dear Elanna."

She turned to face him, taking a step closer to the fire when she realised how little space there was between them. Obviously he had no idea of personal space. "What is that exactly? You say that like I'm part of a plan, part of your plan."

His head tilted a little as he took her in. Fresh face, dark but wet hair, warm brown eyes. "You do not see now, but you will. In the matter of a day, you lost everything. You are dead essentially. But I will show you. I will help you."

Thorne reached forwards and held a small hand in his larger one, the warmth pleasant.

"You need not be afraid. Of anything. When you cried out last night, in the storm, you called something to you that is yours forever."

Elanna's breath trembled as she spoke. "You heard me last night? You heard me scream?"

Thorne chuckled lightly. "I think the whole forest heard you last night. The very elements themselves reacted."

Elanna nodded. The key to living. She would like to know.

To Be Continued...